The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - The Stone Zone ｜ 05-15-26

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00:01:00.600 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:01:07.740 You are now entering the Stone Zone.

00:01:10.860 Well, just as President Richard Nixon leveraged a trip to China in order to secure a strategic arms limitation agreement with the Russians,

00:01:21.040 President Donald Trump has had a triumphant tour of China and he's come back with the goods.

00:01:26.720 The president went there pursuing major economic deals with China, seeking to get greater Chinese purchases of American goods and establish a U.S.-China Board of Trade to try to stabilize bilateral relations.

00:01:43.060 The centerpiece, of course, this was China's commitment to buy 200 Boeing aircraft alongside their commitment to take on and buy expanded U.S. imports of agricultural products such as soybeans, beef and pork.

00:01:59.260 Discussions, of course, also center beyond trade tensions to the ongoing situation regarding Iran and Taiwan, both of which were evidently on the agenda.

00:02:13.060 While the White House emphasizes that progress on economic cooperation and market access are continuing, the Chinese, of course, said once again that Taiwan is off the table.

00:02:24.220 But it is clear the president did secure key agreements during his visit to China aimed at resolving the impasse over the Strait of Hormuz.

00:02:33.520 That's where the Iranians have closed down that crucial waterway through which almost 30 percent of the world's oil must flow in terms of shipping.

00:02:43.760 China agreed not to send weapons to Iran and committed to help end that conflict

00:02:48.900 With President Xi Jinping reportedly offering to provide

00:02:52.720 Quote, whatever Trump needs, close quote, to achieve a resolution

00:02:57.020 China is, of course, Iran's largest oil producer

00:03:00.500 Purchasing almost 90% of its exports

00:03:03.480 And therefore holds significant leverage

00:03:05.920 Which the U.S. sought to harness diplomatically

00:03:08.840 At the same time, Trump, through his actions in Venezuela

00:03:12.680 and Iran has cut off China's access to cheap, affordable oil.

00:03:20.020 Also on the agenda was an end to China's flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States,

00:03:26.900 a shift in Chinese energy imports towards American oil and natural gas,

00:03:32.380 reducing the dependence on the energy flowing through the Straits of Hormuz.

00:03:38.160 As I said earlier, increased Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods

00:03:42.620 as well as 200 Boeing military jets, and mutual agreement that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons or militarize the Strait of Hormuz.

00:03:52.820 Trump had previously threatened tariffs on nations who aid Iran and emphasize U.S. military readiness,

00:03:59.280 but framed the outcome as a cooperative diplomatic success.

00:04:03.640 The deal was seen as pivotal in terms of stabilizing global energy flows amid the heightened Mideastern tensions.

00:04:11.600 Meanwhile, here's some common sense from the U.S. Senate.

00:04:14.360 The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a resolution to stop U.S. Senators from collecting their paychecks during a government shutdown.

00:04:23.660 The measure, sponsored by Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy, passed Wednesday by a voice vote.

00:04:30.940 Because it applies only to the Senate, it does not need approval from the House or President Trump's signature for that matter.

00:04:38.140 Kennedy called it a matter of shared sacrifice.

00:04:41.000 Senator Kennedy, sometimes referred to as the foghorn leghorn of the Senate,

00:04:46.340 stated that if senators vote to shut down the government and leave federal workers unpaved,

00:04:51.580 they shouldn't keep cashing checks themselves.

00:04:54.440 This is simply common sense.

00:04:56.320 Under the resolution, the Secretary of the Senate would withhold senators' pay during any shutdown

00:05:01.660 and release it only after the government reopens.

00:05:04.740 The rule takes effect after the midterm elections, meaning it could apply to a potential end-of-year shutdown, but not before the fiscal year ends in September 30.

00:05:16.820 The vote comes after a months-long partial shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats push ICE reforms and sought to restrict funding for immigration enforcement and the Border Patrol.

00:05:29.040 With the likelihood of immigration enforcement and intransigent Democrats

00:05:33.960 Looking to undermine the country at every turn

00:05:35.960 It is irresponsible, to my opinion, for U.S. senators to keep taking a paycheck

00:05:40.080 While essential government employees suffer

00:05:43.400 Washington politicians should not be insulated from the consequences of their own gamesmanship

00:05:48.900 If law enforcement, border agents, and military families are expected to feel the pain of a shutdown

00:05:54.840 Well, I think senators should feel the pain too

00:05:57.200 The ruling class has spent too long protecting itself while ordinary Americans pay the price.

