The StoneZONE with Roger Stone

00:00:00.000 Every week, the Payne family cuts straight to the real financial story.

00:00:04.460 The one question, Bob, everyone's asking is, are we in an artificial intelligence bubble?

00:00:10.080 You've been through boom and busts. What do you think?

00:00:12.860 No hype, no myths, just what actually matters to your money.

00:00:17.440 Does feel very similar to what we experienced in the 90s. Where are we,

00:00:21.460 though? Are we in 1995, 1997, 1999?

00:00:25.300 Listen to the Payne Points of Wealth on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:00:29.200 Want to fast-forward your career? Discover the Chang School of Continuing Education

00:00:33.820 at Toronto Metropolitan University. Our programs are the perfect way to boost your success.

00:00:39.720 Visit the Chang School online today.

00:00:44.960 The Stone Zone. Entertaining and informative.

00:00:49.120 On the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:00:52.060 You are now entering the Stone Zone. We've got a blockbuster show for you tonight.

00:00:57.580 Mark Vargas, the editor-in-chief of the Illinois Review,

00:01:01.200 joins us with breaking news. He has uncovered epic corruption by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

00:01:10.320 Turns out that Pritzker has been lining his own pockets and the pockets of his family

00:01:15.420 with more than $180 million of taxpayer funds from the state of Illinois.

00:01:22.040 That story coming up.

00:01:24.320 But in the meantime, the United States of America was once again facing a constitutional and civil crisis,

00:01:30.720 not on distant battlefields, but in the streets of Minnesota,

00:01:34.420 where violence has escalated and civil order has frayed.

00:01:37.700 What began as protests tied to a federal immigration law enforcement

00:01:44.260 has metastasized into sustained unrest, exposing a much deeper national question.

00:01:51.220 Who enforces law when local and state officials refuse to do so?

00:01:56.080 The situation has deteriorated to such extent that President Trump

00:01:59.980 has publicly warned that he may invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807

00:02:05.220 in order to restore order if Minnesota officials continue to abdicate their responsibility

00:02:11.240 to protect life, property, and federal authority.

00:02:15.620 This warning did not arise in a vacuum.

00:02:20.100 Violent demonstrations, vandalism assaults on law enforcement,

00:02:23.900 and open obstruction of federal officers in the exercise of their duties

00:02:30.800 have become entirely routine.

00:02:32.880 Political leaders in Minnesota have resounded not by restoring order,

00:02:36.740 but by filing lawsuits condemning federal law enforcement

00:02:40.280 and effectively encouraging defiance.

00:02:43.860 When governors and mayors place ideology and partisanship over public safety,

00:02:49.960 the federal government is left with a solemn constitutional duty.

00:02:54.580 That duty is embodied in the Insurrection Act of 1807

00:02:58.360 and is one of the most powerful yet misunderstood statutes in American law.

00:03:04.000 Enacted during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson,

00:03:07.680 it authorizes the President of the United States

00:03:10.360 to deploy federal military forces, including active-duty troops

00:03:14.940 or federalized National Guard units,

00:03:17.520 within the United States when ordinary law enforcement mechanisms have failed.

00:03:23.600 The Act permits presidential action when insurrection,

00:03:27.060 domestic violence, or unlawful conspiracies

00:03:30.040 make it impossible to enforce federal law

00:03:32.880 or when states are unwilling or unable

00:03:35.920 to protect the constitutional rights of their citizens.

00:03:39.580 In short, it exists to preserve the republic

00:03:42.520 when civil authority collapses.

00:03:44.540 Normally, the Posse-Cama-Thomas Act

00:03:48.340 prohibits the use of military for civilian law enforcement.

00:03:52.720 The Insurrection Act serves as a narrow

00:03:55.020 but explicit exception to that law.

00:03:58.520 It recognizes that there are moments

00:04:00.640 when the enforcement of law

00:04:02.380 and the preservation of constitutional order

00:04:04.680 requires extraordinary measures.

00:04:08.020 Critics claim that invoking the Insurrection Act is authoritarian,

00:04:11.880 but history proves the exact opposite.

00:04:14.360 The Insurrection Act has been used sparingly

00:04:17.240 and almost always in moments of grave national consequence.

00:04:22.080 In 1957, President Dwight David Eisenhower

00:04:25.580 invoked the Insurrection Act

00:04:27.800 to send the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas

00:04:32.000 after the governor of Arkansas refused to comply

00:04:35.980 with a federal court order

00:04:37.760 to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock.

00:04:41.260 State officials openly were defying the U.S. Constitution

00:04:45.060 and the courts.

00:04:46.740 Federal troops enforced the law

00:04:48.320 and protected American children exercising their civil rights.

00:04:53.020 During the 1960s, Presidents John F. Kennedy

00:04:55.740 and Lyndon Johnson used the act

00:04:58.420 to quell violent resistance to civil rights

00:05:00.600 enforcements across the South.

00:05:02.540 Those interventions were not acts of tyranny.

00:05:05.480 They were acts of constitutional necessity.

00:05:07.980 Even after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King

00:05:11.740 in 1968, riots erupted in all major American cities.

00:05:16.260 President Johnson again invoked the Insurrection Act

00:05:19.280 to restore order when local governments were overwhelmed.

00:05:23.260 Then, in 1992, President George H.W. Bush

00:05:27.220 used the act to deploy federal troops to Los Angeles

00:05:30.760 after riots exploded following the Rodney King verdict.

00:05:34.320 Entire neighborhoods burned while local authorities lost control.

00:05:39.380 Federal interventions stabilized the city and saved lives.

00:05:43.600 Each of these episodes shares a common thread.

00:05:46.840 State and local governments failed.

00:05:49.380 The federal government stepped in to preserve order

00:05:51.620 and uphold the law.

00:05:54.100 Minnesota today bears an unsettling resemblance to those moments.

00:05:58.760 Instead of enforcing the law,

00:06:00.320 state leaders have chosen performative resistance.

00:06:03.060 They have vilified federal officers,

00:06:05.640 encouraging mass protests,

00:06:07.440 and allowed professional agitators to hijack public spaces.

00:06:11.900 When federal agents are attacked

00:06:13.720 and the enforcement of immigration law is obstructed,

00:06:16.640 what exactly is the federal government supposed to do?

00:06:20.520 If a state refuses to protect federal officers,

00:06:23.540 if it refuses to enforce the law,

00:06:26.060 if it tolerates violence and lawlessness

00:06:28.620 in the name of ideology,

00:06:30.200 has it not already surrendered its claim to exclusive authority?

00:06:34.580 You see, the Insurrection Act is not a tool of oppression.

00:06:39.120 It's a constitutional backstop.

00:06:41.720 It exists for moments precisely like this,

00:06:44.280 when elected officials abandon their oaths

00:06:47.200 and citizens are left unprotected.

00:06:50.100 The questions Americans much ask

00:06:52.140 is not whether invoking the Insurrection Act is extreme.

00:06:54.900 The real question is why Minnesota's leaders

00:06:57.900 have allowed matters to deteriorate so badly

00:07:00.800 that such an invocation is even being discussed.

00:07:04.840 Law without enforcement is fiction.

00:07:07.460 Rights without orders are illusions.

00:07:09.960 A republic that cannot defend its law

00:07:12.020 simply cannot survive.

00:07:14.260 History teaches us that presidents

00:07:16.120 who invoke the Insurrection Act

00:07:17.740 do so reluctantly but decisively

00:07:20.120 when the alternative is chaos.

00:07:22.720 Minnesota now stands at that very crossroads.

00:07:26.740 If the rule of law is to mean anything,

00:07:29.260 it must be enforced everywhere,

00:07:31.000 even in states where leaders believe themselves

00:07:33.660 immune from constitutional accountability.

00:07:37.880 In the meantime,

00:07:39.260 a federal appeals court has cleared the way

00:07:41.420 for the Trump administration to move closer

00:07:43.740 to deporting the radical pro-Hamas activist

00:07:47.360 Mahmoud Khalil,

00:07:49.440 overturning a lower court ruling

00:07:51.400 that freed him from immigration detention last year.

00:07:55.040 In a two-to-one decision Thursday,

00:07:57.100 the appellate panel ruled

00:07:58.520 that the New Jersey judge

00:08:00.360 who ordered Khalil's release

00:08:02.080 never had the jurisdiction

00:08:03.720 to intervene in the case in the first place.

