1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Hey, guys, ready or not, twenty twenty four is here, 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: and we here at Breaking Points, are already thinking of 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,639 Speaker 1: ways we can up our game for this critical election. 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: We rely on our premium subs to expand coverage, upgrade 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: the studio ad staff give you, guys, the best independent 6 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: coverage that is possible. If you like what we're all about, 7 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: it means the absolute world to have your support. What 8 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: are you waiting for? Become a premium subscriber today at 9 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: Breakingpoints dot com. Good morning, everybody, Happy Thursday. We have 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: an amazing show for everybody today. What do we have, Krystal? Indeed, 11 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: we do lots of big breaking news for you this morning. 12 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: We're going to go through everything that Zelensky said while 13 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: he was in town and what we think he might 14 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: have said and been asking for behind closed doors. Also 15 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: very interesting story. I'll recall the nord Stream pipeline that 16 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: was US abotage and blown up, and immediately there was 17 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: a judgment made by many in the Western press that 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: it must have been Russia. Will started quietly yesterday there 19 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: was a story about how well, actually it turns out 20 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: there isn't any evidence that it was Russia. Guests, we'll 21 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: never know what really happened, so I'll give you all 22 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: of those details. We also have new stuff happening with 23 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: Elon of course every day about when and how you 24 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: may step down as CEO, and also some new details 25 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: about that alleged stalking incident may not have been the 26 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: way it was originally portrayed. We also, at long last 27 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: have some Trump tax returns, and so far, the real 28 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: story there seems to be the fact that presidents are 29 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: required to be audited by law while they are in office, 30 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: and there was a big delay on auditing Trump. So 31 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: that's kind of the biggest question that's come from those 32 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: so far. And we have some right wingers in disarray. 33 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: MTG and Lauren Bobert and Matt Gates all going back 34 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: and forth, which is kind of an interesting story, and 35 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: it all revolves around whether or not Kevin McCarthy is 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: it's going to be Speaker of the House. We also 37 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: have some big breaking news regarding Sam bankman Fried and 38 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,399 Speaker 1: his former girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who ran alometer research. We'll 39 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: get to that to the top of the show, but 40 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: before we jump in Live show, Live show, last time 41 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: you have to hear me say it. In this year 42 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: in the year twenty twenty two. February third, twenty twenty three, 43 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: we are coming to Austin at the Paramount Theater. The 44 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: tickets are selling phenomenally well, so I just want to 45 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:27,799 Speaker 1: say thank you to everybody who is in the area. 46 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: As we said, this is likely going to be the 47 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: last one for quite a while, so if you want, 48 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: if you're all over the world, across the country, and 49 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: this is your chance, now is the time. It's a 50 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,399 Speaker 1: good Christmas gift. I've already gotten a confirmation that, in fact, 51 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 1: some people have been given it as gifts for Christmas 52 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: and for their birthday, so that really heightened heartens us, 53 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: and it just makes the responsibility in us to give 54 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: you a fantastic show even bigger, of which you take 55 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: very serious. And I'm not just saying this. These tickets 56 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: are selling really quickly, so if you're interested in going, 57 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: you should probably jump on it, because it does look 58 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: like these ones are going rather quickly. I've never been 59 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: to Austin before, at least for a live show, so 60 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: we'll make the most of it while we're in town. 61 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: Should be a lot of fun. We're definitely looking forward 62 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: to it. Okay, let's get it to our graphic at 63 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: the bottom of the screen is a little bit auto order. 64 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: We're actionally going to take SBF and move it to 65 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: the front of the line here and get this little 66 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: news break that we got last night out of the way. 67 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: So let's go ahead and put this up on the screen. Guys. 68 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: We now have two former top executives in Sam Pankman 69 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: Free's crypto trading Empire and I'm reading here for the 70 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: New York Times have pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud 71 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: charges and are cooperating in the prosecution of the disgrace 72 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: crypto entrepreneur. That's according to the US Attorney for the 73 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: Southern District of New York. Okay, So who are these two? 74 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: One of them is SBF's former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who 75 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: was also the chief executive of the cryptocurrency hedge fund 76 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: Alimeter Research. Of course, you will recall the whole downfall 77 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: of FDx had to do with their interconnection with Alameda. 78 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: That was SBF's original firm. He starts FDx and they're 79 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: basically funneling customer funds out of FTX into Alameda for 80 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: Alameda to place all of these risky bets that is 81 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: what is ultimately alleged, and so Caroline Ellison was the 82 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: chief executive of that firm. We also have though pleading 83 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: guilty and cooperating with the FEDS, Gary Weng, founder one 84 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: of the founders of FDx, that crypto exchange that I 85 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: mentioned before. Both were described as key lieutenants in mister 86 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: Bankman Freed's vast business empire. Let me go ahead and 87 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: give you the details of what we know that they 88 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: ultimately pleaded guilty to. And like I said, so they 89 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: took a plea deal, they flipped. They are now cooperating 90 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: with the FEDS in their investigation prosecution of Sam Bankman Freed. 91 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: So here's what we know. Caroline Ellison pleaded guilty to 92 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: seven counts, two counts of wire fraud, five conspiracy counts 93 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: involving wire securities and commodities fraud, and money laundering, whereas 94 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: Gary Wang pleaded guilty to wire fraud and three conspiracy 95 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,679 Speaker 1: counts which involved wire securities and commodities fraud. In those agreements, 96 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: which were signed on Monday, they both pledged to quote 97 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: cooperate fully with the US Attorney's Office, the FBI, and 98 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: other law enforcement agencies, and to quote truthfully and completely 99 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: disclose all information concerning all matters that they are asked about. 100 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: I think we had mentioned here on the show before 101 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: people had spotted Caroline Ellison in Lower Manhattan, very close 102 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: to the Southern District of New York office, and so 103 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: there was already speculation over whether she was going to 104 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: plea and ultimately cooperate and flip. It looks like that 105 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: is exactly what has happened. How we're SPF, I'd be 106 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,479 Speaker 1: real worried about this. He's already been agreed now to 107 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: be extradited here to the I think he was extra 108 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: died last night as the plan, and so there we go. 109 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: It's over as far as Caroline Ellison is concerned. The 110 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: reason why it matters is not only our own personal 111 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: relationship with SBF. She was the head of Alameter Research 112 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: and in that capacity oversaw many of the fraudulent loans 113 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: both to SBF to his top lieutenants, which were then 114 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: laundered as political donations to his own personal net worth, 115 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: on top of overseeing the initial wire transactions both from 116 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: FTX over to the Alometer research side. That's another reason 117 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: why I think it's so important that Gary Wang, who 118 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: was the founder of FTX and was a key executive there. 119 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: They have both sides of the transaction represented here in 120 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: the guilty plea and in terms of cooperation one party. 121 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: Mister Wang can actually speak to the fraud complaints on 122 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: the FTX side, and then miss Ellison can of course 123 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: speak to the fraud and to the transfer of customer 124 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: funds over to Alometer Research. Something that really sticks with 125 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: me is the CEO, the guy who's he went through 126 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: the Enron bankruptcy and unwound it on behalf of investors. 127 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: He's now doing the same for FTX. He said, it's 128 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,159 Speaker 1: very simple. He was like, look Enron, and I actually 129 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: encourage people to read about Enron. It's a very interesting story. 130 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: The smartest guy's in the room. It's a great book. 131 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: That was a highly sophisticated financial engineering scheme using shell 132 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: corporations and others in order to deceive the stock market. This, 133 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: as he said, it is just quote plain embezzlement. He's like, 134 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: this is as close to embezzlement of a simple, clear 135 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: cut case as we ever seen. You take somebody else's money, 136 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: you transfer somebody else that, you take a loan based 137 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: upon that. There is some sophisticated stuff going on with 138 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: respect to margin loans and the FTT token and all 139 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: of that which we're faking the balance sheet and defrauding investors. 140 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: But on his face as a crime, this, even the 141 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,119 Speaker 1: madeoff scheme, is far more sophisticated than what was happening here. 142 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: I mean, it seems like an example of people who 143 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: were so smart they were stupid. Yes, you know, I 144 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: mean they really thought that they could just get away 145 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: with this, that he could keep this house of cards 146 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: ultimately afloat. And you would assume that these two in 147 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: particular would know where all of the metaphorical bodies are 148 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: buried in terms of how this was all executed, how 149 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: nefarious the plot was, how intentional all of it was. 150 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: Because remember SBF's whole his whole defense, at least publicly 151 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: in the media, was like, oh, I had no idea 152 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: what was going on, and I just I made a 153 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: few mistakes. I sort of got down over my skis. 154 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: They will know very clearly and have evidence to back 155 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: it up whether or not that is the case, and 156 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: I'm sure you have an opinion about whether or not 157 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: that is ultimately the case. And the three of these individuals, 158 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: they all live together in that Bahamian penthouse in the Bahamas, 159 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: so that's where FTX was based. As they noted here, Bankman, 160 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: Freed and Ellison were at times romantically involved, so they 161 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: won't be able to unpack this whole scheme. And yeah, ultimately, 162 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: I mean in terms of the attempts to like hide 163 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: the outright fraud and keep this thing going or any 164 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: sort of like code of oath of loyalty or anything 165 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: like that, there was clearly nothing like that going on. 166 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: All of these people are just trying to save their 167 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: own bacon. And you know, I know that a lot 168 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: of the focus, and I think rightfully so, is on SBF, 169 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: but it is very unlikely that he was the only 170 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: one engaged in criminal activity here and in outright fraud, 171 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: stealing customer funds, et cetera. And so I hope there 172 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: is accountability for everyone who was ultimately involved in what 173 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:00,040 Speaker 1: was a multi multi billion dollar scheme of not just 174 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: defrauding and stealing from customers, but also this illegal political 175 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 1: influence campaign that needs to be taken a hard look 176 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: at as well, and all of the key players brought 177 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: down to Yeah, my big hope is that we don't 178 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: pull at Gallaine Maxwell here, you know, just throw her 179 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: in prison and do so in such a way that, oh, 180 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: we just never end up actually looking at one of 181 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: the much bigger right skey which politicians were involved, which 182 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: DC players were involved. Yeah, that's what I still have 183 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: a lot of questions about. And remember the FEDS of 184 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,559 Speaker 1: sitting on ahead information. We should all push for transparency. Indeed. Okay, 185 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: let's move on to President Zelenski and his visit to 186 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: Washington's surprise visit that happened the news broke on Wednesday, 187 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: which Counterpoints brought to all of you. He ended up 188 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: arriving on Thursday around two pm at the White House. 