Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg sound On
Speaker 1: around the blow There are more people on the move
Speaker 1: from their homes than at anytime since World War Two.
Speaker 1: The President's principle position is that we do not believe
Speaker 1: that dictators should be invited. I Floomberg sound on Politics,
Speaker 1: Policy and Perspective from DC's top Name. Simocrats are using
Speaker 1: January six to avoid accountability for making the last of
Speaker 1: the whole nation blessings. I've kept my distance from the committee,
Speaker 1: so I'll be watching just as everyone else is. The
Speaker 1: reality is this is a classic attack. The messenger Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Sound On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. President Biden
Speaker 1: touches down in La La Land as the January six
Speaker 1: Committee prepares for prime time. Welcome to the fastest hour
Speaker 1: in politics, with immigration also in the air. As the
Speaker 1: President kicks off the Summit of the America's in Los Angeles,
Speaker 1: will explore the agenda ahead with Antonio Garza, former US
Speaker 1: Ambassador to Mexico. The Select Committee investigating the attack on
Speaker 1: the Capitol enters Americans living rooms at eight pm Eastern
Speaker 1: time with new evidence, they say, new video, new details.
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Congress reporter Billy House will join us a bit later.
Speaker 1: We'll have analysis as well from our signature panel Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Politics contributors Rick Davis and Jeanie Chanzano with us for
Speaker 1: the hour. First, the markets we get things started as
Speaker 1: always with an update and now Mr Doug Prisner jo
Speaker 1: persistent inflation was very much top of mind for markets today.
Speaker 1: The session began with the European Central Bank signaling a
Speaker 1: quarter point rate hike next month. That was pretty much expected,
Speaker 1: but then the ECB went on to signal a another hike,
Speaker 1: potentially larger than a quarter point, possibly in the fall
Speaker 1: as the ECB fights rising prices. Tomorrow here in the
Speaker 1: US will get inflation on retail inflation for the month
Speaker 1: of May. The overall consumer Price Index report consumer Price
Speaker 1: Index I should say, is expected to rise at an
Speaker 1: annual rate of eight point two So, not surprisingly, we
Speaker 1: had yields across the curve today, moving up a ten
Speaker 1: year Treasury last quoted at three point zero four percent,
Speaker 1: and tough sledding for the equity market. We finished at
Speaker 1: session lows, the Dow down more than one point nine percent,
Speaker 1: the SMP week or by about two point four percent,
Speaker 1: and the NASDAC comp week or by just about two
Speaker 1: point eight percent. And then on top of that, the
Speaker 1: Fed said today the US household net worth fell in
Speaker 1: the first quarter by nearly well a little more than
Speaker 1: a half trillion dollars. It was fueled, not surprisingly, by
Speaker 1: a three trillion dollar decline in stock holdings. I'm Doug Prisoner,
Speaker 1: and that is your Bloomberg business flash, Doug, thank you.
Speaker 1: President Biden weighs in on the January six committee hearing tonight.
Speaker 1: He made comments in Los Angeles at the start of
Speaker 1: a meeting with Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime minister. Here's
Speaker 1: what he said before it began. One of the things
Speaker 1: can occupy my country Tonight, I suspect his first open
Speaker 1: hearings on January the sixth, and uh, as I said
Speaker 1: when it was occurring and subsequent, I think it was
Speaker 1: a clear flaggerant violation and the constitution. I think these
Speaker 1: guys and women throw up the law, try to turn
Speaker 1: around to the result in the election, and uh, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of questions who's responsible, who's involved. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna make a judgment on that, but I just want
Speaker 1: to know that I want you know, we're gonna probably
Speaker 1: be a lot of Americans are gonna be seen for
Speaker 1: the first time some of the detail that that occurred.
Speaker 1: That's what they're promising. I wanted you to hear that
Speaker 1: right off the topic, because this just happened. This, this
Speaker 1: is fresh sound that that is the promise by the
Speaker 1: committee tonight. New details, new evidence, new video, including excerpts
Speaker 1: from the one thousand interviews they've conducted. We're gonna have
Speaker 1: a lot more on the hearing tonight later on this hour,
Speaker 1: including a prebuttle from Donald Trump. Of course, President Byen
Speaker 1: did not go to Los Angeles to talk about this
Speaker 1: or necessarily go on Jimmy Kimmel as he did last night.
Speaker 1: The vein of our existence, the Summit of the Americas
Speaker 1: is officially underway, the President taking part, of course, and
Speaker 1: the formality is as we're hosting this in California, smaller
Speaker 1: guest list this time around. As we've told you, the
Speaker 1: president of Mexico is not attending, along with the leaders
Speaker 1: of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which combined I just
Speaker 1: read this on the terminal generate nearly two thirds of
Speaker 1: the migration to the US border every year. Of course,
Speaker 1: they're not attending, in part because the US chose not
Speaker 1: to invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, as
Speaker 1: the White House does not consider them democracies. Press Secretary
Speaker 1: Karine John Pierre, talking with reporters on Air Force one
Speaker 1: on their way to California, used even more blunt terms.
Speaker 1: As you can hear, the President's principal position is that
Speaker 1: we do not believe that dictators should be invited. Okay.