00:06:03.180 Senator Kennedy's resolution sends the right message that senators deserve no special treatment,

00:06:08.540 no protected paychecks, and no more Washington privilege during these future shutdowns.

00:06:14.580 Meanwhile, the historic progress from the Trump administration at the border,

00:06:18.480 the Department of Homeland Security says that April 12 marked 12 straight months of zero releases

00:06:25.120 of illegal aliens apprehended by the Border Patrol at the southwest border of the United States.

00:06:31.260 The Department of Homeland Security has called it one of the clearest signs yet

00:06:34.900 that President Trump's border policies are working.

00:06:38.200 Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen said the days of catch and release are over

00:06:41.820 and the illegal aliens are being sent back to their home countries

00:06:45.260 instead of being released into the United States.

00:06:48.680 The numbers show a dramatic reversal from the Biden era,

00:06:51.340 According to the Department of Homeland Security's latest reports, southwest border apprehensions in April were down 94% than the monthly average under Biden and 96% below the December 2023 crisis peak.

00:07:08.080 In April, border patrols recorded 8,943 apprehensions along the southwest border, less than what agents encountered in just three days of April 2024.

00:07:19.260 So the daily average was 298 apprehensions, lower than what agents saw in a single hour during the worst of the Biden border crisis.

00:07:31.180 The Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott contrasted that with two years ago, when more than 68,000 illegal aliens were released into the United States interior in just one month.

00:07:43.120 DHL also says drug seizures are up shortly

00:07:46.700 With agents no longer overwhelmingly processing and releasing illegal migrants

00:07:51.540 The Border Patrol has seized 61% more drugs through this fiscal year, through April

00:07:59.860 Than during the same period of last year 0.99

00:08:01.820 This means that the immigration crisis was always a crisis of will

00:08:06.220 When Joe Biden insisted he needed new laws in order to close our border

00:08:10.140 He wasn't telling us the truth

00:08:11.860 All we needed to do was to enforce the laws that were already on the books.

00:08:17.000 Let's face it, the Biden administration wanted the illegals to come over because Democrats want the demographic collapse of America.

00:08:24.180 They want the refuse of the third world so they can buy them off with welfare and allow them to commit Medicaid fraud so they ultimately will vote Democrat in perpetuity.

00:08:34.720 Borders can be easily secured when leaders choose enforcement over surrender. 0.98

00:08:38.760 President Trump ended catch and release, reinstated consequences, and freed agents to do their jobs.

00:08:45.880 And the result is a miraculous outcome that is making America stronger and safer. 0.83

00:08:52.720 Meanwhile, the Center for Disease Control says that 41 people in the United States are now being monitored for antivirus after an outbreak tied to a cruise ship, the Hondias.

00:09:05.080 Most of those watts were aboard the vessel, which sailed from Argentina on April 1st to remove destinations, which sailed, including Antarctica, I believe.

00:09:16.180 The ship experienced a hantavirus outbreak that has now drawn international attention, has been speculated to be the next COVID-style public health emergency that had been foretold in this case by the globalist elite.

00:09:30.380 18 people were recently flown to medical facilities in Nebraska and Georgia for quarantine during the virus's incubation period, which can last up to 42 days.

00:09:40.720 Others had already left the ship before the outbreak was detected and are now being monitored in home states such as Arizona and California.

00:09:48.300 A third group includes people exposed during travel after coming into close contact with these cruise ship passengers, including on airplanes.

00:09:56.800 According to the World Health Organization, 11 passengers worldwide are confirmed or suspected to have contracted this hantavirus.

00:10:06.520 Three have already died.

00:10:08.380 Hantavirus is usually spread from infected rodents to humans, but health officials believe person-to-person transition may have occurred aboard the ship.

00:10:17.820 The Center for Disease Control says the risk to the general public remains extremely low and no mandatory U.S. quarantine orders have been issued.

00:10:25.300 But still, state officials in Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington, as well as elsewhere, are monitoring the possible exposures.

00:10:34.340 It does seem strange now that humans are allegedly transmitting a virus between each other when they told us that couldn't be done.

00:10:42.020 Perhaps there has been some kind of gain-of-function experimentation going on to weaponize a strain of this virus, similar to what was done with COVID-19.

00:10:52.380 We can't really know for sure.

00:10:54.040 All we do know is that nobody has been held accountable for the crimes of COVID-19, so what is really stopping them from doing it again?

00:11:02.240 Our society is continuously being held hostage to the whims of demonic, God-hating technocrats.

00:11:10.240 Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Cuba's communist regime rejected a $100 million U.S. humanitarian aid package that would have gone directly to the Cuban people through the Catholic Church.

00:11:26.280 Rubio told Fox News that Trump administration officials offer the assistance to help Cubans suffering under food shortages, fuel scarcity, medicine shortages and a collapsing economy.

00:11:38.840 The State Department says the offer also included support for free satellite internet, but Havana refused to allow the aid to reach the people directly.

00:11:47.940 That internet access is what they fear the most.

00:11:50.760 You see, the communists do an excellent job of blocking any radio transmissions or television transmissions from the United States.

00:12:00.000 Therefore, the Cuban people have been told for decades that all of their problems,

00:12:04.400 from the shortage of food to the shortage of gasoline, all of their problems are the fault of those angry Yankees.

00:12:12.280 They feel like accepting the kindness from the United States would undermine their communist, anti-American narrative, 0.91

00:12:17.740 and they must continue to oppress their own people to keep them under their thumb. 0.52

00:12:22.600 The department publicly renewed the offer this week, saying the choice now rests with the Cuban regime.

00:12:28.200 The United States and the Catholic Church have already proven this model can work.

00:12:33.520 Earlier this year, USA distributed through Catholic channels delivered food, hygiene supplies and other essentials to Cubans affected by Hurricane Melissa.

00:12:43.040 Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denied that rejecting good faith assistance and claimed that the regime merely wants details while blaming U.S. sanctions and demanding an end once again to the embargo.

00:12:56.220 But these are just excuses from a failing regime that's desperately trying to cling on to power.

00:13:02.800 Aid rooting through the church would prevent self-serving communist officials from diverting foreign assistance from the people who need it the most and then putting it in their own pockets.

00:13:12.980 Mexicans reportedly previously found that donated supplies intended for Cuba were sold in military-run stores at unaffordable dollar prices.

00:13:23.160 This is what an operation in Venezuela was like and what inevitably happened in Cuba

00:13:31.220 There's no reason why the people in Cuba need to be oppressed any longer

00:13:34.600 The Donro Doctrine is on its way and it will end the suffering and end the narco-Marxism going on just 90 miles from our shore

00:13:46.100 My opinion, and remember I'm married to a Cuban-American, this could be Trump's greatest single legacy

00:13:52.320 You see, there is an industry in Miami of those who oppose Castro.

00:13:57.920 They get hundreds of thousands of dollars from USAID.

00:14:01.440 They get millions of dollars in campaign contributions.

00:14:04.720 Yet the plight of the Cuban people doesn't get any better.

00:14:08.540 It's time for President Donald Trump and Secretary of State of Marco Rubio to open the door to a free Cuba, Cuba Libre.

00:14:17.040 I'm Roger Stone. You're listening to The Stone Zone. Don't go away because we'll be right back.

00:14:22.320 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:14:32.540 And we're back in the Stone Zone.

00:14:35.020 I'm joining you today from Washington, D.C.

00:14:37.880 Only yesterday, I visited Arlington National Cemetery to visit the gravesite of my political mentor,

00:14:44.740 former Connecticut Governor John Davis Lodge.

00:14:47.700 Now, John Lodge, of course, was the brother of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge,

00:14:51.820 the grandson of Henry Cabot Lodge, who was Theodore Roosevelt's best friend and also a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, like his son, Henry Cabot Lodge.

00:15:02.100 But John Lodge was an interesting guy.

00:15:04.420 He was an actor.

00:15:05.840 He was most famous for his role opposite Marlena Dietrich in The Scarlet Empress.

00:15:11.720 He also played Shirley Temple's father in The Little Colonel.

00:15:15.200 But beyond his career as an actor, he was a congressman, then one-term governor of the state of Connecticut, followed by his service as the ambassador to Spain under Dwight Eisenhower, the ambassador to Argentina under Richard Nixon, and then lastly, the ambassador to Switzerland under President Ronald Reagan.

00:15:40.060 It was John Davis Lodge, who I met as a young man, who was really my political mentor.

00:15:46.420 It was Lodge who got me my job with Richard Nixon, working in his 72 re-election,

00:15:54.240 also working as the chairman of youth for Nixon when I lived in Connecticut.

00:15:59.180 Lodge was actually the progenitor of the famous saying that politics is the art of inclusion.

00:16:05.880 And it was Lodge who, ironically, in a juxtaposition of our careers, he helped my early career.

00:16:16.060 But in 1979, when I was sent to Connecticut, New York and New Jersey to organize those states for Ronald Reagan,

00:16:23.400 I sought the former governor and ambassador out to chair Ronald Reagan's campaign in the Nutmeg State.

00:16:30.220 That, of course, was a great affront to the Bushes as governor of Connecticut when there was a vacancy in the U.S. Senate caused by the death of U.S. Senator Brian McMahon.

00:16:45.200 John Lodge had actually declined to appoint Prescott Bush, George H.W. Bush's father, to the U.S. Senate.

00:16:53.480 Although they were all Brahmins, there was no love lost between the Bushes and the Lodges. 1.00

00:16:59.760 Therefore, I repaid the favor. 0.54

00:17:01.400 Just as John Lodge got me my start in politics, I lobbied hard to make him ambassador to Switzerland.

00:17:07.800 Some at the State Department argued that he was too old for public service, but that was not the case.

00:17:12.960 He served with distinction.

00:17:14.380 It was a great honor and really very moving to go to Arlen Cemetery to visit his grave site

00:17:21.920 and to see the grave sites of so many men and women who gave their lives that we may be free.

00:17:27.680 I'm Roger Stone. You're listening to The Stone Zone. Don't go away because we'll be right back.

00:17:36.120 The Stone Zone. Entertaining and informative.

00:17:40.360 On the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:17:43.280 You are now re-entering The Stone Zone.

00:17:46.740 Well, according to explosive testimony yesterday before the Senate Homeland Security Committee,

00:17:52.020 the CIA was accused of taking back 40 boxes of documents pertaining to the Kennedy assassination

00:17:58.940 and the controversial MKUltra mind control program from the offices of the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

00:18:08.380 Documents reportedly being prepared for declassification and public release.

00:18:13.500 A CIA whistleblower, one James Erdman III, has claimed the agency not only seized the files,

00:18:20.140 but also monitored the computers and phones of Gabbard's investigators as they examined an alleged cover-up surrounding the origins of COVID-19. 0.53

00:18:31.100 Now let's be abundantly clear, Tulsi Gabbard has been doing exactly what the American people deserve,

00:18:36.680 pushing sunlight, accountability, and truth in a government too often addicted to secrecy.

00:18:42.040 It was, after all, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, who declassified all the documents that proved once and for all that the claims of Russian collusion in the election of Donald Trump in 2016 were entirely a hoax.

00:18:56.880 She followed that up by declassifying documents that proved, without any doubt whatsoever, that the two impeachments were also based totally on fabricated evidence.

00:19:06.760 So all of those attacking Tulsi Gabbard now should be looked on with suspicion as the deep state really fears her

00:19:14.280 She's been incredibly brave and effective in her role with the DNI

00:19:18.020 And all those who are trying to subvert her, such as the reality-detached ghoul Laura Loomer

00:19:24.440 I think they should be ashamed of themselves

00:19:26.480 Former CIA officer Robert Kiriko told Fox News that the agency has no authority

00:19:32.880 to overrule either the president or the director of national intelligence.

00:19:37.620 He said the files were mandated for declassification

00:19:40.320 and that Americans have the right to know what is inside.

00:19:43.560 Congresswoman Anna Polina Lunar said the CIA has 24 hours to return the records

00:19:48.800 or face a congressional subpoena.