00:08:06.680 While the court did not directly order Khalil's removal,

00:08:09.960 it made clear that immigration cases

00:08:12.620 must proceed through the proper legal channels,

00:08:15.800 immigration courts,

00:08:16.880 not in jurisdictions

00:08:17.820 with activist-friendly district judges

00:08:20.780 calling the shots.

00:08:22.260 Khalil,

00:08:23.060 a graduate student of Columbia University,

00:08:25.460 was a central figure

00:08:26.620 in the Gaza encampment protests

00:08:29.220 that escalated

00:08:30.780 into the unlawful occupation

00:08:32.920 of Hamilton Hall.

00:08:34.960 He was detained by federal authorities

00:08:36.740 on March 8th last year

00:08:38.180 and held for three months

00:08:39.160 before a lower court

00:08:40.320 declared his detention unconstitutional,

00:08:43.700 a ruling the Trump administration

00:08:45.160 immediately challenged.

00:08:47.800 Writing for the majority,

00:08:49.720 Judge Thomas Hardiman

00:08:50.840 and Stephanos Bibas

00:08:52.800 emphasized that the legal system

00:08:55.660 does not allow multiple courts

00:08:57.420 to take turns

00:08:58.680 overruling immigration enforcement.

00:09:01.300 Petitioners, they noted,

00:09:02.480 get one bite at the apple,

00:09:05.020 not zero,

00:09:06.040 but not endless do-overs either.

00:09:08.880 The ruling comes

00:09:09.720 as immigration authorities

00:09:11.120 continue reviewing a removal order

00:09:13.620 that could send Khalil

00:09:15.120 back to Algeria 1.00

00:09:16.760 where he's a citizen

00:09:18.160 or Syria

00:09:19.140 where he was born

00:09:20.400 in a refugee camp.

00:09:22.200 His attorneys claim

00:09:23.320 that he would face danger

00:09:24.360 if deported,

00:09:25.180 an argument routinely contrived

00:09:27.500 as a pretense

00:09:28.260 to block lawful removals

00:09:30.220 of illegals.

00:09:31.520 This decision shows

00:09:32.660 that immigration law matters,

00:09:34.760 activist judges

00:09:35.600 don't get to determine

00:09:36.820 the rule of law,

00:09:38.200 and participation

00:09:39.120 in disruptive,

00:09:40.580 anti-American,

00:09:41.740 violent protests

00:09:42.600 when you're a foreigner

00:09:43.980 may get you removed

00:09:45.320 from this country,

00:09:46.280 and I say rightfully so.

00:09:49.300 Meanwhile,

00:09:50.100 Minnesota Attorney General

00:09:51.480 Keith Ellison

00:09:52.400 took the stage this week

00:09:53.880 to speak at a student walkout

00:09:55.680 at the state capitol

00:09:57.400 using the protests

00:09:58.440 not to calm tensions,

00:10:00.240 but to openly attack

00:10:01.700 federal law enforcement

00:10:02.900 and Immigration Customs

00:10:04.460 enforcement officers

00:10:05.360 simply doing their jobs.

00:10:07.580 Speaking to students

00:10:08.560 who skipped class

00:10:09.540 to protest ISIS

00:10:10.780 enforcement measures,

00:10:12.000 Ellison claims

00:10:13.720 he serves as their lawyer

00:10:15.420 and bragged

00:10:16.080 that he sued

00:10:16.880 the Department of Homeland Security

00:10:18.760 just days ago

00:10:19.880 in an attempt

00:10:21.020 to block immigration 0.98

00:10:22.080 enforcement

00:10:22.680 in Minnesota.

00:10:24.260 The state,

00:10:25.140 joined by the cities

00:10:26.260 of Minneapolis

00:10:26.960 and St. Paul,

00:10:28.400 sought a temporary

00:10:29.360 restraining order

00:10:30.300 to halt ICE activity.

00:10:32.260 A federal judge

00:10:33.140 wisely rejected

00:10:34.740 that request,

00:10:36.340 dealing a clear bow

00:10:37.520 to Ellison's

00:10:38.340 subversive behavior.

00:10:40.020 Despite the ruling,

00:10:42.900 Attorney General Ellison,

00:10:44.200 a radical leftist,

00:10:45.300 doubled down,

00:10:46.320 accusing ICE

00:10:47.100 of lawlessness

00:10:47.840 and falsely linking

00:10:49.020 law enforcement operations

00:10:50.340 to violence

00:10:51.320 and disruption.

00:10:53.040 In what I think

00:10:53.880 was a disgusting fashion,

00:10:56.000 Ellison labeled

00:10:56.740 Renee Good

00:10:57.580 a martyr,

00:10:58.880 claiming that she

00:10:59.560 sacrificed her life

00:11:01.040 opposing ICE.

00:11:02.700 The facts

00:11:03.340 in the video

00:11:04.160 tell a very different story.

00:11:06.180 Good was shot

00:11:06.760 and killed

00:11:07.200 after deliberately

00:11:08.040 blocking a roadway

00:11:09.120 to interfere

00:11:10.160 with federal agents

00:11:11.080 and then driving

00:11:11.880 her vehicle 0.58

00:11:12.520 towards an officer,

00:11:14.560 striking him

00:11:15.180 in a way

00:11:15.520 that caused him

00:11:16.220 to suffer

00:11:17.360 severe internal injuries.

00:11:19.840 The New York Times

00:11:20.460 tries to tell us

00:11:21.220 this didn't happen.

00:11:22.380 You can see it

00:11:23.000 in the video

00:11:23.520 with your own eyes.

00:11:25.480 The agent responded

00:11:26.440 by opening fire

00:11:27.380 and was justified

00:11:28.240 in doing so.

00:11:29.980 Minnesota Attorney General

00:11:31.160 Keith Ellison,

00:11:32.600 once posed

00:11:33.460 by the Antifa handbook

00:11:35.140 for a social media photo op.

00:11:37.180 He's an open practitioner

00:11:38.640 of radical Islam.

00:11:40.340 A man such as this

00:11:41.320 should be banned

00:11:41.960 from public office

00:11:42.900 and I don't believe

00:11:44.980 that he should be opining

00:11:46.340 on this issue

00:11:47.500 whatsoever.

00:11:49.200 In the meantime,

00:11:50.740 you're listening

00:11:51.200 to The Stone Zone

00:11:52.440 and when we come back

00:11:53.500 a little later

00:11:54.620 in the show,

00:11:55.520 Mark Vargas,

00:11:56.400 the editor-in-chief

00:11:57.220 of the Illinois Review,

00:11:58.980 joins us

00:11:59.600 with a blockbusting expose

00:12:01.680 about Governor J.B. Pritzker,

00:12:05.320 the ultra-wealthy billionaire

00:12:07.960 who it turns out

00:12:09.440 has been lining

00:12:10.260 his own pockets

00:12:11.380 and the pockets

00:12:12.680 of his family

00:12:13.560 with more than

00:12:14.620 $100 million

00:12:15.600 of taxpayer money.

00:12:17.740 Maybe this is why

00:12:18.700 J.B. Pritzker

00:12:19.520 is so violently opposed

00:12:21.340 to Doge,

00:12:22.620 the effort by Elon Musk

00:12:24.240 to expose waste,

00:12:25.820 fraud,

00:12:26.340 and corruption.

00:12:28.140 J.B. Pritzker,

00:12:29.720 a man so big,

00:12:30.900 he has his own zip code

00:12:32.260 in the crosshairs

00:12:33.980 when we return,

00:12:35.600 journalistically,

00:12:36.420 of course.

00:12:37.380 Mark Vargas joins us

00:12:38.720 with the scoop.

00:12:39.560 You're listening

00:12:39.900 to The Stone Zone.

00:12:41.040 I'm Roger Stone.

00:12:42.320 Don't go away.

00:12:45.540 Every week,

00:12:46.680 the Payne family

00:12:47.500 cuts straight

00:12:48.180 to the real financial story.

00:12:50.120 The one question, Bob,

00:12:51.300 everyone's asking is,

00:12:52.840 are we in an

00:12:53.900 artificial intelligence bubble?

00:12:55.800 You've been through

00:12:56.520 boom and bust.

00:12:57.740 What do you think?

00:12:58.600 No hype,

00:12:59.480 no myths.

00:13:00.260 Just what actually

00:13:01.640 matters to your money.

00:13:03.280 It does feel

00:13:03.860 very similar

00:13:04.720 to what we experienced

00:13:05.960 in the 90s.

00:13:06.640 Where are we, though?

00:13:07.320 Are we in 1995,

00:13:08.720 1997,

00:13:09.940 1999?

