The Charlie Kirk Show - January 04, 2025


Losing It All, And Building It All Back: Live at AmFest with James O’Keefe


Episode Stats


Length

41 minutes

Words per minute

185.32199

Word count

7,626

Sentence count

688

Harmful content

Hate speech

7

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

James O'Keefe talks about his experience as a whistleblower and what it takes to be fearless in the face of fear and intimidation from powerful institutions and the people they surround themselves with to keep them on their toes and keep fighting for freedom.

Transcript

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Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 Hey everybody, my exclusive conversation with James O'Keefe.
00:00:03.000 Listen to the entire conversation, advertiser-free, when you become a member, members.charliekirk.com.
00:00:09.000 That is members.charliekirk.com.
00:00:12.000 And email me as always, freedom at charliekirk.com.
00:00:15.000 That is freedom at charliekirk.com.
00:00:16.000 Buckle up, everybody.
00:00:17.000 Here we go.
00:00:18.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.
00:00:20.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
00:00:22.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.
00:00:25.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.
00:00:29.000 I want to thank Charlie.
00:00:30.000 He's an incredible guy.
00:00:31.000 His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA. We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.
00:00:48.000 That's why we are here.
00:00:50.000 Noble Gold Investments is the official gold sponsor of The Charlie Kirk Show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals.
00:01:00.000 Learn how you can protect your wealth with Noble Gold Investments at noblegoldinvestments.com.
00:01:07.000 That is noblegoldinvestments.com.
00:01:09.000 It's where I buy all of my gold.
00:01:11.000 Go to noblegoldinvestments.com.
00:01:15.000 James, great to see you, man.
00:01:16.000 Great to be with you.
00:01:18.000 So, James, you just got off stage at AmericaFest.
00:01:21.000 What did you present?
00:01:22.000 What did you say?
00:01:22.000 Well, thank you, Charlie, for having me.
00:01:24.000 And I just had three whistleblowers on stage, two from the Border Patrol, one from FEMA, and then another gentleman from Disney.
00:01:32.000 Four brave people, three of them federal government employees, came on stage, told their stories, and it was really powerful.
00:01:40.000 It was really, really powerful.
00:01:42.000 So James, you've been doing a lot of work with whistleblowers, and it seems like you're really hitting a powerful stride.
00:01:48.000 If I ask kind of a personal question, you went through hell many times, but a year and a half ago, am I approximating correctly?
00:01:56.000 Yes.
00:01:57.000 Are you at a place now where you can say that, not that you're thankful for it, but that you have grown in ways you never thought you would because of what you went through in that?
00:02:06.000 Man, that's quite a question.
00:02:07.000 I would say that that was definitely the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life because I was fired from my own creation.
00:02:13.000 And what I said on stage 30 minutes ago was the fight is not what you think it is.
00:02:20.000 It's not external.
00:02:21.000 It's often a fight within ourselves.
00:02:24.000 So the fight is good versus evil.
00:02:26.000 And to be fearless, to take on powerful institutions, you have to make sure the people around you are unbreakable.
00:02:33.000 And, you know, I made some poor decisions about who I surrounded myself with, I think.
00:02:38.000 But it was very painful, Charlie, but it taught me the importance of surrounding myself with the right people.
00:02:44.000 I ask James only because I think it could be an inspiration for people in this audience that are going through hell right now.
00:02:49.000 And to show how you can build out of it and that you can keep on fighting.
00:02:53.000 Yeah.
00:02:54.000 I would say that a friend of mine says life is like an elevator ride.
00:02:57.000 Most people get off too early.
00:03:00.000 They get off the elevator on the wrong floor.
00:03:03.000 Just stay on the elevator and keep doing it.
00:03:05.000 But I was fired from Project Veritas, and we're currently in litigation.
00:03:10.000 It's horrible.
00:03:11.000 But I think when you're going to take on BlackRock, Pfizer, the FBI, the New York Times, and you're winning, you better make sure the people around you Are very strong.
00:03:23.000 And they're not going to betray you.
00:03:24.000 And nothing that you can offer those people...
00:03:26.000 I can't be bought, right?
00:03:28.000 If someone tries to bribe me, I'll just film it.
00:03:32.000 But it's not about me.
00:03:34.000 I have to make sure that the men around me are also the same way.
00:03:39.000 And that's hard.
00:03:40.000 And you think you have friends?
00:03:42.000 Well, when you're raided by the FBI and they're pointing guns at you, you will figure out who your friends are.
00:03:48.000 And I think, Charlie, we're entering a new era, and I said this on your show yesterday, where I think people inside the government can come forward right now.
00:03:54.000 There's a limited window of time, I think, with that political capital.
00:03:57.000 But I call on President Trump and the heads of his agencies to have these people's backs.
00:04:02.000 Yeah, and we talked about this on the show.
00:04:03.000 It's worth repeating.
00:04:04.000 One of the other little project portfolio things, as I mentioned, is Donald Trump doing whistleblower amnesty for like a 90-day period.
00:04:12.000 He takes office, says, hey, everybody who worked under Biden, you can come forward with all protections, regardless of the agency.
00:04:20.000 Isn't this a great idea?
00:04:21.000 And tell us what was happening.
00:04:23.000 Great idea.
00:04:23.000 We kind of came up with it on air.
00:04:25.000 We did.
00:04:25.000 Yes, and I hope that you help make that happen.
00:04:28.000 It's on my list.
00:04:29.000 I feel as though I'm one of the more qualified people to tell these people's stories.
00:04:33.000 They trust me by virtue.
00:04:35.000 Here's the other thing.
