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Speaker 1: Welcome.

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Speaker 2: It's nice to have you with us on Verdict, with

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Speaker 2: Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as always and center.

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Speaker 1: We've got a lot to talk about.

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Speaker 3: Well, there's a ton happening. The Trump administration announced that

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Speaker 3: they are going to begin revoking student visas for Chinese

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Speaker 3: students and vigorously scouring their applications to make sure that

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Speaker 3: they are not connected to the Chinese Communist Party. That

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Speaker 3: is a welcome step that is much needed. We're going

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Speaker 3: to break that down in detail. California also reversed its

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Speaker 3: policies on transgender athletes, taking a major step to protect

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Speaker 3: women and really showing that the left realizes they are

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Speaker 3: in full retreat. We're going to explain exactly what's going

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Speaker 3: on there. We're also going to talk about the sad

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Speaker 3: news this past week that my good friend Phil Robertson,

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Speaker 3: the Great Phil Robertson, passed away. We're going to reflect

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Speaker 3: on the impact he had, and I'm going to take

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Speaker 3: you guys inside what it's like to go duck hunting

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Speaker 3: with Phil Robertson, one of the most incredible and fun

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Speaker 3: things I've ever had the joy of doing. And finally,

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Speaker 3: the Trump administration announced that the American Bar Association the

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Speaker 3: ABA is no longer going to have any special role

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Speaker 3: in judicial selection. Long overdue, and a great announcement all

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Speaker 3: of that on today's show.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a good one.

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Speaker 2: I want to talk to you real quick though, about

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Speaker 2: what's happening in Israel and what we're seeing right now

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Speaker 2: is truly disturbing. Anti Semitism is on the rise around

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Speaker 2: the world, and sadly, even right here in America. Jewish

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Speaker 2: schools are being targeted, synagogues are being threatened, and families

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Speaker 2: are living in fear. It's something that we hoped we'd

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Speaker 2: never see again in our lifetime. And so let me

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Speaker 2: say this, silence is not an option. This is the

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Speaker 2: moment that we can all take a stand with the

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Speaker 2: people in Israel. And that's why I want you to

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Speaker 2: be involved with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

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Speaker 1: You may have heard of it.

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Speaker 2: It's called IFCJ and they are on the front lines

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Speaker 2: providing real help where it's needed the most. They're giving

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Speaker 2: food and sheltered Jewish families that are under threat. They're

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Speaker 2: even building bomb shelters on virtually a daily basis for

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Speaker 2: children in Israel, and they're helping survivors of hate rebuild

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Speaker 2: their lives. And they don't just respond to crisis, they

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Speaker 2: work every day to prevent it. And that's where your

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Speaker 2: gift of only forty five dollars will help support their

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Speaker 2: life saving work by providing food, shelter, and so much more.

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Speaker 2: So please call IFCJ and stand with God's people in

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Speaker 2: Israel eight A eight for eight eight IFCJ. That's eight

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Speaker 2: eight eight four eight eight four three two five. You

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Speaker 2: can also go online and find out more about IFCJ

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Speaker 2: and to donate at IFCJ dot org. Every dollar helps,

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Speaker 2: don't wait be the difference. Visit IFCJ dot org or

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Speaker 2: eight a eight for eight eight IFCJ.

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Speaker 1: All right, so let's.

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Speaker 2: Dive into this big first topic center and it deals

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Speaker 2: with what you mentioned earlier, China and Chinese student visas.

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Speaker 2: There was an interesting number that was thrown out earlier

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Speaker 2: in the day on TV, and I'm going to quote it.

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure if it's ex exactly accurate, but it is,

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Speaker 2: and that's why I said it was. I saw it

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Speaker 2: earlier today and I want to prefix that with saying it.

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Speaker 2: But it's said that there were about five hundred American

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Speaker 2: students that have visas in China and more than two

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Speaker 2: or eight thousand Chinese students in the US is what

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Speaker 2: was said, Why are we doing so much for Chinese students,

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Speaker 2: many of them by the way they come in here,

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Speaker 2: that spy and rob of us of our intellectual property,

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Speaker 2: and the administration ter administration is basically saying, we're trying

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Speaker 2: to put a stop to this.

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Speaker 3: Well, what the Trump administration has announced. Secretary of State

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Speaker 3: Marco Rubio announced that they will begin aggressively revoking the

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Speaker 3: visas of Chinese students in the United States. China engages

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Speaker 3: in extensive propaganda and espionage, and they're going to begin

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Speaker 3: vetting and vetting aggressively whether a particular student seeking a

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Speaker 3: visa to come to this country has ties to the

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Speaker 3: Chinese Communist Party. I think this is long overdue and

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Speaker 3: it's part of a broad effort. They're also engaged with

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Speaker 3: foreign students that are coming to the United States, examining

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Speaker 3: their social media history, examining if they have a history

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Speaker 3: of radicalism. So, if you are seeking a student visa

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Speaker 3: to come to America and you've been public saying I

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Speaker 3: hate America, I want to destroy America, which Sadly, we've

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Speaker 3: seen some of these radical students who've said that, and nonetheless,

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Speaker 3: Joe Biden the Democrats said, welcome to America. We need

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Speaker 3: more people who hate our nation and want to destroy it. Well,

