BLACKBURN： DEFENDING AMERICA
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Summary
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) join host Lou Dobbs on the Great America Show to discuss the latest events in the Middle East, including the latest attack on Israel by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, the recent comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and more.
Transcript
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Hello everybody. I'm Lou Dobbs and welcome to The Great America Show. Great to have you with us
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today. The U.S. Navy in skirmishes in the Red Sea this week. Three commercial ships off the coast
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of Yemen were fired on by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The USS Kearney, a Navy destroyer in the area at the
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time of the firefight and successfully taking down three drones that were presumed to be ready to launch
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more ballistic missiles at those commercial ships. U.S. Central Command released a statement following
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the attacks saying that the United States will now, quote, consider all appropriate responses in the
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wake of the attack taking specific aim at Iran. All the disruption in the Middle East and conflict
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comes at a time when America needs to stand strong with our ally Israel, which makes the recent bizarre
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comments of the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, all the more insulting to Israel. Austin, in a speech
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at the Reagan National Defense Forum, shocked the audience when Austin told them that Israel risks,
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quote, strategic defeat if civilians aren't protected in Gaza. This as the Israeli Defense Forces are
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fighting for their sovereignty and their survival. Listen to Defense Secretary Austin as he goes off the
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rails and out of his lane, way out of his lane. You see, in this kind of a fight, the center of gravity
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is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical
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victory with a strategic defeat. So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting
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Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative.
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I think we see now why the Biden regime tries to keep Lloyd Austin out of public statements.
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Another man you hear us talk a lot about here is the villainous Marxist oligarch George Soros
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and the role that he has been playing for decades in disrupting and devastating civil order throughout
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the world. Israeli United Nations Ambassador Gilad Erdogan had enough of Soros this week,
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calling him out for funding Hamas supporting NGOs with more than $15 million in backing. Erdogan
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telling Fox that Soros' donations to organizations that seek the destruction of the state of Israel
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is shameful but unsurprising. I applaud the ambassador for his courage in speaking out
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against the sinister George Soros. Our guest today is one of the most courageous public servants on
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Capitol Hill. She is one of the most hardest-working public servants and certainly senators. We are
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joined today by Senator Marsha Blackburn. And Senator, it is great to have you with us. Let's start with the
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Hamas war on Israel and the Biden regime to the Israeli war to end Hamas in Gaza. And, of course,
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his support of Netanyahu in this war. You know, Lou, what we have to do is send a message that we,
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the United States of America, stand resolutely and solidly with Israel. And they need to know Hamas
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and Iran, which is a part of funding Hamas and Hezbollah and ISIS, Iraq, ISIS, Syria. They need to know
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that we are going to be there for Israel and that we support Israel's right to defend themselves and
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their people and that we support Israel's right to do what they need to do to eliminate Hamas.
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Are you surprised that in the midst of the agony following the October 7th massacre,
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Israelis mourning, raging to fight, that President Biden would start talking about a two-state solution?
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You know, I think it was a puzzling moment for so many people because Hamas attacked Israel
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and they had planned this attack. Iran had helped to train these Hamas fighters and it was an
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unprovoked attack. And it wasn't an attack against an army. It was an attack against the citizens and
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individuals in their homes. And yesterday I watched this footage that was pulled from the GoPro cameras
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of these Hamas fighters who the IDF were able to kill and confiscate these cameras. It is sickening
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what they did with shooting people using hammers and hatchets and just chopping people up in the trail of blood
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that you would see where they dragged people out of houses. And it is just truly war crimes that have been
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committed against innocent civilians. And we don't need a ceasefire. We don't need to give Hamas time to
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regroup. We do not need to be sending aid into Gaza because we know that Hamas is taking that aid.
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They're taking that fuel. They're taking the food. They're taking the medical supplies. And the Gazans,
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the Palestinians are not getting those supplies. So people need to be moving to the south,
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to the Rafa gate, where there is aid for people that are hurting and hungry and in need of fuel.
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That is where they need to be going and getting out of harm's way.
