This week, the Obama Presidential Center will celebrate its long-awaited Grand Opening in Chicago. But behind the polished granite, the soaring architecture, and the endless self-congratulations lies a much uglier story. Multiple Black-owned subcontractors that helped build the Obama Center are reportedly owed millions of dollars and are now fighting just to keep their businesses alive.
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00:00:30.580The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.
00:00:37.900You are now diving headfirst into the deep end of The Stone Zone.
00:00:42.940This week, the Obama Presidential Center will celebrate its long-awaited grand opening in Chicago.
00:00:50.060There will be speeches, celebrity appearances, glowing media coverage,
00:00:55.020and carefully choreographed tributes to hope and change.
00:00:58.460The official dedication is scheduled for June 18th, with public access beginning on Juneteenth.
00:01:05.620But behind the polished granite, the soaring architecture, and the endless self-congratulations lies a much uglier story.0.85
00:01:14.720Multiple black-owned subcontractors that helped build the Obama Center are reportedly owed millions of dollars and are now fighting just to keep their businesses alive.0.85
00:01:25.360The very black entrepreneurs the project promised to uplift through its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have instead become collateral damage in yet another elite progressive experiment.0.59
00:03:00.600and business practices that nearly destroyed that company.
00:03:04.040So regardless of the eventual legal outcome, the pattern is difficult to ignore.
00:03:10.680The biggest players walk away protected while smaller minority businesses are left carrying the financial burden.
00:03:17.360That is the story the mainstream media will not tell us.
00:03:21.940The Obama Center now carries a price tag of $850 million after years of delays, cost overruns, and construction challenges.
00:03:31.860It was promoted as a privately funded civic landmark, yet it has benefited from hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-supported infrastructure improvements and public resources.
00:03:44.640At every stage, progressive politicians and activists celebrated the center as proof that government philanthropy and DEI-driven priorities could work hand-in-hand.0.96
00:03:56.100But when it came time to make sure that black contractors actually got paid, those lofty ideals suddenly seemed to, well, disappear.0.82
00:04:04.400This is not merely a construction dispute.0.90
00:04:08.240It's a window into the modern progressive movement itself.
00:04:11.900You see, the left has been extraordinarily skilled at producing slogans, ribbon cuttings, and symbolic gestures.
00:04:18.020But when ordinary working Americans, particularly small business owners, needed results instead of rhetoric, they too often found themselves abandoned.
00:04:28.100The contrast with President Donald Trump's economic philosophy could not be clearer.
00:04:32.820Trump built his political movement around the idea that American workers, builders, and entrepreneurs deserve a government that rewards production rather than performance art.
00:04:43.100He's long argued that opportunity comes from growth, accountability, and keeping promises, not from endless lectures about equity while politically connected elites enrich themselves.
00:04:55.080If the Obama presidential center truly wanted to leave a legacy of empowerment, it would begin with one simple principle, pay the people who built it.
00:05:05.960Instead, as dignitaries gather to celebrate and television cameras capture the festivities,0.78
00:05:12.380a growing number of black-owned contractors are left wondering whether there were ever anything more than props in a carefully scripted political narrative.0.86
00:05:21.300The Obama Presidential Center was supposed to stand as a monument to hope,0.96
00:05:26.120but for too many hard-working black contractors in Chicago, it has become a monument to broken promises.1.00
00:05:34.060Meanwhile, for the better mark of four months, the world economy has been living under a dark cloud.0.97
00:05:40.120The closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatened to trigger the greatest energy shock since the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s.
00:05:47.560Roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil supply and a significant portion of global liquefied natural gas
00:05:55.620transit through this narrow maritime corridor separating the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman.
00:06:02.240When traffic through the straits slowed to a trickle, markets shuttered, energy prices surged, and economists began openly discussing the possibility of a global recession.
00:06:14.260Today, however, there is a reason for cautious optimism.
00:06:17.820President Donald Trump yesterday announced that oil tankers are once more moving through the strait of Hormuz and that ships carrying vital energy supplies are beginning to emerge from the Gulf.
00:06:30.440Oil prices fell sharply and investors welcomed what appears to be the first meaningful step towards restoring stability to one of the world's most important trade routes.