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Speaker 3: I think the president's exactly right to stand up and

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Speaker 3: say we're not going to welcome people to this country

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Speaker 3: who are trying to undermine and destroy this country. With

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Speaker 3: respect to China, you know the question of espionage and

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Speaker 3: intellectual property theft that's existed since the dawn of time. Look,

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Speaker 3: when the first caveman invented the wheel, I suspect somebody

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Speaker 3: stole his idea and made another wheel. That that's part

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Speaker 3: of the human condition. What is not ever before existed

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Speaker 3: is a nation state with massive economic resources like China

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Speaker 3: making it a state policy to engage in the theft

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Speaker 3: of resources. And so I am very I think it's

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Speaker 3: exactly right that we're going to vigorously scrutinize those students

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Speaker 3: coming in to make sure that they are not operating

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Speaker 3: as agents of the Chinese Communist Party. Now, let me

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Speaker 3: say at the same time, look, part of the reason

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Speaker 3: you don't get that many Americans going to China to

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Speaker 3: study is you don't have a whole lot of folks

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Speaker 3: that want to go to Chinese universities, whereas people from

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Speaker 3: all over the world want to come to American universities.

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Speaker 3: And I will say, if you have people who are

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Speaker 3: not agents of the communist government, we want the best

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Speaker 3: and brightest in the world coming to America. We end

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Speaker 3: up having inventions coming here because the best and brightest

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Speaker 3: students across the country come and come and study science

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Speaker 3: at engineering and they make inventions, and those inventions in

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Speaker 3: turn fuel American companies and they create great jobs. And

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Speaker 3: so I think the administration is cutting the right balance here,

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Speaker 3: which is saying we're going to stop spies, we're going

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Speaker 3: to stop terrorists, but at the same time that that

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Speaker 3: doesn't mean that we want to close our doors entirely

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Speaker 3: too brilliant physicists and engineers from around the world being

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Speaker 3: able to come to America and benefiting from from the

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Speaker 3: fruits of that.

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Speaker 2: You know, there's one thing that we mentioned. Gosh, there's

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Speaker 2: probably a little over a year ago on this show.

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Speaker 2: In the podcast that we do, I tell people this

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Speaker 2: is why you should download Verdict with Ted Cruz.

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Speaker 1: We do it three days a week.

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Speaker 2: We talked back when under the Biden Harrison administration there

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Speaker 2: was even warnings coming from their administration that they're the

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Speaker 2: number one threat to this country was China and Chinese

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Speaker 2: espionage and influence operations. That is now a Kumbaya moment

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Speaker 2: with the Trump administration, where in essence, two administrations that

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Speaker 2: saw nothing o't eye both agreed on China and what

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Speaker 2: they were trying to do and stealing an electual property

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Speaker 2: and sending an incredible number of spies into this country

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Speaker 2: and many of them come through our university system.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, but the Biden administration did next to nothing to

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Speaker 3: stop it. So they acknowledged it's a problem, but at

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Speaker 3: the same time, they were complicit in it. And I'll

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Speaker 3: tell you I have for over a decade been leading

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Speaker 3: the fight to stop Chinese espionage, to stop Chinese propaganda,

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Speaker 3: to stop China's malign efforts. I think we need a

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Speaker 3: comprehensive effort to take on communist China, much like we

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Speaker 3: had under Ronald Reagan to win the Cold War against

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Speaker 3: the Soviet Union. And I'll tell you, Ben, one of

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Speaker 3: the very first pieces of legislation that I authored and

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Speaker 3: passed dealt with exactly this, and it dealt with what

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Speaker 3: are called Confucius institutes. So Confucius institutes were started at

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Speaker 3: US universities all across America, where there were roughly two

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Speaker 3: hundred of them, and they were controlled by Communist China.

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Speaker 3: They were paid for by Communist China, by the government,

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Speaker 3: and they were used to engage in propaganda and espionage

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Speaker 3: on campus. I authored legislation and said, if you have

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Speaker 3: a Confucius Institute on campus, you will not get funding

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Speaker 3: from the federal government, from the Department of Defense. I

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Speaker 3: passed it into law, and I'll tell you that simple

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Speaker 3: piece of legislation resulted in over a hundred Confucius institute

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Speaker 3: shutting down at universities across the country, shutting down their espionage,

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Speaker 3: shutting down their propaganda. I think the Trump administration's announcement

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Speaker 3: is the next step in that very important fight.

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Speaker 1: Senator, Let's deal with California.

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Speaker 2: And there has been a fight since the President came

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Speaker 2: in with his executive order on trying to protect women

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Speaker 2: from men being in their locker rooms, being in their

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Speaker 2: sports beating them up. We saw it during the Olympics

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Speaker 2: in boxing. We've seen countless women who their achievements have

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Speaker 2: been taken away from them. On the podium because of

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Speaker 2: men claiming their women, which is impossible in reality, and

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Speaker 2: California decide they were going to stand up to Donald Trump,

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Speaker 2: and guess what, it didn't go very well for them.

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Speaker 3: Well, listen, we've seen the Democrat Party getting more and

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Speaker 3: more radical ever since Donald Trump took the oath of

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Speaker 3: office back in twenty seventeen. They hate Trump and they've

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Speaker 3: gotten more and more extreme on a host of issues.

