WEBVTT - WARNING! Constitutional Crisis | SoloPod 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.720 Native lamdpod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:05.080 Reason Choice Media. 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:10.120 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. 0:00:09.600 --> 0:00:14.680 Hello everyone, Happy Tuesday. Welcome home. This is another edition 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:17.680 of a solo pod with me your host, Angela Rai 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:21.759 for Native lamppod. I am excited to be with you 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:25.079 all today to get into a very very pressing question, 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:29.120 which is are we in a constitutional crisis? And is 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:31.800 Donald Trump stage and a coup? So I'm going to 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:34.040 point to a couple of things that i think are 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:39.199 important as we consider this very important question. A lot 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.320 of people are asking, a lot of folks are panicking 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.760 about it. Hi, I'm people, And one of the things 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:47.320 that has been really pressing for me is the fact 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:52.199 that on Sunday I was at church. I should have 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:54.960 been just panished to discernment, but I'm being very honest 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:55.400 with y'all. 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:56.480 I was at church. 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:00.840 And there's a tweet that comes across from jd Vance, 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:04.240 who of course is y'all's vice president, and jd Vance 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.200 tweeted impertinent part. 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.000 I'm just going to reflect on this one portion. 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:14.600 Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate powers. Judges 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:19.960 aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate powers. Now, some 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:22.600 of you might be saying, Okay, that's his opinion, find whatever, 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:26.520 But he goes on to tweet things to share information 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:31.479 that supports this very asinine point that judges aren't allowed 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:32.440 to control. 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:34.240 The executive's legitimate powers. 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.440 Now, what is really in question here is not that, 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.920 because we know we talk about every single solopod basically 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.600 there are three co equal branches of government, at least 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:48.240 right now, there's the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branch. Now, 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:53.120 we have always talked about a system of checks and 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:57.560 balances and that is entrined in the Constitution. And what 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.760 the Trump administration is essentially trying to do. You would say, hey, actually, 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.720 there's this idea that we have. This says the executive 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:09.320 actually has a little more power and surprise, that is 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:10.639 in Project twenty twenty five. 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:12.000 We'll get into that in a little bit. 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.840 But first I want to use as a basis for 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:20.679 my question for my reason for panic, this court case 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.760 that is before the United States District Court of Rhode Island. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.519 That case, as many of you all may know, I'm 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:28.440 gonna hold this up so you can see I believe 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:32.000 in documents. So this court case was brought by twenty 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:37.720 three different states attorneys general where they sued because they 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:42.799 sued the Trump administration, the treasurer, the treasurer, the Secretary 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:46.880 of the Department of Treasury, the acting Secretary of Health 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:51.200 and Human Services, the acting Secretary of Education, etc. 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.360 FEMA, and so on and so forth. 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:58.639 In this case, they've alleged that the federal government is 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:03.640 exceeding the executive brings, exceeding its powers by freezing federal funding. 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:07.360 A judge by the name of John J. McConnell, Junior, 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:11.560 agreed with these twenty three states, including the District of 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:14.720 Columbia attorney's general, saying, you know what, let's have a 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:18.000 temporary restraining order on what the Trump administration is doing. 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.440 Let's temporarily stop this funding freeze, allow this funding to 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:25.959 go forward so that we don't have these issues in 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.359 the country putting a lot of people in harm's way. 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:35.200 So the judge issued this temporary restraining order after the 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:40.760 attorneys general filed their case filed their suit. On January 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:45.280 twenty eighth, the Trump administration comes out and many of 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:48.080 you all remember the Press secretary says, well, we are 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.640 rescinding the O ANDB memo that issued this funding freeze. 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.480 But we're not going to freeze what we're actually doing, 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:59.000 causing a little bit of confusion, given people reason for pause. 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.280 And then what you saw after that was that funds 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:05.960 were frozen. You heard about it in community health centers. 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:08.200 You've seen it now with farmers, including the guy that 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:10.160 voted for Donald Trump and saying you had time to 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.480 do his research. You're starting to see this stuff come 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:16.120 out where they actually did freeze funds, which means they 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:21.400 did not comply with the core order. So on Monday, sorry, 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.400 on Friday, these attorneys general come back and say, hey, 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:27.640 we're flagging for y'all. We need emergency relief. They are 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:31.520 not complying with this core order. The judge rules on Monday. 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:35.520 That's what this is, that they in fact are accurate 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.760 and that the federal government is not complying with the order. 