189 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: Some two important public appearances where he spoke. The first 190 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: was at in the White House in the East Room 191 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: at a joint press conference, where he faced questions from 192 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: two American political journalists, of which asked very interesting questions 193 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: around what type of weapons Zelenski still wants, the relationship 194 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: between the two, whether peace could still be negotiated. Let's 195 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: take a listen to that. No, I don't know what 196 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 1: just peace is. It's a very philosophical description. If there 197 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: is a just war, there can't be any just piece 198 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: in the war. That was imposed in US by these 199 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: I don't know how to describe that because we are 200 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: in the White House and I can't find the proper language. 201 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: So these inhumans, I would say, and President Bolanski Zoonsky, 202 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: you have made it clear that he is open to 203 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: pursuing Well, let me put this way. He's not open, 204 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 1: but you're open to pursuing peace. You're open to pursuing 205 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: a just piece. What's going to happen after patriots are installed? 206 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: After that, we will send another signal to President Biden 207 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: that we would like to get more patriots. That is 208 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: a lie. We are in the war. I'm sorry, I'm 209 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: really sorry. That is my appreciation. How the US calculated 210 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: the escalatory effect of sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine. 211 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: I did not discuss that at all with the President, 212 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 1: but I we do not. It's a defensive system, it's 213 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: a defensive weapons system. It's not escalatory. It's defensive and 214 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: it's easy to uh not, and we'd love to not 215 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: have to have them use it, just stop the attacks. 216 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 1: That was a very interesting exchange because what you saw 217 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 1: there was that President Biden actually had to jump up, 218 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: jump in and clean up President Zelenski's comments when he 219 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: was asked specifically about a quote just piece, Zelensky said 220 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: a just piece essentially was not possible, spoke of the 221 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: need for vengeance reparations, and actually tried to even box 222 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: Biden in with a ten point piece plan, which effectively, 223 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: you know, means the total expulsion of Russia from all 224 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. That's right, it is a complete 225 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: non starter. So there was actually, for all the display 226 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: of unity. I watched the entire thing, there were several 227 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: moments where President Biden actually had to jump in and 228 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: either clean up President Zelenski. The third question, which you 229 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: guys saw there was actually the reporter asking when are 230 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: you going to give Ukraine everything that it needs? And 231 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: President Biden preempted it and just goes his answer is yes, 232 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: and then goes, here's my answer, and Zelensky just goes, 233 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: I agree clearly though in that and as you saw 234 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: during that exchange, he was asking for more Patriot missiles 235 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: and he continued to elucidate on it whenever he gave 236 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 1: his joint Session addressed to Congress. So, yeah, that's the 237 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: do you want to jump in, Yeah, let me just 238 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: a couple comments about that. To me, this was maybe 239 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 1: the most clear cut example of signs of disunity and 240 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: also a sort of little bit of a peek into 241 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: what some of the conversation behind closed doors might have 242 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: ultimately been. That's a piece I'm almost more interested in 243 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: than what was said publicly, because part of the advantage 244 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: of how someone face to face and being able to 245 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 1: have potentially a one on one meeting with him in 246 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:05,839 Speaker 1: the Oval office is, you know, you might be a 247 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: little bit nervous doing like some sort of remote call, 248 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: even though obviously they take all precautions to make them 249 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,439 Speaker 1: secure that someone may be listening in on the other end. 250 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: If you are face to face with someone in the 251 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: Oval office, you can really get into the nitty gritty 252 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: of Okay, where are the real red lines, what is 253 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: the public posture versus what is the real position? Here's 254 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 1: how far we're willing to go, Here's where our population is, 255 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: Here's where I'm going to apply pressure to get you 256 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,559 Speaker 1: to go back and negotiate. Those are the pieces that 257 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: I'm really interested in. So to me, this moment was 258 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: a tiny, tiny glimpse of some of the more difficult 259 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: discussions that were likely happening behind closed or and the 260 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,440 Speaker 1: other one thing I want to note about that press Convererce, 261 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: which was relatively briviy. Theyok, just took a handful of questions, 262 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: but like every question was a hawkish question, like the 263 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: one you just said. The reporter was just like, listen, 264 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: you said at one point that you weren't going to 265 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: do a patriot defense missile defense system, and now you are, 266 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: So why don't you just cut to the chase and 267 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: give him everything that he wants? Months and you know, 268 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: the reality is there actually is an inconsistency in what 269 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,679 Speaker 1: Biden is saying, because he, on the one hand, is 270 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 1: saying we'll do whatever we can. We're behind you one 271 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: hundred percent, will give you everything you need to be 272 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: successful in the battlefield, but we are also holding things back, 273 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: and in my opinion, for very good reason, to try 274 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: to avoid World War three. And so that kind of 275 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: distance between those to the real position and the stated 276 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: position was a constant source of kind of a little 277 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 1: bit underlying tensions. Right. It also bears explanation as to 278 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: why the patriots were not sent in the first place 279 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: the early days of the war, which is there's a 280 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: direct acknowledgment by US officials that the Ukrainians do not 281 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: use a patriot defense missile system and if we did, 282 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: we would have to send US soldiers on the ground. 283 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: And so, actually, the administration has yet to answer a 284 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: direct question as to whether US troops will be deployed 285 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: into eastern Ukraine in order to operate these patriot missile 286 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: defense systems, or if the Patriots they will be somehow 287 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: trained on it. If that's the case, these will not 288 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 1: be available on the battlefield for months on end. This 289 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: is not This is a very highly sophisticated system which 290 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: you can't just simply deploy and use within a matter 291 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: of days. And unfortunately Presidents Zelenski continues to push that. 292 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: It was one of the key elements of his speech 293 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: before Congress, much of it, which you know, was kind 294 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: of nice to finally hear, was thank you to the 295 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,440 Speaker 1: American people for bankrolling this war, especially because Congress is 296 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: poised to send another forty five billion. I'm doing a 297 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: monologue on that, bringing our total to more than one 298 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: hundred billion dollars in aid within a single year. But 299 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: he pushed in that speech for additional abrams tanks directly 300 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: supplied from the United States along with F sixteens. Let's 301 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: take a listen to that portion of his speech can 302 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: perfectly operate American tanks and plans themselves. That was the 303 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: key moment from President Zelenski's speech. It was only about 304 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: a twenty two minute address or so. Within the chamber. 305 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: Much of it was, you know, filled with you know, 306 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: thank yous to the American people, delivering a battleflag paralel yeah, 307 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: parallel between the US Battle of Saratoga and the US 308 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: Battle of the Bulge. But finally that was the major 309 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,720 Speaker 1: policy ask of the entire speech, asking directly for US 310 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: abrams tanks for F sixteen, so if we can bring 311 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: the visit tan it together. There are three things which 312 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: Lensky sought to get out of this. It wasn't just 313 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: the Patriot missiles. He knew that was getting him what 314 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: we have here. And let's go and throw the next 315 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: one up there on the screen. A four. Number one 316 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: is he wants longer range missiles that are capable of 317 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 1: striking deep inside of Russia, so called at camps. These 318 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: are something that the administration has refused point blank in 319 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: order to give President Zelenski. Two, he wants those Abrams 320 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 1: tanks three. He wants the F sixteens four I guess 321 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: is even more patriot missile defense systems than we're already 322 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: giving here. So this was not simply a thank you 323 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: address by President Zelensky. This was really a shopping trip 324 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:53,960 Speaker 1: on his behalf for his military as it's stuck in 325 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: the middle of this Christmas winter battle before the fighting 326 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: season opens up in March. And of course the Russian relentlessly, 327 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: we're shelling and bombing all of Ukraine while he was 328 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: here in the United States. Ukraine Kiev specifically remains completely 329 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,200 Speaker 1: blacked out at all hours of the day, on and off, 330 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: as they work to restore power. But their energy infrastructure 331 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 1: is in a very tough bind. Their reports of people 332 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: in hospitals having to do like amputations and heart surgeries 333 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: literally off of a generator or in some cases with 334 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: no electricity at all. And I mean it's like twenty 335 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: degrees in Kiev right now, twenty of these. It's a brutal, 336 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,400 Speaker 1: brutal winter. As I've said before, for four months out 337 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: of the year, the average temper to the highest temp 338 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: on average is like thirty five degrees. So this is 339 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: not a joke. What the Ukrainian people are going through 340 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: right now, hence why he's here trying to get as 341 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: much as he wants. And of course all of this 342 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: comes right now. Actually this morning, crystal very likely that 343 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: the Congress of the United States will pass that one 344 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 1: point seven trillion dollar spending bill, of which includes forty 345 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: five extra billion dollars to Ukraine. But clear here in 346 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: his remarks that Zelensky's message is it's not enough. We 347 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: need even more. I mean right now, he outright said that. 348 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: At one point he said, quote, we have artillery. Yes, 349 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: thank you. Is it enough? Honestly not really so, I 350 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: mean it was, you know, it was sort of like 351 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 1: thank you for what you've done, but also, pony up, 352 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: I need a lot more. I understand where he's coming from. 353 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: But it also was quite quite bold to be to 354 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,159 Speaker 1: be totally honestly, they had quite bold and consistent with 355 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:25,439 Speaker 1: Remember there was that report over the summer that Biden 356 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: actually got really frustrated with him and actually kind of 357 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: yelled at him on the phone because they had just 358 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,919 Speaker 1: given him some big aid package. And then immediately Zelenski's 359 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 1: on the phone like I need more, I need more, 360 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: I need war again. I understand where he's coming from 361 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: as people are at war. The speech was very much tailored. 362 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,400 Speaker 1: You know, he's he has gone to great lengths whenever 363 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: he has spoken to you know, leaders of other nations 364 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: and congressional bodies in other countries, legislative bodies and other countries. 