Walz Grilled in Minnesota Fraud Hearing, Trump Preps Crucial Texas Senate Endorsement： AM Update 3⧸5
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Summary
Is it racist for a government official to identify fraud? No. Lawmakers grill Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations of massive fraud in the state s welfare system. Is it possible that multiple whistleblowers have come forward with evidence of widespread fraud that went undetected due to retaliation against whistleblowers? With officials wary of a backlash from politically-incorrect voters, with officials allegedly wary of the backlash from Minnesota s politically correct establishment, a bitter Senate race in Texas brewing, and Secretary Noem back on the Hill for round two of questioning from lawmakers. All that and more coming up in a moment on your AM Update.
Transcript
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I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on Sirius XM Channel 111.
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Is it racist for a government official to identify fraud?
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Lawmakers grill Minnesota Governor Tim Walls and State Attorney General Keith Ellison
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over allegations of massive fraud in the state's welfare system.
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The U.S.-Israel joint operation against Iran continuing,
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with American forces waging a relentless barrage of strikes.
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Democrats choose their candidate as the Republicans await a key endorsement from President Trump.
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And Secretary Noem back on the Hill for round two of questioning from lawmakers.
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All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walls and State Attorney General Keith Ellison facing tough questions
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as lawmakers probe allegations of widespread fraud across Minnesota's taxpayer-funded welfare programs.
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The Fed so far prosecuting and convicting dozens, mostly members of Minnesota's Somali community,
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A meals program for needy children called Feeding Our Future,
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a program for individuals at risk of homelessness,
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The scale of the alleged fraud, believed to be at least $9 billion in plundered taxpayer dollars,
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drawing such immense backlash, Governor Walls in January suspending his re-election campaign.
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pressing Governor Walls on data surrounding the Somali community's use of state services in Minnesota.
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Do you believe the 70,000-strong Somali community as a whole has made a positive impact on your state?
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And do you have any idea what percentage of the native-born Minnesotans,
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all races, live in poverty in your state right now?
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It's 7% and then compared to 54% in the Somali community.
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And then one family member, at least, on Medicaid, it's 18% for Minnesota, 73% for the Somali community.
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Governor, do you happen to know what the percentage is of all those who have currently been charged
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in this staggering social services fraud scheme were native-born Minnesotans?
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I think it was 85 out of 98, which comes out to 13% Minnesotan and 87% Somali-Minnesotan.
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The only way this kind of fraud can reach this scale is if there's people in power that are colluding
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and collaborating and willfully blinding themselves to the realities around them.
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Congressman Brandon Gill of Texas, a Republican, pressing Governor Walz on allegations that the
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fraud ran undetected due to retaliation against whistleblowers, with officials allegedly wary
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of backlash from Minnesota's politically active Somali voting bloc.
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Is it racist for a government official to identify fraud?
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How come multiple whistleblowers have said that your administration told them not to say
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anything about widespread fraud across multiple agencies because doing so would be considered
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I can't speak to it because it's not anything I would say.
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And then we heard from Representative Kristen Robbins, quote, we have dozens of credible
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whistleblower reports saying the exact same thing that people were told not to say anything
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because they'd be called racist or Islamophobic or it would hurt the state.
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Do you think it's racist or Islamophobic to highlight and try to stop fraud?
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But that was the message your administration was sending to multiple whistleblowers.
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Congresswoman Emily Randall of Washington, a Democrat, tossing Governor Walz a softball,
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asking why he thinks the Trump administration has become so, quote, obsessed with alleged
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I think it's been pretty clear the president does not like me personally.
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I think he continues to tell lies about our electoral system, claiming that he's won
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Um, I think he has people around him who were trying to find quotas around immigration and
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they saw a perfect storm, if you will, that included some Somali folks and a whole lot,
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you know, if we're, if we're going to condemn folks, there's no Somali folks in the Epstein
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I think it's because we are so ideologically opposed to making children go hungry, people
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We invest in education, we invest in research, and we believe everybody has a place.
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And so I think it's just personal about how we do business.
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Meanwhile, Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a Republican, turning his focus to Minnesota
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So you have the authority to lead your state's effort to respond to this massive fraud at
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the state level from within the health care realm where government money has been stolen
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at very, very high levels, unprecedented levels in your state.
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Are you leading that effort for the state of Minnesota?
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We are leading the effort to prosecute Medicaid fraud in Minnesota.
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You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to.
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Are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board in
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the health care spectrum in the state of Minnesota or not?
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I must say, Mr. Chairman, that the Attorney General of the state of Minnesota should resign.
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As the U.S.-Israel joint operation against Iran enters its fifth day, U.S. military force
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is releasing a relentless 24-hour barrage against Iranian military assets.
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In a joint briefing yesterday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
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of Staff Dan Raisin Cain providing an update on the campaign.
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The Iranian Air Force is no more built for 1996, destroyed in 2026.
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The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf.
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Combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated.
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In fact, last night, we sunk their prized ship, the Soleimani.
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In fact, yesterday, in the Indian Ocean, and we'll play it on the screen there, an American
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submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters.
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The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.
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According to the Secretary, more American forces are en route to the region, even as General
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Cain reports Iranian air defense capabilities are badly damaged, with a significant decrease
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U.S. forces striking more than 2,000 targets in the first 100 hours of the mission.
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Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt yesterday announcing President Trump will attend the dignified transfer
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service for the six Army soldiers killed in Kuwait amid the strikes.
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The ceremony will take place at Dover Air Force Base.
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The timing of the transfer has not yet been announced.
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Coming up, a heated Texas Senate showdown intensifies.
