Hunter Biden's Shock Capitol Hill Trip, and if President Biden Can Get Primaried, with Dean Phillips, Dave Aronberg, and Mike Davis | Ep. 699
Episode Stats
Length
1 hour and 37 minutes
Words per Minute
188.44255
Summary
Hunter Biden shows up unannounced on Capitol Hill, crashing a House committee hearing about holding Donald Trump in contempt of Congress. Then, all hell breaks loose in Georgia on a story about Fannie Willis and her alleged affair with the special prosecutor she brought in to investigate Trump.
Transcript
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Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show, live on Sirius XM Channel 111 every weekday at New East.
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Hey everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show.
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Oh my goodness, do we have a lot of information to get to you today.
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The man who was challenging Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, Representative Dean Phillips, is here.
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I'm looking forward to talking to him about why he's doing this and what he thinks is wrong with President Joe Biden.
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Why is he going after him? Why doesn't he think Joe Biden should be the nominee and the next president?
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First, though, it's a mind-blowing legal news day involving former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden.
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When we originally booked our first segment, the plan was to focus on Trump's immunity hearing at the D.C. Court of Appeals yesterday.
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But then all hell broke loose in Georgia on that story that we brought to you.
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No one was covering this yesterday. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution broke it.
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We picked it up. Now it's everywhere. You're welcome.
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And there's a lot more to talk about on that case.
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A lot more on whether Fannie Willis, the D.A. in Georgia going after Trump and 18 others,
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and her alleged improper affair with the special prosecutor she brought in,
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who then took her on several alleged romantic vacations in which she benefited by enjoying the sights and sounds of Napa,
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among other beautiful places, on his dime potentially, could sink the entire Trump election interference case.
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There are legal experts now predicting the whole case will go away.
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I'm skeptical of that, but I think Fannie Willis is going away.
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On top of it all, as we're preparing all that for you, a short time ago, Hunter Biden shows up unannounced on Capitol Hill,
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crashing a House committee hearing about holding him in contempt of Congress.
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This is a massive middle finger to everybody involved in this.
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The first son and his attorneys sauntering in, sitting down.
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They waived their opportunity to appear at the subpoenaed deposition they wanted to take of him.
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And now when they decide whether he should be held in contempt, he saunters in like the prince.
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I'll sit here and I'll listen and let's see what you'll do about it.
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South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace called him out and probably got called out herself.
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First of all, my first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today?
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Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege coming into the oversight committee,
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spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed.
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If the gentle lady wants to hear from Hunter Biden, we can hear from him right now, Mr. Chairman.
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Never heard anybody yell balls at a congressional hearing doctor.
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And just when you thought it could not get any more wild, Georgia Republican Marjorie
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Taylor Greene started talking and Hunter got up and just walked on out.
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You see, when you're a Biden, you get to decide when you're going to show up in front of Congress
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Even though Trump is being prosecuted right now by Jack Smith for defying a subpoena.
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And even when they hold the impeachment or the hearing figuring out whether you should
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be prosecuted for blowing off your subpoena, you can just wander in and wander out at leisure.
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By the way, we believe, though, are not entirely certain that the person who said, oh, too bad
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Um, OK, after all that, CBS News then posts this video, a reporter asking why Hunter was
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Okay, that was Abby Lowell, Hunter's attorney, saying that he would make a statement.
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But as Abby Lowell tried to speak, they were interrupted by questions like this.
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How kind of crack do you normally smoke, Mr. Biden?
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What kind of crack do you normally smoke, Mr. Biden?
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Oh, at least one reporter did try to do her job and ask Hunter while she had him.
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I think this was a Fox News reporter about his father's involvement, Hillary Vaughn,
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Don't waste time with stupid ass questions about what kind of crack did you smoke?
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Mr. Biden, why did you put your dad on speakerphone with your business partners if he had no involvement
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But why did you need to talk to him during business meetings if he had nothing to do
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It's not that he's generally taking phone calls from his dad.
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It's why did it need to happen during your business meetings over and over?
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OK, joining me now to discuss so, so much our legal all stars, Mike Davis, founder and
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president of the Article Three Project, and Dave Ehrenberg, state attorney for Palm Beach
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Wow, we're drinking from a fire hose of news today.
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We were just going to do the Trump immunity hearing yesterday and look at all the things
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I'm most interested in this Fannie Willis case, and we'll get to her second.
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Hunter Biden saunters in there, Mike, like truly the crown prince.
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Like, I will just decide what I show up to on Capitol Hill.
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And it won't be the one that I'm subpoenaed for.
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It will just be this aftermath where you're deciding whether I should be held in contempt.
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And honestly, like Nancy Mace is kind of onto something with the privilege situation.
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It's just I've got to imagine there's some cringing going on over the White House on what
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forgive me, but arrogant prick he looks like in doing this.
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Yeah, I mean, I ran like 70 congressional hearings and markups when I was on the Senate Judiciary
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Committee as the chief counsel for nominations, then Chairman Chuck Grassley.
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This is clearly obstruction of a congressional proceeding, which is a felony.
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This is clearly conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, which is a felony.
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Remember that Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro have been tried by the Biden
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Justice Department and convicted and are awaiting going to prison for defying a congressional
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I don't know how you describe what Hunter did as anything other than contempt and obstruction
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You're laughing because those charges that Mike just referenced are, of course, the ones
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that Trump has been charged with at the federal level.
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But let's speak to that, speak to whether he did violating laws and all this, but also
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just the I mean, come on, this is not a good look.
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Well, it's good to be with you, Megan and my friend Mike.
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Now, the reason I was laughing is because I can understand the argument for contempt.
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But when you say obstruction, all that other stuff, we have a right to attend a hearing.
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And if they wanted to hear from him, he would have testified.
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But to get to the contempt point, I as a prosecutor, when you receive a subpoena, you don't get
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So as a prosecutor, yes, he could be held in contempt, but he's not going to be because
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it's up to DOJ and DOJ did not press charges against Mark Meadows for refusing to comply
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So they're not going to do it here, especially when the guy is ready to testify.
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But he wants to testify in his own terms in public.
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So I get why people are upset about it, but don't expect a prosecution.
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But wait, let me just jump in on that, because Trump also wanted to comply with the subpoena
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for documents at Mar-a-Lago, but wanted to do it on his terms.
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You know, and I said that to the man's face when I sat with him in September.
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And I would say the same to Hunter Biden if he were sitting across from me now.
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You don't get to determine the terms on which you comply with the subpoena.
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Most normal people are afraid when they get a subpoena, because there is a lot of power
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So it's, you know, on your first point, Dave, there's no question he violated the law
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He doesn't get to say, no, it has to be in front of the public, as opposed to behind
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closed doors, where they get a real opportunity to cross-examine him as in a real deposition
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versus the theater we watch when it's in front of Congress with the five-minute Dem, five-minute
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Look, Megan, if you want to do a strict application of the law, then Hunter Biden violated the
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subpoena and could be prosecuted for it, just like Dan Scamino, Mark Meadows, and Jim
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But since DOJ hasn't prosecuted those, they can't just go ahead and prosecute Hunter Biden
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So before I give it back to Mike, then, before I give it back to Mike, Dave, so what's the
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difference between Dan Scamino and Mark Meadows versus Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon on the
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other side, who have been prosecuted for contempt of Congress for not complying?
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Well, I think the difference is, is that whether you're Jim Jordan with speech, speech or debate
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clause, congressional immunity, or you're a presidential advisor with executive privilege,
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it's not the same as a private citizen like Hunter Biden, right?
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I'll give everybody a chance to say what they want to say.
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But let me just stick with Dave for one second, because Dave, you're saying DOJ didn't go
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after this other trio, Meadows, Scavino, whoever the third was, I can't remember.
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And yet, okay, and yet they did go after Bannon and Navarro, as Mike accurately points out,
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So before I give it back to Mike, this one's for you, Dave, what's the distinction between
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You know, they do it all based on the individual's facts and circumstances.
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So I don't know why they didn't prosecute Scavino, Meadows.
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I guess Jordan wasn't prosecuted for the reasons why Mike said, because he's a member of Congress.
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But I think what DOJ will do here is to say, hey, Hunter Biden did show up.
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He said only in front, I won't do a closed door deposition.
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But because prosecutors at DOJ have proven that they will only prosecute these cases
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on slam dunk cases like they had against Bannon and Navarro and not against Scavino and Meadows,
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they're not going to prosecute this one, even though I admit, as a prosecutor, you don't
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I don't, okay, as I recall, the Meadows thing, I don't remember the Bannon circumstance,
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but I know for a fact, Meadows was trying to cooperate with Congress.
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He didn't give them everything they wanted, but he was cooperating, just not to the extent
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That, to me, seems like a distinguishable case from Hunter Biden, Mike, who just gave me
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an Italian gesture and said, if you don't do it my way, I don't show up.
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Yeah, I mean, remember that Mark Meadows was the White House chief of staff, the top aide
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to the president of the United States, and you had Congress seeking testimony about his
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conversations with the president of the United States, which is at the heart of executive
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So you have clear constitutional issues with the separation of powers.
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We've had executive privilege going back 250 years to George Washington, where presidents
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can get candid advice from their advisors without being hauled in before Congress to testify
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about what they said to the president, because that has a chilling effect, and the president
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Was he talking to his father about his art sales?
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Was he talking to his father about his hookers and blow?
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Was he talking to his father about his corrupt Chinese and Russian and Ukrainian foreign dealings?
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What was Hunter's advice he was giving to his father why he can't testify before Congress?
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Yeah, I think you made my point when you said that Meadows did cooperate in the way he wanted
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Like, he gave Congress some things, but didn't give Congress exactly what it wanted.
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Well, Hunter Biden is showing up and saying, I will comply, I will testify, but it has to be
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in the open because I don't trust you guys to report what happens behind closed doors.
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But that is why I don't think DOJ is going to prosecute him, because it's similar to the
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I think it has more to do with the fact that his last name is Biden.
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I think this DOJ has been extremely reluctant to go after Hunter for several years now because
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his last name is Biden, as alleged and then later confirmed by those whistleblowers and
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That's why he had, to use Nancy Mace's term, the balls, to walk in there and middle finger
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I won't give you testimony unless you do it the way I want you to do it, where we all
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How many of those stupid congressional hearings have we heard where they get nothing done because
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You know nobody can ever get anything done that way unless they actually try to coordinate,
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So it's just the whole thing is just a middle finger and he knew he could get away with it.
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So if they do vote to hold him in contempt, Mike, then what?
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I mean, like, does the Congress get to say you're in contempt and then refer it to the
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And then it's up to our pal Merrick Garland to determine?
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If there's a contempt, you refer to the Justice Department and then the Justice Department
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It's a very good question for Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland.
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How do you prosecute top presidential advisors, Peter Navarro, the former trade rep, to the
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trade director, to President Trump, and then Steve Bannon, one of his top outside advisors,
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who clearly enjoy executive privilege with their conversations with the president of the
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United States, but you don't prosecute the president's son who refuses to testify about
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the Biden's foreign corruption and their bribery and foreign corruption schemes.
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This is about whether the president of the United States is currently compromised by tens of
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millions of dollars in foreign bribes and other corruption from China, from Russia, from
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It seems like every trouble spot around the world, Biden and his sleazebag family were on
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And that's what Congress is trying to get to the bottom of, because it's not about hunters,
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It's about whether the president is compromised.
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It sounds like a, like a song from the Wizard of Oz.