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Speaker 3: And one of the poster children for their extreme issues

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Speaker 3: is embracing boys in girls sports, men and women's sports.

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Speaker 3: And it is wrong, it is unfair, it invites injury,

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Speaker 3: and it also deprives both both girls and women of

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Speaker 3: athletic victories they should have and they've earned. There are

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Speaker 3: differences between boys and girls. There are differences between men

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Speaker 3: and women that did not used to be a controversial proposition.

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Speaker 3: It is only in today's looney tune left that they

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Speaker 3: can't tell to the difference between men and women. But

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Speaker 3: I got to tell you, even though in the Senate,

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Speaker 3: Senate Democrats all of them continue to defend men in

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Speaker 3: women's sports and boys and girls sports, we're seeing the

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Speaker 3: state of California. We're seeing the Democrats beginning to retreat.

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Speaker 3: We're seeing Gavin Newsom, the governor who's been a far

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Speaker 3: left radical governor. He's got ambitions of being president, he's

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Speaker 3: looking at running in twenty twenty eight, and he's decided, Okay,

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Speaker 3: we're on the wrong side of an eighty twenty issue.

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Speaker 3: I want to get the hell away from this. And

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Speaker 3: so California announced this is a big deal. They're changing

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Speaker 3: their policy for track and field so that if you're

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Speaker 3: a biological girl and you got you missed out on

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Speaker 3: making it to the state championship because you were beaten

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Speaker 3: by a biological male who claims to be a transgender woman,

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Speaker 3: then the girl you will still get your slot. You

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Speaker 3: still get invited to the state championship. Look, that's a

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Speaker 3: significant step in the right direction, and Gavin Newsom is

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Speaker 3: embracing it. And I got to say this really illustrates

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Speaker 3: that at least some Democrats realize, Wow, we are on

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Speaker 3: the wrong side of an issue that America. America wants

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Speaker 3: to protect girls sports and women's sports. We want to

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Speaker 3: protect our daughters and we don't want to see them

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Speaker 3: hurt or competing unfairly. And so the crazy thing is

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Speaker 3: that means in track and Field in California. Now they

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Speaker 3: may give three gold medals, one to the boy, one

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Speaker 3: to the girl, and one to the transgender athlete. You

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Speaker 3: may have gold medals all around. But for bright blue

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Speaker 3: California to make this concession, it shows that at least

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Speaker 3: some Democrats realize they are way on the wrong side

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Speaker 3: of this issue.

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Speaker 2: This also, I think is an issue that it's worth

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Speaker 2: fighting for, and I think many that are listening or saying,

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Speaker 2: we don't want to give in, and we don't want

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Speaker 2: to give up, and the penoum went so far to

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Speaker 2: the radical left for so many years that this is

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Speaker 2: the fight that is worth fighting on and fighting over.

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Speaker 2: And showing California having to change girls track and field

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Speaker 2: championship rules after the Trump threatens funding over the trans

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Speaker 2: athletes is just an example of hey, we are and

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Speaker 2: many times the silent majority, and we need to start

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Speaker 2: acting like it, especially on these types of issues.

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Speaker 3: Well, I'll tell you Ben this, this issue is a

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Speaker 3: powerful issue. And as you know, I ran for re

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Speaker 3: election in Texas last year in twenty twenty four. It

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Speaker 3: was a quarter billion dollar race. I was Chuck Schumer's

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Speaker 3: number one target and my campaign was was the first

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Speaker 3: campaign in the country last year to put real time

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Speaker 3: and energy behind this, this issue of We're going to

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Speaker 3: protect girl sports from boys competing, and we put tens

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Speaker 3: of millions of dollars behind this issue. What's fascinating is

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Speaker 3: the media completely misunderstood the issue. So one of the

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Speaker 3: things that my campaign did is we did focus groups

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Speaker 3: in Houston and Dallas of undecided moderate women to understand

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Speaker 3: what issues moved them, and we tested thirty thirty five

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Speaker 3: different messages. The number one issue that moved undecided moderate

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Speaker 3: women in Texas was boys and girls sports. And when

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Speaker 3: I started campaigning on it, it was very funny. The

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Speaker 3: reporters are like, oh, Cruise is trying to appeal to

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Speaker 3: the crazy right wing, and I was just laughing at him,

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Speaker 3: and I'm like, you guys are so clueless. This is not

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Speaker 3: the crazy right wing. This is soccer moms. This is

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Speaker 3: soccer moms who love their daughters. And we land on

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Speaker 3: this issue. And then you saw senate races all across

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Speaker 3: the country pick up the same message because they were

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Speaker 3: seeing the same data. We where we saw President Trump

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Speaker 3: lean in Harvard on this.

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Speaker 2: Some of those women that you were talking to, let's

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Speaker 2: be very clear, had moved from California because you know,

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Speaker 2: the like, how many people from California moved to Texas

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Speaker 2: over the last six years a lot.

