1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Goo night. Michael Brown joins me here, the former FEMA 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: director of talk show host Michael Brown. Brownie, no, Brownie, 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: You're doing a heck of a job the Weekend with 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: Michael Brown. Welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. 5 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Glad to have you with me. I appreciate you tuning 6 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: on a Saturday. Merry Christmas. Everybody where he's having a 7 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: good holiday. I know. It's it's that time of year 8 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: where everything starts to kind of slow down a little bit, 9 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: and I love that time of year. It's also the 10 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 1: time when I start to think about taking some time 11 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: off and getting away from the news for a while. 12 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: I'm kind of looking forward to that too. But I 13 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: appreciate you tuning in this weekend. I really do. So. 14 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: We got to a couple of rules of engagement, you know, 15 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: the easiest one. If you want to tell me something 16 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: or ask me something. You know what. 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Let's get started. 34 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: There's a pretty familiar argument that says you only need 35 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: to study the prosecution of Donald Trump and his supporters 36 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: to see just how badly and deeply the FBI and 37 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: the Department of Justice were corrupted during Joe Biden's presidency. 38 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: And I think that argument has some force behind it 39 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: because it also carries a pretty predictable burden. Now, some 40 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:04,919 Speaker 1: may dismiss my thesis here as a partisan grievance, even 41 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: when the record shows clear departures from what is considered 42 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: to be neutral law enforcement, something that I believe is 43 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: absolutely inherent to the institution of law enforcement. I expect 44 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: cops to be neutral, to fairly enforce the law, to 45 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: fairly investigate cases, to follow the cases where the evid 46 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: you know, where the evidence leads them, not some predetermined, 47 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: you know, point that you want to get to, and 48 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: then manipulate, design, or just out of thin air, make 49 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: up the evidence to get to that point you're trying 50 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: to get to. There is there's a more disarming way 51 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: to understand what I consider to be a transformation of 52 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: federal law enforcement under Joe Biden. Don't look at the Republicans, 53 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: but the Democrats, because the Democrats are the ones who 54 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: found themselves under scrutiny whenever they obstructed Biden's political projects. 55 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: And when you look at it that way, you'll suddenly 56 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: find there is actually a pattern across the four years 57 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: that Biden was in office, dozens of Democrats at every 58 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: level of government were investigated, pressured, or indicted if they 59 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: defied the White House on Biden's policies. Now, again, as 60 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: we talked in the last hour about how investigations themselves 61 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: can be the punishment many of those inquiries that occurred 62 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: during the Biden administration never matured into prosecutions, but the 63 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: hint of just federal law enforcement attention was usually enough 64 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: that whoever was the target suddenly got right back in 65 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: line and suddenly supported the Biden policies. When the signal 66 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: failed and the and the stupid politician didn't get that 67 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: the White House is going to unleash the Department of 68 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: Justice and the FBI on them, that's when the hammer dropped. 69 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: I give you, for example, the cases of Senator Robert 70 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: Menendez of New Jersey, or Mayor Eric Adams of New York, 71 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: Congressman Henry Quaar of Texas, Congressman TJ. Cox, Governor Andrew Cuomo, 72 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: Congressman Matt Cartwright. They all are an illustration of that 73 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: pattern that I just described to you. The case of 74 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: Congressman Quailar is probably the most aggressive example because in 75 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: his case it reveals how federal law enforcement became an 76 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: informal tool for enforcing all of the intra party discipline 77 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: that the Democrats and the Biden administration demanded. But the 78 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: pattern started with Bob me Mendez in New Jersey. He 79 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and 80 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 1: he stood between Biden and a very central part of 81 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: Biden's early foreign policy. You see Biden's trying to loosen 82 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: restrictions on financial transactions. G I wonder why Hunter remittances 83 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: and of course travel with Cuba, something that his predecessor, 84 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: Obama had been trying to do. So Bob me Mendez, 85 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: invoking human rights and security concerns, blocked that move back 86 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: in May of twenty twenty two. Mendez's opposition lasted for 87 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: about I don't know, several months, maybe four or five months, 88 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,560 Speaker 1: and it left the White House with no clear path 89 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: forward of getting those things done. Now, the FBI had 90 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: known about Syndrome Mendez's dealings with this Egyptian interest that 91 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: he was convicted of later on since at least twenty eighteen, 92 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: yet there was never an indictment until September of twenty 93 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: twenty three. That was less than a year after he 94 00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: refused to budge at all on Biden's Cuban policy. And then, 95 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: thanks later some whistleblower disclosures, we now know that the 96 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: decision to indict Bob me Mendez didn't arise from an 97 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: independent prosecutorial assessment from the Department of Justice. It came 98 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: from direct pressure inside Biden's oval office, and so he 99 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: suddenly found himself because he is fighting Biden on those policies, 100 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: he now found himself charged with bribery, extortion, obstruction, and 101 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Well, I think the 102 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: timing in that case mattered because once Menndez stepped back 103 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: from the Formulations Leadership Committee, the administration got the room 104 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: that it needed to relax the Cuban restrictions. Now, on 105 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: its face, the indictment does look to just a casual observer. 106 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,160 Speaker 1: It does look like a corruption case. But with the 107 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: whistleblower reports now in complete view, that case looks even 108 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: more clearly like an enforcement action against a Democrat who 109 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,920 Speaker 1: was trying to prevent the administration from enacting certain policies 110 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: at a very consequential moment. Never thought about it that way, 111 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: did you. Yeah. I know, everybody just thinks that Bob 112 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: Memindez was, you know, incahoots with the Egyptians and they 113 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: got the gold bars and the gold watches and all 114 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: of that. Oh No, there's so much more to the 115 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: story than that. And I think the part of the 116 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: story is Paul Harvey would say the rest of the 117 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: story that really matters is this indictment of Bob Memindez. 118 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: While probably justified, the timing was done for political effect. 119 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: It was the process, like we talked about in the 120 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: last hour, It was the process in order to get 121 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: him to budge so that Biden could get his Cuban 122 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: policies enacted. Now, Mayor Erry Adams is actually a pretty 123 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: good parallel case because as mayor of New York City, 124 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: he confronted the consequence of Biden's border policies, probably more 125 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: directly than any other Democrat. By early of twenty twenty three, 126 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: New York City was completely overwhelmed by illegal crossings and 127 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: asylum claims, and Adams even said so in public. In 128 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: April of twenty twenty three, Eric Adams openly blamed Joe 129 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: Biden for the crisis, and then in October he took 130 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: the extraordinary step for a Democrat and he declared a 131 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: state of emergency in New York City's five boroughs because 132 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: of that unimpeded flow of illegal aliens uh oh. In 133 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: April of twenty twenty three, he then openly blamed Biden 134 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 1: for the crisis. Then came the declaration of emergency and 135 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: by December, he was complaining that the White House would 136 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: not even meet with him. What happened nine months later, 137 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: a baby. That's next, Welcome back the Weekend with Michael Brown. 138 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: Glad to have you with me. I appreciate you tuning 139 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: in so as I kind of teased in that last segment. 140 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: So here's Eric Adams, and in Eric Adams is complaining 141 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: about the immigration policies and how it's overwhelming New York City, 142 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: and he does so very publicly, and then he declares 143 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: the state of an emergency. Then he complained that the 144 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: White House would not even meet with him. Remember that, 145 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: why Joe Biden won't even meet with me? Nine months 146 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: after that, No, he didn't have a baby. But what 147 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 1: happened was federal prosecutors indicted him for alleged bribery and 148 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: campaign finance violations built around that he had received upgraded 149 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: airline seats and hotel rooms from some Turkish interests, valued 150 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: at around one hundred thousand dollars. Now, the upgrades had 151 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: been known for years, they've never been treated as a 152 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:03,359 Speaker 1: criminal case. The theory of the case that such upgrades 153 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:09,559 Speaker 1: somehow constituted foreign finance bribery. That's kind of a novel theory, 154 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: and that's quite a stretch too. What had not changed, though, 155 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: was not the evidence. That was still the same. They 156 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: know about the evidence for a long time. What changed 157 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: was the politics. You see, Eric Adams had broken ranks 158 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: at a moment exactly when the White House needed unity 159 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 1: on immigration messaging. Then what followed looked