The Megyn Kelly Show - July 21, 2025


Obama-Era Intel Plot Exposed, DOJ Seeks Epstein Transcripts, Dems Mourn Colbert： AM Update 7⧸21


Episode Stats

Length

18 minutes

Words per Minute

151.76118

Word Count

2,835

Sentence Count

171

Misogynist Sentences

2

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard releases a bombshell report containing newly declassified documents exposing a plot within the highest levels of the Obama administration to subvert the impending Trump presidency. Attorney General Pam Bondi requests a federal judge release grand jury testimony relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case. And Democrat lawmakers mourn the cancellation of their favorite late-night cheerleader as if democracy has ended. All that and more coming up in just a moment on Your AM Update.


Transcript

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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly.
00:00:35.580 It's Monday, July 21st, and this is the 100th episode of your AM Update.
00:00:41.540 Accountability, action, prosecution, indictments for those who are responsible
00:00:47.520 for trying to steal our democracy to make sure that this never happens to our country again.
00:00:53.020 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard releasing a bombshell report
00:00:57.280 containing newly declassified documents exposing what she calls a plot within the highest levels
00:01:03.160 of the Obama White House to subvert the impending Trump presidency.
00:01:07.960 Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting a federal judge release grand jury testimony relating to the
00:01:13.560 Jeffrey Epstein case.
00:01:14.740 What's happening at CBS right now is bone chilling.
00:01:18.620 And Democrat lawmakers mourn the cancellation of their very favorite late-night cheerleader
00:01:24.820 as if democracy itself has ended.
00:01:28.000 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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00:02:58.320 On Friday evening, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassifying a trove of documents
00:03:04.400 from the final months of the Obama administration relating to intelligence on Russian interference
00:03:10.440 in the 2016 election.
00:03:12.140 Director Gabbard saying these documents reveal a plot within the highest levels of the government
00:03:17.060 to manufacture and politicize intelligence, laying the groundwork for a, quote,
00:03:22.040 years-long coup against President Trump.
00:03:25.040 Director Gabbard, Sunday morning on Fox News.
00:03:28.100 The months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community agreed that there was
00:03:35.840 no intelligence that reflected that Russia was trying to hack the election in favor of either candidate.
00:03:42.580 The evidence showed, the intelligence showed that, again, Russia did not have either the intent
00:03:48.540 nor the capability to be able to impact the outcome of the United States election.
00:03:54.000 The new information revealing on December 8th, 2016, one month after President Trump's election victory,
00:04:01.280 the intel community was preparing this assessment for the president's daily brief, quote,
00:04:05.520 We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.
00:04:15.900 The report highlighting some nefarious activity by Russian government-affiliated actors,
00:04:21.320 for example, compromising a voter registration database in Illinois,
00:04:25.560 along with other unsuccessful attempts to do the same in other states.
00:04:29.140 However, the report going on to conclude, quote,
00:04:32.380 Election monitoring and the type of systems targeted, infrastructure, not used to cast or count votes,
00:04:38.400 make it highly unlikely it would have resulted in altering any state's official vote result.
00:04:43.360 Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes.
00:04:50.320 Later that day, the FBI under Director Comey withdrew FBI participation from the report,
00:04:55.740 quote, notifying other intel community officials that the FBI would be drafting a dissent.
00:05:00.600 The reasoning behind the sudden change in FBI participation is not yet clear.
00:05:05.560 But after the FBI withdrawal, a senior official killed the report entirely, quote,
00:05:09.960 based on some new guidance.
00:05:12.300 The report, based on months of work from career intelligence officials,
00:05:16.580 concluding Russia did not hack the election, was never published.
00:05:20.300 The following day, December 9, 2016, President Obama, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper,
00:05:27.580 CIA Director John Brennan, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry,
00:05:33.680 Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe,
00:05:38.380 and other high-level officials met at the White House.
00:05:42.040 Director Gabbard releasing post-meeting notes that reveal a complete change
00:05:46.520 in the intel community's attitude toward Russian interference in the 2016 election.
00:05:51.940 Then DNI Clapper's assistant sending an email reading in part, quote,
00:05:55.660 The IC is prepared to produce an assessment per the President's request
00:06:00.400 that pulls together the information we have on the tools Moscow used
00:06:04.680 and the actions it took to influence the 2016 election
00:06:08.280 and explanation of why Moscow directed these activities
00:06:12.020 and how Moscow's approach has changed over time.
00:06:15.220 Within hours of that meeting, the Washington Post ran a report on leaked information headlined,
00:06:21.560 Secret Assessment Says Russia Was Trying to Help Trump Win White House.
00:06:26.540 Major media outlets like The Guardian and Reuters
00:06:28.820 publishing their own articles based on the Washington Post piece.
00:06:32.820 Director Gabbard noting in this new report, quote,
00:06:35.400 At this point, there is no official intelligence community assessment
00:06:38.760 that contains that conclusion.
00:06:41.180 With just six weeks on the clock before Inauguration Day,
00:06:44.200 intel officials got to work, grinding through the holidays to comply with President Obama's directive.
00:06:50.620 On January 6th, 2017, the Obama administration releasing a 25-page unclassified intel community
00:06:57.920 assessment stating, quote,
00:06:59.800 We assess with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence
00:07:04.660 campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election.
00:07:08.480 We further assess Putin and the Russian government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.
00:07:15.620 The ICA noting, quote,
00:07:16.900 Further information has come to light since Election Day that,
00:07:20.140 when combined with Russian behavior since early November 2016,
00:07:24.500 increases our confidence in our assessment of Russian motivations and goals.
00:07:28.960 Director Gabbard's report stating the further information was later confirmed to be
00:07:34.420 the Steele dossier, the Clinton campaign-funded and now totally discredited opposition research
00:07:40.460 containing salacious allegations involving activities between Donald Trump
00:07:44.220 and Russian prostitutes in Moscow and more.
00:07:47.600 Earlier this month, current CIA Director John Ratcliffe,
00:07:50.820 releasing a report concluding then-CIA Director Brennan,
00:07:53.860 advocated for the inclusion of that Steele dossier into the Obama-ordered assessment,
00:07:59.940 knowing it did not meet, quote,
00:08:01.920 even the most basic tradecraft standards.
00:08:05.000 This assessment becoming the basis for frenzied reporting
00:08:07.600 throughout the remainder of the first Trump presidency,
00:08:10.540 kicking off the Mueller report and endless media chatter.
00:08:14.920 Russia hacked the election to tilt it to Mr. Trump.
00:08:17.000 The Russians definitively hacked the election.
00:08:20.520 Russia did hack the election.
00:08:22.700 No doubt, the Russians hacked the election.
00:08:25.480 Yes, Russia hacked the election.
00:08:27.580 Fact, Russia hacked the election.
00:08:29.180 President-elect Donald Trump still not sounding convinced that Russia hacked the election.
00:08:34.140 The president does not want to come to terms with the fact that the Russians hacked the election.
00:08:37.840 This latest report from DNI Gabbard receiving scant media attention this weekend.
00:08:43.080 The New York Times reporting, quote,
00:08:44.700 Gabbard claims Obama administration tried to undermine Trump in 2016.
00:08:48.960 The sub-headline reading, quote,
00:08:51.340 Democrats denounced a report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
00:08:56.000 as politically motivated and error-ridden.
00:08:59.520 The report does not highlight specific errors in Director Gabbard's report.
00:09:03.680 Investigative journalist Matt Taibbi arriving at a very different conclusion,
00:09:07.700 posting on X, quote,
00:09:08.660 The new documents released by Tulsi Gabbard leave no doubt, none,
00:09:12.540 that the Barack Obama White House invented a phony espionage scandal
00:09:16.340 to hang on the incoming Trump administration.
00:09:19.280 The sole question is, why?
00:09:21.520 What idiot thought this would work, that it was a good idea?
00:09:24.880 The findings of this latest report referred to the DOJ for further investigation.
00:09:30.400 Director Gabbard, Sunday on Fox, promising accountability,
00:09:33.900 including potential prosecutions, and teasing more releases to come.
00:09:37.460 There's no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment
00:09:42.180 that President Obama ordered be published,
00:09:45.640 it was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama
00:09:50.400 and his team's objective, which was undermining President Trump's presidency
