Kash Patel Takes Over FBI, Hamas Hostage Outrage, and DOGE Refund Potential： AM Update for 2⧸21
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Summary
Kash Patel is confirmed to a 10-year term as FBI Director, with a surprise supporter carrying him across the finish line. And a new slate of polls shows slight changes to President Trump s approval rating, and is Doge about to send you a refund check?
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, February 21st, 2025, and this is your
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AM update. The yeas are 51. The nays are 49. The confirmation is confirmed.
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Kash Patel is confirmed to a 10-year term as FBI director, with a surprise supporter
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carrying him across the finish line. It was so humiliating, so disgusting, so despicable.
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Even the UN Commissioner on Human Rights condemned it strongly and fearfully.
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Our worst fears confirmed. Hamas terrorists parade the coffins of the innocent Bibas children through
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the streets of Gaza before returning the tiny captives to Israel. We'll have a full report.
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And a new slate of polls shows slight changes to President Trump's approval rating. And is
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Doge about to send you a refund check? All that and more coming up on your AM update.
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This show is dedicated to uncovering the truth in a media landscape often dominated by left-leaning
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narratives, especially when it comes to President Trump. It's safe to say you can expect more agenda-driven
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Cash Patel confirmed as FBI director. The vote was 51 to 49. Senator Mitch McConnell surprising many
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with his vote in favor of Mr. Patel. Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of
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Alaska joining every Democrat to vote against the nominee. Mr. Patel was believed to be one of
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President Trump's most controversial nominees. In fact, many pundits on both sides suggested there was
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zero chance he would make it through. Yesterday morning, six Senate Democrats held a brief press
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conference outside of the Hoover building in one last-ditch effort to protest his confirmation.
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Cash Patel, mark my words, will cause evil in this building behind us.
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He's an instrument of Donald Trump's effort to destroy the Justice Department and the FBI
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so that he is absolutely and completely not only above the law, but beyond the law.
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This is a real danger and a real threat. This vote will haunt you. You will be held accountable.
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He is a yes man for President Trump, already undermining the critical bureau he wants to lead.
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Former Congressman, now Senator, Adam Schiff of California also weighed in.
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He will misuse the resources of the bureau. He will weaponize it against the president's political
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opponents rather than protecting the safety, the public safety of the American people.
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As a congressman, Mr. Schiff was removed from his position on the House Intel Committee by former
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy. As then chairman of that committee, Mr. Schiff led the hearings investigating
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Russian influence in the 2016 election. For years, he told the American people that behind closed doors,
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he had seen evidence of President Trump's direct collusion with Russia to win the 2016 election.
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Donald Trump was really the one who enabled this Russian operation to be so successful
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by giving them cover, by denying it was even happening, by denying it was the Russians.
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I think there's plenty of evidence of collusion or conspiracy in plain sight.
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You can see evidence in plain sight on the issue of collusion, pretty compelling evidence.
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There's ample evidence of collusion in plain sight, and that is true.
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Follow-up investigations revealed none of that. In fact, we've learned that the story was based off of
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phony intel originally funded by the Clinton campaign. The FBI knew the intel was questionably sourced,
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but used it anyway to secure FISA warrants that allowed them to spy on Trump advisor Carter Page
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and, by extension, the Trump campaign. Text messages between two top FBI agents revealed their plan to
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quote, stop Trump from getting elected. Republicans frequently criticized the FBI under the Biden
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administration, which created a specific threat tag, edu officials, that would monitor parents
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attending school board meetings as potential threats. A leaked January 2023 FBI memo proposed monitoring
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some Catholics, suggesting Catholics interested in the traditional Latin mass could be linked to extremist
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groups. That memo was later retracted. Trust in the FBI has been on a steady decline. A 2003 Gallup poll
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showed 53 percent rated the FBI as good or excellent. As of 2024, that number had dropped to 41 percent.
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President Trump campaigned on a promise of rooting out partisan actors from the Justice Department and
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FBI. A DOJ spokesperson said earlier this week, quote, this DOJ will return to its core function of
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prosecuting dangerous criminals, not pursuing politically motivated witch hunts. Like Mr. Trump,
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Bobby Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel is a fierce critic of the very bureau he now oversees.
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He made the following statement in a September episode of The Sean Ryan Show.
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The biggest problem the FBI has had has come out of its intel shops. I'd break that component out of
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it. I'd shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopening the next day as a museum of the
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deep state. And I'd take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to
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chase down criminals. Go be cops. You're cops. Go be cops. Mr. Patel played a key role identifying FBI
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misconduct related to the Steele dossier. Reuters reports that in the first month of the second
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Trump administration, at least 75 career DOJ lawyers and FBI officials have either resigned,
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been fired, or stripped of their posts. FBI directors typically serve 10-year terms.
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Prior to his vote for Kash Patel yesterday, Senator Mitch McConnell announcing his own retirement.
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Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor
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an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.
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After voting against Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, and RFKJ, many expected the senator to oppose Patel
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as well. That would have left the tie-breaking vote to Vice President J.D. Vance. First elected to the
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Senate back in 1984, Mr. McConnell holds the title of longest-serving Senate party leader in American
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history. Despite a contentious relationship with President Trump's nominees this time around,
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Senator McConnell played a crucial role in shepherding Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh,
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and Amy Coney Barrett onto the U.S. Supreme Court. Coming up, the Bebas children are returned to Israel.
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The latest on Trump polling and possible DOJ refund checks? All this and more in just a
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Get it off your plate before the IRS acts first. Four bodies returned yesterday to Israel from the
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Gaza Strip. Israeli officials say one of them, expected to be Shiri Bibas, is not actually her
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and does not match any other hostage. The Israeli military releasing this statement, quote,
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this is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization,
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which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that
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Hamas returned Shiri home along with all other hostages. Officials did confirm the remains of
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her two young sons, Ariel, age four, and Kefir, just nine months old when they were taken from their
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homes barefoot and in their PJs on October 7th, 2023. The boys, the youngest of the 253 hostages taken
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that day, became a harrowing symbol, both to the Israeli people and to the world, of the sheer
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brutality of Hamas's attack. As with fire-living hostages, the Hamas terrorists paraded the bodies
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through the streets with loud music blaring, almost celebratory, some members of the crowd cheering
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as the caskets of the babies pass by. The four black boxes then displayed on a podium, each with a
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picture of the hostage at the base, their name and words in Arabic, October 7th, date of arrest.
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On display behind them, an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with fangs and blood spatters
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with the words, quote, the war criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi army killed them with missiles from
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Zionist warplanes, a claim totally unsupported by any evidence. Israeli President Herzog on MSNBC
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reacting to the barbaric scene. I think that is a true reality of what we Israelis have been going
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through with these jihadists who've taken over Gaza and turned it into an Iranian terror base against
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Israel with their hate and with a lack of morality and with a barbaric approach to life. But it was
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so humiliating, so disgusting, so despicable. Even the UN Commissioner on Human Rights condemned it
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strongly and fearfully. The coffins were scanned for explosives before they were returned by the Red
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Cross to Israel. The remains of the fourth hostage, also confirmed by Israeli officials, were those of
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Oded Leafsheets, 83 when he was taken hostage. He was the founder of the Kibbutz near Oz, the village where
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he and the Bibas family lived. Mr. Leafsheets worked for many years as a journalist for a left-leaning
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newspaper. President Herzog spoke about his life and work. The other person is Oded Leafsheets, an 86-year-old
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retired elderly peace activist who used to work with the Palestinians on a daily basis to help them in
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any way they need. The Times of Israel reporting Mr. Leafsheets was an Arabic speaker. He worked with an
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organization called Road for Recovery. He would drive weekly into the Gaza Strip, shuttling Palestinians in
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need of medical treatment into Israel. Oded's wife, Yokoved, tells the Times of Israel her husband, quote,
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fought for the Palestinians his whole life. They betrayed him and took him to hell. Prime Minister
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Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Israeli people yesterday, saying, quote, our hearts may be broken,
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but our spirit is not. And with this spirit, we will return all of our hostages. We will destroy
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the murderers. We will eliminate Hamas. And together, with God's help, we will ensure our future.