less like routine 160 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: prosecution and more like a reminder to other Democrats that 161 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: if you're going to dissent from our policies, you're going 162 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:44,719 Speaker 1: to pay a pretty heavy cost. Another example, if you 163 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,839 Speaker 1: think back to when these examples were occurring, you may 164 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: recall that everybody was like, oh, you know, Eric Adams 165 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: is in big trouble. He's been doing all these things 166 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,080 Speaker 1: and he's been doing them wrong. Blah blah blah blah. No, 167 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: actually that's not quite true. After all that evidence was known, 168 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: but no action was taken. And as I point out, 169 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 1: it wasn't that the evidence changed, it was that the 170 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: politics changed. Then think about Andrew Cuomo. It's the same pattern, 171 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,959 Speaker 1: It's just that the mechanism is different. In the early 172 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: months of the pandemic, Clomo's administration issued nursing home policies 173 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: that we know in hindsight, resulted in a significant loss 174 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: of life. Well, the Department of Justice declined to prosecute 175 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,920 Speaker 1: him at that time, but then once Clomo started to 176 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,479 Speaker 1: position himself as a potential rival to Biden for national leadership, 177 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: a series of investigations, leaks, coordinated public statements from both 178 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: federal and state officials started to shift the political grounds 179 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:57,320 Speaker 1: beneath Andrew Cuomo. The sexual misconduct allegations that ended his career, 180 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: those were handled with a man coordination across multiple jurisdictions, 181 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: and the timing of those allegations, as I've said, you know, 182 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: there are no coincidences in Washington, d c. Well, the 183 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:17,119 Speaker 1: timing align with the White House's concerns about a challenge 184 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: from Andrew Cuomo if Biden were to seek a second term. 185 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: So the episode was not a conventional federal prosecution, but 186 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: it does illustrate how investigative attention just the you know, 187 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: just somebody from the White House, somebody from the Department 188 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: of Justice, somebody from US Attorney's Office, somebody from the 189 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: FBI leaked to the New York Times, to the Washington 190 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: Post or whomever that, hey, we're looking at Andrew Cuomo 191 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: over some sexual allegations, and thus the avalanche starts and 192 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: that's all they needed, and it's just drip, drip, drip, 193 00:12:54,240 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: and pretty soon it's just overwhelmeding. So again it's the process, 194 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: not necessarily the prosecution, but it does illustrate how just 195 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 1: the attention could be marshaled against a Democrat who became 196 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: inconvenient to a Democrat administration. Makes you think differently. I know, 197 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: I still don't like Andrew Cmo, still think he was 198 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: a horrible governor, still think he did horrible things as 199 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: as governor during COVID, But it gives you a different 200 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: understanding of what's really going on in the background while 201 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: the cabal's feeding you about, Oh, he's a womanizer and 202 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 1: he's you know, he's having sex with a staffer and 203 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: blah blah. Yes, all that indeed may be true, but 204 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: why do they want you to know that? Because they're 205 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: trying to cut his legs out from under him now. 206 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: Congressman TJ. Cox he faced an indictment in August of 207 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two for wire fraud and some related charges 208 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: that tied to conduct that predated the Biden presidency, but 209 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: the indictment came only after he broke with the Biden 210 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: administration on a bunch of votes involving energy and border 211 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: security and Atlanta, right at the height of an election 212 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: cycle in which the Democrats were trying to purge internal dissenters. Likewise, 213 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: Congressman Matt Cartwright, who was a moderate Democrat, he had 214 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: a history of disagreement party leadership on energy regulation, he 215 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: found himself under the cloud of a federal investigation never 216 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: produced any charges. But what did it succeed in doing? 217 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: It succeeded in silencing his criticism of the Biden administration's 218 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 1: climate policies. These cases did not draw national headlines. They 219 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: didn't need to. All they had to do was within 220 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: Democrat circles. They were understood as reminders that the Department 221 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: of Justice will do whatever it is that Joe Biden wants, 222 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 1: and they could reach deep into the party when necessary, 223 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: and they could slap people around, And if you're a politician, 224 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: you don't want to get slapped around by the president. 