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All right, let's, let's move on from those dirty antics to the dirty antics down in Atlanta,
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So just for the listeners and the viewers who did not watch the show yesterday and the
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segment we did on this is totally blown up online.
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So you can go check it out on youtube.com right now slash Megan Kelly if you want to
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But I'll just give you the quick overview so people know.
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Fannie Willis is the DA going after Trump in Georgia.
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This is a case he does need to worry about because she doesn't like him.
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The jury pool in Atlanta is not going to like him.
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And it's a state case that Trump cannot undo even if he or another Republican wins the
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presidency. He can't pull the DOJ off the case because that's federal and she's local.
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She's from a state and he can't pardon himself or get a Republican to pardon him for a state
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conviction. So he does need to worry about Fannie Willis a lot, much more so than the other
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That's kind of a bullshit case that even if he gets convicted on it, he's probably not going to
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Enter the latest defense motion on behalf of one of the other 18 or 19 defendants down there.
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Not Trump's lawyer, but it's all to his benefit anyway.
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She represent another guy, represents another guy down there, this, this lawyer.
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She finds out somehow that Fannie's allegedly having an affair with a special prosecutor she
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brought in. This is the lawyer who, who found out.
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And, um, I'm going to guess that the special prosecutor's wife possibly tipped her off because
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And these two appear to have been getting along, Fannie and her special prosecutor, um, before
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the official, uh, a selection was made and possibly before his divorce was underway.
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Okay. So however she found out, she found out one of the defense lawyers for one of the defendants
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finds out that Fannie may be having an affair with the special prosecutor she brought in and whom
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she's paid $650,000 of the taxpayers money to, which is double what any prosecutor down there is
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making. These DAs don't make a lot of dough. The justices on the Supreme Court in Delaware make less
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than $200,000 a year. This guy, her alleged affair partner has pulled in $650,000 in a year.
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And Fannie seems to be having a good time with him. According to the motion that was just filed
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on behalf of one of the other defendants, these two went to Napa together. They went to Florida,
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Dave, they were down by you. They, um, or Jamaica. I don't, they're like the list is long. He's been
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whining and dining her. And this is while he's cashing all these checks that she has made possible.
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Now the defense lawyer is moving to have her recused from the case, to have him recused from
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the case, to have the entire DA's office recused from the case because Fannie seems to be enjoying,
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or at least is creating the appearance of impropriety, uh, that she's enjoying the financial
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fruits of an appointment she made and bringing this guy in. He's getting all this money and she's
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taking trips with it is the allegation. She hasn't spoken to it yet. They're refusing to comment.
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Um, she, they say they'll respond only through briefs because there's a legal brief now asking
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that everybody get booted. And the woman filing the motion says she's seen the now under seal
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divorce proceeding files between the special prosecutor and his soon to be ex-wife. And as
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soon as she saw them, they put them under seal. So this woman hasn't been able to attach them as an
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exhibit yet, but she's seen them. The lawyer has, and is telling us, trust me, they've been having an
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affair and we're all going to see these documents very soon. So that brings us to the news today,
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Mike. And by the way, credit to the Atlanta journal constitution for reporting all of this. That's
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where we learned about it. The news today, uh, still from AJC is Fannie Willis is going to get deposed
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in, um, this divorce proceeding. The special prosecutor Wade, um, there's been a subpoena in
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his divorce case to, uh, Fannie. And it was served on Monday hours before that filing in the Georgia
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Rico case. And now this lawyer, Ashley Merchant, who represents one of the Trump defendants
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is pointing out that not only is this guy Wade allegedly having an affair with Fannie,
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but he's totally unqualified to be bringing this prosecution in the first place, which just puts
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the, puts the final stink on the whole thing, Mike, right? If he doesn't have the qualifications
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to be trying the case to begin with, then she brings him in her alleged affair partner,
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showers him with all this dough. The two are off to Napa. My God, I need a clothes pin. It stinks so bad.
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My nostrils need to be closed. I mean, this is right out of a beep episode. What Fannie Willis is
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doing down there in Georgia. She brought in allegedly, uh, her boyfriend who has zero experience
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with felony cases. She brought her boyfriend in to run a very complex, unprecedented, highly political,
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highly partisan Rico case against a former president of the United States that who happens to be the
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leading presidential candidate, including, and then also with 18 co-defendants, uh, including
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president Trump's top aides, lawyers, supporters, supporters, this co-defendant, Michael Roman submitted,
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submitted this 127 page motion to dismiss the, uh, the indictment based upon this. Uh, there's also
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other problems besides Fannie Willis getting kickbacks from her boyfriend, allegedly in the form of these
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lavish trips. You also have this prosecutor. If you read his bills, it's, he bills like eight hours at a
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time every day with very vague descriptions. But one day he built a full 24 hours. He built every second
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of a day and he put the vague description prepared cases for pretrial, right? So you worked 24 hours
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in a row, uh, very early on in this case. Uh, another prosecutor, Nathan Wade. Yeah. Nathan Wade.
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Another thing that's very problematic. Here's the bill, by the way, for the, for the, for the viewing
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audience on YouTube, you can see he, he does have a 24 hour invoice. Go ahead, Mike. Yeah. And he also,
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this is how stupid this guy is. This guy also billed for two meetings he had with the white house staff,
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one with the white house council for, uh, for, for like eight hours. And then another eight hour
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meeting at the white house before Fannie Willis brought this indictment against president Trump.
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So that makes it very clear that the Biden president Biden and his white house are lying when they said
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that they didn't have any communications with any of these Democrat prosecutors like Alvin Bragg and
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Fannie Willis before they brought these unprecedented charges against president Trump, this election
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interference, because Nathan Wade billed for those meetings. And the fact that he billed for those
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meetings, his meetings, his two meetings prior to Fannie Willis's indictment with the white house staff
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proves that they talked about Trump's indictment. Cause why else would Nathan Wade have billed for those
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meetings if they didn't talk about what he was working on? That's a very good question, Dave. Those
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two dates and we've seen now his bill, um, may 23rd, 2022, November 18, 2022 before Trump was indicted by
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Fannie Willis. And it says travel to Athens conference with white house council eight hours
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on the may one, November interview with DC slash white house eight hours. Mike raises a good question.
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Why, why would he be talking to the white house and conferring with white house council immediately
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prior to Trump's indictment? If there wasn't coordination with the white house on Trump's
00:25:04.360
indictment? Well, Megan, let's look at the dates. The investigation in Fulton County started on January
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2nd, uh, 2021. That's excuse me. That's when the call occurred. That's what prompted the investigation.
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The investigation actually started on February 11th, 2021. And, uh, so this was taking place,
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this investigation a year plus prior to this, this meeting. If, uh, there was a meeting, who knows
00:25:28.760
this was Nathan Wade's, uh, way to bill for it. He says meeting with white house council, but this
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investigation was going on for many months. And then the grand jury was meeting as of, um,
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January of 2022. So you're talking about many months that the investigation was happening and
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the grand jury was meeting. So what, when you say that by an administration was pulling the strings,
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this thing was already happening in the grand jury. And why did they even need to care about
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funny Willis at that point? When the first meeting took place, Jack Smith had already been appointed.
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And so this investigation at the federal level was already occurring. And let me tell you something
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as a state prosecutor, we state prosecutors don't want to get in the way of feds and the feds hate
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when we duplicate their efforts. The feds do not want us to do what they do because it gets in the
00:26:19.980
way of immunity and other issues. So to think that the Biden administration is saying, yeah, go ahead
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and prosecute when they're already investigating, there's already a grand jury in place and they've
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already got their own federal case ready to be teed up. I think strains credulity. I don't think
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this meeting means anything. Go ahead, Mike. Well, the Department of Justice has very strict
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guidelines on who within the Justice Department can meet with whom in the White House when you're
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dealing with criminal investigations, right? So if a White House staffer can't meet with the Justice
00:26:54.840
Department about a criminal investigation, how the hell can that White House staffer meet with a state
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attorney general about a criminal investigation? Oh, that criminal investigation just happens to be
00:27:07.960
about their boss's chief political enemy. This is a scandal that this Nathan Wade, on behalf of Fannie
00:27:16.960
Willis, billed for time when he met with the White House twice before Fannie Willis indicted President
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Trump. This shows that there was clear collusion between the Biden White House, not just the Biden
00:27:30.680
Justice Department, the Biden White House, and this Democrat prosecutor. That's how his own bill
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says, conferring with White House counsel, interview with DC slash White House. It doesn't seem very
00:27:45.720
ambiguous and we deserve some answers on it, but I want to go back to you, Dave, on what Fannie Willis is
00:27:53.580
accused of here. In what world would it be appropriate for a DA to be having an affair with somebody to bring
00:28:02.740
that person in as special prosecutor to pay him $650,000 and then to go travel the globe with him
00:28:17.100
Megan, I'm not going to defend the optics of this. Look, it looks bad, clearly. But keep in mind that
00:28:24.060
Fannie Willis—oh, and by the way, I used to call her Fannie Willis, too, and then I got an email from
00:28:27.500
one of her friends saying, it's Fannie, not Fannie. So, for what it's worth.
00:28:31.140
All right. Well, so she—sorry, Nathan Wade has been a mentor of hers for years. They were both
00:28:39.720
judges, and he was a mentor of hers when they were—when he was a judge. So, this has been going
00:28:45.540
on for a while, not necessarily any affair. We don't know for sure if there's an affair, but even
00:28:48.840
assume there is, then— What's she doing in his divorce proceeding files if they're not having an
00:28:53.960
affair? I'm going to even assume that there's—even though there was no proof, if there is an affair,
00:28:59.460
let's discuss it that way. So, if they are having an affair, what's the prejudice? What's the
00:29:03.700
problem to the defendant? How are the defendant's constitutional rights being deprived? That's why—
00:29:09.340
I'll tell you. I'll tell you. I'll tell you. And first of all, we don't have to prove actual
00:29:13.500
harm to the defendant. We can just prove appearance of impropriety, and she's misstepped. As you all
00:29:18.140
know, we've all taken the bar exam and passed it. So, appearance of impropriety is enough. But actual
00:29:24.020
impropriety, actual prejudice could potentially be argued here because she has a financial incentive to keep
00:29:28.800
the case going. The more her lover, alleged, gets, the more he has to spend on their next trip to Napa.
00:29:40.300
She's also being paid for this same thing. She gets paid to be—
00:29:45.200
She gets paid a salary no matter what. He doesn't. He doesn't get $650,000 if this case goes away.
00:29:51.440
Well, the thing is, is the evidence there or not? I mean, whether he is prosecuting the case or someone
00:29:56.340
else, the evidence is the evidence. And that's why the judge isn't going to dismiss the case.
00:29:59.300
I got you on your heels. I never get Dave on his heels. He's too smart for me usually,
00:30:03.320
but I got you this time. You're on your heels because you know this is deeply wrong.
00:30:08.000
Mike, there's no way she's getting out of this. If what this lawyer alleges is true, she's toast.
