1 00:00:04,795 --> 00:00:22,315 Speaker 1: Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. Why 2 00:00:22,515 --> 00:00:27,235 Speaker 1: on earth would Fox quote news unquote try to settle 3 00:00:27,315 --> 00:00:32,995 Speaker 1: the dominion lawsuit? Now? Why on earth would Fox quote 4 00:00:32,995 --> 00:00:36,715 Speaker 1: news unquote wait until the scheduled eve of jury selections 5 00:00:36,755 --> 00:00:40,115 Speaker 1: so late, even against that deadline, that the trial itself 6 00:00:40,155 --> 00:00:43,995 Speaker 1: had to be postponed a day until two day? Why 7 00:00:44,115 --> 00:00:47,835 Speaker 1: on earth after everything that has already come out, after 8 00:00:47,875 --> 00:00:51,115 Speaker 1: we found out Tucker Carlson called Trump a demonic force 9 00:00:51,435 --> 00:00:54,955 Speaker 1: and admitted I hate him passionately, And after we found 10 00:00:54,995 --> 00:00:58,795 Speaker 1: out Rupert Murdoch called Trump's lies bs and damaging, And 11 00:00:59,115 --> 00:01:02,155 Speaker 1: after Laura Ingram said Rudy Giuliani was acting like an 12 00:01:02,155 --> 00:01:06,155 Speaker 1: insane person. And after every ten and every email and 13 00:01:06,195 --> 00:01:09,675 Speaker 1: every other quotation made it clear that whenever there was 14 00:01:09,795 --> 00:01:13,755 Speaker 1: actually any truth or journalism about the twenty twenty election 15 00:01:13,995 --> 00:01:18,475 Speaker 1: on its channel, Fox punished whoever said that truth or 16 00:01:18,515 --> 00:01:22,315 Speaker 1: did that journalism. And after we learned that every time 17 00:01:22,435 --> 00:01:25,915 Speaker 1: somebody on Fox defamed dominion voting system, somebody else at 18 00:01:25,955 --> 00:01:31,995 Speaker 1: Fox already knew it wasn't true. Why, after all that, 19 00:01:32,195 --> 00:01:36,235 Speaker 1: and not before all that, did Fox make the offer 20 00:01:36,475 --> 00:01:42,755 Speaker 1: that delayed the trial until today? Because obviously there is 21 00:01:42,795 --> 00:01:45,435 Speaker 1: something else that will come out at trial that is 22 00:01:45,675 --> 00:01:51,155 Speaker 1: even worse. There has to be something else that dominion 23 00:01:51,235 --> 00:01:56,115 Speaker 1: found in discovery, some other quote from somebody at Fox 24 00:01:56,555 --> 00:02:00,715 Speaker 1: so self damning that it is worse than Carlson's hatred 25 00:02:01,075 --> 00:02:06,555 Speaker 1: and Murdoch's confession and Ingram's insults put together and added 26 00:02:06,595 --> 00:02:09,355 Speaker 1: to the cash value of one hundreds of millions of dollars. 27 00:02:09,355 --> 00:02:12,675 Speaker 1: Fox offered to make the thing go away. At this 28 00:02:12,795 --> 00:02:17,875 Speaker 1: late date, it must be remembered that the best lawyers 29 00:02:17,915 --> 00:02:20,955 Speaker 1: in the world, and having myself been involved in a 30 00:02:20,955 --> 00:02:23,795 Speaker 1: pretty big media lawsuit in which tens of millions were 31 00:02:23,835 --> 00:02:27,515 Speaker 1: thrown around, not hundreds, I'm not sure these are the 32 00:02:27,555 --> 00:02:31,875 Speaker 1: best lawyers in the world on either side. Even the 33 00:02:31,915 --> 00:02:36,395 Speaker 1: best lawyers in the world, though, miss things to say 34 00:02:36,435 --> 00:02:39,875 Speaker 1: nothing of the best clients in the world, especially as 35 00:02:39,915 --> 00:02:44,355 Speaker 1: the volume of material multiplies. It has been ten years 36 00:02:44,395 --> 00:02:48,195 Speaker 1: now since mediation resolved my little contretemp with al Gore 37 00:02:48,435 --> 00:02:51,315 Speaker 1: and Current TV, and I think I can mention this now. 38 00:02:51,835 --> 00:02:56,715 Speaker 1: In my deposition, the current lawyers asked about an email 39 00:02:56,795 --> 00:03:00,555 Speaker 1: I had written and had at its subject line litigation strategy, 40 00:03:01,155 --> 00:03:03,555 Speaker 1: and their lawyer wanted me to estimate how many other 41 00:03:03,635 --> 00:03:05,715 Speaker 1: emails I might have written to my lawyers, or my 42 00:03:05,755 --> 00:03:09,115 Speaker 1: agents or anybody else that used that top line? Kind 43 00:03:09,115 --> 00:03:12,755 Speaker 1: of a throwaway question, I said, I had no idea, 44 00:03:12,915 --> 00:03:16,675 Speaker 1: and I was being completely honest. I had no idea. Okay, 45 00:03:16,675 --> 00:03:19,355 Speaker 1: we won't make you guess a number, but try to 46 00:03:19,395 --> 00:03:21,275 Speaker 1: answer this as best you can. If you can't, just 47 00:03:21,315 --> 00:03:24,195 Speaker 1: say so. Do you think it was at least twenty 48 00:03:24,195 --> 00:03:27,835 Speaker 1: five emails? And I said, yes, that sounded right. Could 49 00:03:27,875 --> 00:03:31,995 Speaker 1: it have been fifty emails? I paused, and I thought, yeah, 50 00:03:32,515 --> 00:03:34,995 Speaker 1: it could have been. Yes, Do you think it was 51 00:03:35,035 --> 00:03:38,355 Speaker 1: one hundred emails with the subject matter litigation strategy? This 52 00:03:38,435 --> 00:03:41,195 Speaker 1: time I did not hesitate. I can't be certain in 53 00:03:41,275 --> 00:03:43,635 Speaker 1: ruling it out, but I truly doubt it was one 54 00:03:43,715 --> 00:03:47,635 Speaker 1: hundred such emails. As I said that, out of the 55 00:03:47,635 --> 00:03:49,795 Speaker 1: corner of my eye, I thought I saw my attorney, 56 00:03:49,795 --> 00:03:51,595 Speaker 1: who was sitting right next to me on my right, 57 00:03:51,995 --> 00:03:56,115 Speaker 1: and my agent, who was sitting on her right, move involuntarily, 58 00:03:56,675 --> 00:03:58,715 Speaker 1: like they each flinched or had a change in their 59 00:03:58,715 --> 00:04:03,155 Speaker 1: facial expressions. An hour or so later, we broke the 60 00:04:03,195 --> 00:04:06,755 Speaker 1: deposition for lunch. My attorney and agent said nothing until 61 00:04:06,755 --> 00:04:10,115 Speaker 1: we were out of the building about the litigation strategy 62 00:04:10,195 --> 00:04:14,235 Speaker 1: emails question, my attorney said, smiling as my agent burst 63 00:04:14,355 --> 00:04:18,435 Speaker 1: into laughter, that he had clearly been holding in which 64 00:04:18,475 --> 00:04:21,315 Speaker 1: you said there were less than one hundred of The 65 00:04:21,355 --> 00:04:25,995 Speaker 1: correct answer is six hundred and sixty five. You wrote 66 00:04:26,115 --> 00:04:29,275 Speaker 1: six hundred and sixty five emails with the subject line 67 00:04:29,355 --> 00:04:32,475 Speaker 1: litigation strategy. I guess we should have told you that. 68 00:04:34,075 --> 00:04:36,515 Speaker 1: I shrugged. I said that, all things considered, I thought 69 00:04:36,515 --> 00:04:39,275 Speaker 1: my guest was surprisingly close. Because you don't remember what 70 00:04:39,395 --> 00:04:42,995 Speaker 1: you email. At the deposition, I had to read much 71 00:04:42,995 --> 00:04:46,795 Speaker 1: more serious emails aloud that I had no earthly memory 72 00:04:46,835 --> 00:04:51,035 Speaker 1: of composing, let alone even thinking about. Some of them 73 00:04:51,155 --> 00:04:53,675 Speaker 1: very short, some of them very long, some of them 74 00:04:53,875 --> 00:04:58,795 Speaker 1: filled with spectacular swear words, some of them exculpatory, some 75 00:04:58,875 --> 00:05:02,195 Speaker 1: of them damning. But I would say ten out of 76 00:05:02,195 --> 00:05:05,595 Speaker 1: eleven of them emails that I I did not remember. 77 00:05:07,075 --> 00:05:10,035 Speaker 1: So I keep thinking from experience about the Fox and 78 00:05:10,115 --> 00:05:14,355 Speaker 1: Dominion lawyers, pouring through similar endless stacks of emails from 79 00:05:14,395 --> 00:05:18,515 Speaker 1: virtually everybody of importance in the Fox Company, one hundred 80 00:05:18,995 --> 00:05:25,275 Speaker 1: two hundred five hundred people, thousands of emails, tens of thousands, 81 00:05:25,795 --> 00:05:31,635 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of emails, and texts. I am guessing here, 82 00:05:32,275 --> 00:05:35,915 Speaker 1: but I firmly believe that as Dominion began to release 83 00:05:35,995 --> 00:05:39,755 Speaker 1: these tranches of damning Fox texts and emails, one or 84 00:05:39,795 --> 00:05:42,875 Speaker 1: two or thirty Fox lawyers were assigned to go over 85 00:05:42,995 --> 00:05:48,675 Speaker 1: every single document given to Dominion, and they found something else, 86 00:05:49,435 --> 00:05:53,755 Speaker 1: something worse, something like the email equivalent of the atomic 87 00:05:53,915 --> 00:05:59,155 Speaker 1: bomb only landing on Fox. And they all held their breath. 88 00:05:59,595 --> 00:06:01,795 Speaker 1: And when the day before yesterday came around and the 89 00:06:01,835 --> 00:06:03,915 Speaker 1: window in which Dominion could find a way to make 90 00:06:03,955 --> 00:06:07,875 Speaker 1: that something, and Dominion did not make it public, that's 91 00:06:08,435 --> 00:06:12,515 Speaker 1: when Fox offered to settle. I mean, when my lawyer 92 00:06:12,555 --> 00:06:14,355 Speaker 1: said that I had written six hundred and sixty five 93 00:06:14,355 --> 00:06:17,075 Speaker 1: emails with the topic line a litigation strategy, I actually 94 00:06:17,075 --> 00:06:20,115 Speaker 1: stopped and stared at her, and I said, wait, I 95 00:06:20,155 --> 00:06:24,275 Speaker 1: wrote six hundred and sixty five emails. And she laughed again, 96 00:06:24,595 --> 00:06:28,635 Speaker 1: and she said, dummy, we turned over ten thousand of 97 00:06:28,715 --> 00:06:34,635 Speaker 1: your emails. There were no doubt other reasons, and other 98 00:06:34,755 --> 00:06:38,355 Speaker 1: more substantiated reasons for Fox's last minute pushed to buy 99 00:06:38,395 --> 00:06:41,475 Speaker 1: this out. In a filing, Dominion had lowered its own 100 00:06:41,555 --> 00:06:44,355 Speaker 1: estimate of its own company's value, and Fox told the 101 00:06:44,435 --> 00:06:47,275 Speaker 1: judge that meant Dominion had to also lower its own 102 00:06:47,355 --> 00:06:50,715 Speaker 1: estimate of how much it could have been damaged. Although 103 00:06:50,715 --> 00:06:52,795 Speaker 1: Dominion is saying that is not true. It still wants 104 00:06:52,875 --> 00:06:54,955 Speaker 1: one point six and of course the jury could award 105 00:06:54,955 --> 00:06:57,715 Speaker 1: it more. But I'm sure somebody on the Fox legal 106 00:06:57,715 --> 00:07:01,035 Speaker 1: team thought, ah see, they're getting cold feet. What that 107 00:07:01,235 --> 00:07:04,515 Speaker 1: is is that's a signal they're ready to deal offer 108 00:07:04,555 --> 00:07:10,595 Speaker 1: the one hundred million. Dominion does not want just the money. 109 00:07:10,595 --> 00:07:13,395 Speaker 1: Of course, if Fox loses, Fox would have to issue 110 00:07:13,395 --> 00:07:17,555 Speaker 1: an apology or an acknowledgment of some sort acceptable to Dominion, 111 00:07:17,755 --> 00:07:19,835 Speaker 1: and for all we know, Rupert just signed off on 112 00:07:19,955 --> 00:07:24,955 Speaker 1: more expansive language. There are also external business factors that 113 00:07:24,995 --> 00:07:27,555 Speaker 1: are relevant to the trial. In the next few months, 114 00:07:27,555 --> 00:07:30,275 Speaker 1: Fox has to renegotiate or begin to renegotiate, three of 115 00:07:30,315 --> 00:07:34,995 Speaker 1: its biggest carriage deals with Charter Cable, Cox Cable, and Exfinity. 116 00:07:35,635 --> 00:07:38,635 Speaker 1: As you may remember, there are still ninety million cable 117 00:07:38,675 --> 00:07:40,955 Speaker 1: subscribers in this country, but only three million of them 118 00:07:41,035 --> 00:07:44,395 Speaker 1: or so watch Fox. The other eighty seven million of 119 00:07:44,475 --> 00:07:48,315 Speaker 1: us are charged so that those three million troglodytes can 120 00:07:48,355 --> 00:07:52,395 Speaker 1: grunt at the screen when they see Greg Guttfeld. Since 121 00:07:52,475 --> 00:07:57,115 Speaker 1: nearly all mainstream advertisers abandoned Fox years ago. Fox is 122 00:07:57,155 --> 00:08:00,395 Speaker 1: almost entirely dependent on the money it gets from the 123 00:08:00,475 --> 00:08:02,995 Speaker 1: carriers to make any kind of profit, and it makes 124 00:08:03,075 --> 00:08:06,555 Speaker 1: quite a profit. And Rupert Murdoch had been telling his 125 00:08:06,635 --> 00:08:09,635 Speaker 1: investors and his board that he would be demanding and 126 00:08:09,755 --> 00:08:12,675 Speaker 1: getting increases in the years twenty twenty three and twenty 127 00:08:12,715 --> 00:08:16,715 Speaker 1: twenty four in the amount these cable carriers pay him 128 00:08:16,715 --> 00:08:24,035 Speaker 1: to run Fox. Increases, he said, of about one third. 129 00:08:24,075 --> 00:08:27,035 Speaker 1: Nobody is paying Rupert Murdoch a thirty three percent premium 130 00:08:27,115 --> 00:08:30,595 Speaker 1: for a network on the ropes. It is very possible 131 00:08:31,115 --> 00:08:34,315 Speaker 1: that how much of a premium they might pay, or 132 00:08:34,395 --> 00:08:37,035 Speaker 1: even if they'll still pay just what they're already paying now, 133 00:08:37,395 --> 00:08:41,355 Speaker 1: may depend on Fox not being on trial in a 134 00:08:41,435 --> 00:08:46,115 Speaker 1: story carried NonStop by every other channel on their cable box. 135 00:08:48,275 --> 00:08:51,035 Speaker 1: So there could be an array of reasons Rupert Murdoch 136 00:08:51,115 --> 00:08:52,915 Speaker 1: was willing to buy his way out of this mess 137 00:08:52,955 --> 00:08:55,035 Speaker 1: at the last minute, might still be willing to buy 138 00:08:55,035 --> 00:08:57,395 Speaker 1: his way out of it. Who knows, But to me, 139 00:08:57,515 --> 00:09:00,835 Speaker 1: there has got to be a wild card. And the 140 00:09:00,875 --> 00:09:05,155 Speaker 1: most damaging wild card imaginable is some kind of quote, 141 00:09:05,555 --> 00:09:11,235 Speaker 1: some insult, some admission, something that would make Tucker Carlson's 142 00:09:11,235 --> 00:09:16,315 Speaker 1: dismissal of Trump look like a Lindsey Graham love letter 143 00:09:16,835 --> 00:09:24,595 Speaker 1: to the defendant. I mean, maybe there's something in there 144 00:09:24,595 --> 00:09:28,915 Speaker 1: about Clarence Thomas, like, I don't know the billionaire Hitler 145 00:09:28,955 --> 00:09:31,475 Speaker 1: Stan he sold his mother's house to nine years ago. 146 00:09:31,595 --> 00:09:35,275 Speaker 1: Is I don't know, let Clarence's mom live there rent 147 00:09:35,315 --> 00:09:38,475 Speaker 1: free all this time? Oh wait, that's not in the 148 00:09:38,515 --> 00:09:41,435 Speaker 1: Fox Docks. That's in the CNN story in which a 149 00:09:41,595 --> 00:09:47,515 Speaker 1: source close to Thomas told them overnight Sunday that Thomas 150 00:09:47,595 --> 00:09:50,995 Speaker 1: was going to amend his financial disclosure forms to correct 151 00:09:51,035 --> 00:09:54,155 Speaker 1: his lie. I mean omission, I mean honest mistake. I 152 00:09:54,195 --> 00:09:58,115 Speaker 1: mean I was told there would be no math, quoting CNN. 153 00:09:59,235 --> 00:10:03,115 Speaker 1: As a part of the negotiated sale price, Williams, who 154 00:10:03,155 --> 00:10:05,035 Speaker 1: was eighty five at the time of the day deal, 155 00:10:05,515 --> 00:10:08,315 Speaker 1: was given an occupancy agreement to be able to live 156 00:10:08,355 --> 00:10:11,035 Speaker 1: in the home for the rest of her life. The 157 00:10:11,115 --> 00:10:15,555 Speaker 1: source said, she lives rent free, but is responsible for 158 00:10:15,595 --> 00:10:22,115 Speaker 1: paying the property taxes and insurance. So Leola, Clarence Thomas's 159 00:10:22,195 --> 00:10:27,315 Speaker 1: mom rent free forever. That's something else Clarence Thomas should 160 00:10:27,315 --> 00:10:29,035 Speaker 1: have included in his financial disclosure forms. 