Speaker 1: So that's the backdrop for a three day conference designed
Speaker 1: to tackle some very complex issues, trade and security issues,
Speaker 1: economic issues, and helping us understand more about the dynamic
Speaker 1: this year. Is Antonio Garza, former US Ambassador to Mexico
Speaker 1: under the George W. Bush administration, joining us today from
Speaker 1: the Mexico City Office of White in Case. Mr Ambassador,
Speaker 1: Welcome to Bloomberg. It's great to have you. Is there
Speaker 1: a chance for progress when so many people are not
Speaker 1: there at the table? Well, I think you always have
Speaker 1: to hope that there's an opportunity for progress, and in
Speaker 1: some sense there is. I mean, Joe, the very fact
Speaker 1: that you're having a summit of the America's against the
Speaker 1: backdrop of a pandemic inflation. Uh, you know what's going
Speaker 1: on in Ukraine, uh, and the specter of China, you know,
Speaker 1: sort of their their increasing interest in Latin America. I
Speaker 1: think I think it is good that there that we
Speaker 1: continue to have the Summit of the America's. Is there
Speaker 1: a terribly ambitious and agenda. No. I mean, if you
Speaker 1: look back at the first summit in ninety four, the
Speaker 1: whole focus was on this, you know, democracy spreading across
Speaker 1: Latin America and this pump possibility of free trade of
Speaker 1: the America's is at that ambitious No. But to the
Speaker 1: extent that they're talking about economic recovery, Uh, some of
Speaker 1: the health issues, I mean, the pandemic is still COVID
Speaker 1: is still very much an issue in most of Latin America.
Speaker 1: In fact, I heard somebody comment on, you know, eight
Speaker 1: percent of the population in Latin America the deaths and
Speaker 1: Haiti only two percent vaccinated. So there's some real issues
Speaker 1: that they can be discussing. And not the least of
Speaker 1: which I think is very important to the President Biden
Speaker 1: is migration going into our own midterms. So there's there's
Speaker 1: some things that they can do. It it's not it's
Speaker 1: not you know, occasionary agenda. You sound optimistic though, which
Speaker 1: is great. I'm going to ask you about the migration
Speaker 1: issue in just a moment. But just based on what
Speaker 1: we've already said, um, should we have invited the leaders
Speaker 1: of Cuba and these other countries to give everyone a seed?
Speaker 1: That might have encouraged everyone to show up. Well, you
Speaker 1: know that was the position of the President of Mexico.
Speaker 1: He said, listen, if you're gonna have somebody the America's
Speaker 1: everyone should be there. Uh. If you look at the
Speaker 1: the the charter of the Summit of the America's back
Speaker 1: and I guess it was two thousand one. Uh. Then
Speaker 1: Secretary pal urged the adoption of a democracy charter, that
Speaker 1: this would be a bedrock, uh kind of principle of
Speaker 1: the summits going forward. So so the fact that Cuba
Speaker 1: has not participated much I guess once during the Obama administration,
Speaker 1: Venezuela has been sort of hit and missed. Nicaragua under
Speaker 1: Artega no uh almost like uh, well yeah, yeah, I do.
Speaker 1: Because we have adopted the charter and democracy in the hemisphere,
Speaker 1: I think is something that is important that is critical
Speaker 1: to you know, the the the growth, the economic development
Speaker 1: and the prosperity of the region. So yeah, I do
Speaker 1: agree with it. Uh, but I can certainly see where
Speaker 1: where you know, Lopez over to the aligne in the sand,
Speaker 1: and I think he aligned himself as he has over
Speaker 1: the years with with Cuba in many respects. So you
Speaker 1: can say he drew a principal line or he's the
Speaker 1: Cuban stalking horse on this issue. But you know, Mexico
Speaker 1: has represented there, as are the I think several of
Speaker 1: the other countries sent minister, just not their leaders of course.
Speaker 1: So the issue of migration is looming large right now.
Speaker 1: And you turn on Fox All you're gonna hear about
Speaker 1: as a caravan heading for the border. If you turn
Speaker 1: on CNN, you're gonna hear about terrible conditions. In some
Speaker 1: cases people are living under bridges. We've got Title forty
Speaker 1: two in the air, tied up in the court system. Ambassador,
Speaker 1: I know you're you're from Brownsville, Texas, and we took
Speaker 1: a look at where that is my goodness that you
Speaker 1: know more about the border than most people here, growing
Speaker 1: up in a town that was that was essentially straddling
Speaker 1: the border. For for people who are listeners who don't know,
Speaker 1: this is literally all the way down on the southern tip,
Speaker 1: the southeastern tip of Texas on the border. I want
Speaker 1: you to listen to what Anthony Lincoln said today, the
Speaker 1: Secretary of STAD. He was talking with CNN about this
Speaker 1: issue and the way that they want to tackle the
Speaker 1: issue of migration and immigration at this summit. Here he
Speaker 1: is everyone in the hemisphere was affected by a regular migration,
Speaker 1: in particular migration more generally, that is, countries of origin,
Speaker 1: transit countries, countries of destination come together to take share
Speaker 1: of responsibility for managing this in a safe, humane, and
Speaker 1: orally way. Again, well, first of all, do you agree
Speaker 1: with that, knowing that again two thirds of of the
Speaker 1: migration problem isn't fully represented at the summit. Well, well,
Speaker 1: I I agree with I mean a statement broadly that
Speaker 1: we had put me safe, secure and orderly migration, and
Speaker 1: I've long urged it the only way that we were
Speaker 1: going to see that was comprehensive immigration reform. Short of that,
Speaker 1: you're going to be dealing with the sort of cyclical
Speaker 1: and almost annual uh surges along the border and dealing
Speaker 1: with them with the through executive order and this sort
Speaker 1: of thing. So yeah, uh again, taking a step back,
Speaker 1: uh from from some of the broader the state that
Speaker 1: are not there. Mexico, for example, is represented by their
Speaker 1: Minister of Foreign Fairs Marcella Abroad, who has been their
Speaker 1: point person on migration discussions going back until the last
Speaker 1: year administration. Uh Ondas and Guatemala are not represented, but
Speaker 1: they have had long conversations I understand with with the
Speaker 1: sects of Homeland Security and the Vice President's office, so
Speaker 1: there's some discussion around it. The problem, Joe, is that
Speaker 1: they're trying to do this through executive order and through
Speaker 1: uh you know, these multilateral agreements as to you know,
Speaker 1: uh movement of migrants from one country to the other,
Speaker 1: whether they can go on, you know, continue their path north.
Speaker 1: And the only way you're gonna really get at this,
Speaker 1: I think is is twofold one. And people talk about,
Speaker 1: you know, root cause in Central American economic growth, and
Speaker 1: that's probably you know, a longer term strategy. But why
Speaker 1: is reform of things as basic as our our amnesty
Speaker 1: procedures and have uh uh I guess worker program that
Speaker 1: allows some circularity of people are going to come when
Speaker 1: they're when there's demand and can go back to their
Speaker 1: home countries, and that embodies on both sides of the border.
Speaker 1: Right on the interrupt ambassador. But getting back to the
Speaker 1: message from blinking, I guess how much of it is
Speaker 1: our responsibility to handle our own migration issue versus doing
Speaker 1: that as as kind of a team with with the
Speaker 1: Central American leaders well, Joe, and not only requires people
Speaker 1: on both sides of the board, it requires both people
Speaker 1: on both sides of the isle in the United States.
Speaker 1: And I've never argued for immigration reform because I thought
Speaker 1: it was good for Mexico or Central America. We needed
Speaker 1: in the United States for our own self interest and
Speaker 1: that's that's why you do things ultimately, and so I
Speaker 1: think immigration reform is something that would be in the
Speaker 1: best to the United States now cooperation from under the
Speaker 1: countries to the extent that we can get it in
Speaker 1: terms of enforcement and keeping people uh you know employed
Speaker 1: in their countries. That's everything from investment to urging uh
Speaker 1: uh them to have the sort of domestic reform that
Speaker 1: would attract investment to those countries. I mean, Mexico uh
Speaker 1: has done generally well, but if you look at their
Speaker 1: their their track record of the last you know, a
Speaker 1: couple of three years on something as basic as energy reform,
Speaker 1: they have not been particularly friendly to investment. That's not good,
Speaker 1: you know, that doesn't allow the economy to grow and
Speaker 1: creating an opportunity here. So yeah, there's a there. There
Speaker 1: are things that we can do with other countries, but ultimately,
Speaker 1: the immigration reform that we did in the United States
Speaker 1: is something that we need to do for the United States.
Speaker 1: I have less than a minute, Ambassador. I love talking
Speaker 1: to worse off now in Brownsville than they were a
Speaker 1: year ago when it comes to this issue on the border. Well,
Speaker 1: this time a year ago, there may have been a
Speaker 1: bit more of a spike. But but you pointed out
Speaker 1: that I, you know, thirty some five years ago, as
Speaker 1: I was a county executive. Central We're dealing with a
Speaker 1: Central American crisis. This is cyclical. I've seen it every
Speaker 1: the year for as long as I can, as I
Speaker 1: can look back. So are they worst? They're pretty much
Speaker 1: as expected. Sounds like he's seen it all. Come back
Speaker 1: and see US Ambassador Antonio Garza, the former US Ambassador
Speaker 1: to Mexico, getting us rolling on the fastest hour in politics.
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg. You sound on
Speaker 1: with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio and we assemble the
Speaker 1: sound on panel as the formal meetings of the Summit
Speaker 1: of the Ammerica's begin on the West Coast. Looks like
Speaker 1: it's actually been a pretty fun trip so far for
Speaker 1: the White House Press Corps, the traveling pool. As I'm
Speaker 1: seeing on social media, Genie Chanzano and Rick Davis are
Speaker 1: with us Bloomberg Politics contributors, and it's great to have
Speaker 1: both of you here. This is something we haven't talked
Speaker 1: a lot about the snubs. This is getting a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of ink. As we used to say,
Speaker 1: Rick Davis, should this White House have invited the leaders
Speaker 1: of Cuba, Venezuela, etcetera? Or are they on the right
Speaker 1: side of history? You know, I have my own personal
Speaker 1: attachment to to this issue. In two thousand fifteen, I
Speaker 1: attended the Summit of America's in Panama where the President
Speaker 1: of Cuba, Ral Castro, met with Barack Obama. And and
Speaker 1: that was a full attendance. Everybody came, presidents of thirty
Speaker 1: five countries in Latin America. And when you look at
Speaker 1: what has happened since then, our policy towards Cuba, our
Speaker 1: policy towards Venezuela, our relations in Mexico. I mean, you
Speaker 1: can argue that it's all gotten worse. And the fact
Speaker 1: that the three Northern Triangle states, Guatemala, Honduras, and El
Speaker 1: Salvador only sent their foreign ministers. This is where the
Speaker 1: majority of the immigration comes from illegal immigration in the
Speaker 1: United States. How do we expect to have a migration
Speaker 1: discussion if the leaders aren't even in the room. Uh,
Speaker 1: sixty six percent of the migration, as I read on
Speaker 1: the terminal genie to the United States Southern or each
Speaker 1: year comes from Mexico, Guatemala, Hondura, Sell Salvador, none of
Speaker 1: which we'll have a leader at the table now to
Speaker 1: UH Ambassador Garza's point earlier, and he was speaking fairly optimistically. Uh,
Speaker 1: but positively, I should say, some of the white people
Speaker 1: are still at the table representing those nations. But you know,
Speaker 1: if you're going to be signing this major declaration without
Speaker 1: all those signatures on it, does it does it still matter?
