1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz Weekend Review. Ben 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: Ferguson with you, and these are the big stories that 3 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: you may have missed that we talked about this past week. 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: First up, the IRS is targeting now millions of middle 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: class Americans, something they promised that they weren't going to 6 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: do when it came to the Biden administration. We'll expose 7 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,439 Speaker 1: why you may be a target. Coming up in a moment. Also, 8 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: a whistleblower inside of NPR comes forward after decades of 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: working there, saying, now they're just out to destroy people 10 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: like Donald Trump. They're no longer just kind of a 11 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: you know, a little bit more liberal mentality in the office. 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: It is about destroying conservatives. I want you to hear 13 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: what he has to say. It's truly shocking. And finally, 14 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: Chuck Schumer is confident that the Myiarci's impeachment will be 15 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: resolved in a single day. Will Republicans actually fight back? 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: We'll explain that battle heating up. It is the Weekend Review, 17 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: and it starts right now. Senator, Let's talk about this 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: shocking data that's come out, a warning that came from 19 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,679 Speaker 1: you on this show, and I want to play that 20 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: in a moment. But I want to get to the 21 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: headline here. There are two things right now that are 22 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: worrying many Americans. Number one, it's Bidenomics. It is a 23 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,759 Speaker 1: disaster right now. We are seeing even top Biden economic 24 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: advisor bragged about gas prices which are up fifty percent 25 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: since Biden took office, saying, quote, we are pleased that 26 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: gas prices have come down. Now the media is allowing 27 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: them to lie, and the American people are not going 28 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: to fall for this. I don't believe. But take a 29 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:36,559 Speaker 1: listen to this. This is coming from the White House, 30 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: from the Biden team trying to convince Americans that hey, 31 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: you're paying less of the pump right now than ever. 32 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: You should be excited. 33 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 2: Oh important for American families and a big focus of 34 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 2: President Biden. We are pleased that gas prices have come 35 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 2: down by a dollar forty relative to that peak that 36 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 2: was caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But as you say, 37 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 2: we are watching carefully to make sure that those gas 38 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 2: prices that the pump don't go up to. 39 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 1: Now, Senator, that's just a lie that gas prices are 40 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: not down. Anyone that goes the pump knows this. We 41 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: also know now that grocery prices are nearing forty percent 42 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: higher than they were in twenty nineteen. And to add 43 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: insult to injury, we're now being told, on top of 44 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: all of that that's hurting the middle class, there's now 45 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,679 Speaker 1: going to be more than ever IRS agents that are 46 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: targeting specifically middle class Americans, with more audits than ever before. 47 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 3: Well, that's exactly right. First of all, in terms of prices, 48 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 3: you know, they're crowing about that. They say gasoline prices 49 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 3: are lower than the worse they were under Biden, but 50 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 3: they're still up fifty one percent from where they were 51 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,079 Speaker 3: under Trump. By the way, overall prices are up eighteen 52 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 3: point six percent. Real average weekly earnings are down four 53 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 3: point two per real average weekly warnings earnings were up 54 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 3: eight point two percent under Trump. And in the month 55 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 3: of March zero new manufacturing jobs were added. And so look, 56 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 3: the economy is hurting mightily. And then you put on 57 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 3: top of that the IRS is doing actually what we 58 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 3: predicted on on this podcast is targeting the middle class. 59 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 3: The Wall Street Journal wrote that wrote just a few 60 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 3: days ago quote, the Internal Revenue Service got an audit 61 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 3: of its own in time for tax Day and two 62 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 3: irregularities jump out. President Biden's plan to hire a new 63 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 3: army of tax collectors is falling flat, and the agents 64 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 3: already at work are targeting the middle class. Those are 65 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 3: the two findings of the IRS's watchdog, the Treasury Inspector 66 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 3: General for Tax Administration. The most recent data suggests the 67 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 3: IRS is still focused on the middle class. As of 68 00:03:54,480 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 3: last summer, sixty three percent of new audits target to 69 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 3: taxpayers with incomes of less than two hundred thousand dollars. 70 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 3: Only a small overall share reached the very highest earners, 71 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 3: while eighty percent of the audits covered filers earning less 72 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 3: than one million dollars. And as the Wall Street Journal urge, 73 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 3: as you don't forget to save those charitable giving receipts. 74 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 3: This is exactly opposite what Joe Biden promised the American people. 75 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 3: But it's what we knew was going to happen. They 76 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 3: were going to use the new agents to go after 77 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 3: the middle class. That's exactly what they're doing. 78 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: Let me just remind people of what you said on 79 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: the show, and this was quite some time ago. Here 80 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: is the warning when we said it here early on 81 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: that they're going to come after average Americans, not just 82 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: the elites, as they were claiming. 