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Speaker 3: We have over one thousand people a day moving to

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Speaker 3: the state of Texas, and California is overwhelmingly the heaviest,

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Speaker 3: the largest state that is sending people to Texas. But

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Speaker 3: this issue, what's fascinating Ben, is you know, four years ago,

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Speaker 3: this issue did not work politically. You saw campaigns try

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Speaker 3: to raise it four years ago, and I think people

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Speaker 3: thought then that that that it was jumping the shark,

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Speaker 3: that it didn't feel real. Four years ago, I think

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Speaker 3: people said, oh, come on, that's that's that's not a

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Speaker 3: real threat. Well, you know what we've now seen Leah Thomas,

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Speaker 3: the the the the swimmer who who is a biological

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Speaker 3: man and looks like Michael friggin Phelps, who who who

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Speaker 3: We've also seen And I think this was really a

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Speaker 3: seminal moment in the Olympics, the two dudes competing in

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Speaker 3: in in women's boxing and beating the hell out of women.

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Speaker 3: And I think a whole lot of people said, wait,

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Speaker 3: this is not theoretical. This is happening over and over

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Speaker 3: and over again. Enough is enough and and I think

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Speaker 3: this is another milestone that that California is retreating on

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Speaker 3: this issue shows that that truth and sanity are are winning.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and now the question becomes how much are they

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Speaker 2: going to be able to fight back through the court

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Speaker 2: system and is this going to be something that's going

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Speaker 2: to be unfortunately an issue for probably years to come.

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Speaker 3: Well, look, we'll see. And to be honest, California hasn't

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Speaker 3: conceded all together. They're still having biological males compete against women,

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Speaker 3: which is which is unfair. It invites injury. You know,

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Speaker 3: if you're playing volleyball, We've seen women who have a

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Speaker 3: biological man spiked the ball into their head and they

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Speaker 3: get injured. I mean, I mean it is California is

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Speaker 3: still looney Tunes. But the fact that even the lefty

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Speaker 3: government of California is saying we've gone too far, that's

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Speaker 3: a very positive sign.

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Speaker 2: We had some really sad news this week, but also

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Speaker 2: a celebration of an incredible legacy in a life.

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Speaker 1: You know him from Dug Dynasty.

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Speaker 2: Phil Robertson passed away this week and many people may

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Speaker 2: not realize this, he was actually incredibly influential in your

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Speaker 2: twenty sixteen presidential campaign. He went all in for you

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Speaker 2: and even did an ad for you. Some thought that

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Speaker 2: was political suicide for Duck Dynasty, the brand, Oh don't

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Speaker 2: get involved in politics. Whatever you do, just you know,

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Speaker 2: be Dug Dynasty stuff well, you know, in Walmart, and

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Speaker 2: just be famous. He was not afraid to take a

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Speaker 2: stand for what he believed in, whether it was his

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Speaker 2: faith or in politics. And that's one of the reasons

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Speaker 2: why I absolutely love the legacy of Phil Well.

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Speaker 3: Phil Robertson was extraordinary. He was one of a kind.

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Speaker 3: He was truly an American original.

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Speaker 1: Uh.

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Speaker 3: He passed this week at age seventy nine. And and

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Speaker 3: and Phil built a business empire as the the the

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Speaker 3: founder of Duck Commander, and and and on television, he was,

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Speaker 3: you know, a unique character. He and his family with

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Speaker 3: their long scraggly beards, with their love of hunting, with

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Speaker 3: their real I mean, there was a genuineness to fill.

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Speaker 3: And then there is to his whole family that that

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Speaker 3: is it is spectacular and and and there is also

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Speaker 3: a love of a love of Jesus, a love of God,

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Speaker 3: an open embrace of faith, which which frankly you don't

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Speaker 3: see on TV very much. And and and it is

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Speaker 3: part it was integral to who Phil was. I I

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Speaker 3: was really blessed I got to know Phil, I admired him,

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Speaker 3: I considered him a friend, and I got to say,

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Speaker 3: you know it, one of the coolest things I've ever

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Speaker 3: done in my life is I got to go duck

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Speaker 3: hunting with Phil. And this was during the twenty sixteen

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Speaker 3: presidential campaign. They invited me to come to his home,

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Speaker 3: and so I came to his home and went and

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Speaker 3: had dinner with him and the whole family, which was

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Speaker 3: really cool. And then then we got up at four

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Speaker 3: in the morning the next morning and went to the

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Speaker 3: duck blinde. And listen, you and I both enjoy hunting.

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Speaker 3: Hunting is a lot of fun. I've hunted with a

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Speaker 3: lot of different people. I will tell you, hands down,

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Speaker 3: Phil Robertson is the best shot with a shotgun I've

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Speaker 3: ever seen in my life.

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Speaker 2: Like, like, we're not the only person that's told me that.

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Speaker 2: I was talking with another friend that went and hunted

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Speaker 2: with him. They said like he was next level, like

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Speaker 2: completely different level, that it was just in his blood

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Speaker 2: and he knew how to shoot. And it was just like,

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Speaker 2: oh wow, Like this is like Olympic level is I

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Speaker 2: was described to me this week.