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.200 So let me read to y'all what is supposed to 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:46.000 happen when the federal government, visa be the executive branch, 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:49.880 does not comply with a federal court order. Again three 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:56.360 quote equal branches of government judicial, legislative, and executive. So 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:58.640 the executive branch is not complying with this order from 0:04:59.240 --> 0:04:59.839 judicial rimps. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:00.520 That's what he says. 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:06.240 It is a basic proposition that all orders and judgments 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:09.480 of courts must be complied with promptly. 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:10.880 This is on page two of the order. 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:15.919 Persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:22.080 to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt criminal contempt 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:26.760 even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect. There's several 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.760 other pieces that we can point out to the defendants who, 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.440 in this instance are is the Trump administration argues that 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:35.000 they're just trying to root out fraud. The judge throws 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:37.840 that argument out and says, that is way you guys 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:41.599 are operating way far beyond the scope of ruling out 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:43.080 and rooting out fraud. 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:47.160 So alas here we are. So, now, what makes this 0:05:47.320 --> 0:05:48.560 a constitutional crisis? 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.000 You're saying, Ah, you know, Donald Trump is gone Trump, 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:53.520 He's you know, of course he's gonna say he's not 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:57.560 gonna comply. What makes this a constitutional crisis? So glad 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:02.240 you asked so again, there is a temporary restraining order. 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:07.159 The judge has ruled once after the case was filed 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.120 on the twenty eighth rule twice Monday saying no, not 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.440 so much. You're not doing what you're supposed to do, 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.400 and failure to comply means you're held in criminal contempt 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:21.720 of court. So what happens if they still don't unfreeze 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:25.760 the funds, Well, that means that the executive branch is 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.000 deciding that they don't have to listen to what the 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.480 judicial branch is saying. Now, the Trump administration is said 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.599 that they are appealing this order to the First Circuit 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:38.160 Circuit Court of Appeals, and right now, I'm gonna tell 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.120 you it's not going to go in their favor. There 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:44.800 is not a single conservative judge on the First Circuit 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.559 Court of Appeals. And then after that their next stop. 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.520 And this is what I think makes this a constitutional crisis. 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:52.880 It is the Supreme Court. Now what makes this the 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:58.080 constitutional crisis? Article one, section nine, clause seven of the 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:01.800 United States Constitution gives the power of the purse. 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:04.320 To the legislative branch. 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:08.600 That means the legislature decides how money is spent, how 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.680 money is let out the door, whether or not resources 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.360 are spent at all. They determine if there's a freeze. Right, 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.800 So when we talk about government shutdowns, that's two sides 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:21.840 not agreeing. Until we can agree, nothing's moving. That's a 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:27.360 federal funding freeze in effect. Right here is the primary issue. 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:32.760 Donald Trump has decided that sure, and the Trump administration 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:36.360 has decided sure. The power of the purse to spend money, 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:38.440 and we talked about this a couple of weeks ago, 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:42.760 belongs with the legislature. But the power of the purse 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:46.320 to save money, to stop spending money belongs with the 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.720 executive branch. That is not true, but that is how 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.800 they're reading this. And what I think is scary about 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:56.080 this is that this was all addressed in Project twenty 0:07:56.160 --> 0:08:01.440 twenty five, along with more than two two thirds of 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:05.080 the executive orders and actions that Donald Trump's administration has 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:08.080 taken on so far. Two thirds of those can be 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.120 found in Project twenty twenty five. So now when you 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:15.240 take in a consideration that they're through Jdvans on Sunday 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:19.080 saying you ain't the boss of me, and then you 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.240 know the judge had to come out and say, not once, 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:24.400 but twice, there's a federal federal funding freeze, bro. Or 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.360 you're unfreezing this federal funding freeze, bro, We're not doing this. 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:29.640 The fact that they're not listening to that. 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:30.440 JD. 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:32.520 Bans told y'all that they weren't going to listen to that. 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:35.839 And then so that means there's this blatant disregard for 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:40.079 what the constitution says. And then there's a violation of 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.200 a core order that we just talked about. And then 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:45.840 when you consider that the Trump administration has fired several 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:49.719 inspectors General, which are the internal watchdogs for all of 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:53.200 these government agencies. And then you take in a consideration 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:57.559 where he initially froze federal funding and how, and then 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:01.440 you take into consideration the number of civil service protections 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:07.240 that have always existed across multiple administrations for federal government employees, 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:10.360 and that there's been this blanket, blanket attempt to fire 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:14.760 to have them kind of be bought out. A judge's 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.000 ruled against that, but again, if they're not going to 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.880 comply with court orders, America, you in danger, girl, You 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.199 in danger. And so this is what we have to 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.960 wrestle with. There are five or six things happening simultaneously 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:32.520 that signal that we're in a constitutional crisis. And I 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:34.800 don't and and I want to just stop here for 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:36.840 a moment to acknowledge. 