1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:01,800 Speaker 1: Welcome. 2 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 2: It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you, 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 2: and we did a show that had some really important 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,959 Speaker 2: topics in it a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, that show 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 2: was replaced as we were covering the catastrophic flooding that 6 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 2: happened in the Hill Country, and we want to make 7 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,080 Speaker 2: sure that we gave you all the info on that 8 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 2: and the relief efforts and how you could help the 9 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 2: people and Curvella in the surrounding areas that were affected. 10 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 2: And we were talking about that show, and it's an 11 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 2: important one because it dealt with a lot of issues. 12 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 2: Number one, Trump revoking Chinese student visas. You probably heard 13 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 2: about that nowhere else. Also, California reverses policies on transgender 14 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 2: in sports. How that happened, the very important Take It 15 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 2: Down Act. It was important to protect people from revenge 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: and people putting fake pictures of them online as well. 17 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: And finally, the ABA won't have any role in judicial selections. 18 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 2: This is massive, So we decided we're going to let 19 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 2: you hear that show that we never got to put out, 20 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: so right now here, it is all right, So let's 21 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 2: dive into this big first topic center and it deals 22 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 2: with what you mentioned earlier, China and Chinese student visas. 23 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 2: There was an interesting number that was thrown out earlier 24 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 2: in the day on TV, and I'm going to quote it. 25 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 2: I'm not sure if it's exactly accurate, but it is, 26 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 2: and that's why I said it was. I saw it 27 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 2: earlier today and I want to prefix that with saying it. 28 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 2: But it said that there were about five hundred American 29 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 2: students that have visas in China and more than two 30 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 2: hundred eighty thousand Chinese students in the US. Is what 31 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 2: was said, Why are we doing so much for Chinese students, 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 2: many of them by the way they come in here 33 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 2: that spy and rob of this of our intellectual property, 34 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 2: and the administration tr administration is basically saying, we're trying 35 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 2: to put a stop to this. 36 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 3: Well, what the Trump administration has announced, Secretary of State 37 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 3: Marco Rubio announced that they will begin aggressively revoking the 38 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 3: visas of Chinese students in the United States. China engages 39 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 3: in extensive propaganda and espionage, and they're going to begin 40 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 3: vetting and vetting aggressively whether a particular student seeking a 41 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 3: visa to come to this country has ties to the 42 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 3: Chinese Communist Party. I think this is long overdue and 43 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 3: it's part of a broader effort. They're also engaged with 44 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 3: foreign students that are coming to the United States, examining 45 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 3: their social media history, examining if they have a history 46 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 3: of radicalism. So if you are seeking a student visa 47 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 3: to come to America and you've been public saying I 48 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 3: hate America, I want to destroy America, which sadly we've 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 3: seen some of these radical students who've said that, and 50 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 3: nonetheless Joe Biden the Democrats said welcome to America. We 51 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 3: need more people who hate our nation and want to 52 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 3: destroy it. Well, I think the President's exactly right to 53 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 3: stand up and say we're not going to welcome people 54 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 3: to this country who are trying to undermine and destroy 55 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 3: this country. With respect to China, you know the question 56 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,239 Speaker 3: of espionage and intellectual property theft that's existed since the 57 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 3: dawn of time. Look, when the first caveman invented the wheel, 58 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 3: I suspect somebody stole his idea and made another wheel. 59 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 3: That that's part of the human condition. What is not 60 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 3: ever before existed is a nation state with massive economic 61 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 3: resources like China, making it a state policy to engage 62 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 3: in the theft of resources. And so I am very 63 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 3: I think it's exactly right that we're going to vigorously 64 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 3: scrutinize those students coming in to make sure that they 65 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 3: are not operating as agents of the Chinese Communist Party. Now, 66 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 3: let me say at the same time, look, part of 67 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 3: the reason you don't get that many Americans going to 68 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 3: China to study is you don't have a whole lot 69 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 3: of folks that want to go to Chinese universities, whereas 70 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 3: people from all over the world want to come to 71 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 3: American universities. And I will say, if you have people 72 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 3: who are not agents of the communist government, we want 73 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 3: the best and brightest in the world coming to America. 