Speaker 1: You know, it's very tough to do. I mean people
Speaker 1: have been asking the question that Rick just asking you
Speaker 1: just asked, you know, how can you possibly tackle immigration
Speaker 1: which is at you know, by some accounts of four
Speaker 1: decade high at this point, and the caravan is coming, Um,
Speaker 1: how can you tackle that? If those Central American leaders
Speaker 1: are not at the table, that's a big, big problem
Speaker 1: for the White House. And you know, I have to say, also,
Speaker 1: though the ambassador raised a really good point about Cuba.
Speaker 1: The back and forth between Senator Bob Menendez and the
Speaker 1: President of Mexico, I think has been really astonishing today.
Speaker 1: To have a leader of a foreign country call out
Speaker 1: a senator like that, and also including Ted Cruz and
Speaker 1: Marco Rubio for the U S policies towards Cuba, that
Speaker 1: is pretty astonishing stuff. So, you know, I think the
Speaker 1: the White House and Congress has some work to do
Speaker 1: as it pertains to our you know, to our relationships
Speaker 1: both with Mexico and with Cuba, and of course dealing
Speaker 1: with this really serious issue of immigration in this country.
Speaker 1: So I know, what's what's your thought? Then? Did they
Speaker 1: do the wrong thing? Um? You know, I think they
Speaker 1: could have. You know, I'm not sure what they could
Speaker 1: have done to possibly convince him to come short of
Speaker 1: inviting those people. And the problem for the White House,
Speaker 1: the whole family knowing everybody's gonna come, or if you
Speaker 1: start whittling down the invite list, nobody's gonna come. Well,
Speaker 1: that's right. And you know, the White House also got
Speaker 1: themselves into this question about hypocrisy as it pertains to
Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia. And you know what Lopez open Door said
Speaker 1: is this is an old interventionist policy and it shows
Speaker 1: a lack of respect for nations and their people. So
Speaker 1: you have that, But the ambassador is right, this was
Speaker 1: a summit that was designed about democracy and that's something
Speaker 1: President Biden cares an awful lot about. So, you know,
Speaker 1: I think he's gotten himself into a difficult situation. I
Speaker 1: don't know if there was a really good way out,
Speaker 1: but he did stick with what he promised, which was
Speaker 1: he wasn't going to allow dictators to attend, and he's
Speaker 1: going to pay the price for that. Well, I guess
Speaker 1: that's true. At least he talked to Jimmy Kimmel while
Speaker 1: he was out there. Rick Um. This of course, comes
Speaker 1: just a couple of weeks after a federal court blocked
Speaker 1: the planned and the plan termination of Title forty two.
Speaker 1: Remember what a big deal that was. At the time,
Speaker 1: the Homeland Security Secretary was up on Capitol Hill testifying
Speaker 1: to towards the six point plan they had to go
Speaker 1: into effect to replace it. Is this administration better prepared
Speaker 1: now than it was then to deal with what's happening
Speaker 1: at the border. You know, It's it's hard to tell
Speaker 1: because I don't think anybody in this administration, certainly in
Speaker 1: the run up to this summit, has articulated what the
Speaker 1: plan is for dealing with the border cry sis. And
Speaker 1: and I just can't help but thinking today's reporting on
Speaker 1: this summit, that we take a step back and say,
Speaker 1: where's the Biden Administration's comprehensive immigration plan? Uh? Why isn't
Speaker 1: there bill in Congress this week? This is what you
Speaker 1: do in the advance of a where's the media thing?
Speaker 1: All the Cabinet secretary is talking about this, pushing it
Speaker 1: on cable news right exactly. And you know, I just
Speaker 1: can't help but think, you know, a little burden the
Speaker 1: back of my mind is didn't didn't the Vice President
Speaker 1: get the remit to run Latin America for this administration?
Speaker 1: I mean, what's her role at all this? I mean
Speaker 1: they arguably this is a um secondary team of people
Speaker 1: down there doing this work for the administration. And and
Speaker 1: and we're missing a bunch of the key players, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, on on the issues of immigration. I mean, like, what,
Speaker 1: what's the success going to be spelled? Like, there's there's
Speaker 1: no expectation that I can say that I've read that
Speaker 1: this administration said success is spelled this way. Jennie should
Speaker 1: Kamala Harris be playing a more visible role this week.
Speaker 1: You've got three d as here in her old state
Speaker 1: of California. Yeah, and she's got the worst job, having
Speaker 1: been handed over to deal with immigration. Um, and you know,
Speaker 1: I think she's probably trying not to do too much
Speaker 1: at that's point, excuse me, because it's been such a
Speaker 1: tough issue for her to have to handle. On the
Speaker 1: other person we have to talk about is Majorcis the
Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Where has he been on this issue?
Speaker 1: There's been a lot of questions raised there, and I
Speaker 1: agree with Rick. Nothing came out about a policy in
Speaker 1: Congress in terms of immigration from the White House. Jenny
Speaker 1: Schanzano and Rick Davis, who's been there at the Summit
Speaker 1: of the America's with exclusive analysis here on Bloomberg Sound On.
Speaker 1: They're back a little bit later on. We're gonna get
Speaker 1: things set up for the big hearing tonight January six,
Speaker 1: we'll check in with Bloomberg News on Capitol Hill and
Speaker 1: reassemble the panel. I'm Joe Matthew. This is Bloomberg. The
Speaker 1: headline on the terminal January six panel promises surprises in
Speaker 1: nationally televised hearing. Nothing like raised expectations, but I guess
Speaker 1: that's what prime time is all about. Bloomberg. Congressional reporter
Speaker 1: Billy House up next to talk to us about what
Speaker 1: we can expect tonight. Then we'll bring back the panel
Speaker 1: for more big wind up today in Washington ahead of
Speaker 1: the hearings hearing tonight the of course January six committee.