161 00:10:29,075 --> 00:10:29,515 Speaker 2: But did not. 162 00:10:31,395 --> 00:10:34,035 Speaker 1: You may recall that when Pro Publica broke the original 163 00:10:34,035 --> 00:10:37,715 Speaker 1: story two weeks ago this Thursday, Clarence's lifelong friend ever 164 00:10:37,795 --> 00:10:39,875 Speaker 1: since they met a little while after Clarence went on 165 00:10:39,915 --> 00:10:41,875 Speaker 1: to the Supreme Court, and he so loves Clarence that 166 00:10:41,875 --> 00:10:43,915 Speaker 1: he gives him free vacations that would cost you half 167 00:10:43,955 --> 00:10:48,755 Speaker 1: a million dollars. After the article came out, this friend 168 00:10:49,075 --> 00:10:51,795 Speaker 1: denied nothing, confirmed the whole thing, and insisted it was 169 00:10:51,915 --> 00:10:56,195 Speaker 1: all above board. But now the Dallas Morning News got 170 00:10:56,275 --> 00:10:59,835 Speaker 1: Harlan Crowe to sit down for two hours and all 171 00:10:59,875 --> 00:11:02,595 Speaker 1: of a sudden quote, I think it's a political hit 172 00:11:02,715 --> 00:11:06,235 Speaker 1: job the media and this Pro Publica group in particular, 173 00:11:06,475 --> 00:11:10,515 Speaker 1: funded by leftists as an agenda to destabilize the court. 174 00:11:10,995 --> 00:11:15,115 Speaker 1: What they've done is not truthful, It lacks integrity, factually incorrect, 175 00:11:15,115 --> 00:11:18,035 Speaker 1: in being written with a strong political agenda. I have 176 00:11:18,155 --> 00:11:21,715 Speaker 1: to set the record straight, said Harlan Crowe. Of course, 177 00:11:21,755 --> 00:11:24,475 Speaker 1: Pro Publica told crow everything that was going to report 178 00:11:24,555 --> 00:11:26,715 Speaker 1: long before it reported any of it. It gave both 179 00:11:26,835 --> 00:11:31,995 Speaker 1: Crowe and Thomas written questions. It printed Crowe's response in full. 180 00:11:32,395 --> 00:11:35,475 Speaker 1: He said none of these things two weeks ago. In short, 181 00:11:36,155 --> 00:11:40,395 Speaker 1: he was lying. Then or he's lying now more relevantly, 182 00:11:41,155 --> 00:11:43,955 Speaker 1: mister Crowe, for a man who's had nearly two weeks 183 00:11:43,955 --> 00:11:46,995 Speaker 1: to come up with something good, spun a pretty far 184 00:11:47,115 --> 00:11:51,835 Speaker 1: fetched sounding tale of his friendship with Clarence Thomas. They 185 00:11:51,915 --> 00:11:56,035 Speaker 1: met twenty seven years ago. Quoting the paper's account, Crowe 186 00:11:56,075 --> 00:11:58,475 Speaker 1: was in Washington, d c. And talking with executives of 187 00:11:58,515 --> 00:12:01,355 Speaker 1: the National Center for Policy Analysis. They told him that 188 00:12:01,395 --> 00:12:04,075 Speaker 1: Thomas was doing a speaking engagement for them in Dallas, 189 00:12:04,395 --> 00:12:08,395 Speaker 1: and Crow offered to fly Thomas to Texas since he 190 00:12:08,435 --> 00:12:11,675 Speaker 1: and his private jet were headed home. I had never 191 00:12:11,715 --> 00:12:14,755 Speaker 1: met him, Crow said. During that flight, we found out 192 00:12:14,795 --> 00:12:18,315 Speaker 1: we were kind of simpatico. We're the same age, we 193 00:12:18,395 --> 00:12:21,635 Speaker 1: grew up in the same era. We come from absolutely 194 00:12:21,675 --> 00:12:25,235 Speaker 1: polar opposite life stories, but we had a lot in common. 195 00:12:26,355 --> 00:12:30,595 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Like, what, Harlin, what do you and Justice 196 00:12:30,635 --> 00:12:33,875 Speaker 1: Thomas talk about? You know, I can't talk to Clarence 197 00:12:33,915 --> 00:12:37,635 Speaker 1: without him asking all about the kids. What are they doing? 198 00:12:39,235 --> 00:12:41,635 Speaker 1: Crow told the Dallas Boarding News that Thomas supported the 199 00:12:41,675 --> 00:12:45,155 Speaker 1: wrestling team that Crow's son was on in Texas. Friends 200 00:12:45,235 --> 00:12:48,675 Speaker 1: do stuff like that, he said. Then came the real censure, 201 00:12:49,555 --> 00:12:52,795 Speaker 1: the true bond of their friendship. Quote, we have a 202 00:12:52,875 --> 00:12:57,035 Speaker 1: dog named Otis that Clarence particularly likes. We talk about 203 00:12:57,075 --> 00:13:05,315 Speaker 1: dogs a lot. Otis, Otis my man, Otis. You've talked 204 00:13:05,315 --> 00:13:11,115 Speaker 1: about Otis for twenty seven years. I mean, I love dogs. 205 00:13:15,035 --> 00:13:18,595 Speaker 1: The question from the Dallas reporter Cheryl Hall, would Crow 206 00:13:18,755 --> 00:13:23,035 Speaker 1: be friends with Thomas if he weren't a Supreme Court justice? Now, 207 00:13:23,115 --> 00:13:25,955 Speaker 1: obviously you and I both know that the answer to 208 00:13:25,995 --> 00:13:29,115 Speaker 1: this has to be well, of course, I admire him. 209 00:13:29,355 --> 00:13:32,075 Speaker 1: He's fantastic. Look what he's done with his life. Look 210 00:13:32,115 --> 00:13:35,715 Speaker 1: at his accomplishments. His record is the second African American 211 00:13:35,755 --> 00:13:38,715 Speaker 1: Supreme Court justice. Look at all the great things he's done. 212 00:13:38,715 --> 00:13:40,915 Speaker 1: He's funny, he likes the same cigar as I do. 213 00:13:41,075 --> 00:13:43,115 Speaker 1: We're from the same part of the are something like that. 214 00:13:44,795 --> 00:13:49,595 Speaker 1: Crow's answer, It's an interesting, good question. I don't know 215 00:13:49,635 --> 00:13:54,955 Speaker 1: how to answer that. Maybe not, maybe yes. I don't know. 216 00:13:57,915 --> 00:14:02,275 Speaker 1: You're not helping him, Harlan. Is their friendship a quid 217 00:14:02,315 --> 00:14:07,755 Speaker 1: pro quo answer? Everyship, A baby's relationship to his mom 218 00:14:08,275 --> 00:14:15,875 Speaker 1: has some kind of reciprocity, Harlan, how about Otis? Does 219 00:14:15,915 --> 00:14:19,995 Speaker 1: Clarence's relationship with Otis the dog have reciprocity to it? 220 00:14:22,395 --> 00:14:24,955 Speaker 1: Crow complained to the paper about being called a Republican 221 00:14:24,995 --> 00:14:28,955 Speaker 1: mega donor. Quote, I don't know what megadonor means. I 222 00:14:28,995 --> 00:14:32,795 Speaker 1: have been a donor to moderate Republican individuals running for office, 223 00:14:33,155 --> 00:14:35,395 Speaker 1: as well as groups that are involved in that kind 224 00:14:35,395 --> 00:14:39,315 Speaker 1: of world to support more moderate Republican stuff. I'm seventy three, 225 00:14:39,395 --> 00:14:43,115 Speaker 1: so for probably fifty years I've been doing that. There 226 00:14:43,155 --> 00:14:44,995 Speaker 1: are so many people in the country that I think 227 00:14:45,035 --> 00:14:48,195 Speaker 1: are mega donors. Of course, he just said he didn't 228 00:14:48,195 --> 00:14:50,995 Speaker 1: know what megadnor meant. I've given a fair amount of 229 00:14:51,035 --> 00:14:52,915 Speaker 1: money away, but the amount of money I can give 230 00:14:52,955 --> 00:14:55,675 Speaker 1: away to causes and individuals that are seeking office, by 231 00:14:55,715 --> 00:14:57,835 Speaker 1: comparison to what I think of as a mega donor, 232 00:14:58,275 --> 00:15:00,355 Speaker 1: is pretty small. I just don't know. But I would 233 00:15:00,395 --> 00:15:04,915 Speaker 1: say it is in the low number of millions in 234 00:15:04,995 --> 00:15:10,995 Speaker 1: the past five years. I'll just read that again. I 235 00:15:11,075 --> 00:15:14,115 Speaker 1: would say it is in the low number of millions 236 00:15:14,275 --> 00:15:19,195 Speaker 1: in the past five years. Harlan, is it fifty emails? 