1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,160 Speaker 1: Can't. I am six forty. You're listening to the John 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio app on every day as 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: always from one until four o'clock, and then after four 4 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: o'clock you missed stuff, go to John Cobelt's show on demand. 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: It's the podcast same as the radio show posted after 6 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: four on the iHeart app. We open with the latest 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: chapter in this bewildering government response to the fire of 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: the Palisades. Karen Bass just just astounds me every day 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: with bad decisions and just strange situations. And the latest 10 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 1: is is the company that she hired, Haggardy Consulting out 11 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: of Illinois, to take over the recovery, has a lot 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: of questionable characters have worked for it in recent years. 13 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: And this is what everybody worries about, is that with 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: all the federal money coming in, you know, billions and 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: billions of dollars, it's in real danger of getting siphoned off. 16 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: I mean, just look at the history in California. It 17 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: turns out two guys named Walter Melnik and Mark O'Mara 18 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: they were accused of basically stealing money from New York 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: City's relief funds for Hurricane Sandy. Superstorm Sandy, if you 20 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: remember some years ago, and Joel Pollock with Breitbart dot 21 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: Com had the story and we're going to talk to 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: him now. Joe, how are you. I'm great. 23 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 2: How are you? 24 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: I'm doing all right? How are you doing? Because you 25 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: mentioned last time you lost your house, and well, you 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: didn't lose your house, did you. You just got badly damaged. 27 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 3: Well, we don't know the extent of the damage. I mean, 28 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 3: if you look at it from the outside, it looks 29 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 3: pretty good. But the fence burned down and the back 30 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 3: wall is charred. There may be some structural damage due 31 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 3: to the fence burning down, and there's definitely smoke damage. 32 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 3: But the roof did okay, and we feel lucky we 33 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 3: have our still standing. It's one of the only ones 34 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 3: in Marquez Knowles which almost entirely burned down. 35 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, just it's on my mind. I was just 36 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: talking to a close friend last night for about a 37 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: half an hour, and he and his family lost everything, 38 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: I mean, in every single bit that they owned. Haggarty Consulting. 39 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: What what is this and who are these guys and 40 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: what did they plead to. 41 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 3: Well, it's a very interesting question. So the city announced 42 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 3: a few weeks ago, or rather, the La Times reported 43 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 3: that the city was going to hire a consultant to 44 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 3: handle rebuilding. It wasn't clear what they would be doing. 45 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 3: I talked to Chief Recovery Officer Steve Soberoff, and he 46 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 3: told me they were going to be like an owner's 47 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 3: ref on a construction site, basically representing the public, and 48 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 3: that it would be a competitive bidding process. Then the 49 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 3: La Times reported that Haggarty had been chosen in a 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 3: pind closed or session where they were presenting their pitch 51 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 3: along with two other companies that were not chosen, and 52 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 3: they were going to do whatever it is they were 53 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 3: going to do, and the amount of the contract was 54 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 3: not disclosed, but that was the decision. So started looking 55 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 3: into Haggarty Consulting And first of all, they were founded 56 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 3: by a guy named Steve Haggerty who used to be 57 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 3: the mayor of Evanston, Illinois. That's near where I grew up. 58 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 3: I grew up in Scokey. Evanston is not a very 59 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 3: well run city. In fact, Evanston went for several years 60 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 3: without a city manager, and that occurred partly during Steve 61 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 3: Haggerty's tenure. It turned out Steve Haggerty was the only 62 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 3: one term mayor in Evanston, Illinois since the Second World War. 63 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 3: He founded this consulting firm that does disaster recovery management. 64 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 3: And I started looking up information about the company and 65 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 3: it turned out that to senior recovery consultants who worked 66 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 3: with Haggerty on the Hurricane Sandy disaster were involved in 67 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 3: plea agreements where they pleaded guilty to defrauding New York 68 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 3: City of relief funds that they claimed in reimbursement for 69 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 3: travel and lodging. 70 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: And we're talking to when they weren't allowed to do 71 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: so six figures. One of them three hundred and eighty 72 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: thousand dollars, the other two hundred and fifty thousand. 