365 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: He has gone to great lengths to sort of tie 366 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: the Ukrainian struggle into whatever their sort of previous national 367 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: historical struggles are, so to make these historical connections. So 368 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: you know, we talked about American independence, talked about World 369 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: War two, all of that was sort of expected. He 370 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: also really situated it in terms of a sort of 371 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: global fight for freedom and democracy. So you're not just 372 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: giving us cash, you're investing in global democracy. And he 373 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: also threw in there, you know, some shots at Iran 374 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 1: for people who are like very you know, anti Iran 375 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 1: and sort of hawkish on that to try to win 376 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: them over as well. And some of the other context 377 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: here is this is in some ways a really good 378 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,640 Speaker 1: moment for Ukraine because they have been succeeding on the battlefield. 379 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: They've done far better than anyone had thought. You know, 380 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: they've really come a long way. They're in strong position 381 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: Russia is really struggling, and all of that is the case, 382 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: but at the same time, you have the brutal winter 383 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 1: set in right now. As Zager is talking about people, 384 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,399 Speaker 1: mis Zelenski talked about people celebrating Christmas by candlelight, not 385 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: because it's romantic, but because they have no power. So 386 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: the toll of war, which has long been very harsh 387 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: on Ukrainians, is really harsh across the entire country. Speculation 388 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: that Patriot missile defense system will actually be used to 389 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: protect some of that energy infrastructure to try to keep 390 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: the lights and the heat on for as many people 391 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: as they possibly can. So that's the Ukrainian domestic situation. 392 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: You also have, of course, in the US, Republicans set 393 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: to take control of the House, and Kevin McCarthy, who 394 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,239 Speaker 1: is very likely to be the next speaker, saying that, 395 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: you know, so longer going to be a blank check. Now. 396 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: I think ultimately the Republicans are mostly going to fall 397 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: in line with whatever the Biden and the Democrats ultimately want. 398 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: But there's probably a little bit more nervousness on Zelensky's 399 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: part that hey, I got to get these people on 400 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: board and make sure that I can continue to get 401 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 1: these outflows that I've been getting from the United States. 402 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: And then you also have the Europeans enduring a difficult 403 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,359 Speaker 1: winter with very high energy prices, and polls both in 404 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: Europe and here in the US indicating that, you know, 405 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: people are still very much with the Ukraine cause, but 406 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,679 Speaker 1: some of that support has softened and the level of 407 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 1: prioritization has certainly softened. So that's sort of the backdrop 408 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,919 Speaker 1: and the context and why Zelenski decided now was the 409 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 1: time to leave Ukraine for the first time since the 410 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: war started and come to the US. And of course, 411 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: as Saga is going to lay out very explicitly in 412 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: his monologue, which has been overwhelmingly, of course, the biggest 413 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: backer and benefactor and has really enabled the Ukrainians to 414 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,640 Speaker 1: get to where they are at this point. Yeah. Absolutely, 415 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: I mean there's just no question about it. Their military, 416 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: I mean, he basically even said it's true, and one 417 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: of the journalists even said, he's like without America, he's 418 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: like my country, my family would be dead and my 419 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 1: country be gone. It's actually true. I would like to 420 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: hear that a little bit more often from their side, 421 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: despite all their calls just for even more and more, 422 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,359 Speaker 1: but I think it's an important acknowledgement at the very least. 423 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: At the same time, though, in terms of the geopolitical picture, 424 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: European support for the way things are going right now, 425 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: and I'm not talking about the UK, more about France 426 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,720 Speaker 1: and Germany. It's a very difference that you, let's throw 427 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: this up there on the screen. At the very same 428 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: time that President Zelensky is visiting Washington, Emmanuel Macron actually 429 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,960 Speaker 1: is calling on Europe to reduce the reliance on US 430 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,840 Speaker 1: for security and specifically to provide some sort of security 431 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 1: guarantees to Russia. This was a huge pushback from the 432 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: Ukrainians and even from the UK and from the United States. 433 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: But essentially what he said, Crystal is that look, for 434 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: this war to come to an end, we are going 435 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: to have to provide some sort of security guarantee to 436 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: putin so that he does not feel as if he 437 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: will get invaded. Now. That look was met with tremendous 438 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: outcry from the Ukrainians and from the UK and the US, 439 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,120 Speaker 1: mostly because they're the most hawkish and they don't want 440 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: to provide any sort of security guarantee. But you see 441 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 1: a much more and a different clear eyed view from 442 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: Macrone as to what an actual negotiated settlement is going 443 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: to look like. A negotiated settlement is one in which 444 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: Russia feels secure and no longer is going to continue 445 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: its military operation again Ukraine, and Ukraine feels secure and 446 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: it no longer feels as if it's going to get 447 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 1: invaded or be waged war upon by Russia. Right now, 448 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 1: those two poles are very, very far apart. But Macrone 449 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: is being chided in the West for stating the obvious. 450 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: He's also Macrone, if you look at this is very interesting. 451 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,119 Speaker 1: He even says, mostly about the United States. He's like, look, 452 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,440 Speaker 1: the point is is that by mortgaging all of our 453 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,240 Speaker 1: defense costs and socializing them in the US, we now 454 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: no longer have nearly as much say over our own 455 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:37,120 Speaker 1: European security affairs, of which I would say congratulations, mister president. Now, 456 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,159 Speaker 1: though you should ship a lot more weapons to Ukraine 457 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: so we don't have to send this much, and then 458 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 1: you can have much more say over what's happening, considering 459 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: it's on York's continent in the first place. So there's 460 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: a big split in the Transatlantic atliance right now. This 461 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: has been the case basically since the beginning of this war, 462 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:54,719 Speaker 1: and even before the war, I mean, Macrone was the 463 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,560 Speaker 1: most aggressive in keeping lines of dialogue open directly with 464 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 1: Putin and trying to negotiate. He and Germany have long 465 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: been more in favor of diplomacy and talks. There's been 466 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: this kind of divide between the US and uk and 467 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: France and Germany. So his attempting to assert himself here 468 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: a bit more. Let me read you the quote exactly 469 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 1: because I think it's very interesting. He says, peaceful times 470 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: will require talks first and foremost for guarantees for Ukraine 471 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,679 Speaker 1: for it's territorial integrity and its long term security, but 472 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,719 Speaker 1: also for Russia as it will be party to an 473 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,159 Speaker 1: armistice or peace treaty. He also went on to say, 474 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,560 Speaker 1: whoever reproaches me for asserting myself on this topic should 475 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:38,680 Speaker 1: then explain to me what they propose with the people 476 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: who refuse to prepare and work on this are proposing 477 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: is total war, a total war that will involve the 478 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: whole continent. So, I mean, that's pretty striking comments from 479 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: Emmanuel Mackerel. Yeah. Absolutely, he's been consistent there since day one, 480 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,400 Speaker 1: and I do believe that given the change. First of all, 481 00:24:57,440 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: you know why is Congress passing this forty five billion. 482 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 1: It's because they know that it's very likely to be 483 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 1: the last one. Zelenski actually made a lot of appeals here. 484 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: He's like, I understand bicameral, bipartisan support is necessary to us, 485 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,400 Speaker 1: but we also need to consider that things are changing here. 486 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,440 Speaker 1: Our domestic populaces want to continue. Giving a blank check 487 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: to Ukraine is well below fifty percent now at this point. 488 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: It was at some ninety percent at the very beginning 489 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: of the war. On top of that, how are the 490 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: Russians responding? As much as the Russian economy is a disaster, 491 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,679 Speaker 1: as much as they have been humiliated on the battlefield, 492 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 1: Russia is not backing down in any way. They've been 493 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: shelling the hell out of Ukraine, including with missiles now, 494 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 1: for a long time. And actually, in response to Zelenski's visit, 495 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 1: let's put this up there on the screen, which is 496 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,679 Speaker 1: they have are now announcing a thirty percent increase in 497 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,160 Speaker 1: the entire size of their armed forces, bringing their standing 498 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: army to one point five million combat personnel from one 499 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: point one five million, In addition to a fifteen billion 500 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: dollar increase in their annual military budget. So whatever remaining 501 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: money that they have left, they are throwing it straight 502 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,920 Speaker 1: into the military. No sign of backing down whatsoever. Their 503 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: new commander is very much dedicated to going and attacking 504 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:11,720 Speaker 1: the center of gravity, which is the Ukrainians will to resist, 505 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: as in taking down the energy infrastructure of the entire country. 506 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 1: And if you see any sort of combined offensive in 507 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,639 Speaker 1: the winter or after the winter, it's going to entail 508 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 1: probably a much more brutal campaign than even what we 509 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,360 Speaker 1: saw in some of these liberated cities. So we're in 510 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,360 Speaker 1: for I think a tough winter, both for the Ukrainians 511 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 1: and also in terms of the geopolitical situation. Things are 512 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:39,080 Speaker 1: changing fast. We are remember it's only been three hundred days. 513 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,680 Speaker 1: We should always try and put things in the context 514 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: of history. Imagine trying to guess out the outlook of 515 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: World War two three hundred days into the war. You'd 516 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: be like, oh, Hitler is going to win. You know, Oh, 517 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: France and Germany, You're gone the entire yea, the entire 518 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: Phony war, and you know, oh Norway. It's like, you 519 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: can convince yourself of a lot of things. All the 520 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: way up until nineteen seven, the Germans thought and probably correctly, 521 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: that they were going to win the First World War. 522 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: So things can turn on a dime. Things These things 523 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,480 Speaker 1: take a long time. Go back to the Civil War, 524 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:10,400 Speaker 1: I can tell you the same thing. The point is 525 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: is that nobody knows where things are headed. All we 526 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 1: see is a rocky future ahead of us. I talked 527 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: to our friend Jegar about the domestic political situation in 528 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: Russia and a couple things that he suggested to me. 529 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: One is, and there was some talk from the Kremlin 530 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: about this, there's kind of an expectation there may be 531 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 1: another draft. They recognize they need to increase their armed 532 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: forces yet again, and you know, in some ways the 533 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,639 Speaker 1: conscription process the last time around was kind of a 534 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: disaster for them. On the other hand, it's not like 535 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: there's been a mass revolt that has brought down the regime, 536 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,199 Speaker 1: so you know, they have some level of complacency and 537 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: you know, support among a good portion of the Russian public. 