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Speaker 3: So we would be in the blind and you see

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Speaker 3: some ducks flying over the horizon, and Phil would take

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Speaker 3: a shot at a distance. I wouldn't even pick up

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Speaker 3: my gun, like it's a distance, like there's no way

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Speaker 3: on Earth I'm hitting that bird. If the duck flies

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Speaker 3: over by us, I'll shoot it. But like that, like

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Speaker 3: he he. That was the thing that really stood out

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Speaker 3: is that he would shoot ducks at a distance that

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Speaker 3: was like fifty percent further than any other duck hunter

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Speaker 3: I've ever seen. And as I said, they were far

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Speaker 3: enough away that I didn't even buy I'm an okay

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Speaker 3: shot with a shot, and I could hold my own,

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Speaker 3: but these ducks were so far away I wouldn't waste

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Speaker 3: the shells. And it was It was impressive to watch.

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Speaker 3: He was also just just real. He was fun. All Right,

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Speaker 3: I'm gonna tell you a neat Phil Robertson story that

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Speaker 3: he told me.

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Speaker 1: So.

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Speaker 3: So, Phil was a very good athlete. He was actually

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Speaker 3: the starting quarterback at Louisiana Tech University. I did not

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Speaker 3: know that he was the starting quarterback. And then one

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Speaker 3: day he quit. He quit the team and said, I'm

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Speaker 3: not gonna play anymore. Now, do you know who his

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Speaker 3: backup quarterback was?

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Speaker 1: Who was that?

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Speaker 3: It's a guy named Terry Bradshaw.

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Speaker 1: Is that why he quit?

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Speaker 3: Nope, Nope, that's not why he quit. So Terry Bradshaw, who,

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Speaker 3: for those of you who are not not football fans,

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Speaker 3: is one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks ever to play,

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Speaker 3: was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Is a legendary quarterback.

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Speaker 3: Terry Bradshaw was Phil Robertson's backup. He was not getting

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Speaker 3: a ton of playing time because Phil Robertson was the starter.

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Speaker 3: He quit because football season interfered with hunting season. And

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Speaker 3: so the story Phil told me is is his coach

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Speaker 3: came to his apartment and was gonna was trying to

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Speaker 3: convince Phil to come back and play football. And Phil said, hey, coach, coach,

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Speaker 3: come on in, come on in. Hey, he said, come

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Speaker 3: on in the bathroom. I'm cleaning a deer here in

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Speaker 3: the bathroom in my bathtub.

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Speaker 1: So the coach which comes in and he's.

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Speaker 3: Cleaning a deer, and the coach says, Phil, I'm not

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Speaker 3: going to convince you to come back and play football,

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Speaker 3: am I? And Phil says no, not a chance. But

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Speaker 3: but I'm really glad you came over. And so he

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Speaker 3: quit and Terry Bradshaw, a legend was born, and then

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Speaker 3: a second legend, Phil Robertson was born because his love

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Speaker 3: of hunting led him led him to to to form

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Speaker 3: for Duck Commander, to start Duck Dynasty and one of

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Speaker 3: the coolest things. So in twenty sixteen, he cut a

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Speaker 3: TV commercial for my presidential campaign and like the image

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Speaker 3: of it. It's the two of us hunting together and

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Speaker 3: wearing camo and we got face paint and he's talking.

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Speaker 3: But I want to play that that ad. You don't

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Speaker 3: have the visuals, but you can google it if you

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Speaker 3: want to watch the visuals. And it was classic. But

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Speaker 3: this is this is all Phil, And I'll just say this.

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Speaker 3: Not a word of this was scripted. They just pointed

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Speaker 3: the camera at him and said, Phil talk, and this

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Speaker 3: is what he said.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, let's meet.

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Speaker 2: This has got to be the only presidential campaign ad

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Speaker 2: that actually starts with duck calling. I just want to

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Speaker 2: point that out, because Phil is calling in the Ducks

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Speaker 2: and that's the first thing you're going to hear.

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Speaker 4: Our qualifications for President of the United States or rather,

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Speaker 4: Nara is here.

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Speaker 1: She's got me?

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Speaker 4: Does he or she love us?

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Speaker 1: And he or she do the job?

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Speaker 4: And finally, well to kill a duck and put him

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Speaker 4: in a pot and make him a good duck Combo.

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Speaker 4: I've looked at the candidates. Ted Kruse is my man.

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Speaker 4: He fits the bill, He's got me, he loves us,

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Speaker 4: he's a man for the job, and he will go

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Speaker 4: duck hunt. Because today we're going Ted Krues is my man.

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Speaker 4: I'm voting Park Cruise. The reason we're going to vote

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Speaker 4: for you, all of us, is because you're one of us,

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Speaker 4: my man. That's why looking for you. It's no ever.

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Speaker 2: I got to say, it might be one of the

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Speaker 2: best ads I've ever seen. It's the closest you'll ever

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Speaker 2: be to Rambo Senator uh with a face paint.

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Speaker 1: But but this was a big.

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Speaker 2: Risk for him, and I'm sure there was a lot

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Speaker 2: of pr people around him, like why do you want

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Speaker 2: to get involved in politics? Gonna alienate people that could

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Speaker 2: be you know, duck commander friends and and people that

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Speaker 2: could buy stuff from you. Why do you want to

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Speaker 2: get into politics? He believed in you that much, he said,

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Speaker 2: I don't care.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, look if he was listening to pr people. I

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Speaker 3: I certainly saw no evidence of it. I think he's

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Speaker 3: a man who followed what he believed was right, and

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Speaker 3: he spoke out and he spoke the truth. You know.

