In this episode, we discuss the latest in the Epstein scandal, the Israel Cyber Dome case, and why the FBI should be worried about Epstein. We also discuss why the ADL should be scared of Epstein and why we should be concerned about him.
02:19:08.120Yeah, Boris, I mean, there's still a lot of questions.
02:19:11.480Remember when we went into the meeting yesterday when we were covering from every angle, we were told by European leaders and by President Trump that the goal was this trilateral meeting.
02:19:21.560That was what they wanted at the end of these negotiations.
02:19:24.240And instead, they came out saying there was going to be this bilateral meeting.
02:19:27.920And I asked Caroline a specific question or specific questions about where this idea came from and whether or not Putin had agreed.
02:19:36.240Sean, you said earlier about Putin agreeing to the meeting.
02:19:44.320The Kremlin seemed to indicate that Putin did not firmly agree to a bilateral.
02:19:49.000Did he agree to have a sit down with just Zelensky on the phone?
02:19:52.760I can assure you that the United States government and the Trump administration is working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen as we speak.
02:20:00.380Now, Boris, you might notice that that was not a direct answer on her part.
02:20:06.180But shortly afterwards, another reporter followed up on my question and asked specifically, we understand that you're working with both governments.
02:20:14.400And Caroline Levitt said he has, which is certainly news because, as you said, the Kremlin was being very iffy on whether or not he would actually do this.
02:20:21.060As President Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday, Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the end of July.
02:20:30.380The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow launched 270 drones and 10 missiles overnight.
02:20:36.980Fifty-four were wounded across the country.
02:20:39.980Meantime, Ukraine says it struck two Russian ammunition depots in the occupied Luhansk region.
02:20:45.320Ukraine Security Service says it used long-range drones to hit the ammunition warehouses on an important railway line used to supply ammunition from Russia to the front line.
02:20:54.900And just so you guys know, this is the delusion of Zelensky.
02:21:01.720Zelensky wants Russia to give all this territory back, by the way.
02:21:14.240Just now to talk about these latest developments is Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington State.
02:21:20.240He's the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee.
02:21:22.720Congressman, thank you so much for being with us.
02:21:25.220You spoke before yesterday's meeting at the White House with Zelensky and all these European leaders about how you wanted the president to show strong support for Ukraine.
02:21:34.380We heard European leaders applauding Trump's offer to back security guarantees against any future Russian aggression.
02:21:42.400What else do you think President Trump needs to do in your eyes to show support for Ukraine?
02:21:49.280So, the meeting yesterday could have been worse.
02:21:52.740It wasn't the disaster that the meeting with Putin was.
02:21:55.520But, look, President Trump can just clearly state, Ukraine is a sovereign democratic nation, and we are going to work with our partners and allies to preserve that.
02:22:05.140We will arm and equip them so that they can push back against Russia.
02:22:08.840He can make that 100 percent clear, that Russia's war on Ukraine was wrong and was caused by Putin and Russia, period, full stop.
02:22:18.020And then, second, he can actually carry through on some of the threats around sanctions, to put the pressure on Russia and Putin.
02:22:25.820And that's the whole problem with the way Trump has approached this.
02:22:28.740He's put all the pressure on Zelensky and Ukraine and taken the pressure off of Putin.
02:22:34.180And it was, I think, about a month ago that Trump expressed the surprise, well, gosh, you know, it looks like Putin might not really want peace.
02:22:42.440He will only choose peace if we can make it clear that he won't get Ukraine.
02:22:48.220And President Trump and his administration have been far from clear.
02:22:53.340This rhetoric that you guys hear right here, this was basically the mantra of the Biden administration and exactly why we have the problems that we have now.
02:23:56.700I mean, look, Putin was happy that Trump came into the White House, and he saw it as an opportunity, based on a number of things that Trump has said before.
02:24:04.280And look, the reasons behind why Trump takes the positions that he's taken are really complicated.
02:24:09.720It goes back to the 2017 effort, 2016 effort, sorry, of Russia to interfere in the election and all of that.
02:24:15.960But what Putin saw was someone who wasn't going to stand up to it.
02:24:20.220Bro, that was proven to be a fucking lie.
02:24:22.780This guy's really fucking talking about Russiagate still?
02:24:24.840Bro, that's been debunked a million times.
02:24:56.480But also the 53-nation coalition that was put together to help them defend themselves has been a huge part of it.
02:25:02.840And the degree to which Putin could undermine that coalition and Trump's criticisms of our European allies, you know, his, you know, ambivalence about NATO, that's all music to Putin's ears because it undermines the ability of Ukraine to defend itself.
02:25:18.120So I think that's where Putin's going.
02:25:19.340Look, the formulation has been simple from the start.