225 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: Now I know that I don't know, but I will 226 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: argue that these examples show a pattern. But I think 227 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: the case of Congressman Henry Quaar shows it the best 228 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 1: because between twenty twenty one and twenty twenty four. Quahlar 229 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: was probably the most single most persistent Democrat critic of 230 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 1: Biden's immigration, energy, abortion, and gun control agendas. He is 231 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: a district in South Texas and it bore the brunt 232 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: of Biden's border policies. In March of twenty one, he 233 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 1: told the White House that he was He said that 234 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: he said that the White House was in complete denial 235 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: about the crisis, and he argued that the President had 236 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: lost control of the southern border. Remember at the same 237 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: time that Alejandra Majorcis was telling us how the border 238 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: was secure. Well a month after Kuahlar had told the 239 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: president had told the public that the president had lost 240 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: control of the southern border. He publicly demanded that Alejandra 241 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: Mayorcis deploy more border patrol agents to Laredo, Texas. So then, 242 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: over the next several years, Henry Quaar leaked damaging Homeland 243 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 1: security documents showing overcrowded facilities, mass release of immigrants, and 244 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: the processing failures that were taking place. Those leaks they 245 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: absolutely contradicted the White House narrative and embarrassed the administration. 246 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: He kept repeating the criticism through twenty twenty two. Twenty 247 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: twenty three than in early twenty twenty four, he called 248 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: for majorcas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, to resign and 249 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: to be replaced. Not one single Democrat had mounted such 250 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: a sustained public challenge to what I believe was Biden's 251 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: signature policy open borders. So Henry Quaar defied Biden across 252 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: broad policies. He opposed the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. 253 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: He resisted Biden's plan to stop new oil and gas leases. 254 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: He pushed for an increase in liquid natural gas exports. 255 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: He rejected the federal methane rules. He broke to the 256 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: White House in abortion by voting against the Women's Health 257 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: Protection Act. In September of twenty one, after the Dobbs decision, 258 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: he again rejected federal codification of Roe v. Wade, and 259 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: National Democrats backed a pro choice primary challenger against him, 260 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: trying to get him out of office. On gun control, Henry 261 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: Quaar opposed key provisions of Biden's preferred bills, and he 262 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: supported only narrower Senate compromises. And then he started obstructing 263 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: Democrat immigration proposals that expanded the prole and asylum authority 264 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: without any enforcement measures. So by the time he got 265 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,480 Speaker 1: to mid twenty twenty three, Henry Quayar had become the 266 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 1: administration's most significant internal obstacle on both immigration and energy, 267 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: and he had proven that he was not going to 268 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: bend the pressure. And that's when the fight started. I'll 269 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: be right back to night. Michael Brown joined me here, 270 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: the former FEMA director of talk show host Michael Brown. Brownie, no, Brownie, 271 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: You're doing a heck of a job the Weekend with 272 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:24,880 Speaker 1: Michael Brown. Hey, welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. 273 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: Glad to have you with me. I appreciate you tuning in. 274 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: Merry Christmas everybody, Hope everybody has a great holiday. Text 275 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:31,320 Speaker 1: line of course is always open. You know, in fact, 276 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: you're leaving the open Christmas Day. Yeah, we don't even 277 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 1: let it shut down Christmas Day. So you want to 278 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: send me a you know, a Merry Christmas or something 279 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: three three one zero three keyword, Michael, Michael. So back 280 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,719 Speaker 1: to Henry Klayar for a moment. So we're talking about 281 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 1: how you know there are no coincidences in Washington, d C. 282 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:52,120 Speaker 1: And here's Congressman quay Are from Laredo, Texas and he's 283 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: bucking Joe Biden on everything, immigration, gun control, climate, abortion, 284 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:00,959 Speaker 1: you name it. Because he comes from a conservative Texas 285 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: congressional district. And I also think that Henry Quaar is 286 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 1: a so called moderate yellow dog Democrat and he's not 287 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: going to change his stripes. Well, when the informal pressure 288 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: failed by you know, the leadership, I'm sure that you know, 289 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: Keem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and everybody 290 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 1: you will put pressure on him. I'm sure some of 291 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: the donors put pressure on him. But when all that 292 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: pressure failed, guess what happened next. That's right, they began 293 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: an investigation. You see, Henry Quayar's wife had business interests. 