00:13:11.020 Listen to the

00:13:11.640 Payne Points of Wealth

00:13:12.780 on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:13:16.220 The Stone Zone.

00:13:18.140 Entertaining

00:13:18.800 and informative.

00:13:20.280 On the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:13:23.200 Welcome back

00:13:24.360 into the Stone Zone.

00:13:25.740 I can't tell you how much

00:13:26.520 I appreciate those

00:13:27.540 kind words

00:13:28.700 from Vice President

00:13:29.460 J.D. Vance.

00:13:31.180 Meanwhile,

00:13:31.720 President Donald Trump

00:13:32.800 is rightfully placing

00:13:33.900 the blame

00:13:34.580 for stalled peace talks

00:13:35.960 between Russia and Ukraine

00:13:37.280 squarely on the Ukrainian

00:13:38.960 President Volodymyr

00:13:40.260 Zelensky.

00:13:41.900 In a recent interview

00:13:43.080 with Reuters

00:13:43.880 from the Oval Office,

00:13:45.040 President Trump said

00:13:45.760 that Russian President

00:13:47.080 Vladimir Putin

00:13:47.900 appears more willing

00:13:48.760 to negotiate

00:13:49.400 than Zelensky.

00:13:51.580 President Trump said

00:13:52.520 Putin is ready

00:13:53.160 to make a deal

00:13:53.780 while Ukraine

00:13:54.420 is less ready

00:13:55.240 to make a deal.

00:13:56.700 Asked directly

00:13:57.400 why negotiations

00:13:58.400 have gone nowhere,

00:13:59.720 Trump gave a

00:14:00.400 one-word answer.

00:14:02.200 Zelensky.

00:14:03.400 Our European allies

00:14:04.400 predictably disagreed

00:14:05.620 accusing Moscow

00:14:06.560 of bad faith,

00:14:07.420 but Trump's frustration

00:14:08.780 reflects what I think

00:14:09.900 is a broader concern

00:14:11.540 that the U.S.

00:14:12.640 has poured billions

00:14:13.740 of dollars into a war

00:14:15.060 with no chance

00:14:16.520 of Ukraine

00:14:17.160 achieving victory.

00:14:18.520 And Ukraine's 0.50

00:14:19.440 corrupt leadership

00:14:20.140 does not seem

00:14:20.900 to care

00:14:21.900 that a loss

00:14:22.800 is inevitable

00:14:23.380 because they want

00:14:24.120 to keep the foreign 1.00

00:14:24.860 aid coming in

00:14:25.620 so they can continue

00:14:27.160 to buy gold-plated toilets.

00:14:30.340 One of the central

00:14:31.000 problems here

00:14:31.680 is that we poured

00:14:32.480 billions of dollars

00:14:33.380 into Ukraine

00:14:34.140 with little accountability.

00:14:36.160 Zelensky himself

00:14:37.060 admits that he doesn't

00:14:38.460 know where hundreds

00:14:39.160 of millions

00:14:39.680 of those dollars

00:14:40.500 have gone.

00:14:41.820 One major sticking point

00:14:43.060 is elections.

00:14:44.560 President Trump

00:14:45.180 has openly questioned

00:14:46.140 whether Ukraine

00:14:46.820 can still be called

00:14:47.800 a democracy

00:14:49.000 after repeatedly

00:14:50.140 canceling

00:14:50.900 presidential elections

00:14:52.260 under martial law.

00:14:54.420 Zelensky has resisted

00:14:55.580 demanding ceasefire

00:14:57.260 guarantees,

00:14:58.660 international protection,

00:15:00.440 and ongoing

00:15:01.060 Western backing

00:15:01.980 before even considering

00:15:03.260 to bring the people

00:15:04.780 to a vote.

00:15:05.900 What he really fears

00:15:06.800 of course

00:15:07.200 is accountability.

00:15:09.160 Then there's also

00:15:10.040 the question

00:15:10.660 of territory.

00:15:11.460 The U.S.

00:15:11.820 has quietly pushed

00:15:12.660 Kiev towards a compromise

00:15:13.900 in eastern Ukraine,

00:15:15.580 but Zelensky continues

00:15:16.540 to reject

00:15:17.080 any land concessions,

00:15:18.840 offering only a freeze

00:15:20.160 and fighting

00:15:20.760 while refusing

00:15:21.820 political recognition

00:15:22.960 of Russian-held regions.

00:15:25.080 Trump has signaled

00:15:25.760 growing impatience

00:15:26.760 with the conflict

00:15:27.480 and hinted

00:15:28.060 that the U.S.

00:15:29.120 may not continue

00:15:30.120 to bankroll

00:15:30.860 Zelensky's endless war.

00:15:33.020 Zelensky's tremendous

00:15:34.040 arrogance

00:15:34.640 could be his undoing,

00:15:36.360 that plus,

00:15:37.140 well,

00:15:37.440 the nose candy.

00:15:38.760 He has yet to realize

00:15:39.880 that President Trump

00:15:40.720 is giving him an out.

00:15:42.020 This may be

00:15:42.680 Zelensky's last chance

00:15:44.020 to allow peace

00:15:44.780 to take hold

00:15:45.520 so he can get out

00:15:46.640 of Dodge

00:15:47.080 without receiving

00:15:47.900 the Ceausescu treatment.

00:15:50.140 He's incredibly unpopular

00:15:51.500 with the Ukrainian people.

00:15:52.720 It's the other reason

00:15:53.320 he doesn't want

00:15:54.520 to go in election.

00:15:55.720 If you remember Ceausescu,

00:15:57.280 the Romanian people

00:15:58.080 dragged him out

00:15:58.840 into the street

00:15:59.440 when he was deposed.

00:16:01.320 Zelensky could be wise

00:16:02.740 to negotiate

00:16:03.260 with President Trump

00:16:04.200 if he wants to avoid

00:16:05.520 that same,

00:16:06.700 very same fate.

00:16:09.160 Meanwhile,

00:16:09.820 a Senate hearing

00:16:10.560 meant to examine

00:16:11.760 the safety

00:16:12.300 of abortion bills

00:16:13.200 took a stunning turn

00:16:14.700 Wednesday

00:16:15.200 when a testifying OBGYN

00:16:17.880 repeatedly refused

00:16:18.900 to acknowledge

00:16:19.620 the basic biological fact

00:16:21.760 that men

00:16:22.300 cannot get pregnant. 0.93

00:16:24.480 Dr. Nisha Verma

00:16:26.180 demonstrates

00:16:26.640 why the public

00:16:27.480 no longer has

00:16:28.680 any confidence

00:16:29.600 in the medical establishment.

00:16:31.340 She was being questioned

00:16:32.140 by Senator Ashley Moody

00:16:33.740 of Florida.

00:16:34.940 When Senator Josh Hawley

00:16:36.360 followed up,

00:16:37.300 Verma continued

00:16:37.980 to deflect,

00:16:38.820 invoking different identities

00:16:40.620 and accusing senators

00:16:41.620 of using yes or no questions

00:16:43.740 as a political tool.

00:16:45.200 Senator Hawley

00:16:46.400 made it clear

00:16:46.900 the goal was not politics

00:16:48.080 but science,

00:16:48.780 specifically establishing

00:16:50.400 biological reality

00:16:52.120 in a hearing

00:16:52.780 centered on women's health. 0.94

00:16:55.080 Despite repeated opportunities,

00:16:57.180 Dr. Verma refused to say

00:16:58.980 that biological men

00:17:00.640 cannot get pregnant. 0.93

00:17:02.380 Instead,

00:17:02.860 she suggested

00:17:03.520 that the issue

00:17:04.280 was complex,

00:17:05.660 using politically correct

00:17:06.860 weasel words

00:17:07.620 because she's too woke

00:17:09.180 to admit reality.

00:17:10.560 The exchange

00:17:11.440 got even more troubling

00:17:12.660 as Senator Hawley

00:17:13.700 pointed out

00:17:14.720 that abortion bills,

00:17:16.100 which was the subject

00:17:16.880 of the hearing,

00:17:17.900 are associated

00:17:18.520 with serious

00:17:19.400 adverse health events

00:17:20.660 in roughly 11% of cases,

00:17:23.120 far exceeding

00:17:24.040 what the FDA label claims.

00:17:26.520 Yet,

00:17:26.900 Dr. Verma,

00:17:28.140 presented as an expert witness,

00:17:30.180 would not acknowledge

00:17:31.000 the most basic premise

00:17:32.220 underlying women's

00:17:33.820 reproductive health.