00:09:54.320 and subverting the will of the American people.
00:09:56.220 So, yes, next week we will be releasing more detailed information
00:10:00.820 about how exactly this took place
00:10:03.440 and the extent to which this information was sought to be hidden from the American people,
00:10:10.600 hidden from officials who would be in a position to do something about it.
00:10:15.160 Accountability, action, prosecution, indictments
00:10:19.140 for those who are responsible for trying to steal our democracy
00:10:23.540 is essential for us to make sure that this never happens to our country again.
00:10:29.140 Coming up, the Trump DOJ requesting a federal judge release the grand jury transcripts
00:10:33.720 relating to the Epstein case.
00:10:35.340 And leftist lawmakers mourn the impending loss
00:10:39.180 of their very favorite late night show with Stephen Colbert.
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00:11:46.540 On Friday, the DOJ requesting a federal judge unseal grand jury testimony
00:11:51.180 from the cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
00:11:55.720 Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019
00:11:58.780 when he died in his prison cell.
00:12:01.280 Attorney General Pam Bondi facing intense public backlash
00:12:04.340 following her many teases promising more information about Epstein,
00:12:08.860 only to then leak a DOJ memo to left-wing media on a holiday weekend
00:12:13.300 declaring there will be no further releases and no further indictments,
00:12:17.680 along with the conclusion that, oh, Epstein really did kill himself.
00:12:21.340 Many MAGA supporters expressing outrage over the handling of this story,
00:12:25.380 demanding all materials relating to the case be released to the public.
00:12:28.920 Democrats also glomming onto the story in order to criticize the Trump administration
00:12:33.700 and try to tie Epstein to Trump himself,
00:12:37.280 despite showing zero interest in the Epstein story under the Biden administration.
00:12:42.760 A.G. Bondi on Friday filing the motion in the Southern District of New York,
00:12:46.740 requesting the transcripts be released with redactions of victim-related
00:12:50.220 and other personal identifying information
00:12:52.560 in both the Epstein and Maxwell grand jury proceedings.
00:12:56.300 Typically, grand jury transcripts are kept secret
00:12:58.660 to protect innocent individuals who may not ultimately be indicted.
00:13:02.740 The decision will be up to the judge.
00:13:05.460 A.G. Bondi in the request,
00:13:06.840 highlighting the intense public interest
00:13:08.580 surrounding the case as justification for the release.
00:13:12.320 President Trump, who has repeatedly expressed the desire
00:13:14.880 to move on from this story,
00:13:16.860 posting on Saturday to Truth Social,
00:13:18.840 quote,
00:13:19.000 Even if the court gave its full and unwavering approval,
00:13:22.840 nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers
00:13:24.640 and radical-left lunatics making the request.
00:13:27.940 It will always be more, more, more.
00:13:30.540 MAGA.
00:13:32.860 Democrat politicians spending the weekend in mourning
00:13:35.780 over the announced cancellation of CBS's
00:13:38.460 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
00:13:41.020 CBS announcing last week the show will be pulled from the air next year,
00:13:45.120 citing financial reasons.
00:13:46.440 Puck News' Matthew Bellany reporting The Late Show costs
00:13:50.000 more than $100 million a year to produce
00:13:53.520 and loses more than $40 million per year,
00:13:57.380 $15 million of which pads Colbert's pockets each year
00:14:00.960 for a show that has lost 50% of its ad revenue
00:14:04.300 in just the last six years.
00:14:06.780 Colbert's ratings in overall households watching
00:14:09.120 were at number one, barely,
00:14:11.680 for network late-night shows,
00:14:13.220 but in the advertiser-friendly demo of 18- to 49-year-olds,
00:14:17.140 he was losing to Jimmy Kimmel.
00:14:19.160 In addition, Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon,
00:14:20.820 and all late-night hosts are getting crushed
00:14:23.480 by Fox News' Greg Gutfeld,
00:14:25.740 whose channel customers must pay to get,
00:14:28.400 unlike the networks, which are free.
00:14:30.380 Gutfeld logging nearly a million more viewers
00:14:32.960 in the overall numbers
00:14:34.120 and besting all nets in the key advertiser-friendly demo, too,
00:14:38.500 for a fraction of the production costs.
00:14:40.720 CBS maintains the decision to end Colbert's show
00:14:44.020 was entirely driven by financial concerns.
00:14:47.860 Despite the obvious math supporting CBS's decision,
00:14:51.480 leftists across America lamenting the firing
00:14:54.340 as an ominous result of a sinister force,
00:14:57.360 a.k.a. the Trump administration.
00:14:59.580 Critics of the decision pointing to an ongoing merger
00:15:01.920 between CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance Media
00:15:05.320 and the ultimate need for approval
00:15:07.220 from the Trump administration accusing the network
00:15:09.940 of caving to President Trump.
00:15:12.160 Colbert himself criticizing his employer, CBS,
00:15:14.800 just days before his show's cancellation
00:15:16.600 for agreeing to a $16 million settlement
00:15:19.340 with President Trump over edits
00:15:21.440 to a 60 Minutes interview
00:15:22.740 with Vice President Kamala Harris,
00:15:25.120 calling the settlement, quote,
00:15:26.140 a big fat bribe.
00:15:28.060 Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy,
00:15:29.880 always thirsty for social media attention,
00:15:32.440 posted the following on Saturday.
00:15:34.140 I want to tell you why the cancellation
00:15:36.260 of Stephen Colbert's show matters so much.
00:15:39.800 We are on the precipice of entering a censorship state
00:15:43.300 in which Donald Trump is using the powers
00:15:46.040 of the federal government
00:15:47.220 in order to erase criticism from the airwaves.
00:15:51.760 What's happening at CBS right now is bone-chilling.
00:15:55.600 They have now canceled Stephen Colbert's show,
00:15:58.340 knowing that Stephen Colbert was a knightly thorn
00:16:01.240 in the side of Donald Trump.
00:16:03.060 This is a really, really dangerous moment.
00:16:05.840 Stephen Colbert didn't get thrown off the air
00:16:08.320 because he wasn't doing well.
00:16:09.600 He was the highest-rated show on TV in late night.
00:16:13.860 He was canceled, very likely,
00:16:16.920 because Paramount and its owners
00:16:19.720 are trying to get rich off of this merger,
00:16:22.360 and Donald Trump has made it clear to them
00:16:24.220 and everybody else in the media space
00:16:26.140 that if you want any favors from me,
00:16:28.460 then you have to silence my critics on your platforms.
00:16:31.580 It's bone-chilling, I say.
00:16:34.500 Failed vice presidential candidate Tim Walls,
00:16:36.500 posting on X, quote,
00:16:37.920 Stephen Colbert is the best in the business.
00:16:40.840 He always told truth to power and pulled no punches,
00:16:44.920 posting a picture of him laughing with Colbert
00:16:47.200 over a cup of coffee.
00:16:49.420 Where were those punches?
00:16:51.000 Washington Free Beacon editor Peter Hassan,
00:16:53.160 posting on X, quote,
00:16:54.120 It's so telling that these eulogies
00:16:56.200 of Colbert's comedy show
00:16:57.460 never include the line,
00:16:59.440 He was funny.
00:17:00.880 Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy
00:17:02.580 on Saturday posting this reaction to social media.
00:17:06.040 I'm seeing, like, Bernie Sanders,
00:17:08.060 Comrade Sanders,
00:17:09.020 Elizabeth Warren,
00:17:09.900 all being like,
00:17:10.360 We need an investigation.
00:17:11.800 This is bribery.
00:17:12.720 This is blackmail.
00:17:13.900 CBS only fired Colbert
00:17:16.000 because he criticizes Trump,
00:17:17.580 and they just settled a $16 million lawsuit,
00:17:20.540 and then Colbert went on the air
00:17:21.780 and said he doesn't trust CBS.
00:17:23.700 Buddy, you're losing $40 million a year.
00:17:29.140 You have 200 people creating one show.
00:17:33.660 We have 200 people at Barstool content creators
00:17:36.540 creating, like, 30 shows.
00:17:38.720 And some of them, the bigger ones,
00:17:41.480 draw a bigger audience than Colbert.
00:17:44.300 And then you compound that with Colbert
00:17:47.280 openly going on air,
00:17:49.140 being like,
00:17:49.620 I don't trust CBS.
00:17:50.540 Yes, if one of my employees
00:17:52.200 who I was paying $16 million a year
00:17:55.480 while losing $40 million a year
00:17:58.360 went on their show
00:17:59.960 and was like,
00:18:00.460 I don't like Dave.
00:18:01.600 I don't trust Dave.
00:18:02.800 You know what I would do?
00:18:04.580 Like, welcome to the real fucking world.
00:18:08.300 What did you think was going to happen?
00:18:09.980 Of course they'd fire you.
00:18:10.940 I'd fire you in a fucking heartbeat.
00:18:13.020 That's not politics.
00:18:13.800 That's just being ungrateful
00:18:15.280 and see you later.
00:18:17.200 Colbert and his defenders of democracy
00:18:18.860 and the press and Congress
00:18:20.240 will have plenty of time
00:18:21.520 to keep complaining.
00:18:22.700 The show is set to stay on the air
00:18:24.060 until next May.
00:18:26.960 And that'll do it for your AM update.
00:18:28.820 I'm Megan Kelly.
00:18:29.760 Join me back here
00:18:30.480 for The Megan Kelly Show
00:18:31.480 live at SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111
00:18:33.840 at noon east,
00:18:34.680 on youtube.com slash megankelly,
00:18:36.400 and on all podcast platforms.
00:18:38.320 Today, we'll have Rahm Emanuel
00:18:40.100 on the show.