73 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 3: Now neither of them got jail time, although one of 75 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 3: them was sentenced to home confinement for a year in 76 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 3: addition to probation for two years. But when you add 77 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 3: it all up, the behind closed doors meeting to pick 78 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 3: a contractor, and this rather dubious recent history, it's not 79 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 3: ancient history. The plea deals came down in twenty twenty 80 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 3: two and twenty twenty three. Plus the left wing politics 81 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 3: of this particular mayor who founded the company. You have 82 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 3: to ask what exactly is going on here? Why can't 83 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 3: they do this in public? Why can't they estimate the 84 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 3: cost of what whatever it is they want these consulting 85 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 3: firms to do. So I think there are some more 86 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 3: questions here. 87 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: And to mention you mentioned left wing politics. Haggarty, the 88 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: former mayor of Evanston, was the first city in the 89 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: US to offer reparations for slavery. Yeah, so that's the 90 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: political climate that he comes from. 91 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, that happened after him. But he also apparently signed 92 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,239 Speaker 3: a declaration apologizing for the fact that Evanston is built 93 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 3: on Native American land and all of that. Evanston actually 94 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 3: had a really interesting history. The Republican Party got its 95 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 3: start in Evanston, was a big Republican bastion in the 96 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 3: nineteenth century, very anti slavery, and it was also the 97 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 3: home of the Temperance movement that pushed for the eighteenth Amendment, 98 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,240 Speaker 3: which as we know, didn't go so well. But Evanston 99 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 3: was actually an epicenter of abolitionism. It had nothing to 100 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 3: do with. 101 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 2: Slavery, quite the opposite, had a lot to do with. 102 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 3: Getting rid of slavery. And nevertheless, the woke city leaders 103 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 3: decided that we had to apologize for slavery or Evanston 104 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 3: at least had to apologize. And even if Illinois wasn't 105 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 3: a slave state, just like California is. 106 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 2: Not a slave state. 107 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 3: Well, there was discrimination in housing, racial discrimination, so they 108 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 3: were going to apologize. 109 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: Why would why would Karen Dass pick Haggardy Consulting? 110 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 2: What? 111 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: Why do you think the story is here? Because are they? 112 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: Are they a major player when it comes to disaster recovery. 113 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: I mean, this is the worst thing any American city 114 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: has seen in terms of an urban fire. 115 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 3: So well they would probably say, we did New York 116 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 3: City after Hurricane Sandy, and that's the biggest city in America, 117 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 3: except that when they did New York City, some of 118 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 3: their leading consultants got themselves in trouble for embezzling or 119 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 3: defrauding the city of these reimbursement funds. So why would 120 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,479 Speaker 3: you pick a company that got it's helping into trouble 121 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 3: or did they not do due diligence on this company? 122 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 2: Do they not know? 123 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 3: I mean, that's the problem with doing things behind closed doors, 124 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 3: is that the public doesn't know. I'm not saying that 125 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 3: you have to have a six month public comment process 126 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 3: on whatever it is you need done. I don't think 127 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 3: anybody here wants anything delayed that needs to be done 128 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 3: right away. But we don't even know what this company's 129 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 3: supposed to do. Why are they being brought in? You 130 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 3: have several local agencies, you've got the state government, several 131 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 3: different federal agencies working on it. Do you need someone 132 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 3: to coordinate it? Because there's also Rick Reynell who's working 133 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 3: coordinating from the White House level here to try to 134 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 3: make sure everyone's working together. 135 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: So what do you need? 136 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 3: I mean, what are they supposed to do? 137 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's why I'm wondering. I'm for all this stuff. 138 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: I'm wondering what are their relationships, what are the payoffs? 139 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: Who's going to be profiting from this particular hiring. Are 140 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: there other people at Haggerty who knew about these two 141 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: guys stealing money and condoned it look the other way, 142 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: grabbed their own share of the proceeds. This is what 143 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: I'm this is. This is a bad sign to have 144 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: two guys accused and pleaded guilty to stealing in total 145 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: over six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. And that's the 146 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: last thing we need in La here. 147 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 2: Yeah. 148 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, And look, I think that my impression thus far. 149 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,839 Speaker 3: And I write about national politics, I do write about California. 150 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 2: I write about local politics. 