The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - The Stone Zone ｜ 06-25-26

00:00:00.180 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:00:07.420 Welcome into the Stone Zone.

00:00:11.540 California Governor Gavin Newsom's carefully cultivated image as the slick, telegenic heir apparent of the Democrats

00:00:20.160 is cracking under the weight of millions of dollars being funneled into organizations tied to his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

00:00:28.880 When you hear more about this unfolding scandal, remember you heard about it a year first in the Stone Zone

00:00:35.740 A federal Department of Justice investigation, rooted in whistleblower complaints and public records

00:00:42.060 Is examining the finances, tax compliance, and non-profit dealings of the first partner

00:00:48.480 And by extension, the governor himself

00:00:52.060 Newsom, of course, says a Trump-orchestrated witch hunt designed to derail his 2028 presidential ambitions that poor me victim of nation defense sounds familiar.

00:01:03.000 It echoes the initial denials from other politicians like disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell, whose self-inflicted wounds later proved fatal to his career.

00:01:13.940 The evidence here is not fabricated talking points. It rests on a host of hard evidence, including IRS filings, fair political practices, commission disclosures, and years of good investigative reporting.

00:01:28.440 Newsom has been running a classic influence loop scam that's operated in plain sight.

00:01:35.220 Under California's well-known behested payments system, elected officials can solicit unlimited donations from corporations, interest groups, and regulated entities to their favored nonprofits.

00:01:50.600 There are no contribution caps like there are campaign donations or gifts, only disclosure rules.

00:01:56.860 Newsom has been the state's most prolific practitioner. Since 2011, he has actually steered over $347.2 million, 62% of all such behests by California lawmakers, to his preferred causes.

00:02:14.700 A substantial portion has landed at organizations linked to his wife.

00:02:20.460 Peering into Siebel Newsom's record shows that she was an early progenitor of using the woke DEI scam to fill her slimy husband's coffers.

00:02:30.860 The California Partners Project, which Siebel Newsom co-founded to promote gender equity, has received more than $4.3 million in behested donations since 2020.

00:02:44.700 One donor alone, the Federated Indians of Great Great and Rancheria, operators of a major Sonoma County casino that lobbied Sacramento, gave $1.8 million to the Newsom-favored charity.

00:03:00.960 Even more revealing is that he read the Representation Project, the 501c3 nonprofit founded by Newsom's wife in 2011 to combat gender stereotypes through documentaries and advocacy.

00:03:17.380 IRS filings showed that over the past decade, that non-profit paid her approximately $150,000 annually as the chief creative officer and another $150,000 yearly to her for-profit production company, Girls Club LLC.

00:03:37.380 That was for the licensing rights to her film, Misrepresentation and Mask You Live In.

00:03:43.700 Combined, therefore, she and her LLC have pulled in more than $3.7 million, all at the behalf of her husband, the governor.

00:03:54.040 Additional corporate donations to the representation project include PG&E, AT&T, Kaiser Permanente, and Comcast, all of whom, of course, have business interests with the governor's orbit in Sacramento.

00:04:08.580 A 2021 Sacramento Bee investigation already flagged over $800,000 in such donations, which are a thinly veiled pay-for-play scheme. 0.54

00:04:19.960 This is not abstract nonprofit chicanery. This is a direct pipeline. State power and donor access leads to bastard money to family-controlled nonprofits, which results in salaries, licensing fees, and production revenues to the governor's spouse and to her company.

00:04:39.680 Siebel Newsom's annual earnings from these arrangements have hovered around $300,000, contributing a family lifestyle that includes multimillion-dollar homes and other assets.

00:04:52.060 The representation project's own filings show executive compensation consuming a striking share of revenue in some years, precisely the kind of private inurement and self-dealing that the IRS rules and basic non-profit governance are supposed to prevent.

00:05:09.780 Newsom's complaints that this is purely political theater

00:05:13.780 ignore the lengthy paper trail

00:05:16.320 The Department of Justice probe

00:05:18.380 which includes IRS involvement

00:05:20.160 and has expanded from an initial focus

00:05:22.840 on Siebel Newsom's taxes and finances

00:05:25.320 originated from whistleblower complaints

00:05:28.420 to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento

00:05:30.960 during Joe Biden's presidency

00:05:33.480 and well before the recent public escalation

00:05:36.820 Agents have interviewed former employees and associates and issued subpoenas for their records.

00:05:45.520 These are standard steps in examining a potential tax crime or a non-profit compliance violation, not the hallmarks of a hastily manufactured political hit job.

00:05:57.160 California's own Fair Campaign Practices Commission already fined nuisance operation multiple times for $13,000 and $31,500 respectively for late or incomplete behested payment disclosures.

00:06:13.620 The pattern of chief executives using nonprofits to shift around illicit money extends far beyond Sacramento, of course.

00:06:21.780 In Florida, a grand jury and legislative scrutiny examined how $10 million from a Medicaid overbuilding settlement with a company called Centene was directed to the Hope Foundation, which was a charitable arm of an initiative launched by First Lady Casey DeSantis.

00:06:40.560 Those funds were diverted from state coffers and used by a political fund by DeSantis' then chief of staff, who's now the state attorney general.

00:06:52.740 That episode damaged reputations and actually stopped Casey DeSantis' gubernatorial ambitions to follow her husband, 0.99

00:07:01.020 stopped them cold and understood how first spouses' nonprofits can become vehicles for corrupt money transfers.

00:07:08.280 Across administrations and in both parties, the public is awakening to these arrangements as settlement slush funds, grant-making, opacity, and family foundation pipelines face increasing congressional and, for God's sakes, yes, media scrutiny.

00:07:25.360 Newsom was never a credible national contender anyway.

00:07:28.160 His record, an explosion of homelessness, business exodus, energy unreliability,

00:07:35.080 failed economic policy, and soft on crime policies have delivered measurable decline,

00:07:41.020 which I believe already disqualifies him in the eyes of most Americans outside of the coastal bubbles.

00:07:47.240 This family enrichment scandal, however, simply accelerates the inevitable.

00:07:51.900 Even if the Department of Justice investigation yields no criminal charges, proving criminal intent in these complex non-profit and tax matters can often be difficult, the public record of self-dealing will provide devastating ammunition for progressive primary challengers who already view Newsom as inauthentic, focus-grouped, a moderate poser, more interested in personal branding than achieving genuine change.

00:08:20.080 That's right. In the progressive wing of today's Democratic Party, Newsom is viewed as too moderate. Can you believe it? He will be rejected as a Democrat nominee in 2028. I still predict that Kamala Harris is the strong frontrunner for their nomination, God willing.

00:08:37.060 That, of course, is the result of having spent millions, actually billions of dollars on her failed attempt most recently

00:08:44.720 But if you've seen any of the interviews with her, you recognize that there has been no improvement in her performance as a candidate

00:08:52.400 What you get is still a word salad 0.98

00:08:56.300 Voters across the spectrum are growing increasingly tired of these polished operators who treat public office as an exercise in vanity

00:09:05.700 They're rejecting the used car salesman archetype, whether it wears a red tie or a blue tie, in favor of bold authenticity.

00:09:14.160 Newsom's bona fides as a soulless hack position him as the perfect sacrificial lamb for populists from all sides to revel in his destruction.

00:09:23.380 The old insider game of directing favors, behests, and non-profit dollars to connected entities is coming to an abrupt, unceremonial end,

00:09:34.340 And I believe California's governor will now find himself in the crosshairs, not because of any partisan vendetta, because the evidence of his corruption has finally become far too grotesque to ignore.

00:09:48.960 When we come back, we have a number of major Supreme Court justices, rulings that we want to get into, having to do with both the status of Haitians and Syrians in this country.

00:10:02.900 Also want to touch on the horrific situation in Venezuela. Venezuela, of course, hit by two powerful earthquakes, one measuring 7.2, the other 7.5 in magnitude struck that country's northern region. And the situation is dire. We're so busy in our everyday lives. Perhaps we don't realize the misery and suffering going on in Venezuela, but we'll touch on that as well.

00:10:27.780 And then we'll get into a bit more about the Supreme Court, where two of the justices got into.

00:10:33.040 It's very rare.

00:10:34.220 Justice Alito and Justice Sotomayor kind of exchanging sharp remarks there.

00:10:40.500 It's all here in the Stone Zone.

00:10:42.220 And don't go away.

00:10:43.480 We'll be right back with more.

00:10:46.100 The Stone Zone.

00:10:47.500 Entertaining and informative.