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Speaker 3: One of the things I loved about Duck Dynasty is

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Speaker 3: is that his faith was real and he and he

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Speaker 3: talked about it, and he was proud to to to

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Speaker 3: demonstrate the love of Jesus every day. And I'll tell

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Speaker 3: you a really cool follow up. So he cut that

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Speaker 3: ad and and I asked Phil, hey, would you come

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Speaker 3: to Iowa? Would you campaign with me on the ground

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Speaker 3: in Iowa. Now it was in the middle of duck

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Speaker 3: season and Phil had gone hunting every single day of

437
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,280
Speaker 3: duck season every year for more than forty years. He

438
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:20,199
Speaker 3: had never missed a day. And so we'd asked him

439
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:21,640
Speaker 3: to come. We were having a big rally in Iowa.

440
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 3: We asked him, Phil, you would you fly up to

441
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:26,200
Speaker 3: Iowa and join us? And we didn't get a definite answer.

442
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,600
Speaker 3: He had the invite and he told me he actually

443
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,199
Speaker 3: went to went to the Duck blind at at you know,

444
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,919
Speaker 3: four four thirty in the morning, and he was sitting

445
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,159
Speaker 3: there and he said he sat there like twenty minutes,

446
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:40,919
Speaker 3: and then he got up and left and got on

447
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,719
Speaker 3: a plane and flew to Iowa. And it was the

448
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:47,000
Speaker 3: first day in over forty years that he didn't go

449
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,440
Speaker 3: duck hunting on a day during duck season, and instead

450
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,119
Speaker 3: he came and campaigned in Iowa.

451
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:53,680
Speaker 1: He was awesome. Some of what the impact did that

452
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:54,600
Speaker 1: have in Iowa?

453
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,159
Speaker 2: When when he I mean because this was at the

454
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,760
Speaker 2: height of their fame obviously in sixteen.

455
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:02,680
Speaker 3: Well look we wont Iowa on Iowa, uh decisively, and

456
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,720
Speaker 3: and and and ended up winning twelve states in twenty sixteen,

457
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 3: and Phil's coming there UH played a uh made a

458
00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 3: real difference. And I'll tell you Phil spoke at that rally,

459
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,040
Speaker 3: and my dad spoke and and and Phil and my

460
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,359
Speaker 3: dad were about the same age.

461
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:16,440
Speaker 5: It.

462
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,280
Speaker 3: Phil was a little bit younger than my dad. My

463
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:20,840
Speaker 3: dad's eighty six. Phil was seventy nine when he passed.

464
00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:24,440
Speaker 3: But but they got along. And my father's a pastor

465
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:29,480
Speaker 3: and and and and like Phil, my dad is is unapologetic.

466
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:32,720
Speaker 3: Like like my father Ben, you know my dad well

467
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:38,000
Speaker 3: he is. He's incapable of guile, He's incapable of telling you,

468
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,840
Speaker 3: of not telling you what he thinks it really is

469
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,520
Speaker 3: sometimes to his own fault. My dad will just say

470
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:50,840
Speaker 3: exactly what he thinks. Consequences be damned. Uh and and

471
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 3: it's a and And the back to back at that

472
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,840
Speaker 3: rally of having Phil talk and my dad talk, that

473
00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,840
Speaker 3: combination was was really really potent.

474
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,320
Speaker 1: It's it's an incredible story.

475
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,000
Speaker 2: I know you you you know the family as well,

476
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,959
Speaker 2: and I know you wanted to say to them obviously

477
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,719
Speaker 2: it's something about their father passing, and just how thankful

478
00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 2: you are for the legacies.

479
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 3: Left well, look to the to the entire family, to

480
00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 3: Jason and Willie and cy and and and the entire

481
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:23,080
Speaker 3: extended family. You guys have had an incredible impact on America.

482
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,119
Speaker 3: You've had an incredible impact touching people's lives, You've had

483
00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:30,760
Speaker 3: an incredible impact speaking up for for ordinary Americans. But

484
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 3: but also you guys have powerfully spread the gospel. And

485
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:41,960
Speaker 3: I appreciate that, that cheerful, happy warrior, that unapologetic willingness

486
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:45,240
Speaker 3: to speak truth. Look, we are sad that that Phil

487
00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,000
Speaker 3: is not with us. We are mourning, and I'll tell

488
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,040
Speaker 3: you Heidi and I are praying for the family that

489
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,320
Speaker 3: is mourning the loss of of the patriarch. But at

490
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:56,640
Speaker 3: the same time, we're celebrating a life incredibly well lived,

491
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,120
Speaker 3: and and and he's with Jesus now and and and

492
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:01,720
Speaker 3: Phil we love you all.

493
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,080
Speaker 2: Right, Senata, So let's dive into this other issue that

494
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,840
Speaker 2: really is an interesting one. You've got a lot to

495
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:12,480
Speaker 2: say about the Trump Justice Department telling the American Bar

496
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 2: Association that it will no longer comply with ratings for

497
00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,320
Speaker 2: judicial nominees.

498
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:21,919
Speaker 1: Now, explain the politics behind this.

499
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:26,200
Speaker 2: The ABA has had a lot of power and they're

500
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:28,800
Speaker 2: basically now saying we're not going to let you guys

501
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:30,960
Speaker 2: have that power because there's been a lot of bias

502
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:32,719
Speaker 2: coming out of the American Bar Association.