83 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 3: For Good Friday in Easter, the IRS released the news 84 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 3: they dated as a news dump going into the holiday 85 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 3: because they didn't want people to pay attention to it 86 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 3: that they are right now hiring the first thirty fives 87 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 3: of those employees. Ten thousand of them are being hired 88 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 3: in the current fiscal year, and in fiscal year twenty 89 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 3: twenty four they're planning to double that with twenty seven 90 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 3: thousand new hires. Now, now what does that mean. Well, 91 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 3: let's go through a lot of different elements. The long 92 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,119 Speaker 3: and short of it is, it means a whole bunch 93 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 3: more IRS employees there to harass you, to harass citizens, 94 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 3: to rass small businesses, to harass and target the political 95 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 3: enemies of the Biden White House. 96 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: But Senator, you look at that warning, and you look 97 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: at what you mentioned right beforehand about prices that have skyrocketed, 98 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: the costs of goods and services are up, manufacturing jobs 99 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: that are down, and there has to be a moment, 100 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: I would argue of reckoning with the average American voter 101 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 1: where they look at this administration and they sit there 102 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: and they stare at you in the face. They say, no, no, 103 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: gas prices are good, and the American people have to 104 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: know no, that's not true. When they say, oh no, no, 105 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: the price of the grocery store, they're not that bad. 106 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: They've got to have a moment where they say, no, no, 107 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: we don't believe you anymore. You travel a lot, you 108 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: talk to a lot of people on the state of Texas. 109 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: I don't believe that the American people are going to 110 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: be bamboozled by this much longer. 111 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 2: Yeah. 112 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 3: Look, I think the American people know that the Bidenomics 113 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:20,919 Speaker 3: is a mess. And in fact, you see the Biden 114 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 3: White House backing away from using that term Bidenomics because 115 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 3: they thought it was a good thing and they discovered, 116 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 3: oh wait, people think it's a terrible thing. That's it. Listen, 117 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 3: anyone who's paying the bills, anyone who goes to the 118 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 3: grocery store, anyone who fills up their tank at the pump, 119 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 3: anyone who deals with health care cost, electricity costs, rent, mortgages. 120 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 3: I'll tell you, young people, I think one of the 121 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 3: most potent things is young people buying their first home, 122 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 3: a young married couple. They're suddenly discovering they can get 123 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 3: about half as much house as they thought they could get, 124 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 3: because a few years ago, when you had mortgage rates 125 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 3: two and a half percent, you could get actually a 126 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,679 Speaker 3: pretty big, pretty, you know, a nice three bedroom house, 127 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 3: a backyard, a swing And suddenly young people are discovering, 128 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 3: holy cow, what I thought I could afford is now 129 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:14,679 Speaker 3: out of reach. 130 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, 131 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: you can go back and listen to the full podcast 132 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: from earlier this week. Now onto story number two, Senator, 133 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: there was another story that broke, and this is one 134 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,239 Speaker 1: that is for a guy that has spent my entire 135 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: career in media, NPR annoys me beyond a level of 136 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: frustration that most people can imagine, because I don't understand 137 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: why my tax dollars are subsidizing a hardcore leftist organization 138 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: and why I'm paying their salaries at NPR. That's the reality. 139 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: But now we've got a guy that was there for 140 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: twenty five years who has blown the whistle on NPR 141 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: saying that basically, when Donald Trump was elected, it completely BROKENPR. 142 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: And they are there every day to take down conservatives, 143 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: takedown Trump, take down anybody like him, and our tax 144 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: dollars are going to pay for MPR. 145 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 3: No, that's exactly right. And this story is a big 146 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 3: deal because this is, as you noted, a whistleblower who 147 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 3: came clean and really wanted to describe what was happening 148 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 3: in a major media institution, one of the most important 149 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 3: media institutions in the country. And so the individual in 150 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 3: question is a guy named Uri Berliner, who was a 151 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 3: twenty five year veteran of NPR. He was a senior 152 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 3: business editor editor at NPR, and he wrote a column 153 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 3: on the Free Press that came out April ninth, and 154 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 3: I actually want to read from a good chunk of 155 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,559 Speaker 3: it because I think it it's important what he said, 156 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:52,679 Speaker 3: and it is very much whistleblowing. So here's how he starts. Quote. 157 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 3: You know, the stereotype of the NPR listener an ev driving, 158 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 3: wordle playing toe, back bag care carrying, coastal elite. It 159 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 3: doesn't precisely describe me, but it's not far off. I'm 160 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 3: Sarah Lawrence, educated, was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother. 