Speaker 1: Every network's taking this but one of course, Fox is
Speaker 1: not running this, but it's gonna be in a lot
Speaker 1: of living rooms, and uh so everyone's talking about it
Speaker 1: in advance. Democrats are trying to not give away too
Speaker 1: much but draw people towards this. Republicans are trying to
Speaker 1: hose it down as a partisan exercise and unconstitutional one
Speaker 1: at that. Uh starting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, just get
Speaker 1: a sense of how everyone's framing this on the January
Speaker 1: six hearing tonight. I've kept my distance from the committee,
Speaker 1: so I'll be watching just as everyone else is, UH
Speaker 1: to see the presentation the narrative of what happened as
Speaker 1: an assault on our democracy, on our constitution, in our capital,
Speaker 1: on our Congress in a very violent way. We've played
Speaker 1: for you comments from Kevin McCarthy from at least defonic,
Speaker 1: calling this an unconstitutional and illegitimate exercise, and we don't
Speaker 1: need to relitigate this whole thing. Of course, there are
Speaker 1: only two Republicans on the panel, not selected by Kevin McCarthy,
Speaker 1: and you're gonna be seeing, uh, Liz Cheney, of course
Speaker 1: one of them. They'll all be there tonight, but Liz
Speaker 1: Cheney is gonna be holding forth with opening remarks. Following
Speaker 1: the chair Bennie Thompson McCarthy today was asked, Kevin McCarthy,
Speaker 1: the minority leader in the House, Uh, in this this
Speaker 1: exchange that you know this was made to go viral?
Speaker 1: I guess. But Jonathan Carl, the ABC News reporter, wanted
Speaker 1: to get him on tape, saying that Joe Biden won
Speaker 1: the election and Donald Trump was wrong about how it
Speaker 1: turned out. This. Of course, maybe you could predict what
Speaker 1: was gonna happen. Give it a listen, you believe that
Speaker 1: Joe Biden was the legitimate victor of election. And do
Speaker 1: you believe that Lald Trump is just flat wrong when
Speaker 1: he says the election was stolen. Look, we've answered this
Speaker 1: question a long time. Joe Biden is the president. I
Speaker 1: think you can look that there's a lot of problems
Speaker 1: still with an election process. They just arrested a former
Speaker 1: Democratic congressman just the other was it yesterday in Pennsylvania
Speaker 1: and Philadelphia? Um? And as we find a lot more
Speaker 1: information out there, we want to make sure more people
Speaker 1: have the ability to vote and that it's a secure
Speaker 1: and with the election, where we go, Yes, ma'am, Yeah,
Speaker 1: your question, Your question was was Donald Trump wrong when
Speaker 1: he says the election? You know, Jonathan and we talked
Speaker 1: about this a long time. I've already answered that question.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you well now, thank you, Vick, thank
Speaker 1: you very much. Thank you, Jonathan. I've answered it numerous times.
Speaker 1: I know you have a microphone, I know what you
Speaker 1: want to do. I've already answered the questions with any
Speaker 1: time than thank you for your time, go right ahead.
Speaker 1: Would not say it. And by the way, you know
Speaker 1: who else was arrested, Ryan Kelly here about this today?
Speaker 1: A candidate for governor in Michigan arrested, charged with four
Speaker 1: misdemeanors related to the attack on the capitol, the FBI says,
Speaker 1: and they've shown video evidence of him there. He's been
Speaker 1: charged with going into the building and vandalizing it, not
Speaker 1: leaving when asked, knowingly entering and engaging in disorderly conduct,
Speaker 1: and restricted buildings on grounds. That's a lot of trouble.
Speaker 1: So Kevin McCarthy, of course, did not testify, he was subpoenaed.
Speaker 1: I'm not even gonna go through this exercise. I was
Speaker 1: going to play the couple. What's the point Billy House
Speaker 1: is here? I know what Billy's doing tonight. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you're not home popping corn, Billy. But there is a
Speaker 1: dramatic side to this because there's a lot of stuff
Speaker 1: we don't know that's going to come out. Has the
Speaker 1: committee raised expectations to a dangerous level? I think they have.
Speaker 1: I mean when networks basically clear clear their schedules in
Speaker 1: prime time. Uh, of course, you know the opposition. Some
Speaker 1: of the competition is a hockey game. But um, the
Speaker 1: the committee has really got to I think grab this
Speaker 1: national audience what it will be. UM, right, away, um,
Speaker 1: and so I think what you probably won't see is
Speaker 1: the average uh, you know, congressional hearing with somebody gabbling
Speaker 1: down and reading ending uh some of Now, I think
Speaker 1: they got to start right from the beginning with some
Speaker 1: dramatic footage. We've all seen dramatic footage of the attack
Speaker 1: on the Capitol, so this is going to have to
Speaker 1: be somewhat different dramatic footage. And then I think they
Speaker 1: got to to put up or shut up when they
Speaker 1: say they've got material that and the documents and information
Speaker 1: and testimony that nobody else has ever seen. Well, there
Speaker 1: we go, and now you're hearing, uh, someone who covers
Speaker 1: Congress every day, somebody who walks the halls, talks to
Speaker 1: the staffers of the lawmakers and and and the staff
Speaker 1: of the leadership here involved in this committee. Billy, that
Speaker 1: they've they've kept things pretty quiet about tonight. I'm sure
Speaker 1: you've been asking, but they're obviously looking for some dramatic
Speaker 1: impact with what they can call new information, and they
Speaker 1: they're acting like they got it. What we do know
Speaker 1: it could be dramatic are snippets of taped testimony from
Speaker 1: Trump family members and Trump White House officials. But We
Speaker 1: don't know exactly how edited those are or what those
Speaker 1: snippets will say, but that's certainly something everybody's eager to
Speaker 1: hear or see. The Republican leadership has been making a
Speaker 1: pretty big deal about whenever we hear at least dephonic war. Today,
Speaker 1: Kevin McCarthy talk about this, Uh. They refer to this
Speaker 1: ABC former ABC News president who was hired uh and
Speaker 1: and was accused of quashing the Jeffrey Epstein story. They're
Speaker 1: really trying to knock this down as a thing of entertainment.