503
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,040
Speaker 3: Well, the American Bar Association, it's a national organization of lawyers,

504
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,320
Speaker 3: and it is a left wing advocacy group. It is

505
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,640
Speaker 3: not fair, it is not impartial. It is a radical

506
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:49,400
Speaker 3: left organization. And the ABA has had a formal role

507
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:54,640
Speaker 3: in judicial selection for seventy five years. It started rating

508
00:26:55,040 --> 00:27:00,320
Speaker 3: judicial nominees in nineteen fifty three, and an until Hill

509
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,679
Speaker 3: two thousand and one, the ABA actually had a formal

510
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:08,240
Speaker 3: role evaluating judicial nominees before they were nominated. So a

511
00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:12,359
Speaker 3: president a Department of Justice and Administration would would share

512
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,080
Speaker 3: with the ABA, Hey, we're thinking of nominating Ben Ferguson

513
00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:18,800
Speaker 3: to be a federal judge. And they'd go and research

514
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,560
Speaker 3: and interview former clients, and at some point people would say, wait,

515
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,159
Speaker 3: Ben's not even a lawyer, How the hell is he

516
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,520
Speaker 3: going to be a judge? Like, you probably should go

517
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:32,080
Speaker 3: to law school first. And by the way, that point

518
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,639
Speaker 3: is not crazy. But they engaged that they would do

519
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,399
Speaker 3: a formal role and they would rate the qualifications of

520
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:45,960
Speaker 3: judicial nominees. Now here's the problem. For decades, the ABA's

521
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:52,520
Speaker 3: qualification measures were wildly biased. So, for example, Robert Bork,

522
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,600
Speaker 3: Robert Borke. Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Borke to the Supreme

523
00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:00,879
Speaker 3: Court in nineteen eighty seven. Robert Bork was, by any measure,

524
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,879
Speaker 3: one of the most qualified federal judicial nominees in the

525
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,840
Speaker 3: history of this country. Robert Bork had been the Solicitor

526
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,080
Speaker 3: General of the United States, the chief lawyer for the

527
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,320
Speaker 3: United States in front of the Supreme Court of the

528
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,200
Speaker 3: United States. Robert Bork had been one of the most

529
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:20,200
Speaker 3: renowned and respected law professors for decades. Robert Bork had

530
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,720
Speaker 3: been a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals

531
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,960
Speaker 3: for the DC Circuit and so a remarkable career. And

532
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 3: yet the ABA when they evaluated Robert Borke, they coned

533
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,480
Speaker 3: he was quote not qualified to be a judge. They

534
00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:38,800
Speaker 3: also concluded the same thing for Frank Easterbrook, again, brilliant,

535
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 3: brilliant judge, brilliant professor, one of the greatest judges to

536
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,000
Speaker 3: have ever served on the Court of Appeals. Frank Easterbrook,

537
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,400
Speaker 3: the ABA concluded he was not qualified. Also Edith Jones.

538
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 3: Edith Jones is a judge on the Fifth Circuit Federal

539
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,480
Speaker 3: Court of Appeals down in Texas. I know Judge Jones well.

540
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,400
Speaker 3: She's a phenomenal jurist, one of the best and most

541
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,760
Speaker 3: conservative of judges in the entire country. The a BA

542
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 3: rated her not qualified. Well. The breaking news is this

543
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,520
Speaker 3: week the Trump Justice Department announced the a BA will

544
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:14,200
Speaker 3: no longer have a role in judicial selection. They will

545
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 3: no longer have a role in vetting. They're out and

546
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:19,200
Speaker 3: and and the Department of Justice said, you know what,

547
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:22,600
Speaker 3: they can chime in like any other left wing advocacy group,

548
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 3: but they don't have a role in this process.

549
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,520
Speaker 2: This is going to have, like I think, a big

550
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,920
Speaker 2: impact on the quality BONDI informing the a b A

551
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,320
Speaker 2: that they'll no longer enjoy the special access to judicial nominees.

552
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 2: And the left, by the way, when that news came out,

553
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 2: they totally freaked out. And I think that also shows

554
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 2: just how much they were depending on the ABA to

555
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,800
Speaker 2: get rid of good candidates that were maybe more conservative.

556
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, and and and so Pambondi sent a letter to

557
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:52,880
Speaker 3: the president of the a B A and and and

558
00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 3: she said, quote, well, the a BA is free to

559
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,960
Speaker 3: come in on judicial nominations along with other activist organizations.

560
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,680
Speaker 3: There is no justification for treating the ABA differently from

561
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:08,280
Speaker 3: such other activist organizations, and the Department of Justice will

562
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:12,360
Speaker 3: not do so. And so previously the Office Illegal Policy,

563
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:16,360
Speaker 3: which is the office within the Department of Justice that

564
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:22,680
Speaker 3: handles judicial selections, they changed. They had previously directed judicial

565
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 3: nominees to provide a waiver to the ABA to let

566
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:31,360
Speaker 3: the ABA access non public information, including bar records. And

567
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,440
Speaker 3: so no longer is the Department of Justice going to

568
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,280
Speaker 3: tell judicial nominees give the ABA special access. That is

569
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:44,200
Speaker 3: over and moreover, Pambondi says, quote nominees will also not

570
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,760
Speaker 3: respond to questionnaires prepared by the ABA and will not

571
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,760
Speaker 3: sit for interviews with the ABA. In other words, you

572
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:54,680
Speaker 3: can be like every other whack job organization on the left,

573
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,240
Speaker 3: but you're not going to have any special access whatsoever.