151 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 3: But this is kind of a first for me to 152 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 3: be this close in on a big local story. And 153 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 3: I'm just surprised by how unaccustomed local officials in LA 154 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 3: seemed to be to operating in public. They seem to 155 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 3: think that they can do things in this closed doors 156 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 3: kind of way. 157 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: Nobody covers them. 158 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, nobody covers them. 159 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: Nobody covers them, including the La Times, most glaringly the 160 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: La Times. 161 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 3: This stuff is well, You've got to say one thing. 162 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 3: There are some people doing good coverage. We're doing the 163 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 3: best we can at Breitbart. West Side Current is doing 164 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 3: some great work there. They've got a young journalist, Jamie Page, 165 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 3: is doing a good job. LA Times did come out 166 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 3: with some really good coverage of this disaster since the fire. 167 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: They have, but grievious to the fire, little to no 168 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: coverage of anything that went on in city government. 169 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 3: Well maybe Patrick soon Shiong is changing that, honestly, because 170 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,160 Speaker 3: he took over just before this fire happened. But look, 171 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 3: I think that what stands out to me is just 172 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,440 Speaker 3: the preference for doing things behind closed doors, and I 173 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 3: think the public needs to know what this contract is 174 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 3: and what we're going to be built for it, and 175 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 3: also how this fits into the broader financial scheme where 176 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 3: they've got money to spend on consultants, but residents of 177 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 3: the Palisades and Altadina probably don't have places to stay, 178 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 3: don't know where they're going to get their next rent 179 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,720 Speaker 3: check from, or they can't get into an airbnb or whatever. 180 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 3: I mean, why are they doling out millions? 181 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 2: Again? 182 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 3: If it's for something important, I think people would get it. 183 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 2: But what is it? 184 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, and there are people with urgent needs that don't 185 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 3: have anything right now, So what's going on here? 186 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: Joel Pollack, Breitbart dot Com, Thank you for coming on. 187 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 3: Thank you. 188 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: All right, we'll continue delving into this latest mystery from 189 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: Karen Bass. This is just almost every day, something almost 190 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: every day, and it's never a positive sign. 191 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI Am 192 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 4: six forty. 193 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: We just talk to Joel Pollack from Breitbart dot com 194 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: because they had today's Today's chap during Karen Bass's never 195 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: ending story of floundering around ever since she decided to 196 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: go to Africa instead of staying here to coordinate a 197 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: response or a preventative or some preventative measures. When the 198 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: fire warnings went into effect and she's never gonna catch up, 199 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: she hired Haggarty Consulting. That's what we talked with Joel about. 200 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:22,199 Speaker 1: It's it's a company out of Evanston, Illinois, and it's 201 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: it's supposed to oversee, you know, recovery efforts. I'll explain 202 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: to you. I hesitated and tried to describe them, and 203 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: I'll explain why in just a moment, because it's really uh. 204 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: The La Times took a shot at trying to explain 205 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: exactly who's in charge and who's doing what, and they 206 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 1: can't tell either. So Haggardy Consulting gets hired. The uh, 207 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: the guy who started Haggardy Consulting used to be the 208 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: mayor of Evanston, Illinois, as you heard Joel explain, and 209 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: two of their two of their consultants ripped off the 210 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: City of New York for about, let's see here to 211 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: be exact, six hundred and thirty thousand dollars. The two 212 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: consultants were Walter Melnick and Mark o'meerra. And you know 213 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: it's the old scam. You've probably seen people at your 214 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: company do this stuff. They claimed money for reimbursements to 215 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:26,199 Speaker 1: which he was not entitled, you know, things like hotel rooms. 216 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: So Melnick was accused of stealing three hundred and eighty 217 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in fake reimbursement claims. O'Mara two hundred and 218 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,559 Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars. They had to pay back the money 219 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,679 Speaker 1: that they received. Meldick got a year of home confinement 220 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: and two years of probation. Omara was sentenced just a probation. 221 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: Now this story comes out just a few days after 222 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: Bass picks them, and as Joel said, is like, are 223 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: they doing any background checks on these guys? Are they 224 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: doing a Google search to make sure? I mean two consultants? 225 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: How many other people at this company knew what was 226 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: going on? Because you tend to take advantage of a 227 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,080 Speaker 1: situation like that when you think everybody's doing it or 228 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: nobody cares. Everybody's looking the other way. Right, you go 229 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: to a company, what would make you want to steal 230 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: three hundred and eighty thousand dollars in fake reimbursements? You 231 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: got to get the feeling you're going to get away 232 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: with it that there isn't a whole lot of oversight, 233 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:28,959 Speaker 1: or you get the feeling maybe everybody's on the take, 234 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: so this is just what you do, which leads to 235 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: this headline in the La Times this week, Who's in 236 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: charge of Palisades fire recovery? The answer is complicated. Well, 237 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: let me tell you up front, you can't have that. 238 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 1: And you know, I'm really sensitive to this because I 239 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: didn't live, I don't live far from what happened in 240 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: the Palisades. And I was talking to a really close 241 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: friend last night and just listening to, you know, how 242 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: his family's home was completely destroyed and everybody, everybody in 243 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 1: the Palisades is very angry and very frustrated. And it 244 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: occurred to me, I have not seen Karen Bass. I've 245 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,559 Speaker 1: seen Karen Bass and pair of press conferences and answer 246 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: some questions, or she hides behind Steve sober Off, or 247 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: she hides behind you know, six or seven other people 248 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: who speak ahead of her. But there has not been 249 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: like a real detailed explanation. I don't know how she thinks, 250 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 1: or if she thinks, because she doesn't sit down and 251 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: give long form, coherent answers. It's a lot of slogans, 252 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: you know her, I mean, she does smoke slogans like well, 253 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: we're gonna all lock arms together, We're gonna make la stronger. 254 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: All this is just you know, nonsense stuff, but trying 255 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: to get details exactly who's in charge. And I'm not 256 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: into this. I'm not into this everything being done in 257 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: closed door meetings, especially a company which has a recent 258 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: history of its employees running off with government money. They 259 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: ran off with money that was meant to help citizen 260 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: in New York City deal with Superstorm Sandy. That you know, 261 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: they they went in there to oversee the rebuild or 262 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: the recovery, whatever you want to call it in New 263 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: York And now they're here. Uh now, I know these 264 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: two guys don't work for him anymore, But again, what's 265 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 1: the culture of the place? Now? You know, the thing 266 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: was sober off. We went through that yesterday, he's hired. 267 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: Nobody says out loud that he was getting five hundred 268 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: thousand dollars and that he had a number two guy 269 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: getting two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Then when that 270 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: leaked out, everybody went everybody at Palisades went nuts. Got 271 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars for three months work. 272 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,680 Speaker 1: So Bass had to do a ONET eighty and take 273 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: the money back. And I don't think sober Off wanted 274 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: to give up the money. Now she's also talking about 275 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 1: bringing on a company called acm ae con a Com. 276 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: It's a worldwide engineering company to tackle the paperwork that 277 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: has to be assembled to get reimbursement from FEMA. She's 278 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: also brought in a guy named Jim Featherstone to be 279 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: the number two at the Emergency Management Department. That was 280 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: the department that sent out all those botched warnings. I 281 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: don't know what happened. I don't know who's running this 282 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: agency because I think she's been sidelined. Forgot her name, 283 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: but she was in charge of the women was in 284 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: charge of the agency while it was setting out all 285 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: the ridiculous warnings to neighborhoods who didn't need warnings. Now 286 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: we're Caruso just got an email from his foundation, Steadfast LA. 287 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: He's got a group of business leaders together to focus 288 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: on the recovery, and there are other groups as well. 289 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: Patrick Soon Sheiong, the head of the La Times, is 290 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: going to have his own counsel. Miguel Santana formed a 291 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: rebuilding initiative. He's a longtime bureaucrat. Tracy Park has a 292 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: city council committee five members and when Bass was asked 293 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:15,359 Speaker 1: about the complicated mix of consultants, politicians appointees, she said, 294 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: let me just explain. The person that's in charge is 295 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: here me. That's the person in charge. That doesn't make 296 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:28,879 Speaker 1: anybody feel good. Was she in charge before the fire? 297 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,879 Speaker 1: Did she hold meetings on how the fire department ought 298 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: to be prepositioned in the hills in high by the 299 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: way and talk to my friend yesterday. He held out 300 