538 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: The other piece, though, that he pointed out to me, 539 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 1: is just like here you have people who are high 540 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: placed and influential in Russian society who are making a 541 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 1: lot of bank off of this war, and that creates 542 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,639 Speaker 1: a perpetuating process of its own, a dynamic that we 543 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 1: are very familiar with here as well. So keep in 544 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 1: mind some of those background factors going on in Russia 545 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 1: from the domestic political situation as well. Absolutely, all right, 546 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: let's move ontime to Nordstream. This is also very important, 547 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: and I will recall here on this show we were 548 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:22,679 Speaker 1: very careful to say, I don't know who blew up 549 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,240 Speaker 1: the Nordstream pipeline, and I'm not going to make any 550 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,640 Speaker 1: sort of guesses, and fortunately we left ourselves a lot 551 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,359 Speaker 1: of breathing room, unlike most people in the Western press, 552 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: including Western officials, because several months later put it up 553 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: there on the screen. Forensic evidence shows no conclusive evidence 554 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 1: that Russia is behind the Nordstream attack. And in fact, 555 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: whenever you read further, here's what they say. Quote. This 556 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 1: is the European official. There is no evidence Russia was 557 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: behind the sabotage. That is after an assessment of twenty 558 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: three diplomatic and intelligence officials across nine countries interviewed in 559 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: recent weeks, including those those privy to non public classified 560 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: information and direct knowledge of the blast itself. Immediately, of course, 561 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: it was blamed on Russia, and what we know right 562 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: now is that it was almost certainly a deliberate attack, 563 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: though we still have no idea who was behind set attack. 564 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,720 Speaker 1: This is what I'm referring to. Even those inside knowledge 565 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: of the forensic details don't conclusively tie Russia to the attack. 566 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 1: They also say forensic on an investigation like this are 567 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: going to be extremely difficult, so we likely will never know. 568 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 1: This actually also includes crystal routine intercepts of US by 569 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: the United States and communications of Russian officials, clandestine investigations 570 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: and more that have tied currently no evidence of Moscow 571 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,960 Speaker 1: to the blast on the Nord Street pipeline. So what 572 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: do we know? A it was deliberate. B there's not 573 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:52,880 Speaker 1: a sing. And here's the other thing. You know, if 574 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: there was even one shred, oh one all about it, 575 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: just like one classified intercept by a fake source or 576 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,959 Speaker 1: whatever near the KGB, it'd be French page across. If 577 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: they could do it, they would blame them. But and 578 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: this is the point, not one shred has currently emerged 579 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 1: to point towards Russia. Who did it? We'll never know. 580 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: Was it the US, was it Ukraine? Was it somebody 581 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: in the NATO alliance? Was it one of our new 582 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 1: NATO allies Sweden, Norway right Norway had a lot to gain, 583 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 1: possibly because the UK is possible. Example, everybody always talks 584 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 1: about this because it's true, which is, you know, this 585 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: almost certainly had to be a nation state because it 586 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: required like an underwater submerged like a submerged craft that 587 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: had you know, munitions like was not an easy thing 588 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,479 Speaker 1: necessarily to pull off somebody. There were a lot of 589 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 1: different people to blame. I remember we laid out the 590 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: case for like four different versions. Yeah, whenever it was 591 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: happening here at the time. But I mean it's brittany, 592 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: extraordinary and very damning of a lot of people in 593 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: the media and the Western officials who immediately wanted to 594 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,479 Speaker 1: blame Russia, just like we should recall what happened with 595 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: those that miss that fell into Poland. Immediately Zelenski the 596 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: whole world. I will say, by the way, Zelenski immediately 597 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: blamed Russia for the attack, just saying so, he clearly 598 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: has shown us he cannot trust a word out of 599 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,719 Speaker 1: his mouth whenever it comes to any escalation. He immediately 600 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 1: blamed Russia for the missiles that fell in Poland. OAP 601 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: turns out the Ukrainian Air Defense missus. Yeah, and then 602 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: he immediately blamed Russia for the North Stream pipeline. Well, 603 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: it turns out there's not a shred of evidence actually 604 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 1: to back that up. And so the point is is 605 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: that for our own safety and security, we should take 606 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: a wait and see approach. Is exactly what we said 607 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,640 Speaker 1: at the time. Yeah, they even say in this article. 608 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: Some went so far, some of these sort of insiders 609 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: who have access to non public information, some went so 610 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 1: far as to say they don't think Russia was responsible. 611 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: Pretty extraordinary for this to come out at this point 612 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: in the Washington Post, after everybody has sort of moved on, 613 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: you know, soccer. What it actually reminded me of was 614 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,640 Speaker 1: when you had the whole Hunter Biden laptop situation, and 615 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:58,800 Speaker 1: they were like, this bears all the hallmarks of Russian disinformation. 616 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 1: It's like this this attack on Norse, it bears all 617 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: the harmarks of a Russian operation without actually having any 618 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 1: hard evidence. And now they come out and say, very conveniently, 619 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:13,600 Speaker 1: I guess we'll just never know what really happened here. Okay, Yeah, 620 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,720 Speaker 1: you guys know, you just don't want the rest of 621 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: the world ultimately to understand what really happened and the 622 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,040 Speaker 1: way that they were misled. That's my opinion. The other 623 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 1: key here is about the officials who immediately blamed Russia. 624 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: Let's put this up there on the screen. This was 625 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: from a Ukrainian official, the head of the Office of 626 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,560 Speaker 1: President Zelensky in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The 627 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: gas leak is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned 628 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 1: by Russia, an active aggression towards the EU, who wants 629 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: to destabilize economic situation in Europe and cross pre winter panic. 630 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: The better response to security investment is tanks for Ukraine, 631 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: especially German ones. Interesting, a very convenient takeaway there, interesting, 632 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:53,920 Speaker 1: very convenient takeaway. Here's a thing I like. I said, 633 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: I probably do the same if I were them that 634 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,320 Speaker 1: said we got to do what's best. Ross. Also, let's 635 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 1: not forget our own Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm. Let's put 636 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,520 Speaker 1: this up there on the screen in the immediate aftermath attack. 637 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: And you could take this as a basically statement of 638 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: policy from the Biden administration said it quote seems that 639 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,400 Speaker 1: Russia is to blame for the attack. In a BBC interview, 640 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,240 Speaker 1: say it is highly unlikely these incidents are a coincidence, 641 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 1: and she said that it would be stupid and absurd 642 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: that Russia was not to blame. So there you have it, 643 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: basically an official statement by a Western official, a secretary 644 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: in the Biden administration and the Ukrainian government itself. We've 645 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: had denials as well from many of the top heads 646 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,240 Speaker 1: of NATO states and others. And we should recall this 647 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: is a very highly escalatory attack, not just the actual 648 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 1: damage and all of that itself, you put aside. It 649 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: was near NATO, a NATO country's land border. We're talking 650 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,200 Speaker 1: about twelve miles away in a busy shipping lane. Something 651 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 1: easily could have gone wrong and people, a lot of 652 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: people could have died in some merchant shipping incident or others. 653 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 1: So it was highly escalatory. Whoever did it clearly had 654 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:04,400 Speaker 1: had the probably a nation state, and right now some 655 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 1: people think it wasn't Russia. So a lot of crow 656 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,359 Speaker 1: to be eaten by a lot of people, not only 657 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: Western officials, but you also know the Western media was 658 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:15,360 Speaker 1: immediately pouncing on anybody who even had a shred of 659 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:17,400 Speaker 1: doubt about what happened with his attack. Who was it 660 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 1: that immediately tweeted out like the US flag and basically 661 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 1: like indicating the Anne Apple bomb husband, former Foreign Minister 662 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: of the European Union, he said, thank you us. He 663 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,880 Speaker 1: later deleted the tweet days ever, An apple Bomb, for 664 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 1: those who don't know, is probably one of the pre 665 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:42,080 Speaker 1: eminent hawks Russia hawks here in Washington. She was also 666 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,960 Speaker 1: a massive Russia gator coincidence between the two and has 667 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: been basically called for regime change in Russia. I don't 668 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 1: think that's an uncharitable way to say. It would probably 669 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,840 Speaker 1: be fine with the declaration of war by the United 670 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,760 Speaker 1: States on that Her husband, prominent European official there, tweeted 671 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:00,400 Speaker 1: that out, only deleted it three days later as actually 672 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,239 Speaker 1: still yet to explain what exactly he meant by that, 673 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:06,479 Speaker 1: so never said anyway, is what his thinking was that Yeah, look, 674 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:08,680 Speaker 1: that's all you're going to get from us. I'm not 675 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:11,319 Speaker 1: going to say anything about who it was or who 676 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: maybe wasn't. We don't know, got no evidence, but you 677 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:17,160 Speaker 1: can make up your own. Looks looks less likely that 678 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: it was Russia, then maybe it's been a few days ago. 679 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,880 Speaker 1: Let's get back to a frequent topic of conversation, it 680 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 1: seems here on this show, mister Elon Musk and just 681 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 1: what exactly he is up to Twitter and Tesla and 682 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: all sorts of other areas of our life and his life. 683 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,000 Speaker 1: Let's go and put this next, this first element up 684 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 1: on the screen. So, as you know, he put out 685 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,799 Speaker 1: the poll saying, hey, should I resign as CEO? And 686 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,480 Speaker 1: uh oh, a pretty solid majority said yes you should, 687 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: So he is now. He was kind of silent for 688 00:35:49,640 --> 00:35:51,920 Speaker 1: a while, and then he said, I will resign as 689 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 1: CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to 690 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,120 Speaker 1: take the job. After that, I will just run the 691 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:02,680 Speaker 1: software and servers Tea Scager. What did you make of this, 692 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:05,160 Speaker 1: because I mean, I found it sort of funny that 693 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: he's like demoting himself to like mid level manager, like 694 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 1: you can't find someone else to run the server team 695 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,840 Speaker 1: as well. I think that he actually I kind of 696 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: look at it in the way that he has run 697 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 1: Tesla in the past, is he always tries to focus 698 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 1: Elon is best at what technology, business investment and technology 699 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:24,239 Speaker 1: he is basic his best feature at Tesla and at 700 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 1: SpaceX was managing the engineering teams and getting them to 701 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:31,480 Speaker 1: push towards creating better products and also meeting with the supply. 