00:30:15.460
Yeah. I mean, I would say, number one, if I'm ever in hot water, I'm hiring Dave because he's a very
00:30:20.200
good defense attorney, as we just saw there. He's good. I mean, he's very good. I mean,
00:30:25.120
he gets up there and says it with a straight face, which is hilarious. And number two,
00:30:29.140
I would say that if these allegations are true, not only will Fannie Willis get disqualified
00:30:34.840
from this case, she faces disbarment and criminal prosecution, both in Georgia and by the Department
00:30:44.180
of Justice, presumably not by the Biden Justice Department. But when Trump's back in office,
00:30:49.300
she faces serious criminal liability for what she's done here, including violation of public oath,
00:30:56.100
bribery, improper influence of government official, criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud
00:31:01.600
government, maybe even racketeering. She likes that racketeering charge, false statements and
00:31:07.100
concealment. There are so many potential Georgia charges alone for which you could go after Fannie
00:31:14.820
Willis on this. And I would say that the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, and the Georgia attorney
00:31:21.240
general, Chris Carr, they need to do their statutory duty here and open an investigation on old Fannie
00:31:30.140
Here's the thing. She's she's paying him double what others in that office are making. And as far
00:31:39.340
as we can tell, the guy's never even prosecuted a felony case before. It stinks.
00:31:46.700
But again, how does it prejudice an defendant when she went to a grand jury and a grand jury
00:31:53.060
of citizens from the community voted to indict? And now the case is being prosecuted. You have a judge
00:31:59.260
who is a Federalist Society member, Judge McAfee, who has refused to dismiss any of these charges and
00:32:05.360
has refused to bounce the special prosecutor off the case because he didn't follow the right forms
00:32:10.640
or he didn't take the right oath. That was a much there. That was an earlier technical objection
00:32:15.360
that people Trump's team was raising to the way in which he got appointed with the special
00:32:20.520
prosecutor. I don't know whether that's legit or not. I don't care. This is this is something in a
00:32:25.400
league of its own. That is why, Dave, you've got this is from AJC, noting the number of legal
00:32:31.160
experts who have deep concerns about this state bar of Georgia's code of ethics.
00:32:37.340
If saying, OK, let's say it would be a clear violation of the state bar of Georgia's code
00:32:42.880
of ethics, according to Andrew Fleischman, criminal defense attorney in Atlanta.
00:32:46.400
Quote, if you're giving money to somebody who appears to be unqualified and they are giving
00:32:49.780
you some of that money back in the form of summer vacations, then you are financially
00:32:54.200
benefiting from your prosecution. The Fulton County Code of Ethics says officials should
00:32:59.540
aspire to avoid, quote, even the appearance of a conflict of interest. It's literally on the bar
00:33:06.460
exam. All of us. Stephen Gillers, who here has read Stephen Gillers book? Raise your hand. We all had
00:33:12.940
to do it. Gillers is the he's the legal ethics guru. We all had to read before we took the bar.
00:33:18.160
You guys are around my age. You had to do it, too. He's he's an AJC yesterday saying this is
00:33:23.940
deeply concerning. It very much looks like if this is true, she's crossed some serious ethical lines.
00:33:29.080
It's done, Dave. It's done. But my point is the case continues when you say that this
00:33:36.320
somehow jeopardizes the case. OK, that's a different question. That's it. OK, wait,
00:33:41.720
I want to get to that. I want to get that. So but there is no point if what this criminal
00:33:46.520
defense attorney is alleging who's who's defending. She's defending Mike Roman. Her name is Ashley
00:33:51.580
Merchant. She's the defense lawyer. If what she's alleging is true, Fannie Willis. Goodbye. You're
00:33:56.480
you're done and your office is done. That's my prediction. Mike agrees with me. Dave disagrees
00:34:01.660
with me. And the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, goes away, too. They're all going away. They can
00:34:06.480
spend as much time as they want in Napa if they can afford it without the state's money and the six
00:34:11.120
hundred and fifty thousand dollars times two because the case is going to be ongoing. Somebody
00:34:14.800
else is getting the case at a minimum. So now that brings us to the question of who and do they
00:34:21.700
think this is as good a case as Fannie Willis thinks it is? Or is there a possibility that the
00:34:29.960
case just goes away altogether? Because that's also being suggested by a few legal experts that it's not
00:34:35.780
going to get reassigned under these circumstances. It's going to be thrown out. So, Mike, do you I know
00:34:41.080
you would like to see it get thrown out, Mike, but do you think there's any realistic chance it does
00:34:45.000
get thrown out? Yeah, I mean, as a result of this. Yes, because there's so much prosecutorial
00:34:50.800
misconduct here and you can get cases dismissed with prejudice based upon prosecutorial
00:34:56.460
misconduct. But let's say even they dismiss this case without prejudice for a new prosecutor to bring
00:35:02.380
the charges here. What I keep saying this for months and months and months now, what exactly did
00:35:09.260
Trump do? That was illegal on January 6th. It is not illegal to object to a presidential election.
00:35:16.480
It is not illegal. That's that's allowed by the Electoral Count Act of 1887. It is not illegal to
00:35:22.280
twist arms politically. That's allowed by the First Amendment. It's not illegal to be a jerk in politics.
00:35:27.980
Otherwise, every politician in D.C., besides my former boss, Chuck Grassley, would be in prison. It is not
00:35:34.520
illegal to have contingent electors in place if you win your challenge on January 6th. They say fake
00:35:41.740
electors like Rudy Giuliani had the real electors tied up in Trump's trunk and then they sent in fake
00:35:48.460
electors and duped everyone. It's not illegal what happened on January 6th. You have this bozo district
00:35:55.280
attorney, Fannie Willis, and her supposed alleged boyfriend bringing this bogus racketeering theory
00:36:03.460
to take out their political enemies. Right. And this the fact that this came out, that Fannie Willis
00:36:10.320
is taking kickbacks from her boyfriend, allegedly, just shows what a clown both of them are.
00:36:15.740
All right. So, Dave, you you don't think I mean, if do you agree that if the judge thinks Fannie
00:36:22.060
Willis has crossed an ethical line, she goes, Nathan Wade goes and her whole office goes.
00:36:28.080
I think it is a possibility that the case, depending on what comes out, could get assigned. I think
00:36:34.780
there's zero chance the case goes away. I'm sorry. You're saying it would get reassigned to a different
00:36:41.400
DA. Like outside of Fannie Willis office. OK, it's a possibility. I think I still don't believe that
00:36:47.940
based on what we know now that it will get removed from her because you as a prosecutor, you can bring
00:36:53.680
on who you want. And in this case, if they had a relationship, if they took trips together, look, it
00:36:59.560
looks bad, but I don't believe across the line where she would be removed from the case. And if we find out more
00:37:04.980
and she is eventually removed from the case, it still doesn't affect the evidence of the case, which will go
00:37:10.380
forward. And the trial on a case like this, Dave, where they cannot afford to have anything smell,
00:37:18.640
they can't have anything close to a conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety.
00:37:23.120
They're already under a microscope. What judge would allow her and him to stay on this case? This
00:37:30.220
guy, Fleischman, this Georgia attorney also said the following. And this is a good point. He said a
00:37:35.240
couple of things. Number one, in this exact case, Bolton County moved to present the false electors.
00:37:40.380
The people who are who have been accused from sharing a lawyer saying it would be a conflict of interest
00:37:44.980
to have a shared lawyer. OK, then he said the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed a conviction
00:37:50.380
against one guy in a different case, finding the D.A. had a conflict of interest in the case. Conflict of
00:37:56.720
interest can get the D.A. booted. Her conflict of interest is she's supposed to be fighting for justice,
00:38:01.640
not for a conviction. And instead, she's got a financial incentive to keep it rolling so she can go back to
00:38:06.620
Napa. The wine's delicious. Then secondly, he pointed, third, he pointed out, we're so worried
00:38:11.980
about a D.A.'s, about her being above any any sort of question about her ethics that we make only
00:38:20.340
taking rightful compensation part of her oath. The D.A., when sworn in, takes the following oath.
00:38:26.560
Swear that I will faithfully and partially and without fear, favor or affection, discharge my
00:38:30.440
duties as D.A. and will only take law, my lawful compensation. So help me, God. That's going to be
00:38:37.360
the argument that this was, in essence, a second form of compensation that she brought in a guy who
00:38:43.900
was not qualified to be her co-counsel and that the two of them have been seeing the world together
00:38:50.840
based on the taxpayer dime, which appears, frankly, to have been inflated by this guy and his 24-hour
00:38:58.640
billing cycle. Well, remember, Megan, he didn't just come on the case after the indictment. He was
00:39:05.280
the one who went before the grand jury. And the grand jurors afterwards thought he did a good job,
00:39:10.000
like he got high marks for what he did. He is someone who is- Okay. Have they tried felonies
00:39:14.600
before? I don't think they know what the standard is. Whether they do or they don't, it's still the
00:39:20.060
grand jury process. And that insulates it from a lot of the accusations that are here. This is not
00:39:24.400
a political witch hunt when you have a grand jury that indicted Trump and all the others.
00:39:29.180
Oh, my God. I know you don't believe that. I am hiring Dave if I can get in trouble. I am.
00:39:34.000
That's it. Mike, you're fired. I don't blame you. He's much better than I am. He's doing his best.
00:39:39.880
I can't say it with a straight face. No, he's doing his best. God love you. It's done.
00:39:45.000
Benny Willis, goodbye. I'm not going to learn how to pronounce your name because you're not going to be on
00:39:49.260
the case much longer. Go ahead. Yes. Say one more thing. One more thing. In the AJC article that you
00:39:53.880
quote, they have a split of opinions. So there are some Georgia lawyers who think she should be
00:39:58.880
balanced and others who say, no, this is not any violation. So there is a mix of opinions.
00:40:03.680
They found one guy who said, I'd be surprised if the allegations would sink the case. I mean,
00:40:12.160
go back and look at Stephen Gillers. Stephen Gillers is no conservative right-wing hack.
00:40:17.120
This guy, he calls him like he sees him. He literally wrote the book and he was all over
00:40:23.160
this in the first article that broke this case yesterday. All right. We haven't gotten to Trump's
00:40:27.940
immunity argument, which is the purpose of Mike and Dave getting a book today originally.
00:40:31.620
And that too is very interesting because that's an effort to get rid of the January 6th federal
00:40:36.200
prosecution against Trump entirely. I said yesterday it didn't go well for Trump's lawyer. And I stand by
00:40:42.140
that. However, one of the arguments does provide him with a serious glimmer of hope. And we'll pick
00:40:49.440
that up right after a quick break. So Trump and Jack Smith, his prosecutor went before the DC Circuit
00:41:00.240
Court of Appeals yesterday via their lawyers trying to argue on Trump's side, this whole January 6th
00:41:05.840
federal prosecution should be thrown out against Trump, claiming he has immunity for the acts in
00:41:12.420
question because he was a sitting president when he took them. My opinion, and having listened to most
00:41:19.760
of it, it did not go well for Trump. These three judges, two are Biden. Are they Biden appointees? Yeah,
00:41:26.080
they're both two are Biden appointees. And one's a George H.W. Bush appointee. None of them seemed
00:41:32.020
inclined to rule for Trump. But the glimmer of hope I was referencing before the break for Trump,
00:41:39.400
and tell me if you guys agree, is they did seem stuck on whether the standard for how to decide
00:41:46.240
this case needs further clarification, like what acts are at issue? And were they within his official
00:41:52.580
duties or were they more discretionary? And maybe we need to kick it back down to the trial court to have
00:41:59.100
a whole hearing that would illuminate us. And long and short of it is, Mike, that would delay the
00:42:05.200
case beyond the election. And that's really what Trump would like. He thinks he's going to win if
00:42:10.660
he wins. He, we're using you as his attorney general, can end this whole thing. So that's,
00:42:17.800
in essence, a kind of win for him if that's what they do. And they did seem kind of tempted to do
00:42:21.820
that. What did you think? Well, I think that what the DC Circuit should do, and I don't know if
00:42:26.920
they're going to do this, but I think at a bare minimum that they need, they need to hold that
00:42:31.080
presidents of the United States, just like members of Congress under the speech or debate clause
00:42:35.720
of the Constitution, just like federal judges under judicial immunity, are immune from both civil
00:42:41.760
and criminal prosecution for their official acts, right? And so judges can't be prosecuted
00:42:48.140
criminally for their official acts. Members of Congress can't be prosecuted criminally for their
00:42:53.420
official acts. That has not been decided for the president of the United States because a president
00:42:57.700
has never been charged until President Biden's special counsel, Jack Smith, brought this indictment
00:43:04.100
of a former president, two indictments of a former president, and then two Democrat DAs,
00:43:09.660
Fannie Willis, who we just talked about, and Alvin Bragg in New York, also indicted President Trump.