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Democrats lock in James Tallarico as their nominee, while Republicans brace for a looming
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And Secretary Noem back on Capitol Hill for round two with lawmakers.
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Texas voters now gearing up for a bitter Republican runoff campaign, setting the stage for a bruising fight ahead of November's general election.
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On the Democrat side, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett officially conceding the race to State Representative James Tallarico yesterday morning.
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Tallarico winning the primary with 52% of the vote compared to Crockett's 46.
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Texas is primed to turn blue, and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.
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With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win.
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I'm committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who issued a last-minute robocall endorsement for Crockett,
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now throwing her support behind Tallarico, calling on Democrats to unite behind the nominee.
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With Tallarico securing his place on the November ballot,
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Republicans quickly flooding social media with past videos and resurfaced posts from the Democrat,
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In a May 2020 thread on X, Tallarico writing about Ahmaud Arbery,
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a 25-year-old black man from Georgia who was fatally shot while jogging by two white men.
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Ahmaud Arbery is the latest American killed by the virus of racism.
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White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus,
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but we spread it wherever we go, through our words, our actions, and our systems.
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We don't have to be showing symptoms, like a white hood or a Confederate flag, to be contagious.
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Congressman Brandon Gill of Texas also posting a clip from a public education committee hearing
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in which Tallarico addressed the issue of biological sex.
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I want us all to be aware of is that modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes.
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In fact, there are six, which, honestly, Representative Hefner surprised me, too.
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Surprised me, too, because I am not well-versed in this issue area.
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I'm a politician, a lot worse than a scientist.
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Tallarico now poised to face the winner of the Republican runoff between incumbent Senator John Cornyn
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Senator Cornyn emphasizing his voting record, arguing it aligns with President Trump nearly 100% of the time,
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Team Cornyn spending millions on ads highlighting Paxton's long list of legal battles and ethical controversies.
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Paxton spending far less money on the race, focusing instead on his record suing Democrats,
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while arguing Texas needs new leadership in Washington after Cornyn's more than two decades in the Senate.
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President Trump weighing in on Truth Social yesterday, writing the race, quote,
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Trump adding he plans to issue an endorsement soon, and will ask the candidate he does not back to drop out of the race.
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The Atlantic reporting Trump is leaning toward Cornyn, as recent Emerson polling shows Cornyn as the stronger candidate against Tallarico.
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The Republican runoff is scheduled for May 26th, at least for now.
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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem back on Capitol Hill yesterday for round two, this time appearing before the House Judiciary Committee.
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Lawmakers breaking largely along partisan lines with their questioning.
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Ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland using his opening statement to sharply criticize the Secretary over a number of issues,
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including two fatal confrontations between federal agents and protesters in Minnesota,
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a costly DHS ad campaign prominently featuring Noem, and the department's purchase of private jets.
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You're treating the billions of dollars our colleagues showered on your department like a personal slush fund.
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You budgeted an astonishing $220 million for media consultant contracts,
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so you can star in self-promoting photo shoots and lavish ad campaigns.
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You're living rent-free in the official waterfront residence reserved for the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
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You spent $172 million to buy not one, but two luxury jets for your travel,
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and now you're using taxpayer funds to lease a third jet.
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Secretary Noem, you're flying high now, maybe even a little bit too close to the sun.
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But with all these free planes and houses and pilots, you've traveled a long distance from your actual job.
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With Democrats offering the Secretary few opportunities to respond during lengthy monologues,
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Republicans offering their own time to allow Secretary Noem to defend herself.
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Is it fair to say that you and your family are at greater risk because of the job you're doing
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than anyone who's had your job perhaps since 9-11?
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Yes, sir. I can't speak specific to the threats, but...
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And so when the ranking member spends so much time talking about your being in a protective housing,
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by the way, one that is under your authority and one that the head of the Coast Guard normally would be in,
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you're simply in the housing that he historically had.
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Let me clarify a couple of things. I'm not in the commandant's house.
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I'm in a Coast Guard house, but not the commandant's house. The commandant is in his house.
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And I will also tell you that I rent that facility.
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I rent where I stay and pay personal dollars to do that.
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Democrats spending much of their time pressing the secretary on Operation Metro Surge,
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the large-scale immigration enforcement operation targeting Minnesota's Twin Cities,
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as well as ICE tactics and oversight of federal agents.
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Are agents trained to break the windows of people whose cars they encounter and drag them out
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forcibly without asking questions? Is that their training?
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DHS is supposed to be protecting our residents and upholding constitutional protections,
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but you've turned that on the head. You have actually turned the United States government
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And I want you to know that Americans will get accountability for the damage that you have done,
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the lawlessness of aspects of DHS, for killing innocent Americans, for terrorizing children.
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Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky, a Republican,
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using his time to question the secretary about body cameras for federal agents involved
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I want to ask you for an update on body cameras and your opinion on that. That's something that
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the Democrats have demanded, but it's something that I think might just be common sense.
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Yes, we certainly are working to get body cameras on all of our officers. CBP has had them on many
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of their agents that interact with people for the last several years, but they haven't been
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many times supported financially for running the systems that run the body cameras. Also,
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ICE has body cameras deployed, but we're not funded for body cameras right now. So that's one
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thing I'd like to ask you all to do. I have said that we will deploy every body camera that we have,
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but clearly we need tens of thousands more. And I agree with you. Our, our officers overwhelmingly,
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they support body cameras because they give you the full context, context of the, of the
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interaction. Representative Massey joining me on After Party last night.
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That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Drashinsky, host of After Party. Catch the Megyn Kelly
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show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly