The Megyn Kelly Show - Trump Picks New DNI After Pulte Backlash, Dem Party Platner Panic, UFC WH Preview： AM Update 6⧸12

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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, June 12th, 2026. And this is your AM

00:00:38.320 Update. Why they're willing to jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans to make a political

00:00:44.220 point because they have a disagreement about someone that the president has appointed

00:00:48.300 for a short term position. It is absurd. President Trump nominates a new director

00:00:53.900 of national intelligence after his temporary pick throws the Congress into chaos.

00:00:59.180 People will make everything seem very concerning because that's what people do in politics.

00:01:06.460 Fresh off winning the Democrat primary for U.S. Senate in Maine, scandal-plagued Graham

00:01:11.400 Plattner finds his next fight may not be against Republican incumbent Susan Collins after all.

00:01:17.860 We'll explain.

00:01:19.100 Minnesota assassin Vance Belter pleading guilty, admitting to shooting two state lawmakers

00:01:24.400 and their spouses.

00:01:25.720 and a last minute lawsuit tries to stop the historic UFC fight set to take place Sunday

00:01:31.500 on the White House lawn. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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00:02:34.480 your discount. That's promo code MK at take lean.com. President Trump moving to diffuse a

00:02:42.560 growing backlash over his temporary pick to lead the intelligence community, announcing yesterday

00:02:47.960 a different name, Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan to serve as the next director of

00:02:53.800 National Intelligence, or DNI. Regarding his new choice, the president posting to Truth Social

00:02:59.340 yesterday that Clayton is, quote, very highly respected, pointing to his work as former chairman

00:03:04.660 of the Securities and Exchange Commission, former head of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell,

00:03:10.080 and now U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. The nomination, which requires

00:03:15.000 Senate confirmation coming after more than a week of bipartisan blowback over Mr. Trump's plan to

00:03:20.600 install loyalist Bill Pulte as acting DNI. Unlike Clayton's nomination for the permanent job,

00:03:27.840 Pulte's acting role does not require Senate confirmation. Pulte currently serving as the

00:03:33.020 head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mr. Trump tapping Pulte to temporarily replace

00:03:38.780 outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard, with Pulte expected to assume the acting role on June 19th.

00:03:45.000 38-year-old Pulte has no intelligence background, and he's used his position to help the president

00:03:50.920 find alleged legal violations by certain political enemies like Letitia James.

00:03:56.920 According to the New York Times, President Trump wants him to use the temporary role

00:04:00.940 to keep cutting down the DNI office after Gabbard already made deep reductions.

00:04:06.740 Democrats fear he'll use it to target them.

00:04:09.320 The DNI position sits at the top of the U.S. intelligence structure,

00:04:13.180 coordinating work across 18 agencies, Pulte's appointment quickly triggering alarm from

00:04:18.580 Democrats and some Republicans who question why a housing official with no national security

00:04:24.340 experience would be put in charge of the nation's intelligence community, temporarily or otherwise.

00:04:30.660 The fight now threatening Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA,

00:04:36.780 the surveillance authority allowing U.S. agencies to collect communications from

00:04:40.680 foreign targets overseas without a warrant, which is about to expire, and which several

00:04:46.200 lawmakers refuse to extend if Pulte is the one overseeing its use. Democrats warning they would

00:04:52.960 not support an extension unless the White House dropped Pulte. Yesterday, the House rejecting a

00:04:58.180 three-week extension of FISA, 198-218, with 19 Republicans and nearly all Democrats voting no.

00:05:06.880 The rejection especially notable because despite long-running privacy concerns around the program,

00:05:12.160 lawmakers in both parties were prepared to renew it under a compromise deal.

00:05:17.080 The law now set to expire at the stroke of midnight tonight.

00:05:20.800 The Times noting with the House leaving town for a week and some lawmakers reportedly heading

00:05:25.760 overseas, scheduling another vote before the deadline would be extremely difficult.