00:43:14.920
So now we have four indictments against a former president. The court is going to have to establish
00:43:20.740
that a president of the United States is criminally immune from prosecution because it just would not
00:43:26.220
make sense that you could be civilly immune, but you're not criminally immune. Do you think a
00:43:30.780
president of the United States should have to worry that his successor is going to prosecute him
00:43:36.480
for something he did within his official acts? Like, can the Trump 47 Justice Department
00:43:41.940
prosecute President Obama for the drone strike that killed two American citizens, including
00:43:47.580
a 16-year-old? Can the Trump 47 Justice Department charge Obama with capital murder? I mean, that would
00:43:54.100
be crazy, but that's the path we're heading down if the courts do not establish at a bare minimum
00:44:00.320
that presidents of the United States are immune from criminal prosecution, just like judges.
00:44:05.520
Let me get Dave to just weigh in on that much. Do you agree with that much, Dave?
00:44:08.880
I don't, because what Trump did was beyond his official acts as president.
00:44:16.200
No, that's okay. That's okay, but that's different. Do you agree that for the official acts? I mean,
00:44:20.720
like, he's right. Trump's already threatening to go after Joe Biden if Trump wins for the Afghanistan
00:44:25.940
withdrawal. And, like, Mike's raising a decent point that, like, we can't have presidents worrying
00:44:30.900
about doing things like drone strikes and getting prosecuted. Well, they do have immunity for civil
00:44:38.620
cases. Now, as far as criminal, I think there should be some level of immunity if you make a decision,
00:44:44.860
for example, like a drone strike on a foreign country. Right. But it has to be clear that it's
00:44:48.660
in your official capacity, like your official. I realize in this case, it's not as clear, but if it is
00:44:54.440
clear, shouldn't they be immune from this nonsense? If it's clear, right. The question is, is that
00:44:59.720
Trump's people are saying, you get the outer limits? And I would say, you don't get the outer
00:45:03.740
limits, because the outer limits is ill-defined, and you can just create a huge exception to the
00:45:08.940
rule there. So I'd only agree up to a very limited point. Okay. All right. So that was one of the
00:45:15.720
things they were trying to figure out. And Trump says, I did it all in my official capacity. There
00:45:21.300
need to be fair elections in the United States. And, you know, I had already lost the election. I wasn't
00:45:26.480
still campaigning. So everything I did was in my official capacity. Dave, I'll give that one to
00:45:31.680
you first. Right. Well, the constitution is clear. The states handled the elections. The president has
00:45:36.920
no role in that. And it is telling that even though he says, I wanted to ensure that there was no fraud,
00:45:42.940
he didn't call North Carolina. He won North Carolina by 75,000 votes. He lost Michigan by 155,000
00:45:50.220
votes. He called Michigan. He only called the states where he lost to try to overturn the election.
00:45:54.380
So what he was doing was as a candidate, not as a president who really cared about election fraud.
00:45:59.960
What do you make of it, Mike? Well, I mean, here's the deal. Dave agrees with us. Once you
00:46:05.960
establish that presidents are immune criminally, any president, not just Trump, any president is
00:46:11.540
immune from their official acts, then this case should get remanded back to this D.C. Obama judge,
00:46:18.640
Tanya Shudkin, where she holds a mini trial with Biden special counsel, Jack Smith.
00:46:23.940
And the Trump lawyers, and they have a mini trial on these immunity issues, and they figure out
00:46:28.200
what they think are official acts that are immune and what they think are private acts that are not
00:46:33.820
immune under presidential immunity. And under the case law, under civil immunity, it's the official
00:46:39.220
acts in the outer perimeter of his official acts, because they want to make very clear that presidents
00:46:44.160
are protected and they want to err on the side of protecting the president, right?
00:46:48.260
Okay. So how about that, Dave? Should it be remanded for a hearing on what's official and what's not?
00:46:57.060
No, I think based on the hearing yesterday, the argument from Trump's lawyers that you could
00:47:01.920
call out SEAL Team 6 and assassinate your political opponent was so overbored that, no,
00:47:08.480
I think this is an easy one. In this case, there is not absolute presidential immunity for the outer
00:47:12.540
acts. That is clear. I think that's a limited question that they had. They should reject it.
00:47:17.100
I think the Supreme Court's going to defer to them and let the trial commence in Washington, D.C.
00:47:22.060
Do you think so, Mike? I mean, do you agree with me that these three judges are not going to rule
00:47:25.540
in Trump's favor? The best he can hope for now is delay by kicking it back for a hearing, etc.
00:47:31.620
I actually hope that they don't rule in Trump's favor, because that means this case is going to
00:47:35.740
get delayed beyond the election, because the Supreme Court will have to take this case if the D.C.
00:47:40.760
Circuit does not hold at a bare minimum that a president of the United States is immune from
00:47:46.780
criminal prosecution for his official acts. If they do not hold that, the Supreme Court is going
00:47:51.980
to have to take this case. They're not going to rush to take this case. They're going to put it
00:47:56.320
on a pretty regular briefing and oral argument schedule, because there's no rush. They wait at
00:48:01.840
Jack Smith. The Biden Justice Department waited 30 months to bring these charges.
00:48:05.760
20 seconds left, Dave. Will the Supreme Court take the case if D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rules
00:48:13.620
against Trump? I think probably not. I think they're going to defer, deny cert, deny review,
00:48:19.360
and kick it back to the D.C. Circuit. That's my prediction. That would be nice and clean for the
00:48:24.240
Supreme Court. Trump will not be happy, be the worst outcome for him. My God, great debate,
00:48:28.920
you guys. You're the best. Thanks for being here. Up next, Dean Phillips, who's challenging Biden.
00:48:35.760
Well, my next guest is U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota. You may know him better
00:48:41.700
as the man who is challenging President Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
00:48:47.940
He believes the president is, quote, in decline and too weak of a candidate to be running again.
00:48:54.200
He faces an uphill battle as the DNC and Democratic heavyweights are all working against him. They don't
00:49:00.540
want any challengers to President Biden. But anyone willing to challenge the status quo is someone
00:49:05.660
we would like to talk to. So Congressman Phillips, welcome to the show. Thanks for being here.
00:49:13.780
So your story, your backstory is pretty interesting. As I understand it, you were raised in a successful
00:49:19.140
family and then you kind of took over the family business for a while and parlayed that. It was
00:49:25.080
like, I think, the liquor business or some sort of beverage business. And then you're the guy behind
00:49:30.840
the gelato, Talanti. How do you pronounce it? I never know when I buy it in the store.
00:49:35.300
Talanti, talent, talent with an I. It's very easy to remember. Talent with an I.
00:49:40.200
That's your company. That's sort of what you were doing before you ran for Congress.
00:49:44.200
Yeah, with two partners. But I'll tell you, but Megan, my story actually starts really
00:49:47.660
differently than what you refer to, which is I lost my dad in Vietnam. He was a U.S. soldier,
00:49:51.580
a captain in the Army, and used an ROTC scholarship to pursue education, was sent to Vietnam in 1968,
00:49:58.440
right before I was born, and was killed in July of 69 in a helicopter crash, literally just three
00:50:03.560
days after the U.S. landed on the moon. And I lost my dad. I was six months old. My mom was 24 and
00:50:10.700
widowed, and we had nowhere to go. So we stayed with my great-grandparents for my first three years.
00:50:16.460
And then I got really lucky, Megan. I was adopted by a father who married my mom,
00:50:20.980
brought me into an amazing family of businesses and philanthropy, a lot of advice. Dear Abby and
00:50:27.020
Ann Landers were my grandmother and my aunt. And I got lucky. And in a way, what I'm doing now
00:50:33.460
is to pay it back. It shouldn't just take a stroke of good luck or the zip code in which you're born
00:50:39.800
to determine your outcome. And I think it's a responsibility of people like me who've been
00:50:44.360
successful because of good fortune and hard work to pay it forward.
00:50:48.360
All right. So I was going to back into the loss of your dad, because that's sad. I didn't want to
00:50:52.940
start with that. But I understand that you went back to the site where his helicopter went down
00:50:59.060
on a congressional delegation trip. Can you tell us about that?
00:51:03.600
Yeah. I first did it. I did a trip with a bunch of buddies, actually. It wasn't,
00:51:06.720
this was not a congressional trip. It was on my own with some friends. I did a bicycle trip in Vietnam
00:51:11.680
and then took that occasion, my first time in Vietnam, to actually go visit the site where my
00:51:17.220
dad was killed, where he took his last breath. It was a helicopter crash into a mountain called
00:51:21.760
Dragon Mountain in Pleiku, Vietnam. The helicopter was really a cross-section of America. It was two
00:51:27.060
Jewish guys, two black guys, an Italian guy, and then a Mexican national, David Valdez, who aspired to
00:51:34.740
be an American. And he joined the United States Army, went to Vietnam, and became a naturalized U.S.
00:51:40.020
citizen just weeks before he was killed in that crash. And my dear friend, the actor Woody Harrelson,
00:51:45.680
joined me to go to the crash site. And making it was one of the most powerful, meaningful,
00:51:51.660
heart-touching moments of my entire life to be literally at the very site where he took his
00:51:57.240
last breath. And in some ways, I took my first. It was a very inspiring experience.
00:52:01.920
And I'll tell you, the best part of the story, I haven't even told the best part of the story.
00:52:05.280
When I got back to the United States, the Today Show did a really nice spot about my visit.
00:52:10.020
And it opened the door to what I wanted my whole life, which was to meet the only survivor of the
00:52:16.080
crash, the co-pilot, a man named Tom Devereaux, who had never been able to track down in 30 years.
00:52:21.820
I sent one email. I thought it would be the final time I'd give it a shot. And sure enough, when I got
00:52:27.240
back home, his wife answered and invited me to his 80th birthday party in Colorado Springs, which I
00:52:32.860
attended this summer. And I got to hug the very man who survived that crash. I think it was a beautiful
00:52:38.680
experience for him and a really meaningful one for me. And just another story of reconciliation that
00:52:43.160
I wish our country would work on a lot more right now.
00:52:47.300
Well, God bless you. And God bless your dad and your family for their sacrifice. I'm sure you
00:52:53.140
understand the plight of military families in a very unique and personal way as a result. And
00:52:58.300
that piece of your story is a good thing. I mean, it's a good thing to have guys like you serving who
00:53:02.760
get the sacrifice of not just those who serve, but the families around them.
00:53:07.720
Exactly. Because they serve too. I don't think we appreciate that, Megan, how difficult it is for
00:53:12.620
families when their moms or dads go overseas for deployments for months. You know what that's like
00:53:17.340
when you're a kid and your mom or dad's away for months at a time? Or you can, by the way,
00:53:21.240
the number of military families that are on SNAP or food stamps and need rental support, it's really
00:53:27.020
appalling that we can always find the money to send young men and women to war. And then they come
00:53:31.780
home and we fail to provide the services and support that they deserve, that they've earned.