00:17:35.580 Dr. Verma

00:17:36.460 is an example

00:17:37.280 of a liberal activist

00:17:38.400 who uses

00:17:39.340 her professional credentials

00:17:40.500 to push her leftist ideology.

00:17:43.120 She's okay

00:17:43.600 with murdering babies

00:17:44.540 and mutilating genitals 0.67

00:17:45.560 in the name of silence.

00:17:47.520 Don't go away

00:17:48.300 because when we come back,

00:17:49.560 Mark Vargas

00:17:50.260 of the Illinois Review

00:17:51.860 is here

00:17:52.540 with a blockbuster expose

00:17:54.720 of how

00:17:55.880 Illinois'

00:17:57.180 rotund governor,

00:17:58.580 J.B. Pritzker,

00:17:59.640 has been lining

00:18:00.580 his own pockets

00:18:01.540 and the pockets

00:18:02.300 of his family

00:18:03.140 with the tax dollars

00:18:04.860 of the hard-working families

00:18:06.360 of the state of Illinois.

00:18:08.240 We'll be right back.

00:18:10.500 The Stone Zone

00:18:14.800 Entertaining

00:18:15.940 and informative

00:18:17.080 on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:18:20.280 And we're back

00:18:21.560 in the Stone Zone.

00:18:23.560 While President Donald Trump

00:18:24.960 and his

00:18:25.500 Doge reformers 0.97

00:18:27.080 are trying to take

00:18:27.960 a chainsaw

00:18:28.800 to federal waste

00:18:29.580 in Washington,

00:18:31.020 Illinois Governor

00:18:31.960 J.B. Pritzker

00:18:33.020 appears to be playing

00:18:33.860 a very different game,

00:18:35.640 one that funnels 0.75

00:18:36.580 massive amounts

00:18:37.680 of taxpayer money

00:18:38.860 into assets

00:18:40.160 tied to his own

00:18:41.400 family hotel empire.

00:18:43.740 What we're going

00:18:44.420 to reveal to you

00:18:45.400 today is not

00:18:46.100 some recycled

00:18:46.880 political attack.

00:18:47.840 It's a fresh information

00:18:49.460 pulled straight

00:18:50.120 from public records

00:18:51.020 with conflict

00:18:52.100 of interest

00:18:52.680 written all over it.

00:18:54.800 Joining me now

00:18:55.600 is the editor-in-chief

00:18:56.780 of the Illinois Review,

00:18:58.800 Mark Vargas,

00:18:59.600 to help break down

00:19:00.740 this story.

00:19:01.760 Mark, welcome in

00:19:02.640 to the Stone Zone.

00:19:04.240 It's great to be

00:19:04.960 with you, Roger.

00:19:05.560 Thank you.

00:19:05.960 You have worked

00:19:09.100 with me here

00:19:09.620 in the last 48 hours

00:19:11.300 to produce

00:19:12.000 a blockbuster story,

00:19:13.640 one you'll find

00:19:14.640 nowhere else,

00:19:16.040 which essentially

00:19:17.200 reveals

00:19:18.180 that J.B. Pritzker,

00:19:20.680 who is already

00:19:21.640 a billionaire,

00:19:23.380 has used

00:19:24.420 the Illinois

00:19:25.200 Metropolitan Pier

00:19:26.600 and Exposition

00:19:27.360 Authority

00:19:27.980 to funnel

00:19:28.900 more than

00:19:29.400 $180 million

00:19:30.720 in taxpayer money

00:19:32.660 into the Hyatt Regency

00:19:34.700 McCormick Place

00:19:35.740 Hotel in Chicago

00:19:36.740 since 2011.

00:19:38.360 Pritzker appoints

00:19:39.180 nearly half

00:19:40.200 the members

00:19:40.740 of the board

00:19:41.280 of that authority,

00:19:42.420 giving him

00:19:43.080 enormous influence

00:19:44.000 on how the

00:19:44.580 taxpayer dollars

00:19:45.540 are spent.

00:19:47.020 But the point here

00:19:48.840 most people

00:19:49.400 may not understand

00:19:50.440 is that

00:19:51.100 Governor Pritzker,

00:19:52.360 a billionaire,

00:19:53.320 and his family

00:19:54.260 own the Hyatt Regency

00:19:56.000 McCormick Place.

00:19:57.680 Tell us more

00:19:58.180 about this.

00:19:59.760 It really is

00:20:00.360 remarkable, Roger,

00:20:01.520 and that's just

00:20:02.160 the tip of the iceberg.

00:20:03.360 Given all the widespread

00:20:04.440 and massive fraud

00:20:05.540 happening

00:20:06.040 and that's

00:20:07.480 being uncovered

00:20:08.520 in Minnesota

00:20:09.280 under the

00:20:10.140 failed leadership

00:20:11.240 of tiny dancer

00:20:12.860 Tim Waltz,

00:20:14.280 people are beginning

00:20:15.100 to take a look

00:20:15.880 at California

00:20:17.280 and Illinois

00:20:17.820 for an example.

00:20:19.520 And what we've uncovered,

00:20:21.040 Roger,

00:20:21.240 really answers the why

00:20:22.640 because J.B. Pritzker

00:20:24.740 has been so aggressive

00:20:26.040 in attacking the president

00:20:27.300 on a variety of fronts,

00:20:28.600 whether it's

00:20:29.420 illegal aliens

00:20:30.320 over everyday

00:20:31.280 citizens

00:20:31.760 or whether it's

00:20:32.540 lawlessness

00:20:33.080 over law and order.

00:20:35.060 But in particular,

00:20:36.960 he's attacked

00:20:37.320 the president

00:20:37.860 on DOCHE

00:20:39.560 and rooting out

00:20:40.960 waste, fraud,

00:20:41.540 and abuse

00:20:41.980 in government.

00:20:44.000 And Governor Pritzker

00:20:44.800 has called

00:20:45.420 rooting out

00:20:46.460 waste, fraud,

00:20:47.000 and abuse

00:20:47.320 in government,

00:20:47.840 he's called it

00:20:48.440 an insult

00:20:49.160 to Americans.

00:20:50.600 So that began

00:20:51.200 to beg the question,

00:20:52.340 why?

00:20:53.280 Well, we've certainly

00:20:53.980 answered that why.

00:20:55.680 Governor Pritzker

00:20:56.420 has spent his time

00:20:57.560 before office

00:20:58.760 and particularly

00:20:59.340 while in office

00:21:00.760 profiting off

00:21:02.260 the backs

00:21:02.720 of everyday

00:21:03.440 Illinoisans.

00:21:04.580 What you mentioned

00:21:05.200 was remarkable.

00:21:06.740 What triggered

00:21:07.280 is that

00:21:07.760 in fiscal year

00:21:08.760 2023,

00:21:09.600 $8.8 million

00:21:10.880 were spent

00:21:13.020 for hotel

00:21:14.560 infrastructure

00:21:15.420 improvements

00:21:16.340 for the Hyatt

00:21:17.360 Hotel there

00:21:18.480 in downtown Chicago.

00:21:20.240 Hyatt Hotel

00:21:20.720 obviously is owned

00:21:21.560 by the Pritzker

00:21:22.920 family.

00:21:23.340 And when we learned

00:21:24.180 that the board

00:21:24.940 that you had mentioned,

00:21:26.060 this MPEA board

00:21:27.800 that approves

00:21:29.100 the taxpayer-funded

00:21:30.200 money,

00:21:30.700 we also learned

00:21:31.400 that Governor Pritzker

00:21:32.220 controls almost

00:21:33.260 a majority

00:21:34.000 of the board

00:21:35.060 because he appoints

00:21:36.140 five of the

00:21:37.200 11 members.

00:21:38.180 And so they certainly

00:21:39.260 are not questioning

00:21:40.260 where to put

00:21:41.300 those tax dollars

00:21:42.320 or the fact

00:21:43.160 that those tax dollars

00:21:43.980 are going into

00:21:44.740 the Pritzker family

00:21:46.480 pockets that includes

00:21:47.860 the Illinois governor.

00:21:48.840 But it's much deeper

00:21:50.060 than that, Roger,

00:21:50.780 the $180 million.

00:21:51.580 We've also discovered

00:21:53.520 that Governor Pritzker,

00:21:56.940 since taking office

00:21:57.740 in 2019,

00:21:58.980 his so-called

00:22:00.060 blind trust

00:22:01.060 has also held

00:22:02.360 interest in 12

00:22:03.540 for-profit companies

00:22:04.940 that have collectively

00:22:06.360 secured more than

00:22:07.380 $20 billion

00:22:08.740 in Illinois state

00:22:10.940 contracts,

00:22:11.820 all funded by who?