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Yeah, it's such a sad and tragic moment for the Israelis. Also, they're filled with anger to
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respond, and rightfully so. Bibi Netanyahu needs the support of President Biden. He's not getting it.
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Yes. And Lou, we don't need to be trying to micromanage this war.
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What we need to do is make certain that we pass an Israel aid bill. And I agree with the House on their
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bill. I agree with taking that money that was set aside for IRS agents and paying for this so that
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we're not adding to our debt. But the IDF and Benjamin Netanyahu do not need the United States
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of America trying to micromanage this war. Let's let the IDF and Israel eliminate Hamas from the face
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of the earth. Let's send this message to these other terrorist groups that if they do something
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like this, we are going to hunt them down and we are going to rid the earth of them.
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Well, and that is precisely what I believe Israel will do after this this peculiar phrase phase is
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ended here where apparently the world suddenly wants to think of Joe Biden as a great statesman
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and a warrior president. They forget his withdrawal from Afghanistan. Senator, I want to turn to an
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extraordinary situation that we have, and that is a president who is ignoring the Supreme Court,
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sending out literature to 800,000 student loan recipients as if there has never been a
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adjudication on the issue of student loan forgiveness. He's acting in violation again of the Supreme Court's
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ruling. He's also shown nothing but contempt for the affirmative action ruling as if he's not going to follow
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that, nor should anyone else have to. I mean, the list goes on. How in the world is there going to be a
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republic if this president and the Marxist Dems, whether in the House or the Senate or the deep
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state, are continuing to ignore the Constitution and our system of government?
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Yes. And one of the things that I have noticed regularly about this administration, Lou, is they have
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tried their hardest to normalize lawlessness. And we have seen this in the people they have sent for
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to us to be confirmed as judges. We are seeing it in this defund the police movement. We are seeing it in
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the police. And they're not pushing back on crime in the cities. And we've seen it with these DAs and
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prosecutors that are soft on crime. We have seen it with this open southern border. And they're doing
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everything they can to normalize lawlessness. Now, the American people are waking up to this.
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They can see what's happening at the border. They can go online if they doubt what they're hearing
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on TV. They can go and look at the Texas Department of Public Safety. They can look at the governor of
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Arizona, their web page. They can look at the Texas web page. They can go to so many different outlets
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and see people streaming across this border. They can listen to blue city mayors like Eric Adams.
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And they can see what's happening in Chicago, in Philadelphia, where these big blue city mayors
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are saying, hey, wait a minute, somebody needs to stop this. Well, those are the guys that declared
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themselves sanctuary cities. And they sent the message, come on, if the border is open, you can
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come here. We're a sanctuary city. But people are saying, wait a minute, I'm a citizen of the United
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States. I'm paying taxes. And you've taken over my kids playground, or you have taken the gym at their
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school, or we can't get medical services in our community because of the influx of those that have
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illegally entered the country. And so people are saying, stop this with the violation of the rule of
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law, enforce the law. And let's protect our communities. And let's restore law and order.
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Let's restore a vibrant economy, which President Donald Trump had given us. Let's restore an appreciation
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for the values that have made this country great. Let's protect our faith, family, freedom, hope,
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opportunity. We hear it every day. And I think the American people are indeed waking up to what is
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happening to their freedoms and what is happening in this country.
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We're talking with Senator Marsha Blackburn, in my opinion, one of the most courageous senators in
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the Republican conference of the U.S. Senate. We'll be right back with her. Don't touch that dial.
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We're back now talking with Senator Marsha Blackburn. And Senator, again, great to talk with you.
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I want to turn to the Judiciary Committee itself now. Is there any plan for the Judiciary Committee
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to do something to rein in, to discipline, to bring back activists, Marxist-dem judges into some
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semblance of an appreciation for the republic, its laws, and our system of government?