00:53:36.500
And it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican, we should really enhance our esteem
00:53:41.460
for not just veterans, but their families. Amen to that. Okay, let's move on to some substantive
00:53:47.760
issues because I want to ask you about some news of the day and then we'll get into your candidacy
00:53:51.800
and what you're doing, right? Like why you're doing this. We just left off after an hour talking
00:53:57.400
about Fannie Willis down in Georgia and the case that she's been bringing and these new
00:54:03.020
allegations against her, which have many, I say, objective lawyers, lawyers who I tend to see
00:54:09.500
bashing Trump. Even they are saying if this is true, that she's had an affair with a special
00:54:14.300
prosecutor, that they've been taking trips together after he's been getting rich on the
00:54:18.600
taxpayer's dime. She's got a serious appearance of impropriety that could result in her disqualification
00:54:24.660
and should. What do you make of it? So you make, and this is just another symptom of a really
00:54:30.340
contagious and dangerous disease, perhaps even more dangerous than COVID, which is diseases of
00:54:36.120
corruption, of unethical behavior, and frankly, a disregard for the very public offices that we
00:54:42.380
take an oath to the constitution in which to serve. And I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican,
00:54:47.780
there are wrongdoers on both sides of the aisle. And I'm just really disgusted as I know you are too,
00:54:53.800
that it appears to most Americans who've lost total faith in government. Why? And for reasons
00:54:59.200
why, I understand. But when you see members of a party only defending their own, never, ever,
00:55:05.800
never calling out the truth, saying the quiet part out loud about those who might be affiliated in the
00:55:10.500
same party, that is a dereliction of duty. And I guess I've gotten myself in trouble for being honest,
00:55:17.000
for calling it like I see it. You know, I condemned Donald Trump after January 6th. I was trapped in
00:55:22.480
the House chamber that day. I was subject to that insurrection like this whole country.
00:55:27.640
You know, that's, but why would I then not call BS when I see it on my side of the aisle?
00:55:33.500
And I think that disease of silence, of staying in line, of fear, is a contagious disease on both
00:55:39.940
sides. And I'm telling you, whether it's Senator Menendez in the Senate, whether it's this allegation
00:55:45.280
in Georgia, whether it's Hunter Biden, you know, gross activity, unethical behavior, and corruption
00:55:51.980
is what it is. And it doesn't matter your political stripes. We should call it out. We should be
00:55:57.100
consistent. And we should demand that people in the highest positions of power in the United States
00:56:02.060
of America are honest about the truth. And the erosion of that, Megan, is dangerous. And that's why I'm
00:56:08.360
trying my darndest right now to call attention to what I consider to be the obvious. And that is,
00:56:13.580
we have a culture of corruption that has to be addressed.
00:56:16.840
It's so refreshing to hear you say it. You know, we used to live in a society where
00:56:20.440
there were Dems like you, and there were Republicans too, who felt this way and could
00:56:24.780
meet across the aisle and talk about, agree on just the most egregious behavior. And it's,
00:56:32.100
Well, not totally. I hate to interrupt you, but let me tell you, I will make this claim.
00:56:36.860
Angertainment, which I consider to be the evening cable news, would love to have us believe,
00:56:41.320
you know, they would love to have us believe that we are more divided than we really are.
00:56:45.200
Of course, because it generates billions of dollars in revenue and attracts eyeballs.
00:56:49.500
But I can tell you from personal experience, Megan, that I love my Republican brothers and
00:56:54.140
sisters. The principled handful with whom I've worked out for the last five years,
00:56:59.200
with whom I've been in the trenches, with whom I've created human relationships and trustful ones,
00:57:03.920
they're really good people. They're also beholden to this disgusting system that forces a change in
00:57:09.320
behavior, even among the most principled people on earth. And I'm telling you, I've gotten more
00:57:14.640
beautiful texts from my Republican colleagues over the last number of weeks, including one yesterday
00:57:19.280
from someone who would shock you because they're kind and they're generous. And it's not about Biden.
00:57:24.780
It's not about politics. It's just saying, hope you're hanging in there, man. I appreciate your
00:57:27.960
courage. You know, I hope you're doing well. And by the way, after October 7th, I got more notes from
00:57:33.800
my Republican colleagues just saying, Hey, you're on my mind. You know, I'm sure this is tough for you and
00:57:38.520
your community. And I tell you, those go a long way. So I don't want your viewers to think
00:57:43.260
that all is lost. In fact, that's why I'm running for president, Megan, is to demonstrate to the
00:57:48.120
country that not only can we work together, we damn well have to. And I celebrate that. And that's
00:57:54.640
why I would have a bipartisan cabinet and the best and brightest, a team of rivals, because I really love
00:58:00.040
learning from my conservative colleagues, of whom there are many of great capacity intellectually.
00:58:05.600
A couple of questions on that. Does anyone stand out? Any nice names to offer up?
00:58:11.020
Oh, sure. I can tell you, Dusty Johnson, an extraordinarily principled conservative with whom
00:58:15.300
I have a great relationship and have worked very diligently on the Problem Solvers Caucus.
00:58:20.080
Brian Stile, I think a wonderful young conservative with great intellect and great capacity to lead.
00:58:26.520
One of my best friends in Congress was Anthony Gonzalez, of course, who was the
00:58:30.040
young Republican from Ohio, who has now since left Congress. You know, William Timmons, who led the
00:58:35.460
Modernization Committee on which I served. I see great potential in. I can keep going on down the list
00:58:40.560
of really good people that I've worked with directly. By the way, I just wish more people
00:58:45.680
would make their decisions about other human beings after they've worked with them, gotten to know them
00:58:50.420
a little bit. If we did that, we might change our opinion on a lot of people. And I sure have
00:58:55.160
myself. And by the way, Chip Roy, Chip and I worked on the first bill that I had signed into law was
00:59:01.200
during COVID, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. Chip and I, you would never
00:59:05.940
imagine the number two bipartisan member of Congress, which is me. Chip is probably 430 or so, but we're
00:59:12.260
buddies. Right. It's pretty conservative. Yeah. But that's not that's why we like each other. And we've
00:59:19.240
worked together on that bill. Donald Trump signed it into law. And the only reason we saved probably
00:59:24.440
thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs is because he and I took the time to build
00:59:30.280
a relationship. And by the way, Tim Burchett, I think the most funny, human, wonderful person in
00:59:36.660
Congress could be none other than Tim Burchett of Tennessee. He brings levity when we need it.
00:59:43.420
He is my brother and a man I have great affection for. And again, we don't see it the same way. We vote
00:59:48.340
quite differently, but we sure respect each other. And I'm just on a mission to let people in America
00:59:53.140
know, because you'd never hear it on television, that there are a lot of us that actually have
00:59:57.200
really good relationships. And our generation is trying to rise right now so that we can end
01:00:01.820
this nonsense, period. See, this this conversation is reminding me of the one I had with another
01:00:07.240
Democrat who ultimately left Congress. And that's Tulsi Gabbard, who went also, you know, very pro
01:00:13.660
military. She's a member of it and went to Congress with a well-meaning intent. And she was more of a
01:00:18.700
centrist like you are and just was so disillusioned by what the party did to her, too. Right. She was
01:00:25.380
not on board the Hillary train and really felt like they turned on her and you are not exactly
01:00:30.380
on board. You're supportive of Joe Biden. You just don't think he should be reelected for we'll get to
01:00:34.440
the reasons. And she's just so disillusioned now. You know, they kind of ran it right out of Congress.
01:00:40.980
She's like, why would I want to be here? And it just seems to me like that body will either just
01:00:46.160
pound the soul right out of you to where you submit. You become hard, hardly partisan and go
01:00:51.580
along and do what they want or you leave. Yeah, you got it. It's it's I've never seen in my entire
01:00:58.440
life. I've been affiliated with a lot of companies, institutions, organizations. I got to tell you,
01:01:03.320
Megan, if you tried to design the most dysfunctional, ridiculous institution from scratch,
01:01:09.920
imaginable, you would design the current U.S. Congress. Our founders would be so disgusted because,
01:01:15.780
by the way, they didn't they didn't set the rules. They anticipated future generations of Americans
01:01:21.040
who would put their country first and set aside political nonsense. And the truth is Democrats
01:01:26.600
and Republicans for generations have set rules in Congress designed to do two things, eliminate
01:01:32.800
competition and protect the power structure. And by the way, who do we typically elevate to positions
01:01:38.180
of power in Congress? The people who raise the most money. How do you raise the most money? Oh,
01:01:43.560
by the way, anybody in politics can become famous quickly. You just got to be a jerk.
01:01:47.440
And those of us who actually try to do our jobs with dignity and respect and decency and competency
01:01:52.700
are watching our colleagues play by this new system of rules, which rewards idiots. They become very
01:02:00.400
successful politically. They raise a ton of money. And we all watch that. And yes, it is soul sucking.
01:02:06.540
And I still have every intention to do what I can to make that culture work because I know it can.
01:02:11.580
It just takes leadership. And that's why I'm running for president, Megan, because from the
01:02:15.020
White House, you sound like the grandson of Dear Abby and Ann Landers. I mean, it sounds like you
01:02:20.240
have a good head on your shoulders. But I have to ask you, out of all the advice, my gosh, we all
01:02:26.060
look to our nanas for advice. Was there anything that stood out? Is there like a couple gems that you
01:02:30.740
want to share? I'll tell you, this is actually a story I don't tell regularly, but it was actually my
01:02:36.260
grandmother, Dear Abby, who anointed me a Democrat. And I'll tell you a quick story.
01:02:40.140
My first political experience ever, I show up to school, I think I was seventh grade, 1980.
01:02:46.000
And who speaks at our assembly that day? But John Anderson, Congressman John Anderson,
01:02:50.520
the Republican from Illinois, who decided to run. And I never imagined I would draw this arc,
01:02:55.260
but it's very connected. He ran for president as an independent. And he came to our school
01:03:00.240
and he told us that day, and I remember it vividly. He talked about the need for independence
01:03:04.780
and politics, which I didn't understand at the time. And he talked about money and politics,
01:03:09.160
which I didn't understand at the time either. But I was really excited. I got to dinner that
01:03:13.220
night with my family, including my grandma, who sat next to me. She asked about my day. And I said,
01:03:17.680
it was amazing. The next president of the United States came to our school. And she laughed. I
01:03:22.560
remember and said, look, if he's speaking to a bunch of seventh graders in the summer before an
01:03:26.280
election, he's probably not going to win. So that was a note to self. And then she said,
01:03:31.240
but hey, before you continue, are you a Democrat or Republican? And I said, grandma, I'm 11 years
01:03:36.120
old. I don't even know what those are. And she said, you're a Democrat. She anointed me a Democrat
01:03:40.640
in 1980 at Murray's Steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis. I'll never forget it.