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 1: to about five point thirty in the afternoon the day 301 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: of the fire and finally had to run and then 302 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 1: less than an hour later flames destroyed his house. He 303 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: spent the whole day trying to protect the house with 304 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,959 Speaker 1: water and foam, but he said there was nobody. There 305 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: was no no fire trucks, no firefighters on his block 306 00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: whole day. Nothing that you know has been explained. It 307 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 1: is now, what's take February the tenth eleventh. February eleventh 308 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: fire happened January seventh, So we're talking now about it's Tuesday, 309 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,919 Speaker 1: thirty five days, five full weeks. Nobody's explained why the 310 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: fire department didn't show up to many of the neighborhoods. 311 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: I have read, I have heard firsthand. They weren't there 312 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: all day. Why is this in addition to not being 313 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:27,959 Speaker 1: there before the fire started? Zevierraslavsky says, Bass has to 314 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,399 Speaker 1: bring all the leaders together in a unified command. He 315 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: used to be a county supervisor. He says, from the outside, 316 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 1: it looks somewhat chaotic, because it is somewhat chaotic. That's 317 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 1: exactly what it is. 318 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 4: You're listening to John Kobels on demand from KFI Am 319 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 4: six forty. 320 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,199 Speaker 1: We're on every day from one until four o'clock. Then 321 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: after four o'clock John Codbelt Show on demand. You demand it, 322 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: go to the iHeart app and it's the same as 323 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 1: the radio show. It's the podcast version, so you could 324 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: catch up on what you missed. One of the amusing 325 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 1: there's a lot of amusing things coming out of the 326 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:09,400 Speaker 1: Trump administration. One of them is he keeps revoking security 327 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: clearances for many people who worked under Joe Biden and 328 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,359 Speaker 1: others in law enforcement or in the justice system. I 329 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: should say, among the people he pulled the security clearance 330 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:27,880 Speaker 1: for included Biden's Secretary of State Anthony Blincoln. Jake Sullivan 331 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: is the former National security advisor, Biden's Deputy Attorney General, 332 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: Lisa Monaco, and also the Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who 333 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: brought that Storry Daniel's case against him, and the Attorney 334 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: General for New York, Letitia James, who brought that financial case. 335 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: Remember he was fined four hundred and seventy billion dollars 336 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: or something like that. That's still tied up on appeal. 337 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: We're going to talk with Don mahallak on from ABC News. 338 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: Don is seen your secret service agent, and he's going 339 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:07,720 Speaker 1: to talk about these security clearances. Don, how are you good? 340 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,640 Speaker 2: John? How are you guys doing better after the fires? 341 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: Well? Yeah, I mean the immediate crisis and shock is 342 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: over and now it's that, you know, a recovery. It's 343 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: going to take many years to rebuild out here. The 344 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: security clearances. I always been kind of fascinated by that. 345 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: When you get a security clearance and you've got a 346 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,840 Speaker 1: government level position in Trump's cabinet or adjacent to it, 347 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: what is it that you get to see? 348 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 2: So we've got to back up a little bit because 349 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 2: there's actually two sets of rules for security clearances. There's 350 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 2: security clearance for anybody working for the government, which is 351 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 2: defined in the Code of Federal Regulations that outlines how 352 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 2: you get a security clearance to process, who's entitled to it, 353 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 2: who's not. And then there are people who have access 354 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 2: to the sensitive information by virtue of the office they hold. 355 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 2: The President being the top security clearance person, the president 356 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 2: is the ultimate authority with granting and taking away security 357 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 2: clearance by virtue of being the chief executive. Having said 358 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 2: that he actually doesn't have a security clearance, he has 359 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 2: access to the sensitive information by virtue of his election 360 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 2: by the American people, as do congressman, senators and other 361 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 2: people that were elected to office. Now, once you are 362 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:31,439 Speaker 2: hired by the federal government, then you go through a 363 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 2: full background check of full screening through your agency to 364 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 2: be able to be entitled to a security clearance, and 365 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 2: then the agency actually grants you the security clearance secret 366 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 2: top secret. Then there's compartmentalizations, sci compartmentalizations and whatnot that 367 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 2: you can be added on to top secret security clearance. 