00:19:51.340 She called the seizure deeply troubling,

00:19:53.300 especially because President Trump had ordered full declassification

00:19:57.140 of all of the records pertaining to the Kennedy assassination.

00:20:00.680 The CIA in turn denies bad faith and calls the hearing political theater

00:20:05.400 But that is what CIA spooks always do

00:20:08.300 They lie and deny, it's what they're best at

00:20:10.940 After decades of secrecy, destroyed records, discredited denials around the controversial MKUltra mind control program 0.98

00:20:20.740 By the way, CIA Director Richard Helms destroyed most of those documents on the very day that the existence of the program leaked to the Washington Post and was published on page one.

00:20:34.500 That was back in 1974.

00:20:36.720 But they've also lied about the Kennedy assassination and virtually everything else under the sun.

00:20:42.380 Americans deserve the right to know.

00:20:44.380 We can no longer be allowed to hide under the cloak of national security.

00:20:48.360 It's time for the CIA to face public scrutiny has been skirting since its very inception.

00:20:54.540 People don't know this, but on the day after Kennedy's assassination, President Harry Truman wrote an op-ed piece for The Washington Post in which he said that signing the CIA into law was the greatest single mistake that he had ever made.

00:21:10.400 And went on to say that they had violated their charter, which determined that they were only to operate abroad and they were not to operate in the United States.

00:21:22.400 That op-ed by a former president of the United States only ran for one edition before it was spiked by the Washington Post,

00:21:31.180 leading to my longtime suspicion that the Washington Post is also controlled by the Central Intelligence Agency.

00:21:38.100 Glad to see that my good friend Rudy Giuliani is back on the air after having made a miraculous recovery following a life-threatening health scare.

00:21:48.100 America's mayor says the experience was a deeply spiritual one for him.

00:21:52.540 The 81-year-old former New York City mayor, perhaps the greatest mayor in New York history, revealed Wednesday that he had battled a serious case of pneumonia that sent him to the hospital, according to friends,

00:22:04.000 and very briefly put him into a coma.

00:22:06.900 During his first broadcast of America's Mayor Live,

00:22:11.620 which is what he calls his show,

00:22:13.160 since being hospitalized, Giuliani said that he had

00:22:15.560 what was called a very significant spiritual experience.

00:22:19.440 He described feeling as though he was headed towards a trial

00:22:22.260 before St. Peter, when his late, lifelong friend

00:22:25.480 and former top aide, Peter Powers,

00:22:27.840 appeared in a dreamlike intervention.

00:22:30.440 Giuliani said Powers spoke meaningful words to him

00:22:32.980 and that he recorded their memory shortly after he woke up.

00:22:36.320 He also woke up with a priest at the hospital because they did administer last rites to New York's greatest mayor.

00:22:43.080 Powers, a good man who died in 2016, was Giuliani's high school friend, campaign manager, and his first deputy mayor.

00:22:51.300 Giuliani was hospitalized in critical condition on May 3rd with viral pneumonia,

00:22:55.940 Apparently worsened by the respiratory problems dating back to the aftermath of the September 11th terror attacks

00:23:03.140 Now Giuliani says he's making a strong recovery and feels like his old self

00:23:08.040 He's resumed light exercise, walked stairs and says he feels 100%

00:23:13.060 Even if doctors may not quite agree yet

00:23:15.820 He also thanked President Trump calling him a terrific friend and a godsend to this country

00:23:21.560 Rudy Giuliani's story is one of faith, friendship, resilience, and gratitude,

00:23:26.580 and a fighting spirit of a man who helped lead America through one of its darkest days.

00:23:31.860 Rudy Giuliani still has a lot more good work to do to help this country

00:23:35.280 and the Magna Renaissance that's going on.

00:23:38.420 We need fighters like him on the front lines for our nation.

00:23:41.860 The Lord has answered our prayers, including mine,

00:23:43.940 and Rudy Giuliani will be continuing to fight alongside us as a result.

00:23:48.540 More good news for the American economy. Kevin Walsh has been narrowly confirmed by the Senate as the 17th chairman of the Federal Reserve, replacing the Trump-hating partisan hack Jerome Tulate Powell, who, by the way, is a lawyer and not even an economist.