00:10:49.560 On the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:10:51.600 Venezuela is experiencing one of the darkest moments in modern history.

00:10:58.120 Two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale in magnitude struck the country's northern region within seconds of each other,

00:11:08.880 making this the most devastating seismic event to hit the nation in more than a century.

00:11:14.040 As search and rescue operations continue, the official death toll has now surpassed 188 people with more than 1,500 injured.

00:11:23.080 Those numbers are expected to rise significantly as emergency crews continue searching collapsed buildings and isolated communities.

00:11:32.300 Hundreds of people are believed to remain trapped beneath the rubble, while thousands of families continue desperately searching for missing loved ones.

00:11:40.460 But this tragedy is not solely the result of nature.

00:11:43.320 Across the affected areas, heartbreaking images reveal ordinary Venezuelans digging through concrete with their bare hands, using shovels, metal bars, and whatever tools they can find in desperate attempts to rescue family members, neighbors, and friends.

00:12:00.100 In many locations, heavy rescue equipment is simply unavailable.

00:12:05.040 Basic emergency supplies such as flashlights, helmets, protective gloves, safety goggles, rescue tools, and specialized search equipment are either scarce or in fact non-existent.

00:12:18.460 Every passing minute reduces the chances of finding survivors alive.

00:12:23.500 For a country located in a seismically active region, this raises an unavoidable question.

00:12:29.060 How can emergency response agencies lack the most basic equipment necessary to save lives during a catastrophe of this magnitude?

00:12:39.760 For years, Venezuela was one of the world's wealthiest oil-producing nations.

00:12:44.760 Today, however, it faces a public debt exceeding $240 billion, alongside decades of deteriorating infrastructure and weakened public institutions.

00:12:57.360 Numerous national and international investigations have examined allegations of corruption,

00:13:02.820 the diversion of public funds, and overseas assets linked to current and former government officials.

00:13:08.740 Many of these investigations remain ongoing.

00:13:11.980 Meanwhile, it is the Venezuelan people who bear the consequences.

00:13:15.840 So as of now, there is no verified count on missing persons.

00:13:20.380 While citizen-led platforms have received tens of thousands of reports from families unable to locate relatives, those figures have not yet been independently confirmed.

00:13:31.320 What is certain is that hundreds remain trapped beneath collapsed structures, and every hour that passes makes rescue efforts more difficult.

00:13:39.260 International assistance has begun arriving

00:13:42.660 Search and rescue teams, medical personnel, humanitarian aid

00:13:47.440 And emergency resources have been announced by the United States

00:13:51.720 El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, France, Italy and other nations

00:13:58.500 Together with international relief organizations

00:14:01.260 For countless Venezuelans, however, still trapped beneath collapsed buildings

00:14:05.800 that international response may represent their greatest hope of survival.

00:14:11.660 In my view, the next 48 hours will be critical.

00:14:14.860 Every successful rescue will depend on how quickly the specialized teams,

00:14:19.920 the heavy machinery, and the life-saving equipment reach the affected areas.

00:14:25.120 In disasters like this, time is not measured in hours.

00:14:28.800 It is measured in lives.

00:14:31.160 Beyond the earthquake itself, this catastrophe has exposed a deeper reality.

00:14:35.240 that many Venezuelans have warned about for years.

00:14:38.700 When institutions weaken, when infrastructure deteriorates,

00:14:42.340 and when emergency services are left without the resources they need,

00:14:46.780 a natural disaster can rapidly become a humanitarian catastrophe.

00:14:51.900 Today, Venezuela needs far more than sympathy.

00:14:55.420 It needs immediate humanitarian assistance.

00:14:58.420 It needs specialized rescue equipment.

00:15:01.200 It needs trained emergency personnel.

00:15:03.600 health, but above all, it needs the international community to keep its attention focused on the

00:15:09.060 thousands of families who continue waiting for news of loved ones still buried beneath the rubble.

00:15:16.040 History will remember this earthquake, but it will also remember how the world and those responsible

00:15:21.560 for protecting the Venezuelan people responded. So now I ask you to join me in praying for those

00:15:27.600 trapped beneath the rubble, praying for those who are tasked with saving them.

00:15:31.740 This is a catastrophe of enormous consequence,

00:15:36.520 and I ask you to pray with me for the Venezuelan people.