74 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 3: We end up having inventions coming here because because the 75 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 3: best and brightest students across the country come and come 76 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 3: and study science and engineering, and they make inventions, and 77 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 3: those inventions in turn fuel American companies and they create 78 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 3: great jobs. And so I think the administration is cutting 79 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:21,840 Speaker 3: the right balance here, which is saying we're going to 80 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 3: stop spies, we're going to stop terrorists. But at the 81 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 3: same time, that doesn't mean that we want to close 82 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 3: our doors entirely to to brilliant physicists and engineers from 83 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 3: around the world being able to come to America and 84 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 3: benefiting from from the fruits of that. 85 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 2: You know, there's one thing that we mentioned, gosh, there's 86 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 2: probably a little over a year ago on this show 87 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 2: and the podcast that we do. I tell people this 88 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,039 Speaker 2: is why you should download Verdict with Ted Cruz. We 89 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 2: do it three days a week. We talked back when 90 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 2: under the Biden Harrison administration there was even warnings coming 91 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 2: from their administration that they're the number one threat to 92 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: this country was China and Chinese espionage and influence operations. 93 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 2: That is now a Kumbaya moment with the Trump administration 94 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 2: where in essence two administrations it saw nothing o't eye. 95 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 2: Both agreed on China and what they were trying to 96 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 2: do and stealing an electual property and sending an incredible 97 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 2: number of spies into this country and many of them 98 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 2: come through our university system. 99 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, but the Biden administration did next to nothing to 100 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 3: stop it. So they acknowledged it's a problem, but at 101 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 3: the same time they were complicit in it. And I'll 102 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 3: tell you I have for over a decade been leading 103 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 3: the fight to stop Chinese espionage, to stop Chinese propaganda, 104 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 3: to stop China's malign efforts. I think we need a 105 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 3: comprehensive effort to take on Communist China, much like we 106 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 3: had under Ronald Reagan to win the Cold War against 107 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 3: the Soviet Union. And I'll tell you, Ben, one of 108 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 3: the very first pieces of legislation that I authored and 109 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 3: passed dealt with exactly this, and it dealt with what 110 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 3: are called Confucius institutes. So Confucius institutes were started at 111 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 3: US universities all across America, where there were roughly two 112 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 3: hundred of them, and they were controlled by Communist China. 113 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,160 Speaker 3: They were paid for by Communist China, by the government, 114 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 3: and they were used to engage in propaganda and espionage 115 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 3: on campus. I authored legislation and said, if you have 116 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 3: a Confucius institute on campus, you will not get funding 117 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 3: from the federal government, from the Department of Defense. I 118 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 3: passed it into law, and I'll tell you that simple 119 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 3: piece of legislation resulted in over one hundred Confucius institutes 120 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 3: shutting down at universities across the country, shutting down their espionage, 121 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 3: shutting down their propaganda. I think the Trump administration's announcement 122 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 3: is the next step in that very important fight center. 123 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 2: Let's deal with California, and there has been a fight 124 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 2: since the President came in with his executive order on 125 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 2: trying to protect women from men being in their life, 126 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 2: locker rooms, being in their sports beating them up. We 127 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 2: saw it during the Olympics in boxing. We've seen countless 128 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 2: women who their achievements have been taken away from them 129 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 2: on the podium because of men claiming their women, which 130 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 2: is impossible in reality. And California decide they were going 131 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 2: to stand up to Donald Trump and guess what, it 132 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 2: didn't go very well for them. 133 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 3: Well, listen, we've seen the Democrat Party getting more and 134 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 3: more radical ever since Donald Trump took the oath of 135 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 3: office back in twenty seventeen. They hate Trump and they've 136 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 3: gotten more and more extreme on a host of issues. 137 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 3: And one of the poster children for their extreme issues 138 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 3: is embracing boys and girls sports, men and women's sports. 139 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 3: And it is wrong, it is unfair, it invites injury, 140 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 3: and it also deprives both both girls and women of 141 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 3: athletic victories they should have and they've earned. There are 142 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 3: differences between boys and girls. There are differences between men 143 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 3: and women that did not used to be a controversial opposition. 144 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 3: It is only in today's looney tune left that they 145 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 3: can't tell to the difference between men and women. But 146 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 3: I got to tell you, even though in the Senate, 147 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 3: Senate Democrats, all of them continue to defend men in 148 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 3: women's sports and boys and girls' sports, We're seeing the 149 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 3: state of California. We're seeing the Democrats beginning to retreat. 