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Well, you know, we've been successful in making certain that some of those judges who were not
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qualified at all to be on the federal bench, that their nomination was recalled and they have not
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gone through. But as I say regularly, that this White House, Joe Biden and this White House,
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continues to send people for the federal bench, federal district, and federal appellate judges
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who have never been a judge for one minute. They have not been a state judge. They have not been a city
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judge. They have not been a county judge. They have not been a judge for the pie contest at the county fair.
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They've never been a judge. They have been an activist. And to put someone on the federal appellate
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bench who has never been a judge, who has never practiced appellate law, who has never briefed the
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court, that is inappropriate. And you don't want people on the bench who do not have a respect for the
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rule of law and are not going to enforce the law. You don't want activists on the court.
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Well, the two names, you know, Meryl Howell, Tanya Chutkin, federal judges and the D.C. courts.
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I mean, they are they're contemptuous of law. They're acting, as you put it, lawless Marxists.
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And it is a frustration to us. This is why we do so much work on the vetting process and the reading
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process and question these individuals and submit questions, because once they're confirmed to the
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federal bench, that is a lifetime appointment. And to have people who are activists actually take those
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federal judgeships, you know, it just shows you why we owe that debt of gratitude to President Donald
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Trump for the judges that he put on the bench and the fact that they are constitutionalists.
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They are they are individuals that have a judicial philosophy. There are people that have that
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constitutional appreciation and underpinning. You know, I want to turn to a moment of real courage on
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your part when you insisted in the Judiciary Committee that subpoenas be sent out to find out
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who was using the Lolita Express going to Epstein Island. We still don't know all this time later
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exactly what happened with him. And under federal correction, the Federal Bureau of Prisons custody,
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whether he died of natural causes by his own hand or natural causes by an assassin.
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Well, they're saying they're going to come back with those subpoenas. I said, fine,
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I've already filed my amendments. And as you mentioned, one is to subpoena the Epstein estate
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for the entire listing of flight logs for all of his planes in the Lolita Express. We want to know who
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was picked up, where they were picked up, how long they stayed at that island, and be able to see who
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participated in this. I've had people say, look, if there was someone from a company that they're working
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with, they would want to know that someone was a participant in what is turning out to be a very
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highly orchestrated sex trafficking, human trafficking ring. And Jelaine Maxwell, who was a, I guess,
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kind of the leader in grooming, selecting and grooming these young girls. And as we focus on the human
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trafficking and sex trafficking issues, we want answers to this. So yes, I do have my subpoena
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amendment filed. I also have an amendment that would subpoena Justice Sotomayor's staff. She got a $3
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million book advance, not reported. Then we found out through news reporting that her court staff
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had participated in selling these books to entities where she was going to speak. She has made $4 million
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on this book deal. We would like to see those emails and those records. So we have that subpoena.
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Also a subpoena for DOJ and the FTC on emails pertaining to, and documents pertaining to,
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the investigation into Elon Musk. And then Lou, one that I know you would be interested in,
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I have an amendment that would subpoena all the White House documents pertaining to the elimination
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of the China initiative, which was our way to investigate and prosecute Chinese spies that are on U.S.
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soil. Well, I'm interested in everything that you've just said. And you're quite correct.
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Your interest in China is to be applauded by every American at all that you're doing.
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You're very courageous. You're very smart. And we thank you for all that you're doing for the country.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn, thanks for being with us here. We always give our guests the last word.
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And your concluding thoughts, Senator? You know, people can follow me at Marsha Blackburn
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online and stay in touch with us. Keep up with the work that we are doing. And
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tune in to C-SPAN when we do these Judiciary Committee hearings. I think they'll find them
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quite entertaining. Thanks to Senator Blackburn. Thanks, everybody, for being with us today.
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Our guest here tomorrow on The Great America Show is a man at the forefront of the congressional
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investigations into the corruption of President Biden and his entire regime, also his family.
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Joining us will be Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the
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Weaponization Subcommittee. We'll be taking up what are the next steps as this Congress moves toward
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an impeachment of Joe Biden. Please join us for that tomorrow and each and every day.
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Follow me on Twitter and Truth Social at Lou Dobbs. That's at Lou Dobbs. Thanks, everybody.