237 00:15:19,315 --> 00:15:21,475 Speaker 1: One hundred? Did you know? The correct answer was six 238 00:15:21,595 --> 00:15:26,115 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty five. Owned all the Nazi stuff at 239 00:15:26,115 --> 00:15:31,115 Speaker 1: his house. It's just his own kind of Holocaust museum. 240 00:15:31,195 --> 00:15:33,355 Speaker 1: He says. The Nazis attacked to ship. His mom was 241 00:15:33,395 --> 00:15:37,115 Speaker 1: on Once he's got some Lee Harvey Oswald memorabilia. That 242 00:15:37,115 --> 00:15:39,395 Speaker 1: doesn't mean he likes Lee Harvey Oswald. Wait, why he's 243 00:15:39,395 --> 00:15:44,475 Speaker 1: got some Lee Harvey Oswald memorabilia? Two? Does Otis know 244 00:15:44,555 --> 00:15:54,035 Speaker 1: about this? Lastly, not a story of substance, just a neat, 245 00:15:54,075 --> 00:15:57,635 Speaker 1: little Freudian slip. This is the Florida Congressman Greg Stuby 246 00:15:58,315 --> 00:16:03,315 Speaker 1: on Newsmax last night, revealing his presidential endorsement. Now, before 247 00:16:03,435 --> 00:16:07,915 Speaker 1: we laugh too hard, you and I in January, Congressman 248 00:16:07,955 --> 00:16:11,955 Speaker 1: stube fell twenty five feet while trimming trees when the 249 00:16:12,075 --> 00:16:16,115 Speaker 1: chainsaw cut through the branch and the branch fell and 250 00:16:16,195 --> 00:16:21,595 Speaker 1: hit the ladder and well down going Stuvie. 251 00:16:22,355 --> 00:16:24,755 Speaker 3: Nevertheless, Yeah, and Rob, I want to thank you for 252 00:16:24,755 --> 00:16:27,115 Speaker 3: giving me the opportunity to talk about this on your show. 253 00:16:27,155 --> 00:16:30,595 Speaker 3: And I'm happy and honored to endorse Donald J. Chump 254 00:16:31,115 --> 00:16:31,795 Speaker 3: for president. 255 00:16:33,195 --> 00:16:38,795 Speaker 1: Yeah we both heard that, right. 256 00:16:39,555 --> 00:16:43,875 Speaker 3: I'm happy and honored to endorse Donald J. Chump for president. 257 00:16:44,435 --> 00:16:52,075 Speaker 1: Yeah we both heard that again. Ladder branch, ladder. Ah, 258 00:16:52,395 --> 00:16:56,115 Speaker 1: I've kind of done this. I dropped off a rock 259 00:16:56,315 --> 00:16:58,995 Speaker 1: doing the commercial, twenty feet or so. It was onto 260 00:16:59,235 --> 00:17:05,435 Speaker 1: sand on top of Rocks. So yeah, still yeah. 261 00:17:05,275 --> 00:17:06,515 Speaker 3: And Rob, I want to thank you for giving me 262 00:17:06,555 --> 00:17:08,835 Speaker 3: the opportunity to talk about this on your show, and 263 00:17:08,915 --> 00:17:13,275 Speaker 3: I'm happy and honored to endorse Donald J. Chump for president. 264 00:17:14,435 --> 00:17:19,595 Speaker 1: Don't tell Donald J. Chump about this. Chump don't want 265 00:17:19,635 --> 00:17:38,715 Speaker 1: no help, Chump, don't get no help. What it is, 266 00:17:38,835 --> 00:17:42,595 Speaker 1: big Mama, My mama didn't raise no dummy. I dug 267 00:17:42,635 --> 00:17:46,075 Speaker 1: her rap. Still ahead on this edition of Countdown. That's 268 00:17:46,075 --> 00:17:48,315 Speaker 1: from the movie Airplane. In case you missed it, go 269 00:17:48,355 --> 00:17:51,235 Speaker 1: and watch it right now. Still ahead on this edition 270 00:17:51,275 --> 00:17:53,195 Speaker 1: of Countdown. What would you do if you were running 271 00:17:53,235 --> 00:17:55,955 Speaker 1: against Donald J. Chump for the presidential nomination and you 272 00:17:55,995 --> 00:17:59,155 Speaker 1: wanted people to like you, well, shut down Disney World, 273 00:17:59,235 --> 00:18:05,355 Speaker 1: of course. Good work, Ron DeSantis. Worst person's Republican politicians 274 00:18:05,515 --> 00:18:08,795 Speaker 1: a solicit crotch picks from a fifteen year old b 275 00:18:09,555 --> 00:18:11,955 Speaker 1: send out links to an anti Semitic site on a 276 00:18:11,995 --> 00:18:16,355 Speaker 1: government issued congressional newsletter, and see yearn for the days 277 00:18:16,395 --> 00:18:19,795 Speaker 1: when they could lynch black people. I wish I were kidding. 278 00:18:19,835 --> 00:18:22,115 Speaker 1: Those are the nominees for worse persons. And since we 279 00:18:22,155 --> 00:18:24,795 Speaker 1: are talking about the Fox dominion suit, I was there 280 00:18:25,395 --> 00:18:28,995 Speaker 1: literally at the exact minute that the cable news world 281 00:18:28,995 --> 00:18:32,595 Speaker 1: in this country went from cheesy but well intentioned to 282 00:18:32,795 --> 00:18:38,395 Speaker 1: all soap operas all the time, otherwise and political. What 283 00:18:38,435 --> 00:18:40,875 Speaker 1: it was like amid the executives when they found out 284 00:18:40,915 --> 00:18:42,955 Speaker 1: that Princess Diana had died. 285 00:18:44,195 --> 00:18:53,035 Speaker 2: That's next. This is countdown. This is countdown with Keith Oberman, 286 00:18:53,475 --> 00:18:54,515 Speaker 2: my crazy friend. 287 00:18:59,435 --> 00:19:02,675 Speaker 1: Postscripts to the news. Some updates, some insights, some snarks, 288 00:19:02,675 --> 00:19:05,515 Speaker 1: some predictions, some stuff we couldn't get in the first section. 289 00:19:05,995 --> 00:19:10,475 Speaker 1: Dateline Lake, Buenavista, Florida. Hello, the short man in the 290 00:19:10,555 --> 00:19:13,755 Speaker 1: high heels accidentally found himself back in his home state 291 00:19:14,115 --> 00:19:18,995 Speaker 1: and took another huge l there. Yesterday, Ron DeSantis attacking 292 00:19:19,075 --> 00:19:22,915 Speaker 1: Disney again because Disney responded to his previous attack about 293 00:19:22,955 --> 00:19:27,515 Speaker 1: being pro LGBTQ by using the legal processes the state 294 00:19:27,635 --> 00:19:31,435 Speaker 1: gave Disney years ago. DeSantis has now threatened to send 295 00:19:31,435 --> 00:19:35,915 Speaker 1: in inspectors to inspect everything at Disney World, which of 296 00:19:35,955 --> 00:19:38,835 Speaker 1: course implies that if Disney caves to him, Florida will 297 00:19:38,875 --> 00:19:42,675 Speaker 1: never inspect anything at Disney World. Have fun on those rides, kids. 298 00:19:43,275 --> 00:19:45,915 Speaker 1: DeSantis also threatened to build a state prison next to 299 00:19:45,915 --> 00:19:49,195 Speaker 1: the amusement park because nobody looks out for the children 300 00:19:49,275 --> 00:19:53,995 Speaker 1: the way Republicans do. Disney's response this time, it promptly 301 00:19:54,075 --> 00:19:58,155 Speaker 1: trolled the mini governor by announcing its first Disney World 302 00:19:58,275 --> 00:20:03,635 Speaker 1: Pride Night during Pride Month in June. The public's response 303 00:20:04,075 --> 00:20:07,435 Speaker 1: pretty much after two especially good lines, one from comedy 304 00:20:07,435 --> 00:20:10,995 Speaker 1: writer Ben Rosen quote, thinking of ways people will like 305 00:20:11,075 --> 00:20:13,715 Speaker 1: me enough to vote for me for president, I'm going 306 00:20:13,795 --> 00:20:18,115 Speaker 1: to shut down Disney World. And from Robert j Ellingsworth, 307 00:20:18,715 --> 00:20:21,875 Speaker 1: does this delusional