150 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 3: We're seeing Gavin Newsom, the governor who's been a far 151 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 3: left radical governor. He's got ambitions of being president. He's 152 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 3: looking at running in twenty twenty eight, and he's decided, Okay, 153 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 3: we're on the wrong side of an eighty twenty issue. 154 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,439 Speaker 3: I want to get the hell away from this. And 155 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 3: so California announced this is a big deal. They're changing 156 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 3: their policy for track and field so that if you're 157 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 3: a biological girl and you got you missed out on 158 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 3: making it to the state championship because you were beaten 159 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 3: by a biological male who claims to be a transgender woman, 160 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 3: then the girl you will still get your slot, You 161 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 3: still get invited to the state championship. Look, that's a 162 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 3: significant step in the right direction, and Gavin Newsom is 163 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 3: embracing it. And I got to say this really illustrates 164 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 3: that at least some Democrats realize, Wow, we are on 165 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 3: the wrong side of an issue that America America wants 166 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,319 Speaker 3: to protect girls sports and women's sports. We want to 167 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 3: protect our daughters and we don't want to see them 168 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 3: hurt or competing unfairly. And so the crazy thing is 169 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 3: that means in track and field in California now they 170 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 3: may give three gold medals, one to the boy, one 171 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 3: to the girl, and one to the transgender athlete. 172 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,760 Speaker 1: You may have gold medals all around. 173 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 3: But for bright blue California to make this concession, it 174 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 3: shows that at least some Democrats realize they are way 175 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 3: on the wrong side of this issue. 176 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 2: This also, I think is an issue that it's worth 177 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 2: fighting for, and I think many that are listening or saying, 178 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:00,679 Speaker 2: we don't want to give in, and we don't want 179 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 2: to give up, and the pendulum went so far to 180 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 2: the radical left for so many years that this is 181 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 2: the fight that is worth fighting on and fighting over, 182 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 2: and showing California having to change girls track and field 183 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 2: championship roles after the Trump threatens funding over the trans 184 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,559 Speaker 2: athletes is just an example of hey, we are and 185 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 2: many times the silent majority, and we need to start 186 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 2: acting like it, especially on these types of issues. 187 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 3: Well, I'll tell you Ben this, this issue is a 188 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 3: powerful issue. And as you know, I ran for reelection 189 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 3: in Texas last year in twenty twenty four. It was 190 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 3: a quarter billion dollar race. I was Chuck Schumer's number 191 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 3: one target and my campaign was the first campaign in 192 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 3: the country last year to put real time and energy 193 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 3: behind this this issue of we're going to protect girls 194 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 3: sports from boys competing, and we put tens of millions 195 00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:00,079 Speaker 3: of dollars behind this issue. Well, what's fascinating is the 196 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 3: media completely misunderstood the issue. So one of the things 197 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,079 Speaker 3: that my campaign did is we did focus groups in Houston, 198 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 3: Dallas of undecided moderate women to understand what issues moved them, 199 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 3: and we tested thirty thirty five different messages. The number 200 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 3: one issue that moved undecided moderate women in Texas was 201 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 3: boys and girls' sports. And when I started campaigning on it, 202 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 3: it was very funny. The reporters are like, oh, Cruise 203 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 3: is trying to appeal to the crazy right wing, and 204 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 3: I was just laughing at him, and I'm like, you 205 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 3: guys are so clueless. This is not the crazy right wing. 206 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 3: This is soccer moms. This is soccer moms who love 207 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 3: their daughters and we land on this issue. And then 208 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 3: you saw senate races all across the country pick up 209 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,679 Speaker 3: the same message because they were seeing the same data 210 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 3: we where we saw President Trump lean in hard on this. 211 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,839 Speaker 2: Some of those women that you were talking to, let's 212 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 2: be very clear, had moved from California, because the like, 213 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 2: how many people from California moved to Texas over the 214 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 2: last six years A lot. 215 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 3: We have over a thousand people a day moving to 216 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,800 Speaker 3: the state of Texas, and California is overwhelmingly the heaviest, 217 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:14,720 Speaker 3: the largest state that is sending people to Texas. But 218 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 3: this issue, what's what's fascinating, Ben, is you know, four 219 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 3: years ago this issue did not work politically. You saw 220 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 3: campaigns try to raise it