00:22:13.440 The taxpayers.

00:22:15.260 And there,

00:22:15.860 Illinois has been

00:22:16.440 raising income taxes,

00:22:18.200 sales tax,

00:22:19.460 business tax.

00:22:20.280 It's the highest

00:22:21.320 tax state

00:22:22.300 in the nation.

00:22:23.720 And now we know

00:22:24.420 why.

00:22:24.860 Because the hard-earned

00:22:26.520 money of everyday

00:22:27.900 blue-collar,

00:22:29.040 hard-working

00:22:29.540 Illinoisans,

00:22:30.560 that money is not

00:22:31.480 to improve

00:22:32.100 government services.

00:22:33.580 That money isn't

00:22:34.160 being used

00:22:34.800 to improve

00:22:35.520 their lives,

00:22:36.780 create a safe

00:22:37.840 environment for

00:22:38.560 their community.

00:22:39.160 No, that money

00:22:40.080 is going to line

00:22:41.000 the pockets

00:22:41.500 of Governor

00:22:42.200 J.B. Pritzker

00:22:42.900 and his closest

00:22:43.860 allies and family

00:22:44.760 members.

00:22:45.100 I do want

00:22:46.080 to correct

00:22:46.560 one misstatement

00:22:48.460 I made.

00:22:49.100 The actual

00:22:49.660 hotel facility

00:22:51.120 is owned

00:22:52.460 by a state

00:22:53.120 authority,

00:22:54.440 but the

00:22:54.940 Hyatt Corporation,

00:22:56.020 controlled by

00:22:56.540 the Pritzker

00:22:57.020 family,

00:22:57.960 operates the

00:22:58.660 hotel under

00:22:59.320 a very lucrative

00:23:00.420 management agreement

00:23:01.800 that pays a

00:23:02.460 percentage of

00:23:03.260 gross revenue

00:23:04.520 plus incentive

00:23:05.660 fees tied to

00:23:06.840 the profitability

00:23:07.480 of the hotel.

00:23:09.080 Now, as you

00:23:09.740 point out in

00:23:10.720 this groundbreaking

00:23:12.060 piece at the

00:23:13.020 Illinois Review

00:23:13.740 today, this

00:23:15.380 latest $8.8

00:23:16.800 million awarded

00:23:18.820 to the hotel

00:23:20.020 in fiscal year

00:23:21.120 2023 was

00:23:23.960 initially called

00:23:24.860 Infrastructure

00:23:25.500 Improvement,

00:23:25.940 was part of a

00:23:26.600 $59.5 million

00:23:28.660 renovation approved

00:23:30.500 in December of

00:23:31.320 2024, which

00:23:32.740 covers 1,258

00:23:35.060 guest rooms and

00:23:36.420 additional projects

00:23:37.400 upgrading more

00:23:38.240 than 93,000

00:23:39.720 square feet of

00:23:40.420 common areas.

00:23:41.180 Now, these, as

00:23:42.400 you point out,

00:23:43.120 are not routine

00:23:44.160 repairs, these

00:23:44.980 are value-boosting

00:23:46.460 investments, HVAC,

00:23:48.800 plumbing, electrical

00:23:49.900 upgrades that

00:23:51.800 directly increase

00:23:52.740 occupancy, which

00:23:54.100 increases revenue,

00:23:55.560 which increases

00:23:56.200 long-term

00:23:56.820 profitability, which

00:23:58.420 puts more money

00:23:59.340 into the pockets

00:24:00.400 of the Pritzker

00:24:01.440 family.

00:24:02.460 It really is

00:24:03.280 remarkable, and

00:24:04.300 again, it answers

00:24:05.060 this question, why

00:24:06.040 has Governor

00:24:06.660 Pritzker been so

00:24:07.760 opposed to any

00:24:09.460 programs, any

00:24:10.680 organizations, any

00:24:11.740 groups wanting to

00:24:12.760 explore waste,

00:24:14.020 fraud, and abuse

00:24:14.620 in Illinois?

00:24:15.540 This answers it

00:24:16.480 because his hotel

00:24:17.460 and his blind

00:24:19.440 trust businesses

00:24:20.960 have secured all

00:24:23.160 of this money, all

00:24:24.060 taxpayer money.

00:24:25.200 We also know,

00:24:26.020 Roger, that's not

00:24:26.720 in this article, that

00:24:28.080 it's been estimated

00:24:29.080 that since Governor

00:24:30.060 Pritzker has been in

00:24:30.920 office since 2019,

00:24:32.520 over $22 billion

00:24:33.860 has been wasted,

00:24:36.020 and this is separate

00:24:36.820 from the taxpayer

00:24:37.600 money going to his

00:24:38.660 hotels and to line

00:24:39.800 the pockets of

00:24:41.480 his business

00:24:41.900 associates.

00:24:42.960 This is on top

00:24:44.200 of all of that,

00:24:45.080 and that's a very,

00:24:45.920 very conservative

00:24:46.560 number, so obviously

00:24:47.360 we know that number

00:24:48.100 is much, much higher,

00:24:49.340 but the most

00:24:49.720 conservative number

00:24:50.480 is around $22

00:24:51.760 billion in wasted

00:24:53.960 taxpayer money on

00:24:55.660 top of what's been

00:24:56.480 happening and what

00:24:57.160 we've uncovered

00:24:58.660 already.

00:24:59.240 So again, I think

00:24:59.940 this is making

00:25:00.480 what's currently

00:25:02.480 happening in

00:25:03.060 Minnesota with

00:25:04.440 Tim Waltz and

00:25:06.160 his team.

00:25:07.620 I think that's

00:25:08.560 just the tip

00:25:08.980 of the iceberg

00:25:09.500 on what's

00:25:10.060 happening here

00:25:10.580 in Illinois.

00:25:11.680 According to

00:25:12.640 Forbes Magazine,

00:25:14.080 Governor Pritzker's

00:25:14.960 personal net worth

00:25:15.900 is estimated at

00:25:17.000 $3.9 billion.

00:25:20.000 I recall an

00:25:21.400 anecdote where he

00:25:22.540 cheated the

00:25:23.400 taxpayers when it

00:25:24.240 came to property

00:25:24.900 taxes.

00:25:25.780 As I recall,

00:25:27.260 because he didn't

00:25:28.220 want any neighbors,

00:25:29.540 he bought the

00:25:30.480 mansion next to

00:25:32.180 his, left it

00:25:33.800 vacant.

00:25:35.300 Well, you take it

00:25:35.960 from there.

00:25:36.400 He did.

00:25:37.120 He bought the

00:25:37.560 mansion.

00:25:37.920 He didn't want

00:25:38.160 any neighbors.

00:25:39.040 He left it

00:25:39.500 vacant, but he

00:25:40.120 wanted to figure

00:25:40.920 out how to cheat

00:25:41.700 on taxes.

00:25:42.580 So what did he

00:25:43.120 come up with?

00:25:44.040 He removed all

00:25:45.300 of the toilet from

00:25:46.360 the home, which

00:25:47.280 makes it legally

00:25:48.300 uninhabitable.

00:25:49.300 And I think there

00:25:49.800 were somewhere

00:25:50.260 around the range

00:25:51.120 of nine bathrooms.

00:25:52.120 So they removed

00:25:53.220 nine toilets.

00:25:54.560 As a result, that

00:25:55.280 home became legally

00:25:56.160 uninhabitable, and

00:25:57.440 Governor Pritzker was

00:25:58.400 able to skirt over

00:25:59.760 300, paying over

00:26:00.980 $300,000 in

00:26:02.720 property taxes.

00:26:03.640 When that was

00:26:04.880 discovered during

00:26:05.860 his campaign, he

00:26:07.640 was caught

00:26:08.100 flat-footed, came

00:26:09.600 up with lame

00:26:10.200 excuses, and ended

00:26:11.220 up paying the

00:26:11.920 difference.

00:26:12.800 But it triggered

00:26:13.920 a federal inquiry,

00:26:16.500 and what was the

00:26:18.580 key takeaway from

00:26:19.400 this entire episode

00:26:20.960 was that if

00:26:22.080 Governor Pritzker

00:26:22.920 knows, he knows

00:26:24.960 how to skirt the

00:26:26.040 rules, he knows

00:26:27.340 where there are

00:26:27.900 gaps, and he knows

00:26:28.780 how to manipulate

00:26:29.620 the system for his

00:26:31.100 own benefit.