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:38.400 I'm trying to. 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:41.360 Figure out what we thought was going to happen with 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:46.640 a lawless president. This man has several convictions. This man 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:52.079 has run his companies at least allegedly if you believe 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.400 the cause of actions that weren't even allowed to go forth, 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:56.920 and some of the ones that were in a very 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:02.600 fraudulent manner. Even with Tis James's successful suit against Donald 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.040 Trump Civilly for fraud. 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:06.520 I'm trying to figure. 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:08.839 Out why any of us, I'll say us to be 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:11.960 nice today would have thought he would do anything different. 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.960 Like a criminal gone crime, a lawless man is gonna 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:19.000 be lawless. And so it's so interesting that these are 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.680 the folks who call people illegal when they in fact. 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:23.280 Are the illegals. 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.880 So, in the most simple terms, what I can tell 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:32.439 you is, when one branch of the government chooses to 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:39.160 blatantly ignore and disregard another coequal branch of government, you 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:43.440 have a constitutional crisis. So we're not upon a constitutional crisis, 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:46.120 We're not around the corner from a constitutional crisis. We 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:51.719 are in the midst of a constitutional crisis. So what 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.840 are my fears now? So again I talked about already 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.240 that the First Circuit Court of Appeals is governed by 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:04.400 most part judges who were not There's no conservative judge 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:06.000 on that bench there and I don't want to call 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:08.760 them liberal, but they are left leaning. There's not a 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.560 conservative bench. So Donald Trump and his administration are most 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:15.959 certainly going to appeal to the Supreme Court. And this 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:18.719 is what has me worried. Too many members of the 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:24.599 Supreme Court are supporters of, either proactively or indirectly of 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:28.320 the Heritage Foundation, the same Heritage Foundation whose president said 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:33.560 that their role now will be to institutionalize trump Ism. 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:37.600 He didn't say democracy, he didn't say preservation of American 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:39.959 liberty and freedom, he didn't say any of that. What 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.679 he said was that their role now is to institutionalize 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:47.040 trump Ism. And that is a direct quote. So the 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.679 Supreme Court is upholding that same standard when you go 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.680 to whether or not they would find that Donald Trump 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:59.640 could be criminally responsible for any of his actions taken 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.000 as a president. Even the fact that it was limited, 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:03.920 The fact that that question had to go before the 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.160 Supreme Court and that there was any discussion of that 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:11.079 demonstrates to you where this court really falls. So before 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.080 the Supreme Court before including in the case where they 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:19.640 determined if the upsitting president can have criminal immunity. They 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:25.000 dealt with this doctrine called the unitary executive theory. Unitary 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:31.520 executive theory essentially vests all power, all executive powers, into 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:35.080 the hands of the president. So the entire executive branch, 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:39.479 the only person that can make decisions be held responsible 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.559 all of that is the president. Now, that would be 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.839 great if they held him accountable at the times where 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:48.360 he breaks the law because he's an illegal, but they're not. 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:51.760 They're talking about vesting more power in the president, that 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.040 the president should have more authority. They didn't think that 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.599 when Barack Obama was in office, now did they. So 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:01.880 this to me is dangerous because what that essentially means 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:07.200 is that the independents that have traditionally been in spaces 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:12.120 like finance, in media, in elections, like we have some 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.160 commissions that have been set up and they are bipartisan 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:18.880 by design to be another very important phrase here today, 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:23.320 y'all check and balance for the administration. Those things are gone. 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:25.880 Donald Trump just appointed himself to be the chair of 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.800 the Kennedy Center. Like right, Like, I mean, there's no 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.640 neutral arbiter of facts and neutral arbiter of what is 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:35.599 right and what is wrong if Donald Trump can just 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:39.319 insert himself and as king over all these things. So 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:44.000 it also will impact prosecutions, and we saw that just 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.719 recently with Donald Trump saying, you know what, as a 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.120 matter of fact, we're just gonna throw out all these 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:49.480 charges against Eric Adams. 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:51.959 There's no more neutrality in any of that. 