Speaker 1: But are we gonna be watching essentially a movie tonight?
Speaker 1: I think you will see something very scripted. But look,
Speaker 1: I mean, you really got to walk a long way
Speaker 1: to get to Jeffrey Epstein, and there is a long walk,
Speaker 1: but it is a long walk. But but I think,
Speaker 1: I mean, let let's face it, Uh, you interview one
Speaker 1: thousand people, you have ten thousand or ten thousand documents,
Speaker 1: You got all this stuff. I mean, why wouldn't anybody
Speaker 1: hire somebody that knows how to distill all of this
Speaker 1: so it's digestible or watchable. Well that's the thing, Billy. Yet,
Speaker 1: you know I'm thinking about not not not weirdos like
Speaker 1: us who have been you know, have this on the
Speaker 1: calendar for for months or however long it's been scheduled.
Speaker 1: But what about the you know, the old couple. They
Speaker 1: go in the living room there, they're gonna watch their
Speaker 1: Law and Order at eight o'clock tonight and they turned
Speaker 1: the TV on. Well, what the hell is this? This
Speaker 1: is to your point, if you do a c span
Speaker 1: kind of hearing there, they're just gonna move along. How
Speaker 1: do you grab people unsuspecting viewers in their homes. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be hard. I think with his first hearing, there's
Speaker 1: if you do it right, you can do that. I
Speaker 1: think the real, the real tough road to home will
Speaker 1: be these ten am hearings Monday and then Wednesday and
Speaker 1: some after that, because keep in mind, they expect to
Speaker 1: do this over as many as six hearings, and if
Speaker 1: you can't hold your audience tonight for two hours, hearing
Speaker 1: four or five are gonna be really rough. I guess
Speaker 1: that says a lot from Billy House. Great work. Find
Speaker 1: Billy's story. By the way, that I mentioned the headline
Speaker 1: Jan six panel promising surprises and nationally televised hearing. Everything
Speaker 1: you need to know about tonight. It's a great right
Speaker 1: through on the terminal, and I bet you Billy is
Speaker 1: going to be very busy starting around eight o'clock. Well,
Speaker 1: of course, have full coverage here on Bloomberg and we
Speaker 1: reassemble the panel next for more on this from Rick
Speaker 1: and Jeannie. We've only got a couple of hours to go,
Speaker 1: so our final thoughts here about what we're about to
Speaker 1: witness tonight in prime time. This is Bloomberg. You're listening
Speaker 1: to Bloomberg. You sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: Stay with Bloomberg for full coverage of the January six
Speaker 1: Committee hearing tonight. Just keep it right here on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: Rick and Genie are in for the duration. By the way,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get some sleep for surveillance tomorrow morning, but
Speaker 1: you know I'm watching this thing as well, with full
Speaker 1: coverage here on Bloomberg Radio. As you would expect. An
Speaker 1: historic moment here, Rick Davis, Jeannie Chanzano with us right
Speaker 1: now as we prepare for what's about to happen tonight. Gennie,
Speaker 1: what's your thought on the presentation the show business part
Speaker 1: of this? And I don't mean to to turn it
Speaker 1: into just that. But this is a TV show as well,
Speaker 1: a lot of people don't know they're about to see
Speaker 1: this at eight o'clock. Some people are going to be
Speaker 1: sitting down with this in mind and want to listen closely.
Speaker 1: But look, you work in broadcasting. You know how difficult
Speaker 1: it is to get people's attention. How do they do
Speaker 1: this in a long form and keep people's eyes on it?
Speaker 1: It's going to be very difficult. You not only have
Speaker 1: to capture people's attention, but you you've got to hold
Speaker 1: it and you've got to live up to the promises.
Speaker 1: And what you and Billy were just talking about is
Speaker 1: absolutely right. They have, you know, promised a bombshell essentially,
Speaker 1: and the question is can they live up to it?
Speaker 1: So you know, I think we're going to see a
Speaker 1: lot of video here, a lot of sound, a lot
Speaker 1: of audio pictures, live testimony, we understand, but you know,
Speaker 1: they have one shot at this essentially. You know, absolutely
Speaker 1: there's going to be more days of testimony. But if
Speaker 1: they can't hit it out of the ballpark tonight and
Speaker 1: get people to focus on it, it's gonna be hard
Speaker 1: to get any size audience going forward. So it's a
Speaker 1: real challenge. The only thing I can imagine that's going
Speaker 1: to be a bombshell of the you know scope that
Speaker 1: they're talking about, is if they can connect to the
Speaker 1: White House and the former president, to the violence at
Speaker 1: the Capitol that day and show that the seditious conspiracy
Speaker 1: that the Proud Boys are accused of was politically directed
Speaker 1: by the White House. Short of that, I think it's very,
Speaker 1: very tough to meet sort of the hype that has
Speaker 1: preceded this. What do you make of the hype machine here? Rick?