00:26:31.640 If he could do

00:26:32.460 that regarding

00:26:33.400 toilets and

00:26:34.660 saving $300,000,

00:26:36.320 imagine what he's

00:26:37.400 doing with a state

00:26:38.340 that has a $54

00:26:39.920 billion annual

00:26:41.780 budget.

00:26:42.300 And we're seeing

00:26:42.900 that with $180

00:26:43.660 million going to

00:26:44.480 his hotel and

00:26:45.520 $20 billion in

00:26:46.880 state government

00:26:47.500 contracts all funded

00:26:48.420 by the taxpayers

00:26:49.120 going into the

00:26:50.160 pockets of his

00:26:51.200 business friends and

00:26:52.060 associates.

00:26:52.980 Mark, as I recall,

00:26:54.540 it was you and

00:26:55.780 the Illinois

00:26:56.420 Review that

00:26:57.940 exposed the fact

00:26:59.460 that Governor

00:27:00.320 Pritzker and

00:27:01.700 Mayor Brandon

00:27:02.500 Johnson, a man

00:27:04.300 who is the

00:27:05.240 mayor of Chicago,

00:27:06.520 and if his IQ

00:27:07.420 was one point

00:27:08.280 lower, you'd

00:27:08.880 have to water

00:27:09.400 him like a

00:27:09.880 plant, specifically

00:27:12.060 passed an

00:27:13.120 ordinance that

00:27:14.660 said that the

00:27:17.000 Chicago City

00:27:18.000 police officers

00:27:18.960 were not to

00:27:20.040 come to the

00:27:20.740 rescue or aid

00:27:22.120 of ICE agents

00:27:23.680 if they were

00:27:24.340 endangered, which

00:27:26.160 I believe you

00:27:27.280 got a legal

00:27:27.880 opinion that

00:27:28.520 showed that

00:27:29.460 that the

00:27:29.880 governor and

00:27:30.440 the mayor

00:27:30.740 could be

00:27:31.240 personally

00:27:32.000 liable if

00:27:33.020 any of those

00:27:33.640 ICE agents

00:27:34.300 sustained physical

00:27:35.620 injury.

00:27:36.540 That's right.

00:27:37.000 The governor

00:27:37.340 signed an

00:27:37.880 executive order

00:27:38.640 and federal

00:27:40.520 ICE agents are

00:27:41.340 experiencing an

00:27:42.420 over 1,000%

00:27:43.900 increase in

00:27:45.380 attacks on

00:27:46.640 federal ICE

00:27:47.220 agents.

00:27:48.000 And one of

00:27:48.740 the largest

00:27:49.320 perpetrators,

00:27:50.840 pun intended,

00:27:51.720 of that violent

00:27:53.120 and dangerous

00:27:53.720 rhetoric is

00:27:54.360 Illinois Governor

00:27:55.060 J.B.

00:27:55.480 Pritzker and

00:27:56.040 Chicago Mayor

00:27:56.780 Brandon Johnson

00:27:57.620 who called

00:27:58.560 them thugs.

00:28:00.080 Domestic 0.64

00:28:00.560 terrorists. 0.53

00:28:01.960 They've now

00:28:03.080 signed executive

00:28:03.880 orders prohibiting

00:28:04.700 local law

00:28:05.400 enforcement from

00:28:06.200 assisting federal

00:28:07.060 ICE agents when

00:28:07.760 they're surrounded

00:28:08.460 by violent and

00:28:09.740 dangerous moms when 1.00

00:28:10.980 their lives are in

00:28:11.820 danger.

00:28:12.280 And we saw that

00:28:12.860 example when on

00:28:14.340 a 911 transcript

00:28:15.780 where federal ICE

00:28:16.820 agents were calling

00:28:17.500 for backup and

00:28:18.760 they were told by

00:28:19.480 the 911 operator

00:28:20.660 that leadership is

00:28:21.900 saying the cops

00:28:23.020 have to stand

00:28:23.720 down.

00:28:24.040 it's absolutely

00:28:25.500 remarkable under

00:28:27.640 his failed

00:28:28.140 leadership.

00:28:28.500 It's why some

00:28:29.060 of the largest

00:28:29.440 corporations in

00:28:30.440 the country,

00:28:31.440 if not the

00:28:31.920 world, have

00:28:32.560 left Illinois

00:28:33.800 and Chicago

00:28:34.460 altogether like

00:28:35.340 Boeing and

00:28:36.040 Caterpillar and

00:28:37.300 Citadel because

00:28:38.500 of the high taxes,

00:28:39.600 because of the

00:28:40.140 high crime,

00:28:40.760 and because of the

00:28:41.640 failed Democratic

00:28:42.460 leadership of J.B.

00:28:43.480 Pritzker and

00:28:44.240 Mayor Brandon

00:28:44.720 Johnson who has

00:28:45.380 an approval rating

00:28:46.180 of just 6%.

00:28:47.820 I do remember

00:28:49.380 when very

00:28:50.440 bizarrely Brandon

00:28:51.560 Johnson, the

00:28:52.220 mayor of Chicago,

00:28:53.380 said all of the

00:28:54.340 civil unrest and

00:28:55.400 crime in the

00:28:56.600 city of Chicago

00:28:57.340 was the fault of

00:28:59.340 President Richard

00:29:00.060 Nixon, who

00:29:01.300 hasn't been in

00:29:02.580 power in this

00:29:03.100 country in over

00:29:03.680 50 years.

00:29:04.920 Very, very

00:29:05.700 strange behavior.

00:29:07.180 Also reports

00:29:07.960 that Mayor

00:29:08.460 Johnson is in

00:29:09.380 and out of the

00:29:09.840 hospital constantly

00:29:10.860 after suffering

00:29:12.840 panic attacks.

00:29:14.780 This does not

00:29:15.400 sound like a man

00:29:16.340 who's fit for

00:29:17.400 leadership.

00:29:17.820 to me.

00:29:19.260 No, sources

00:29:20.520 have shared that

00:29:21.540 over two dozen

00:29:22.640 times in just

00:29:24.080 less than three

00:29:24.840 years, Chicago

00:29:26.100 Mayor Brandon

00:29:26.640 Johnson has

00:29:27.260 checked himself

00:29:27.880 into Northwestern

00:29:28.980 Memorial Hospital

00:29:30.300 for panic

00:29:31.520 attacks.

00:29:32.080 They use the 0.91

00:29:32.920 underground entrance.

00:29:34.260 He uses an

00:29:35.720 alias, a

00:29:36.940 different name.

00:29:37.720 He's identified

00:29:38.380 by his birth

00:29:39.680 date, but

00:29:40.720 they've gone to

00:29:41.640 great lengths.

00:29:42.520 The city has

00:29:43.320 gone to great

00:29:43.860 lengths to make

00:29:44.600 sure that they

00:29:45.740 hide that.

00:29:46.200 They also, he's

00:29:47.280 also increased

00:29:47.920 his Chicago

00:29:48.780 Police Department

00:29:49.580 detail to over

00:29:50.920 150 police

00:29:52.360 officers protecting

00:29:53.680 him and his

00:29:54.260 family.

00:29:55.140 Yet they tell us

00:29:56.020 that Chicago is

00:29:56.940 perfectly safe and

00:29:58.000 the idea that

00:29:58.660 there's a crime

00:29:59.380 epidemic.

00:29:59.900 I specifically

00:30:01.000 remember J.D.

00:30:01.900 Pritzker, I think

00:30:02.580 it was on CNN or

00:30:04.360 perhaps it was Fox,

00:30:05.760 insisting that the

00:30:07.600 published crime

00:30:08.220 statistics from the

00:30:09.100 FBI were wrong and

00:30:10.940 that the neighborhoods

00:30:11.900 and communities of

00:30:13.360 Chicago were

00:30:14.280 perfectly safe.

00:30:15.400 It's remarkable

00:30:16.340 that he can say

00:30:16.980 that.

00:30:17.240 Don't believe me

00:30:18.640 and not your

00:30:19.340 lying eyes when

00:30:21.000 you're looking at

00:30:21.560 the statistic.

00:30:22.400 Over in 2025,

00:30:24.300 Chicago was the

00:30:24.980 most dangerous

00:30:25.540 city in America

00:30:26.520 regarding shootings

00:30:28.080 and murders.