00:15:39.600 I'm Roger Stone.

00:15:40.940 This is a heartbreaking situation, and we'll be right back on the other side.

00:15:47.200 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative.

00:15:50.860 On the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:15:53.920 Welcome back into The Stone Zone.

00:15:56.160 In another impressive ruling by the Supreme Court, they handed the Trump administration a major immigration victory Thursday, ruling 6-3 that the government may move forward with ending temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian migrants in the United States.

00:16:16.040 The court rejected arguments that the administration had taken procedural shortcuts or acted out of racial discrimination.

00:16:23.900 Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said those challenging the temporary protected status terminations were not entitled to court orders delaying the policy while litigation continued.

00:16:36.940 Alito made clear that the TPS statute blocked many of the challenger's claims and that their constitutional argument was unlikely to succeed.

00:16:47.260 That claim centered on the allegations that the decision to end the temporary protected status for Haiti was racially motivated.

00:16:56.900 But Alito noted that the administration has terminated every one of these TPS designations that has come up from renewal, offering a strong race-neutral explanation.

00:17:08.360 The Trump administration opposes the way the temporary protected status program has been used.

00:17:16.260 The ruling reinforces the obvious point that temporary protected status was never meant to become a backdoor to permanent immigration.

00:17:24.640 When emergency conditions change or when the administration determines the program has been stretched beyond its purpose, the executive branch has the authority to act.

00:17:35.700 This is a massive win for immigration enforcement, national sovereignty, and the rule of law. 0.84

00:17:42.240 The left has been shamelessly exploiting policies designed for humanitarianism to create a system where the third world is overrunning this country by design. 0.51

00:17:53.080 Radical activist groups, of course, have attempted to use the courts to block President Trump's immigration agenda, but the Supreme Court just isn't having it. 0.94

00:18:01.420 President Trump has broad discretion to use his executive authority to clamp down on the foreign invasion. 0.84

00:18:09.380 That is exactly what he continues to do.

00:18:12.480 In another big Supreme Court win, it's nothing but great news coming out of the nation's highest court this week.

00:18:18.820 The Supreme Court of the United States handed the federal government a major immigration victory in the Mullen v. Al Otrolado case, ruling that migrants waiting in Mexico to seek asylum do not have to be processed as if they had already arrived in the United States.

00:18:38.020 The case centered on a lower court ruling that claimed migrants who were turned away before reaching the U.S. border should be treated as having arrived in America under federal immigration law.

00:18:51.080 That would allow them to apply for asylum even while standing on the Mexico side of the border.

00:18:56.720 The Supreme Court rejected that logic. The justices made clear that words matter, borders matter, and a person cannot be treated as having arrived in the United States when they have not actually arrived in the United States.

00:19:10.940 This dispute traces back to the 2016 immigration surge

00:19:15.460 when ports of entry were overwhelmed by more migrants than officials could process.

00:19:20.620 Then Homeland Security responded with a policy known as metering,

00:19:24.760 limiting how many people could be processed at a time.

00:19:27.960 Immigration activists sued,

00:19:30.060 arguing that those turned away were unlawfully denied asylum access.

00:19:34.180 But the Supreme Court has now struck down the lower court's expansive interpretation,

00:19:39.920 restoring a basic principle of sovereignty

00:19:42.180 that the United States government has the authority

00:19:45.580 to control who enters the country

00:19:47.620 and when immigration claims must and can be considered. 1.00

00:19:51.600 This ruling is a welcome reminder

00:19:53.640 that federal immigration law cannot be rewritten

00:19:56.500 by activist courts or open border groups.

00:20:00.200 Activist courts have chipped away

00:20:01.640 at border security measures for decades,

00:20:04.160 contributing to the migration crisis

00:20:06.500 that has put the future of America in serious jeopardy.

00:20:09.720 But the Supreme Court is putting the hammer down

00:20:12.160 and giving the Trump administration the leeway they need

00:20:15.640 to reverse the damage that was done under Joe Biden.

00:20:19.600 Meanwhile, the Trump administration is working with the government of Oman

00:20:23.060 to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz,

00:20:26.160 where roughly 20% of the world's energy must flow through,

00:20:29.980 will be closed for a long period of time.