161 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 3: I drive a Subaru and Spotify says my listening habits 162 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 3: are most similar to people in Berkeley. I fit the 163 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 3: NPR mold I'll cop to that. So when I got 164 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 3: a job there twenty five years ago, I never looked back. 165 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:27,839 Speaker 3: As a senior editor on the business desk, where news 166 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 3: is always breaking, we've covered upheevils in the workplace, super 167 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 3: market prices, social media, and AI. It's true that NPR 168 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 3: always had a liberal bent, but during most of my 169 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 3: tenure here, an open minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, 170 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 3: but not knee jerk activist or scolding. In recent years, however, 171 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 3: that has changed. Today, those who listen to NPR or 172 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 3: read its coverage online find something different, the distilled worldview 173 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 3: of a very small segment of the US population. If 174 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 3: you are conservative, you will read this and say, duh, 175 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 3: it's always been this way, But it hasn't. For decades. 176 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 3: Since its founding in nineteen seventy, a wide swath of 177 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 3: America tuned into NPR for reliable journalism and gorgeous audio 178 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 3: pieces with birds singing in the Amazon. Millions came to 179 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 3: us for conversations that exposed us to voices around the 180 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,719 Speaker 3: country the world radically different from our own, engaging precisely 181 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 3: because they were unguarded and unpredictable. No image generated more 182 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 3: pride within an NPR than the farmer listening to morning 183 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 3: edition from his or her tractor at sunrise. Back in 184 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 3: twenty eleven, although NPR's audience tilted a bit to the left, 185 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 3: it still bore a resemblance to America at large. Twenty 186 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 3: six percent of listeners described themselves as conservative, twenty three 187 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 3: percent as middle of the road, and thirty seven percent 188 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 3: as liberal. By twenty twenty three, the picture was completely different. 189 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 3: Only eleven percent described themselves as very or even somewhat conservative, 190 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 3: twenty one percent is middle of the road, and sixty 191 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 3: seven percent of listeners said that were very or somewhat liberal. 192 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,119 Speaker 3: We weren't just losing conservatives, we were also losing moderates 193 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 3: and traditional liberals. An open minded spirit no longer exists 194 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 3: with n NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an 195 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 3: audience that reflects America. That wouldn't be a problem for 196 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 3: an openly polemical news outlet serving a niche audience, but 197 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 3: for NPR, which purports to consider all things, it's devastating 198 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 3: both for its journalism and its business model. 199 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,680 Speaker 1: You listen to that, and it's a guy that's almost 200 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: like he's coming clean, realizing just how damaging what NPR 201 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: is doing to the country, and he's in paving it. Yeah, 202 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: he's in pain. He also did an interview he set 203 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: down talking about this, and I want you to hear 204 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: what he had to say on honestly with BARRII Rice. 205 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:05,319 Speaker 3: Take a listen to this. 206 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 4: Everyone knew that NPR had a liberal bent. It was 207 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 4: like saying these days, like Fox has a conservative bent. 208 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 4: That was obvious to anyone. But you argue that it's 209 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 4: really gone from having a liberal bent or a liberal 210 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 4: shading to really a bias. Here's one thing you write 211 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 4: in your essay. You write, for the majority of your 212 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 4: time at NPR, despite the liberal bend, an open minded, 213 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 4: curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee jerk 214 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 4: activists or scolding or when did that start to change? 215 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 4: When did the thing that everyone sort of recognized as 216 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 4: sort of a liberal bias start to shift into something 217 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 4: harder than that, into what you call a knee jerk 218 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 4: activist and even scolding quality. 219 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,959 Speaker 5: Well, I think it was a cumulative I don't think 220 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 5: it was one event. I mean, I think part of 221 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 5: it was Trump's election. You know, I think like every newsroom, 222 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 5: every legacy medium is when we were shocked, disturbed, distraught, 223 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,199 Speaker 5: really troubled. We assumed Hillary Clinton was going to win 224 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:11,559 Speaker 5: and and she didn't, and it was really an unsettling experience. 225 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 5: But I also think to me it revealed that we 226 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 5: didn't really understand a lot of what was going on 227 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 5: in America, that we were out of touch. But I 228 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 5: think also we we kind of locked down after a while. 229 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 5: I think after a while we started covering Trump in 230 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 5: a way that, like a lot of the legacy news 231 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,959 Speaker 5: news organization, that we were trying to damage his presidency 232 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 5: to even it's flying, anything we could to harm him. 233 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 5: And I think what we latched onto was Russia collusion, 234 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 5: like a lot of news organizations, which was, as I write, 235 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,560 Speaker 5: sort of catnip, although it was just rumors and a 236 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 5: lot of it based on pretty shoddy documents. Evidence there was, 237 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 5: it wasn't really solid, but I think it was it 238 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,679 Speaker 5: was compelling and for us, you know, I think a 239 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 5: lot of newspapers you know, used documents or anonymous sources. 240 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 5: We really latched onto Adam Schiff. He was like our 241 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 5: mused to the Trump collusion story. We had him on 242 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,200 Speaker 5: constantly a lot. I think I counted twenty five times, 243 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 5: you know, and in most of those conversations he sort 244 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 5: of alluded to evidence he may have had or sort 245 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 5: of teased out, yeah, Russia, you know, he was coluding 246 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 5: or the campaign was colluding with Russia. And then the 247 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:32,360 Speaker 5: Muller report came out and no collusion, and you know, 248 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 5: I think we sort of just sort of the story 249 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 5: kind of disappeared. But to me that was like a 250 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 5: time for like, what went wrong? Why did we miss this? Like, 251 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 5: you know, despite our feelings about Trump, this is a 252 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 5: story we should have sort of treated differently. 