368 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,439 Speaker 2: DD calls them something else, So that way you can 369 00:21:54,480 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 2: have access to human intelligence, satellite intelligence, signal intelligence, and 370 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 2: a wide variety of other sensitive programs that the government may. 371 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 1: Have, and you could I mean you have once you 372 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,239 Speaker 1: get access, I mean, you can spend all day just 373 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: for fun looking in at all the secrets the United 374 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:15,200 Speaker 1: States government has. 375 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 2: Unfortunately Hollywood hasn't done US any favors in that regard. 376 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 2: But no, generally speaking, you have access information on an 377 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 2: as needed basis. So if you're if you're in the 378 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,880 Speaker 2: Department of Defense and you need access to war plans 379 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,719 Speaker 2: because you're looking at a specific region of the world, 380 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,679 Speaker 2: you'll you'll get access to those war plans for that 381 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 2: period of time while you're doing that project. It's not 382 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 2: even with the security cleanance, it's not unfettered, and all 383 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:49,199 Speaker 2: sensitive information is controlled is controlling mechanisms in place, signing 384 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,959 Speaker 2: and signing out processes and whatnot. If you're to access 385 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 2: those information. 386 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: You know, Biden and Trump both walked home with the 387 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: tons of classified documents. Yeah, so I wondered. 388 00:23:02,359 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, that gets into that. The presidents of the 389 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,680 Speaker 2: ultimate classifiers and d classifiers, by virtue of their position, 390 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,720 Speaker 2: they can classify and declassify documents by who they are. 391 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 2: In addition to that, presidents when they leave office they're 392 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,199 Speaker 2: covered by a law called the Presidential Records Act, and 393 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,159 Speaker 2: they can actually take and I've seen it in two administrations. 394 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,959 Speaker 2: Now they can take all the records that they need 395 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 2: or that are part of their history or legacy with 396 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 2: them when they leave the office. And you know, one 397 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 2: of the nuances in the government and with the presidents, 398 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 2: any piece of paper president touched is technically archivable by 399 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 2: the National Archives. 400 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: Is that right? All right? So the people that were 401 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: in Biden's administration to have their security clearances revoked, does 402 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: that really affect their lives because they're out of government 403 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: where they would they still get briefings every day and 404 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: now they can't, and why would they need those briefings. 405 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 2: So if you leave the government and you take a 406 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 2: job with let's say a government contract that it has 407 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 2: that has a contract with the government that requires a 408 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,640 Speaker 2: security clearance, Thank North for grumming. You know the SpaceX 409 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 2: maybe companies like that that are working on sensitive projects 410 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 2: or the federal government that maybe those civilian employees need 411 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 2: to have a security clearance have access to that project. 412 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,439 Speaker 2: If those people were aligned or working for any of 413 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 2: those companies, it could impact their after government livelihood because 414 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 2: now if they don't have a security clearance, they technively 415 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 2: couldn't work on that project. As far as former presidents go, 416 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 2: by tradition, former presidents have always been afforded the opportunity 417 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,199 Speaker 2: to continue having an intelligence briefing daily when they leave office. 418 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 2: The majority of them wave off on it because when 419 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 2: they leave office, they want to be a civilian. They 420 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 2: don't want to be the president. 421 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,680 Speaker 1: Are right? What are you going to do with that information? 422 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: That's what I'm wonder is that if you know former presidents, 423 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 1: did they get up in the morning and this is 424 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: what they do? They look at the intelligence briefing even 425 00:24:58,480 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: though they had zero power in the world. 426 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think for most of them, when they leave office, 427 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,639 Speaker 2: it's time to leave office and they're looking forward to 428 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 2: being a private citizen, engaging in things maybe they haven't 429 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 2: been able to engage to when they're in the White 430 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 2: House and becoming, you know, part having some of their 431 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 2: freedoms back, so to speak. 432 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: So what Trump is doing is just publicly embarrassing these 433 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 1: people more than anything else. It doesn't really change that life. 434 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 2: I think what President Trump is doing is I think 435 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 2: he's doing it more just to send a message more 436 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 2: than anything else. I don't know how much it impacts 437 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:33,919 Speaker 2: what they're doing on a day to day basis. 438 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: All right, John, thank you for coming on. 439 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. 