702 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:33,759 Speaker 1: So I think that he views the core software of 703 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:37,040 Speaker 1: Twitter as like the user experience, and obviously the servers 704 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:38,800 Speaker 1: are very important order to make sure that the site 705 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,360 Speaker 1: is always up and running. That's a key element of 706 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,439 Speaker 1: all social media companies, including Google and Facebook. They've spent 707 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,280 Speaker 1: billions of dollars on their servers. So I think probably 708 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,360 Speaker 1: because he views that as the core of the business 709 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 1: and frankly what his talents are like most suited to 710 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:56,440 Speaker 1: given his own executive experience. It also shows something that 711 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:58,759 Speaker 1: I did a whole monogue on this after parag Agarwall 712 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:01,600 Speaker 1: became the CEO of Twitter. The whole point is that 713 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:04,719 Speaker 1: the CEO of Twitter doesn't have a lot of business 714 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,879 Speaker 1: problems to solve. The business itself is basically exists. It's 715 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: a five billion dollars year industry. Ninety percent of it 716 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,000 Speaker 1: comes from advertising. It's actually not that hard. You hire 717 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,640 Speaker 1: a bunch of advertising managers and you make up some 718 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 1: fake metrics as to why they should give you money. Okay, 719 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:22,359 Speaker 1: the Twitter core product itself, it's not that complicated. It's 720 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,279 Speaker 1: existed in his current form since twenty twelve, especially with 721 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:27,799 Speaker 1: retweets and all that, and the preliminary of it two 722 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 1: thousand and nine. All right, So what does the CEO 723 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,040 Speaker 1: of Twitter? What calls do they make? They need to 724 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,600 Speaker 1: make calls like do I take down the private jet 725 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:38,600 Speaker 1: accounts of billionaires? Do I agree with free speech or not? 726 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: It's kind of a public messaging principles pr job, and 727 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 1: that's what Elon frankly, was not well suited to do. 728 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:48,239 Speaker 1: That's not in his skill set whatsoever. I think that's 729 00:37:48,239 --> 00:37:50,680 Speaker 1: why it's the correct decision for him to move down. 730 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:52,759 Speaker 1: Because he said he was a free speech absoluteist, he 731 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 1: immediately violated his free speech absolutely. If he just focused 732 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:58,439 Speaker 1: on the tech Frankly, I think maybe it could be better. 733 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:01,520 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm si much more of an Elon skeptic 734 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:03,799 Speaker 1: that you are than you are ultimately about even what 735 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:05,960 Speaker 1: his skills and capabilities are at this point. I mean, 736 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:08,320 Speaker 1: it certainly doesn't appear to me. It's in the business realm, 737 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,799 Speaker 1: because he made a variety of business decisions while he 738 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:13,040 Speaker 1: was CEO of Twitter, and every single one of them 739 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: was a complete and utter disaster. I mean, yeah, he 740 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:21,000 Speaker 1: would have been better off just basically staying the course instead. 741 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,759 Speaker 1: You know, now Twitter is loaded up with all of 742 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,759 Speaker 1: this debt, thirteen billion dollars in debt, it will take 743 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,879 Speaker 1: a billion dollars in payment just of the interest. That's 744 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,920 Speaker 1: more than Twitter was bringing in before some percentage of 745 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,840 Speaker 1: the advertisers fled the platform. He tried this eight dollars 746 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,640 Speaker 1: Twitter blue check thing. Very unlikely that that is ultimately 747 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:42,759 Speaker 1: going to work out with them from a business perspective. 748 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,359 Speaker 1: And he keeps tweeting out about like, oh, we're having 749 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 1: record interactions on the platform, record number of tweets. That 750 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 1: really doesn't actually matter if you don't have ads that 751 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,400 Speaker 1: you can serve to those people, or if they're not 752 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:56,799 Speaker 1: signing up for your you know, eight dollars a month 753 00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,919 Speaker 1: scheme here ultimately, and the eight dollar month scheme all 754 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,600 Speaker 1: so is a direct directly at odds with the free speech, 755 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:07,279 Speaker 1: you know, supposed goals and aims of the platform, which 756 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:09,120 Speaker 1: I know it's very clear at this point he's all 757 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,640 Speaker 1: but completely abandoned. So, I mean, I what I read 758 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:17,480 Speaker 1: into this was just basically that he had planned to 759 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:21,160 Speaker 1: leave h and there was early reporting even before this poll, 760 00:39:21,239 --> 00:39:23,239 Speaker 1: kind of early on that he was likely to not 761 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:27,240 Speaker 1: stay as CEO all that long. So, for whatever reason, 762 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: is under pressure from potential Twitter funders, from Tesla investors. 763 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,360 Speaker 1: That part is really clear. He had sort of decided 764 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:35,400 Speaker 1: you needed to step down. He expected this would be 765 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:37,480 Speaker 1: the result of the poll, and now he's going to 766 00:39:37,719 --> 00:39:40,279 Speaker 1: leave on his own time, step down as head of 767 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,560 Speaker 1: CEO a CEO of the company whenever he finds whoever 768 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:47,160 Speaker 1: he thinks would be a suitable replacement for himself. At 769 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:51,960 Speaker 1: the same time, there are some conflicting reports about what 770 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:56,840 Speaker 1: exactly happened with that alleged stalker incident that triggered the 771 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:00,840 Speaker 1: whole takedown of the Elon Jet account and then banning 772 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:04,720 Speaker 1: of all these journalists who covered the Elon Jet account, 773 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:07,279 Speaker 1: and the whole sort of like cookie crumbled from there. 774 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:12,320 Speaker 1: So Elon had said and basically directly blamed the Elon 775 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:15,359 Speaker 1: Jet account for this incident in which he claimed some 776 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:20,399 Speaker 1: crazy person stocked the car of his young child, who 777 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,640 Speaker 1: he calls little X and had shared some video on 778 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,399 Speaker 1: this and that you know, then he started saying that 779 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,880 Speaker 1: the Elon Jett account it was tantamount to sharing his 780 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:31,719 Speaker 1: assassination coordinates and that this had directly put himself and 781 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:35,080 Speaker 1: his family into jeopardy. Okay, well, we knew right away 782 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,399 Speaker 1: that the story didn't totally add up, because the last 783 00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:41,680 Speaker 1: time that the elon jet account had even posted anything 784 00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:44,799 Speaker 1: was a full day beforehand. And then we had reporters 785 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:47,760 Speaker 1: who were starting to call the LAPD where this incident 786 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,560 Speaker 1: allegedly occurred, and they said, we didn't we didn't get 787 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,600 Speaker 1: any crime report. We don't know anything about this. So 788 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,560 Speaker 1: started to be some question marks there. Now we have 789 00:40:56,680 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 1: more information from the South Pasady and a police department. 790 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:02,480 Speaker 1: Let's go and put this up on the screen. From Insider, 791 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:06,880 Speaker 1: they say, police are saying that a member of Elon 792 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:11,680 Speaker 1: Musk's security team is actually a suspect, not a victim, 793 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:16,440 Speaker 1: in what Musk alleged was that crazy stalker incident. Here's 794 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:18,439 Speaker 1: what they go on to say. On Tuesday, the South 795 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:21,480 Speaker 1: Pasadia Police Department issued a statement detailing the episode that 796 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:25,279 Speaker 1: sparked a wild week of Twitter tension, confirming that an 797 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,720 Speaker 1: incident involving two vehicles was reported to authorities on Tuesday, 798 00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:32,319 Speaker 1: December thirteenth, But according to the police, this didn't go 799 00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,520 Speaker 1: down perhaps the way that had been portrayed. A twenty 800 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,200 Speaker 1: nine year old Connecticut man in the other vehicle who 801 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,040 Speaker 1: called police to report and assault with a deadly weapon 802 00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:44,240 Speaker 1: involving a car. When an officer arrived on the scenes 803 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,120 Speaker 1: minute later. Minutes later, the victim said he had just 804 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:49,480 Speaker 1: exited the freeway stopped to use his phone in a 805 00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,440 Speaker 1: parking lot when another vehicle pulled directly in front of him, 806 00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:55,000 Speaker 1: blocking his path. The driver of that second vehicle is 807 00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:57,120 Speaker 1: believed to be a member of a MUST security team. 808 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:01,120 Speaker 1: The man who called police said the MUST staffer approached 809 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:03,640 Speaker 1: him and accused him of following him on the freeway. 810 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,000 Speaker 1: Both parties proceeded to film each other, and as MUST 811 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:10,600 Speaker 1: security guard was leaving the parking lot, he struck the 812 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:14,040 Speaker 1: victim allegedly with his vehicle, and he was gone by 813 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,359 Speaker 1: the time police arrived on the scene, according to authorities. 814 00:42:17,719 --> 00:42:20,920 Speaker 1: Now the piece that I will say is confusing and 815 00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:26,000 Speaker 1: conflicting here though, is a previous LAPD detective had spoken 816 00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:29,560 Speaker 1: with the Washington Post and did seem to indicate that 817 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,960 Speaker 1: there was someone involved in this incident who had a 818 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:35,120 Speaker 1: weird sort of obsession with Elon and his family. The 819 00:42:35,239 --> 00:42:37,960 Speaker 1: Washington Post identified that man involved in the incident as 820 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:41,160 Speaker 1: Brando Colado and Uber EAT's driver, who expressed change claims 821 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:44,400 Speaker 1: they say about the musician Grimes. Smusk's former girlfriend and 822 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:46,640 Speaker 1: mother of two of his kids, whose real name is 823 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:50,520 Speaker 1: Claire Bouchet. Maybe. Palado said he knew that Bouchet lived 824 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:53,520 Speaker 1: near the incident where the incident occurred, and suggested she 825 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:57,920 Speaker 1: was communicating with him via a discreet Instagram post. So 826 00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:01,520 Speaker 1: I don't know. It seems like this incident isn't exactly 827 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:03,680 Speaker 1: as it was originally portrayed. Well, we already know it 828 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:06,440 Speaker 1: wasn't exactly what was portrayed because the incident happened twenty 829 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:10,080 Speaker 1: three hours after the actual jet and landed right near 830 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:13,359 Speaker 1: a gas station, not near the airport, and near Grimes's house. 831 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,880 Speaker 1: It's a messy situation. Clearly, whoever this dude is is 832 00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:20,040 Speaker 1: a little office rocker, right stocker That said the security 833 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:22,560 Speaker 1: guard now, and this is always the issue with private security. 834 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,040 Speaker 1: It's like, you're not a cop, dude, you can't be 835 00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:28,680 Speaker 1: like slamming the car, slamming cars into people like That's 836 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:31,800 Speaker 1: not really how it works in terms of being someone's 837 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:35,360 Speaker 1: personal security guard. So it's a tough situation. But I 838 00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:37,840 Speaker 1: actually am happy that a lot of this is happening 839 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:40,120 Speaker 1: because the more that we get in court, the more 840 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,120 Speaker 1: we actually find out what actually happened. Because the police 841 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,960 Speaker 1: actually have the gas station video of where all of 842 00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:49,239 Speaker 1: this occurred in the parking lot. They're going to have 843 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:52,120 Speaker 1: both the video that the stalker took on top of 844 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:55,280 Speaker 1: the security guard, and both will be forced to testify 845 00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:58,200 Speaker 1: against each other. But the preliminary details emerging from the 846 00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:01,279 Speaker 1: police do not back up elons of basically at all 847 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:04,239 Speaker 1: in terms of what's happening here. And also, another thing 848 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:06,319 Speaker 1: I'd really like to hear from the stocker is did 849 00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,120 Speaker 1: you use the elon jet account to figure out where 850 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:10,880 Speaker 1: all of this was going on? Yeah? Because the answer 851 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:12,920 Speaker 1: is no, that's going to be kind of a damning 852 00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:16,520 Speaker 1: problem for him. Yeah. Well, and even zooming out from 853 00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:20,160 Speaker 1: the specifics of this particular incident, because it could be 854 00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:22,640 Speaker 1: the case. Look, he's a father, he's concerned about his 855 00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:25,239 Speaker 1: kid that even if there wasn't really any connection to 856 00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:28,240 Speaker 1: the elon jet account, after something scary like this happens 857 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:30,839 Speaker 1: with your kid, you sort of freak out, You lock down, 858 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:32,440 Speaker 1: and you want to keep them safe in whatever way 859 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:35,800 Speaker 1: you can. That's the whole problem of having one billionaire 860 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:38,680 Speaker 1: or one dude or a small group of people running 861 00:44:38,719 --> 00:44:42,240 Speaker 1: a major platform is they start to make decisions based 862 00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:47,160 Speaker 1: on their own biases, whims, emotions, feelings, whatever, and that's 863 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:50,160 Speaker 1: the whole problem. So ultimately, to be honest with you, 864 00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:53,759 Speaker 1: the particular details of this incident don't really matter as 865 00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:57,320 Speaker 1: much as the fact that they very clearly revealed Elon 866 00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:01,520 Speaker 1: was going to be just as fallible human as anyone else, 867 00:45:01,560 --> 00:45:04,239 Speaker 1: and perhaps even more so in this role. And that's 868 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:06,359 Speaker 1: why this whole system and the way it's set up 869 00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:09,640 Speaker 1: is ultimately a problem. There was clearly not any sort 870 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:14,160 Speaker 1: of like you know, unbiased arms length decision making happening 871 00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:17,040 Speaker 1: with regards to this incident, and it led to you know, 872 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,239 Speaker 1: all these not just the Elon jet account, which you know, 873 00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:23,640 Speaker 1: I think a reasonable person could make an argument that 874 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:25,839 Speaker 1: this is dosing and he's I don't agree with that, 875 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,719 Speaker 1: but I think there's a reasonable position and argument you 876 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:32,040 Speaker 1: could make there. There is no reasonable argument for them 877 00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:35,160 Speaker 1: banning all links to mast it On because this guy was, 878 00:45:35,239 --> 00:45:38,880 Speaker 1: you know, on that platform over There no reasonable justification 879 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:41,160 Speaker 1: for banning all the journalists who were just covering this 880 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,480 Speaker 1: whole story, which obviously is clearly in the national interest. 