00:05:30.420 Speaker Mike Johnson accusing Dems of gambling with national security to pressure the president

00:05:35.960 over Pulte. Is it time for President Trump to pull back his appointment of Bill Pulte

00:05:40.680 and choose somebody else to let this important critical tool be? The president of the United

00:05:46.080 States is fulfilling his responsibility. The president has named someone who would serve

00:05:51.000 for a very short period of time while he seeks a new direction of national intelligence. The

00:05:55.620 responsibility, the questions are for the Democrats in the House and Senate, why they're

00:06:00.320 willing to jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans to make a political point because they

00:06:05.560 have a disagreement about someone that the president has appointed for a short-term

00:06:10.280 position, it is absurd. There is no way to defend it. And all the questions that everybody in the

00:06:15.520 Capitol Hill press should be chasing every Democrat before they go get on planes and leave,

00:06:19.180 so proud of themselves that they just jeopardize the safety of every American citizen.

00:06:23.940 I pray, I'm going to be praying that we do not have, we do not have an event on our shores.

00:06:30.000 There will be, there will be a lot to answer for if we do.

00:06:32.500 Democrats argue the president created this problem by nominating Pulte in the first place.

00:06:37.340 The new guy, Jay Clayton's nomination, now potentially giving both sides a way forward.

00:06:42.200 Senate Majority Leader John Thune praising Clayton as, quote, a very qualified professional.

00:06:47.020 Democrat Congressman Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intel Committee,

00:06:51.140 also welcoming the pick, calling Clayton a, quote, terrific choice for DNI.

00:06:56.180 Still, however, for now, the standoff continues and the law is set to expire.

00:07:00.540 The House began its recess yesterday with the next votes not expected until Tuesday, June 23rd.

00:07:07.180 Speaker Johnson not appearing eager to call lawmakers back early either.

00:07:11.980 Meantime, President Trump yesterday from the Oval standing by Pulte.

00:07:15.900 Do you intend to have Bill Pulte continue to serve as the acting director of national intelligence?

00:07:21.600 And do you think it's unreasonable that some Republicans have concerns that he has no intelligence experience, even if he's serving in this acting role?

00:07:27.820 But he's intelligent, unlike a lot of other people.

00:07:30.540 But do you think that's why there's no intelligence?

00:07:33.280 He's only there for a little while. He's running it for a short while.

00:07:35.940 Well, we get a very talented person, Jake Layton, as you know.

00:07:39.620 Bill will run it for a short while. He's done a fantastic job.

00:07:42.440 But Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac created tremendous.

00:07:45.840 It's probably worth a trillion dollars now. Trillion.

00:07:49.300 He's done a great job. He's a smart guy.

00:07:51.680 Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a Democrat, says even if the program lapses,

00:07:56.640 most FISA powers will remain in effect until 2027 thanks to a built-in safety mechanism.

00:08:04.680 Graham Plattner, fresh off winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine Tuesday night,

00:08:10.300 now facing a new set of challengers, Democrats. As Plattner gears up to face five-term Republican

00:08:16.420 Senator Susan Collins in November, in a race Democrats widely view as central to their hopes

00:08:21.440 of taking back the Senate, NBC News reporting some Dems are already working behind the scenes

00:08:26.940 to see whether Plattner can be pressured to withdraw before Maine's mid-July deadline to

00:08:32.360 replace him on the ballot. The concern? Plattner's victory coming after months of damaging revelations.

00:08:39.080 Plattner effectively cruising through the primary after Maine Governor Janet Mills dropped out in

00:08:43.800 April. Early in the campaign, reports surfacing about a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, along

00:08:50.200 with some dicey Reddit posts. Back in January, Plattner telling CNN there was nothing else out

00:08:55.240 there that could damage his campaign. But this month, more stories dropping. First reports that

00:09:00.700 Plattner sent sexually explicit messages to multiple women while he was married. Then new

00:09:05.980 allegations involving his treatment of women, including one woman accusing him of becoming

00:09:10.240 physically threatening during their relationship. Plattner denying some of the allegations,

00:09:15.260 including any physical abuse, confirming some other of the messages, but insisting he's not

00:09:21.060 going anywhere. Earlier this week, Plattner asked again on MS Now whether more damaging

00:09:26.400 information could still come out. Okay, so you say there's nothing out there that could be

00:09:32.840 concerning. And this may seem a little bit rich. There's nothing out there that's actually

00:09:41.800 concerning. People will make everything seem very concerning because that's what people do in

00:09:48.540 politics. Not exactly a denial. As Plattner attempts to calm voters and Democrat Party

00:09:54.500 strategists, earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal pressing a senior Plattner strategist,

00:09:59.820 who is straight out of central Democrat casting, as you're about to hear, on how a candidate with

00:10:05.540 this much baggage made it through the vetting process in the first place. At this point,

00:10:09.920 You hadn't vetted Graham Plattner. You hadn't done a full scrub of who he is. How did you go

00:10:16.140 about vetting him? We paid a nice firm a whole chunk of money and got some stuff back. Some

00:10:24.900 of what you've seen on the news we got back. Other stuff we didn't. Did the vetting process turn up

00:10:30.180 the tattoo that became so controversial? No. The Reddit posts, did that turn up in the vetting

00:10:36.160 process? The firm sent us a thing, and it had some of the posts, but it didn't have all of them.

00:10:44.260 And what did you think about that? How did you think your way through the fact that he had posted

00:10:50.200 these things on social media? I said none of this will or should stop him from becoming a U.S.

00:10:56.680 senator. That answer now feeding into fears inside the Democrat Party. If Plattner's own

00:11:02.200 campaign didn't know the full extent of his baggage before voters did, what exactly might

00:11:07.580 Republicans know? NBC News reporting some Democrats are privately discussing whether

00:11:12.560 Plattner can still be pressured to withdraw before Maine's July 13th deadline. Republicans

00:11:18.640 reportedly watching that same deadline. One unnamed GOP strategist involved in Senate campaigns

00:11:24.900 telling NBC the Republicans may be holding back their opposition research file until after July

00:11:31.080 13th. Out of fear, Democrats will, quote, Biden him, a reference to Joe Biden being pushed out

00:11:36.960 of the 2024 race by members of his own party. National Republican groups already starting to

00:11:42.380 capitalize on Plattner's existing scandals in ads. Listen to this one. Susan Collins spent time as a

00:11:49.460 kid picking potatoes in Maine. Graham Plattner spent time as a kid at a $70,000 a year prep

00:11:55.900 School in Connecticut. Susan Collins doesn't have a Nazi tattoo and she doesn't have an account on

00:12:01.780 a notorious Predator's Paradise app. Graham Plattner did for years. And this was his profile

00:12:08.380 picture. Oh gosh, please, please get that off the screen. Anyway, Susan Collins, a senator we can be

00:12:15.920 proud of. Despite the internal concern, Plattner advisor Rebecca Katz telling NBC, quote, the

00:12:22.100 Democrats of Maine have made clear who their choice is, and the rest of the party should

00:12:26.080 honor that choice. The general election is set for November 3rd, but more shoes are sure to drop

00:12:32.340 before then. Coming up, a Minnesota assassin pleads guilty, admitting to a deadly ambush

00:12:39.960 targeting state lawmakers and their families. And a look inside the planning and preparation

00:12:44.940 ahead of Sunday's planned UFC fight on the White House lawn.