hatred of Disney World have anything to 308 00:20:21,915 --> 00:20:24,755 Speaker 1: do with Disantis not being tall enough to go on 309 00:20:24,875 --> 00:20:55,395 Speaker 1: the rides? Ohronda, thank good? Nancy Fowls. Dateline, Makeup City, 310 00:20:55,515 --> 00:21:01,195 Speaker 1: Arizona Carrie Lake interviewed by Kimberly Gilfoyle a visit by 311 00:21:01,235 --> 00:21:04,675 Speaker 1: two TV characters who came to life somehow. Presumably they 312 00:21:04,795 --> 00:21:07,795 Speaker 1: drew lots for who got the best TV filters. Also, 313 00:21:07,915 --> 00:21:10,635 Speaker 1: Lake said, I just saw some polling today that shows 314 00:21:10,675 --> 00:21:12,515 Speaker 1: that the only person who could beat me in the 315 00:21:12,635 --> 00:21:16,875 Speaker 1: US Senate seat in Arizona is Trump. Yeah, she just 316 00:21:16,995 --> 00:21:21,075 Speaker 1: saw some polling like the Saints saw apparitions of the 317 00:21:21,155 --> 00:21:24,835 Speaker 1: Virgin Mary in the tree bark or whatever. And Dateline, 318 00:21:24,875 --> 00:21:28,635 Speaker 1: Long Island Congressman George if that is your real name. 319 00:21:28,715 --> 00:21:34,275 Speaker 1: Santos has declared he is running for reelection. His announcement 320 00:21:34,355 --> 00:21:37,275 Speaker 1: extols his claim that he has introduced and co sponsored 321 00:21:37,315 --> 00:21:40,155 Speaker 1: more bills than any other New York freshman member of Congress, 322 00:21:40,595 --> 00:21:43,755 Speaker 1: that he's been a fearless champion of conservative values, and 323 00:21:43,795 --> 00:21:47,315 Speaker 1: that he is a mortal and he can fly. Okay, 324 00:21:47,355 --> 00:21:49,195 Speaker 1: I made those last two ones up, but I got 325 00:21:49,195 --> 00:21:51,755 Speaker 1: you to think, huh. In the announcement of this self 326 00:21:51,795 --> 00:21:54,195 Speaker 1: deluded nutjob who thinks he's gotten away with it, there 327 00:21:54,235 --> 00:21:57,075 Speaker 1: is one genuine laugh line and I did not make 328 00:21:57,155 --> 00:22:01,675 Speaker 1: this up. The next last sentence, George Santos is a 329 00:22:01,795 --> 00:22:09,475 Speaker 1: lifelong New Yorker except the four years in Brazil and 330 00:22:09,555 --> 00:22:27,955 Speaker 1: the one he spent in Orlando, No Florida. Still ahead 331 00:22:27,995 --> 00:22:31,275 Speaker 1: on countdown. Since we're talking Fox and cable news and 332 00:22:31,315 --> 00:22:34,075 Speaker 1: how we should metaphorically hit cable news with a stick 333 00:22:34,115 --> 00:22:36,835 Speaker 1: and then set it on fire, let me take you 334 00:22:36,915 --> 00:22:39,835 Speaker 1: back to the day it all went bad at Fox, 335 00:22:39,875 --> 00:22:44,315 Speaker 1: at MSNBC, at CNN. Unfortunately, that day was exactly one 336 00:22:44,395 --> 00:22:48,155 Speaker 1: month before I began my first show at MSNBC, the 337 00:22:48,235 --> 00:22:51,875 Speaker 1: day Princess Diana died. Coming up first time for the 338 00:22:51,955 --> 00:22:53,835 Speaker 1: day we ran up the mis grants, morons and Dunning 339 00:22:53,915 --> 00:22:58,075 Speaker 1: Krueger effect specimens who constitute today's worst persons in the world. 340 00:22:58,915 --> 00:23:03,435 Speaker 1: The Bronze Arie Alexander the January sixth stopped the steal 341 00:23:03,635 --> 00:23:06,555 Speaker 1: dude who has made himself look as much like Sammy 342 00:23:06,635 --> 00:23:11,675 Speaker 1: Davis Junior as possible. The Daily Beast reports Arion Alexander 343 00:23:11,715 --> 00:23:14,675 Speaker 1: has been credibly accused of asking for photos of the 344 00:23:14,835 --> 00:23:19,075 Speaker 1: genitalia of a then fifteen year old boy. Alexander real 345 00:23:19,155 --> 00:23:22,635 Speaker 1: name Ali Akbar issued an apology in an interview with 346 00:23:22,675 --> 00:23:26,515 Speaker 1: the website, which quotes a screenshot of a text Arie 347 00:23:26,555 --> 00:23:29,155 Speaker 1: Alexander sent to a now twenty one year old guy 348 00:23:29,235 --> 00:23:32,995 Speaker 1: named Aidan Duncan, to whom in twenty seventeen, Alexander was 349 00:23:32,995 --> 00:23:37,555 Speaker 1: offering an internship quote, you don't even send me videos anymore, 350 00:23:37,955 --> 00:23:44,195 Speaker 1: no good jack Off material. Wait, Arie Alexander wanted videos 351 00:23:44,235 --> 00:23:48,275 Speaker 1: of jack Off's like Junior and Eric Trump giving speeches. 352 00:23:49,515 --> 00:23:53,795 Speaker 1: Oh oh, I get what he means. More seriously, it 353 00:23:53,835 --> 00:23:56,755 Speaker 1: was this Alexander clown who referred to the quote Lincoln 354 00:23:56,955 --> 00:23:59,955 Speaker 1: Pedo Project a couple of years after he was trying 355 00:23:59,995 --> 00:24:04,595 Speaker 1: to seduce a fifteen year old The Bronze Doctor Paul Gozar, 356 00:24:04,915 --> 00:24:08,475 Speaker 1: the insurrectionist congressman from Arizona who's been having some kind 357 00:24:08,475 --> 00:24:14,395 Speaker 1: of really excruciatingly slow neurological or psychological breakdown or both 358 00:24:14,435 --> 00:24:18,675 Speaker 1: in public for years. It's not just that this, whatever 359 00:24:18,715 --> 00:24:21,875 Speaker 1: it is, makes him hate everybody, but it makes him 360 00:24:22,035 --> 00:24:25,195 Speaker 1: think that he represents a kind of unanimous desire by 361 00:24:25,235 --> 00:24:30,195 Speaker 1: Americans to murder everybody. Ghosar sends his constituents a newsletter 362 00:24:30,275 --> 00:24:33,315 Speaker 1: transmitted by the official web server of the House of Representatives, 363 00:24:33,595 --> 00:24:36,475 Speaker 1: and in the most recent April sixteenth edition, he included 364 00:24:36,475 --> 00:24:40,235 Speaker 1: a link to an article from a site called Veterans Today. 365 00:24:40,875 --> 00:24:44,155 Speaker 1: Veterans Today is actually an anti Semitic site so vile 366 00:24:44,715 --> 00:24:47,915 Speaker 1: that it manages to claim at the same time that 367 00:24:47,955 --> 00:24:51,635 Speaker 1: it denies the Holocaust ever happened, and then blames the 368 00:24:51,635 --> 00:24:56,875 Speaker 1: Holocaust on quote the Jewish Zionists. Well. Currently at the 369 00:24:56,915 --> 00:24:59,995 Speaker 1: site is this article Paul Gosar has linked to, which 370 00:25:00,035 --> 00:25:03,035 Speaker 1: shows a big picture of Paul Gosar, and then on 371 00:25:03,075 --> 00:25:07,555 Speaker 1: top of it this headline Congressman semi colon Jewish warmongers, 372 00:25:07,635 --> 00:25:10,995 Speaker 1: Newland and Blincoln quote are dangerous fools who can get 373 00:25:11,075 --> 00:25:16,635 Speaker 1: us all killed. End quote. That's what Congressman Paul Gosar 374 00:25:16,795 --> 00:25:22,555 Speaker 1: wants you to read about himself. This man needs a lobotomy. 375 00:25:22,995 --> 00:25:25,515 Speaker 1: But our winner is the soon to be former administrators 376 00:25:25,555 --> 00:25:31,395 Speaker 1: of McCurtain County, Oklahoma. McCurtain County. That's broken bow and Batiste, 377 00:25:31,795 --> 00:25:34,835 Speaker 1: which is spelled battists by the way, you know, just 378 00:25:34,875 --> 00:25:39,115 Speaker 1: west of Texarkana. Any who say goodbye to Sheriff Kevin Clardy, 379 00:25:39,595 --> 00:25:43,355 Speaker 1: District Commissioner Mark Jennings, investigator Alisha Manning, and jail administrator 380 00:25:43,435 --> 00:25:48,315 Speaker 1: Larry Hendrix. Clardy joked about barbecuing a woman who had 381 00:25:48,355 --> 00:25:51,075 Speaker 1: died in a fire. Jennings lamented that you could no 382 00:25:51,115 --> 00:25:54,195 Speaker 1: longer take black people quote down to mud creek and 383 00:25:54,275 --> 00:25:56,515 Speaker 1: hang them up with a damn rope. They got more 384 00:25:56,595 --> 00:25:59,715 Speaker 1: rights than we got un quote. Ms Manning talked about 385 00:25:59,795 --> 00:26:04,515 Speaker 1: murdering reporters from the newspaper McCurtain Gazette News. Unfortunately for 386 00:26:04,555 --> 00:26:07,595 Speaker 1: that this was all recorded and obtained by the McCurtain 387 00:26:07,595 --> 00:26:12,875 Speaker 1: Gazette News. It's so bad that the Republican governor of Oklahoma, 388 00:26:13,035 --> 00:26:18,075 Speaker 1: the Republican Governor of Oklahoma Stitt, has called for their resignations. 