294 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 1: Now they've been previously disclosed, and they had been reviewed 295 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: by the Department of Justice and by you know, you 296 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,160 Speaker 1: had to file all these financial forms and they get 297 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,199 Speaker 1: reviewed by you know, financial committees, and you know, the 298 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,919 Speaker 1: White House Counsel will review them. In case of a congressman, 299 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: you know, the Ethics Committee will review them, or staffers will. 300 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: They filed all the disclosures and they found no misconduct whatsoever. 301 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: But then steps in Biden's Department of Justice and tries 302 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: to reframe his wife's interests as a bribery scheme. When 303 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 1: the investigators couldn't establish a quid pro quo, then they 304 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: tried to conduct a steam operation. So the FBI created 305 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: a dummy corporation, They funded that dummy corporation with taxpayer resources, 306 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: and then they tried to route money through Quaar's campaign, 307 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 1: his staff, and even his family. But none of the 308 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 1: targets took debate, and despite the failure of the steam operation, 309 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,719 Speaker 1: the Department of Justice still proceeded with an indictment in 310 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: May of twenty twenty four, and they alleged he had 311 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: engaged and his wife had engaged too. They charged both 312 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:54,080 Speaker 1: of them with bribery, conspiracy, wirefraud, extortion, obstruction, obstruction, and 313 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: again acting as an unregistered foreign agent. The indictment, even 314 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 1: on its face and according to its timing, appears designed 315 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 1: to make re election for Henry Quaar next to impossible 316 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 1: and then to attempt to install a more obedient Democrat 317 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,959 Speaker 1: in his place for the twenty twenty six election cycle. 318 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: Events inside the Department of Justice reinforced that interpretation because 319 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 1: the US attorney in Houston, a guide name of Alamander 320 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: s Hamdami, not Man Dami Hamdani reportedly refused to prosecute 321 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: the case because he did not believe there was any evidence. 322 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: He recognized the US attorney did that this case was 323 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: nothing more than a political action against a member of 324 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: Biden's own party because he wouldn't fall in line. So 325 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:49,640 Speaker 1: when the local US attorney's office declined to prosecute Merrick Garland, 326 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,879 Speaker 1: remember him the Attorney General under Biden, he reassigned the 327 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,440 Speaker 1: case to the main Justice Department inside the Beltway in DC, 328 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 1: So prosecutors from the Public Integrity Section and the counter 329 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: Intelligence and Export Control Section took over the entire matter. 330 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: So the relocation of a domestic public corruption case and 331 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:16,280 Speaker 1: turning into a national security prosecutors in Washington, that in 332 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: and of itself is highly unusual, and it suggests, in fact, 333 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: I think it's pretty good circumstantial evidence that the Biden 334 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: administration wanted to have absolute control over the case rather 335 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: than a US attorney that would provide a neutral assessment 336 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: of the evidence. What unifies all of these examples is 337 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,719 Speaker 1: not a well, it is somewhat of a partisan motive, 338 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: but it's more of an institutional motive. The Department of 339 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 1: Justice and the FBI became instruments for controlling and punishing 340 00:22:54,160 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 1: internal democrat dissent that mechanism and I don't I had 341 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: to explain this. Let me just try to explain it. 342 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: That mechanism can operate without explicit orders. You don't need 343 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: the president to say I want XYZ done. All you 344 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: need is to know the president's trying to accomplish something 345 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: over here. And you're the attorney general and you know 346 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: that Quaar's causing you problems, or Eric Adams is causing 347 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 1: you problems, or any of the others are causing you problems. 348 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 1: So you step in and as a good foot soldier, 349 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: you'll go do the dirty work for the president. Or 350 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 1: if you're Dnse like Alejandro Mayorcus may have been, or 351 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: as Merrick Garland probably is, you might need a little 352 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 1: nudge from oh, maybe the White House Chief of Staff 353 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: or the White House Comms Director, or maybe one of 354 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: the staffers that used to work for Obama that was 355 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: working in the Biden White House to pick up the 356 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 1: phone and call Mayorcus, or to call the Merrick Garland 357 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: and say, hey, listen, Quaar is giving us in trouble. 358 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: You don't even need to ask them to do anything, 359 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,159 Speaker 1: you just tell them, hey, clar is giving us some trouble. 