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00:14:15.500 Minnesota assassin Vance Belter pleading guilty yesterday to the shootings of two Minnesota

00:14:23.100 lawmakers and their spouses as part of a federal plea deal. The attacks unfolding in the early

00:14:29.180 morning hours of June 14, 2025. An armed Belter disguising himself as a police officer wearing

00:14:36.660 body armor driving first to the home of Democrat State Senator John Hoffman. Belter knocking

00:14:42.620 repeatedly claiming to be police, then opening fire on Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Both Hoffmans

00:14:49.460 survived life-threatening injuries. As part of his plea, Belter also admitting he attempted to

00:14:55.200 shoot their daughter, Hope. From there, Belter driving to the Brooklyn Park home of former

00:15:00.420 Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, arriving around the same time

00:15:05.840 police were conducting a welfare check following the Hoffman shooting. Officers finding Belter

00:15:11.800 outside of the Hortman home near a black Ford Explorer made to look like a police vehicle

00:15:16.960 with police-style lights flashing. Moments later, Belter firing into the home, killing Mark,

00:15:23.420 then rushing inside and fatally shooting Representative Hortman. Belter also shooting

00:15:28.400 the family dog, Gilbert, who later had to be euthanized, according to the Minnesota Star

00:15:33.620 Tribune. Belter getting away after opening fire on officers, triggering what officials later

00:15:39.500 described as the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. For about 43 hours, federal, state,

00:15:45.400 and local law enforcement searching for him across Minnesota before finally tracking him to a field

00:15:50.800 in Green Isle about a mile from his family home. Police searching Belter's SUV, recovering five

00:15:57.320 firearms, including semi-automatic assault-style rifles, a large amount of ammunition, and notebooks

00:16:03.640 listing dozens of Minnesota state and federal elected officials, often with their home addresses.

00:16:10.100 Investigators finding a handwritten letter addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel in Belter's

00:16:15.340 vehicle. Prosecutors allege that in that letter, Belter admits to the attacks while also making a

00:16:21.680 series of bizarre claims, including that he had been secretly trained, quote, off the books by

00:16:27.200 the U.S. military and had carried out missions overseas. Belter also claiming Minnesota Governor

00:16:33.240 Tim Walz, a Democrat, had approached him about killing Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and

00:16:39.140 Tina Smith. Now nearly one year after the attacks, Belter changing his initial not guilty plea to

00:16:45.580 guilty in federal court after the DOJ agreed not to seek the death penalty. The 58-year-old

00:16:52.000 pleading guilty to all six federal counts against him, including stalking, firearms charges, and a

00:16:57.600 federal statute that makes murder with a firearm an offense that carries a penalty of up to life

00:17:02.940 in prison or death. Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors will recommend two consecutive

00:17:08.540 of life sentences, followed by another 40 years in prison, the judge approving the deal and calling

00:17:14.420 for an expedited sentencing with the goal of having Belter formally sentenced before the end of July.

00:17:20.180 The final sentence still up to the court, but the judge indicating he is likely to accept the

00:17:25.480 recommendation, according to CBS News. U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Daniel Rosen,

00:17:31.400 speaking to reporters yesterday. Political violence is a scourge plaguing America in our

00:17:38.260 times, the murders of Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman, shooting

00:17:44.920 of Senator John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman, and the attempted shooting of Hope Hoffman

00:17:50.520 are among the worst political violence crimes that we have seen.

00:17:54.120 Today the United States achieved the admissions and the agreement necessary for the perpetrator

00:17:59.080 of those crimes to spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of release.

00:18:06.220 that would commit political violence at any level should take heed. The Department of Justice will

00:18:11.600 seek and obtain the longest prison terms available for your crimes. Belter also facing separate state

00:18:19.440 charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, animal cruelty, and impersonating an

00:18:25.100 officer. A conviction on a first-degree murder count carries a penalty of life without parole.

00:18:30.500 almost time for fight night at the white house as ufc freedom 250 is now just two days away

00:18:38.540 set for sunday the first ever ufc cage match on the white house salt lawn kicking off a summer

00:18:45.020 of events marking america's 250th birthday while also landing on flag day and president trump's

00:18:51.520 80th birthday secretary of state marco rubio previewing the event yesterday with ufc president

00:18:57.520 dana white the american 250 celebration belongs to the people of the united states for them to

00:19:03.080 be able to see this event with their white house in the background as part of our celebration as

00:19:07.520 a country in our 250 years i think is a gift to the american people we could have had a band and