574
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,520
Speaker 3: This is something I've called for a long time. I

575
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,280
Speaker 3: have for years, for more than a decade, advocated that

576
00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 3: the A B a BA is wildly biased and it

577
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 3: should it should not have a special role in the process.

578
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,360
Speaker 3: And I want to commend President Trump and Pambondi. It's

579
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:14,120
Speaker 3: the right thing to do.

580
00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:15,360
Speaker 1: Sinaer.

581
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:19,080
Speaker 2: We hear a lot about bias and and biased against conservatives,

582
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,320
Speaker 2: but my other question is were they also biased in

583
00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:23,800
Speaker 2: advocating for liberals.

584
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:30,400
Speaker 3: Absolutely, they are a hard left advocacy organization masquerading as

585
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:34,320
Speaker 3: a non partisan professional organization. And Joe Biden over the

586
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 3: last four years nominated over and over again radicals and zealots,

587
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,000
Speaker 3: many of whom were wildly unqualified, and the ABA was

588
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,720
Speaker 3: more than happy to stamp them with a rating of

589
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:49,040
Speaker 3: qualified and and and one example is is Charnette Charnelle

590
00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:53,880
Speaker 3: Bagel Congrin, who was wildly unqualified, and yet the ABA

591
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 3: happily deemed her qualified and rather than me layout how

592
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,600
Speaker 3: bad she was. I want you to list into this

593
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:05,000
Speaker 3: cross examination from my colleague John Kennedy to this judicial

594
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 3: nominee and the Senate Judiciary Committee here, give a listen.

595
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,440
Speaker 5: Thank you, mister chairman, and congratulations to all of you.

596
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:21,200
Speaker 5: Judge on the far end, tell me what Article five

597
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,160
Speaker 5: of the Constitution does.

598
00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,520
Speaker 6: Article five is not coming to mind.

599
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,880
Speaker 5: At the moment. How about Article two?

600
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:31,040
Speaker 6: Neither is article two?

601
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 5: Okay? Do you know what proposivism is?

602
00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:40,520
Speaker 6: In my twelve years as an assistant Attorney General and

603
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,360
Speaker 6: my nine years serving as a judge, I was not

604
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:48,600
Speaker 6: faced with that precise question. We are the highest trial

605
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:53,400
Speaker 6: court in Washington State, so I'm frequently faced with issues

606
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,600
Speaker 6: that I'm not familiar with, and I thoroughly review the law,

607
00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,520
Speaker 6: our research, and apply the law to the facts presented

608
00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:00,760
Speaker 6: to me.

609
00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 5: Well, you're going to be faced with it as if

610
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,000
Speaker 5: you're confirmed. I can assure you of that.

611
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,800
Speaker 2: He was dumbfounded at the end there, like, I can't

612
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 2: believe you don't know this.

613
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:17,280
Speaker 3: Well, And let me underscore how simple the first two

614
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:21,840
Speaker 3: questions are that he asked. So the Constitution has seven articles.

615
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,640
Speaker 3: It's not a very long document. Article five is the

616
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 3: article through that lays out the process for amending the Constitution.

617
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,280
Speaker 3: It's fairly basic. That was his opening question, she had

618
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:36,840
Speaker 3: no idea what Article five was. Article two is even

619
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,840
Speaker 3: more fundamental, so the first three articles the constitution. Article

620
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 3: one creates the Congress, Article two creates the President and

621
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,880
Speaker 3: the executive branch, and Article three creates the federal Judiciary.

622
00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:51,400
Speaker 3: To not know what Article two is is stunning to

623
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,400
Speaker 3: give you a sense you will flunk constitutional law and

624
00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:57,800
Speaker 3: not graduate law school if you don't know what Article

625
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,200
Speaker 3: two is. She was being nominate needed to be what

626
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,160
Speaker 3: is called an Article three judge. I assumed she had

627
00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,640
Speaker 3: no idea what Article three was, and nevertheless the ABA

628
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,799
Speaker 3: said she's qualified to be an Article three judge even

629
00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,319
Speaker 3: though she has no idea what it is. I'm very

630
00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,239
Speaker 3: glad the ABA no longer has a role in making

631
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:18,280
Speaker 3: those determinations.

632
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:22,080
Speaker 2: As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Sentner,

633
00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:24,560
Speaker 2: Ted Cruz Ben Ferguson with you don't forget to down

634
00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:26,880
Speaker 2: with my podcast and you can listen to my podcasts

635
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:28,879
Speaker 2: every other day you're not listening to Verdict or each

636
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,360
Speaker 2: day when you listen to Verdict afterwards, I'd love to

637
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:33,960
Speaker 2: have you as a listener to again the Ben Ferguson

638
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,000
Speaker 2: podcasts and the Senat and I will see you back

639
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,640
Speaker 2: here for the weekend review on Saturday morning,