00:30:29.640 Chicago was more

00:30:30.200 dangerous than

00:30:30.680 New York City,

00:30:31.560 than Los Angeles,

00:30:32.820 than Atlanta,

00:30:33.920 Philadelphia,

00:30:34.960 Detroit,

00:30:35.900 Washington, D.C.,

00:30:36.720 the most dangerous

00:30:37.360 city in America.

00:30:38.240 Pritzker likes to

00:30:38.840 say that President

00:30:39.460 Trump has created

00:30:40.200 a manufactured

00:30:41.140 crisis.

00:30:41.800 67,000 dangerous

00:30:43.560 criminals on the

00:30:44.200 street because of

00:30:44.840 no cash bail.

00:30:45.940 That's not a

00:30:46.400 manufactured crisis.

00:30:47.660 1,600 police

00:30:48.580 officers short,

00:30:49.540 resulting in over

00:30:50.180 220,000 high-priority

00:30:52.420 911 calls going

00:30:53.700 unanswered in

00:30:54.340 2023.

00:30:55.400 That's not a

00:30:55.960 manufactured crisis.

00:30:56.920 And finally,

00:30:57.420 over 90% of

00:30:58.740 Chicago's most

00:30:59.400 violent and vicious

00:31:00.120 and dangerous

00:31:00.700 criminals are

00:31:01.580 freeing out on the

00:31:02.260 streets.

00:31:02.680 Why?

00:31:03.040 Because they've

00:31:03.520 never been

00:31:03.860 identified or

00:31:04.600 charged.

00:31:05.400 That's not a

00:31:06.020 manufactured crisis.

00:31:07.320 This is reality

00:31:08.160 for everyday

00:31:08.740 residents and

00:31:09.780 tourists to

00:31:10.320 Chicago.

00:31:10.940 It is a

00:31:11.440 war zone.

00:31:12.800 I really don't

00:31:13.540 understand this

00:31:14.400 concept of the

00:31:15.640 blind trust.

00:31:17.240 I remember when

00:31:17.980 Dick Cheney was the

00:31:18.920 Vice President of

00:31:19.520 the United States,

00:31:20.120 his Halliburton

00:31:21.120 stock, he was the

00:31:22.200 President of

00:31:22.880 Halliburton before

00:31:23.660 becoming Vice

00:31:24.340 President, was in a

00:31:25.360 blind stock.

00:31:26.080 And of course, that

00:31:27.080 stock became worth

00:31:27.980 billions of dollars

00:31:29.220 because he lied our

00:31:30.940 way into the war in

00:31:32.160 Iraq, falsely 1.00

00:31:33.320 claiming that Iraq

00:31:34.760 had weapons of

00:31:36.200 mass destruction,

00:31:37.500 yellow-cake uranium

00:31:38.780 to develop weapons of

00:31:40.520 mass destruction, and

00:31:41.820 the most outrageous

00:31:42.580 lie of all, claiming

00:31:44.080 that Iraq had 0.99

00:31:45.680 participated in the

00:31:47.220 9-11 attacks on

00:31:49.160 America.

00:31:49.640 But if you know that

00:31:51.460 there's Halliburton

00:31:52.280 stock in your

00:31:53.060 blind trust, how

00:31:54.240 blind can your

00:31:55.000 trust be?

00:31:56.200 J.B.

00:31:56.600 Pritzker knows that

00:31:57.500 there's Hyatt stock

00:31:59.680 in his blind trust,

00:32:01.300 and you pointed out

00:32:02.580 that over $20

00:32:03.580 billion in state

00:32:05.080 contracts were with

00:32:07.680 companies tied to

00:32:09.100 his own personal

00:32:10.020 financial interests,

00:32:11.720 all within his

00:32:13.040 so-called blind

00:32:14.560 trust.

00:32:15.980 Mark Vargas has

00:32:17.180 discovered that

00:32:18.420 J.B.

00:32:19.060 Pritzker is not the

00:32:20.100 only 2028 aspirant

00:32:23.220 who's got deep and

00:32:24.900 massive corruption

00:32:25.780 problems.

00:32:26.240 When we come back,

00:32:27.240 we're going to focus

00:32:28.100 on Gavin Newsom,

00:32:30.220 the would-be

00:32:31.000 president from

00:32:31.680 California.

00:32:32.460 He's got great hair

00:32:34.400 and a great line of

00:32:35.520 B.S., but it's

00:32:37.200 possible that the

00:32:38.540 epic personal 0.86

00:32:39.460 corruption of

00:32:40.660 Newsom could even

00:32:42.280 dwarf that of

00:32:43.920 J.B.

00:32:44.400 Pritzker.

00:32:45.300 Don't go away.

00:32:46.080 We'll be right back

00:32:46.820 with that story right

00:32:47.860 here in the Stone

00:32:48.980 Zone.

00:32:53.260 The Stone Zone.

00:32:55.220 Entertaining and

00:32:56.460 informative on the

00:32:57.620 Red Apple Podcast

00:32:58.860 Network.

00:33:00.520 And we're back in

00:33:01.540 the Stone Zone.

00:33:02.440 If you're just

00:33:02.880 tuning in, we're

00:33:03.600 talking to Mark

00:33:04.740 Vargas, the

00:33:05.600 editor-in-chief of

00:33:06.880 the Illinois

00:33:07.400 Review, who has

00:33:08.880 just published a

00:33:09.860 blockbuster expose

00:33:11.260 on the fact that

00:33:12.460 Governor J.B.

00:33:14.100 Pritzker of

00:33:14.800 Illinois has

00:33:16.640 been lining his

00:33:17.660 own pockets with

00:33:18.740 state money

00:33:19.480 flowing through

00:33:20.820 his so-called

00:33:21.960 blind trust.

00:33:24.000 I have two

00:33:24.780 questions.

00:33:25.340 You know, Mark, I

00:33:25.760 signed up for one

00:33:26.460 of those online

00:33:27.800 apps where every

00:33:28.860 day they send you

00:33:30.360 a new word so

00:33:31.660 that you can

00:33:32.300 expand your

00:33:32.960 vocabulary.

00:33:33.400 Today, the word

00:33:34.960 was orotund, which

00:33:37.520 when you look it

00:33:38.380 up means fat.

00:33:39.920 And I think that

00:33:40.780 describes J.B.

00:33:42.060 Pritzker.

00:33:43.360 This is a guy who

00:33:44.680 is drunk on his

00:33:45.560 own power, who

00:33:47.120 desperately wants to

00:33:48.360 be president of the

00:33:49.060 United States,

00:33:50.060 although polls show

00:33:51.420 him with a whopping 0.88

00:33:52.720 one percent of the

00:33:54.120 vote in the

00:33:55.520 upcoming New

00:33:56.200 Hampshire primary.

00:33:57.180 But he's not the

00:33:58.260 only Democrat

00:33:59.260 governor who aspires

00:34:00.680 to be president.

00:34:01.360 He's also not the

00:34:02.640 only Democrat

00:34:03.460 governor who

00:34:04.220 seems to have

00:34:04.900 enormous corruption

00:34:06.820 problems developing.

00:34:07.880 You dug into

00:34:08.640 California Governor

00:34:10.100 Gavin Newsom.

00:34:11.580 Tell our listeners

00:34:12.220 what you found.

00:34:13.420 It really is

00:34:13.920 shocking, Roger.

00:34:14.940 And I like to

00:34:15.460 call J.B.

00:34:16.540 Pritzker's blind

00:34:17.340 trust.

00:34:18.040 It's a blind

00:34:18.920 trust, but it's

00:34:19.520 got 20-20 vision.

00:34:21.260 But it is

00:34:22.060 remarkable what's

00:34:23.180 happening under

00:34:23.720 Gavin Newsom.

00:34:25.320 Audits have

00:34:26.820 estimated that

00:34:27.880 since he's been

00:34:28.780 governor of

00:34:29.260 California, that

00:34:30.700 there's as high

00:34:31.560 as up to

00:34:32.320 $250 billion

00:34:34.220 with a D

00:34:35.300 in waste,

00:34:36.600 fraud, and

00:34:37.540 abuse.

00:34:38.280 They estimate

00:34:39.140 unemployment

00:34:39.780 insurance fraud

00:34:40.880 at $32 billion.

00:34:44.400 Administrative,

00:34:45.480 false administrative

00:34:46.380 claims, $125

00:34:47.820 billion.

00:34:50.100 Homelessness,

00:34:50.940 helping the

00:34:51.380 homelessness, $24

00:34:52.780 billion has been

00:34:54.120 spent on homeless

00:34:55.000 programs, yet no

00:34:56.180 one knows where

00:34:56.740 any of that money

00:34:57.660 went.