Speaker 1: I know you need people uh to get in the
Speaker 1: room and sit down and turn on the TV or
Speaker 1: look at your phone at a certain time, but uh,
Speaker 1: you don't want to do another Benghazi hearing, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean I think be Ghazi is exactly what you
Speaker 1: want to avoid. But you're right. I mean, you have
Speaker 1: to have enough excitement around it that people actually want
Speaker 1: to tune into this and not something else. Uh. And
Speaker 1: to me, it's kind of like a presidential debate, right,
Speaker 1: It's nobody's gonna watch the thing all the way through,
Speaker 1: so you gotta grab them up front. And I think
Speaker 1: that that is on the backs of Benny Thompson, the
Speaker 1: chairman and Liz Chenney, the Republican co chairman. It's they're
Speaker 1: going to give opening statements, and those have to be compelling.
Speaker 1: Those have to be really um um, you know, sort
Speaker 1: of draw in exactly what this committee is trying to
Speaker 1: accomp what's an otherwise boring forum. Rick, that's right, and
Speaker 1: but but they're the first act, and then the second
Speaker 1: act is going to be the video in the in
Speaker 1: the in the scenery, we've forgotten what it looks like. Uh,
Speaker 1: to see that attack, it was gut wrenching at the
Speaker 1: time people were following it in real time. To see
Speaker 1: that again in a more refined package and new things
Speaker 1: that you haven't seen before, I think could be revetive.
Speaker 1: So if you get in there, you know, first fifteen
Speaker 1: twenty minutes, and that's the next thing you see, then
Speaker 1: then you're likely to stick around and see what else
Speaker 1: they've got. But they've got to throw this stuff up
Speaker 1: there like it was a television show, or, as I said,
Speaker 1: a presidential debate, so that so that anybody tuning in
Speaker 1: at any given time is going to get something out
Speaker 1: of it. And then they got to orchestrate the press afterwards.
Speaker 1: I'll be honest with you, I think the Republicans have
Speaker 1: had day one and two to orchestrate this thing, and
Speaker 1: they've been attacking it, and they've been very little pushback
Speaker 1: other than the President saying things like, oh, it'll be interesting,
Speaker 1: you'll see something new. Uh. And so I want to
Speaker 1: see Democrats lined up on morning TV or expect them
Speaker 1: to be tomorrow. They better be because the reality is
Speaker 1: that this is going to be defined in day two
Speaker 1: and three after the fact, not not tonight. And in
Speaker 1: that time they'll rick law Republican lawmakers. In many cases,
Speaker 1: a lot of House lawmakers are leaving town again. We
Speaker 1: heard the prebuttles today and I'll mention what Donald Trump
Speaker 1: had to say in a minute. But Kevin McCarthy held
Speaker 1: the full set with with other Republican leaders in the
Speaker 1: House in the briefing room in the Visitors Center in
Speaker 1: the US Capital. This was largely what they talked about.
Speaker 1: They did a little bit of of a gun reform,
Speaker 1: but it was basically a January six conversation. And he
Speaker 1: was asked specifically why he didn't just go ahead. I
Speaker 1: think the question is on here, we can let it roll.
Speaker 1: Why why not just testify here? He is? So the
Speaker 1: committee asked if I would come talk to them, So
Speaker 1: I sent him a letter to ask what they want
Speaker 1: to talk about. They never responded. What they said publicly
Speaker 1: went out there. They said they wanted to talk about
Speaker 1: my conversation with president on January six. So on January six,
Speaker 1: when I had that conversation with the President, I then
Speaker 1: went on three networks, one with I think I was
Speaker 1: even with you, Jonathan. I had a longer discussion with
Speaker 1: the American public than my conversation with the President, So
Speaker 1: there was nothing to be added to go about. And
Speaker 1: then the argument of whether you could subpoena members themselves,
Speaker 1: it purely looks to me like it's political a couple
Speaker 1: of different things. They're a genie for starters though, I mean,
Speaker 1: lot you do a network TV interview. Is that the
Speaker 1: same as testifying under oath before this committee? Yeah? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that that's what Kevin McCarthy has been saying. And of
Speaker 1: course we've all heard and listened to the change you
Speaker 1: know that occurred from January six. What McCarthy was saying
Speaker 1: to you know what he says now, Um, but I
Speaker 1: think you know the reality is the counter programming by McCarthy,
Speaker 1: by least staphonic, by the Republicans is going to go
Speaker 1: on throughout this. Rick is right. Democrats have got to
Speaker 1: be on top of the committee. Quite frankly is you know,
Speaker 1: not just Democrats, but the committee has got to be
Speaker 1: on top of that. But I think one thing to
Speaker 1: underscore here is what we're hearing from AIDS to the
Speaker 1: committee is the other part of this is this is
Speaker 1: not just for history's sake. They're talking about this as
Speaker 1: an ongoing threat to democracy. In other words, they're saying
Speaker 1: this thing is not over. It wasn't just one incidence
Speaker 1: of violence at the Capitol, as bad as that was,
Speaker 1: but that this is continuing. And I think that's something
Speaker 1: that I'm going to be looking to see. Do they
Speaker 1: make the case that this is not over, that the
Speaker 1: United States democracy is still under threat? And you listen
Speaker 1: to what the Proud boy are doing now and the
Speaker 1: reality is that if you believe what you're hearing from
Speaker 1: the Justice Department, that's very much the case. You heard
Speaker 1: Billy House mentioned a thousand interviews. That's a thousand interviews.