four years ago, and I 221 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 3: think people thought then that that that it was jumping 222 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 3: the shark, that it didn't feel real. Four years ago, 223 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 3: I think people said, oh, come on, that's that's that's 224 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 3: not a real threat. Well, you know what we've now 225 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 3: seen Leah Thomas, the the the the swimmer who who 226 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 3: is a biological man and looks like Michael friggin Phelps Whoo, 227 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 3: who we've also seen. And I think this was really 228 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 3: a seminal moment in the Olympics, the two dudes competing 229 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 3: in women's boxing and beating the hell out of women, 230 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 3: and I think a whole lot of people said, wait, 231 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 3: this is not theoretical. This is happening over and over 232 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 3: and over again. Enough is enough. And I think this 233 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 3: is another milestone that that California is retreating on this 234 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 3: issue shows that that truth and sanity are winning. 235 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, and now the question becomes how much are they 236 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 2: going to be able to fight back through the court 237 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 2: system and is this going to be something that's going 238 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 2: to be, unfortunately an issue for probably years to come. 239 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 3: Well, look, we'll see. And to be honest, California hasn't 240 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 3: conceded altogether. They're still having biological males compete against women, 241 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 3: which is which is unfair. It invites injury. You know, 242 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 3: if you're playing volleyball, We've seen women who have a 243 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 3: biological man spike the ball into their head and they 244 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 3: get injured. I mean, I mean it is California is 245 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,319 Speaker 3: still looney Tunes. But the fact that that that that 246 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 3: even the lefty government of California is saying we've gone 247 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 3: too far. 248 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: That's a very positive sign. 249 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 3: Center. 250 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,679 Speaker 2: Let's talk about this other incredible moment. Donald Trump signed 251 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 2: to take Down Act into law. It's something that you 252 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,400 Speaker 2: championed and remind people what this law is intent and 253 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 2: why it is such an important base of legislation to 254 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 2: protect not only young people and minors, but really anyone 255 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 2: from just evil and hateful revenge from an ex. 256 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 3: Well, this is legislation that I authored that President Trump 257 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 3: signed into law this week. Actually he signed it into 258 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 3: law in the Rose Garden and a big ceremony in 259 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 3: the Rose Garden. I've done a lot of bill signing 260 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 3: ceremonies in the Oval Office. This first time I've been 261 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 3: in the Rose Garden because you had victim groups and 262 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 3: victim advocates and people who have been victims of non 263 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 3: consensual explicit imagery. 264 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: Now, what is that? 265 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 3: That's really two different things. Number one, so called revenge porn. 266 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 3: So if you have a boyfriend and girlfriend and they're 267 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 3: in a relationship and they take explicit pictures or videos 268 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 3: and then they have a breakup and one or the 269 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 3: other is mad and they say okay, I'm gonna stick 270 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 3: it to you. I'm gonna put this out for the 271 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 3: whole world to see. And it is an utterly grotesque 272 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 3: violation of privacy. Nobody has the right to do that 273 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 3: to somebody else. And it's something we're seeing happening more 274 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 3: and more often. There's a second manifestation that is new, 275 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 3: and it has to deal with technology, which is more 276 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 3: and more we are seeing people use AI artificial intelligence 277 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 3: to create deep fakes and deep fakes where they appear 278 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 3: to be either a picture or a video of a 279 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 3: real person, but it's utterly fake. And so they make 280 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 3: and naked or explicit image of someone and put it out. 281 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 3: And the incidence of deep fakes last year increased three 282 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 3: thousand percent, and over ninety percent of the victims of 283 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 3: deep fake explicit imagery are women or teenage girls, and 284 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 3: so it is growing massively. And so the Take It 285 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 3: Down Act is legislation that I introduced that makes it 286 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 3: a crime, a federal felony to post non consensual intimate images, 287 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 3: either real pictures or deep fakes. And secondly, it puts 288 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 3: a federal statutory obligation on tech platforms to take the 289 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 3: pictures down, to take the videos down because the platforms 290 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 3: have been horrible responding to victims. They ignore victims, they 291 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 3: leave the images up, and so the victim ends up 292 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 3: being being victimized over and over and over again by 293 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 3: the images staying out there. And so the Take it 294 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 3: puts a legal obligation that when the victim notifies them, 295 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 3: hey that's me, that's an explicit image of me, and 296 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 3: you don't have my consent to put it up, they 297 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 3: have to take it down. This legislation I introduced with 298 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 3: Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota, and we passed it through 299 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 3: the Senate. We passed it unanimously. It was one hundred 300 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 3: and nothing. And then the House took it up and 301 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 3: passed it with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. And President Trump 302 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 3: signed it into law. And give a listen to what 303 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 3: President Trump said this week in the Rose Garden as 304 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 3: he signed the Take It Down Act into law. 305 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: Today. 