360 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: Because bureaucracies internalize the preferences of the leadership, they respond 361 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: to the political incentives, and under the Biden the incentive 362 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: structure rewarded actions that neutralized Democrats that were threatening the 363 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: administrations either legislative strategy or their public messaging. So what 364 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: do they do? They open investigations, leaks are issued, Prosecutors 365 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,200 Speaker 1: generate novel theories of liability when the traditional theories didn't 366 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,439 Speaker 1: have any support or evidence to them. And most of 367 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:45,680 Speaker 1: those actions that I've talked about with these cases never 368 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: produce convictions. Yet they did not need to. That was 369 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: not the point. The point was to deter and get 370 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:59,400 Speaker 1: those yahoos in line. These internal enforcement actions also explain 371 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: why come plaints about weaponization against Republicans so often fall 372 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: on deaf ears be many most Democrats assume that any 373 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: Republican under investigation is presumptively guilty. Yet when the same 374 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:19,440 Speaker 1: tactics fall on Democrats and they hold mainstream policy views 375 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: within the party, the abuse has become harder to ignore. 376 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: It's not an answer to say that prosecutors occasionally bring 377 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: corruption cases against Democrats. The question ought to be is 378 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 1: why are these cases surged at particular moments when the 379 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: targets were obstructing Biden's agenda, and why many were built 380 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:44,440 Speaker 1: on theories that would not have survived scrutiny under any 381 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:49,199 Speaker 1: other president or any other administration. The deeper issue is 382 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: a structural issue. I don't know how many Democrats or 383 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: Republicans for that matter, were quietly investigated, pressured, or coursed 384 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: into conformity. The number is probably a lot larger than 385 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: the public record would show you. But once a pattern 386 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 1: of selective enforcement takes hold again, like we talked about 387 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:12,400 Speaker 1: in the last hour with the Germans, that curb gets broken, 388 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: you know, the eighteen wheeler kind of bumps it, and 389 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: it kind of cracks. The next one kind of cracks 390 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: it further, and pretty soon those curbs, those guardrails are 391 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 1: just completely gone. That's how the bureaucracy operates. You don't 392 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,920 Speaker 1: need a memo, you don't need an email, you don't 393 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,800 Speaker 1: need the president to pick up the phone and say, 394 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,439 Speaker 1: Henry Quaar's being a butt head, would you please go 395 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:39,880 Speaker 1: prosecute him? They know intuitively, instinctively that that's what they 396 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: need to do, and that's why once the pattern of 397 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:48,920 Speaker 1: selective enforcement takes hold, that it does spread because officials 398 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 1: get the message that their careers, their careers depend on 399 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:55,879 Speaker 1: cooperation with the preferences of the executive branch, and federal 400 00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: law enforcement then becomes the weapon. Federal law enforcement then 401 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,560 Speaker 1: becomes the tool for shaping party discipline. And you and 402 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: me in the public, we only see the completed prosecutions. 403 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: That's not what really matters. If they get a prosecution, 404 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 1: that's just a trophy to hang on the wall. The 405 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: real damage, the real coersion, is in the investigation. It 406 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: happens in the shadows. It happens behind the scenes. It 407 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: happens while you know they're being called in for a deposition. 408 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: It happens when they get a bill from their lawyer 409 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: for you know, a bazillion dollars because they spent so 410 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: many hours, you know, dealing with the FBI and the 411 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: Department of Justice. And that's why congressional oversight is so important. 412 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: I'll explain that next. Don't Go Away is I always 413 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:55,439 Speaker 1: like to do. I always like to thank the audience 414 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,199 Speaker 1: for tuning in, and particularly during this holiday season, the 415 00:27:58,240 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: fact that you take time out to listen to the 416 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 1: week with Michael Brown means an awful lot to me. 417 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:04,719 Speaker 1: So I just want to wish everyone, you know, a 418 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: merry Christmas. You know, I'll talk to you sun this 419 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: month and then I'll be back, you know, full time 420 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: again after the first of the year. But everybody have 421 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,479 Speaker 1: a great Christmas. And again, you know, if you have 422 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 1: friends or even people you don't like that you might 423 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,760 Speaker 1: enjoy the program, be sure to let them know about 424 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: the program. And if you do like what we do 425 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: on the weekend, I would remind you that I also 426 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 1: do a weekday program out of Denver Monday through Friday. 427 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: It airs from nine to ten, I mean nine to 428 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: noon mountain time, Monday through Friday. The station is KOA. 429 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,360 Speaker 1: It's located on the dial at eight fifty AM and 430 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: ninety four to one FM, and so on your iHeart 431 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 1: app you can set a preset for KOA at either 432 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: eight fifty am or ninety four one FM and then 433 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:53,719 Speaker 1: you can listen to what I do Monday through Friday 434 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 1: on the weekday program in addition to the weekend program. 