389 00:26:19,155 --> 00:26:23,275 Speaker 1: McCurtain County's Sheriff Clardy, Commissioner Jennings, investigator Manning, and jail 390 00:26:23,275 --> 00:26:26,875 Speaker 1: administrator Larry Hendrix. Do you see what happens? Larry? Do 391 00:26:26,995 --> 00:26:30,875 Speaker 1: you see what happens? Larry? And don't forget The official 392 00:26:30,995 --> 00:26:34,955 Speaker 1: tourism site for the county is visit McCurtain County dot com. 393 00:26:35,195 --> 00:26:53,955 Speaker 1: Today's Worst Parsons and the World still ahead on Countdown. 394 00:26:54,355 --> 00:26:57,475 Speaker 1: I was with the president of NBC News and the 395 00:26:57,475 --> 00:27:01,755 Speaker 1: future president of MSNBC the moment that we all found 396 00:27:01,755 --> 00:27:05,755 Speaker 1: out that Princess Diana had died in nineteen ninety seven. 397 00:27:06,355 --> 00:27:10,155 Speaker 1: What happened that evening with those men is at the 398 00:27:10,275 --> 00:27:14,875 Speaker 1: root of the Fox News dominion lawsuit and the evil 399 00:27:14,955 --> 00:27:18,795 Speaker 1: that cable news has become. Things I promise not to tell. 400 00:27:18,835 --> 00:27:21,955 Speaker 1: Next First, in each tradition of Countdown, we feature a 401 00:27:21,955 --> 00:27:24,235 Speaker 1: dog in need you can help. Every dog has its day. 402 00:27:24,635 --> 00:27:28,235 Speaker 1: Elsa is a Chihuahua mix who is now on Staten Island, 403 00:27:28,235 --> 00:27:31,635 Speaker 1: New York, rescued by Near and Far Animal Foundation. There 404 00:27:32,115 --> 00:27:34,595 Speaker 1: they took her in when a cyclone threatened her home 405 00:27:35,235 --> 00:27:39,035 Speaker 1: and the humans left without her. She has lost her hair. 406 00:27:39,115 --> 00:27:41,275 Speaker 1: She got a terrible skin infection while living on the 407 00:27:41,315 --> 00:27:45,875 Speaker 1: streets after this nonsense happened. She'll need antibiotics and medicinal 408 00:27:45,915 --> 00:27:48,515 Speaker 1: shampoos for a while, but they're trying to raise only 409 00:27:48,515 --> 00:27:51,155 Speaker 1: about five hundred dollars more for her. That's it, no surgery, 410 00:27:51,315 --> 00:27:54,595 Speaker 1: just TLC. If you can donate, you can find Elsa 411 00:27:54,715 --> 00:27:58,315 Speaker 1: on cuddly dot com or on my Twitter feeds. I 412 00:27:58,435 --> 00:28:14,435 Speaker 1: thank you, and Elsa thanks you. Finally to our number 413 00:28:14,435 --> 00:28:16,875 Speaker 1: one story on the countdown and my favorite topic, me 414 00:28:17,875 --> 00:28:20,795 Speaker 1: and things I promised not to tell. The date on 415 00:28:20,875 --> 00:28:24,795 Speaker 1: the death certificate was Sunday, August thirty first, nineteen ninety seven, 416 00:28:25,235 --> 00:28:27,715 Speaker 1: but because of the time difference, the news was known 417 00:28:27,795 --> 00:28:31,075 Speaker 1: here very late. On the night of Saturday, August thirtieth, 418 00:28:31,155 --> 00:28:34,235 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety seven. It was the death of Diana, Princess 419 00:28:34,275 --> 00:28:37,475 Speaker 1: of Wales. And please do not misunderstand me. I'm not 420 00:28:37,515 --> 00:28:41,475 Speaker 1: equating anything that happened to me around that time with 421 00:28:41,595 --> 00:28:44,475 Speaker 1: what happened to her, or what happened to those who 422 00:28:44,515 --> 00:28:47,515 Speaker 1: loved her, or what happened to those who simply admired 423 00:28:47,555 --> 00:28:51,235 Speaker 1: her from afar. But in retrospect, I can see that 424 00:28:51,395 --> 00:28:54,835 Speaker 1: Saturday night as a demarcation point in the history of 425 00:28:55,035 --> 00:28:59,075 Speaker 1: news in this country. Three nights earlier, I had watched 426 00:28:59,115 --> 00:29:01,515 Speaker 1: them pack the last of my stuff into the van 427 00:29:01,595 --> 00:29:04,355 Speaker 1: at my home in Southington, Connecticut, where I had lived 428 00:29:04,355 --> 00:29:06,635 Speaker 1: for five and a half years while I did ESPN's 429 00:29:06,675 --> 00:29:10,435 Speaker 1: Sports Center, great show, much of it, great fun, a 430 00:29:10,475 --> 00:29:14,075 Speaker 1: great partner, great house, four bedrooms, three thousand square feet. 431 00:29:14,115 --> 00:29:17,395 Speaker 1: He did swimming pool house, fact system, three hundred and 432 00:29:17,395 --> 00:29:22,035 Speaker 1: fifty one thousand dollars. All that was great, not really 433 00:29:22,035 --> 00:29:24,355 Speaker 1: a great life. I was on my way to a 434 00:29:24,435 --> 00:29:28,955 Speaker 1: new life at MSNBC. Thursday was a photo shoot for Esquire. 435 00:29:29,515 --> 00:29:32,675 Speaker 1: They dressed me up like Austin Powers. I didn't get 436 00:29:32,675 --> 00:29:36,035 Speaker 1: it then, I don't get it now. Then an interview 437 00:29:36,075 --> 00:29:38,195 Speaker 1: with TV Guide, and then suddenly an invitation for my 438 00:29:38,275 --> 00:29:41,115 Speaker 1: old friend and new boss, Phil Griffin to come join 439 00:29:41,195 --> 00:29:44,315 Speaker 1: him and his family for a long weekend in the Hamptons. 440 00:29:44,635 --> 00:29:46,835 Speaker 1: I had never been there. It was not the kind 441 00:29:46,835 --> 00:29:49,755 Speaker 1: of thing I did. It was Long Island. I was 442 00:29:49,755 --> 00:29:52,915 Speaker 1: from Westchester. But they were willing to pay, and it 443 00:29:53,155 --> 00:29:58,475 Speaker 1: was spectacular. Even though my accommodations consisted of a converted garage, 444 00:29:58,875 --> 00:30:01,155 Speaker 1: the bed and breakfast part of the home of a 445 00:30:01,155 --> 00:30:03,475 Speaker 1: woman who had had her own show on Channel two 446 00:30:03,555 --> 00:30:07,395 Speaker 1: in New York forty three years previously, and whose walls 447 00:30:07,435 --> 00:30:11,195 Speaker 1: were filled with mementos from it. I thought, briefly, and 448 00:30:11,275 --> 00:30:13,515 Speaker 1: with a shutterer, that's what my walls are going to 449 00:30:13,555 --> 00:30:16,955 Speaker 1: look like in twenty forty if I live that long. Well, 450 00:30:17,035 --> 00:30:19,115 Speaker 1: it's not twenty forty yet, and I haven't lived that long. 451 00:30:19,155 --> 00:30:20,675 Speaker 1: But I'm happy to tell you there are dozens of 452 00:30:20,715 --> 00:30:22,715 Speaker 1: photos in art covering my walls, and only one of 453 00:30:22,755 --> 00:30:24,875 Speaker 1: them is a memento of an old TV show I did. 454 00:30:25,515 --> 00:30:30,475 Speaker 1: But the point was and is taken anyway. A nice 455 00:30:30,515 --> 00:30:33,235 Speaker 1: meal with the Griffins at their Hampton's full house rental 456 00:30:33,275 --> 00:30:36,795 Speaker 1: on Friday, A warm day spent at a pristine beach 457 00:30:36,995 --> 00:30:41,195 Speaker 1: on Saturday, pronounced good with kids by Phil's wife, And 458 00:30:41,235 --> 00:30:45,315 Speaker 1: then we went across the bay to the Hampton's home 459 00:30:45,875 --> 00:30:48,595 Speaker 1: of Jeff Zucker, then the head of the Today Show 460 00:30:48,595 --> 00:30:51,835 Speaker 1: and the de facto operational head of all of NBC News. 461 00:30:52,515 --> 00:30:56,275 Speaker 1: We dined on his balcony overlooking the water. We watched 462 00:30:56,315 --> 00:30:59,915 Speaker 1: the fireworks overlooking the water, and we were just having 463 00:30:59,915 --> 00:31:04,035 Speaker 1: a nightcap on this vast lawn of his overlooking the water. 464 00:31:04,915 --> 00:31:08,075 Speaker 1: My memory tells me the lawn was approximately the size 465 00:31:08,275 --> 00:31:11,395 Speaker 1: of the field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and 466 00:31:11,475 --> 00:31:15,715 Speaker 1: there were huge lights hanging off the house, which seemed 467 00:31:15,755 --> 00:31:18,995 Speaker 1: nearly as strong as the lights at Dodger Stadium. And 468 00:31:19,035 --> 00:31:24,755 Speaker 1: then suddenly everybody's phone rang. Summer ended in three seconds. 469 00:31:25,115 --> 00:31:28,275 Speaker 1: There were still pagers in those days. Those went off too. 470 00:31:28,475 --> 00:31:32,515 Speaker 1: You could even hear phones ringing in the distance, creating 471 00:31:32,555 --> 00:31:37,475 Speaker 1: something akin to a strange buzzing concert. My God, Zucker shouted, 472 00:31:37,555 --> 00:31:41,715 Speaker 1: Princess Die is dead. Now. He and Phil Griffin began 473 00:31:41,795 --> 00:31:45,275 Speaker 1: to pace across that giant lawn. Another phone rang, and 474 00:31:45,355 --> 00:31:49,195 Speaker 1: Zucker now had one pinned to each ear Standing some 475 00:31:49,355 --> 00:31:52,195 Speaker 1: distance away with Phil Griffin's wife, I noticed how quickly 476 00:31:52,475 --> 00:31:56,515 Speaker 1: Griffin and Zucker sinked up. They were walking towards each other, 477 00:31:56,795 --> 00:31:59,995 Speaker 1: crossing each other's paths, then walking side by side, and 478 00:31:59,995 --> 00:32:02,835 Speaker 1: then veering off in opposite directions, as if there had 479 00:32:02,875 --> 00:32:08,835 Speaker 1: been a choreographer somewhere. Phil's wife and I were equally disgusted, 480 00:32:08,955 --> 00:32:11,395 Speaker 1: not so much at her husband and Zuker, but at 481 00:32:11,395 --> 00:32:15,635 Speaker 1: the circumstances of Diana's death. Forty eight hours earlier, the 482 00:32:15,715 --> 00:32:18,355 Speaker 1: interviewer from TV Guide had actually asked me what my 483 00:32:18,515 --> 00:32:23,395 Speaker 1: first questions would be for my hypothetical guests Nelson Mandela 484 00:32:23,675 --> 00:32:29,115 Speaker 1: and Sean Penn. My abstract concepts of the news my 485 00:32:29,235 --> 00:32:33,155 Speaker 1: new career were about news I watched or listened to, 486 00:32:33,595 --> 00:32:37,835 Speaker 1: like PBS or NPR, the all news radio stations in 487 00:32:37,875 --> 00:32:40,875 Speaker 1: New York or Washington when the atmospheric conditions were right 488 00:32:40,915 --> 00:32:45,355 Speaker 1: in Bristol, Connecticut, and my favorite news related show, British 489 00:32:45,395 --> 00:32:50,155 Speaker 1: Prime Minister's Question Time. This was not what I heard 490 00:32:50,235 --> 00:32:52,715 Speaker 1: Phil Griffin and Jeff Zucker arranging in the wake of 491 00:32:52,755 --> 00:32:56,755 Speaker 1: Diana's death, throwing out large offers to self announced royal 492 00:32:56,875 --> 00:33:00,955 Speaker 1: experts and accident analysts and people who knew Doty Fayed 493 00:33:01,395 --> 00:33:04,635 Speaker 1: and even some of the photographers in the cars chase 494 00:33:04,675 --> 00:33:08,275 Speaker 1: seeing Dianas into the tunnel when it crashed, offering them 495 00:33:08,315 --> 00:33:11,035 Speaker 1: large sums of money to make themselves available exclusively to 496 00:33:11,235 --> 00:33:15,875 Speaker 1: MSNBC for the duration, and booking whole planes full of 497 00:33:15,915 --> 00:33:23,675 Speaker 1: reservations to send everybody from the Today Show to the funeral. Now, look, 498 00:33:23,755 --> 00:33:26,395 Speaker 1: I was thirty seven years old then I already understood 499 00:33:26,475 --> 00:33:30,715 Speaker 1: these were the necessary logistical moves of smart executives. Sad 500 00:33:30,755 --> 00:33:33,155 Speaker 1: and terrible things happened, and people still had to go 501 00:33:33,235 --> 00:33:37,595 Speaker 1: on and cover them. But there was something exceptionally callous 502 00:33:37,675 --> 00:33:41,275 Speaker 1: and cold about the choreographed dance I was watching. As 503 00:33:41,275 --> 00:33:44,315 Speaker 1: I said to Phil's wife, the tabloid media has been 504 00:33:44,395 --> 00:33:48,235 Speaker 1: chasing celebrities for years, and tonight they finally got one. 505 00:33:48,875 --> 00:33:52,155 Speaker 1: She nodded, but punched me in the shoulder and corrected me, 506 00:33:52,875 --> 00:33:58,755 Speaker 1: we finally got one. You are part of we now well. 507 00:33:58,755 --> 00:34:00,995 Speaker 1: That in turn made me think about quitting on the spot. 508 00:34:01,755 --> 00:34:03,635 Speaker 1: My agent was on the West Coast. It was not 509 00:34:03,755 --> 00:34:06,995 Speaker 1: that late there, and I joined Griffin and Zucker. Zucker 510 00:34:07,035 --> 00:34:09,955 Speaker 1: was on his third different phone by then, pacing on 511 00:34:09,995 --> 00:34:12,435 Speaker 1: that lovely lawn. While telling my agent that maybe we 512 00:34:12,475 --> 00:34:15,915 Speaker 1: should take the ABC boss Bob Iiger up on his offer. 513 00:34:15,995 --> 00:34:17,755 Speaker 1: He said, if I ever wanted to go back to ESPN, 514 00:34:17,795 --> 00:34:19,635 Speaker 1: I should just call. What do you think? I asked 515 00:34:19,635 --> 00:34:24,515 Speaker 1: my agent too soon. The next week was all Diana 516 00:34:24,755 --> 00:34:28,075 Speaker 1: leading up to the funeral overnight Friday, anchored on NBC 517 00:34:28,235 --> 00:34:32,675 Speaker 1: and MSNBC I think by Katie Kuric, who actually told 518 00:34:32,675 --> 00:34:35,395 Speaker 1: the audience that some random British woman was in fact 519 00:34:35,675 --> 00:34:41,515 Speaker 1: the model Cindy Crawford. She wasn't Cindy Crawford. This passing 520 00:34:41,595 --> 00:34:45,155 Speaker 1: forgotten trivial mistake seemed to me to be emblematic of 521 00:34:45,235 --> 00:34:48,075 Speaker 1: what Diana's death had done in an instant to the 522 00:34:48,115 --> 00:34:52,635 Speaker 1: business I was just getting into. Suddenly the last few years, 523 00:34:52,635 --> 00:34:55,675 Speaker 1: if television news had clarified themselves and a timeline had 524 00:34:55,715 --> 00:34:58,235 Speaker 1: emerged in my mind. I had gone to work for 525 00:34:58,315 --> 00:35:02,435 Speaker 1: CNN at the start of its second year nineteen eighty one. Yes, 526 00:35:02,475 --> 00:35:05,955 Speaker 1: we were already in color. Used to have a weather report, 527 00:35:06,235 --> 00:35:09,555 Speaker 1: a sports cast, a business update, and a science and 528 00:35:09,635 --> 00:35:14,675 Speaker 1: medicine story every hour. But by nineteen ninety five, CNN 529 00:35:14,675 --> 00:35:18,235 Speaker 1: and everybody else had learned just find one story and 530 00:35:18,395 --> 00:35:21,155 Speaker 1: pound it into the ground twenty four to seven if 531 00:35:21,155 --> 00:35:23,755 Speaker 1: you can, and dress it up so that the viewer 532 00:35:23,795 --> 00:35:27,435 Speaker 1: does not feel dirty for having watched it. That first 533 00:35:27,435 --> 00:35:30,075 Speaker 1: story in nineteen ninety five was the OJ Simpson trial, 534 00:35:30,115 --> 00:35:33,275 Speaker 1: And while it was nominally a genuinely important story about 535 00:35:33,435 --> 00:35:38,515 Speaker 1: a huge public figure, people forget that a huge public figure, 536 00:35:38,555 --> 00:35:43,075 Speaker 1: a sportscaster and actor murdering his wife. That's not what 537 00:35:43,275 --> 00:35:47,075 Speaker 1: they covered at the OJ Simpson trial. They were covering 538 00:35:47,595 --> 00:35:52,955 Speaker 1: every salacious detail. They were covering literally every blood stain. 