440 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: Johns Don Mahllick is the ABC News our law enforcement 441 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,439 Speaker 1: contributor and a retired Secret Service agent. In case you 442 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: see these headlines, now you know what the practical impact 443 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: of it is. After two o'clock, we're also going to 444 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: talk with the tenant General Richard Newton over this idea 445 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: that Trump can take Gaza. You may have heard about this. 446 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,200 Speaker 1: He says, the us I had to take Gaza and 447 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: they had to kick all the Palestinians out because it's 448 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: it's nothing but rubble, and he looks at as a 449 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:16,200 Speaker 1: real estate development opportunity, and he wants Egypt and Jordan 450 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:20,680 Speaker 1: to take in the Palestinians. They said no. We'll talk 451 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,240 Speaker 1: with Lieutenant General Richard Newton about that. Coming up after 452 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: two o'clock. 453 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 4: You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI six. 454 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,200 Speaker 1: We're on from one until four o'clock and then after 455 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: four John Cobelt Show on demand on the iHeart app. 456 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: We have a lot that's been sold in the Palisades. 457 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: Did you see this? 458 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 5: I did? Was that you did you buy that app. 459 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,360 Speaker 1: No, but somebody's gonna have a really good deal. Here. 460 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: A woman who bought the house in five for a 461 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 1: million and a half decided to take the loss, and 462 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: I guess she's probably going to get some insurance coverage. Yeah, 463 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: she sold a lot for a million dollars. It was 464 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,360 Speaker 1: on the market for well just a short time. It's 465 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: less than a month after the fires. Officially it was 466 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 1: nine hundred and ninety nine thousand dollars. She put it 467 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:23,800 Speaker 1: on the market January sixteenth. And she's not rebuilding, she's 468 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: staying nearby, and she just wanted out. And the real 469 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,640 Speaker 1: estate agent said he got seventy to eighty inquiries. Wow, 470 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 1: mostly from out of area investors. Yeah, any rich person 471 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,760 Speaker 1: out there who's got access to a few hundred thousand dollars, 472 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 1: because you know, five ten years, Ballisades will be back 473 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 1: to normal again and you can make a killing about 474 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: a ten thousand square foot property that includes the land 475 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: on Avenita Dela Herrodora. And that's the first first one 476 00:27:59,560 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 1: I've seen. 477 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:02,439 Speaker 5: I wonder how. 478 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 6: Many people are going to decide not to rebuild. I mean, 479 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 6: because the rebuilding process takes so long. 480 00:28:09,119 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: I know, and you have to. I was talking to 481 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 1: my friend and he says, you know, I'm going to 482 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: on the phone constantly fighting with insurance people. You want 483 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: to build, You've got to get architects, you got to 484 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 1: get the builder, you got the city inspectors. You've got 485 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: to deal with the water and the power. And it's 486 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: just you ever built a house. 487 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 5: No, I have never built a house. 488 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:33,719 Speaker 1: We built a couple. Oh I didn't. 489 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 5: You were hammering and no. 490 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,200 Speaker 1: My wife, My wife oversaw two construction projects. She got 491 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 1: our house built in thirteen months. Oh wow. In fact, 492 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 1: I told her, I go, you ought to be in 493 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: charge of the recovery project. Pallis Age would be back 494 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: in order by twenty twenty six. No, she's really tough 495 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: and sometimes brutal to watch. I remember she went after 496 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: one guy, one of the contractors, and we were in 497 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,720 Speaker 1: we were in a second floor room and they hadn't 498 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: put in the windows yet, right, And this guy was 499 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,200 Speaker 1: one of these You did run into a lot of chauvinists, Yes, don't. 500 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 5: Oh yeah, they don't want to deal with the women. 501 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 1: They do not want to deal with. And this guy 502 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: was one of those didn't want to deal with a 503 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: woman and was getting my wife a hard time. And 504 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: she started walking towards him with a look on her face, 505 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: and he started backing up, and I thought he was 506 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: gonna he was going to back right out the window, 507 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: just or maybe voluntarily jump out the windows. 508 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 6: You know, I hate those guys that don't want to 509 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 6: deal with women, because many times we're the ones that 510 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 6: are deciding what we want. A lot of times, you guys, right, 511 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 6: you know this. 512 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 5: Whatever you want. 513 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 6: Whatever guy guys don't there, right, So let's get rid 514 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:48,320 Speaker 6: of those chauvinistic contractors. 