435 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: And our streaming numbers are great, and I think a 436 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: lot of that's because of you and to appreciate it. 437 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: So back to this story about these so called coincidences, 438 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: which are really not coincidences at all. It's all about 439 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,959 Speaker 1: party discipline. It's all about making sure that people that 440 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,120 Speaker 1: stray off the party line get pushed right back into 441 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,960 Speaker 1: the middle of the of the highway. And that's why 442 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: you have to have congressional oversight. I think the Congressman 443 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: Jim Jordan ought to investigate the pattern of these investigations 444 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: that were directed at the Democrats during the Biden years. 445 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: All we hear about is how you know the the 446 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,719 Speaker 1: Trump administration is weaponizing, going after against going against his enemies, 447 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 1: and doing all of these things. I don't see that. 448 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: I see legitimate cases. In fact, some cases I think 449 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,920 Speaker 1: a legitimate have been thrown out by judges that I 450 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,520 Speaker 1: think we're, you know, probably playing a little bit of politics. 451 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:58,480 Speaker 1: But if Trump is going to weaponize, then I will 452 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: condemn him for that. You should not weaponize the Department 453 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,800 Speaker 1: of Justice or law enforcement. But I do believe sincerely 454 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 1: that that is precisely what the Biden administration did, and 455 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: they did it to their own people. They didn't do 456 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: it to their enemies, although they saw their own people 457 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 1: as their internal enemies, their useful idiots weren't doing what 458 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: they were supposed to do as useful idiots. So I 459 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: think that Congressman Jordan of Ohio ought to investigate that 460 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: pattern of the investigations directed at the Democrats by the 461 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: Biden Department of Justice and FBI. And I'm not trying 462 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 1: to gain some sort of pardon advantage. What I'd like 463 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: to see happen is a restoration of the norm that 464 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: law enforcement has got to become an instrument of should 465 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: not become an instrument of political conformity, because understanding what 466 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 1: happened to Bob Memindez, Eric Adams, Henry quaar Cox, Clomo Cartwright. 467 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: Understanding that is essential for preventing the misuse of federal 468 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:03,959 Speaker 1: power once party, once an individual learns that it can 469 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:08,840 Speaker 1: enforce loyalty through federal investigations, the temptation to repeat the 470 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: practice grows, and a republic like ours cannot function if 471 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: elected officials fear that mere policy disagreements are going to 472 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 1: be met with federal investigations, because those investigations at that 473 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 1: point become what the process becomes the punishment, and when 474 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,760 Speaker 1: it becomes the punishment, that's what you have to watch 475 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,480 Speaker 1: out for. I want to move on to I want 476 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,040 Speaker 1: to cover one more thing before I'm going to go 477 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: back to Europe for just a minute before we finish 478 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: out the program, because I've talked a lot about totalitarianism 479 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: and authoritarianism these investigations and how they're used to coerce everything. Well, 480 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: the word totalitarian usually evokes an image of barbed wire, 481 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: secret police, a single party marching and luckstep. Well, going 482 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: back to your for a moment, that standard when you 483 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: look at the European Union kind of looks harmless because 484 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,479 Speaker 1: nobody's being deported to a camp for criticizing the EU 485 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: that sits in Brussels, in Belgium, all the newspapers still 486 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 1: publish harsh editorials, their elections held in schedule, and that 487 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:23,719 Speaker 1: familiar picture, comforting as it is, tends to blind us 488 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,800 Speaker 1: to the quieter and what in a more modern form 489 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:33,280 Speaker 1: of domination, when when the UK withdrew from went through 490 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 1: Brexit and withdrew from the European Union, they were essentially 491 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: trying to re establish their sovereignty. Now, there are pros 492 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,920 Speaker 1: and cons to it, and the EU has pretty much 493 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 1: punished the UK for withdrawing from the EU. But when 494 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 1: you look at what the EU is currently doing. You 495 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 1: have to ask yourself, one are the accomplishing? Is there 496 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: anything at all that they're truly accomplishing, because I'm not 497 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: sure they are. Think about the Russian and Ukrainian war 498 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: right now, what is it truly? What is it that 499 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 1: Ukraine needs from Europe? Because if bear hugs were army 500 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: divisions or brave words were euros, Zelensky would have ended 501 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 1: his tour of the European capitals the best armed and 502 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: the best funded leader in the world. Prime Minister Keir 503 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: Starmer of the UK said that we stand with Ukraine. 