00:06:41.940This development should not be underestimated by any means.
00:06:45.340The average American may never, of course, see the Strait of Hormuz on a map, but every American feels its effect.
00:06:52.040You see, the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, airline tickets, groceries, home heating, and manufactured goods are all influenced by the uninterrupted flow of energy through this strategic choke point.
00:08:56.060Businesses invest when they know what tomorrow will bring.
00:08:59.340Consumers spend when they believe prices will remain stable.
00:09:02.800Investors commit capital when geopolitical risks appear manageable.
00:09:06.820The reopening of this critical maritime artery signals that the worst-case scenario
00:09:11.820scenario may have been avoided. Credit should be given where credit is due. Throughout this crisis,
00:09:18.260President Trump has consistently emphasized the importance of restoring freedom of navigation
00:09:23.180and maintaining stability in global energy markets. His administration understood that
00:09:28.680prolonged disruption would not only harm America's allies, but would also impose significant costs
00:09:35.240on American families. Critics frequently mock the president's focus on energy prices,
00:09:41.900but they shouldn't. Energy is the lifeblood of modern civilization. Every product that reaches
00:09:49.040a store shelf, every airplane that leaves a runway, every tractor that harvests a field,
00:09:54.660and every truck that delivers food to a supermarket depends on affordable and reliable
00:10:00.160energy. When energy prices spike, the consequences are felt through the economy. When they decline,
00:10:06.520working families benefit. To be clear, the situation remains far from normal. Shipping1.00
00:10:11.780companies remain cautious. Some vessels are still waiting for assurances regarding security.
00:10:18.120Insurance rates remain elevated. Analysts warn that a complete return of pre-crisis conditions
00:10:23.480could take months rather than weeks. Nevertheless, the trajectory under Donald Trump is encouraging.
00:10:30.160The war is witnessing the first substantial signs that one of the most dangerous economic disruptions in recent memory may finally be easing.
00:10:39.660There's another lesson here, the lesson that Washington should remember for years.
00:10:44.440America was told that energy independence was outdated, unnecessary, or even environmentally irresponsible.
00:10:51.940We were told that reliance on foreign energy sources posed no significant risk.
00:10:56.860The events of the past several months have exposed that as a pure fantasy.
00:11:02.700A nation that cannot produce sufficient energy is vulnerable.
00:11:06.520A nation dependent upon unstable regions for critical resources sacrifices both economic security and strategic flexibility.
00:11:15.560The United States possesses enormous energy resources.
00:11:18.580We have the ability to produce oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power at levels that would have astonished previous generations.
00:11:27.680Energy abundance strengthens national security.
00:13:04.080Well, ActBlue, the leading online fundraising platform for Democrat candidates and progressive causes, now faces intense scrutiny from House Republicans over allegations that it processed illegal foreign donations and contributions made with fake or stolen identities.
00:13:23.240This latest wave of investigations builds directly on a prior April 20, 2025 House report that first exposed serious weaknesses in ActBlue's donor vetting and compliance systems.
00:13:38.140Follow-up demands in April 2026 pressed ActBlue for full compliance with prior subpoenas, citing incomplete document production.
00:13:47.120House Republicans, primarily through the House Administration, Judiciary and Oversight Committee, have investigated multiple allegations, including illicit foreign donations, reports of millions of dollars in contributions from foreign indicators such as overseas IP addresses, prepaid cards linked to sources including Russia, allegedly enabled by lax vetting despite federal prohibitions on same.
00:14:13.520Then, of course, there are fake and stolen identities and fraud, widespread use of gift cards, prepaid methods, and fabricated identities.
00:14:22.660This was highlighted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent lawsuit and documented again in cases where investigators successfully made fraudulent donations through the platforms as a test.