00:24:04.940 Eight years of Powell were marked by crisis, conflict, and growing frustration over the central bank's mismanagement of the American economy

00:24:13.600 Warsh, a Trump appointee, was confirmed this past Wednesday by a 54-45 vote, mostly long party lines

00:24:21.320 Only Democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania crossed over to support him

00:24:26.160 The vote was one of the most partisan confirmations for a Federal Reserve chair in the history

00:24:30.900 showing once again how Democrats will stop at nothing to try to sabotage President Trump,

00:24:36.200 even if it means hurting the American people and our economy.

00:24:39.800 Kevin Walsh is widely seen as more aligned with Trump's economic agenda

00:24:43.560 and is expected to bring long-overdue reform to an institution that has become bloated,

00:24:49.360 opaque, and much too insulated from Democratic oversight.

00:24:53.280 That's Democratic with a small d.

00:24:55.140 Warsh has supported shrinking the Fed's massive $6.7 trillion balance sheet, cutting back Washington staffing, policies, meetings, and holding fewer press conferences, ending the Fed's habit of constantly telegraphing interest rate moves, and otherwise ignoring the two criteria for an interest rate cut, unemployment and inflation.

00:25:20.420 Walsh has argued that years of massive bond buying made the Fed too entangled with government spending in the financial markets.

00:25:28.120 His first meeting as chair is scheduled for June 16th and 17th.

00:25:31.960 And incredibly, Powell will remain as a governor for now because he remains doggably obsessed with helping to undermine President Trump.

00:25:40.400 Only twice in the Federal Reserve's 113-year history has a Federal Reserve board governor remained on the board after no longer serving as chairman.

00:25:51.740 After Warsh is officially confirmed, it may be time to fire back up the investigations into Powell and his multi-billion dollar federal renovation of his already palatial headquarters.

00:26:03.520 There is no question whatsoever that Powell lied before the Congress.

00:26:09.140 It's hard to believe that that Warsh could do any worse than his predecessor.

00:26:14.180 I think we're going to get the Federal Reserve interest rate cut that America believes.

00:26:18.700 But how the Senate gets away with hearing Chairman Powell say very specifically that his multi-billion dollar renovation of the already palatial Federal Reserve headquarters does not include a private elevator for the Fed governors.

00:26:38.160 that was a lie does not include a private dining room for the fed governors that was a lie and did

00:26:44.720 not include a palatial roof garden reserved only for the federal reserve members three simple lies

00:26:51.140 all under oath when the entity like the fed has the ability to print money out of thin air with

00:26:57.300 no limits they tend to abuse that power which is why perhaps it's time to end the federal reserve

00:27:02.860 forever, as former Texas Congressman Ron Paul has frequently urged. We should perhaps just repeal

00:27:09.220 the Federal Reserve Act and do away with this monstrosity. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump

00:27:14.920 says Cuba is asking for help and the United States is willing to talk. In a true social post on

00:27:20.120 Tuesday, Trump called Cuba a failed country, headed down, adding that Havana is seeking

00:27:26.100 assistant that talks will happen, but so far the Cubans have refused a $100 million offer of

00:27:33.020 assistance unless that assistance was handed over to the Cuban government rather than a third party

00:27:38.860 such as the Catholic Church. Presidents made Cuba a major focus of a second term, increasing pressure

00:27:45.200 on the communist regime through sanctions, an oil blockade, and repeated warnings from his

00:27:50.440 administration. Trump said that Cuba is not doing well. That would be an understatement

00:27:56.600 and said the issue would be addressed at the right time. See, when the president essentially

00:28:02.600 ended the flow of oil from Venezuela to Cuba, Cuba lost its access to cheap oil.

00:28:10.520 A White House official went further, saying within a short period of time, Cuba's regime

00:28:14.420 could fall and that America would be there to help. President Trump has imposed multiple sanctions

00:28:20.200 aimed at choking off the communist leadership and enforcing real concessions.

00:28:25.780 Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who family roots, of course, traced to Cuba,

00:28:30.360 announced additional penalties back on May 7th.

00:28:33.140 Earlier, President Trump broadened sanctions against regime officials, affiliates,

00:28:38.000 and anyone tied to corruption or human rights abuses.