881 00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:48,000 Speaker 1: Banning Taylor Lorenz and the other dude what's his name, 882 00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:52,000 Speaker 1: Drew something True who were talking to the police and 883 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:54,680 Speaker 1: trying to get the real details of what ultimately happened here, like, 884 00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:58,480 Speaker 1: there is no justification for any of that, regardless of 885 00:45:58,600 --> 00:46:01,640 Speaker 1: the specifics of exactly how this incident ultimately went down. 886 00:46:01,719 --> 00:46:06,640 Speaker 1: Absolutely agree. Okay, guys, we finally, after many years, have 887 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:09,760 Speaker 1: a little bit of a look at some Trump tax returns. 888 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:12,960 Speaker 1: Here's how this all went down. Trump, of course, has 889 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:16,680 Speaker 1: been fighting the ability of the right now democratically controlled 890 00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:18,759 Speaker 1: House to get their hands on his tax returns. He 891 00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:21,600 Speaker 1: had exhausted all appeals, and they said, okay, here are 892 00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:24,440 Speaker 1: the returns. This House Ways and Means Committee sort of 893 00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:27,279 Speaker 1: just recently got a hold of these last month and 894 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:29,640 Speaker 1: they've been deciding what to do with them and how 895 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:31,399 Speaker 1: they can release them. And so they took a vote 896 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,719 Speaker 1: this week saying we are going to release these to 897 00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,160 Speaker 1: the public. It is obviously at the eleventh hour because 898 00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:39,080 Speaker 1: Republicans are about to take control of the House. It's 899 00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:41,439 Speaker 1: got and put this up on the screen. We don't 900 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:44,279 Speaker 1: have a full look at this yet, but New York 901 00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:48,080 Speaker 1: Times has the top line key numbers from these six 902 00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:51,840 Speaker 1: years of Trump tax returns, and you know, to be 903 00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,799 Speaker 1: honest with you, there's nothing all that particularly notable in 904 00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:57,960 Speaker 1: these top line figures. Some years he according to his 905 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:02,280 Speaker 1: tax calculation made my mind, some years he didn't make money. 906 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:06,160 Speaker 1: There was one year where he literally paid zero dollars 907 00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,880 Speaker 1: in taxes, which is a thorough indictment of our entire 908 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:12,759 Speaker 1: system of taxation in my humble opinion. And there have 909 00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:15,839 Speaker 1: been questions before about just how far he would go 910 00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:18,200 Speaker 1: to stretch the legal limits of what you were allowed 911 00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:21,520 Speaker 1: to deduct, not to mention the fact that his organization 912 00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:24,200 Speaker 1: was just found guilty of tax frauds. So there are 913 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:25,960 Speaker 1: a lot of questions about the ways that he goes 914 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:30,000 Speaker 1: about calculating his taxes, none of which is particularly revealed 915 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,839 Speaker 1: by these top line numbers that we have here so far. 916 00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:39,600 Speaker 1: The biggest question is about why the IRS, for years 917 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:43,120 Speaker 1: after he became president of the United States, failed to 918 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:46,000 Speaker 1: audit his tax returns, which is something that they are 919 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:50,960 Speaker 1: actually required to do of every president every year by law. 920 00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:53,879 Speaker 1: Let's go and put this up on the screens. Tax 921 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:57,839 Speaker 1: Us tax authorities failed to audit Donald Trump for two 922 00:47:57,960 --> 00:47:59,920 Speaker 1: years while he was in the White House. Democratic law 923 00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:02,840 Speaker 1: maker said despite a program that makes that tax review 924 00:48:02,880 --> 00:48:05,960 Speaker 1: sitting presidence compulsory. The claim in a report issued by 925 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,439 Speaker 1: Democrats on the Houseways and means Committee voting to release 926 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:11,200 Speaker 1: six years of Trump's tax returns raises questions over statements 927 00:48:11,239 --> 00:48:13,680 Speaker 1: made by Trump and members of his administration that he 928 00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:16,120 Speaker 1: could not release his tax returns a convention for aspiring 929 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,759 Speaker 1: sitting presidents, because he was undergoing an IRS audit. It also, 930 00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:25,240 Speaker 1: of course raises questions over whether he was improperly influencing 931 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:29,200 Speaker 1: the IRS, whether the IRS was acting in a political manner, 932 00:48:29,239 --> 00:48:31,719 Speaker 1: And there have been questions about this before because they 933 00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:34,680 Speaker 1: just happened to while they were not auditing Trump, they 934 00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:38,839 Speaker 1: did just happen to pick James Comey and Andrew McCabe, two, 935 00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:42,640 Speaker 1: of course of Trump's enemies, to audit during that period. 936 00:48:42,719 --> 00:48:44,880 Speaker 1: So it's raising some eyebras of I will say, saga's 937 00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:48,279 Speaker 1: kind of complicated because the initial IRS commissioner or whatever 938 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:51,040 Speaker 1: they're the head leader is called over. There was actually 939 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:53,640 Speaker 1: an Obama a point, That's what I was going to say, 940 00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,960 Speaker 1: and then you know, later on there was a lot 941 00:48:56,960 --> 00:49:00,600 Speaker 1: of pressure put on McConnell to get Trump sky that 942 00:49:00,680 --> 00:49:03,760 Speaker 1: he liked in that place. So that sort of raised 943 00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:07,000 Speaker 1: some eyebrows. But given the fact that you had multiple 944 00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:11,120 Speaker 1: people in charge over this period and they weren't appointed 945 00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:14,440 Speaker 1: some of them directly by Trump. I think it looks 946 00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:18,200 Speaker 1: to me more like in competence than nefariousness, But I 947 00:49:18,239 --> 00:49:20,640 Speaker 1: don't really know. It's certainly possible. There's no way to know. 948 00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:23,040 Speaker 1: What we do know is that Obama was audited his 949 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:25,400 Speaker 1: first year in office, Tree Biden was also audited his 950 00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:28,000 Speaker 1: first year in office. But also Trump's finances are a 951 00:49:28,040 --> 00:49:31,200 Speaker 1: way bit mouch more of a yes than Biden or 952 00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:33,120 Speaker 1: Obama's ever worse, and a lot of it was probably 953 00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:36,320 Speaker 1: it's easier obviously to indicet or to audit somebody who's 954 00:49:36,360 --> 00:49:39,880 Speaker 1: poor or in Obama and Biden's case, just mere millionaires 955 00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:43,359 Speaker 1: as opposed to billionaires. Issue with Trump also he's got 956 00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:47,000 Speaker 1: all kinds of shell corporations and foreign financing, and you know, 957 00:49:47,080 --> 00:49:49,040 Speaker 1: having looked at some of his personal finances and stuff 958 00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:51,640 Speaker 1: of the past, it's a massive mess. Yeah, just even 959 00:49:51,719 --> 00:49:53,960 Speaker 1: trying to pull even some of the records from his 960 00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:57,000 Speaker 1: New York based businesses themselves. Actually it's indicated, you could 961 00:49:57,000 --> 00:49:59,040 Speaker 1: see in his tax returns it only paid a million 962 00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:02,560 Speaker 1: dollars in taxes, even though he's worth several billion dollars. 963 00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:04,640 Speaker 1: This is all part of the real estate scheming that 964 00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:07,000 Speaker 1: he's been kind of a part of for a long time. 965 00:50:07,080 --> 00:50:09,279 Speaker 1: I've always said heard that if you want to make 966 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:11,680 Speaker 1: any real money in this country and also pay zero taxes, 967 00:50:11,680 --> 00:50:13,480 Speaker 1: you should get into the real estate game because you 968 00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:16,759 Speaker 1: can always ride off like depreciation taxes. And he all 969 00:50:16,920 --> 00:50:20,640 Speaker 1: this madness. He also in that big tax cut bill, 970 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:24,520 Speaker 1: put provisions in place there that would directly lower his 971 00:50:24,600 --> 00:50:28,280 Speaker 1: own taxes. So I mean, to me, that's the scandal 972 00:50:28,560 --> 00:50:31,239 Speaker 1: the entire United States tax code. Honestly, the fact that 973 00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:33,160 Speaker 1: someone as wealthy as Donald Trump could have a year 974 00:50:33,200 --> 00:50:36,520 Speaker 1: in which they pay zero in taxes, that is a 975 00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:38,960 Speaker 1: massive scandal. But it's the sort of thing that's not 976 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:41,120 Speaker 1: really hidden, it's out in the open kind of scandal. 977 00:50:41,840 --> 00:50:46,120 Speaker 1: The other thing that is a real head scratcher is 978 00:50:46,640 --> 00:50:49,280 Speaker 1: when they did so. The reason the audit was triggered 979 00:50:49,320 --> 00:50:52,600 Speaker 1: is because Democrats on this Houseways Means Committee started asking 980 00:50:52,640 --> 00:50:55,279 Speaker 1: about whether he's being audited. And that's apparently when the 981 00:50:55,320 --> 00:50:57,520 Speaker 1: IRS was like, oh shit, we're supposed to be doing that. Yeah, 982 00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:01,760 Speaker 1: we're totally on top of it. They assigned one person 983 00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:04,560 Speaker 1: to do the audit. And as you said, I mean, 984 00:51:04,960 --> 00:51:09,360 Speaker 1: he has to have the most complex personal financial situation 985 00:51:09,560 --> 00:51:13,360 Speaker 1: and tax situation of any president in history probably and JFK, 986 00:51:13,520 --> 00:51:18,480 Speaker 1: it has to be extraordinarily complex, and you know, and 987 00:51:18,560 --> 00:51:21,080 Speaker 1: he uses all sorts of exotic maneuvers to try to 988 00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:24,000 Speaker 1: evade taxes and very aggressive about evading type, and has 989 00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:27,160 Speaker 1: spoken publicly about that, as admitted to it, and as 990 00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:28,960 Speaker 1: basically like you're a sucker if you don't do that. 991 00:51:29,560 --> 00:51:32,920 Speaker 1: So to assign one dude to try to figure all 992 00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:35,200 Speaker 1: of this out, you know, again, I don't know that 993 00:51:35,239 --> 00:51:38,239 Speaker 1: it's nefarious. I think it's again an indictment of the 994 00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:42,320 Speaker 1: whole US tax system that the IRS has been stripped 995 00:51:42,320 --> 00:51:45,799 Speaker 1: of funding, you know, especially by Republicans who have cut 996 00:51:45,800 --> 00:51:48,960 Speaker 1: the budget over and over again. And rather than having 997 00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:51,719 Speaker 1: the impact of you know, making it easier and less 998 00:51:51,719 --> 00:51:54,000 Speaker 1: of a burden on ordinary Americans, what it means is 999 00:51:54,080 --> 00:51:56,799 Speaker 1: they don't have the resources to go up against the 1000 00:51:57,040 --> 00:51:59,880 Speaker 1: army of lawyers and accountants that a rich dude like 1001 00:51:59,880 --> 00:52:02,799 Speaker 1: to Donald Trump ultimately had. So they were I mean, 1002 00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:05,719 Speaker 1: they didn't stand a chance against Donald Trump and his 1003 00:52:05,840 --> 00:52:07,840 Speaker 1: billions in it was might take too. Yeah. It's like 1004 00:52:07,920 --> 00:52:10,279 Speaker 1: Obama when he came into office, all he ever did 1005 00:52:10,440 --> 00:52:12,520 Speaker 1: was literally run for office and write a book all 1006 00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:15,080 Speaker 1: of his personal at worth was based off of checks 1007 00:52:15,080 --> 00:52:17,680 Speaker 1: from his publishers, or it wasn't that complicated, Yeah, Biden, 1008 00:52:17,800 --> 00:52:21,160 Speaker 1: I mean the Hunter stuff and all of that. Still 1009 00:52:21,160 --> 00:52:23,560 Speaker 1: a lot of questions I think that we should look into. 1010 00:52:23,600 --> 00:52:26,399 Speaker 1: But his own personal finances Biden was actually quite poor 1011 00:52:26,719 --> 00:52:28,799 Speaker 1: until he had left office. Even then, as only as 1012 00:52:28,880 --> 00:52:31,640 Speaker 1: that worth is only like less than ten million dollars. Again, 1013 00:52:31,719 --> 00:52:34,200 Speaker 1: I am saying only on the scale of people who 1014 00:52:34,239 --> 00:52:36,480 Speaker 1: hold the office, which I'm not saying it should be 1015 00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:39,400 Speaker 1: that way Trump of course having one person versus his 1016 00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:42,279 Speaker 1: army of lawyers, that's insane. But let's take this as 1017 00:52:42,280 --> 00:52:46,120 Speaker 1: an opportunity to say that you, as an average American taxpayer, 1018 00:52:46,160 --> 00:52:49,160 Speaker 1: are far more likely to get audited and screwed by 1019 00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:52,920 Speaker 1: the IRS than Donald J. Trump and all American billionaires 1020 00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:55,480 Speaker 1: in one hundred millionire. Yes, and that is wrong, So 1021 00:52:55,560 --> 00:52:58,840 Speaker 1: that this is a structural flaw. Remember, the IRS is 1022 00:52:58,840 --> 00:53:01,399 Speaker 1: three times more likely to audit somebody who makes less 1023 00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:03,360 Speaker 1: than twenty two thousand dollars a year than it is 1024 00:53:03,400 --> 00:53:06,120 Speaker 1: to audit somebody worth over one billion dollars a year. Yeah, 1025 00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:09,640 Speaker 1: that is just that's bullshit. That is that is a 1026 00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:13,760 Speaker 1: massive scandal and wildly unfair and unjust. And the whole 1027 00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:17,240 Speaker 1: reason is because those tax returns are easy to audit. 1028 00:53:17,320 --> 00:53:19,719 Speaker 1: It's low hanging fruit to go after the person who 1029 00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:22,920 Speaker 1: you know is a waitress and getting tips in cash 1030 00:53:23,040 --> 00:53:26,440 Speaker 1: and not one hundred percent reporting them or whatever, than 1031 00:53:26,480 --> 00:53:28,799 Speaker 1: it is to try to go up against somebody like 1032 00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:31,680 Speaker 1: Trump with all his lawyers and accountants and you know, 1033 00:53:32,040 --> 00:53:35,440 Speaker 1: complex shell companies and complex schemes that he's able to 1034 00:53:35,480 --> 00:53:39,360 Speaker 1: deploy here. So that's all we know so far. The expectation, 1035 00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:41,239 Speaker 1: I think is that we're going to get more of 1036 00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:44,280 Speaker 1: a look at these things. There may be additional pieces 1037 00:53:44,320 --> 00:53:47,719 Speaker 1: that jump out that are revelatory, and we'll certainly keep 1038 00:53:47,719 --> 00:53:50,399 Speaker 1: our eye on it here all right. At the same time, 1039 00:53:50,440 --> 00:53:55,160 Speaker 1: we can resist digging into this disarray happening on the 1040 00:53:55,280 --> 00:53:59,080 Speaker 1: right right now. There's been a few that has developed 1041 00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:03,400 Speaker 1: between March, Trey, Taylor Green, and Lorne Bobert. In particular, 1042 00:54:03,719 --> 00:54:07,320 Speaker 1: this all centers around whether or not Kevin McCarthy is 1043 00:54:07,360 --> 00:54:10,640 Speaker 1: going to be future Speaker of the House. And basically 1044 00:54:10,680 --> 00:54:14,040 Speaker 1: you have this small group of Republicans members of Congress 1045 00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:17,759 Speaker 1: who are calling themselves the like never Kevin Caucus, and 1046 00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:21,400 Speaker 1: there are enough of them. It seems to keep McCarthy 1047 00:54:21,480 --> 00:54:25,480 Speaker 1: from outright winning the speakership. He has to get a majority, 1048 00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:29,000 Speaker 1: and you know, the margins for the GOP caucus are 1049 00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:31,239 Speaker 1: very thin, so just a few people can make his 1050 00:54:31,280 --> 00:54:34,680 Speaker 1: life very difficult. And so you have Marjorie Taylor Green 1051 00:54:34,920 --> 00:54:38,240 Speaker 1: actually supporting and backing Kevin McCarthy, and you have Lauren 1052 00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:41,400 Speaker 1: bober Matt Gates, and some others on the other side 1053 00:54:41,400 --> 00:54:44,360 Speaker 1: of that, and that has led to a whole public, 1054 00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:48,560 Speaker 1: whole public feud erupting into the open. I'll give you 1055 00:54:48,600 --> 00:54:50,640 Speaker 1: the details of this, but first let's start. This all 1056 00:54:50,719 --> 00:54:54,240 Speaker 1: kind of started with Lorne Bobert at speaking with Charlie 1057 00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:57,600 Speaker 1: Kirk and making some underhanded comments about Marjorie Taylor Green. 