515 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 5: Those guys. Well, I've dealt with those guys. 516 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,239 Speaker 1: You talked about the window. That's what she was going 517 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 1: to do. She's and he's going to go down two floors. 518 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 5: In prison, and then your house would never have been rebuilt. 519 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: There is a downside for that. It's funny. I didn't 520 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: try to stop her. I just thought, well, let's see 521 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: if she actually does it. But well, I can't do 522 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 1: any of that. Like she can design things, and she's 523 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 1: I mean, she's not an architect, but she had a 524 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: vision in her head and she used to say, well, 525 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: why don't you like weigh in on this? Well, what 526 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: do you want? I said, if I had as much 527 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: interest in this as you. We would just be fighting 528 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: all the time, right, because I would have different ideas, 529 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 1: and it's like, you know, and and one of the 530 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: contractors said, it's like he seen divorces happened ye from 531 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: from husbands and wives fighting each other over the vision, 532 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,320 Speaker 1: and it's like, you know what, you have one hundred 533 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:44,080 Speaker 1: percent control. 534 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 5: Of this, which is very nice, and I'm. 535 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:46,240 Speaker 1: Just going to go to work. 536 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,360 Speaker 5: I'll you deal with all that. But that's what I mean. 537 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,160 Speaker 6: That happens a lot, and these contractors should not not 538 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,000 Speaker 6: be pissing off the women because no, I'll say goodbye 539 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 6: to you and we'll get somebody else. 540 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:00,760 Speaker 1: No, I mean I was used occasionally as a front man, 541 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 1: like if you That's what's funny is these guys are well, 542 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: I'm are stupid, right, and so because I'm a guy, 543 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: they'll respond to me, not knowing I was put up 544 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 1: to this. I have no idea what I'm talking about. 545 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:19,320 Speaker 1: I have no idea what I want script. I am 546 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: reading talking points from my wife, but she knows he 547 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: is going to follow what I say, whereas if she 548 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: says the same thing, the guy is resistant to it. 549 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:30,560 Speaker 6: Oh yeah, no, I I I'll tell you, I have 550 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 6: not built a house, but I've remodeled a lot of stuff, 551 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 6: and I have dealt with guys like that. 552 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:37,920 Speaker 5: Really pisses me off. 553 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 1: Even think it's good business, because if you if you 554 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: treat the women well, they're the ones who are going 555 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,640 Speaker 1: to give like seventeen recommendations to. 556 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:48,560 Speaker 5: All their girlfriends. 557 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 1: That's right, where you do something good for me, I'm 558 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:53,160 Speaker 1: not going to tell anyone I'm going to lose interest 559 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: five minutes after get off game exactly. I don't remember 560 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,120 Speaker 1: the names of anybody who built the homes, but my 561 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,480 Speaker 1: wife she really liked one set of builders we had, 562 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: and and she just told everybody in sight. 563 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 6: Yes, so the same thing with painters and granted people 564 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 6: and whatever. 565 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's all right. We come back. We are 566 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:21,600 Speaker 1: going to talk with Lieutenant General Richard Newton and he uh, 567 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 1: he's on news Nation and you keep hearing is that 568 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: Trump wants to take over Gaza, and he's he's insisting 569 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 1: that the US has the authority to take Gaza, and 570 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:38,960 Speaker 1: he's insisting that Egypt and Jordan and I don't know 571 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: who else should absorb the Palestinians while they redeveloped the 572 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:47,160 Speaker 1: Gaza site. He thinks it's a big real estate opportunity 573 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 1: and nobody wants Nobody wants the Palestinians. Every time other 574 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 1: countries have taken Palestinians in, there have been attempted coups 575 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 1: for the local government, so that there's a there's a 576 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: reason that that they got trapped in Gaza while Israel 577 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: was bombing away. If you remember, Egypt shut the borders right, 578 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 1: and Jordan doesn't want them in because there's there are 579 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 1: too many, you know, the guys, more than half them 580 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 1: are aligned with AMAS. So you let these refugees in, 581 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: and refugees sound like, oh, they're refugees, they're they're hungry, 582 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,880 Speaker 1: and it's like no, no, no, no, you've got terrorists here 583 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 1: to a large extent. We'll talk with the Lieutenant General 584 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: Richard Newton next. Deborah Marcuslide in the CAFI twenty four 585 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: hour Newsroom. Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt 586 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,479 Speaker 1: Show podcast. You can always hear the show live on 587 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 1: KFI Am six forty from one to four pm every 588 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,479 Speaker 1: Monday through Friday, and of course anytime on demand on 589 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:40,720 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app.