00:20:32.280 After enduring some tough love from this administration,

00:20:35.160 Oman is now saying that there will be no transit fees imposed on ships passing through the straits, a critical international waterway for global energy supplies.

00:20:45.540 Oman's foreign minister, Syed Badir bin Hadid al-Basadi, said the statement Thursday after meeting with Persian Gulf diplomats and the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

00:20:58.220 He said future arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz will not involve imposing any transit fees.

00:21:05.620 This announcement comes after Iran and Oman discussed creating a joint mechanism to try to regulate traffic passing through the straits.

00:21:14.400 Earlier language suggested there could be costs associated with that system,

00:21:19.160 raising concerns that Iran might try to charge commercial vessels from passing through a waterway that has long been free and open.

00:21:27.900 Secretary Rubio firmly rejected that idea,

00:21:31.160 warning that international waterways do not belong to any one country

00:21:35.340 and that no tolls would be allowed.

00:21:38.180 Rubio said allowing countries to charge fees

00:21:40.520 simply because a waterway is near their territory

00:21:43.440 would set a dangerous precedent that could spread like wildfire

00:21:47.720 and enable hostile regimes to have serious economic leverage

00:21:51.520 all over the free world.

00:21:53.820 Rubio's perspective is correct.

00:21:55.740 Freedom of navigation is not negotiable, and the United States cannot allow Iran, or any other regime for that matter, to turn a vital global shipping lane into a toll road.

00:22:07.480 The Strait of Hermoz is essential to the movement of energy supplies, and any attempt to restrict or monetize access would threaten global markets and international stability.

00:22:19.060 Oman's statement is a welcome clarification, but Washington must remain vigilant. 1.00

00:22:23.560 We cannot take these Islamic-dominated governments at their word. 0.91

00:22:28.140 Peace can only be maintained through strength. 0.97

00:22:30.880 Free passage through international waters must be defended vigilantly and never be bargained away.

00:22:37.160 No one understands that more than Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

00:22:41.660 Meanwhile, President Donald Trump once again putting America first and asking a question many taxpayers have been asking for years.

00:22:48.780 Where was NATO when America was carrying the load for their defense?

00:22:52.660 Hosting NATO General Secretary Mark Rutt at the White House

00:22:57.520 President Trump criticized the alliance for its lack of meaningful support

00:23:01.680 During the recent Iranian conflict

00:23:03.960 The President of the United States did not need help 0.96

00:23:07.120 Noting the American forces demolished Iran's capabilities quickly

00:23:10.960 But he added that it would have been nice if our NATO allies 0.74

00:23:14.200 Hadn't at least offered to stand with the United States as a kind jester

00:23:18.100 After all the United States has done to help NATO over the years

00:23:22.480 President Trump has long warned that NATO members cannot expend endless American protection while failing to carry their fair share of the burden.

00:23:30.940 President's frustration was clear as the diplomat from NATO tried to defend Europe's role, pointing to U.S. planes taking off from European bases during the conflict.

00:23:41.540 President Trump was not convinced, however, bluntly saying that European allies weren't there enough.

00:23:48.080 Ambassador Rutt praised President Trump as the leader of the free world

00:23:51.420 and credited him for confronting Iran's nuclear ambition and terror exporting regime. 0.99

00:23:56.820 He also attempted to highlight increased NATO commitments, 0.99

00:24:00.300 reportedly presenting what he called the Trump Trillion.

00:24:04.140 President Trump didn't seem too impressed by the bureaucrats' hollow platitudes.

00:24:08.120 He knows that alliances must be reciprocal, not one-sided.

00:24:13.080 America should not be expected to fund, defend, or lead

00:24:17.180 while other nations offer this trite rhetoric instead of actual support.

00:24:22.380 Europe is beginning to understand that the free ride has come to an end.

00:24:25.580 During Trump's first term, he collected a delinquent $650 million

00:24:30.680 from the NATO allies that they hadn't paid,

00:24:34.340 and nations like Germany are now devoting more resources

00:24:36.900 to their own defense as they should.

00:24:38.900 This is not isolationism. This is just common sense. Donald Trump's been talking about it since he and I went to New Hampshire together in 1988. No longer will we be taken advantage of by our so-called allies.

00:24:53.160 Meanwhile, the battle over election integrity is heating up again, this time at the U.S. Postal Service.