00:28:41.100 There's also talk of indicting Raul Castro, now 94, the brother of Fidel Castro,

00:28:46.760 and his successor in the violent shoot-down of the Brothers to the Rescue mission over Cuba some years ago.

00:28:56.300 The administration has also targeted countries providing oil to Cuba,

00:29:00.300 worsening pressure on Ivana's already fragile energy system.

00:29:04.320 Blackouts are widespread, there's fuel rationing,

00:29:07.280 and shortages have become part of daily life for Cubans trapped under the decades of socialist failure.

00:29:13.340 Cuban Americans, including Fidel Castro's daughter, have urged Trump to turn his attention onto the island.

00:29:19.260 President Trump has described the possibility of fleeing or even taking Cuba as an honor.

00:29:25.080 With the removal of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela happening so quickly,

00:29:29.280 and the new regime in Venezuela working closely with the U.S.,

00:29:32.680 President Trump is in bold to embark on similar measures, I think, now to liberate Cuba, and the time is now.

00:29:39.040 Communism has failed. Cuba is collapsing.

00:29:41.740 If American hope opened the door to freedom without expending blood and treasure, we absolutely should do so. 0.50

00:29:49.020 Meanwhile, House Democrats are teaming up with a handful of turncoat Republicans to force another Ukraine funding vote, 0.68

00:29:55.820 defying Speaker Mike Johnson and the American first wing of the Republican Party.

00:30:00.960 All 215 House Democrats signed a discharge petition to bypass the House leadership and bring Ukrainian support to the floor.

00:30:11.100 They were joined by Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick and Don Bacon, those are what we call rhinos, Republicans in name only, along with California Independent Kevin Kiley and the anti-Trump taters of the caucus giving the petition the 218 signatures needed to proceed.

00:30:27.420 The bill would send another $1.3 billion in military aid and assistance to Ukraine, with the possibility of up to $8 billion more in direct loans, a loan that critics warn will become loans in names only, as the money goes straight up Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's nose.

00:30:47.960 The legislation also reaffirms U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO, backs reconstruction efforts, and expands sanctions and export controls against Russia's financial, oil, mining, and political sectors.

00:31:02.100 The American people are tired of this war, and they're tired to pay for it, but Democrat Gregory Meeks urged quick passage of this new $1.3 billion present from Uncle Sam, saying Ukraine's fighters are waiting. 0.57

00:31:15.540 Meeks is not wrong.

00:31:16.620 Ukraine soldiers are certainly waiting, waiting to die in a war being waged for globalists that has zero chance of victory.

00:31:24.180 Many Americans are fed up as an arms in Washington, D.C.

00:31:28.380 Swamp find more money to wage foreign wars, while America faces a projected $1.9 trillion deficit, an immigration crisis, struggling families and crumbling infrastructure here at home.

00:31:40.780 Ukraine and Russia have resumed fighting after a short ceasefire.

00:31:43.800 as Russia continues to make gains in Eastern Europe's Donbass region.

00:31:49.140 Yet instead of putting an end to this madness,

00:31:51.780 the D.C. War Caucus wants to write them another huge check.

00:31:55.940 Sadly, the bill will likely pass the House,

00:31:58.280 but it faces a tougher path than the U.S. Senate.

00:32:01.460 That's where Republicans have to put their foot down.

00:32:04.080 This war is only being weighed as a proxy

00:32:05.960 because butt-hurt globalists hate Russia so much.

00:32:10.000 Millions have died needlessly as a result.

00:32:11.940 If we turn off the spigot of Abe, then the fighting can stop and Zelensky can face justice in the streets as he deserves.

00:32:19.400 He's put off elections because he knows he would lose.

00:32:22.140 It's time to end this conflict.

00:32:23.980 Thanks for joining the Stone Zone.

00:32:25.320 We'll be right back.

00:32:30.260 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:32:36.320 And you're back in the Stone Zone today, joining you live from Washington, D.C.

00:32:42.440 Well, the U.S. government has admitted that it violated the First Amendment rights of a reporter by pressuring social media companies to suppress disfavored speech during the COVID-19 era.

00:32:54.500 According to a May 11th legal settlement obtained by the Epoch Times, federal officials agreed to pay former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson $150,000 after he sued over his 2021 Twitter ban.