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Six more hostages are set to be released tomorrow. Phase two of these negotiations are now in the
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preliminary stage. Earlier this week, Mr. Netanyahu reportedly told his cabinet the conditions for
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entering phase two will require Hamas to disarm and to have no presence in Gaza.
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A fresh slate of polls showing a slight decrease in enthusiasm for President Trump's job approval.
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The worst day of polling for Donald Trump during his entire second term in office. What am I talking
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about here? Take a look at Trump's net approval rating. CNN, you see it on this side of the screen.
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Minus five. Gallup. Minus six. Ipsos. Minus seven. Quinnipiac. Minus four. Negative,
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negative, negative, negative. Underwater, underwater, underwater, underwater.
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Enten saying it's the worst day of polling in Trump's second term. All of the polls he referenced
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come out on a monthly basis, and President Trump is just one month into his second. Each of the four
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polls referenced have Mr. Trump's approval in the mid to upper 40s, with strong support amongst
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Republicans. Amongst all voters, CNN shows Mr. Trump with a 47 percent approval rating compared
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to 52 percent who disapprove. Gallup has it 45 to 51. Washington Post. Ipsos 45 to 53. And Quinnipiac
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45 to 49. According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, President Trump is at a 48 percent
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favorable and 49 percent unfavorable rating, although these new polls are not factored into those numbers.
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President Trump's approval rating remains far above his first term, which never got higher than 44 percent.
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Potential for a Doge-funded tax refund? The Doge team reports they have saved $55 billion of taxpayer
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money. The official website says the savings come from fraud detection, contract cancellations,
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and asset sales, among other actions. Earlier this week, investment manager James Fishback proposed
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issuing a refund to taxpayers on X with these savings. Elon Musk responding,
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we'll check with the president. The idea picking up traction throughout the week.
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President Trump addressed it in Miami on Wednesday.
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There's even under consideration a new concept where we give 20 percent of the Doge savings to
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American citizens and 20 percent goes to paying down debt because the numbers are incredible, Elon.
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In the briefing room yesterday, Stephen Miller outlined how the concept might play out.
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The way that it works is when you achieve savings, you can either return to the taxpayers,
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you can return it to our debtors, or it can be cycled into next year's budget and then it just lowers
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the overall baseline for next year. And when is it that people might see those checks?
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Well, it's all going to be worked on through the reconciliation process with Congress.
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A common Republican criticism of the Biden administration was that the stimulus checks
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were inflationary and counterproductive. CNN's Caitlin Collins asked Kevin Hassett,
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director of the National Economic Council, if he has any concern that
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Oh, absolutely not. Because imagine if we don't spend government money and we give it back to people,
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then if they spend it all, then you're even. But they're probably going to save a lot of it,
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in which case you're reducing inflation. And also when the government spends a lot,
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that's what creates inflation. We learned that from Joe Biden.
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Right now, the House and Senate are working on budget proposals.
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Any Doge refunds would have to come from the budgeting process.
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Fort Knox, the 109,000 acre property located in Kentucky, is one of the world's most tightly
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guarded locations. It holds about 161 million ounces of gold, approximately 59 percent of the U.S.
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Treasury's total supply, according to the U.S. Mint. Or does it? Elon Musk saying, prove it.
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The last public tour of Fort Knox was in 1974 under President Gerald Ford. A group of congressmen and
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some journalists became the second tour group outside of authorized personnel to take a peek around.
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The first look was President Franklin Roosevelt back in 1943, 10 years after the fort opened.
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As part of the wider Doge audit of the federal government, Mr. Musk is encouraging President
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Trump to investigate Fort Knox. President Trump responding to the idea on Wednesday aboard Air Force
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We do want to look. I mean, we hope everything's fine with Fort Knox, but we're going to go to Fort
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Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there.
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Where would the gold have gone? If the gold isn't there, we're going to be very upset.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a separate interview on Wednesday, quote,
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all the gold is present and accounted for. He says the Treasury Department conducts an audit
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every year. I mean, it is, after all, Fort Knox.
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That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for The Megyn Kelly Show,
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live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast
00:18:02.200
We like to walk that fine line between techno-thriller and romantic comedy.
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