504 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: We support you in the conflict, we support you in 505 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: the negotiations to make sure that this is a justin 506 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: lasting settlement. Chancellor mergs we talked about earlier in the program. 507 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:43,640 Speaker 1: He declared to Zelensky that nobody should doubt our support 508 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 1: for Ukraine and then added that Ukraine, the destiny of 509 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: Ukraine is the destiny of Europe. Macrone in France promised 510 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,480 Speaker 1: that Europe has a lot of cards in our hands. Okay, 511 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:56,600 Speaker 1: you got a lot of cards, what are you going 512 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:01,040 Speaker 1: to do with them? So Zelensky goes from London to Rome. 513 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 1: He meets with Maloney and she offered more hugs. Pope 514 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: Leo got in the act, gave his blessing, and there's 515 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,839 Speaker 1: no doubt in my mind that Ukraine really does enjoy 516 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 1: this sincere support of Europe in their struggle to resist 517 00:34:16,200 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: the Russian invasion. And I don't want to just minimize that, 518 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,920 Speaker 1: but I want to be real about it. If we're 519 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:29,399 Speaker 1: going to have a treaty or an armistice or even 520 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,920 Speaker 1: a ceasefire, any one of those between Russia and Ukraine, 521 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 1: there will have to be some enforceable mechanism, security guarantees. 522 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:43,840 Speaker 1: There may be demilitarized zones. And I'm curious about what 523 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:48,359 Speaker 1: has Europe offered that would do any of that. Oh, 524 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 1: they've provided pats on the back. We love you, We're 525 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 1: behind you. You know we're ten miles behind you, but 526 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: we're behind you. Europe hasn't given them anything, And now 527 00:34:57,880 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 1: I want to ask you. I want you to ask 528 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 1: yourself why. And I think the why is because Europe 529 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:08,360 Speaker 1: doesn't have anything to give. Europe has so emasculated itself 530 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:12,880 Speaker 1: with you know, woke policies, with what we talked about 531 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 1: in earlier in the second hour, about the speech laws. 532 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,880 Speaker 1: You think about Germany and all their green new energy deals. 533 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,640 Speaker 1: They've completely eviscerated their economies, so they have nothing to 534 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 1: give Zelenski, and I think that you know, as as 535 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: Stalden once said, the Pope commands no divisions. Well, the 536 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,479 Speaker 1: Prime Minister of Villi Maloney, she postponed a government vote 537 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,880 Speaker 1: on further military funding for Ukraine while the peace talks 538 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 1: were going on. And then the Crone refused to disclose 539 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,400 Speaker 1: the details of a twenty one billion dollar deal with 540 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,000 Speaker 1: Russian Central Bank assets that are held in France on 541 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: the grounds of, oh, it's just confidential, we can't talk 542 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 1: about it. So they're doing all this talk, but there's 543 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,360 Speaker 1: nothing really happening, and so that puts Trump, who's really 544 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 1: trying to end the war. If you wonder why Trump 545 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:07,040 Speaker 1: keeps pushing and pushing and pushing, it's because Putin has 546 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: shown no signs whatsoever of slowing down. Zelensky has shown 547 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: no signs of slowing down. But Zelensky doesn't have the weaponry, 548 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 1: he doesn't have the armaments that he needs to push 549 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 1: back on the Russians, and Europe once again proves itself 550 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,360 Speaker 1: to be a paper tiger. Hugs and kisses, Oh we 551 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:29,720 Speaker 1: love you, We're behind you. Okay, show me the cannons, 552 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:32,879 Speaker 1: show me the fighter jets, show me the you know, 553 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,840 Speaker 1: the helmets that the people you'll put, the boots on 554 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 1: the ground, that you'll put in the demilitarized zone. I 555 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: tell you all of that simply because as we enter 556 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:43,920 Speaker 1: into the holiday season, I want you to think, what 557 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,719 Speaker 1: are they really doing? What are they And Trump is 558 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:50,439 Speaker 1: the only one who is really willing to call the 559 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: reality of what's happening on the ground and say that 560 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:56,720 Speaker 1: to the Europeans faces, and to say to Zelensky's face, 561 00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,920 Speaker 1: and I think that's precisely what we need. Doesn't mean 562 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 1: we're going to get anywhere, but it means that finally 563 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,440 Speaker 1: somebody is telling the Europeans the truth. And then we 564 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,920 Speaker 1: wonder why Trump demands that NATO, the European Nations, and 565 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,279 Speaker 1: NATO step up and put in their fair share. This 566 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:17,680 Speaker 1: is why, because I don't think they really have it. Again, 567 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:20,319 Speaker 1: thanks for joining the Weekend with Michael Brown. Everybody, have 568 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,000 Speaker 1: a great weekend and I'll see you next weekend.