02:25:21.720Force Putin to the table by making it clear that he's not going to be able to take Ukraine.
02:26:09.420Better than the Biden administration, you motherfuckers didn't even talk to Putin, man.
02:26:13.400You guys didn't even talk to fucking Putin, bro.
02:26:15.380Sort of peace deal that's formulated with security guarantees, the U.S., not with troops on the ground, but in other methods, backing perhaps a U.K., French, and other European allies, a force on the ground there, a so-called reassurance force,
02:26:33.920and also some kind of Article 5-like agreement that there would be a response with force if Russia were to restart aggression after some kind of peace deal.
02:27:03.920Oh, they're important, but what really has been helpful to Ukraine is the fact that we are going to arm them, train them, and support them.
02:27:12.980I don't think it's necessary to have NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine.
02:27:18.320I don't think it's necessary for Ukraine to join NATO.
02:27:22.200I know that's a controversial position, but if we give them the level of support that we've given them over the course of the last, what is it now, three...
02:27:29.900Them joining you, NATO, is precisely why we ran into this problem in the first place.
02:27:34.180...plus years, and if our European partners and allies do, economic and military, if we show them that we're going to give them that level of support, and we're not walking away...
02:27:42.800So, I got this map here from the BBC, right?
02:27:46.680So, this is before the invasion, right?
02:30:08.340That's an important part of the conversation.
02:30:09.800The question I was getting at is if it's clear to you and to other observers that have raised similar points that Vladimir Putin is not serious about this and that this is just kind of a distraction to further kick the can down the road, potentially to sign some agreement, but then to restart fighting at a later date, then why are European leaders not saying that directly to President Trump?
02:30:37.020Why are they sort of backing what they see as a potential path to peace right now?
02:30:45.740Yeah, well, I think they have said that to President Trump.
02:30:49.180I mean, part of it is just getting Trump back in the boat, if you will.
02:30:52.220OK, I mean, there's a lot of details to be worked out, but the European leaders are like, let's at least get to a better place than where we were in February when it seemed like Trump was just going to outright abandon Ukraine.
02:31:02.240So walk before you run, get him back into the concept and then work out the details.
02:31:06.360Look, I've spoken with leaders in Eastern Europe in particular who want far more than what I just said.
02:31:13.260I mean, they want us to go in and fight and retake all of Ukrainian territory.
02:31:17.300So there are differences of opinion within Europe.
02:31:19.760But the one thing we ought to be able to agree on, protect a sovereign democratic Ukraine, give them the means to defend themselves.
02:31:26.520Yeah, a sovereign Ukraine that we ran a coup in in 2014 and destabilized their government and put in our puppet regime.
02:32:11.900So this is some of the peace talks that went down yesterday, guys.
02:32:15.040Now, this is possibly where the broad outlines of the discussion are going to be laid out.
02:32:20.140You can see the translators in the box at the background.
02:32:22.580And clearly, this is a press call, a photo call that's being held.
02:32:26.120But to the right-hand side, you can also see some of the negotiating staff, which are in the background, the diplomatic staff in the background as well.
02:32:35.240They, too, are going to be carrying on their own negotiations in side rooms and elsewhere in order to try to get the broader, the more finer details of the negotiations.
02:32:50.840You guys can see pretty much every single major leader of Europe was there.
02:35:01.600Everyone knows President Macron of France, who's been with me from the beginning, one of the first people I met as a foreign dignitary, and I liked him from day one.
02:37:01.720Finland officially joined NATO on April 4, 2023.
02:37:04.000So, for a very long time, guys, Finland stayed neutral, right?
02:37:08.540Because, strategically speaking, it's, like, in between Russia and one of the countries in between Russia and the Western world.
02:37:17.240So, they've had wars with Russia before.
02:37:19.960And I think one of the most famous snipers is a guy from Finland, actually.
02:37:22.780They call them, like, the White Death or some shit like that.
02:37:25.140But, anyway, there's, like, a whole folklore story on that.
02:37:28.040But the long story short is, Finland's always had the threat of Russian invasion.
02:37:34.660So, they've always kind of been politically neutral.
02:37:37.120But after Russia invaded Ukraine, they joined NATO.
02:37:40.620And Finland brings quite a bit of experience when it comes to dealing with security and Russia.
02:37:49.000So, that's a big reason why they're there.
02:37:51.220I mean, they're obviously not going to say this in this press conference.
02:37:54.300But Finland has been very good at defending themselves and keep putting themselves in a geopolitical position to avoid being invaded by Russia.
02:38:06.280And, obviously, they had to pull the trigger and join NATO in 2023.
02:38:09.900But for a very long time that they were a neutral party.
02:38:14.180Von der Leyen, who is somebody that we just made a big deal with, with all of those countries.