Speaker 1: We're gonna see some of them or snippets of some
Speaker 1: of them with Jared and Ivanka Trump were told, um,
Speaker 1: we'll see about that but Rick, we learned today House
Speaker 1: Republicans are going to release their own report on what
Speaker 1: happened January six. Uh. They say they're going to be
Speaker 1: focusing on inadequacies in security preparations. They've even talked about
Speaker 1: potentially subpoena NG Speaker Nancy Pelosi to talk about what
Speaker 1: they describe as a lack of you know, preparation and
Speaker 1: and and security that should have been addressed before this
Speaker 1: ever happened. Is Kevin McCarthy gonna return to subpoena with
Speaker 1: a subpoena? You know he could, But it's just grandstanding.
Speaker 1: I mean, is that a new thing? Now? We're going
Speaker 1: to do that now all the time. Oh, I think
Speaker 1: it's it's very much And it's not so new. I mean,
Speaker 1: when Republicans are in charge, they they investigate the Democrats.
Speaker 1: From the Democrats are in charge, they investigate the Republicans.
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, there's no clean hands in this one. Uh.
Speaker 1: And and so cyclically, you know that's gonna happen. I mean, look,
Speaker 1: they've already said they think that not even impiza president
Speaker 1: if they get in control of Congress. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the Republicans. So I think this is a tip for
Speaker 1: tat that that has been going on for a long time.
Speaker 1: It's not productive. It's not gonna gain any votes for
Speaker 1: Republicans to to prosecute that. I'm not sure how many
Speaker 1: votes to Democrats are gonna get for this. I think
Speaker 1: this is one that they've got to take for the
Speaker 1: team Constitution democracy. They've got to spell this out. Can't
Speaker 1: be partisan, and it can't be vindictive. Uh. If they
Speaker 1: can set a historical record here that then sticks, Uh,
Speaker 1: they'll have done some good. But if it's just another
Speaker 1: political tip for tat, uh, it's it's gonna it's gonna
Speaker 1: fall on deaf ears because people are tired of hearing that.
Speaker 1: Two witnesses tonight we understand at least a genie this
Speaker 1: will be somewhat of a congressional hearing, even if it's
Speaker 1: not traditional. One is a cow little police officer who
Speaker 1: was there. The other is a documentary filmmaker who was
Speaker 1: embedded with the Proud Boys, who you already mentioned here tonight.
Speaker 1: This apparently is footage that we've never seen before. And
Speaker 1: I'll be real honest with you, I can't imagine things
Speaker 1: worse than what we've seen, Jeanie. But is that the
Speaker 1: point that shock and awe here tonight on the first night. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it is. I think they're trying to try
Speaker 1: to lay out this story, this narrative, and after so
Speaker 1: many interviews and so many documents, they're going to try
Speaker 1: to tell a story about what happened that night. And
Speaker 1: again they're going to try to connect it the violence
Speaker 1: that the Proud Boys have been charged with, the seditious conspiracy.
Speaker 1: They're going to try to connect it to the White
Speaker 1: House and potentially the former president. But I agree with Rick,
Speaker 1: they have to be very, very careful not to make
Speaker 1: this a partisan issue. They've got to show that they're
Speaker 1: doing this for democracy. And that's why I think the
Speaker 1: person to watch is Liz Cheney. Can she show that
Speaker 1: she's doing this because she's defending the Republican Party from
Speaker 1: this cancer and also defending democracy and Republicans like Adam
Speaker 1: Kissinger as well. Yeah, boy, just wait. Will be here tomorrow,
Speaker 1: of course to dissect all of this, and again special
Speaker 1: coverage tonight with Rick and Genie. We're lucky to have
Speaker 1: them for the duration here. So in this last moment,
Speaker 1: in the fastest hour in politics, I must acknowledge what
Speaker 1: has been the fastest year in politics. Indeed, it was
Speaker 1: one year ago today I had the honor of taken
Speaker 1: this microphone and joining you for this conversation at the
Speaker 1: end of each day, which has been certainly an important
Speaker 1: part of my life. And it's all been elevated to
Speaker 1: this level by this amazing team here at sound on
Speaker 1: our panel. Rick Davis, of course, Jeanie Schanzano, who you
Speaker 1: here almost every night together, the best in the business,
Speaker 1: and bring such intellect and perspective to this conversation. It
Speaker 1: wouldn't be the same otherwise. They're also really lovely people
Speaker 1: in case you're wondering, and those you never hear about
Speaker 1: in New York. Bob Bragg and Jody Schneider are producers
Speaker 1: in DC. Christine Barata and Matt Shirley are actually right there.
Speaker 1: I think they're at the microphone right now. Hey, there
Speaker 1: they are. Love these guys, these are the people who
Speaker 1: make this stuff happened. We spend all day talking about
Speaker 1: who we want to bring on, why we want to
Speaker 1: bring them on, what we want to explore. Matt Shirley
Speaker 1: digs them up, Christine Baratta brings them over, and I
Speaker 1: just want to thank both of you for being such
Speaker 1: great partners. Oh, thank you so much, Joe. It's a
Speaker 1: pleasure to work with you. I think Christine you probably
Speaker 1: agree with that. Right, you don't have to say anything
Speaker 1: deep right now, but you're the best, and Jeannie and
Speaker 1: Ricky you're the first time. Yeah. Well, I'll see you
Speaker 1: guys back here tomorrow on the fastest hour in politics.
Speaker 1: Look for the committee hearing tonight, of course, and I'll
Speaker 1: meet you on TV in the morning with full analysis,
Speaker 1: and then of course back here on sound on at
Speaker 1: five pm Washington time. If you showed up late, subscribe
Speaker 1: to the podcast. Joe Matthew, This is Bloomberg