00:04:35.000 All that hell I went through, and Laura Logan said this to me, like when I was 25, I was arrested by the FBI falsely because he was placed on house arrest for three years.
00:04:42.000 I was raided by the FBI, sued 40 times.
00:04:45.000 I thought, and many of you in our lives, we all know what pain is.
00:04:48.000 We all understand suffering.
00:04:49.000 We think, oh, woe is me.
00:04:50.000 But what I did not know...
00:04:52.000 Was that all that stuff I went through, even the termination from Veritas because I refused to bear false witness.
00:04:57.000 They asked me to put out a statement about something that wasn't true.
00:05:00.000 That has led people to trust me more.
00:05:03.000 And they come to me because they trust me by virtue of the pain that I have been through.
00:05:08.000 So if you're going through something like that, I think that can help inspire you.
00:05:12.000 But there's a lot of people right now inside the federal government who were witness to corruption, Charlie, during the Biden administration.
00:05:20.000 But they just need to know that someone's going to have their backs.
00:05:22.000 And that they will be protected, and then we can do something about it.
00:05:26.000 James, talk about some.
00:05:27.000 Let's talk about one in particular.
00:05:29.000 And you're friends with Bobby Kennedy.
00:05:30.000 Yes.
00:05:31.000 And the Bobby Kennedy appointment, by the way, is one of Donald Trump's most courageous things he has ever done.
00:05:35.000 Ever done.
00:05:37.000 It is full Maha instituting that into our government. 0.96
00:05:41.000 James, I don't want to rehash this because I know it's painful, but it's also repetitive.
00:05:45.000 But I think it's important because it shows the power and the treacherous nature.
00:05:48.000 Your departure from Project Veritas was strangely coordinated with also your greatest story ever.
00:05:54.000 Can you retell that?
00:05:55.000 Because it ties with the Bobby Kennedy appointment.
00:05:57.000 Those things are actually connected.
00:05:59.000 Well, what happened was that we broke a story on Pfizer late January 2023, right after Elon bought Twitter.
00:06:07.000 So I just got back on Twitter by the grace of God.
00:06:10.000 I just got back on Twitter.
00:06:11.000 And then we break the story.
00:06:12.000 Biggest story ever was viewed like more times than like the World Cup videos.
00:06:16.000 It was like hundreds of millions of people.
00:06:17.000 What was in this video?
00:06:18.000 And in this video, the Pfizer mRNA director of scientific research, not a low-level guy, high-level executive, Yale-educated doctor, he was on tape saying, this product is no good for the consumers.
00:06:29.000 We tested on monkeys.
00:06:30.000 We came up with the virus in China, the Wuhan lab. 0.99
00:06:33.000 He's saying all these things, and he says to our undercover reporter, I think he's on a gay date or something, he says, don't tell this to anybody.
00:06:43.000 To which our undercover reporter said, could you just say that again just the way you said it?
00:06:48.000 We got this on tape.
00:06:49.000 I confronted the guy, and then he takes my iPad and he smashes it on the ground, falsely imprisons me inside of a restaurant.
00:06:55.000 It was so crazy.
00:06:57.000 So we released that video, and then Charlie, what happened was, and I'll give you some specific details.
00:07:02.000 I think they're going to make a movie out of this one day, what happened to me, and there's depositions and lawsuit ongoing.
00:07:08.000 Three days later, I get a call from my chief financial officer, Project Veritas, an emergency meeting to remove me as chief executive officer from the organization.
00:07:17.000 They had a six-hour emergency board meeting where they tried to get me to lose my temper.
00:07:21.000 I did not.
00:07:22.000 And then they, quote, indefinitely suspended me without pay.
00:07:27.000 So that's what happened, and you can draw your own conclusions from that.
00:07:32.000 And for Donald Trump to then go up against Pfizer, that is a big fight.
00:07:36.000 Bobby Kennedy, I went hiking with him a week after that, and I won't share exactly what he said to me, but he invited me to go hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, which he does every morning with his dogs.
00:07:46.000 And he said something to the effect of, you just went, you don't realize who you're dealing with.
00:07:51.000 You go after Pfizer like you just did.
00:07:53.000 Pfizer had put a statement.
00:07:54.000 He said, you're going after the Defense Department.
00:07:56.000 You're going after powerful people.
00:07:58.000 And they have, as Chuck Schumer said, six ways to Sunday to get back at you.
00:08:05.000 And these people play really dirty.
00:08:07.000 And I think it taught me about human nature.
00:08:11.000 And by the way, this man is a good man.
00:08:13.000 I didn't know you incredibly well, but when this happened to me, which is the darkest moment of my life, Charlie would call me every day.
00:08:20.000 He didn't have to do that.
00:08:21.000 And text me, how are you doing?
00:08:23.000 And send me prayers.
00:08:25.000 I got to know you better, and I'm very grateful for your friendship and support during that time.
00:08:30.000 Thank you.
00:08:30.000 We continue to have your back, James, because you're an American treasure, truly.
00:08:35.000 And so let's now fast forward to what the audience can do, which I think is really important.
00:08:41.000 You want to create a culture of whistleblowers.
00:08:43.000 You want to create a culture of citizen journalists.
00:08:45.000 What does that look like?
00:08:46.000 Well, I think, as I said on the main stage, that it is a fight that's internal.
00:08:51.000 It's a choice that we all have to make.
00:08:52.000 Telling the truth in a time of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.
00:08:56.000 It's not easy.
00:08:57.000 It sounds easy to just tell the truth.
00:08:59.000 You face retaliation.
00:09:00.000 You face, I think right now, over the next nine months, you have an opportunity to do this where hopefully you won't be as targeted as you otherwise would have been a year ago.
00:09:12.000 So I think the pendulum is swinging.
00:09:13.000 I think we all feel it in the culture, right, in the politics.