306 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 4: It's my honor to officially sign the Take It Down 307 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 4: Act to law. It's a big thing, very important, so 308 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,400 Speaker 4: horrible what takes place. This will be the first ever 309 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 4: federal law to combat the distribution of explicit imaginary posted 310 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:18,440 Speaker 4: without subjects consent. Take horrible pictures, and I guess sometimes 311 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 4: even make up the pictures and they post it without 312 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 4: consent or anything else. And very importantly, this includes for 313 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 4: forgeries generated by artificial intelligence known as deep fakes. We've 314 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:31,640 Speaker 4: all heard about deep fakes. I have all the time, 315 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 4: but I don't nobody does anything. I asked, Pam, can 316 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 4: you help me, Pam, she says no, I'm too busy, 317 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 4: too busy doing other things. Don't worry. You'll survive. But 318 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 4: a lot of people don't survive. That's true and so horrible. 319 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 4: With the rise of aiimage generation, countless women have been 320 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,880 Speaker 4: harassed with deep fakes and other explicit images distributed against 321 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,239 Speaker 4: their will. This is the wrong and it's just so 322 00:17:55,359 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 4: horribly wrong, and it's a very abusive situation, like in 323 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 4: some cases people have never seen before. And today we're 324 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 4: making it totally illegal, Sinner. 325 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 2: One of the things I just I love about this 326 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,719 Speaker 2: legislation is the fact that not only is it bipartisan, 327 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:13,920 Speaker 2: but you had the first Lady who really got involved 328 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 2: in this as well. It was important to her and 329 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,679 Speaker 2: that made it I think even easier to bridge the gap. 330 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:20,880 Speaker 1: Well we did. 331 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 3: The first Lady became very active in pushing this bill, 332 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 3: she reached out out to me and said she wanted 333 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 3: to help get it over the finish line. So last 334 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,159 Speaker 3: year we passed it out of the Senate one hundred 335 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 3: to nothing, and the House failed to take it up 336 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 3: last year, so it did not pass last year, and 337 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 3: so we got to this year to the new Congress. 338 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:43,240 Speaker 3: I passed it through the Senate again one hundred to nothing, 339 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 3: and the real battle was to get it to rise 340 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 3: up the priority list of House leadership. And so when 341 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 3: the First Lady called my office and said she wanted 342 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 3: to help, what I did is I invited her to 343 00:18:55,119 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 3: come to Capitol Hill for a roundtable where she could 344 00:18:58,760 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 3: hear from the victims. 345 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: And also at that roundtable. 346 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,359 Speaker 3: Was the Speaker of the House and Steve Scalise, the 347 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 3: Majority Leader, and Brett Guthrie, who's the committee chairman in 348 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,719 Speaker 3: the House. And when the First Lady asked them, will 349 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,120 Speaker 3: you please pass this into law, they committed to her 350 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 3: they would. And this was the day before the State 351 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 3: of the Union address, And you may remember the State 352 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 3: of the Union address, Milania was sitting with a teenage 353 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 3: girl from Texas, Elliston Barry, and President Trump told her 354 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 3: story in the State of the Union and called on 355 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 3: Congress to pass this bill. And I'll tell you it's 356 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 3: actually it's a fascinating story of how this bill came 357 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:44,880 Speaker 3: to pass because it originates with one teenage girl in Texas, 358 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 3: Elliston Barry. She's from North Texas, from Aledo, Texas, and 359 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,879 Speaker 3: a year ago she was fourteen, and she was in 360 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 3: ninth grade and she woke up one morning and her 361 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 3: phone was blowing up with texts from her friends because 362 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 3: a classmate of hers had taken a perfectly innocent picture 363 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 3: of her from social media and had used an app 364 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:11,440 Speaker 3: online that he had found to create a deep fake 365 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 3: and then sent what appeared to be naked pictures of 366 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 3: Elliston to all of her ninth grade classmates. And so 367 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 3: she was in tears. Listen, it is hard to be 368 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 3: a teenager. I'm the father of two teenage girls. I 369 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 3: know the pressure that is on teenage girls. It's much 370 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 3: harder to be a teenager today than when you and 371 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 3: I were teenagers, Ben, and this was just just horrific. 