253 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: You hear him say that they he said they were 254 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: trying to harm Trump. Now that is shocking for him 255 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: to say this because in translation center that means. 256 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 3: And stop, stop and repeat that for a second. Stop 257 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 3: and stop and repeat that first second. This is a 258 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 3: senior editor at NPR. Mind you, they're finding funded by 259 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 3: US taxpayer dollars, and he is admitting the entire institution 260 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 3: and his words, was trying to harm Trump. I mean, 261 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:20,320 Speaker 3: that is a damning admission. And at some level, as 262 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 3: he noted in what I read a minute ago, it 263 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 3: was obvious to any conservative, But it says something for 264 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 3: a senior editor to go and blow the whistle like this. 265 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: This NPR reminds me of Twitter before Elon Musk bought 266 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: it in many ways, where it's bloated, it's out of control, 267 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: it's activism. It's not run like a business because it's 268 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: subsidized by government taxpayers. I'm fine with NPR existing center. 269 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: They should figure out how to do it the same 270 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: way that everybody else does in media, which is to 271 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: you know, make money instead of us giving them our 272 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: tax dollars to them, as he described it, try to 273 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,560 Speaker 1: hurt Trump every time they could. And it won't just 274 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: be Trump in the future. It will be any other 275 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: conservative based on what he's saying. It's not like they 276 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: just went in against Trump and that was it. They're 277 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: going in against every conservative on every story out there. 278 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, let me focus on two other segments of what 279 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 3: Uriberliner wrote. Quote, Concerned by the lack of viewpoint diversity. 280 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 3: I looked at voter registration for our newsroom in DC, 281 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 3: where nprs headquartered and many of us live. I found 282 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 3: eighty seven registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans. None. 283 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 3: Now that's not vague or ambiguous, that's not equivocal, that 284 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 3: is explicit let me read this other segment quote. In 285 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 3: October twenty twenty, the New York Post published the explosive 286 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 3: report about the laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware 287 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 3: computer shop containing emails about his sordid business deals. With 288 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 3: the election only weeks away, NPR turned a blind eye. 289 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 3: Here's how NPR's managing editor for News at the time 290 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 3: explained the thinking quote, we don't want to waste our 291 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 3: time on stories that are not really stories, and we 292 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,359 Speaker 3: don't want to waste our listeners and readers' times on 293 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 3: stories that are just pure distractions. But it wasn't a 294 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 3: pure distraction or a product of Russian disinformation, as dozens 295 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 3: of former and current intelligence officials suggested. The laptop did 296 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 3: belong to Hunter Biden. Its contents revealed his connection to 297 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 3: the corrupt world of multimillion dollar influence peddling and its 298 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 3: possible implications for his father. The laptop was newsworthy, but 299 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 3: the timeless journalistic instinct of following a hot story lead 300 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 3: was being squelched. During a meeting with colleagues, I listened 301 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,199 Speaker 3: as one of NPR's best and most fair minded journalists 302 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 3: said it was good. We weren't following the laptop story 303 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 3: because it could help Trump. When the essential facts of 304 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 3: the Post reportings were confirmed and the emails verified independently 305 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,879 Speaker 3: about a year and a half later, we could have 306 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:36,359 Speaker 3: fessed up to our misjudgment, But like Russia collusion, we 307 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 3: didn't make the hard choice of transparency. 308 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: Why fix it? If it's your ideology, right, If this 309 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 1: is what the ideology is, and it's being funded by taxpayers, 310 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: why stop? Which brings me to my final question on this. 311 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: I've heard about this, and we've talked about this for 312 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: I hate to say it, twenty years. How on earth 313 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: are they getting this type of government fund especially now 314 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 1: if we know this from someone that worked there for 315 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: twenty five years. Is there any way to say the 316 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: NPR that's fine. If this is what your mission is, 317 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,199 Speaker 1: go and do it, but you're not going to do 318 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:11,920 Speaker 1: it subsidized by taxpayers. 319 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,920 Speaker 3: Listen. I would eliminate the funding for NPR tomorrow. That's 320 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 3: the right thing to do. We shouldn't be in the 321 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 3: business of funding NPR. The problem is every Democrat wants 322 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 3: to spend your taxpayer dollars funding NPR, because why wouldn't 323 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 3: you if you're a leftist, Why wouldn't you be willing 324 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 3: to use taxpayer dollars to fund a propaganda outlet for 325 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 3: your view? And I got to tell you in the 326 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 3: budget battles, too many Republicans are scared of taking on NPR, 327 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,919 Speaker 3: and so between the two it keeps going. Look, I 328 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 3: actually think it speaks volume that where Uri Berliner wrote 329 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,200 Speaker 3: this was the free Press. The free press was started 330 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 3: by Barry Weiss. Berry Weiss resigned from the editorial board 331 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 3: of The New York Times and wrote a letter. If 332 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 3: you haven't read the letter, we may do a podcast 333 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 3: where we just read the letter because it's something I 334 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,120 Speaker 3: actually think should be taught in every journalism class in America. 