00:09:16.000 Everything's swinging.
00:09:17.000 It might swing back.
00:09:18.000 So we have to kind of like all step up like right now.
00:09:21.000 And how you do that is if you are, someone's connected to someone who works for a corporation, institution, federal government, and you have access, you're witness to something wrong, speak up.
00:09:32.000 And in the beginning, it just takes one man, two people, three people.
00:09:36.000 And when their cause succeeds, then other people join in.
00:09:40.000 And my foundation, it's called Citizen Journalism Foundation.
00:09:43.000 We also have OMG. My foundation is, we just wrote a $100,000 check to this Disney whistleblower today who's fired from his job at Disney.
00:09:51.000 Tell us the story.
00:09:52.000 What happened with the Disney?
00:09:53.000 Vice President of Disney on hidden cameras saying, We don't hire people on the basis of their race.
00:09:58.000 We don't hire white people. 0.99
00:10:00.000 That's, like, illegal.
00:10:01.000 Also, transitioning children.
00:10:03.000 Disney's paying for their employees' children to be transitioned.
00:10:07.000 And he blows the whistle on this, and Disney fires them.
00:10:09.000 I was in L.A. at the time, this summer, and I was making a film called Line in the Sand, and everyone's like, don't go after Disney.
00:10:16.000 Don't go after Disney.
00:10:18.000 Yeah, Line in the Sand.
00:10:18.000 If you haven't seen it, Line in the Sand.
00:10:20.000 Thank you.
00:10:22.000 And everyone in LA is like, don't go after Disney.
00:10:25.000 They're so powerful.
00:10:27.000 And that's the thing that I'm fighting.
00:10:28.000 Tell the truth.
00:10:30.000 Always speak the truth.
00:10:32.000 And, you know, no matter what, do the right thing.
00:10:35.000 No matter what.
00:10:36.000 So this is, what's my advice?
00:10:38.000 Just tell the truth.
00:10:40.000 And if you're witness to something wrong and it's seriously wrong and you have evidence of it, then speak out and step forward.
00:10:48.000 That's my advice.
00:10:49.000 And so, but James, you've encountered this question all the time.
00:10:52.000 Why is it so hard for people to find and muster the courage to tell the truth?
00:10:57.000 Well, that's a very existential question.
00:11:00.000 I think that the line that separates good and evil runs through each and every human heart.
00:11:09.000 And I have found that our battle, and I think you've said this to me in other words, our battle is not external, it's within ourselves.
00:11:18.000 So the choice to do the right thing is a choice that we must make.
00:11:24.000 And it is being willing to accept the consequences that come along with doing the right thing.
00:11:28.000 That's a choice that you have to make.
00:11:31.000 Not the enemy or the New York Times or some other person coming after you.
00:11:35.000 You have to make that choice.
00:11:37.000 Now, in my darkest moments, and trust me, I'm afraid, in my darkest moments, I look up to people Good people, like Kelsey Goodman from FEMA, or Clarissa from the GSA, who are just genuinely decent human beings.
00:11:51.000 And I look up to them.
00:11:53.000 And the line in the sand when I rode that train, I was scared to death.
00:11:57.000 But I looked up to a guy named Anthony Rubin, a YouTuber, who did it before me.
00:12:01.000 So I try to look to people who set the example, and I follow them.
00:12:08.000 And I would encourage, that's what we do.
00:12:10.000 That's what we do.
00:12:11.000 We look at the best in people and then we take the action.
00:12:14.000 So I want to get to some questions here because a lot of people have questions about citizen journalism.
00:12:19.000 What is the state of the media here, James?
00:12:20.000 You're wearing something that says press.
00:12:22.000 What is this?
00:12:24.000 Explain this whole thing.
00:12:25.000 I mean, I've been doing this for, you know, I've been doing this since I was in college.
00:12:29.000 So that's 21 years, Charlie.
00:12:31.000 I've been embattled most of my life.
00:12:34.000 In other words, I've always been the underdog, and I think like, I actually think that with Elon purchasing Twitter, which you pointed out was the greatest thing that ever happened to Western civilization, and turning point, Charlie, you know, would Shapiro say that you built your own better version of the RNC? That stop complaining about the media.
00:12:58.000 They're done.
00:12:59.000 It's dead.
00:12:59.000 You are the media.
00:13:00.000 We are the media.
00:13:04.000 So I wear this on my chest.
00:13:06.000 Do you see any people on television doing that investigative reporter thingy?
00:13:11.000 Are they out in the field for weeks or months?
00:13:13.000 Are they doing investigative reporting into the deep state?
00:13:17.000 Have you ever seen that before?
00:13:19.000 Well, they haven't done it for a lot of reasons.
00:13:21.000 A lot of it's economics.
00:13:23.000 There's not a lot of money in journalism.
00:13:25.000 That's why it's usually a non-profit activity.
00:13:27.000 A lot of it's fear.
00:13:29.000 And a lot of it's the relationships that journalists have with those in the government.
00:13:32.000 They have a symbiotic relationship.
00:13:34.000 Give and take.
00:13:35.000 I'll, you know, keep you secret.
00:13:36.000 You give me your secrets.
00:13:37.000 But the secrets they're given aren't truth.
00:13:39.000 It's falsehoods.
00:13:40.000 It's propaganda.
00:13:41.000 So it's incumbent upon we the people.
00:13:44.000 The only people who can do the job are citizen journalists.
00:13:49.000 We the people.
00:13:49.000 And you have to have a philanthropic heart to do it because it's not easy and it's not profitable.
00:13:53.000 So I think, Charlie, the media's dead.
00:13:57.000 Hollywood's done.
00:13:58.000 And stop complaining about it and just do their jobs for them.
00:14:01.000 I love it.
00:14:02.000 Let's do some questions.
00:14:03.000 Daisy?
00:14:06.000 Hey everybody, Charlie Kirk here.
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00:15:02.000 I'm a donor.
00:15:03.000 You should be too.
00:15:04.000 charliekirk.com pre-born banner.
00:15:08.000 Let's repeat it on the microphone.
00:15:10.000 Yes, I think Snowden should be pardoned, but I'll explain why in a second.