01:03:46.760
I had to tell you, I had a similar experience. My Nana said to me, I said, are we Republicans or
01:03:52.060
Democrats? And she said, Republicans are for rich people. We're Democrats. That was her impression,
01:03:58.920
right? She was born in 1915. And all the Republicans she knew had money. She thought
01:04:03.040
tax cuts were bad, right? She wanted more taxes because she thought she might benefit from them
01:04:07.020
and so on. Of course, the world has been turned on its head now. But I can understand the imprint
01:04:12.080
of the Nana on one's future. I'll tell you one other story that's really important about her. And
01:04:16.860
this was how she operated. By the way, she only became Dear Abby and my aunt and Landers because of
01:04:21.620
Senator Joe McCarthy in Wisconsin, 1950. My grandma, my aunt were housewives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
01:04:28.120
And his antics during the Red Scare literally got them out of the house into activism. It brought
01:04:35.080
one of them to Chicago, Ann Landers, who became Ann Landers in Chicago. My grandma ended up going to
01:04:40.060
San Francisco. But had it not been for Senator McCarthy's communist scare, the world never would
01:04:46.040
have known Dear Abby and Ann Landers. And my grandma said one thing all the time. If you don't know the
01:04:50.500
answer, find someone who does. And I'll tell you, when she passed away and I was the recipient of her
01:04:57.020
old Rolodex, and I'm talking about like the old Rolodex, Megan, I'm telling you, thousands of names
01:05:02.740
by category. And when I tell you the most extraordinary, prestigious, well-educated names
01:05:09.000
in everything you could possibly imagine, when someone wrote her a letter with a problem,
01:05:13.680
she didn't know the answer, but she knew somebody that did. And that was her lesson to me.
01:05:17.980
Don't pretend you know, find someone that does. And that's exactly what good leadership entails.
01:05:22.460
Well, it's very cool. And, you know, I feel for you having jumped from what seems like a lovely
01:05:27.540
business, the ice cream, into something that's incredibly toxic. I always say I work in such a
01:05:32.820
toxic stew and I'm only on the outskirts. You know, I'm a reporter covering politics. I'm not
01:05:38.980
actually in politics, and I'm sure it's been very eye-opening. Let me get to a couple of these
01:05:43.520
issues. You mentioned Hunter Biden. What did you make of him coming onto the House floor today after
01:05:49.360
having flouted the subpoena? Just like, hey, here I am, the prince. I can do what I want.
01:05:54.580
Megan, I'm just, you know, frankly, I recall the days where, you know, presidents were presidents.
01:06:01.280
The first lady typically, you know, made appearances on occasion. But the family was
01:06:05.280
usually secondary or off-limits if they were children. But they didn't really engage
01:06:09.760
in the leadership platform, if you will. And look, I'm appalled. You know, I wasn't thrilled with
01:06:16.520
how the Trump family was engaged. I'm not thrilled with how the president's brother and son, clearly,
01:06:22.480
who are both unethical people, are engaged. I've seen no evidence, by the way. I just want to make
01:06:27.060
it clear. And if I had, I would let you know right away. I've not seen any evidence that Hunter's
01:06:31.640
indiscretions lead to the president himself. But the man is clearly unethical. He clearly was an
01:06:38.300
addict and is recovering, and I do give him credit for that. But this is just sickening. You know,
01:06:42.700
Americans right now, by the way, Megan, they don't give a hoot about Hunter Biden, ultimately. They
01:06:47.160
don't give a crap about all the BS going on in the Congress right now. They are suffering so badly
01:06:52.920
the cost of health care, housing, education, food, and fuel. And they look at what happens in our
01:06:58.820
United States Congress, and they must think to themselves every day, like, what in the world
01:07:03.380
is going on? Nobody's listening to me. No one cares. Nobody hears me. But you know what? Donald Trump
01:07:10.640
heard him. And that's exactly why Joe Biden is losing, and he will lose in the next election,
01:07:15.160
because all the coverage is about Hunter Biden or this or that. And the idea at the end of the day
01:07:20.260
is that people are not being heard. We have a crisis at the southern border. We have wars around the
01:07:24.220
world. People can't afford their lives. And this is what people consider important. Hunter Biden should
01:07:30.540
go away, should go away. And I think what he's doing today is foolish. There is some evidence against
01:07:37.740
Joe Biden. I don't want to make this all about the corruption case. We've done a lot of deep dives
01:07:40.940
on it. But let's let's table the evidence that he was involved. 10% for the big guy emails to that
01:07:47.600
effect. Is it appropriate for a sitting vice president to allow his son to sit on the board
01:07:53.100
of a Ukrainian energy company when he, the vice president, is in charge of Ukrainian policy?
01:07:57.860
No, no. In fact, I'm still shocked. Now, look at anybody who's a parent. We all know the more you
01:08:05.080
tell your kids you can't do something. You know, they're more likely to do it. It doesn't matter
01:08:08.880
their age. That's when they're eight. I know. I'm just saying generally, Megan. And no, I just
01:08:13.000
answered that. Have you ever had anyone answer the question so directly? The answer is no. He
01:08:17.140
shouldn't have. I cannot believe that the sitting vice president would have condoned it or even
01:08:25.100
allowed it. It is so egregious. It is so wrong. And it is such an example of why Americans have no
01:08:30.580
faith in their government. They can't seem to find a politician who actually cares and is actually
01:08:36.500
ethical and is actually transparent. And that's why I understand.
01:08:39.900
And who won't sell out. Who won't sell out. Right. It's just like. And of course,
01:08:45.240
all these politicians were supposed to sort of get into office and then get out. Right. Not be
01:08:49.280
lifetime politicians. That's what Joe Biden is. So many. It's not he's it's on both sides. And now
01:08:54.680
we've got these 80 year old lawmakers and now we have to, you know, octogenarians are near running
01:09:00.480
for president. So that brings me to you. How old are you? I'm 54. OK, I should. I don't want to
01:09:09.480
mislead people. I'm going to be 55 on January 20th. So there you go. OK, very, very young for the
01:09:15.300
record. I like it. So you're running for president and you I know you've said you've been asked about
01:09:19.760
the fact that you say you totally agree with Joe Biden's policies. You're 100 percent behind
01:09:23.260
his policies, but not his candidacy. So why is there a need for Dean Phillips?
01:09:31.900
Oh, let me start with policy. You know, I have voted for his policies. Does that mean I'm 100 percent
01:09:36.940
behind his entire platform? Not at all. In fact, I think I'm one of the only Democrats
01:09:41.080
pointing out the other truth, which is we have a crisis at the southern border that is embarrassing,
01:09:47.040
undescribable and frankly, unforgivable. And that is a responsibility of a number of administrations
01:09:54.380
from the past, Democrats and Republicans. But it's true. And I'm a Democrat telling you that
01:09:58.660
we have got to secure our border and also our northern border. Megan, we are not far away from
01:10:04.380
where we have migration waves of millions of people who are fleeing war or famine or lack of water.
01:10:11.000
And, you know, the fact that we don't put a high, the highest priority of the American president
01:10:16.560
should be secure borders. And it's a big problem. I favor the legalization of cannabis. That's a big
01:10:22.040
difference. I'm an investor in peace and I do that through strength. But I do believe that it is the
01:10:28.200
failures of Joe Biden in the past that we have the crisis in the Middle East and also Ukraine.
01:10:32.500
And these are truths. I voted for the agenda, which, by the way, were investments in America.
01:10:38.680
My proposition, Megan, is to invest in Americans. And that means housing, health care, education,
01:10:44.920
and to ensure the prices for food and fuel are something that every middle class family in America
01:10:50.280
can afford. So that's the policy difference. As for the pragmatism, Joe Biden is going to lose to
01:10:57.120
Donald Trump. Now, I have affection and appreciation for principled conservatives. In fact,
01:11:02.500
I want those ideas embedded in my own policy perspectives. I do have animus towards Donald
01:11:09.020
Trump, not Trumpers, but Donald Trump. And Joe Biden is going to lose to him. And if it's Nikki
01:11:13.760
Haley, if you're a Democrat, Nikki Haley is ahead by 17 points over Joe Biden in the last Wall Street
01:11:20.120
Journal poll. So there is a Democratic delusion and frankly, frankly, a hypocrisy of democracy based on
01:11:27.020
what the DNC is doing in Florida and North Carolina, here in New Hampshire, where I am right now.
01:11:31.160
And I'm on a mission to say the quiet part out loud, speak truth to power, and give Americans the
01:11:39.060
chance to completely turn the page to a totally different chapter if we want to. And that's my
01:11:45.760
proposition. It is not some bold claim that we could never achieve. It's not demeaning everybody
01:11:52.200
who comes in my path. It's trying to return to a time where competency, integrity, decency, and
01:11:58.700
experience all play together. And we work together and fight for each other instead of against each
01:12:05.040
other. And that is my proposition. That's how I wake up every day. You make a point of distinguishing
01:12:09.880
between Trump, who you don't like, and Trumpers, people who support him, MAGA. That's very different
01:12:15.480
from our sitting president, who, you know, the dark Brandon speech, ultra MAGA. He's been trying
01:12:20.980
to demonize Trump supporters pretty much at every turn. And what we hear is that that's his plan for
01:12:26.600
the next year. Like just demonize Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, and his supporters. We don't
01:12:31.280
want to empower these people. Why do you disagree with that? Well, first of all, and by the way,
01:12:36.480
this is a symptom of the disease you just mentioned, which is people who've been serving in Washington
01:12:41.280
for decades. Joe Biden has never had a job outside of the public sector. He's been in Washington,
01:12:48.340
I think, since 1972, since I was three years old. How would he even ever know how to create a compelling
01:12:55.480
strategy that I've done my whole life in the private sector? I've never built a business, Megan,
01:13:00.220
by demeaning my customers or telling them they suck or they're dumb or they don't matter. It's just
01:13:06.240
the opposite. The whole reason I won my first race in Congress in 2018 and flipped a district
01:13:11.260
that had been Republican since 1958 is I used invitation, not confrontation. I have great
01:13:17.700
affection for all Americans. And I'm equally angry. I'm angry at Washington. I'm angry about the two-party
01:13:24.280
system. I'm angry we don't have term limits. And I'm really angry that amazing, hardworking Americans
01:13:30.320
who bust their tails to make ends meet for their family and invest in their country are totally
01:13:36.060
ignored in huge swaths of this country. They matter. I hear you. I invite you. And I want
01:13:42.500
to work together to make life better for the people who really have been forgotten about and why Democrats
01:13:48.480
ignore that. Not only ignore, but condemn, condemn these people. I'm appalled. And that's why I think
01:13:55.140
we need competition. And that's why I'm providing it. And I'm just hopeful that people who are frustrated
01:14:00.080
like I am. We do need competition. We'll see whether the Democrats allow it. They're very good
01:14:03.820
at stifling. Very good at stifling. Just ask Bernie Sanders. They're working hard right now. Believe me
01:14:07.520
on me. They're working really hard. Oh, I realize. I mean, I've been watching. They, I mean, they're very
01:14:12.840
good at what they do. I have to give them some credit on that. They're better at that than winning
01:14:16.660
elections. I'll tell you that. Yeah. Well, we'll see. The border. You've spoken about your feelings
01:14:23.240
shared by, I think by most of our audience today, there's news you've probably seen out of Brooklyn
01:14:28.740
at this James Madison high school where now, uh, they are moving. They moved 2000 immigrants,
01:14:35.520
illegal immigrants into a high school. They're kicked the students out from school said, okay,
01:14:41.300
here they are arriving. You can do remote learning instead. And now we found out today,
01:14:46.340
it's not even remote learning. It's just remote homework assignments. The children have to request
01:14:51.700
a zoom with a teacher. If they would like to have actual instruction in their taxpayer funded
01:14:57.620
school, because the people who came to the country illegally are now in their homerooms and their
01:15:04.420
classrooms. What do you make of this? It's a massive failure, a massive failure in leadership
01:15:10.900
period. And let me say this to Megan. I know you probably feel the same way. Those poor kids
01:15:16.100
whose parents bring them across the border, you know, for the same reasons that my four mothers and
01:15:20.680
forefathers and probably yours came to America, which is to flee persecution and find a better
01:15:26.120
life. I mean, I'm sure that's what most of these poor kids and their families want, but I'll tell
01:15:31.720
you, um, the leadership failure is just extraordinary. And that's why when I'm president, Megan, I can fix
01:15:37.440
this. We can have border security. We can have a buffer zone on both sides of the border barriers,
01:15:42.680
better technologies, completely redesigned ports of entry for both commerce and people. But if we
01:15:48.720
really want to fix the problem, Megan, it's way too late once they come to the border. It's our asylum
01:15:54.040
system. It's our policy that is actually responsible for the problem itself. And I'm sure you know this.