372 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:36,679 Speaker 3: Well what happened is her mom, Anna, Look, Elliston and 373 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 3: Anna are constituents, they're Texans. So Anna picked up the 374 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 3: phone and called my office and said, hey, look you're 375 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 3: my senator, can you help my daughter and my staff. 376 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 3: To their credit, they elevated this to me and they 377 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 3: told me what had happened to Elliston, and this is 378 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 3: happening more and more all over the country. And so 379 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 3: I said, look, let's draft legislation to fix this, to 380 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 3: address the problem. 381 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: And so we did. 382 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 3: It was it was because of Elliston that we drafted it. 383 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 3: But as I said, it's happening all over the country. Well, 384 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 3: Elliston came to d C the day we announced the 385 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 3: bill last year for the press conference, and I sat 386 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 3: down and met with Elliston. I met with her mom 387 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 3: in my office and in the course of the meeting, 388 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,680 Speaker 3: I asked, I said, hey, what happened to the pictures? 389 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 3: And her mom said, it's the most frustrating thing in 390 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 3: the world. She said, this happened nine months ago. She said, 391 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 3: I have been calling an emailing Snapchat over and over 392 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 3: and over again. They just Stone Wallace. We get no response. 393 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 3: Ben I turned to my staff, I said, I want 394 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 3: you to get the CEO of Snapchat on the phone today. 395 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 3: I want those pictures down today. They pulled them down 396 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,959 Speaker 3: within two hours. Now it should not take a sitting 397 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 3: senator making a phone call to get those pictures taken down. 398 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 3: And now, as a result of the legislation Trump assigned, 399 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 3: every victim has a statutory right to insist that it 400 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,200 Speaker 3: be taken down as a matter of law automatically. 401 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. 402 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 2: In fact, Ellison Barry got to go on Fox News 403 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,760 Speaker 2: Channel with our good friend Keally Mcananny and talk about 404 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:11,479 Speaker 2: this moment. 405 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: And here's what she had to say. 406 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,479 Speaker 5: Take a listen. But you didn't stop. You decided to 407 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 5: go and talk to your local congressman. You get connected 408 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 5: with the senator, and then you manage there you are 409 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 5: standing behind the President of the United States changing the 410 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 5: laws for other young women like you. Did you ever 411 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 5: think this day would come? 412 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 6: I never would have thought that this could ever be 413 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 6: in my reality. My mom, she's really an amazing person, 414 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 6: and she's the one that's been pushing for this, and 415 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 6: she's the one that's encouraged me. So I wouldn't be 416 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 6: able to do this without her help and her support, 417 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,200 Speaker 6: and she really just has encouraged me to the point 418 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 6: where I feel encouraged about this. So having the opportunity 419 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 6: to speak about this and to bring awareness really just 420 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,880 Speaker 6: means so much. Especially it's so much growth, seeing how 421 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 6: scared I was at first, and seeing how confident I 422 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 6: am able in this situation. 423 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 5: Well, other young women now have recourse thanks to you, 424 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 5: Elliston Berry. So impressive. Thank you. 425 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: I love it. 426 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 2: It's finally a happy ending to a really hard and 427 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 2: sad subject. 428 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: Well and Ben. 429 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 3: At the signing ceremony, I was able to introduce Elliston 430 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 3: to the President. I introduced also Francesca Mani, who was 431 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,679 Speaker 3: another fifteen year old girl who was in New Jersey 432 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:24,960 Speaker 3: and the exact same thing happened to her as happened 433 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,440 Speaker 3: to Elliston. And I also introduced Brandon Guffey. Brandon guffy 434 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 3: is a state rep from South Carolina, and tragically, his 435 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 3: oldest son got what we thought was a direct message 436 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,360 Speaker 3: from a cute girl and she convinced him to send 437 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 3: naked pictures to her. Well, it turned out it was 438 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 3: not a cute girl, it was a con man, and 439 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,560 Speaker 3: the con man began extorting him and threatening I'm going 440 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 3: to send these naked pictures to your friends and family. Well, 441 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 3: Brandon's son, Gavin, killed himself, and we are seeing suicides 442 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 3: across the country. So I introduced and in his family 443 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 3: the President too. And this law is of victory for 444 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 3: everyone that is a target of this kind of exploitation. 