335 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 3: It is a letter where and listen, Bury, by our 336 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,160 Speaker 3: own description, is left of center. She's a liberal Democrat 337 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,239 Speaker 3: or voter for Obama twice, but she was horrified. And 338 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 3: actually Barry's resignation letter reads very much like Urie Berliner's article. 339 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 3: They're both people left of center who actually believe in 340 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 3: some modicum of free speech, some modicum of fairness, and 341 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 3: they look at the corruption of institutions they respected. I 342 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 3: look at Uri Berlinner and I'm reminded of John F. 343 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 3: Kennedy's famous speech at the Berlin wall Ick ben I 344 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 3: and Berliner, which he thought meant that he was a Berliner, 345 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:51,639 Speaker 3: a resident of Berlin, but actually it was poorly translated German. 346 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 3: And what the better translation was is I am a 347 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 3: jelly donut, which which was not JFK's finest moment, But 348 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 3: nonetheless I feel the same sentiments. Aurie Berlinner and I 349 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 3: may disagree on a lot of things, but I'm proud 350 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,880 Speaker 3: to stand with Arieberlinner for daring to speak the truth 351 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 3: because free speech matters, and I actually think it matters. 352 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:17,400 Speaker 3: I met recently with the CEO of a major journalistic 353 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,239 Speaker 3: enterprise I won't say who it is, and I told him, 354 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 3: I said, listen, I actually believe in a free press. 355 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 3: I defend you even when you kick the crap out 356 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 3: of me, even when you attack me, because I think 357 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 3: it's important to democracy and free speech to have a 358 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 3: real and vibrant press. But when you guys are just 359 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 3: corrupt ideologues, when you're just propagandists, it hurts the entire country. 360 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 3: And so I give a big shout out to Arib Berlinner. 361 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 3: Like Barry Weiss, on whose platform he wrote this there 362 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 3: are a handful of liberals, and I actually want to 363 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 3: call out listen. I don't know that many fair minded 364 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 3: liberals in the media listen to Verdict, although we're close 365 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:02,440 Speaker 3: to a million listeners, maybe there are. If you're a 366 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 3: fair minded liberal working in the media and you don't 367 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 3: like the bias and propagan and I'm not saying you're 368 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 3: suddenly conservative and a right winger, that's okay, that's okay. 369 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 3: We can have reasonable discussions, but when people speak out 370 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 3: like Urie Berliner and Barry Wise, it makes a difference, 371 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 3: and we need more people to do that. 372 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: As before, if you want to hear the rest of 373 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 1: this conversation on this topic, you can go back and 374 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:29,719 Speaker 1: dow the podcast from earlier this week to hear the 375 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,240 Speaker 1: entire thing. I want to get back to the big 376 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: story number three of the week you may have missed. Senator. 377 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: Let's talk about the confidence of Chuck Schumer. In that 378 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,400 Speaker 1: clip that we played, he seemed pretty confident and set 379 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: it over again. I think twice that this is going 380 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: to be something we're looking for a resolution quickly, maybe 381 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: in a day. As the reporter you go back at him. 382 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 1: He didn't seem to push back on that at all. 383 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,479 Speaker 1: So what is their game plan to basically make all 384 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,159 Speaker 1: this go way? And how do we stop it? And 385 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,800 Speaker 1: that seems to be your core goal here is to 386 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: make sure that doesn't happen. 387 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 3: Schumer wants it incredibly quick, incredibly silent. He doesn't want 388 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 3: Senate Democrats on record, he doesn't want any of the 389 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 3: facts revealed to the American people. So originally the plan 390 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 3: was that the House had announced they were going to 391 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 3: transmit the articles of impeachment Wednesday night. You and I 392 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 3: are recording this right now. It is eleven fifty one 393 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 3: pm Tuesday night. The plan from the House was it 394 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 3: was going to come over Wednesday night. Now, the consequence 395 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:37,239 Speaker 3: of that means that the Senate would have convened as 396 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:42,119 Speaker 3: an impeachment trial Thursday at one pm. So when articles 397 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:44,479 Speaker 3: of impeachment come to the Senate, there's actually a separate 398 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 3: set of rules for impeachment. They're totally different from the 399 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 3: legislative rules, and it's mandatory that the Senate immediately moves 400 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 3: into impeachment when articles of impeachment come over. Look, it's 401 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,920 Speaker 3: only come over twenty one times in our whole nation's history. 402 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:03,360 Speaker 3: It is an unusual moment problem with the Senate starting 403 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 3: this Thursday at one pm is typically senators go home 404 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 3: Thursday afternoon, get on a plane, and fly back. 405 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 4: To their states. 