00:15:13.000 But can you repeat?
00:15:13.000 That was a beautiful remark.
00:15:15.000 Repeat that whole thing.
00:15:16.000 Sure.
00:15:16.000 Remember, you are Project Veritas.
00:15:18.000 You are everything it originally stood for, and we all know that.
00:15:21.000 They can't take that away from you no matter what.
00:15:25.000 Know that.
00:15:28.000 But since you know more about whistleblowers than anyone else, do you think Edward Snowden should be pardoned?
00:15:33.000 I never, as you know, I never ever advocate for policy.
00:15:38.000 However, Snowden needs to be pardoned.
00:15:45.000 Do you want to elaborate on that?
00:15:47.000 Go ahead.
00:15:48.000 I used to be of the opinion that Snowden, not a good guy.
00:15:52.000 The more you study and you realize that the intel agencies are the central nervous system of almost every ill that we have in our country, the courage it takes to reveal the evil activity of the intel agencies is remarkable.
00:16:09.000 And what Snowden did, I don't know if it was necessarily heroic, because it was probably actually more reckless, but it was certainly courageous.
00:16:17.000 There was definitely a reckless component, you have to be honest, okay?
00:16:19.000 Because he just dumped a lot of files, and it could have gotten people killed.
00:16:22.000 It didn't.
00:16:23.000 It did not.
00:16:24.000 Not a single confidential human source got killed.
00:16:27.000 However, what he did...
00:16:29.000 In my opinion, which was very beneficial to humanity, is that he revealed the outright lying of the National Security Agency.
00:16:36.000 They said they were not doing mass data collection.
00:16:38.000 They said they were not doing warrantless spying.
00:16:40.000 They said they were not doing blanket coverage of cell phone data.
00:16:43.000 And it was all lying.
00:16:44.000 They listened to every phone call, every text message without a warrant, and they're doing it inwardly against the American people.
00:16:49.000 Without Snowden, we would not know that.
00:16:50.000 We would not.
00:16:51.000 We would not know that.
00:16:52.000 And so he's currently in exile in Russia.
00:16:55.000 I think he should get a commutation, not a pardon.
00:16:58.000 I think the government should drop all the charges.
00:17:00.000 But the intel agencies call him a traitor.
00:17:03.000 But again, you look at exactly the government are the criminals in this situation.
00:17:09.000 They're the ones that are spying on our private communications.
00:17:12.000 These are our messages and our emails and our Our own private thoughts.
00:17:17.000 The Fourth Amendment is explicit.
00:17:18.000 The government should get a warrant.
00:17:20.000 They are not.
00:17:20.000 We would not know without Edward Snowden.
00:17:22.000 I second everything Charlie said.
00:17:24.000 I will say that the thing that I take from the Ed Snowden matter is the power of one man.
00:17:29.000 Because people think, well, I'm just one person.
00:17:31.000 He's one individual.
00:17:32.000 He changed world history.
00:17:33.000 He changed the course of history.
00:17:34.000 I don't know what's in his heart.
00:17:36.000 People say, is he a traitor?
00:17:38.000 Is he a hero?
00:17:38.000 This is really the tale as old as time with whistleblowers.
00:17:42.000 You can be both.
00:17:43.000 And it's extra legal what you do.
00:17:45.000 You're violating your covenant.
00:17:46.000 You're violating your non-disclosure agreement.
00:17:48.000 You're violating your agreement with your employer for the public's right to know.
00:17:50.000 That's right.
00:17:51.000 As someone who's been through this, I'm a little biased.
00:17:54.000 And here's why.
00:17:55.000 Because the FBI came to my home, I told Charlie this story, pounded on my door.
00:18:00.000 I'm an American reporter.
00:18:02.000 So if another country did this, our State Department would issue a press release and say this is wrong.
00:18:10.000 Correct.
00:18:10.000 The FBI came to my house with a battering ram, like they're Vikings or something, and smashed my door in, took guns, pointed it at my head, and took my reporter notebooks.
00:18:21.000 Oh.
00:18:21.000 In the United States of America.
00:18:23.000 So forgive me for not trusting the government.
00:18:25.000 And I'll tell you what they did.
00:18:27.000 I totally agree.
00:18:29.000 I had this phone.
00:18:30.000 Of course, I don't have my lawyer's number memorized.
00:18:33.000 The only phone numbers I've memorized are like my parents.
00:18:36.000 I said, I need to talk to my lawyer.
00:18:38.000 And the Fed was like, well, you want to use your iPhone?
00:18:40.000 I said yes.
00:18:40.000 This is an insane story.
00:18:41.000 And then I unlock my iPhone.
00:18:44.000 I have to enter in the password.
00:18:45.000 And the moment that I enter my password into the phone, the FBI agent snatches my phone and right in front of me changes the setting so it doesn't go to sleep and then puts it in an evidence bag.
00:18:56.000 So now the FBI, this is three and a half years ago, has access to all of my signal messages, which includes all of my confidential government sources.
00:19:06.000 And there were ten agents, and I looked into their faces, and it struck me that half of them were like, this is wrong.
00:19:14.000 Those FBI agents were saying to themselves, they could be just deceiving me, but their faces seemed to indicate they thought what they were doing was unconscionable.
00:19:23.000 But they did it anyway!
00:19:25.000 And my message to you, the moral of the story is, you might be in a position in your life one day where you're one of them.
00:19:33.000 And what are you going to do?
00:19:35.000 Well, I've got to feed my family.
00:19:36.000 Well, you're going to do evil things to feed your family.
00:19:39.000 And how will your children look up to you?
00:19:42.000 You have to do the right thing.
00:19:45.000 And the FBI still has my devices.
00:19:50.000 They still have them.
00:19:53.000 Wow!
00:19:54.000 And the American Civil Liberties Union came out against this.
00:19:57.000 Yeah, but I'm telling you, on January 20th, I think you're getting your cell phone back, James O'Keefe.
00:20:02.000 And by the way, we better find out, our friend Kash Patel better find out those agents that did that.
00:20:09.000 I'm not kidding.
00:20:10.000 No, no, there's going to be a reckoning coming here.
00:20:12.000 You don't have to say anything, James.
00:20:13.000 This is not acceptable.
00:20:14.000 We're not going to put up with this.
00:20:16.000 This is secret police stuff.
00:20:17.000 This is an American journalist where you could just take his cell phone.
00:20:19.000 For what?
00:20:20.000 What were they accusing you of?
00:20:21.000 Do you know what it was?
00:20:22.000 The Ashley Biden diary that he had nothing to do with, for the record.
00:20:26.000 He never published it.
00:20:27.000 He was someone who looked at it as a journalist.
00:20:30.000 Am I right, James?
00:20:30.000 You just viewed it.
00:20:31.000 I don't want to publish it.
00:20:32.000 And they wanted an excuse to come after him in this dragnet in the Southern District of New York, FBI. It was so outrageous.
00:20:39.000 Anybody in public life, any of you guys, if the FBI shows up at your door, you do not talk to them.
00:20:43.000 You do not whisper to them.
00:20:44.000 You have your lawyer's number written on a piece of paper in a drawer.
00:20:49.000 You open up the drawer.
00:20:50.000 You call your lawyer.
00:20:51.000 You sit down and you say, I invoke every single right.
00:20:53.000 I'm not saying anything.
00:20:54.000 I'm not opening a device.
00:20:55.000 Call my lawyer.
00:20:55.000 That's it.
00:20:56.000 And you sit on the couch.
00:20:57.000 And my message to the FBI agents who did this is, may your children forgive you.
00:21:05.000 Powerful.
00:21:05.000 Next question.
00:21:06.000 Yep.
00:21:08.000 Alrighty.
00:21:08.000 My name is Diane Jimenez.
00:21:10.000 I'm a chapter leader from down in South Florida.
00:21:12.000 Good guy there.
00:21:13.000 Thank you, Charlie.
00:21:15.000 So, my question is more based on my representatives in my area.
00:21:20.000 So, I'm a Cuban immigrant.
00:21:21.000 I came to the U.S. at the age of two.
00:21:23.000 Obviously, I love our country.
00:21:26.000 I wouldn't be with Turning Point if I didn't.
00:21:29.000 Thank you.
00:21:31.000 My representatives in my area, I have Mario Diaz-Ballar, I have Elvira Salazar, and I have Carlos Jimenez.
00:21:41.000 A lot of those representatives down there, the only reason that they get elected is because of their last names and because of the fact that they're Hispanic.
00:21:48.000 So obviously, maybe to get them to actually do what the people want, it would be not the worst idea to primary them.
00:21:58.000 But they're great people and they represent the people well.
00:22:02.000 But the core of the question that I'm trying to get to is how do we increase transparency between the people we elect and the people itself?
00:22:11.000 Because a lot of the time we send these people up to Washington on certain promises that they say every couple of years and then Those years pass and they don't deliver because Elvira Salazar, for example, it's one of the most blatant examples.
00:22:28.000 She's been pushing for immigration reform since she got elected and hasn't done anything.
00:22:33.000 So it's like we have all these representatives from South Florida that are going up to Washington.
00:22:38.000 And this isn't something I should be saying because there are the few people that actually push for some sort of, you know, at least for me, you know, I believe Cuba should be liberated at some point.
00:22:48.000 But there are the few people that push for that because they come from Cuba to set. 0.98
00:22:53.000 But how is it that we increase that transparency so those people actually end up doing what they say they're going to do?
00:23:02.000 Or if not, how do we just get them to actually stand by their commitments to the people?
00:23:10.000 Go ahead.
00:23:11.000 Well, the transparency side, James can.
00:23:13.000 I wouldn't recommend any primaries.
00:23:15.000 Those races are too contentious, so I don't think it applies there.
00:23:18.000 Do you want to talk to the transparency side?
00:23:19.000 There's not much to say.
00:23:20.000 I mean, I've done investigative work in the offices of these rhinos, or what would you call them? 1.00
00:23:26.000 Just weak people?
00:23:28.000 Yeah, they just don't stand by what they say.
00:23:33.000 They're liars.
00:23:34.000 I just catch them on tape saying the opposite of what they say publicly.
00:23:38.000 Do that.
00:23:41.000 Thank you.
00:23:42.000 Thank you, man.
00:23:43.000 Next question.
00:23:46.000 Hi, I'm Ronald Mullick, and I'm currently in the process of setting up a chapter at California University of Pennsylvania.
00:23:52.000 Awesome.
00:23:52.000 My chapter to both James and you, Charlie, with Trump administrations coming up and him promising to expose all of this government corruption that's been happening over the last few years, what is the one biggest thing you're hoping to see be exposed?
00:24:03.000 Well, first of all, I think that the central cover-up of modernity that means post-1960 was the JFK assassination.
00:24:12.000 I think that the Central Intelligence Agency was either involved or responsible for the murder of JFK. I believe it's my core.
00:24:20.000 Obviously, I can't prove it, but I can get pretty close to circumstantially proving it.
00:24:24.000 And the fact that they still do not allow the declassification of those files 60 to 70 years later means that there's something that if that were to come to light, people would then lose trust in their government.
00:24:35.000 That's the only reason why they would not.
00:24:37.000 It's not like they're covering for confidential sources.
00:24:39.000 They're all dead.
00:24:40.000 Everyone's dead involved.
00:24:41.000 So it's not about that.
00:24:42.000 It's that it would then get people to then go deeper down the rabbit hole of questioning their government and their intel agencies.
00:24:49.000 We are not going to get any of those declassifications if we don't get Tulsi Gabbard.
00:24:54.000 Tulsi Gabbard at DNI is the final sign-off on declassification orders.
00:24:59.000 We must demand out of our senators that they confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.
00:25:05.000 I cannot tell you how important that is.
00:25:06.000 Tulsi Gabbard is instrumental.
00:25:08.000 It is key.
00:25:09.000 And so...
00:25:12.000 I could talk at length about JFK, but I think that the cover-up, the lying about all of the circumstances around the JFK assassination, I think it would be very healing and cathartic for the country to be able to see what really happened to John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.
00:25:30.000 How about some reform of the IRS? Would you like that?
00:25:38.000 We always hear theories about the IRS that are targeting me because of my politics.
00:25:42.000 What if I actually was able to show you some evidence of it?
00:25:45.000 And what if the people in charge were like, you know what, we're going to have that person's back.
00:25:49.000 Just hint, hint, hint.
00:25:51.000 Stay tuned.
00:25:55.000 Next question, Daisy.
00:25:57.000 Thank you very much.
00:25:59.000 My question is, how do we remove the sort of opaque veil from corporations?
00:26:04.000 Because, of course, we're worried about the federal government and how they hide stuff from us, but corporations also hide a lot of stuff from the public and even from, like, what they do to their employees, how they force them to do certain things.
00:26:15.000 So how do we remove their sort of things?
00:26:17.000 Well, I mean, just two hours ago, there was a guy from Disney that came on Charlie's stage.
00:26:21.000 Brave guy.
00:26:22.000 Disney.
00:26:23.000 By the way, do you see how ABC is owned by Disney and Stephanopoulos, they give a $15 million judgment in libel.
00:26:31.000 How do you unveil the wrongdoing inside corporations?
00:26:38.000 One person.
00:26:40.000 That's right.
00:26:40.000 Very good answer.
00:26:41.000 You did it.
00:26:42.000 One person.
00:26:43.000 It just takes one person, I know it's a cliche, one person with courage makes a majority.
00:26:48.000 Done.
00:26:49.000 You need someone who's going to be willing to make a sacrifice.
00:26:52.000 You can't do this unless you have skin in the game.
00:26:55.000 People want, and this is like, honestly, like 99% of people.
00:26:58.000 It's just human nature.
00:27:00.000 Well, I want to, it's like I get, Charlie probably gets 10 times the DMs.
00:27:03.000 Every day, I get 1,000 people, I want to do something.
00:27:07.000 And you know what I say back to them?
00:27:08.000 What are you willing to give up?
00:27:11.000 And then 99% of people don't respond.
00:27:15.000 So you're either going to give up some money or you're going to give up some of your reputation.
00:27:20.000 You cannot be comfortable and courageous.
00:27:24.000 It's not possible.
00:27:26.000 And by the way, I'm not a psychotherapist.
00:27:29.000 It doesn't count.
00:27:30.000 I'm not your therapist.
00:27:31.000 I'm not here to listen to you complain.
00:27:32.000 I'm not qualified as a psychotherapist.
00:27:35.000 People treat me like I don't have time.
00:27:37.000 I have to move on to the next person.
00:27:38.000 I'm serious.
00:27:39.000 So it takes one person with courage inside the company who's witnessed something wrong, they have incontrovertible evidence of that, and they speak the truth.
00:27:47.000 And if it's strong enough, and trust me, there's a lot of bad stuff happening out there, you just got to stand up and speak the truth and do it now.
00:27:55.000 It's not for everybody, but it takes one person.
00:27:58.000 Next question.
00:28:01.000 Hi, Jim Lauder from the Flint Hills of Kansas.
00:28:04.000 I want to thank both of you for all that you've done and what you do.
00:28:08.000 Charlie, I hope you still want me to, I want to start a chapter.
00:28:12.000 Love it.
00:28:13.000 In Kansas and also in Emporia State University because I appreciate, I really appreciate what you've done for cultural awareness.
00:28:21.000 But I have a really hard question.
00:28:23.000 Okay.
00:28:24.000 I'm a cold warrior.
00:28:25.000 I swore an oath to protect and defend 47 years ago and I've never broken and I never will.
00:28:31.000 But...
00:28:34.000 Clearances in the Navy for 15 years.
00:28:36.000 I never betrayed those clearances.
00:28:38.000 So my question, and it's a hard question for both of you, I do not agree with you about Edward Snowden.
00:28:44.000 He could have found a protector.
00:28:47.000 There's 535 elected representatives, one of whom could have protected him, or he could have gone to jail if he was so sincere about that.
00:28:55.000 And he did.
00:28:56.000 I don't deny all the good things that happened from his disclosure.
00:28:59.000 But this is personal for me, just like Hillary Clinton's email server was personal for me.
00:29:03.000 Yeah I'm not so sure that a congressman would have done that I'm not sure.
00:29:08.000 I think the story would have died and they would have killed him.
00:29:12.000 And we might disagree, but again, that's just speculation.
00:29:17.000 I think you make a great point, and that's the best counterargument that I've heard, and I've heard it from similar people in the national security space.
00:29:25.000 I was nuanced.
00:29:26.000 I said he was reckless.
00:29:27.000 Remember I said that.
00:29:28.000 I think he was.
00:29:29.000 But it's more about...
00:29:31.000 Let me also make another argument for his pardon.
00:29:34.000 The people that would be against his pardon are the worst people on the planet.
00:29:38.000 They're people that would like nothing more than to keep this veil of secrecy around the classification structure in Langley and at Liberty Crossing, which is the CIA and DNI. So I think you make a good point.
00:29:52.000 I would just say, though, that...
00:29:54.000 For him fleeing, I mean, I think he would have gotten Epstein within a year in federal prison.
00:29:59.000 I mean, that's just me.
00:30:00.000 Maybe I'm wrong.
00:30:01.000 Yeah, I mean, if he would have turned it over to one of those 500 representatives, I mean, he did turn over the files to Glenn Greenwald as a journalist, right?
00:30:17.000 So look, I'm not going to defend everything he did, but I don't know if he would have survived if he would have stayed on American soil. 0.90
00:30:24.000 I brought federal government employees to the senators and the congressmen.
00:30:27.000 This is an important point.
00:30:28.000 I'm going to speak without naming names.
00:30:30.000 Do you know what they tell me, sir?