00:14:34.600And, of course, there are internal issues in cover-up claims. A mass exodus of ActBlue's legal and compliance staff followed the 2024 election, along with internal memos from Covington & Burling, their law firm, warning the CEO, Regina Wallace-Jones, that her congressional testimony regarding multilayered vetting processes may have been misleading, potentially exposing the organization to knowful and willful violations,
00:16:02.360apprehension concerns about fraud prevention and donor vetting deficiencies. So ActBlue is
00:16:08.620essentially a payment processing platform that is processing contributions from people that don't
00:16:15.160exist with the money really coming from foreign countries. House committees released Ahmed's
00:16:21.680deposition transcript detailing these very allegations. Investigations also examined
00:16:27.240whistleblower complaints, retaliation against staff, and related resignation letters, including
00:16:32.840from the Interim General Counsel, one Aaron Ting. The fraud on Act Blue Part 2 was the House report,
00:16:40.500and congressional letters referenced documents on whistleblower retaliation as part of that
00:16:45.440internal cover-up. The House report outlines a total breakdown of Act Blue's compliance team
00:16:51.320linked to failures in blocking illicit foreign donations and an alleged internal cover-up.
00:16:57.240After congressional depositions, five ActBlue employees immediately invoked the Fifth Amendment 146 times when asked substantive questions.
00:17:08.100ActBlue is a Democrat Party scam. It's a fraud.
00:17:12.580But will anybody be prosecuted? We shall see.
00:17:15.800I'm Roger Stone. You're listening to Stone Zone. Don't go away because we'll be right back.
00:18:47.800The G7 is an informal organization composed of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
00:18:59.020Together, these nations represent some of the world's largest economies and have long coordinated policy on matters involving global finance, trade, energy, security, and geopolitics.
00:19:11.180The European yearn also participates in the proceedings, while host nations frequently invite additional countries to attend portions of the summit.
00:19:21.260This year, France has extended invocations to leaders from India, Brazil, South Korea, Kenya, and several other nations from the Middle East.
00:19:30.840See, the G7 was established in the 1970s during a period of economic turmoil and was originally intended to provide a forum where the leaders of the industrialized democracies could discuss major international challenges and coordinate their responses.
00:19:47.840But over the decades, it has evolved into something much larger.
00:19:51.580See, while the organization possesses no formal legislative authority, its meetings often shape the direction of global economies and foreign policy.
00:20:01.560Decisions reached at these gatherings can influence everything from energy prices and trade agreements to military alliances and international sanctions.
00:20:11.720This year's summit may prove to be one of the most consequential in recent memory.
00:20:16.380The leaders' meetings in France are confronting a world that looks dramatically different from the one that existed just a decade ago.
00:20:28.400The Middle East has been shaken by conflicts involving Iran and the recent eruption of shipping through the Strait War moves we spoke about earlier.
00:20:37.380China continues to expand its economic and geopolitical influence around the globe.
00:20:43.300Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming industries and labor markets.
00:20:48.540Debt burdens throughout the developing world are reaching alarming levels.
00:20:52.220At the same time, voters across much of the Western world are increasingly skeptical about the very institutions that once claimed to guide the international order.
00:21:04.540See, in many ways, the summit is taking place at a historic inflection point.
00:21:08.680The global system that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union was built on the assumption that Western democracies would dominate the international order indefinitely.
00:21:20.800The United States stood as the world's lone superpower.
00:21:27.540International institutions expanded their influence.
00:21:30.320Political leaders spoke confidently about a future defined by ever-increasing economic integration and international cooperation
00:21:39.100But many of those very assumptions are just no longer true
00:21:44.260The rise of China has fundamentally altered the balance of global power
00:21:49.140India is also emerging as an economic giant
00:21:52.260Nations throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America are asserting greater independence and pursuing their interests rather than automatically aligning with Washington, Brussels, or other traditional centers of power.
00:22:07.920The world is becoming increasingly multipolar.
00:22:12.240That reality hangs over every conversation taking place in Evian Le Bon.
00:22:18.640President Donald Trump arrives at the summit at perhaps the most consequential and controversial figure in attendance.
00:22:25.660Whether one supports him or opposes him, there is no denying that Trump has challenged many of the assumptions that have governed Western policymaking for decades.
00:22:36.940Long before it became fashionable, he questioned trade arrangements that disadvantaged American workers and American families.
00:22:44.760He challenged the open border policies that undermined our national sovereignty.
00:22:50.420He criticized international agreements that imposed obligations on the United States while allowing our competitors to gain huge advantages.
00:23:01.220Many American voters, however, called him right.
00:23:04.560The debates Trump helped to ignite are now occurring across much of the Western world.