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.240 Now. It is just up to this president because of 0:13:56.320 --> 0:14:00.439 the unitary executive theory, which I think is very harmful 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.880 and I think puts America in a tremendously compromising position. 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.559 So I know y'all are like, Okay, well, now that 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.480 you spread all this great doom and gloom, where do 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:24.000 we go from here? Well, what I think we have 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:27.760 to be mindful of is this the time is now 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:32.200 to fight, The time is now to spread correct information, 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.840 to let people know that if you upset Donald Trump, 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:39.440 if you hurt his feelings, if you insult him, that 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.520 your livelihood is on the line. And not just your livelihood, 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:45.920 but your freedom is on the line. We have to 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:49.320 treat a dictator like he's a dictator. And I think 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.160 that what we have to acknowledge is that at some 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.920 point some articles of impeachment need to be drafted. I 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.600 would say that point is now at some point the 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:02.800 challenges around unitary executive being made into the arguments by 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:06.920 these twenty three Attorneys general before the Court of Appeals, 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:11.440 before the Supreme Court have to be addressed. I'm concerned 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.120 because if John Roberts is even on this nonsense, like, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.280 I don't know who our fourth and fifth votes would 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:20.440 be on the Supreme Court, but you would think that 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:24.560 there would be some desire, some willingness to preserve democracy. 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:27.720 I'll tell you all if you all are thinking about 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:31.480 this in any similar way, what has been jarring for 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:38.359 me is knowing democracy is fragile, knowing that it's compromised, 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.680 knowing that it is so far from perfect, but seeing 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:46.160 how easily it can be destroyed. It's something that I'm 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:50.400 really wrestling with, and I think, if we're honest, institutionalists, 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.360 even in the House of Representatives, even in the United 0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:55.239 States Senate. 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:55.960 Are struggling with this. 0:15:56.880 --> 0:16:01.440 I built my career on underunderstanding how the law works 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:06.840 and strategizing politically to advance causes that would impact people 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:10.240 who look like me for the most part, and now 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.840 most of that playbook doesn't work. And so what I 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:15.560 think you're seeing, I know people are like, well, why 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.240 aren't people fighting back, why aren't our members responding wires? 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:22.400 It is because folks are flabbergasted, like we all knew 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:25.480 Project twenty twenty five was going to become a thing, 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.480 like nobody ever. Well, some people believe that Donald Trump 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:30.680 when he said this isn't my plan, I don't have 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.000 anything to do with this, despite many of the people 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:36.200 who wrote it having been associated with the Trumpet administration 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:39.920 of twenty sixteen and then now many of them going 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.680 back into the administration. Many of us knew that, but 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:45.400 I don't know that we knew we were going to 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:48.920 be overwhelmed by so much information so quickly. And I 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:51.400 don't know that many people believe that he would just 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:55.120 blatantly ignore a court. But to this, I would say 0:16:55.360 --> 0:17:00.400 to the Department of Justice under the Biden administration, under 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.120 the leadership of Merit Garland, this is your fault, bro, 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:06.680 straight up, Like you didn't have the courage to challenge 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:10.159 Donald Trump, to prosecute him when you could have, and 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:11.840 now we got to deal with this dictator. 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:15.359 That blood is on your hands, seriously, and so you. 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.760 Know Special Proxecutor Jacksmith saying he would have likely been 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:22.480 convicted all of these things, these afterthoughts, James comey coming 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:23.280 back around. 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:25.400 Like to hell with all y'all, like this is all 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:25.960 you're doing. 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:29.480 And I think ultimately what really has to happen is 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.119 white folks have to have a conversation with themselves about 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.440 how badly they want to cling to power, even when 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.720 it is toxic, even when it is abusive, and even 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.320 when it means that you very well may not be safe. 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:44.480 That is the day and age we're living in now. 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.880 When you look at this court order from Judge McConnell 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:54.240 from Rhode Island, he talks about the consistency of his 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:59.520 ruling with the United States Constitution statutes, the Supreme Court precedent. 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.359 The Supreme Court may very well take out their precedent. 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:05.760 They may say it's time for a new day, you know, 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:08.440 and I think that that'll be really unfortunate. So this 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:13.120 temporary restraining order that Donald Trump continues to violate, let's 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.560 see how many instances I think there are twenty something 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:20.200 court cases now, how many instances where they blatantly disregard 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.320 the court. That is what puts us squarely in a 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:26.639 constitutional crisis. And that is where the people have to 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.639 cry out. I keep telling you how to call your members. 