445 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 2: All right, Senat, So let's dive into this other issue 446 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 2: that really is an interesting one. You've got a lot 447 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,880 Speaker 2: to say about the Trump Justice Department telling the American 448 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 2: Bar Association that it will no longer comply with ratings 449 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 2: for judicial nominees. Now, explain the politics behind this. The 450 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 2: ABA has had a lot of power and they're basically 451 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 2: now saying we're not going to let you guys have 452 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 2: that power because there's been a lot of bias coming 453 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:38,320 Speaker 2: out of the American Bar Association. 454 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,680 Speaker 3: Well, the American Bar Association, it's a national organization of lawyers, 455 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 3: and it is a left wing advocacy group. It is 456 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 3: not fair, it is not impartial. It is a radical 457 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 3: left organization. And the ABA has had a formal role 458 00:24:55,160 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 3: in judicial selection for seventy five years. It started reading 459 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:06,639 Speaker 3: judicial nominees in nineteen fifty three, and until two thousand 460 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,760 Speaker 3: and one, the ABA actually had a formal role evaluating 461 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 3: judicial nominees before they were nominated. So a president, a 462 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 3: Department of Justice and Administration would would share with the ABA. Hey, 463 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,639 Speaker 3: we're thinking of nominating Ben Ferguson to be a federal judge, 464 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 3: and they'd go and research and interview former clients, and 465 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 3: at some point people would say, wait, Ben's not even 466 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:31,119 Speaker 3: a lawyer, How the hell is it going to be 467 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,119 Speaker 3: a judge? Like you probably should go to law school first. 468 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 3: And by the way, that point is not crazy. But 469 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 3: they engaged that they would do a formal role and 470 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:47,920 Speaker 3: they would rate the qualifications of judicial nominees. Now here's 471 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 3: the problem. For decades, the ABA's qualification measures were wildly biased. So, 472 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:01,240 Speaker 3: for example, Robert Bork, Robert Borke. Ronald Reagan nominated Robert 473 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 3: Borke to the Supreme Court in nineteen eighty seven. Robert 474 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 3: Bork was by any measure, one of the most qualified 475 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 3: federal judicial nominees in the history of this country. Robert 476 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 3: Bork had been the Solicitor General of the United States, 477 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 3: the chief lawyer for the United States in front of 478 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,160 Speaker 3: the Supreme Court of the United States. Robert Bork had 479 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 3: been one of the most renowned and respected law professors 480 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 3: for decades. Robert Bork had been a federal judge on 481 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 3: the US Court of Appeals for the d C Circuit, 482 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 3: and so a remarkable career. And yet the ABA, when 483 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 3: they evaluated Robert Borke, they coned he was quote not 484 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 3: qualified to be a judge. They also concluded the same 485 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 3: thing for Frank Easterbrook. Again, brilliant, brilliant judge, brilliant professor, 486 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 3: one of the greatest judges who have ever served on 487 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 3: the Court of Appeals. Frank Easterbrook, the ABA concluded he 488 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 3: was not qualified. 489 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: Also Edith Jones. 490 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 3: Edith Jones is a judge on the Fifth Circuit Federal 491 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 3: Court of Appeals down in Texas. No judge Jones, Well, 492 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 3: she's a phenomenal jurist, one of one of the best 493 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 3: and most conservative judges in the entire country. The a 494 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 3: BA rated her not qualified. 495 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: Well. 496 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 3: The breaking news is this week the Trump Justice Department 497 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 3: announced the a BA will no longer have a role 498 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 3: in judicial selection. They will no longer have a role 499 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,800 Speaker 3: in vetting. They're out and and and the Department of 500 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,199 Speaker 3: Justice said, you know what, they can chime in like 501 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 3: any other left wing advocacy group, but they don't have 502 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 3: a role in this process. 503 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 2: This is going to have, like I think, a big 504 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 2: impact on the quality BONDI informing the a b A 505 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 2: that they'll no longer enjoy the special access judicial nominees 506 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 2: and the left. By the way, when that news came out, 507 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,640 Speaker 2: they totally freaked out. And I think that also shows 508 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 2: just how much they were depending on the ABA to 509 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 2: get rid of good candidates that were maybe more conservative. 