00:24:59.380 Postmaster General David Steiner told Senators Wednesday that states refusing to comply with a presidential election integrity order

00:25:07.620 could see their mail-in ballots stopped under a proposed regulation.

00:25:12.120 During a Senate hearing, Democrat Senator Gary Peters of Michigan asked whether the Postal Service would still mail ballots

00:25:20.040 if a state refused to turn over its absentee voter list to the federal government.

00:25:25.300 Stoner replied by saying, under our proposed regulation, no, we would tell the state that we need that manifest.

00:25:31.960 This policy stems from President Trump's executive order ensuring citizen verification and integrity in federal elections,

00:25:39.940 which directs federal agencies to help verify that mail-in ballots go only to eligible U.S. citizens.

00:25:47.740 The order calls for an approved voter list, expanded ballot tracking, and cooperation between state and federal agencies.

00:25:56.140 This measure, in my opinion, is long overdue.

00:25:59.280 It's a safeguard after years of concerns about loose mail-in voting rules, outdated voter rolls, and election systems that refuse to do their due diligence on verifying the authenticity of ballots.

00:26:13.000 Democrat-led states and voting rights groups are already suing, claiming the order by Trump is unconstitutional.

00:26:19.080 But states that want federal help delivering ballots should be willing to prove that those ballots are going to lawful, eligible voters.

00:26:27.060 This is not an unreasonable ask. Election integrity is not optional.

00:26:31.380 Citizenship matters, and the federal government has a duty to protect the ballot box.

00:26:36.440 This is a matter of national security.

00:26:38.260 No matter how much Democrats complain and moan, the Trump administration must continue using its authority, exhausting every avenue to ensure that the midterm elections cannot be stolen like I believe the 2020 election was.

00:26:53.220 Meanwhile, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is looking cleaner and brighter after recent reports of algae buildup and alleged vandalism at one of America's most iconic national landmarks.

00:27:06.340 A video shared by TMZ showed the water in Washington, D.C. looking noticeably blue and improved. TMZ's Charlie Cotton said the reflecting pool looked magnificent, adding that if people are going to criticize it when it looks bad, they should also acknowledge it when it looks great.

00:27:23.220 The improved water clarity also made a jacket lined at the bottom of the pool more visible, the same type of damage President Trump previously suggested may have been caused by vandalism.

00:27:34.980 In a June 20th true social post, Trump had said the U.S. Park Police had arrested multiple individuals vandalizing the reflecting pool, causing the destruction of national monuments a serious crime.

00:27:47.980 He said repairs, of course, would begin immediately.

00:27:50.300 Trump also highlighted his administration's broader effort to clean, renovate, and beautify Washington's monuments and memorials, including dozens of statues, fountains, and historic sites.

00:28:02.700 Last time I was in the Oval Office, he showed me a map and a list of those monuments and statues to be cleaned and some to be repositioned.

00:28:12.180 While exchanging problems with vandalism and algae at the reflecting pool, the president said the algae was already 75% gone and that the remaining damage would soon be repaired.

00:28:23.260 This is about more than just water quality.

00:28:25.920 It's about restoring respect for America's history, protecting national treasures, and making clear that vandalism against our monuments will not be tolerated. 0.69

00:28:35.620 They got away with it back during the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020 when they desecrated national monuments all over the country and they tried to erase our nation's history. That cannot and must not ever be allowed again, particularly on the 250th anniversary of our founding. 0.77

00:28:53.120 Thanks for joining us today in the Stone Zone. I'm Roger Stone. We'll be back with more political news on the other side, because President Donald Trump is calling out the big oil companies, specifically Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP, for keeping gas prices artificially high. We'll talk about it on the other side, and we'll be right back.

00:29:13.200 The Stone Zone, entertaining and informative on the Red Apple Podcast Network.

00:29:19.460 Welcome back into the Stone Zone. Yesterday I made an enormous mathematical error. I said that George Conway, who ran fifth in the Democrat primary for the 12th Congressional District of New York City, had spent a million dollars a vote.

00:29:37.320 He got 6,000 votes. He spent $6 million.

00:29:40.600 Obviously, my mathematical skills were off.

00:29:43.560 He spent about $1,000 a vote and still was embarrassed to come in sixth.

00:29:49.760 So I was happy to make that correction.