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:32.840 You have no idea how important that is. They might 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.480 just need to know that there are people standing behind 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:38.720 them who want them engaged in the fight, and that 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:41.120 you're not going to leave them hanging, because ultimately, even 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:43.880 though they're sworn in, they took a oath, they're still 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:45.880 human beings, and human beings. 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:48.959 Have blind spots. I know I have mine. We got 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:52.560 to hold each other accountable. We have to fight together. 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:56.440 That is what That is our least reasonable service, and 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:59.840 that means not fighting each other. That means fighting along 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.680 side one another to preserve our freedoms, even if we 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.040 know that it means that we deserve much more freedom. 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:08.679 So that is my. 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:13.000 Podcast for today. I'm gonna see if there are any questions. 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:18.359 There are some questions. So one question from wear of 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.080 many hats, I like this name, what can the average 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:24.760 American do when the checks and balances aren't checking or balancing? 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:27.240 Call your members. You got to let them know what 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:30.000 your expectations are. Be like when y'all drafting these articles 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.520 of impeachment, though, you know, when are y'all going to 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:34.680 the White House and telling them what really is about 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:38.440 to go down. The questions are what legislation are you 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:41.040 going to prevent from passing? Because it shouldn't be no 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:43.760 business happening when I can't even give my government check. 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:45.760 Those are the things that we have to do, Like 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:48.600 your business is my business. And if I can't get 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:51.040 my business done because the federal government ain't doing what 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.159 I'm paying the federal government to do, y'all, don't let 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:56.720 another point of business happen on the House floor or 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:01.520 the Senate floor. Another question, and from Queen Bee of Swords, 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:04.760 I just don't see how even with court orders and 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:08.159 contempt charges, once they don't comply, who was going to 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:11.159 enforce the law? Yeah, that is exactly what makes this 0:20:11.280 --> 0:20:15.159 a constitutional crisis. Percy Miracle says Trump is doing what 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:19.119 Eddie Murphy did and distinguished gentleman movie Trump exposing how 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:20.880 politicians spend our money. 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:23.840 And get and get kickbacks. For sure, they just. 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:29.880 Got rid of some provision today that would prevent government 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:35.000 officials from bribing foreign countries because of business reasons. So absolutely, 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:38.000 what do we do about elon looks? Listen to the 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:44.000 podcast from last week, please, and senators and congressmen are 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:46.000 powerless right now. I don't see how a phone call 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:50.000 would change with that. Again, I think that what we 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:52.280 have to remember is that there are power in numbers. 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:55.240 And if there was ever a place where you can 0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:59.840 make a difference by short sheer people power, it is 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:02.639 within the United States Congress. What do I mean by that? 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.520 This can all change with math? 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:10.440 Once there is a majority agreeing on an issue, even 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:13.280 if it's not all Democrats, some of those Republicans where 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.520 in vulnerable districts come over. I know that we have 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:19.240 a graphic that we're putting up shortly that tells you 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:22.600 where all of those vulnerable Republican members are from, what 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:27.080 districts they're from. When those folks start coming over, because 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:29.520 their constituents are like, nah, we didn't sign up for this. 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:31.320 We didn't vote you in for this. We voted you 0:21:31.440 --> 0:21:34.000 in for common sense solutions. We didn't vote you in 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:37.040 to support a dictator. That math starts moving on to 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:40.400 the other side. And so it is imperative, especially now 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:43.040 because I think our window of time is short. We 0:21:43.200 --> 0:21:46.080 have to start getting those folks over quickly. Here's what 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.840 I know doesn't work. You sitting around in dread definitely 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:53.160 doesn't work. You sitting around frustrated that they're not doing 0:21:53.240 --> 0:21:55.399 anything and it's not the will of the people, but 0:21:55.480 --> 0:21:57.840 the will of the people hasn't been communicated to them. 0:21:58.240 --> 0:22:01.760 Definitely doesn't work. So what my idea would be with 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:05.360 my members is, you make sure not another bill passes 0:22:05.760 --> 0:22:09.000 until Donald Trump complies with these core orders. You make 0:22:09.080 --> 0:22:11.359 sure that there is a crew working on articles of 0:22:11.400 --> 0:22:14.800 impeachment because this man isn't illegal and he shouldn't be president. 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:18.399 You make sure that every nomination now on the Senate 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:20.440 side is held up because why are we going to 0:22:20.480 --> 0:22:22.920 continue to appoint more people that are trying to work 0:22:22.960 --> 0:22:25.320 for a king and not for the American people. Those 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:27.760 are the kinds of calls we can make and must make, 0:22:28.040 --> 0:22:30.720 and the numbers easy. It's two zero two two, two 0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:33.360 four three one two one. You don't just have don't 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:36.200 have to just call the member who over who's over 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:39.000 your particular congressional district. You can call others and say, 0:22:39.080 --> 0:22:42.040 I expect more from Congress. I'm calling out to Congress. 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:44.920 I'm calling out to Maxine Waters and Jasmine Crockett and 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:48.280 Andre Carson and how King Jeffreys and Stephen Horsford and 0:22:48.359 --> 0:22:50.720 Evett Clark. Who's the new chair of the CBC and 0:22:50.840 --> 0:22:52.960 Joyce Baty and all these other folks who might be 0:22:53.119 --> 0:22:55.480