1058 00:54:57,680 --> 00:55:00,600 Speaker 1: Let's take listen to that, someone who we are respect, 1059 00:55:00,719 --> 00:55:03,239 Speaker 1: Marjorie Taylor Green, says Kevin McCarthy is going to be 1060 00:55:03,239 --> 00:55:06,560 Speaker 1: a great speaker. I guess you'll have to ask Marjorie 1061 00:55:06,560 --> 00:55:08,680 Speaker 1: about that. I'm a fan of hers, I'm an admirer, 1062 00:55:08,760 --> 00:55:10,879 Speaker 1: but it's not something we see the same. Lauren, Well, 1063 00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:14,360 Speaker 1: you know I've been aligned with Marjorie, accused of believing 1064 00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:15,759 Speaker 1: a lot of the things that she bleeds in I 1065 00:55:15,800 --> 00:55:18,359 Speaker 1: don't believe in this, just like I don't believe in 1066 00:55:19,040 --> 00:55:22,280 Speaker 1: Russian space lacer Are you a hard no space lasers 1067 00:55:22,280 --> 00:55:25,000 Speaker 1: and all this. No, I'm just saying we need to 1068 00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:29,319 Speaker 1: actually have an inside conversation and make sure that these 1069 00:55:29,360 --> 00:55:33,200 Speaker 1: promises are there. So she takes a shot there at 1070 00:55:33,360 --> 00:55:36,719 Speaker 1: Marjorie Taylor Green's yeah, infamous comment it's about Jewish space 1071 00:55:36,800 --> 00:55:39,239 Speaker 1: lasers or whatever she said about that. So Marjorie was 1072 00:55:39,280 --> 00:55:42,200 Speaker 1: not taking this line down, so she clapped back on Twitter. 1073 00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:43,799 Speaker 1: Let's take a look at what she had to say. 1074 00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:47,280 Speaker 1: Go and put this up on the screen. She says, 1075 00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:51,280 Speaker 1: Lauren Bobert gladly takes our dollars, but when she's been asked, 1076 00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:54,560 Speaker 1: Lauren refuses to endorse President Trump. She refuses to support 1077 00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:57,960 Speaker 1: Kevin McCarthy, and she childishly threw me under the bus 1078 00:55:58,160 --> 00:56:02,239 Speaker 1: for a cheap town bite. And now, actually Marjorie has 1079 00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:06,000 Speaker 1: written a whole op ed for The Daily Caller supporting 1080 00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:09,200 Speaker 1: Kevin McCarthy, but taking a number of shots at not 1081 00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:12,880 Speaker 1: only Lauren bober but also at Matt Gates. Let's go 1082 00:56:12,920 --> 00:56:15,640 Speaker 1: ahead and put this up on the screen. This next piece, 1083 00:56:15,680 --> 00:56:18,600 Speaker 1: she says, lying to the base is a red line 1084 00:56:18,600 --> 00:56:21,280 Speaker 1: for me, and that's what five of my closest colleagues 1085 00:56:21,280 --> 00:56:24,000 Speaker 1: are doing when they claim a consensus how speaker candidate 1086 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:27,640 Speaker 1: will emerge as they oppose Kevin McCarthy. Here's the reality. 1087 00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:31,839 Speaker 1: No one is running against Kevin McCarthy for speaker. If 1088 00:56:31,840 --> 00:56:34,279 Speaker 1: they're successful, they'll give us something worse than Paul Ryan. 1089 00:56:34,320 --> 00:56:36,560 Speaker 1: The truth is they have no plan. It's an empty promise, 1090 00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:39,200 Speaker 1: which is why I'm speaking out. And then she goes 1091 00:56:39,239 --> 00:56:42,600 Speaker 1: on to take a shot, particularly at Matt Gates. Here 1092 00:56:42,640 --> 00:56:44,720 Speaker 1: she says, let's start with my dear friend, Matt Gates. 1093 00:56:44,960 --> 00:56:47,400 Speaker 1: Many of his attacks against Kevin McCarthy are comparisons to 1094 00:56:47,440 --> 00:56:50,640 Speaker 1: Paul Ryan. Quite ironic given Matt's very first vote in 1095 00:56:50,640 --> 00:56:53,520 Speaker 1: Congress was for Paul Ryan as Speaker, even when we 1096 00:56:53,560 --> 00:56:56,320 Speaker 1: all knew Paul Ryan would never deliver the MAGA agenda. 1097 00:56:56,360 --> 00:56:59,080 Speaker 1: Another loud voice is Bob Good. For some reason, he 1098 00:56:59,160 --> 00:57:02,480 Speaker 1: just hates Kevin mccarth. Pretty hard to understand why, because 1099 00:57:02,520 --> 00:57:05,760 Speaker 1: Kevin McCarthy put two million dollars into Bob's first campaign 1100 00:57:05,840 --> 00:57:08,600 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty and sent him more cash in twenty 1101 00:57:08,640 --> 00:57:11,359 Speaker 1: twenty two. Bob has a great conservative voting record, same 1102 00:57:11,400 --> 00:57:13,759 Speaker 1: as mine, but he's so focused on never Kevin, he 1103 00:57:13,840 --> 00:57:18,240 Speaker 1: can't see past January third, and she goes on from there. 1104 00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:21,120 Speaker 1: The reason I thought this was interesting, Sager, is you 1105 00:57:21,160 --> 00:57:24,480 Speaker 1: know when your side isn't doing that well, that's when 1106 00:57:24,480 --> 00:57:28,440 Speaker 1: you see all of these fissures and infighting and petty 1107 00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:32,000 Speaker 1: feuds erupt into the open. And as a card carrying 1108 00:57:32,040 --> 00:57:34,440 Speaker 1: member of the American Left, I can vouch for the 1109 00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:36,240 Speaker 1: fact that that is the case. And I think that's 1110 00:57:36,280 --> 00:57:38,160 Speaker 1: sort of what you see happening here. That's as I 1111 00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:40,200 Speaker 1: was going to say, that's exactly what's happening. They're all 1112 00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:44,280 Speaker 1: basically shooting each other after the disappointing midterms. And Lauren Bobert, 1113 00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:46,880 Speaker 1: let's not forget, she's not denouncing Marjorie for no reason. 1114 00:57:46,920 --> 00:57:50,880 Speaker 1: She almost lost. She barely won in a recount in 1115 00:57:50,920 --> 00:57:53,880 Speaker 1: a hard Trump district right in Colorado. That's kind of 1116 00:57:53,880 --> 00:57:57,080 Speaker 1: a nightmare for her. So she's got a real problem 1117 00:57:57,200 --> 00:57:59,760 Speaker 1: between trying to square herself as some kind of Trump 1118 00:58:00,040 --> 00:58:02,960 Speaker 1: Maga style figure and then also, you know, not trying 1119 00:58:02,960 --> 00:58:05,840 Speaker 1: to be aligned with MTG. At the same time, MTG 1120 00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:09,800 Speaker 1: is basically running purity tests in the party even after 1121 00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:12,040 Speaker 1: the loss, trying to make sure that the faithful are 1122 00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:14,560 Speaker 1: all aligned up with her and that she's like the 1123 00:58:14,640 --> 00:58:18,160 Speaker 1: carrier of the legacy. So's I see it more as interesting. 1124 00:58:18,200 --> 00:58:19,760 Speaker 1: I don't even care about the McCarthy thing. I think 1125 00:58:19,760 --> 00:58:22,200 Speaker 1: he's obviously going to be speaker. It's all this other 1126 00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:25,320 Speaker 1: like shooting each other stuff that I'm like, huh, that's 1127 00:58:25,360 --> 00:58:28,200 Speaker 1: fascinating because it's like, where is the future of MAGA 1128 00:58:28,240 --> 00:58:31,200 Speaker 1: and Trump kissing ass Gates? Is it Bobert or is 1129 00:58:31,200 --> 00:58:34,280 Speaker 1: it MTG Well, and the reason McCarthy is interesting in 1130 00:58:34,320 --> 00:58:37,960 Speaker 1: this is because Trump did endorse McCarthy. But on the 1131 00:58:38,040 --> 00:58:42,000 Speaker 1: other hand, McCarthy is obviously not really like legitimately very 1132 00:58:42,120 --> 00:58:45,520 Speaker 1: sort of Trumpian stylistically, I guess you would say. And 1133 00:58:45,600 --> 00:58:48,960 Speaker 1: so you've got Gates and Bobert and others posturing like 1134 00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:52,560 Speaker 1: the true sort of Trumpian MAGA position is to oppose 1135 00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:56,920 Speaker 1: Kevin McCarthy, even though McCarthy is actually backed Trump, and 1136 00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:59,680 Speaker 1: then Marjorie Taylor Green being like, no, the real position 1137 00:58:59,720 --> 00:59:02,000 Speaker 1: to take here is to support Kevin McCarthy. And she 1138 00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:04,800 Speaker 1: calls out Lorden Bobert for being unwilling to, you know, 1139 00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:08,480 Speaker 1: affirmatively back Trump's next reelection. And I mean, on the 1140 00:59:08,520 --> 00:59:11,080 Speaker 1: merits of the Kevin McCarthy speaker thing. Marjorie Taylor Green 1141 00:59:11,200 --> 00:59:14,360 Speaker 1: is obviously correct. Yeah, of course there is. They have 1142 00:59:14,480 --> 00:59:17,080 Speaker 1: not offered a real alternative. There is no one who 1143 00:59:17,120 --> 00:59:20,520 Speaker 1: garners anywhere close to the level of support of Kevin McCarthy. 1144 00:59:21,080 --> 00:59:23,959 Speaker 1: He is ultimately going to end up as speaker. And 1145 00:59:24,080 --> 00:59:26,240 Speaker 1: so you know they're they're sort of playing this like 1146 00:59:26,320 --> 00:59:28,840 Speaker 1: fantasy game, and I think they are sort of misleading 1147 00:59:29,560 --> 00:59:32,480 Speaker 1: the base about how this might ultimately all play out. 1148 00:59:32,760 --> 00:59:37,320 Speaker 1: I think you are one hundred percent correct, Crystil. What 1149 00:59:37,360 --> 00:59:39,680 Speaker 1: are you taking a look at? Well, what would happen 1150 00:59:39,720 --> 00:59:43,080 Speaker 1: to you if you stole someone's car, or their money, 1151 00:59:43,200 --> 00:59:46,360 Speaker 1: or somehow their entire house. You would of course go 1152 00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:48,960 Speaker 1: to prison for many years, You would lose everything, Your 1153 00:59:48,960 --> 00:59:51,520 Speaker 1: life would likely be completely ruined. What if she did 1154 00:59:51,520 --> 00:59:54,280 Speaker 1: the same thing to not just one person, but millions 1155 00:59:54,280 --> 00:59:57,560 Speaker 1: of people over the course of a decade. Well, if 1156 00:59:57,560 --> 01:00:00,840 Speaker 1: you're a big bank, apparently you can admit no wrongdoing, 1157 01:00:00,960 --> 01:00:02,800 Speaker 1: get hit with a fine that is a small fraction 1158 01:00:02,840 --> 01:00:05,680 Speaker 1: of your income, and basically continue with business as usual. 1159 01:00:06,120 --> 01:00:08,520 Speaker 1: That is the lesson anyway, for the banksters at Wells 1160 01:00:08,520 --> 01:00:11,320 Speaker 1: Fargo who have basically been running a crime syndicate alleged 1161 01:00:11,320 --> 01:00:15,440 Speaker 1: to have done everything from illegally repossessing cars to illegally 1162 01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:19,040 Speaker 1: foreclosing on homes, to illegally overcharging their customers and setting 1163 01:00:19,080 --> 01:00:22,840 Speaker 1: up fake unauthorized accounts. Senator Elizabeth Warren, to her credit, 1164 01:00:22,880 --> 01:00:26,520 Speaker 1: actually thoroughly exposed their track record of repeated criminal behavior 1165 01:00:26,560 --> 01:00:29,160 Speaker 1: and hearing with the head of the Consumer Financial Protection 1166 01:00:29,200 --> 01:00:31,960 Speaker 1: Bureer earlier this year. Take a listen. I want to 1167 01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:34,800 Speaker 1: talk today about one of the worst repeat offenders in 1168 01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:39,600 Speaker 1: our entire financial system, Wells Fargo. In twenty sixteen, Wells 1169 01:00:39,600 --> 01:00:43,960 Speaker 1: Fargo's fake account scandal was exposed. The company's leadership had 1170 01:00:44,000 --> 01:00:47,480 Speaker 1: squeezed their employees to create three and a half million 1171 01:00:47,960 --> 01:00:52,080 Speaker 1: unauthorized bank accounts Director Chobert. Do you recall how much 1172 01:00:52,160 --> 01:00:55,280 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo was fined in twenty sixteen for this fake 1173 01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:58,120 Speaker 1: account scandal. I want to say it was one hundred 1174 01:00:58,160 --> 01:01:01,080 Speaker 1: eighty on hundred eighty five million dollars, including one hundred 1175 01:01:01,120 --> 01:01:03,920 Speaker 1: million of that was from the CFPB. Now, that was 1176 01:01:03,960 --> 01:01:07,439 Speaker 1: a big fine, and CFPB and other regulators were right 1177 01:01:07,520 --> 01:01:10,680 Speaker 1: to impose it. But keep in mind that Wells Fargo 1178 01:01:10,720 --> 01:01:14,240 Speaker 1: booked more than five billion dollars in profits that year. 1179 01:01:14,520 --> 01:01:17,400 Speaker 1: So maybe we shouldn't be surprised that a fine alan 1180 01:01:17,600 --> 01:01:20,000 Speaker 1: was not enough to persuade Wells Fargo to follow the law, 1181 01:01:20,440 --> 01:01:23,240 Speaker 1: because over the next few months, the following scandals came 1182 01:01:23,280 --> 01:01:26,840 Speaker 1: to light. Wells forced consumers to buy unneeded car insurance, 1183 01:01:27,000 --> 01:01:31,200 Speaker 1: they changed information on customers documents without authorization, and they 1184 01:01:31,280 --> 01:01:35,800 Speaker 1: illegally repossessed cars from service members. In twenty eighteen, the 1185 01:01:35,840 --> 01:01:39,640 Speaker 1: regulators finally said enough and under then Chair of the 1186 01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:42,840 Speaker 1: Federal Reserve Janet Yellen's leadership, the FED put a cap 1187 01:01:42,960 --> 01:01:46,080 Speaker 1: on Wells Fargo's growth. Now, that was pretty shocking at 1188 01:01:46,120 --> 01:01:49,000 Speaker 1: the time, but it still wasn't enough to get Wells 1189 01:01:49,000 --> 01:01:52,960 Speaker 1: to follow the law. Since that time, Wells has closed 1190 01:01:52,960 --> 01:01:57,120 Speaker 1: customers accounts without authorization, damaging people's credit reports, and just 1191 01:01:57,120 --> 01:02:00,320 Speaker 1: to rub salt in the wound, continued to charge them 1192 01:02:00,640 --> 01:02:04,440 Speaker 1: overdraft fees even after those accounts were closed. Wells has 1193 01:02:04,480 --> 01:02:07,880 Speaker 1: also been fined by the SEC for recommending unsuitable products 1194 01:02:08,080 --> 01:02:11,360 Speaker 1: to mom and pop investors. It put up to sixteen 1195 01:02:11,440 --> 01:02:15,000 Speaker 1: hundred customers into fourbearans without their consent, and just a 1196 01:02:15,080 --> 01:02:17,760 Speaker 1: few months ago, Wells was hit with another fine by 1197 01:02:17,800 --> 01:02:20,880 Speaker 1: the occ and a new consent order because the bank 1198 01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:24,680 Speaker 1: is still screwing over consumers. It appears that cheating customers 1199 01:02:24,880 --> 01:02:30,000 Speaker 1: is simply in Wells Fargo's DNA, absolutely correct on every count. There. 1200 01:02:30,040 --> 01:02:32,960 Speaker 1: She went on to ask CFPB head Rohechopra what his 1201 01:02:33,080 --> 01:02:36,400 Speaker 1: agency planned to do about this lawlessness, which she described 1202 01:02:36,440 --> 01:02:38,880 Speaker 1: as the baddest of the bad. Well, now we have 1203 01:02:38,920 --> 01:02:41,840 Speaker 1: an answer. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced that 1204 01:02:41,880 --> 01:02:44,640 Speaker 1: for a variety of crimes and abuses, they are ordering 1205 01:02:44,720 --> 01:02:48,200 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo to pay three point seven billion dollars. One 1206 01:02:48,280 --> 01:02:50,200 Speaker 1: point seven billion of that is a civil find the 1207 01:02:50,280 --> 01:02:52,800 Speaker 1: remaining two billion is to go to the customers that 1208 01:02:52,840 --> 01:02:57,160 Speaker 1: they routinely screwed over. Now, according to the CFPB, thousands 1209 01:02:57,200 --> 01:02:59,240 Speaker 1: of people lost their homes and their cars, had their 1210 01:02:59,240 --> 01:03:02,680 Speaker 1: credit destroyed, and their money stolen by this rogue bank. 1211 01:03:02,920 --> 01:03:08,080 Speaker 1: These violations impacted some sixteen million customers and persisted over 1212 01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:10,720 Speaker 1: more than a decade. As part of this consent order, 1213 01:03:10,720 --> 01:03:13,120 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo swears they will clean up their act and 1214 01:03:13,160 --> 01:03:16,720 Speaker 1: they will sin again. Folks, there is zero reason to 1215 01:03:16,760 --> 01:03:19,360 Speaker 1: believe them, and billions of reasons to expect they will 1216 01:03:19,360 --> 01:03:23,000 Speaker 1: continue to deploy theft as a cornerstone of their business model. 1217 01:03:23,240 --> 01:03:25,960 Speaker 1: After all, this is far from the first time Wells 1218 01:03:25,960 --> 01:03:28,040 Speaker 1: Fargo has been hit with a fine for their illegal 1219 01:03:28,080 --> 01:03:31,240 Speaker 1: business practices. According to Motley Fool, as of a year ago, 1220 01:03:31,440 --> 01:03:37,000 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo was already operating under ten other different active 1221 01:03:37,080 --> 01:03:41,800 Speaker 1: consent orders. Great Capital journalist Genevievsroque Dector healthfully compiled some 1222 01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:44,400 Speaker 1: of these recent fines check this out. In addition to 1223 01:03:44,440 --> 01:03:46,520 Speaker 1: this latest three point seven billion, they had to pay 1224 01:03:46,560 --> 01:03:48,840 Speaker 1: three billion in twenty twenty for fraud, two billion and 1225 01:03:48,920 --> 01:03:52,040 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen for toxic security abuses, one point nine billion 1226 01:03:52,040 --> 01:03:55,320 Speaker 1: and twenty thirteen for banking violations, five point three billion 1227 01:03:55,360 --> 01:03:58,880 Speaker 1: in twenty twelve four mortgage abuses. In twenty eighteen, the Fed, 1228 01:03:58,920 --> 01:04:02,640 Speaker 1: as Elizabeth Warren, in to its credit went even further. Then, 1229 01:04:02,680 --> 01:04:05,280 Speaker 1: Fed Secretary Janet Yellen slapped a cap on growth of 1230 01:04:05,320 --> 01:04:07,880 Speaker 1: the bank and forced the resignation of four members of 1231 01:04:07,920 --> 01:04:10,720 Speaker 1: their board. That action was in response to revelation that 1232 01:04:10,760 --> 01:04:13,640 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo had set up millions of savings and checking 1233 01:04:13,680 --> 01:04:16,640 Speaker 1: accounts for customers who did not want these accounts and 1234 01:04:16,760 --> 01:04:19,960 Speaker 1: did not consent to them. The rampant fraud was revealed 1235 01:04:20,040 --> 01:04:23,200 Speaker 1: when customers started noticing, Hey, I'm being charge fees for 1236 01:04:23,320 --> 01:04:26,040 Speaker 1: products in account accounts that I did not sign up 1237 01:04:26,040 --> 01:04:28,840 Speaker 1: for and did not authorize. But even after all of 1238 01:04:28,840 --> 01:04:33,480 Speaker 1: these penalties, investigations, public shamings, regulators having no confidence that 1239 01:04:33,520 --> 01:04:37,800 Speaker 1: the bank has actually changed its ways. CFPB head Rohitchopra 1240 01:04:37,960 --> 01:04:41,000 Speaker 1: wrote on Twitter that quote efforts by Wells Fargo executives 1241 01:04:41,000 --> 01:04:42,840 Speaker 1: to clean up the bank have been far too slow. 1242 01:04:42,960 --> 01:04:45,800 Speaker 1: We remain concerned that the bank's product launches and growth 1243 01:04:45,800 --> 01:04:50,320 Speaker 1: initiatives to increase profits have delayed needed reform. Fines are 1244 01:04:50,360 --> 01:04:53,480 Speaker 1: the only tool in the CFPB toolkit. But Choper knows 1245 01:04:53,680 --> 01:04:57,080 Speaker 1: they don't have a prayer of actually changing anything. How 1246 01:04:57,120 --> 01:04:59,520 Speaker 1: do we know, Well, he actually admitted that in that 1247 01:04:59,560 --> 01:05:02,400 Speaker 1: earlier hearing with Senator Warren. Take a listen, Here's what 1248 01:05:02,440 --> 01:05:05,120 Speaker 1: I see. I see. Federal enforcers and regulators are very 1249 01:05:05,200 --> 01:05:07,640 Speaker 1: quick to lay the hammer down on small guys and 1250 01:05:07,720 --> 01:05:11,240 Speaker 1: small businesses. They will name people individually, they will ban 1251 01:05:11,400 --> 01:05:14,600 Speaker 1: them from certain business practices, and often criminally refer them 1252 01:05:14,640 --> 01:05:17,720 Speaker 1: for prosecution. But there is a totally different standard for 1253 01:05:17,880 --> 01:05:21,080 Speaker 1: large firms who break the law over and over again. Yes, 1254 01:05:21,120 --> 01:05:23,480 Speaker 1: they do pay a fine, but often it is less 1255 01:05:23,520 --> 01:05:25,960 Speaker 1: than the profits that they made from the misconduct. We 1256 01:05:26,040 --> 01:05:28,680 Speaker 1: have to look at a broader array of remedies. In banking. 