00:29:52.040 President Trump is turning up the heat on big oil, naming Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP

00:29:58.140 as companies responsible for keeping gas prices artificially high as oil prices are actually falling.

00:30:04.260 Speaking to reporters, the president said that oil prices have dropped sharply, but drivers aren't seeing enough relief at the pump.

00:30:11.520 In his view, gas should be around $2.25 a gallon, far below the current national average, which hovers somewhere around $4 a gallon.

00:30:20.380 Ordered this week, President Trump announced that he had directed the Justice Department to begin looking into possible price gouging actions, artificially inflating the cost of gas in the marketplace.

00:30:31.720 On True Social, he accused major oil companies of failing to lower pump prices in line with the cheaper oil they're buying, warning that gasoline prices better start going down a lot and fast.

00:30:45.280 The American Petroleum Institute pushed back, saying that retail fuel prices do not move in perfect lockstep with crude oil prices, while also saying the industry shares the goal of delivering relief to consumers.

00:30:59.000 Basically, they're towing the company line as an industry would be expected to.

00:31:04.400 But American families should not be squeezed while powerful corporations benefit from falling input costs.

00:31:11.980 Trump's message is classic America first economics.

00:31:15.280 Energy independence, lower prices, and accountability for corporations that profit while working people are struggling.

00:31:22.320 Unlike other Republicans, President Trump doesn't make excuses for industry giants if they're not behaving in ways that help the American people and our families.

00:31:32.260 This is a breath of fresh air from the fake free market Republicans of old.

00:31:37.860 White House spokesperson says Trump has been clear that any energy market disruptions tied to the Iran situation must be short term and the prices should fall quickly once stability returns.

00:31:50.400 There are no more excuses for gas prices to be high. Big Oil better get with the program or else.

00:31:57.280 Meanwhile, the Supreme Court delivered a major victory for the Second Amendment on Thursday,

00:32:02.500 ruling 6-3 that Hawaii's attempt to restrict lawful concealed carry on private property is unconstitutional.

00:32:10.000 At issue was a Hawaiian law that bared concealed carry permit holders from bringing a firearm onto private property unless the owner gave express permission.

00:32:19.520 So in practice, the court found that flipped the traditional constitutional jurisprudence on its head. Under long-standing common law, people may enter businesses and other private property open to the public unless an owner specifically says they cannot.

00:32:36.760 Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said that Hawaii's law severely burdened the rights of citizens who had already met that state's already rigorous requirements to carry a firearm.

00:32:50.000 He noted that permit holders could be blocked from everyday places like gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, drug stores, coffee shops, barbershops, laundromats, big box stores, simply because they were caring for self-defense and doing so with a permit.

00:33:07.940 Aluto said the law was part of Hawaii's effort to replace old restrictions and were struck down by the court's Bruin decision recently with new rules designed to achieve the same result.

00:33:20.000 The majority made clear that states cannot treat the Second Amendment as a second-class right.

00:33:26.120 Alito wrote, Hawaii's law, quote,

00:33:28.560 hobbles the constitutional right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives.

00:33:35.220 So for gun owners and constitutional conservatives,

00:33:38.900 this ruling is a powerful reminder that the right to self-defense does not end at your front door.

00:33:44.740 It's also another accomplishment of President Trump

00:33:47.080 and a more conservative Supreme Court he put into place on the issue of promoting gun freedom.

00:33:55.200 We are going on the offense when it comes to defending firearm freedom,

00:33:58.720 and we have the gun grabbers on the run thanks to the appointments of President Donald Trump.

00:34:03.740 I must say that the spate of victories by populist and right-leaning parties in places like Chile,

00:34:11.320 Peru, Colombia most recently, Honduras, Argentina a bit earlier. All of these seem to coincide

00:34:19.740 with the cutoff of USAID funds. Those funds were going to fund leftist political activities.

00:34:27.380 That is why you have conservative governments now winning elections, conservative candidates

00:34:32.300 winning elections across Central and South America. I'm Roger Stone. Thanks for joining

00:34:37.540 us today in the Stone Zone. Until tomorrow, God bless you and Godspeed.

00:35:07.540 Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X.

00:35:10.480 See you next time for a new episode

00:35:12.320 so you never have to wonder.

00:35:14.340 What the heck is going on here?

The StoneZONE with Roger Stone - June 26, 2026

The Stone Zone ｜ 06-25-26

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