00:30:33.000 You know what they tell me, the Senators in Congress, when I bring the federal employee, I do the right thing by the law, by these congressional people.
00:30:40.000 They say, there's nothing we can do, James.
00:30:42.000 They say there's nothing we can do.
00:30:43.000 We can write letters.
00:30:44.000 You can publish the letters on your Twitter.
00:30:47.000 So they're telling me, this is the legislative branch of government.
00:30:51.000 Because they're terrified of the intelligence.
00:30:52.000 They're telling me something more.
00:30:53.000 That the power of Elon Musk's platform is more powerful than they are.
00:30:59.000 They're telling me the media is more, and we're a country founded on the whole premise of the public's right to know.
00:31:06.000 The founders set up the United States government The First Amendment is all about the public's right to know, and if the public doesn't know what's happening, they can't be informed, and therefore we have no consent of the governed.
00:31:18.000 So when the United States government is spying on everybody, and spying on journalists, It's like the equivalent of constitutional rape.
00:31:26.000 It's a situational ethic where the individual that is sworn an oath has an ethical and moral obligation.
00:31:35.000 It's a lose-lose situation.
00:31:37.000 So he does the lesser of the two evils, and he speaks out, and he speaks publicly because he can't go to his elected representatives because those people, and I probably should secretly record some of these meetings, those senators and members of Congress tell me that there's literally nothing they can do for the whistleblower.
00:31:53.000 And I would say the best argument you make is that he should have just faced the charges.
00:31:58.000 I think that's the best argument.
00:32:00.000 So I think him fleeing was probably the least meritorious of what he did.
00:32:04.000 I agree.
00:32:04.000 So I will find agreement with you on that, for sure.
00:32:08.000 Great.
00:32:09.000 Yes, Daisy.
00:32:11.000 What's up?
00:32:12.000 My name is Jake.
00:32:13.000 I'm from Las Vegas.
00:32:14.000 So my question is, James, I know that you have a lot of...
00:32:19.000 Connections in your line of work and I've been seeing these drones over New Jersey and I think that it took a long time for the police and the FBI to even come out with any sort of answers on this and the whole answer of other operating under the regulatory laws I think it's BS so I just don't know if you guys have any insight on what this could be or if it's some sort of surveillance or just really your thoughts on what it is.
00:32:44.000 I actually don't.
00:32:45.000 And I don't like to opine on something I can't confirm yet.
00:32:49.000 So, Charlie, I'm going to punt this one to you.
00:32:50.000 No, I don't either.
00:32:52.000 The whole thing is very weird.
00:32:54.000 It has invoked a fair amount of speculation.
00:32:58.000 We actually have a guest on tomorrow.
00:33:00.000 We need to find time, Daisy.
00:33:02.000 Of a guy who has done a lot of work on, like, alien sightings, who's convinced this is not an alien sighting, so his name's Steven Greer.
00:33:10.000 He's a really smart guy.
00:33:11.000 Actually, a book, Unacknowledged.
00:33:12.000 If you guys are into it, it's like a great book, by the way.
00:33:14.000 It's really good.
00:33:15.000 It's actually really good.
00:33:16.000 You might think it's wacky.
00:33:17.000 You read the book, you're like, whoa.
00:33:19.000 He's done all the kind of research there.
00:33:21.000 I have no idea what it is.
00:33:22.000 I'm not going to conjecture, but I do not trust my government.
00:33:26.000 Next question.
00:33:30.000 Hi, James.
00:33:31.000 Hi, Charlie.
00:33:32.000 You mentioned that Hollywood is dead.
00:33:34.000 That's a very interesting concept.
00:33:36.000 Do you feel like the Republican Party can establish influence in not being Hollywood, but take over, taking command?
00:33:46.000 I'm speaking as a Marine.
00:33:48.000 And getting the command of the narrative so that we can change the culture and we can tell the true story in high-budget movies.
00:33:58.000 And be able to transform that, taking the path of power now that we have done such a great job.
00:34:07.000 And by the way, all of you guys, congratulations.
00:34:10.000 I'm from Brazil.
00:34:12.000 I served in the military.
00:34:14.000 Brazilians are not experiencing this because it's completely taken over.
00:34:18.000 And you guys took your country back. 0.77
00:34:21.000 So for all of that...
00:34:24.000 Thank you.
00:34:25.000 People all over the world, all over the world, patriots, Christians, they're looking at all of you guys right now, and they're so proud of you.
00:34:35.000 So I just want to let you know that you are a source of inspiration to every single person in South America right now.
00:34:42.000 So what do we do?
00:34:43.000 Do we change the narrative?
00:34:45.000 Are we able to create high-budget movies as a Republican guild and take over the Oscars?
00:34:52.000 It's a great question.
00:34:54.000 I would say, like, low-budget movies.
00:34:56.000 I mean, first of all, this is the most important, in my opinion, question that's been asked, the culture.
00:35:01.000 There's a market correction happening in the culture right now.
00:35:06.000 And people are not buying what they're being sold by Netflix.
00:35:11.000 I think Jeff Bezos not endorsing Kamala was a major tell there.
00:35:15.000 And the Washington Post.
00:35:17.000 But, you know, I've made this film, Line in the Sand.
00:35:21.000 I understand how much it takes to make a movie.
00:35:26.000 Conservatives have always, in my opinion, this is just my opinion, not been very good storytellers.
00:35:32.000 Yeah.
00:35:33.000 I don't know what it is.
00:35:34.000 They don't seem to have rhythm or something.
00:35:36.000 They're not the most artistic people.
00:35:40.000 But I think that's changing.
00:35:42.000 I think that's changing.
00:35:44.000 Angel.com.
00:35:45.000 I think that's changing.
00:35:47.000 Angel Studios.
00:35:48.000 Angel's a big supporter of our show.
00:35:50.000 And they did Bonhoeffer.
00:35:51.000 They did...
00:35:52.000 Goodness gracious.
00:35:55.000 The child sex trafficking one.
00:35:57.000 Sound of Freedom.
00:35:58.000 Thank you.
00:35:58.000 That was all Angel Studios.