1257 01:05:28,920 --> 01:05:33,200 Speaker 1: The Federal Deposit Insurance Act talks about limitations on FDIC insurance. 1258 01:05:33,400 --> 01:05:35,920 Speaker 1: There's asset caps like we see that the Federal Reserve 1259 01:05:35,960 --> 01:05:38,240 Speaker 1: Board did or that the OCC has done. We have 1260 01:05:38,320 --> 01:05:41,400 Speaker 1: to look at structural remedies that stopped the law breaking 1261 01:05:41,640 --> 01:05:45,000 Speaker 1: from continuing. Fines are not going to solve this with 1262 01:05:45,040 --> 01:05:47,720 Speaker 1: the biggest players, And frankly, I think if we care 1263 01:05:47,760 --> 01:05:50,760 Speaker 1: about equal justice, we should treat small firms and large 1264 01:05:50,760 --> 01:05:53,240 Speaker 1: firms the same. I agree with you, thank you. You know, 1265 01:05:53,280 --> 01:05:55,080 Speaker 1: I think it's clear that finds have just become a 1266 01:05:55,160 --> 01:05:58,560 Speaker 1: cost of doing business for giant corporations like Wells, and 1267 01:05:58,600 --> 01:06:01,000 Speaker 1: we can put a stop to that. The FED has 1268 01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:04,160 Speaker 1: the power to break Wells Fargo up, and they should 1269 01:06:04,280 --> 01:06:07,640 Speaker 1: use it. And in addition, I'm reintroducing my Corporate Executive 1270 01:06:07,640 --> 01:06:12,240 Speaker 1: Accountability Act to hold big bank executives personally liable when 1271 01:06:12,280 --> 01:06:15,600 Speaker 1: the companies they run repeatedly break the law. Clearly, from 1272 01:06:15,600 --> 01:06:18,200 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo, multi billion dollar fines are just factored in 1273 01:06:18,280 --> 01:06:20,320 Speaker 1: as the cost of doing business, and they profit more 1274 01:06:20,400 --> 01:06:23,560 Speaker 1: from defrauding their customers than they lose from these periodic 1275 01:06:23,600 --> 01:06:26,360 Speaker 1: governmental slaps on the wrist. Sarah Warren was one hundred 1276 01:06:26,360 --> 01:06:28,360 Speaker 1: percent correct in that hearing, and she continues to be 1277 01:06:28,360 --> 01:06:31,400 Speaker 1: correct on this issue today. The FED needs to break 1278 01:06:31,520 --> 01:06:34,520 Speaker 1: up Wells Fargo and the DOJ needs to jail these 1279 01:06:34,600 --> 01:06:38,200 Speaker 1: lawbreaking executives. After all, if we learned anything from the 1280 01:06:38,200 --> 01:06:40,600 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight financial crisis and its aftermath, it's 1281 01:06:40,640 --> 01:06:42,920 Speaker 1: that no bank should be too big to fail and 1282 01:06:43,000 --> 01:06:46,040 Speaker 1: no executive should be too rich to jail. One of 1283 01:06:46,120 --> 01:06:49,600 Speaker 1: the most glaring governmental failures of this century has been then, 1284 01:06:49,640 --> 01:06:53,800 Speaker 1: after banksters nearly destroyed the entire global economy, they got 1285 01:06:53,800 --> 01:06:57,960 Speaker 1: off scot free. Many of them were even handed big bonuses. 1286 01:06:58,400 --> 01:07:00,919 Speaker 1: This fine of Wells Fargo is welcome, don't get me wrong, 1287 01:07:01,080 --> 01:07:04,960 Speaker 1: but it's inadequacy exposes how our most powerful regulators have 1288 01:07:05,160 --> 01:07:08,800 Speaker 1: learned nothing, and our banksters have learned that as long 1289 01:07:08,840 --> 01:07:11,560 Speaker 1: as they're big enough, they can get away with dan 1290 01:07:11,680 --> 01:07:15,200 Speaker 1: near anything. And it's pretty remarkable to see an agency 1291 01:07:15,440 --> 01:07:18,120 Speaker 1: And if you want to hear my reaction to Crystal's monologue, 1292 01:07:18,160 --> 01:07:25,080 Speaker 1: become a premium subscriber today at Breakingpoints dot Com all right, Sacho, 1293 01:07:25,120 --> 01:07:27,080 Speaker 1: what are you looking at? Well? As we've discussed quite 1294 01:07:27,080 --> 01:07:29,640 Speaker 1: a bit today, President Selenski is in Washington yesterday to 1295 01:07:29,720 --> 01:07:32,440 Speaker 1: ask for even more weapons from the Biden administration and 1296 01:07:32,520 --> 01:07:35,400 Speaker 1: to log Congress for including forty five billion dollars more 1297 01:07:35,440 --> 01:07:38,120 Speaker 1: of aid to Ukraine and its multi trillion dollar spending 1298 01:07:38,160 --> 01:07:40,480 Speaker 1: bill to be passed before the new year. It is 1299 01:07:40,640 --> 01:07:43,880 Speaker 1: genuinely difficult to describe just how extraordinary the sum of 1300 01:07:43,920 --> 01:07:47,000 Speaker 1: an additional forty five billion to Ukraine is in the 1301 01:07:47,040 --> 01:07:49,120 Speaker 1: context of everything that we have given to them so 1302 01:07:49,240 --> 01:07:52,000 Speaker 1: far and everything that has been given in the total conflict. 1303 01:07:52,280 --> 01:07:55,400 Speaker 1: Let's start with my first and favorite comparison, how does 1304 01:07:55,480 --> 01:07:58,320 Speaker 1: our aid to Ukraine stack up against our so called 1305 01:07:58,360 --> 01:08:02,200 Speaker 1: European allies? With the the additional forty five billion to Ukraine, 1306 01:08:02,400 --> 01:08:05,920 Speaker 1: total amount of usaid will surpass nearly twice that of 1307 01:08:05,960 --> 01:08:09,960 Speaker 1: the entire European continent, which is pledged for Ukraine combined 1308 01:08:10,200 --> 01:08:13,400 Speaker 1: comes to a measly fifty one billion. The additional forty 1309 01:08:13,440 --> 01:08:16,679 Speaker 1: five billion would bring the US to approximately one hundred 1310 01:08:16,720 --> 01:08:19,439 Speaker 1: billion in aid to Ukraine, So double Europe got it 1311 01:08:19,640 --> 01:08:21,599 Speaker 1: When you break it down by country, though, it's even 1312 01:08:21,640 --> 01:08:24,599 Speaker 1: more pathetic the United Kingdom, supposedly one of the richest 1313 01:08:24,600 --> 01:08:27,080 Speaker 1: and most powerful nations on Earth, has given only a 1314 01:08:27,120 --> 01:08:30,400 Speaker 1: total of nearly nine billion. Germany, the largest economy in 1315 01:08:30,439 --> 01:08:32,719 Speaker 1: Europe and one of the top five economies in the world, 1316 01:08:32,880 --> 01:08:36,000 Speaker 1: has given less. France, the second largest economy in the continent, 1317 01:08:36,120 --> 01:08:38,360 Speaker 1: a great power in its own right, less than one 1318 01:08:38,400 --> 01:08:41,959 Speaker 1: billion dollars. We are getting suckered here to a historic degree. 1319 01:08:42,160 --> 01:08:44,879 Speaker 1: But outside of the theater itself, it's also worth stepping 1320 01:08:44,920 --> 01:08:47,640 Speaker 1: back in considering how extraordinary the new sum is. Just 1321 01:08:47,800 --> 01:08:50,800 Speaker 1: on its face in US history, the additional forty five 1322 01:08:50,800 --> 01:08:54,280 Speaker 1: billion to Ukraine is somehow eight billion more than Biden 1323 01:08:54,320 --> 01:08:57,040 Speaker 1: even asked for. Biden only asked Congress for an additional 1324 01:08:57,040 --> 01:08:59,760 Speaker 1: thirty seven billion in aid, So that begs the question, 1325 01:09:00,080 --> 01:09:03,400 Speaker 1: what does Congress know about ukraine situation that the administration 1326 01:09:03,479 --> 01:09:06,400 Speaker 1: does not. The answer is nothing. They just added it on. 1327 01:09:06,640 --> 01:09:09,720 Speaker 1: And that extra eight billion exceeds the total amount of 1328 01:09:09,760 --> 01:09:12,559 Speaker 1: military aid given to Ukraine almost more than any other 1329 01:09:12,680 --> 01:09:16,639 Speaker 1: country on Earth. Extraordinary, But let's continue down the rabbit hole. 1330 01:09:17,320 --> 01:09:19,320 Speaker 1: I became curious because I happened to have been covering 1331 01:09:19,320 --> 01:09:22,360 Speaker 1: wars for a long time. How does our total military 1332 01:09:22,400 --> 01:09:26,559 Speaker 1: aid to Ukraine sack up against let's say Afghanistan. Well, 1333 01:09:26,720 --> 01:09:29,439 Speaker 1: we were in Afghanistan for twenty years in that time, 1334 01:09:29,479 --> 01:09:32,880 Speaker 1: and I'm talking here purely about direct military aid to Afghanistan, 1335 01:09:33,120 --> 01:09:36,000 Speaker 1: not spending on our own forces. We spent about one 1336 01:09:36,080 --> 01:09:39,360 Speaker 1: hundred billion dollars to train and equip the Afghan national 1337 01:09:39,400 --> 01:09:42,000 Speaker 1: security forces. So you can do the math here. That 1338 01:09:42,040 --> 01:09:44,599 Speaker 1: means that we have spent on Ukraine in one year 1339 01:09:44,920 --> 01:09:48,840 Speaker 1: what now exceeds the entire US military aid to Afghanistan 1340 01:09:49,120 --> 01:09:51,519 Speaker 1: in a twenty year period. But because I'm me, I 1341 01:09:51,600 --> 01:09:55,120 Speaker 1: kept pulling the data. It's all inflation adjusted to constant dollars, 1342 01:09:55,160 --> 01:09:57,280 Speaker 1: just so you're wondering, how does it stack up against 1343 01:09:57,360 --> 01:10:00,639 Speaker 1: let's say Vietnam LO And behold the The total amount 1344 01:10:00,680 --> 01:10:03,960 Speaker 1: to Ukraine now also exceeds all US military aid to 1345 01:10:04,040 --> 01:10:06,719 Speaker 1: the country of South Vietnam between the years of nineteen 1346 01:10:06,760 --> 01:10:09,719 Speaker 1: fifty six and nineteen seventy five. Again, this is adjusting 1347 01:10:09,720 --> 01:10:13,720 Speaker 1: for inflation. What's extraordinary about these two comparisons is not 1348 01:10:13,800 --> 01:10:17,439 Speaker 1: just the dollar figure, but considering that Russia only invaded 1349 01:10:17,560 --> 01:10:20,640 Speaker 1: Ukraine less than a year ago, we have dispersed an 1350 01:10:20,720 --> 01:10:23,800 Speaker 1: insane amount of military aid to Ukraine in just one year, 1351 01:10:24,040 --> 01:10:26,120 Speaker 1: one that hardly has an equal in the post World 1352 01:10:26,160 --> 01:10:29,960 Speaker 1: War II era, especially considering that there were actually American 1353 01:10:30,040 --> 01:10:33,559 Speaker 1: lives on the ground in Vietnam and Afghanistan during our 1354 01:10:33,600 --> 01:10:37,080 Speaker 1: presence there, so it wasn't just geopolitical Supposedly, it was 1355 01:10:37,080 --> 01:10:39,799 Speaker 1: at least to protect our own citizens in this conflict. 1356 01:10:39,840 --> 01:10:42,960 Speaker 1: There's none of that. And then, finally, my favorite comparison, 1357 01:10:43,200 --> 01:10:46,679 Speaker 1: the country that Ukraine is fighting, Russia, has an entire 1358 01:10:47,000 --> 01:10:51,920 Speaker 1: military budget of eighty four billion dollars, meaning total US 1359 01:10:52,040 --> 01:10:56,120 Speaker 1: military aid and especially total aid to Ukraine now vastly 1360 01:10:56,200 --> 01:11:00,760 Speaker 1: outpaces the entire military budget for a great nation with 1361 01:11:00,880 --> 01:11:04,479 Speaker 1: nuclear weapons. And what's crazy is that this eighty four 1362 01:11:04,520 --> 01:11:09,360 Speaker 1: billion is already a substantial increase for Russia by an 1363 01:11:09,360 --> 01:11:13,320 Speaker 1: additional thirteen billion from just this year prior considering that 1364 01:11:13,439 --> 01:11:16,640 Speaker 1: Russia is not just fighting in Ukraine but as an 1365 01:11:16,760 --> 01:11:19,800 Speaker 1: entire force that also needs to worry about, consider how 1366 01:11:19,800 --> 01:11:21,880 Speaker 1: crazy this is. I want to end it that way. 1367 01:11:22,080 --> 01:11:24,519 Speaker 1: I got nothing against Ukraine. There are just cause in 1368 01:11:24,560 --> 01:11:26,800 Speaker 1: this fight they were invaded, and if I were them, 1369 01:11:26,920 --> 01:11:28,760 Speaker 1: you bet I would also be begging for every gun 1370 01:11:28,800 --> 01:11:31,360 Speaker 1: and bullet that anyone has to spare. But We're not them. 1371 01:11:31,560 --> 01:11:33,880 Speaker 1: We have to consider what's good for us, and what 1372 01:11:33,960 --> 01:11:38,479 Speaker 1: I see is a situation. Emotion clearly is clouding America's 1373 01:11:38,520 --> 01:11:40,760 Speaker 1: judgment as to just how much of a raw deal 1374 01:11:40,880 --> 01:11:44,080 Speaker 1: that we are getting here. This is about European security, right, 1375 01:11:44,280 --> 01:11:46,400 Speaker 1: so why don't the Europeans pay for it? For those 1376 01:11:46,439 --> 01:11:49,400 Speaker 1: saying they're paying in gas? So what it's their territory 1377 01:11:49,520 --> 01:11:52,519 Speaker 1: allegedly existential for them, well, then they should pony up 1378 01:11:52,560 --> 01:11:55,519 Speaker 1: existential amounts of dollars. Do you really believe if there 1379 01:11:55,560 --> 01:11:57,559 Speaker 1: was a conflict here on the Western hemisphere that they 1380 01:11:57,560 --> 01:11:59,560 Speaker 1: would lift a finger for us in some sort of 1381 01:11:59,560 --> 01:12:03,240 Speaker 1: squabble with Mexico for example? Obviously the answer is no. 1382 01:12:03,680 --> 01:12:06,200 Speaker 1: My final challenge to the Ukraine firsters is this question, 1383 01:12:06,600 --> 01:12:08,840 Speaker 1: is there any limiting principle at all to want your 1384 01:12:08,880 --> 01:12:12,759 Speaker 1: want to help Ukraine? The real world is about trade 1385 01:12:12,760 --> 01:12:16,200 Speaker 1: offs and balancing. We can all wish victory to Ukraine, 1386 01:12:16,320 --> 01:12:19,760 Speaker 1: we are also forced to ask how, what, why, with what? 1387 01:12:20,080 --> 01:12:22,160 Speaker 1: And how long will it be attained. The longer this 1388 01:12:22,240 --> 01:12:24,760 Speaker 1: goes on, the more this entire edifice of the so 1389 01:12:24,840 --> 01:12:28,040 Speaker 1: called Transatlantic Alliance is being revealed as a farce. And 1390 01:12:28,120 --> 01:12:31,160 Speaker 1: sometime soon when America actually does need help. You're going 1391 01:12:31,200 --> 01:12:34,400 Speaker 1: to find out just how unappreciated our role abroad over 1392 01:12:34,439 --> 01:12:37,040 Speaker 1: the last seventy five years has really been. And that's 1393 01:12:37,080 --> 01:12:39,720 Speaker 1: why look you put it up against after and if 1394 01:12:39,720 --> 01:12:42,519 Speaker 1: you want to hear my reaction to Cyber's monologue, become 1395 01:12:42,560 --> 01:12:48,560 Speaker 1: a premium subscriber today at Breakingpoints dot com. This is 1396 01:12:48,600 --> 01:12:51,519 Speaker 1: actually our last full show of the year. We are 1397 01:12:51,560 --> 01:12:52,840 Speaker 1: not going to leave you guys high and dry. That 1398 01:12:52,920 --> 01:12:55,839 Speaker 1: we have plenty of content that will be uploading, including 1399 01:12:55,880 --> 01:12:59,320 Speaker 1: some really fun clips from our live shows, including some 1400 01:12:59,360 --> 01:13:01,120 Speaker 1: sort of big pick sure looks at the year that 1401 01:13:01,160 --> 01:13:03,559 Speaker 1: we've been recording and saving up so that Sager and 1402 01:13:03,600 --> 01:13:05,559 Speaker 1: I can take next week off, which it's good for 1403 01:13:05,640 --> 01:13:08,040 Speaker 1: us to reset our brain sometimes and think bigger picture. 1404 01:13:08,760 --> 01:13:11,080 Speaker 1: We appreciate you guys giving us the opportunity to do that. 1405 01:13:11,160 --> 01:13:14,000 Speaker 1: But one thing I wanted to mention, given that this 1406 01:13:14,120 --> 01:13:17,640 Speaker 1: final full show of the year has been focused a 1407 01:13:17,680 --> 01:13:20,880 Speaker 1: lot on Ukraine, is you know, this has been one 1408 01:13:20,920 --> 01:13:23,000 Speaker 1: of the big topics has to find the year, and 1409 01:13:23,240 --> 01:13:25,640 Speaker 1: we've been really grateful to you guys for trusting us 1410 01:13:25,680 --> 01:13:29,240 Speaker 1: to sort through what is a very complex and difficult 1411 01:13:29,320 --> 01:13:32,800 Speaker 1: and nuanced and hard to understand and hard to get 1412 01:13:32,840 --> 01:13:36,640 Speaker 1: accurate information on situation, and in fact, one of the 1413 01:13:36,680 --> 01:13:40,200 Speaker 1: things we learned from our Spotify information what do they 1414 01:13:40,200 --> 01:13:44,200 Speaker 1: call it rapped at the end of the year our brand, yeah, 1415 01:13:44,320 --> 01:13:48,760 Speaker 1: is that our number one downloaded show of the year 1416 01:13:49,120 --> 01:13:53,280 Speaker 1: was right after Russia invaded Ukraine. And so I just 1417 01:13:53,320 --> 01:13:55,360 Speaker 1: wanted to take a moment to say thank you guys 1418 01:13:55,360 --> 01:13:59,519 Speaker 1: for making this incredible year of growth and challenge. Thank 1419 01:13:59,560 --> 01:14:02,960 Speaker 1: you for us with some really challenging news topics that 1420 01:14:03,000 --> 01:14:05,719 Speaker 1: we've done our very best to try to sort through, 1421 01:14:05,960 --> 01:14:08,360 Speaker 1: and we've got big plans for the new year, some 1422 01:14:08,400 --> 01:14:11,400 Speaker 1: of which are already coming into fruition. So we are 1423 01:14:11,560 --> 01:14:15,000 Speaker 1: endlessly grateful to you all for having our backs, for 1424 01:14:15,040 --> 01:14:18,439 Speaker 1: believing in what we're doing here, for supporting breaking points, 1425 01:14:18,479 --> 01:14:21,519 Speaker 1: for welcoming Ryan and Emily into the family, and all 1426 01:14:21,560 --> 01:14:24,920 Speaker 1: of our great partners. Because we really enjoy doing this, 1427 01:14:25,040 --> 01:14:27,920 Speaker 1: we don't take it for granted, and we're excited for 1428 01:14:27,960 --> 01:14:30,080 Speaker 1: what the new year is ultimately going to bring. Absolutely, 1429 01:14:30,160 --> 01:14:32,280 Speaker 1: thank you, especially the premium members and all those who've 1430 01:14:32,280 --> 01:14:34,200 Speaker 1: helped us out over the last couple of years. It's 1431 01:14:34,240 --> 01:14:36,360 Speaker 1: just been amazing. It's going to be a fun ride 1432 01:14:36,400 --> 01:14:39,800 Speaker 1: Guys twenty twenty four. The cycle it all starts next year. 1433 01:14:39,840 --> 01:14:41,680 Speaker 1: We're gearing up, we're ready for it. If you can 1434 01:14:41,680 --> 01:14:43,960 Speaker 1: help us out link in the description. Other than that, 1435 01:14:44,360 --> 01:14:48,760 Speaker 1: happy what is it? Happy Kwanza, Hanukkah, and Christmas? Did 1436 01:14:48,800 --> 01:14:51,720 Speaker 1: I cover all my bases? I think there's probably a 1437 01:14:51,760 --> 01:14:55,559 Speaker 1: few more that are out there. Whatever, Happy holiday, Happy 1438 01:14:55,640 --> 01:14:59,400 Speaker 1: New Year, Many blessings to you and yours. Enjoy the time, 1439 01:14:59,600 --> 01:15:03,480 Speaker 1: take some time, don't listen to Sagger, eat what you want, 1440 01:15:02,360 --> 01:15:06,880 Speaker 1: and we will see you guys back here in the 1441 01:15:06,920 --> 01:15:28,439 Speaker 1: new year. H