00:19:12.940 we have great bands we could have done a shakespeare in the park production uh there are a lot of

00:19:17.060 things we could have done with it but this one will have people watching probably over what a

00:19:20.520 billion people all over the world a billion people all over the world will be watching america

00:19:24.480 celebrate its 250th birthday with the White House in the background and some of the best

00:19:29.340 athletes in the world in that octagon. With the octagon already going up and a full weekend of

00:19:35.540 programming planned, a last-minute federal wet blanket lawsuit now trying to stop the whole

00:19:41.140 thing. The lawsuit, filed by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents,

00:19:46.980 arguing the event violates National Park Service rules governing sports events on federal parkland.

00:19:52.740 The plaintiffs also blasting the event itself, arguing it's not really about America's founding, but about President Trump, UFC, and what they call a, quote, hideous spectacle on some of the country's most symbolic public grounds.

00:20:06.700 Hideous spectacle? Where were they when President Biden had trannies on the White House lawn showing their nude, fake breasts? 0.97

00:20:14.260 Attorney Brendan Ballou calling it, quote, a corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain. 0.96

00:20:22.140 CBS News reporting U.S. District Judge Ahmet Mehta, an Obama appointee, deciding yesterday

00:20:27.700 not to hold a formal hearing on the request to stop the event, but rather saying he will

00:20:32.740 make a determination based on the written court filings.

00:20:36.200 It's unclear when a decision is expected, but the fights begin in just 48 hours.

00:20:41.000 DOJ attorneys firing back, accusing the two plaintiffs of trying to use the courts to,

00:20:45.300 impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and,

00:20:49.720 ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America. In a sworn declaration to the

00:20:55.240 court, White House Management and Administration Director Joshua Fisher laying out just how much

00:21:00.200 is already in motion. Fisher describing a massive multi-day production months in the making with the

00:21:06.180 UFC, federal agencies, security teams, contractors, and outside production crews all involved. The

00:21:12.460 price tag topping 60 million bucks with the UFC covering, quote, production, labor, construction,

00:21:18.060 and promotion costs, and the feds handling law enforcement security emergency services

00:21:23.280 and medical help. The footprint, enormous. Filings show roughly 4,000 guests expected

00:21:29.920 on the South Lawn, plus more than 120,000 expected at the Ellipse for a watch party.

00:21:36.080 CNN reporting the build-out has been underway since May 20th, with 20 to 30 trucks each day

00:21:41.180 bringing in UFC equipment, staging, lighting, and technical gear, all screened before getting

00:21:46.400 onto White House grounds. And then there are the porta-potties. According to CNN's review of

00:21:52.300 planning documents, the National Park Service requiring at least one restroom for every 300

00:21:57.380 guests. So planning documents call for at least 116 near the Lincoln Memorial and at least 350

00:22:05.060 more near the Ellipse as crowds pour in across the weekend. The programming begins today,

00:22:11.100 barring a court order, with a UFC press conference and face-offs at the Lincoln Memorial.

00:22:16.400 Saturday bringing ceremonial weigh-ins, fan events, and a Zac Brown band concert at the Ellipse.

00:22:22.360 Then Sunday night, seven mixed martial arts fights from the White House South Lawn,

00:22:27.340 with President Trump, Melania Trump, and other top officials expected to attend.

00:22:32.040 The event set to conclude with a fireworks show.

00:22:37.440 And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show,

00:22:42.040 live on SiriusXM's

00:22:43.420 The Megyn Kelly Channel

00:22:44.220 111 at noon east

00:22:45.400 on youtube.com

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00:22:47.760 and on all podcast platforms

00:22:49.840 today on the show

00:22:51.460 we will have Jeff Metcalf

00:22:53.540 the father of Austin Metcalf

00:22:55.980 killed by Carmelo Anthony

00:22:57.880 don't miss that

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The Megyn Kelly Show - June 12, 2026

Trump Picks New DNI After Pulte Backlash, Dem Party Platner Panic, UFC WH Preview： AM Update 6⧸12

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