00:36:01.000 So I think people need to spend as much time in the arts and making videos and making films.
00:36:08.000 I don't think you need to have the quote-unquote big budget thing.
00:36:11.000 I think that creates more restrictions, actually.
00:36:15.000 I think you can do incredible things with an iPhone and Adobe Premiere.
00:36:20.000 And some of the best people out there do it that way.
00:36:23.000 But I would encourage people, and I'm hiring in a major way, director of photography, I'm hiring editors and producers, we need more storytellers.
00:36:32.000 And there's a lot of people here I encourage to go that route more than the elected office route.
00:36:38.000 What's that?
00:36:38.000 Okay, let's go to one or two more.
00:36:40.000 We're running out of time.
00:36:41.000 Yes.
00:36:42.000 Hi, my name is Mason Brasher.
00:36:44.000 And something that's just been on my mind since we've been talking about this is, you know, back in 2016, one of Trump's primary things that he kept saying is, we're going to drain the swamp, we're going to drain the swamp.
00:36:55.000 And when it came to actually doing it, he obviously came against a lot of backlash and just...
00:37:04.000 It was very much an uphill battle.
00:37:07.000 And so what I'm wondering, I guess, is this time around...
00:37:11.000 What's the difference?
00:37:13.000 I think we're already looking at the difference, right?
00:37:16.000 I mean, Bobby Kennedy is like the biggest swamp draining middle finger to the public health establishment.
00:37:25.000 And by the way, it's not just Bobby Kennedy.
00:37:28.000 Jay Bhattacharya is amazing.
00:37:31.000 Marty McCary is also amazing.
00:37:35.000 Tulsi Gabbard is a major swamp drainer.
00:37:37.000 Pete Hegseth at the Department of Defense will be a major swamp drainer.
00:37:41.000 We did not have a roster of changemakers like this last time.
00:37:45.000 We have Russ Vogt at OMB. We have JD Vance in the vice presidency.
00:37:50.000 I mean, we have rock stars across the board.
00:37:53.000 And what's the difference?
00:37:55.000 We have Doge with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as well.
00:37:58.000 Big difference.
00:37:59.000 It's a totally different operating philosophy.
00:38:03.000 And I've said this multiple times throughout this conference, is that sometimes we don't know what's good for us.
00:38:09.000 And I believe it's God.
00:38:11.000 I believe the four years of us not being in power was really good for us.
00:38:14.000 I think it made us purge the bad guys, go through our plans, figure out really what we're all about.
00:38:20.000 It strengthened us.
00:38:21.000 It deepened us.
00:38:22.000 And the fact you guys are applauding, I think, is one of the coolest things.
00:38:26.000 That's you applauding the fact we didn't take power in 2020. Yeah.
00:38:30.000 And right?
00:38:32.000 Last in 2020, we were like, the world is over.
00:38:34.000 It's terrible.
00:38:34.000 Turned out to be an amazing blessing and advantage for us.
00:38:37.000 Great life lesson there.
00:38:39.000 Phenomenal life lesson.
00:38:40.000 Last question, Daisy.
00:38:46.000 Hi, James.
00:38:47.000 My name is Dorian Taylor.
00:38:48.000 I just want to say thank you for your line in the sand documentary.
00:38:51.000 We greatly enjoyed it.
00:38:52.000 It's highly educational.
00:38:53.000 You are an incredible journalist, and you are looking to expose objective truths.
00:38:58.000 So on that line, since 1947 occurred, and we had Gerald Ford, who started The Voice of America, I'm curious to know if you would ever consider joining The Voice of America and siding on that level of public journalism, or if you will stay more clandestine And having your own network of journalism.
00:39:18.000 I'll stay more clandestine.
00:39:20.000 That is an excellent idea.
00:39:22.000 Thank you.
00:39:23.000 So, James, before we wrap this up, because we have to take a break, and then we have Trump's border czar coming, which is going to be an amazing conversation.
00:39:29.000 That's going to be awesome.
00:39:31.000 Tom, right, that's a big deal, right?
00:39:33.000 We have a seat for you, James, because he doesn't do a lot of interviews.
00:39:36.000 Exclusive interview with Tom Homan.
00:39:38.000 James, give us action items, action items.
00:39:41.000 Action, action, action.
00:39:42.000 What can this audience do?
00:39:43.000 And by the way, you're talking to millions of people online, not live, but it's going to be posted on social.
00:39:48.000 James, yeah, talk about the movie and stuff.
00:39:50.000 Yeah, Line in the Sand, it's with Tucker.
00:39:52.000 Plug all the things.
00:39:53.000 If you haven't seen Line in the Sand, the first thing is watch it.
00:39:56.000 Just watch it.
00:39:56.000 Because I think it's an action documentary.
00:40:00.000 So my mantra is, most people tell they don't show.
00:40:04.000 I show I don't tell.
00:40:05.000 I know.
00:40:07.000 So I never ask you to believe me by virtue of the decree that I'm credible because I'm believable.
00:40:11.000 I ask you to look at what you're looking at and experience it.
00:40:14.000 And that's what we need more of.
00:40:16.000 Every one of you is a journalist.
00:40:18.000 You are more qualified than George Stephanopoulos.
00:40:20.000 You're more talented than George Stephanopoulos.
00:40:22.000 And, you know, it's a cliche, but these things are insane, and everyone has an audio and video device.
00:40:29.000 There's an opportunity over the...
00:40:31.000 I'd give it eight months.
00:40:33.000 You have eight months where if you have an idea, a vision, right now you have the opportunity to be brave.
00:40:39.000 And I'm a journalist.
00:40:42.000 I'm a videographer.
00:40:43.000 I want you guys, if anyone in the audience wants to do this, now's your time.
00:40:48.000 I'm hiring, and if you are witness to corruption in the United States government, if you know someone who is, have them come forward.
00:40:54.000 Your action items, tell the truth, be brave, be the difference you wish to see in the world.
00:40:59.000 James O'Keefe, everybody.
00:41:03.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.
00:41:04.000 Email us, as always, freedom at charliekirk.com.
00:41:07.000 Thanks so much for listening, and God bless.