00:34:58.100 You remember

00:34:58.940 their high-speed

00:34:59.860 rail boondoggle.

00:35:01.620 $18 billion of

00:35:03.380 taxpayer money in

00:35:04.360 California was

00:35:05.040 spent, and the

00:35:06.000 rail isn't even

00:35:07.000 operational.

00:35:08.320 It really is

00:35:09.040 incredible.

00:35:09.880 They have a

00:35:10.260 failed 911

00:35:11.020 system.

00:35:12.000 They spent $650

00:35:13.200 million on a

00:35:14.320 911 system, and

00:35:15.880 it doesn't work.

00:35:17.760 And so what

00:35:18.240 begs the question

00:35:19.420 is you have all

00:35:20.740 of these

00:35:21.080 contractors, all

00:35:21.980 of these state

00:35:22.560 contractors, all

00:35:23.420 of these buddies

00:35:25.060 of Governor

00:35:26.100 Newsom and

00:35:27.200 his wife, they

00:35:28.300 seem to be the

00:35:28.980 only winners here

00:35:30.180 when this type

00:35:30.940 of money is

00:35:32.080 being spent and

00:35:33.160 wasted.

00:35:34.000 But to think

00:35:34.540 about $250

00:35:35.440 billion during

00:35:37.480 his tenure in

00:35:38.960 California, Roger,

00:35:40.320 I think that

00:35:40.740 number is going

00:35:41.260 to be higher.

00:35:42.200 I think these

00:35:42.660 are just low

00:35:43.280 estimates.

00:35:44.260 Again, what's

00:35:44.680 happening, what's

00:35:45.200 being exposed in

00:35:46.220 Minnesota under

00:35:47.880 Governor Tim

00:35:49.000 Waltz, I think

00:35:50.140 it's going to

00:35:50.500 take down three

00:35:51.360 governors simultaneously,

00:35:53.040 what I call the

00:35:53.820 unholy trinity,

00:35:55.160 Waltz, Pritzker,

00:35:56.620 and Newsom, and

00:35:57.760 what does Pritzker

00:35:58.360 and Newsom have

00:35:59.020 in common?

00:35:59.420 They both think

00:35:59.960 that they can be

00:36:00.520 presidential

00:36:01.080 contenders here in

00:36:02.500 the next couple

00:36:03.040 of years.

00:36:03.700 Yeah, I think

00:36:04.140 that's a very

00:36:05.060 good summary.

00:36:06.320 That's why those

00:36:07.100 who say, oh, the

00:36:07.800 2026 elections, the

00:36:09.280 Republicans are

00:36:09.920 going to lose.

00:36:10.520 Don't bet on

00:36:11.420 it.

00:36:11.860 These financial

00:36:13.020 scandals in these

00:36:13.920 states are only

00:36:14.600 going to grow

00:36:14.980 larger and more

00:36:16.840 outrageous.

00:36:17.780 Now, I do think

00:36:18.920 that Gavin Newsom

00:36:19.700 dodged a bullet

00:36:20.440 when Kamala

00:36:21.140 Harris decided

00:36:22.380 not to run

00:36:24.540 for governor,

00:36:25.880 but that makes

00:36:26.540 her candidacy

00:36:27.180 for president

00:36:27.780 more likely,

00:36:28.720 and two candidates

00:36:29.400 from California,

00:36:30.360 both of them

00:36:31.120 out of their minds,

00:36:32.320 that's just

00:36:33.080 simply not going

00:36:34.360 to work.

00:36:35.120 This epic

00:36:35.760 Democrat corruption

00:36:36.840 that we see in

00:36:37.560 Minnesota, in

00:36:38.820 Michigan, in

00:36:39.920 Washington State,

00:36:41.060 in Oregon, in

00:36:42.440 Ohio, and now,

00:36:43.940 as you've outlined

00:36:44.600 today, in

00:36:45.640 Illinois, I think

00:36:46.940 these are all

00:36:47.520 going to be

00:36:48.060 major, major

00:36:49.400 issues as we

00:36:50.820 approach the

00:36:51.540 2026 election.

00:36:53.760 I want to

00:36:54.040 thank Mark Vargas

00:36:54.940 for being our

00:36:55.500 guest today.

00:36:56.140 He is the

00:36:56.860 editor-in-chief

00:36:57.840 at the

00:36:58.240 Illinois Review.

00:36:59.760 You can go to

00:37:00.620 illinoisreview.com,

00:37:02.540 I believe.

00:37:03.660 Also, they're

00:37:04.960 up on X,

00:37:06.240 some of the

00:37:06.780 most impressive,

00:37:08.780 groundbreaking,

00:37:09.680 investigative

00:37:10.260 journalism in

00:37:11.420 the country today,

00:37:12.480 right there at

00:37:13.220 the Illinois

00:37:13.620 Review.

00:37:14.220 Mark, thank you

00:37:15.040 for joining us

00:37:15.600 today in the

00:37:16.680 Stone Zone.

00:37:17.460 Thank you,

00:37:17.800 Roger.

00:37:18.020 God bless.

00:37:18.440 All right,

00:37:19.660 that's it for

00:37:20.240 us today.

00:37:21.200 Folks, today,

00:37:22.660 you heard

00:37:23.320 firsthand this

00:37:24.640 blockbusting

00:37:25.740 story about the

00:37:27.280 epic corruption 0.77

00:37:28.360 of J.B.

00:37:29.960 Pritzker, the

00:37:30.960 man who would

00:37:32.040 be president.

00:37:33.080 A guy who

00:37:33.760 will rip the

00:37:34.580 toilets out of

00:37:35.500 a mansion that

00:37:36.260 he bought next

00:37:37.280 door to the

00:37:37.740 home he lives

00:37:38.440 in to avoid

00:37:39.480 paying property

00:37:40.260 taxes, well,

00:37:41.720 he's most

00:37:42.180 definitely not

00:37:43.480 prepared to be

00:37:44.400 president of the

00:37:45.280 United States.

00:37:46.380 Thank you for

00:37:46.860 joining us today

00:37:47.540 in the Stone

00:37:48.040 Zone.

00:37:48.440 Until tomorrow,

00:37:49.700 God bless you

00:37:50.540 and God bless you.

00:37:52.080 Thanks for

00:37:52.820 listening to

00:37:53.580 The Stone

00:37:54.120 Zone with

00:37:54.920 Roger Stone.

00:37:56.000 You can hear

00:37:56.660 The Stone

00:37:57.180 Zone with

00:37:57.800 Roger Stone

00:37:58.560 weeknights at

00:37:59.600 8 on 77

00:38:00.800 WABC.

00:38:02.240 If you like

00:38:02.760 the podcast,

00:38:03.760 share it with

00:38:04.380 your friends and

00:38:05.280 listen anytime at

00:38:06.360 WABCradio.com and

00:38:08.480 download the

00:38:09.220 WABC Radio app.

00:38:10.840 Hit that

00:38:11.180 subscribe button

00:38:11.900 on all major

00:38:12.860 podcast platforms.

00:38:14.360 Plus, follow

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00:38:19.340 and X.

00:38:20.060 See you next

00:38:20.600 time for a new

00:38:21.500 episode so you

00:38:22.540 never have to

00:38:23.400 wonder.

00:38:23.940 What the heck

00:38:24.640 is going on

00:38:25.440 here?

00:38:26.120 Every week,

00:38:27.020 the Payne family

00:38:27.840 cuts straight to

00:38:28.700 the real financial

00:38:29.720 story.

00:38:30.440 The one question,

00:38:31.240 Bob, everyone's

00:38:32.180 asking is, are we

00:38:33.860 in an artificial

00:38:34.580 intelligence bubble?

00:38:36.140 You've been through

00:38:36.860 boom and busts.

00:38:38.100 What do you think?

00:38:38.880 No hype, no myths,

00:38:41.080 just what actually

00:38:41.980 matters to your money.

00:38:43.280 It does feel very

00:38:44.620 similar to what we

00:38:45.760 experienced in the

00:38:46.560 90s.

00:38:46.980 Where are we,

00:38:47.540 though?

00:38:47.660 Are we in 1995,

00:38:49.080 1997, 1999?

00:38:51.360 Listen to the

00:38:51.980 Payne Points of

00:38:52.760 Wealth on the

00:38:53.660 Red Apple Podcast

00:38:54.840 Network.

The Stone Zone ｜ 01-15-26

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