Trump Sets GOP Agenda, DOGE Staffer Assault Arrests, Brennan Referred to DOJ： AM Update 10⧸22
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Summary
Trump hosts GOP senators for lunch at the White House, celebrating legislative wins so far and looking ahead to what s next. Two more suspects arrested in connection with the attack on former CIA Director John Brennan, and the vile President-elect of the Oxford Union Debate Society loses a vote of no confidence following his remarks celebrating Charlie Kirk s assassination.
Transcript
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It's Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025, and this is your AM Update.
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Well, I'll tell you, it's amazing what we've done.
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President Trump hosts GOP senators for lunch at the White House,
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celebrating legislative victories so far and looking ahead to what's next.
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He was then attacked by multiple suspects who then punched him repeatedly,
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Two more suspects arrested in connection with the August attack on a Doge employee.
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Former CIA director John Brennan criminally referred to the DOJ for possible charges, again.
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And the vile president-elect of the Oxford Union Debate Society
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loses a vote of no confidence following his remarks celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination.
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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President Trump hosting GOP senators for lunch at the White House Rose Garden yesterday,
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celebrating legislative wins and laying out the next round of priorities
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And in a move that signals his transparency since taking office,
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the strategy session was broadcast for all to see.
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For those who have not been keeping track, this is the third week since Congress failed
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to pass a spending bill, putting the government in shutdown.
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Republicans have repeatedly offered a continuing resolution to simply maintain current spending
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Mr. Trump providing the senators with lunch and a pep rally of sorts.
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We've taken out 1,700 career criminals and people that came in through an open border.
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They came in through Biden's open border and we've taken them out.
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The thing having to do with all of the elements in the great, big, beautiful bill,
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I'll tell you, it's amazing what we've done, $200 billion in costs for medical, what we've done,
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$50 billion for rural hospitals. And remember, no tax on tips, no tax on social security.
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Mr. Trump also congratulating Senate Majority Leader John Thune for pushing through a wave
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of nominees for posts in his administration, made possible by a recent rule change allowing
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lower-level nominees like ambassadors, general counsels, and undersecretaries to be approved
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And after your pivotal changes to the Senate rules last month, as a result, this is what you
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did, the unprecedented obstruction by the Democrats. We've confirmed more than 175 public servants,
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people that are phenomenal, to keep posts. And that's just been over the last couple of weeks.
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It's an unbelievable thing. And you passed the Lake and Riley Act to throw illegal alien criminals
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out of our country. You passed the Genius Act and the Take It Down Act with the support of our
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wonderful First Lady. She got, by the way, she got actual support from the other side. It was
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President Trump calling on Republicans to next pass Kate's Law, named after Kate Steinle,
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a 32-year-old woman killed in 2015 while walking with her father in San Francisco. She was shot by
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an illegal immigrant who had been deported from the U.S. five times. President Trump and many others
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outraged in 2017 when a San Francisco jury found him not guilty of murder after defense lawyers argued
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the shooting was unintentional. Another one I'm going to ask you to vote for, and it's in the House now,
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it's Kate's Law. A young lady named Kate Steinle, I remember it so well. She was holding hands with
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her father on the San Francisco pier, looking out into the water. It was beautiful. Everything was
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beautiful. And she went down and she looked at her father, Daddy, Daddy, something happened,
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something happened. It was so sad. Such a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful person. They wanted to pass what
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they call Kate's Law. And it's now again in Congress. And basically, very simply, it says that
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if you're an illegal alien and you come in and you get thrown out, if you come back and get caught,
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you have to spend 10 years in jail. Very simple. If they would have had that, Kate Steinle would be
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With midterm elections just about a year away now, the president's message on that, a mix of confidence
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and caution, warning the senators that even with this success, history is rarely on the incumbent
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party's side. We should do fantastically well in the midterm. The only thing wrong with the midterms
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is that statistically, when you look, a president gets elected and for some reason, and nobody,
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even the great John Thune cannot explain to me, for some reason, even if he's a reasonably good
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president, and we've had success like nobody. But for some reason, you lose the midterms. I don't know
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why. I mean, the odds are tremendously against, like 92 percent or something. I don't know what it is,
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but we have to win the midterms. Otherwise, all of the things that we've done, so many of them are going
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Two more young adults arrested and charged with the August attempted carjacking,
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robbery, and beating of Doge employee Edward Corustein, known affectionately as Big Balls in
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D.C. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Janine Pirro on Monday announcing the arrest of 19-year-old Lawrence
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Cotton Powell and 18-year-old Anthony Taylor for their alleged role in the attempted carjacking
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of Corustein, and a separate robbery that occurred just minutes before. According to Pirro, the teens,
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among a larger group of friends that night, approaching 22-year-old Ethan Levine just before
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3 a.m. outside of a gas station, attacking him. Cotton Powell and Taylor both charged with
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assaulting Levine. Cotton Powell accused of stomping on Levine's head, the group robbing him of his sneakers
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and his watch before taking off down the street. Ms. Pirro describing what happened next.
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The group then walked in the direction of where another crime occurred. Edward Corustein,
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a 19-year-old Doge person who was working in the administration, was walking a young woman to her car.
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Approximately 10 suspects approached him and as they did, he pushed the young woman into the car and
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he was protecting her from the group before he was then attacked by multiple suspects who then
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punched him repeatedly, causing significant injuries to him. They got him on the ground and as they were
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doing so, they demanded the car from the woman who was inside the car and had already locked the car.
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They were banging on the car, they were pulling the car door, trying to get the car open and were
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telling the woman in the car to hand over the keys. And the woman was, as I said, able to lock the car
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door so they were unable to gain entry. The investigation into the gas station assault eventually
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connecting Cotton Powell and Taylor to that attack. Pirro holding up Cotton Powell as a case study
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in the failure of the D.C. City Council's soft on juvenile crime laws and the judges refusing to
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demand accountability. On April 3rd of this year, Lawrence Cotton Powell was sentenced for a felony
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attempted robbery. My office asked for jail time. Judge McClain made a decision to give Cotton Powell
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probation. By May 4th, Powell re-offends. That same Judge McClain comes back and releases Cotton Powell
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and tells him, basically, be a good boy. And on July 25th, another judge suspends his sentence
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and decides that he should be on probation. So after a felony of attempted robbery conviction,
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after a violation of probation, after a second crime, after a second conviction, after no compliance
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with C. Sosa, the judges say do better and they let him go. And guess what? Within 10 days,
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he's at it again with Ethan Levine and Edward Corstein. Unbelievable. Juvenile crime exploding in D.C.
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The Washington Post reporting teens are responsible for about half of all robbery arrests,
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with about 60 percent of all carjacking arrests from January to April of this year committed by teens.
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Under D.C.'s Youth Rehabilitation Act, criminal defendants under the age of 25 can petition the
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court to be tried as a juvenile. Last week, two other teenagers involved in the Corstein attack
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pleading guilty to simple assault charges. The 15-year-old male and female sentenced by a D.C.
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court judge to probation. Biden-appointed Judge Kendra Briggs telling the criminal duo she really
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hopes they learn from this experience. Pirro slamming the D.C. council and judges, assigning
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them some blame in allowing the violence to continue. And you've got the D.C. council that has passed laws
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that make it almost impossible to sentence young offenders. And one of the defendants in this case,
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who was convicted of a felony. My office asked for jail time. The judge gave him probation. So this
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revolving door is apparently the common scenario in D.C. And we are fighting, fighting to make these
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young people accountable and also to make judges accountable. Then we've got young offenders who are
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absolutely convinced that they can commit these crimes and get away with it because they have.
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We are covering and coddling these young criminals and they are going out in gangs or crews in D.C.
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and beating the hell out of people. And judges are basically saying, oh, be better next time.
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This is not the way the government should be run.
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Cotton Powell and Taylor charge with two counts of robbery and assault with intent to commit robbery.
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Those crimes carry up to 15 years per count. They also face an attempted carjacking charge,
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which carries a reported maximum of five years in prison. Though if recent history is any guide,
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they're more likely to be sentenced to a slap on the wrist. The pair of defendants do in court in
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early November for a preliminary hearing. Coming up, former President Obama's CIA director,
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John Brennan, referred to the DOJ for a criminal investigation accused of lying to Congress regarding
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the widely debunked Steele dossier. And the Oxford Union Debate Society's president-elect loses a
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no-confidence vote following vicious remarks made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination.
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As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in
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Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
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And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, Senator Durbin has a new plan,
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a government takeover of your credit card. Today, Americans have thousands of choices in credit cards,
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but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less competition and less security,
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which means more risk for your credit and your identity. You can learn more for yourself at
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guardyourcard.com. And you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government
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takeover of your credit card before it's too late.