01:16:00.460
We force people who wish to declare asylum to cross our border and they have to wait. They have to spend
01:16:06.840
$10,000 roughly per person. They give it to a Mexican cartel, which by the way, then uses it to
01:16:12.620
hurt our country. And then they come across the border. They're processed by border patrol.
01:16:17.820
They're dumped in the streets of El Paso or somewhere else with not a penny in their pocket,
01:16:22.120
the inability to work and nowhere to go other than told to show up at a court case, maybe three or four
01:16:27.520
years from now. So what can we do? It is so simple. We've changed the law to force the declaration of
01:16:34.060
asylum cases in your country of origin. So if you're coming from, say, El Salvador and you feel
01:16:39.080
unsafe, you go to the consulate or the embassy, you make an application for asylum. We can build
01:16:44.440
inexpensive dormitories next to our consulates or something to keep people safe temporarily.
01:16:49.560
We adjudicate their cases there. They hold on to their $10,000. And if they qualify, we bring them
01:16:56.440
to America. They can work and they have $10,000 to start their lives here instead of having to rely on
01:17:03.200
the public sector. So why wouldn't we do that? Why wouldn't we make a simple change? And the
01:17:08.500
reason is simple. Well, you tell me. We talk about it all the time. Why? What is it about the open
01:17:14.180
border that is appeasing or pleasing to Democrats, including Joe Biden? There has to be an answer
01:17:19.860
because otherwise we wouldn't have such a sieve. Because politicians are focused on winning the next
01:17:26.080
election. Executives and those that come from the private sector like me, we want to solve problems
01:17:31.420
and then and then turn it over to somebody else. And every single person I've encountered in
01:17:36.760
Washington, D.C., Megan, they want to stick around as long as possible. I've torpedoed my career in
01:17:42.780
Congress by design, by design. I knew I was going to root for Biden, right? Yeah, by challenging the
01:17:49.220
president. I knew my party would completely disenfranchise me. I knew that would be hard to
01:17:53.400
come back. And my goodness, everything I expected has happened. I wish we had more people in Washington
01:17:58.620
that would knowingly torpedo their career to get something done. That's what I want my legacy.
01:18:04.100
Can you expand on that? Like what what blowback have you received?
01:18:07.620
Oh, well, you know, well, I will tell you that the tactics are mostly behind the scenes.
01:18:13.540
The the inability to attract any media interest is actually a function of the strategy,
01:18:20.220
telling donors, telling media hosts, telling networks that they better be careful if they
01:18:25.560
platform me or support me because they're watching. And of course, you know, better than
01:18:29.600
anybody, you know, the lifeblood of Fox or MSNBC is access to the administration, information and
01:18:35.560
people. And if you do something to risk that flow, you are literally risking billions of dollars of
01:18:41.100
revenue. So, you know, that the other is the White House has given a warning to the CNNs and
01:18:45.520
MSNBCs of the world, like and maybe the mainstream, you know, the broadcast channels,
01:18:49.640
like don't put them on. Otherwise, no access. I have. I let me just say this until I see hard
01:18:55.860
evidence of anything. I will not say with absolute certainty. But do I have anecdotal evidence? Lots
01:19:00.580
of it. Yes. But that's who I am, by the way. Unless I see or hear firsthand. I'm not going to
01:19:05.460
tell you I know. I don't know. But does it do I think? Absolutely. And do I have some pretty good
01:19:09.920
evidence? Yes. That's how the game works. State parties. Let me tell you another way. The Democratic
01:19:14.900
National Committee clearly communicated with the Florida Democratic Party to remove all
01:19:20.380
candidates from the ballot other than Joe Biden, announcing essentially that the four million
01:19:24.580
Democrats in Florida do not need to have a primary because Joe Biden already won. Same thing in North
01:19:31.100
Carolina. Only one name submitted by the Democratic Party to be on the ballot, Joe Biden. And by the way,
01:19:36.060
I'm not a fly by night candidate. You know, I'm a third term sitting member of Congress. I was a member
01:19:40.760
of House Democratic leadership elected by my peers. I'm the I'm the ranking member of the Middle East
01:19:45.900
Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs. You know, I'm not a fly by night candidate. And they are intentionally
01:19:51.480
suppressing voters, intentionally suppressing candidates and intentionally suppressing debate.
01:19:58.180
So the hypocrisy of democracy is alive and well, and I'm going to call attention to it. And that's why
01:20:02.960
they're very, very upset with me. And I know how a lot of my friends on the other side of the aisle who
01:20:08.600
had the audacity to speak their principles, how they felt when the MAGA machine turned against
01:20:14.640
them. It is discomforting. And that's really my call to action, Megan, is to the exhausted majority
01:20:19.920
of thoughtful center right and center left Americans. If you really want to do something
01:20:25.500
about this, support someone like Nikki Haley or me. You know, why not? Why not turn the page?
01:20:32.300
Like Trump said, what have you got to lose? All right, stand by. Hold that thought. Much more to
01:20:36.180
discuss. We'll get into a couple of the platform reasons. And I'll give this is a tease. Congressman
01:20:41.020
Phillips, we'll get into why not. Right. I've got a lot of center writers and some center lefters
01:20:45.800
listening to this show. So we'll talk about a couple of the issues and see how that goes. Stand by.
01:20:51.720
I'm Megan Kelly, host of the Megan Kelly show on Sirius XM. It's your home for open, honest and
01:20:58.160
provocative conversations with the most interesting and important political, legal and cultural figures
01:21:03.100
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01:21:08.160
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01:21:49.640
Okay, so quick question on Mr. Biden. Too old or mentally infirm?
01:22:00.860
Well, Americans are making it very clear. They feel he's too old. By the way, Donald Trump's only a few
01:22:05.520
years younger, I think four years younger. So there's clearly some disconnect. But Americans
01:22:10.320
have opined. I think 75 percent of the country has said that they believe he's too old. It's more about
01:22:15.980
stage of life than anything. I think people see the decline in his ability to communicate and his
01:22:21.140
physical infirmity on occasion. I do not see any evidence of any cognitive issue to be forthright.
01:22:27.500
I want to make that really clear. But once Americans have made up their mind about who they want
01:22:32.220
representing our country in the future, you've got to listen to the numbers. Now, politicians lie all the
01:22:37.160
time, but the numbers don't. And the numbers are very clear. They do believe he's too old. And both,
01:22:43.260
by the way, I think most Americans want to turn the page from both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
01:22:48.040
That's really the case. Seven and seven percent believe he's too old. And I think it's over 65%
01:22:52.980
of Democrats share that same opinion. How about Kamala Harris? If President Biden were to step down,
01:23:00.520
would she need to go too? Because I know you pointed this out and then got chastised for it. But
01:23:05.420
you know as well as I do that the American populace, including the Democrats,
01:23:08.820
are not huge fans of Kamala Harris. I see the numbers and that's what I was referring to.
01:23:14.540
And here's my very basic point for Democrats. Look at what the GOP is doing right now. There is a
01:23:20.500
very spirited competition, despite having Donald Trump, the former president, in the race.
01:23:26.840
Democrats should be behaving exactly the same way. If it's Vice President Harris, if it's Gavin Newsom,
01:23:32.460
Gretchen Whitmer, me, whoever wants to, the whole point is to practice democracy.
01:23:37.480
So I'm not going to opine on whether it's Newsom or Harris or me or somebody else. That's the whole
01:23:42.020
point of democracy, is let each of us make our case. If your numbers are low because people don't
01:23:46.780
know you, well, then you get a chance to make them go up. And the best part about not being well-known
01:23:51.320
like me is that two-thirds of the country doesn't hate me. And that's actually a real benefit.
01:23:56.540
You know what it's like in this day and age. It's hard.
01:23:59.460
No, it's very hard to be not hated. Do you think she'd be a good president, Kamala Harris?
01:24:04.020
I don't. My experience with the vice president has always been reasonable, decent, and she seems
01:24:11.300
effective to me. But that's not, that's my perspective. And at the end of the day, I would
01:24:16.160
like to see anybody compete in a Democratic primary that wishes to. And of course, I support one person
01:24:24.840
right now to replace Joe Biden, and that is me. I'm prepared. My experience is, I think, perfect for
01:24:30.680
this job. And at the time to meet the moment, my style of leadership is exactly what the country
01:24:35.820
needs. So I'm not going to opine on who it is. And I know, look, I know that's what attracts eyeballs
01:24:40.180
and you want me to say something about her or Gavin Newsom.
01:24:42.340
No, I'm just curious. I think I know the answer. I just don't, I don't think you want to say it.
01:24:45.820
I know very, the time I've spent with her has been quite pleasant. And I think she's a good person.
01:24:50.660
But that's irrelevant to whether she'd be a good president. That's irrelevant. You know, I mean.
01:24:53.500
But let me make this point. I think it's really important. We're all making decisions about people
01:24:58.540
based on Twitter, conversations from a friend, something you see on TV, and nobody is showing up
01:25:04.340
to actually look someone in the eye, hear them make their case, ask questions of them. And all I
01:25:10.760
would say, Megan, and I would just invite everybody listening, the next time you're going to condemn a
01:25:16.300
politician, do it after you've had a chance to maybe just go to one event, get a sense of who they
01:25:21.280
really are? Because the media right now is really misportraying your case. We've had her and Biden
01:25:28.760
and Trump to know who they are and whether we like them or not. But yeah, in your case, I know you had
01:25:34.100
New Hampshire is your big place where Biden's not on the ballot because he thumbed the middle finger
01:25:39.220
at them because he didn't want them to be first in the nation. He wanted South Carolina to be.
01:25:43.240
So you, your big play is to do well in North Carolina, where Biden has to be a write-in vote if
01:25:49.280
people want to vote. New Hampshire. And, you know, you say people aren't showing up. I saw the thing.
01:25:56.380
It was sad. People didn't come to your, nobody came to your event the other day. I think they should
01:25:59.960
go to your event. They should hear you. They should listen to you. But how does that bode for your
01:26:03.700
chances when you're having events there and nobody shows? Well, so first of all, let me, it's actually
01:26:08.580
kind of funny because that moment, yeah, there's the picture right there. So. And you made a joke to your
01:26:13.640
credit. You tweeted it, like you made a joke about it, which I thought was very classy of you.
01:26:18.100
Look, I mean, if people could see, first of all, I would love for every American to come along with
01:26:22.640
me on the campaign trail for one day. This, I love America. This is so fun. It is wonderful to meet
01:26:28.640
people, the daily experiences you have here. Some are heartbreaking. Some would make perfect episodes
01:26:34.040
of Veep. And the truth is sometimes you have events where you're shocked by how many people come.