510 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, and and and so Pambondi sent a letter to 511 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 3: the president of the a B A and and and 512 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 3: she said, quote, while the ABA is free to comment 513 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 3: on judicial nominations along with other activist organizations, there is 514 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 3: no justification for treating the ABA differently from such other 515 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:14,679 Speaker 3: activist organizations, and the Department of Justice will not do so. 516 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,800 Speaker 3: And so previously the Office Illegal Policy, which is the 517 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 3: office within the Department of Justice that handles judicial selections, 518 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 3: they changed. They had previously directed judicial nominees to provide 519 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 3: a waiver to the ABA to let the ABA access 520 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 3: non public information, including bar records. And so no longer 521 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 3: is the Department of Justice going to tell judicial nominees 522 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:45,920 Speaker 3: give the ABA special access. That is over and moreover, 523 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 3: Pambondi says, quote. Nominees will also not respond to questionnaires 524 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 3: prepared by the ABA and will not sit for interviews 525 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 3: with the ABA. In other words, you can be like 526 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 3: every other whack job organization on the left, but but 527 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 3: you're not going to have any special access whatsoever. This 528 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 3: is something I've called for a long time. I have 529 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 3: for years, for more than a decade, advocated that the 530 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 3: A B a BA is wildly biased and and it 531 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 3: should it should not have a special role in the process. 532 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 3: And I want to commend President Trump and Pambondy. It's 533 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:19,760 Speaker 3: the right thing to do. 534 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 2: Cinaer. We hear a lot about bias and and biased 535 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 2: against conservatives, But my other question is were they also 536 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 2: biased in advocating for liberals. 537 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 3: Absolutely, they are a hard left advocacy organization masquerading as 538 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 3: a non partisan professional organization. And Joe Biden over the 539 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 3: last four years nominated over and over again radicals and zealots, 540 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 3: many of whom were wildly unqualified, and the ABA was 541 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 3: more than happy to stamp them with a rating of 542 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 3: qualified and and and one example is is Charnette Charnelle 543 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:59,479 Speaker 3: Bagel Congrin, who was wildly unqualified, and yet the ABA 544 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 3: happened deemed her qualified and rather than me layout how 545 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 3: bad she was. I want you to listen to this 546 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 3: cross examination from my colleague John Kennedy to this judicial 547 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 3: nominee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. 548 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:17,480 Speaker 7: Here give listen, Thank you, mister chairman, and congratulations to 549 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 7: all of you. Judge on the far end, tell me 550 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 7: what article five of the Constitution does. 551 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 8: Article five is not coming to mind at the moment. 552 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:34,480 Speaker 7: Okay, how about article two? 553 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 8: Neither is article two? 554 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,520 Speaker 7: Okay? Do you know what proposivism is? 555 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 8: In my twelve years as an assistant Attorney General and 556 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 8: my nine years serving as a judge, I was not 557 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 8: faced with that precise question. We are the highest trial 558 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 8: court in Washington State, so I'm frequently faced with issues 559 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,200 Speaker 8: that I'm not familiar with, and I thoroughly review the law, 560 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 8: our research, and apply the law to the facts presented 561 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 8: to me. 562 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 7: Well, you're going to be faced with it as if 563 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 7: you're confirmed. I can assure you of that. 564 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:18,840 Speaker 2: He was dumbfounded at the end there, like, I can't 565 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:20,000 Speaker 2: believe you don't know this. 566 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:25,239 Speaker 3: Well, And let me underscore how simple the first two 567 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 3: questions are that he asked. So, the Constitution has seven articles. 568 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 3: It's not a very long document. Article five is the 569 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 3: article through that lays out the process for amending the Constitution. 570 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 3: It's fairly basic. That was his opening question. She had 571 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:44,800 Speaker 3: no idea what article five was. Article two is even 572 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 3: more fundamental. So the first three articles the Constitution. Article 573 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 3: one creates the Congress, Article two creates the President and 574 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 3: the executive branch, and Article three creates the Federal Judiciary. 575 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 3: To not know what Article two is is stunning. 576 00:31:59,280 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: To give you a cent. 577 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 3: You will flunk constitutional law and not graduate law school 578 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 3: if you don't know what Article two is. She was 579 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:12,240 Speaker 3: being nominated to be what is called an Article three judge. 580 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 3: I assumed she had no idea what Article three was, 581 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,400 Speaker 3: and nevertheless the ABA said she's qualified to be an 582 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:20,960 Speaker 3: Article three judge even though she has no idea what 583 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 3: it is. I'm very glad the ABA no longer has 584 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:26,240 Speaker 3: a role in making those determinations. 585 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:30,040 Speaker 2: As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Center 586 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 2: Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you don't forget to dial 587 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 2: with my podcast, and you can listen to my podcast 588 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 2: every other day you're not listening to Verdict or each 589 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 2: day when you listen to Verdict. Afterwards, I'd love to 590 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 2: have you as a listener to again Ben Ferguson podcasts, 591 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 2: and we will see you back here on Monday morning.