539 00:35:53,115 --> 00:35:57,715 Speaker 1: They were covering, interracial marriage. They were pitting whites against blacks. 540 00:35:57,955 --> 00:36:02,755 Speaker 1: They were sometimes I saw it happen, making up bombshell stories. 541 00:36:03,435 --> 00:36:06,475 Speaker 1: And all the people now running MSNBC, which I was 542 00:36:06,555 --> 00:36:09,355 Speaker 1: joining in its second year, were those who had covered 543 00:36:09,395 --> 00:36:13,315 Speaker 1: themselves in glory or covered themselves in something at the 544 00:36:13,355 --> 00:36:18,675 Speaker 1: OJ trial. It is not coincidental that one media organization 545 00:36:19,595 --> 00:36:23,515 Speaker 1: was discussed by the judge Lance Edo for doing a 546 00:36:23,555 --> 00:36:27,635 Speaker 1: fair job of covering the OJ Simpson trial. That organization 547 00:36:27,955 --> 00:36:34,235 Speaker 1: was ESPN SportsCenter. Anyway, television news has never been the same. 548 00:36:34,515 --> 00:36:37,355 Speaker 1: There was some argument for twenty four to seven coverage 549 00:36:37,355 --> 00:36:39,715 Speaker 1: of the Simpson trial because it was a daily thing. 550 00:36:40,915 --> 00:36:43,355 Speaker 1: Diana was dead, and for a month it was treated 551 00:36:43,395 --> 00:36:46,475 Speaker 1: as if it had happened an hour earlier. Cable news 552 00:36:46,955 --> 00:36:50,555 Speaker 1: by this point CNN, CNN Headline, Fox and MSNBC now 553 00:36:50,595 --> 00:36:54,875 Speaker 1: began to look for twenty four to seven stories, or 554 00:36:54,875 --> 00:36:58,355 Speaker 1: in their absence to create them. The death of the 555 00:36:58,355 --> 00:37:02,475 Speaker 1: Colorado little Girl, John Benet Ramsey, every missing white woman 556 00:37:02,475 --> 00:37:06,195 Speaker 1: in America, even the Clinton Lewinsky story. I often did 557 00:37:06,195 --> 00:37:09,475 Speaker 1: two live shows a night about the Clinton Lewinsky story, 558 00:37:09,675 --> 00:37:11,835 Speaker 1: even when there hadn't been any actual news in a 559 00:37:11,875 --> 00:37:17,035 Speaker 1: week or ten days. If something happened, if some tidbit 560 00:37:17,195 --> 00:37:20,355 Speaker 1: was reported by the Washington Post when all the news 561 00:37:20,475 --> 00:37:23,555 Speaker 1: sites updated for the only time all day at eleven 562 00:37:23,595 --> 00:37:27,595 Speaker 1: pm Eastern. Yes, that's how computers worked back then. We 563 00:37:27,715 --> 00:37:30,355 Speaker 1: might stay on for two or three extra hours to 564 00:37:30,435 --> 00:37:34,075 Speaker 1: discuss this one sentence in the revised Washington Post story, 565 00:37:34,235 --> 00:37:39,475 Speaker 1: again and again and again. We retrained TV audiences to 566 00:37:39,595 --> 00:37:42,835 Speaker 1: fixate on one story at a time, especially if that 567 00:37:42,915 --> 00:37:47,235 Speaker 1: story involved somebody famous that in turn magnified the celebrity 568 00:37:47,275 --> 00:37:50,595 Speaker 1: element of all of American life. It explains, in part, 569 00:37:50,595 --> 00:37:53,435 Speaker 1: everything that has happened since Diana died, from the Clinton 570 00:37:53,475 --> 00:37:56,515 Speaker 1: story to the lionization of the generals after nine to eleven, 571 00:37:56,675 --> 00:37:58,995 Speaker 1: through the rise of Barack Obama, and of course the 572 00:37:58,995 --> 00:38:03,755 Speaker 1: election of Trump. I did not ultimately quit my new 573 00:38:03,875 --> 00:38:06,475 Speaker 1: MSNBC show a month before it was to premiere. The 574 00:38:06,515 --> 00:38:08,555 Speaker 1: next morning, I took a bus back to New York 575 00:38:08,595 --> 00:38:10,755 Speaker 1: and vowed, too, as I put it in my diary, 576 00:38:11,155 --> 00:38:14,195 Speaker 1: do a show that would expose tabloidism and be upright 577 00:38:14,195 --> 00:38:17,235 Speaker 1: at whatever cost, to a tone that I should be involved, 578 00:38:17,595 --> 00:38:20,395 Speaker 1: however distantly, in a business that could in essence kill 579 00:38:20,435 --> 00:38:23,355 Speaker 1: three people, including the most beloved woman in the world. 580 00:38:24,275 --> 00:38:27,795 Speaker 1: Nice thought didn't happen. We did the first show a 581 00:38:27,835 --> 00:38:31,315 Speaker 1: month later, October one, nineteen ninety seven. Phil Griffin was 582 00:38:31,355 --> 00:38:34,595 Speaker 1: the producer. Half the time was consumed by a roundtable 583 00:38:34,635 --> 00:38:38,075 Speaker 1: of four celebrity journalists and gossips. When I tried to 584 00:38:38,155 --> 00:38:40,955 Speaker 1: draw them out on the media's responsibility to the people 585 00:38:41,035 --> 00:38:44,515 Speaker 1: in these stories, a voice talked to me through my earpiece. 586 00:38:45,075 --> 00:38:47,995 Speaker 1: It was Phil Griffin and he was shouting forget that. 587 00:38:48,915 --> 00:39:04,755 Speaker 1: Ask them who killed John Day Ramsey. I've done and 588 00:39:04,795 --> 00:39:06,875 Speaker 1: all the damage I can do here. Thank you for listening. 589 00:39:06,915 --> 00:39:08,995 Speaker 1: Here are the credits. Most of the music was arranged, 590 00:39:08,995 --> 00:39:12,035 Speaker 1: produced and performed by Brian Ray and John Phillip Schanel. 591 00:39:12,915 --> 00:39:16,275 Speaker 1: Brian and John are the Countdown musical directors. All orchestration 592 00:39:16,355 --> 00:39:19,795 Speaker 1: and keyboards by John Phillip Schanelle, guitarist, bass and drums 593 00:39:19,795 --> 00:39:23,795 Speaker 1: by Brian Ray. Produced by Tko Brothers. Other Beethoven selections 594 00:39:23,795 --> 00:39:26,515 Speaker 1: have been arranged and performed by the group No Horns Allowed. 595 00:39:27,155 --> 00:39:30,235 Speaker 1: The sports music is the Olberman theme from ESPN two. 596 00:39:30,915 --> 00:39:33,475 Speaker 1: It appears Curtis of ESPN, Inc. And was written by 597 00:39:33,475 --> 00:39:37,155 Speaker 1: Mitch Warren Davis. Our musical comments come from Nancy Faust. 598 00:39:37,435 --> 00:39:40,875 Speaker 1: The best Baseball stadium organist ever, and our announcer today 599 00:39:40,955 --> 00:39:44,475 Speaker 1: was Tony Korneiser, my crazy friend. Everything else was pretty 600 00:39:44,515 --> 00:39:46,915 Speaker 1: much my fault. So that's countdown for this, the eight 601 00:39:47,035 --> 00:39:49,955 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty third day since Donald Trump's first attempted 602 00:39:49,995 --> 00:39:53,315 Speaker 1: coup against the democratically elected government of the United States. 603 00:39:53,875 --> 00:39:57,035 Speaker 1: Please don't forget. Keep arresting him while we still can. 604 00:39:57,875 --> 00:40:00,275 Speaker 1: The next scheduled countdown is tomorrow, So until then, I'm 605 00:40:00,315 --> 00:40:03,915 Speaker 1: Keith Olberman. Good morning, good afternoon, goodnight, and good luck. 606 00:40:09,475 --> 00:40:13,435 Speaker 1: Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. For 607 00:40:13,635 --> 00:40:18,675 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 608 00:40:18,795 --> 00:40:20,755 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.