01:26:38.320
And then sometimes you have moments like yesterday. We pulled my government repair truck outside the
01:26:43.000
hotel we're at. I thought I'd serve coffee to these young people going to this college convention.
01:26:48.040
And little did I know that they were all parking in the garage and coming up a different way. So
01:26:51.780
yeah, it looked pathetic and sad and weak. But at the end of the day, what's really interesting,
01:26:56.360
Megan, is Jake Rosen, the reporter that put up that tweet. I think his post showing me lonely in the
01:27:02.280
back of my truck, staring off into the wilderness. I think that's generated like, I don't know,
01:27:06.580
3 million views or something. One hour later, he did another tweet of me playing bingo with this
01:27:12.520
extraordinary and hysterical group of old ladies here in Manchester. He did another tweet literally
01:27:17.600
one hour later, and I think it has like 4,000 views. So it's either 4 million if you make someone
01:27:22.720
look pathetic or sad or like snarky. Yeah. Only 4,000. If it's actually, it was a really beautiful
01:27:28.560
experience playing bingo with a whole room full of seniors. So my point is this. No one wants to see
01:27:32.720
that. I take your point. Okay, let's go through a few issues in the time we have left. And I don't
01:27:37.520
have a lot of time. So tick through these with me quickly, if you could. Here's the one. I mean,
01:27:41.580
I have voted Democrat in the past, unlike most of my, you know, colleagues who are more on the right
01:27:46.420
now. I have voted for Dems and Republicans. And so you're kind of luring me in with your attitude
01:27:52.680
and your bipartisanship and your just optimism and so on. However, I'm almost a single issue voter
01:27:58.960
now on the trans thing and children. And I don't know if you saw, I asked the candidates about this
01:28:03.980
at the last presidential debate on the GOP side, but it's a hard no for me on somebody who would
01:28:08.360
allow these surgical procedures to be done on children who are under 18 in terms of chopping
01:28:13.960
off body parts from kids who can't even smoke a cigarette. And I also am very much against puberty
01:28:19.900
blockers straight into cross sex hormones, because even the trans community admits this is causing
01:28:25.440
in sterility. This is causing sterility, infertility for minors. They can't possibly
01:28:31.780
consent to their own sterilization. And I think you're on the opposite side of me on this. So
01:28:36.100
persuade me why I should still consider you. Well, here's how I feel. And look, I know that most of
01:28:41.820
your listeners, if not all, and you as well, you know, care. We have hearts. We care about human
01:28:46.660
beings. We don't want to destroy lives and we want to be empathetic. I'm the father of two wonderful
01:28:51.800
daughters. My youngest daughter, Pia, is a gay woman. And I have particular empathy for people
01:28:56.760
who have been oppressed or shuttered or kept out or closeted. And I've never walked in the shoes
01:29:02.740
of a queer person, of a trans person, of someone who's facing bipolar disorder, whatever it might be.
01:29:10.300
And they've never walked in my shoes. So generally, I lead with love. And unless it affects another human
01:29:15.900
being, I tend to say I think it's something the government should stay out of. The government should
01:29:20.120
stay out of women's bodies. The government should stay out of my house and out of my bedroom, out
01:29:24.580
of my bathroom. That's how I see it. But as it relates to your question specifically, I will answer
01:29:28.740
it. You know, I don't believe that children under the age of 18 who cannot buy firearms, who cannot
01:29:36.340
buy beer, who cannot do a lot of things in the United States of America should be able to make such
01:29:42.560
consequential life-changing decisions until a certain age. And I do think maybe that is the common
01:29:49.160
ground, that you can have empathy, you can have love, you can have understanding, and you can have
01:29:54.300
support. But when it comes to making decisions that will really have significant repercussions,
01:29:59.820
I do think a certain age is totally reasonable. What's the age? What's the age? Majority? 18?
01:30:06.100
Well, I think this is, by the way, I'm glad you asked that question, because at the end of the day,
01:30:09.120
we're using these arbitrary ages that in my, I would argue, are both hypocritical in many cases and
01:30:14.740
incongruent. But we're one of the only countries in the world, by the way, that allows you to drive
01:30:19.120
before you're allowed to drink, right? Wouldn't it be a little bit more reasonable for kids in this
01:30:24.200
country to grow up not thinking alcohol is something you go get bombed on when you turn 21, whereas you
01:30:29.160
actually appreciate its effects, you understand it, you might enjoy a glass of wine with family when
01:30:33.660
you're a teenager, and then you learn how to drive afterwards, like most reasonable countries do?
01:30:38.120
I don't know if the age is 18. Let me just say this. Lower than 18? 18. Look, 18 is usually in 21
01:30:46.520
are the two ages we consider to be threshold ages in this country. You know, I'm not a doctor. I'm not
01:30:51.660
an attorney. I'm not the parent of a trans child. So I don't believe that, frankly, I should be telling
01:30:56.980
you what that age should be. What I'm telling you is that, as president, on issues of great consequence
01:31:02.200
and of great challenge, this is an example of how I would lead, bring together a table of parents,
01:31:07.840
of trans children, of trans adults, of doctors, and hear perspectives on both sides about what
01:31:14.000
makes sense and whether or not the government should get involved. Those are the fundamental
01:31:18.240
questions. All right. Before you appoint that table of people, please, let's talk. Because what's
01:31:24.360
happening right now in the medical community is they've been completely captured by activists,
01:31:29.240
including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, even the
01:31:34.640
endocrinology association has been captured. And you're seeing more and more detransitioners come
01:31:39.380
out and sue these groups, sue the doctors. They've been so wronged. All right, let me table that one
01:31:43.840
for now. Abortion. You know, there are a lot of Democrats out there who believe in abortion on
01:31:50.280
demand, and they won't set any limits. They won't set a limit for the third trimester even. I think most
01:31:56.580
people can agree if the life of the mother is in jeopardy, that the life that's already here has to
01:32:01.340
take precedence. But should there be limitations on abortion for any trimester? Let me start with
01:32:08.340
my values. My values are that I believe in freedom and liberty, and I believe that should extend to
01:32:13.380
women's bodies. I don't think government should play a role in telling a woman how she can treat
01:32:18.640
her body, what she can do with it. And I certainly don't think men should be doing that. Those are my
01:32:22.280
values. So I believe in a woman's right to make that choice with her health care provider
01:32:26.580
and herself. I also know there's a lot of conversation about late-term abortions, and I
01:32:31.420
think you know, Megan, the data is very clear. There are very, very few of them, and if there are,
01:32:35.960
they tend to be very tragic circumstances for either the fetus or for the mother. So to your
01:32:40.640
question, I'll tell you, in New Hampshire about a month ago, I had the most extraordinary conversation
01:32:45.160
in my entire life on this subject because I had a young conservative approach me on the issue of
01:32:50.240
abortion. He said, I'm fiercely pro-life. And I said, I respect you, and I'm fiercely pro-choice,
01:32:55.340
so let's have a conversation. And I said to him, where might we find common ground? And he said,
01:33:00.820
well, what if we were to reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies? I said, whoa, what a great
01:33:06.420
way for Democrats and Republicans to start. And then he continued, and he said, I'm going to actually
01:33:11.200
make the conservative case for progressive principles. And he proceeded to say, imagine if
01:33:16.440
American women who are facing this decision knew that their baby would be brought up with shelter,
01:33:22.580
with food, with great education, with healthcare, and security in the neighborhood, an opportunity
01:33:28.520
to make a living and be self-sufficient for his or her life. Don't you think more women might make
01:33:34.200
the choice to have their babies? And I literally was so dumbfounded because it was the most beautiful
01:33:39.920
case to make where Democrats and Republicans should be focusing our efforts. This notion of being pro-life
01:33:45.480
But just to be clear, just to be clear, just so that people understand. So you would not,
01:33:49.120
because you're not in favor of any government bans, so you would say, in all cases, it's up to the
01:33:54.120
woman. There should not be any bans on it, third trimester included.
01:33:58.300
What I'm saying is this, and I know it's incongruent with some people's perspectives and perhaps yours.
01:34:03.420
I'm saying this very clearly. I'm very concerned about the growing role of government in people's
01:34:08.640
lives, including this one. And by the way, and I want to say, I have respect for people who see
01:34:18.620
this differently. And I would ask that you have respect for me. It is very simple to me. I just
01:34:23.920
don't think, I think on this specific subject, I don't believe that government should be playing
01:34:29.480
a role. I think physicians should be playing a role. All right, wait, I only have two minutes left.
01:34:33.400
So I want to squeeze this last one in. DEI, under a lot of fire right now, especially in the wake of
01:34:38.680
the anti-Semitism we're seeing on campuses. We think it's directly linked to these programs.
01:34:43.320
What do you think? I think it's really simple. DEI is a symptom of a disease that has never been
01:34:50.420
treated. And that disease, for everybody watching and listening right now, is slavery. Our country
01:34:55.960
never, ever repaired the relationship between the United States government and those who are enslaved
01:35:02.680
and their descendants. We have never made a distinct effort to ensure that the long tail of slavery is
01:35:10.180
rectified in the United States. And the best way to do that, and I will propose we do so, is to raise
01:35:15.600
the foundation. I want to do a lot of things, Megan, starting with a notion of what I call the American
01:35:20.600
dream account, which is a thousand dollars vested in every baby's account in the beginning of their
01:35:25.480
life. Wait a minute, but you're endorsing, you're endorsing DEI because of slavery. So you,
01:35:31.000
you're in favor. What I'm endorsing. No, no. What I'm saying is DEI is a symptom of a disease that
01:35:36.220
we've never addressed. I want to address the disease, which is to make amends and to fix the
01:35:41.480
injustices of the past by raising the foundation for the black community and for all Americans.
01:35:47.660
And I'll tell you, let me tell you what I propose. I want to start something called American dream
01:35:52.000
accounts for three and a half billion dollars a year. Every American baby would be afforded a thousand
01:35:57.200
dollar account that would be invested in the stock market in American companies. Five hundred dollars
01:36:01.720
a year can be added to it over the course of your teenage years. It will become yours if you graduate
01:36:07.200
high school or get your GED. And at six percent interest, five hundred dollars a year. That's
01:36:13.200
every baby, irrespective of race, everybody, everybody. And then secondly, if you want to afford
01:36:18.320
one year of your life to serve our country, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, U.S. military, we'll put another
01:36:23.880
ten thousand dollars in your account. So you have thirty thousand dollars to start a life, own a
01:36:28.360
home, begin a business, use for your expenses. I got 40 seconds until the computer is going to cut
01:36:33.160
us off. But I just. Well, there you have it. That's the beginning of a problem. Are you in favor of these
01:36:36.640
DEI programs in K through 12 and college campuses? I think I think training and preparing young kids
01:36:43.620
for the world in front of them, which is a very diverse one, is really important. Do I think that
01:36:48.160
the systems that are being employed right now in the programs and some of the people are effective
01:36:52.180
in the right ones? No. And that's absolute. So I think, again, two things. You know what? Let's wrap
01:36:56.540
this up with my last perspective. Two things can be true at once. We need to prepare kids better for
01:37:01.960
their futures. And that means diversity understanding. But are the way is the way we're doing it right
01:37:06.400
now, effective and correct? No, I think it's actually really bad. I want to fix it. I want to fix it.
01:37:11.320
Thank you for being here. We got to run. I appreciate it. Dean Phillips, to be continued. All the best to you.
01:37:16.260
Thanks for listening to The Megyn Kelly Show. No BS, no agenda, and no fear.