406 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 3: Schumer wanted to do all of this Thursday afternoon because 407 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 3: he knew senators would be anxious to leave to get 408 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,880 Speaker 3: back to their states. They have events scheduled in their state, 409 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,040 Speaker 3: they're traveling around their state, and he knew they would 410 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,639 Speaker 3: want to get out of here. So this morning, Tuesday morning, 411 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 3: I started the morning by sitting down in a meeting 412 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 3: with Mitch McConnell and with Republican leadership and with Mike 413 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 3: Lee and John Kennedy, and meeting with leadership about how 414 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 3: we can fight what Schumer is doing here. And a 415 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,120 Speaker 3: point that I raised in that meeting this morning, I said, 416 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 3: it is really damn stupid for us to do this 417 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 3: Thursday afternoon. It facilitates Schumer's goal of making this quick. 418 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 3: And what I suggested at the meeting this morning is 419 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:58,960 Speaker 3: I said it would make a lot more sense for 420 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 3: the House to transmit the articles of impeachment next week, 421 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,400 Speaker 3: next Monday. If they transmit it Monday, the Senate takes 422 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 3: it up Tuesday. Tuesday is a much better time to 423 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 3: take it up, because it means the Senate we have 424 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 3: the entire week to put this issue before the American people, 425 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 3: and we're not doing it at a time when senators 426 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 3: both Democrats and Republicans are eager to get out of town. 427 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,919 Speaker 3: The phrase is jet fumes are in the air like 428 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,920 Speaker 3: Thursday afternoon is when leadership tries to ram things through 429 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 3: quickly because everyone wants to leave. 430 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: Well, and by the way side, note what's happening also 431 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,919 Speaker 1: this weekend, which every person in America that we love 432 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:34,880 Speaker 1: sport is going to be paying attention to as well, 433 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 1: that starts on Thursday the Master. So for Democrats to 434 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: be even a better time to. 435 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 3: Get on Thursday. So a bit of good news I 436 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 3: raised this morning at the meeting. I said, this doesn't 437 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 3: make any sense. Everyone who was meeting with us agreed, 438 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 3: and so I texted the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. 439 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 3: Mike Lee texted the Speaker of the House. John Kennedy 440 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 3: texted the Speaker of the House, and the Speaker, to 441 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 3: his credit, he's a great guy, he's a great friend. 442 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 2: Uh. 443 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 3: The Speaker said, okay, great, happy to do it. And 444 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 3: so he announced this afternoon that they were going to 445 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 3: delay sending the articles of impeachment until early next week, 446 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 3: and so we asked him to do that. He did 447 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,439 Speaker 3: that at our request, and the reason we wanted it 448 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 3: to come early next week is so that we could 449 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 3: focus early on the week when we could get real 450 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,639 Speaker 3: attention and focus on it. So that was a good step. 451 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 3: Now I want to pause and have you reflect a 452 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 3: little bit on why this motion to table is so 453 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:35,280 Speaker 3: consequential if Schumer succeeds, if every Democrat votes for it, 454 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 3: and right now Schumer seems supremely confident that every Democrat 455 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 3: will vote for it. What that means, number one, is 456 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 3: that every Democrat is now on record supporting Joe Biden's 457 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 3: open borders, that they're perfectly fine with what Alejandro Mayorcis 458 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 3: has done. But number two, understand that they will have 459 00:26:54,720 --> 00:27:00,479 Speaker 3: participated in changing the US Senate. And so so today 460 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,119 Speaker 3: I participated in a press conference with a number of 461 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,439 Speaker 3: Republican senators where we talked about the significance of this moment. 462 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 3: And it is in many ways very similar to twenty 463 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 3: thirteen and twenty thirteen Harry Reid, the Democrat, was the 464 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 3: Senate majority leader, and it is when Harry Reid nuked 465 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 3: the filibuster for judicial appointments and for cabinet appointments and 466 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 3: nuking the filibuster, what that meant is is that Harry 467 00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 3: Reid broke the Senate rules in order to change the 468 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,679 Speaker 3: Senate rules. It used to be the case that you 469 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 3: needed sixty votes to move forward on judges, to move 470 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 3: forward on executive branch nominees. And what Harry Reid did 471 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 3: is he used what was called the nuclear option, which 472 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 3: is that he got a ruling from the Chair on 473 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 3: the floor that it takes sixty votes to proceed to 474 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 3: a nomination, and then he moved to overturn the ruling 475 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,199 Speaker 3: of the chair. Under the Senate rules, any ruling of 476 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,119 Speaker 3: the chair can be overturned. You can overturn the ruling 477 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 3: of the Chair with just fifty one votes. And so 478 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 3: what happened was Harry Reid got the Democrats to overturn 479 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 3: the ruling of the chair. And once you do that, 480 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 3: you change the precedence and that new ruling is binding. 481 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 3: The effect of that is, since twenty thirteen, nominations have 482 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,160 Speaker 3: only required fifty one votes instead of sixty votes. Well, 483 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:29,159 Speaker 3: that night that Reid was nuking the filibuster for nominations. 484 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 3: The filibuster still exists for legislation, but read nuked it 485 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,680 Speaker 3: for nominations. I talked to Amy Klobuchar on the Senate floor, 486 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 3: and I told Amy that day, I said, you are 487 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,440 Speaker 3: going to regret this decision. All of the Democrats are 488 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 3: going to regret this decision. And the consequence of this 489 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 3: decision is we're going to see more justices like Antoninscalienne 490 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,680 Speaker 3: Clarence Thomas on the courts. And there is an irony 491 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 3: that the direct result of Harry Reid nuking the filibuster 492 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 3: is Roe versus Wade being overturned. If Harry Reid had 493 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 3: not nuked the filibuster, there's no way on earth that 494 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 3: the Senate would have confirmed Brett Kavanaugh, or probably not 495 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 3: Amy Coney Barrett, and maybe not even Neil Gorsuch that 496 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 3: if we required sixty votes, Roe versus Wade would still 497 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 3: be the law of the land. But for the Senate 498 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 3: Democrats nuking the filibuster in twenty thirteen, and I told 499 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:26,959 Speaker 3: them that a number of us told them that in 500 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 3: twenty thirteen. Now, what Chuck Schumer is planning to do 501 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 3: next week is every bit as big a deal as 502 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,960 Speaker 3: nuking the filibuster, And in many ways it's more significant. 503 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 3: Why because the filibuster is not asture. 504 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:42,479 Speaker 1: What does the cause and effect then? 505 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 4: Right? 506 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: If you're saying and you give the last example, which 507 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: is significant, and I don't think many people understood that 508 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: or remembered it, But what would it then be the 509 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: cause and effect of this? And could there be a 510 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: silver lining in it? 511 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 3: Well, Look, the reason it is more significant is the 512 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 3: filibuster is not written in the Constitution. The filibuster is 513 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 3: a matter of Senate procedure and Senate practice, and the 514 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 3: Senate rules impeachment is written into the Constitution. The obligation 515 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 3: on the Senate to try impeachment is mandatory. It is 516 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 3: in the Constitution. So what the Senate Democrats are planning 517 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 3: to do next week is nuke the impeachment clause of 518 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 3: the Constitution, destroy the Senate's responsibility, give away the Senate's power. 519 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 3: And you want to know the consequences. Listen, We've got 520 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:32,800 Speaker 3: an election in November. I think there's a very good 521 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 3: chance Donald Trump will be elected president. And it is 522 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 3: entirely possible that Trump will be elected president. Republicans will 523 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 3: take the Senate, and yet we could lose the House. 524 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 3: We could end up in January with Trump and the 525 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 3: White House, a Republican Senate and a Democrat House. If 526 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 3: that happens, I'm here to predict right now. If the 527 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 3: Democrats have the House, they will once again impeach Donald Trump, 528 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 3: maybe for the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time. 529 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 3: I can't tell you how many times a Democrat House 530 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 3: will impeach Donald Trump. It may be the only thing 531 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:09,280 Speaker 3: they do for two years. If that happens and it 532 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 3: comes to the Senate and we have a Republican Senate, 533 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 3: you know what we'll do. We'll table the damn thing. 534 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 3: And let's be clear, we didn't last time. So when 535 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 3: Donald Trump was impeached the first time, it was exactly 536 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 3: that scenario. You had a Democrat House. Pelosi ram the impeachment. 537 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 3: Through the impeachment came over to the Senate, we had 538 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 3: a Republican Senate. Mitch McConnell was the majority leader. We 539 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 3: could have tried to do what Chuck Schumer is getting 540 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 3: ready to do. We could have just tried to table 541 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:39,680 Speaker 3: at the outset, but we didn't because Senate Republicans actually 542 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 3: took our constitutional obligation. Seriously, we followed the Constitution, we 543 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,640 Speaker 3: conducted the trial, and Donald Trump was acquitted. We voted 544 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 3: not guilty. That's actually the proper constitutional way. What Chuck 545 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:56,160 Speaker 3: Schumer is willing to do to protect Democrat senators from 546 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 3: accountability for the disaster at our southern border of their policies, 547 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 3: what he now calls a policy dispute, is break the 548 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 3: Senate and nuke the impeachment clause of the Constitution. That's 549 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 3: a big deal, and it's a deal that will have 550 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 3: consequences ten years, fifty years, one hundred years from now. 551 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 3: If Schumer does this next week, you will never again 552 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 3: see an impeachment trial when the Senate is the same 553 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 3: party as the president. That will be taken off the table. 554 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,440 Speaker 1: So if he does this, will there be any backlash 555 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 1: you think come November? Or is this such inside baseball 556 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: that it just says they say, okay, so so what 557 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:40,840 Speaker 1: he changed it? Who really cares? 558 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 3: Well, look, the institutional change of the Senate. I don't 559 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,920 Speaker 3: think that's going to be a big voting issue. I 560 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 3: do think the border and the chaos and the suffering 561 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 3: and the death that is coming from Joe Biden to 562 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,080 Speaker 3: the Democrats' open border. I think that is going to 563 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 3: be probably the single most important issue in November, and 564 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 3: so it is critically important we do everything we can 565 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 3: to number One, increase the price for Schumer breaking the Senate, 566 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,760 Speaker 3: destroying the institutions of democracy. You know, there's an irony. 567 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,800 Speaker 3: Democrats love to beat their chest and talk about how 568 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 3: they want to save democracy, and yet this is an 569 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 3: assault on democracy. This is an assault on the constitution 570 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,320 Speaker 3: and the institution that is the Senate, just like the 571 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 3: Democrats assault on the filibuster back in twenty thirteen. The 572 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 3: Democrats have systematically been tearing down our institutions. But what 573 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,360 Speaker 3: I think is going to resonate. So listen, when we 574 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:44,280 Speaker 3: move to the impeachment trial, hopefully early next week, a 575 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 3: number of us intend to raise points of order. I 576 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 3: intend to raise probably multiple points of order, challenging what 577 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 3: the Democrats are doing. And let me be clear what's 578 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,280 Speaker 3: supposed to happen. So here's what should happen next week. 579 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 3: They're one of two things that can happen. Number One, 580 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:06,120 Speaker 3: the Senate, the full Senate could could move to could 581 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 3: adopt an organizing resolution and move to holding an impeachment 582 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 3: trial on the floor of the Senate. Now, when the 583 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 3: president is impeached, the Chief Justice of the United States 584 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 3: presides over the impeachment trial and it occurs on the 585 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 3: floor of the Senate. You'll recall that's what happened with 586 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:27,719 Speaker 3: both the Trump's impeachments. That's what happened with Bill Clinton's impeachment. 587 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:34,560 Speaker 3: And so Mike Lee has filed an organizing resolution that 588 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:38,600 Speaker 3: I've co authored that would set up a trial using 589 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,800 Speaker 3: exactly the same rules that the Democrats put in place 590 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 3: that we followed for Donald Trump's impeachment. Actually, the first 591 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 3: one the Republicans put in place. The second one the 592 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,480 Speaker 3: Democrats had a majority, they put in place for Trump's 593 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 3: second impeachment. And by the way, the second impeachment of Trump, 594 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:56,759 Speaker 3: the Chief Justice did not preside because Trump was no 595 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,560 Speaker 3: longer president. So Pat Leahy the president pro tem because 596 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,080 Speaker 3: the Chief Justice only presides when it is the sitting 597 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 3: president who's being impeached. That's one way of proceeding. Frankly, 598 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 3: if we had a Republican majority, that's the way we 599 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 3: would proceed is we would have a trial on the 600 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,799 Speaker 3: floor of the Senate to put the facts before the 601 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:18,080 Speaker 3: American people. There is another way that Schumer and the 602 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 3: Democrats could proceed consistent with the Constitution and consistent with 603 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 3: the law, which is, the Senate could appoint an impeachment committee, 604 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,080 Speaker 3: a committee with an equal number of members, an equal 605 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:34,040 Speaker 3: number of Democrats and Republicans, and the committee would conduct 606 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,640 Speaker 3: the impeachment trial. Now that the trial would be public. 607 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:39,800 Speaker 3: The House managers would present their evidence, and the committee 608 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,000 Speaker 3: would conduct the trial. That is the way that the 609 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,200 Speaker 3: Senate is handled, for example, the judicial impeachments that come over. 610 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:49,080 Speaker 3: They've appointed a committee, the committee has heard the trial, 611 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 3: and then the committee makes a recommendation to the Senate 612 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 3: and the Senate Ultimately every Senator has to vote guilty 613 00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,879 Speaker 3: or not guilty. But the trial itself is not held 614 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:00,879 Speaker 3: on the Senate floor. It's held in a committe. Now, 615 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:05,640 Speaker 3: I filed an organizing resolution that would set up exactly 616 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 3: that process, would set up a committee to conduct the trial. 617 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 3: The trial would be public, so we would put the information, 618 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:14,279 Speaker 3: we'd put the charges, we'd put the evidence, we'd put 619 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,879 Speaker 3: the harms, we'd put the people hurt and killed by 620 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 3: the Democrats' open borders. We put all of those facts 621 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 3: before the American people. But it would not be on 622 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 3: the floor, it would be in a committee. I'm going 623 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:29,759 Speaker 3: to make a motion to do that. The Democrats are 624 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,120 Speaker 3: going to oppose it, I expect, and I think there 625 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:33,839 Speaker 3: are a number of Republicans who are going to raise 626 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,040 Speaker 3: points of orders, try to make motions to highlight the 627 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:41,359 Speaker 3: enormous harms caused by the open borders. And what I'm 628 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:45,640 Speaker 3: anticipating is every Democrat voting party line over and over 629 00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 3: and over again against every motion and every point of 630 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,520 Speaker 3: order we raise. Why And it's what Chuck Schumer told us, 631 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:53,600 Speaker 3: because this is a policy dispute, and the policy of 632 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:57,080 Speaker 3: the Democrats is they are for open borders, no matter 633 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,400 Speaker 3: how many people are killed, no matter how many children 634 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,520 Speaker 3: are violated, no matter how many women are sexually assaulted. Therefore, 635 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,000 Speaker 3: open borders, no matter how many terrorists come into this country, 636 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:11,719 Speaker 3: and how much death and destruction results. And I think 637 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,680 Speaker 3: next week we're going to see that vividly before the 638 00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:15,400 Speaker 3: American people. 639 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:19,080 Speaker 1: As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Center, 640 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 1: Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you don't forget to deal 641 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:23,880 Speaker 1: with my podcast and you can listen to my podcasts 642 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:25,879 Speaker 1: every other day. You're not listening to Verdict or each 643 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,360 Speaker 1: day when you listen to Verdict afterwards, I'd love to 644 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,480 Speaker 1: have you as a listener to again Ben Ferguson Podcasts, 645 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,000 Speaker 1: and we will see you back here on Monday morning.