00:23:09.460citizens increasingly demand governments that place their own national interests ahead of
00:23:15.820international consensus. They expect leaders to protect their borders, to strengthen domestic
00:23:21.660industries, to secure reliable energy supplies, and to prioritize the needs of their own people.
00:23:29.100The old political orthodoxy is now under siege. One of the clearest examples I can think of is
00:23:36.260energy policy. For years, many Western leaders pursued policies based on the assumption that
00:23:42.460traditional energy sources could be rapidly phased out without significant consequences.
00:23:49.640Recent events have proved the danger of that kind of thinking. The disruption of shipping
00:23:54.960through the Strait of Hormuz remind the world that energy security remains inseparable from
00:24:00.600national security. Nations that control their own energy resources enjoy a huge strategic advantage
00:24:07.400that cannot be replicated through political rhetoric or bureaucratic planning. The economic
00:24:13.780shocks caused by recent conflicts have reinforced another lesson. Supply chains matter. Manufacturing
00:24:20.880matters. Domestic production matters. And of course, national resilience matters. The citizens
00:24:27.600of many Western countries are rediscovering truths that previous generations understood
00:24:33.040instinctively. A nation that cannot produce what it needs eventually becomes dependent on those
00:24:39.140who can. A nation that abandons its industries weakens its own foundations. A nation that loses
00:24:45.660control of its borders eventually loses control of its future. These concerns are not limited to
00:24:52.120the United States, they're increasingly evident through Europe, Canada, and beyond. Perhaps the
00:24:57.840most significant issue confronting the leaders gathered in France is the growing gap between
00:25:03.580governing elites and ordinary citizens. Trust in major institutions has declined dramatically
00:25:10.720throughout much of the Western world. Citizens question whether the experts, the bureaucrats,
00:25:16.340and the international organizations that promised us prosperity and stability have delivered at
00:25:22.100all on those promises. The rise of populist movements across multiple continents reflects
00:25:27.900this growing skepticism. People want accountability. People, I think, want transparency.
00:25:34.520They want governments that serve citizens rather than institutions. That demand for accountability
00:25:40.720represents one of the defining political developments of our time. It is what explains
00:25:45.860the rise of Donald J. Trump. As America approaches our 250th anniversary, this debate carries
00:25:53.340significant special significance. The United States was founded upon the principle that government
00:25:59.660derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. That revolutionary idea remains just
00:26:07.060as relevant today as it was in 1776. The future will not be determined solely by declarations
00:26:14.980issued at international summits by multinational, international organizations and elites.
00:26:21.800It will be determined on whether governments can regain the trust of their citizens.
00:26:27.160The future belongs not to unelected bureaucrats, but to self-government,
00:26:31.400not to global abstractions, but to sovereign nations,
00:26:35.660not to fashionable theories, but to practical policies
00:26:39.140that improve the lives of real, actual people and families.
00:26:42.880So the leaders gathered in France may not fully realize it yet, but the world they inherited is quickly disappearing.
00:26:50.760The post-Cold War order is fading, the era of unquestioned globalization is ending, and a new chapter is beginning.
00:26:58.740The chapters that thrive in this new era will be those that remember a simple truth that history has repeatedly confirmed.
00:27:05.540Government exists to serve their people, not the other way around.
00:27:10.260That's the real story of what's unfolding at the G7 summit and is a story that will shape the future of America and the world to come.
00:27:18.680More recently, on the south lawn of the White House this weekend, President Donald Trump kicked off America's 250th anniversary celebration in a way that only Donald Trump could.
00:27:29.500It was his 80th birthday, and against the backdrop of the executive mansion beneath the flags of the United States and the branches of our armed forces, thousands gathered for UFC Freedom 250, the first professional sportings event ever held on the White House grounds.
00:27:46.540The event featured championship fights, military flyovers by the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, patriotic music and chants of USA, USA, echoing across the nation's capital.
00:27:59.800To many Americans, it was more than a sporting event. It was a declaration that the celebration of America is back. After years of national self-doubt, historical revisionism, and cultural pessimism, President Trump has launched America's semi-quincentennial, not with an apology for America, but with an outright celebration of American greatness.
00:28:23.980See, that may explain why the event infuriated so many liberals and members of the political and media establishment.
00:28:30.300See, for years, America's cultural elites have seemed uncomfortable with the very idea of patriotism or American exceptionalism.
00:28:39.660They spent decades teaching Americans to focus on every failure possible while minimizing our nation's greatest triumphs.
00:28:47.080They have encouraged young people to view our history through the narrow prism of grievance rather than achievement.
00:28:53.720They have attempted to transform pride in America into something that must be qualified, explained, or apologized for.
00:29:00.960Well, the American people never accepted that narrative, the one that the elites tried to force on us.
00:29:06.580As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4th, something extraordinary is happening in this country.
00:33:16.260You see, the goal was not simply to erase historical figures.
00:33:19.880The goal was to weaken America's connection to our own history.
00:33:23.840A nation disconnected from its past becomes easier to manipulate in the present.
00:33:28.900Fortunately, the American people proved to be more resilient than the revisionists among us anticipated.
00:33:36.800Ordinary Americans understand that history is complicated.
00:33:41.500They understand that historical figures were human beings, not saints.
00:33:45.400They also understand that judging every person who lived centuries ago, according to modern political fashions, is both intellectually dishonest and historically illiterate.
00:33:56.220More importantly, Americans understand that our history is overwhelmingly a story of progress, achievement, innovation, yes indeed, and liberty.
00:34:07.440Americans liberated Europe from Nazi tyranny.
00:34:11.020America rebuilt most of the world after World War II.
00:34:22.400American soldiers defended freedoms around the globe.
00:34:26.040Millions continue to seek refuge and opportunity in the United States because, well, they understand something that many American elites seem to have forgotten.
00:34:34.760America remains exceptional, not because Americans are genetically superior, not because we are flawless, that's for sure,
00:34:42.420but because the principles upon which this nation was founded remain the greatest expression of individual liberty ever conceived by man.
00:34:51.020President Trump's return to office has coincided with a renewed confidence in those very principles.
00:34:56.980Rather than apologizing for America, he celebrates it.
00:35:00.880Rather than diminishing our history, he embraces it.
00:35:04.100Rather than viewing patriotism as some kind of relic from the past,
00:35:07.700he understands that the love of country remains essential to national unity.
00:35:13.040So the approaching 250th anniversary offers all Americans a unique opportunity.
00:35:17.620We can continue down the path of historical revisionism and national self-loathing, or we can rediscover the truth about our own country. The truth in America is neither perfect nor evil. America is extraordinary.
00:35:32.460The truth is that our history includes mistakes, but it also includes the fact that we corrected those mistakes, and we continue even today to do so.
00:35:41.920Our achievements remain unmatched by any nation in human history.
00:35:48.880The truth is that generations of Americans built a constitutional republic that has provided more freedom, more prosperity, and more opportunity than any government the world has ever known.
00:36:00.240So as fireworks illuminate the sky this 4th of July, and Americans celebrate two and a half centuries of independence, we won't be merely celebrating a date on a calendar.
00:36:12.060We'll be celebrating an idea, the idea that free people can govern themselves, the idea that liberty comes from God, not from government, the idea that individuals should be free to pursue happiness, prosperity, and purpose without interference from an all-powerful state.
00:36:29.780The fact that we should be free of government surveillance and spying, that Big Brother should mind its own business.
00:36:37.260Those ideas remain worth defending, they remain worth teaching, and they certainly remain worth celebrating.
00:36:44.500Patriotism is back because Americans are remembering who they are.
00:36:49.420President Trump has helped usher in this new era of self-recognition, and he'll help lead this revival.
00:36:55.260So as America enters its 250th year, the greatest chapter of America's story may still lie ahead.
00:37:03.000For those who think America's greatest days are behind us, those people are called liberals.0.99
00:37:08.380And, well, liberalism is a mental disease.0.96
00:37:11.840Thanks for joining us today on The Stone Zone of The Roger Stone Show.0.95
00:37:15.500Until tomorrow, God bless you and Godspeed.
00:37:19.680Thanks for listening to The Stone Zone with Roger Stone.
00:37:23.380You can hear The Stone Zone with Roger Stone weeknights at 8 on 77 WABC.
00:37:29.880If you like the podcast, share it with your friends and listen anytime at WABCradio.com