00:33:14.080 Madness and the mandates, arguing that the shots did not stop infection or transmission.

00:33:19.020 A claim once treated as a forbidden speech, but later proven to be absolutely true, as the lies from the American public ethics establishment continue to unravel.

00:33:30.780 The settlement says the government averted substantial coercive pressure on platforms like Twitter and Facebook to suppress speech like Berenson's.

00:33:39.680 When the government essentially commands entities to enact citizenship, that is, without a shadow of a doubt, a violation of our free speech rights and the First Amendment.

00:33:50.720 Berenson thanked the Trump administration for acknowledging the unconstitutional actions taken against him during the Biden administration and for standing up for his rights as a journalist and American.

00:34:00.800 Trudor had already settled separately from Berenson, acknowledging that he should never have been banned.

00:34:05.420 Emails disclosed in other litigation showed that Biden officials and Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb communicated with Twitter executives about Berenson's post and whether he should be silenced.

00:34:18.080 Berenson says he will continue to pursue Gottlieb and Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla in legal action over their alleged role in silencing him.

00:34:27.540 Their lawyers deny any wrongdoing, of course, but this case confirms what we already knew.

00:34:31.580 The COVID regime used government power, big tech, and corporate influence to crush dissent.

00:34:37.900 The same people who shouted, trust the silence, we're trampling our natural rights.

00:34:42.800 They will do it again if they haven't given the chance.

00:34:46.040 We must never give them that chance and resist their tyranny by any means necessary.

00:34:51.680 Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance announced Wednesday the Trump administration is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid aid reimbursements from California,

00:35:01.100 citing serious fraud concerns and accusing the state of failing to protect the taxpayers.

00:35:05.980 Speaking at a press conference, Vice President Vance said California has not taken fraud very seriously,

00:35:11.400 warning that both California taxpayers and Americans nationwide are being defrauded

00:35:16.580 when state officials failed to police abuse inside Medicaid.

00:35:21.180 Vice President Vance said the problem is not just financial abuse,

00:35:24.940 but fraudsters have pushed false prescriptions and unnecessary medication,

00:35:28.920 meaning some patients may have received drugs they did not need because California failed to properly safeguard the program.

00:35:36.620 The vice president said the anti-fraud task force he leads will now send letters to every Medicaid program requiring them to prove they are aggressively prosecuting fraud.

00:35:46.780 States that failed act could lose funding for anti-fraud units and potentially other Medicaid resources if this problem persists.

00:35:54.820 Vice President Vance emphasized that the goal is not to cut off health care funding,

00:35:58.740 but to protect Medicaid and Medicare from waste, corruption, and abuse.

00:36:04.260 He also pointed to states like Hawaii and New York, where he said Medicaid fraud convictions have been minimal in recent years.

00:36:10.980 By contrast, Indiana, for example, with roughly one-third of New York's population,

00:36:15.780 has reportedly had four times as many convictions for Medicaid fraud.

00:36:20.420 Vice President Vance called the disparity absurd, asking whether anyone seriously believes that the people of Indiana are dramatically more likely to commit fraud than New Yorkers.

00:36:29.600 Of course, the Democrats have been deliberately taking a blind eye to these offenses for a great number of years because this is how they repay their constituents.

00:36:38.760 They're happy to allow illegals and other dirtbags to line their pockets with spoils from the U.S. taxpayers.

00:36:45.240 That's their recipe for permanent political success.

00:36:47.800 But the Trump administration is cutting off that gravy train and not a moment too soon.

00:36:53.200 I'm Roger Stone. Thank you for joining us today in the Stone Zone.

00:36:56.260 We're here five days a week bringing you the inside skinny on American politics.

00:37:01.360 Until tomorrow, God bless you and Godspeed.

00:37:05.380 Thanks for listening to the Stone Zone with Roger Stone.

00:37:09.300 You can hear the Stone Zone with Roger Stone weeknights at eight on 77 WABC.

00:37:15.280 If you like the podcast, share it with your friends and listen anytime at wabcradio.com

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00:37:33.360 See you next time for a new episode so you never have to wonder.

00:37:37.220 What the heck is going on here?

The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - May 16, 2026

The Stone Zone ｜ 05-15-26

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