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Former CIA director under President Obama, John Brennan, referred to the DOJ for investigation
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into whether criminal charges are appropriate by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. He's accused
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of making false statements to Congress. Chairman Jordan accusing Brennan of lying when he denied that
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the CIA relied on the Steele dossier, a Clinton-funded piece of OPPO research, while crafting the 2017
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Intelligence Community Assessment, or ICA, in the waning days of the Obama White House. That document,
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produced at President Obama's request, stating Russia, quote, developed a clear preference for
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Donald Trump and, quote, aspired to help him win the 2016 election, neither of which is actually
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supported by the available intel at the time. The ICA becoming the basis for years of frenzied
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reporting, eventually leading to the Mueller probe and years of congressional investigations.
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Chairman Jordan's letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi citing multiple allegedly false statements by
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Director Brennan stemming from a May 2023 transcribed interview before the Judiciary Committee
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originally relating to the Hunter Biden laptop probe. Congressman Matt Gaetz pressing Brennan on his
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Russian disinformation expertise, quote, you were involved with analyzing the Steele dossier.
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Brennan responding, quote, no, I was not involved in analyzing the dossier at all. I said the first
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time I actually saw it, it was after the election, and the CIA was not involved at all with the dossier.
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It was in the FBI's purview, their area, not ours at all. We learned this summer from newly
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declassified documents that senior CIA intel officials objected to referencing the Steele dossier
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at all in the intel community assessment, citing its serious credibility problems. Director Brennan
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overruled them, allegedly saying, yes, but doesn't it ring true? Chairman Jordan also citing a later
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exchange in which Brennan testified, quote, the CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or
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inclusion of the Steele dossier in the intelligence community assessment. That's true if you don't
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count the opinions of the CIA's director, Mr. Brennan, a rather material exclusion. Jordan writing,
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quote, ultimately, according to documents declassified by the Trump administration,
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the decision to incorporate information from the Steele dossier in the ICA was jointly made by the
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directors of CIA and FBI. Brennan made the ultimate decision, along with then FBI Director James Comey,
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to include information from the dossier in the ICA, and Brennan overruled senior CIA officers who
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objected to the inclusion of the dossier material. Brennan is reportedly already under FBI investigation
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following a criminal referral from current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, also relating to the 2016
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Trump-Russia collusion narrative. Mr. Brennan has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
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Oxford Union president-elect George Aberonnier fails a no-confidence vote following comments he made
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celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination during a September campus event. The Oxford Union is one
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of the world's oldest and most respected student societies at the University of Oxford in England,
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known for championing free speech and hosting spirited discussions on politics, culture,
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and current affairs, which is why many were shocked and disgusted when the president-elect
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immediately celebrated the September assassination of the free speech icon Charlie Kirk with a comment
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on Instagram, quote, Charlie Kirk got shot, lol, and another on WhatsApp, quote, Charlie Kirk got shot,
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let's effing go. Aberonnier himself debated Kirk just a few months before. A moment of that here.
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And what is your solution to bring about male happiness in the West? Mine is men get married,
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have children, and provide. What is yours? That's a big question. I think an affirmation of
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their emotions, their emotional states. We've tried that. I think men are free to live single,
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men are free to be in gay relationships. I mean, respectfully, you're scrambling for an
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excuse to get away from the truth that's right in front of you. Maybe men should get married and
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have children because it's worked for 2,000 years. Charlie wiped the floor with him, respectfully,
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but devastatingly. And this small little man couldn't get past it. The union initially releasing
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a milquetoast statement condemning the comments last month, quote, the reported words and sentiments
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expressed by the president-elect do not represent the Oxford union's current leadership or committee's
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view. That's it? Those are the best sentiments a debating society could find? Aberonnier elected
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president of the society in June, but not set to take office until 2026. Oxford College announcing
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no disciplinary action would be taken against Aberonnier, calling the comments, quote, abhorrent,
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but stating they do not violate policies on free speech, quote, or any other relevant policy.
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Is there one requiring you to be, like, a decent human being? In a separate statement, the union
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more forcefully sticking up for Aberonnier, who is black, quote, we are deeply disturbed by and strongly
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condemn the racial abuse and threats that the president-elect has faced in response. No individual
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should ever be attacked because of the color of their skin or the community they come from. Following
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pressure from prominent U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Ted Cruz, former union leaders and more,
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the union then releasing yet another statement days after Charlie's murder, saying they do not,
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quote, possess executive powers to summarily dismiss a president-elect. However, the complaints
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filed against the president-elect have been forwarded for disciplinary proceedings and will be addressed with
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the utmost seriousness. After a protracted dispute over procedural issues, the vote of no confidence
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against Aberonnier passing on Monday. The final tally, 1,228 in favor of his ouster versus 501 against.
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Aberonnier is contesting the results, claiming he is still president-elect. Okay, Stacey Abrams,
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And 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
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