Verdict with Ted Cruz - Bill Barr is the Honey Badger ft. Attorney General Bill Barr

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.540 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.160 As riots, vandalism, and even all-out autonomous zones

00:00:08.720 combine with calls to defund the police,

00:00:11.780 we sit down with the nation's top cop,

00:00:14.240 Attorney General William Barr.

00:00:16.180 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:23.420 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:25.520 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:00:26.560 We will get to the Attorney General in just one second,

00:00:29.060 but first, I want to thank all of you

00:00:30.780 who have listened and watched the show.

00:00:33.360 We've now hit over 10 million views.

00:00:36.960 That is more than I think we thought was going to happen,

00:00:39.780 so thank you so much.

00:00:40.480 If you haven't already, please go over to Apple Podcasts

00:00:42.680 or wherever you listen to podcasts,

00:00:44.200 leave a five-star review, and subscribe.

00:00:47.180 Now, we're in a new location today, not our usual studio.

00:00:50.920 Senator, you have brought a friend.

00:00:52.340 Thank you, Mr. Attorney General, for being here.

00:00:54.460 You know, the news broke just moments ago

00:00:55.860 that you will testify before the House Judiciary Committee

00:00:58.560 next month, so we are honored that you would sit down

00:01:01.580 with us first and very much appreciate it.

00:01:04.200 I want to get right into this.

00:01:05.620 Obviously, there's so much going on,

00:01:06.960 and it occurs to me.

00:01:08.380 We have a man who writes the laws.

00:01:10.780 We have the man who enforces the laws.

00:01:13.280 And we have popular calls for utter lawlessness

00:01:17.040 in the country.

00:01:18.500 How do we restore order?

00:01:19.920 Well, it's going to take both state and local government

00:01:24.340 as well as federal government.

00:01:26.300 The federal government is best positioned

00:01:28.140 to address this kind of violence and lawlessness

00:01:31.620 after it occurs because we don't have FBI agents

00:01:36.160 walking the beat.

00:01:38.260 And in fact, when the real violence started

00:01:41.580 around May 25th, 6th, and so forth,

00:01:44.900 we started using our Joint Terrorist Task Forces

00:01:48.300 around the country.

00:01:50.940 And there are 35 of them around the country.

00:01:54.340 It involves all state and local in those jurisdictions

00:01:56.800 and all the federal agencies.

00:01:58.620 And it's the system we designed to follow terrorists.

00:02:01.740 And now they are starting to go full-bore,

00:02:04.860 cranking out investigations, indictments

00:02:07.580 against the people who were involved in this violence.

00:02:09.880 So we've had scores of indictments already

00:02:13.060 for such things as arson,

00:02:15.180 destruction of federal property,

00:02:17.400 things like that.

00:02:19.500 And we have right now

00:02:21.600 about 500 investigations underway.

00:02:24.300 So it's picking up pace.

00:02:26.060 And we are committed to holding accountable

00:02:28.780 the people who are engaged in this.

00:02:30.820 But we still have to try to stop it before it happens.

00:02:33.200 And that's where the burden is right now

00:02:35.120 on state and local.

00:02:36.060 And in many places,

00:02:36.960 they're not stepping up to the plate.

00:02:38.760 They're not doing their job.

00:02:40.620 So I know it's early,

00:02:42.140 but how much indications are you all seeing

00:02:44.580 of coordination and planning

00:02:46.840 rather than spontaneous acts of violence?

00:02:50.080 Right.

00:02:50.740 We are seeing strong evidence of coordination

00:02:55.660 in many of these violent episodes.

00:02:59.720 Fundamentally, what you have here

00:03:00.920 is you have demonstrators.

00:03:02.180 Some of them go there

00:03:03.080 with the intent of demonstrating.

00:03:04.580 But you have a group of provocateurs and agitators.

00:03:07.880 There's sometimes a significant group

00:03:09.920 that try to convert those into violent activity.

00:03:13.740 And they seem to be very well coordinated

00:03:16.420 when they show up.

00:03:18.060 A number of them are associated

00:03:19.620 with the movement called Antifa,

00:03:22.400 but they go by various names.

00:03:24.560 But frequently anarchistic.

00:03:26.460 They want to tear down the country.

00:03:29.900 They're different than many traditional groups.

00:03:32.780 And frequently,

00:03:34.860 the signs of coordination and activity

00:03:37.360 are very close to the event itself.

00:03:39.280 So like the morning of or the day before,

00:03:41.580 and things are very fast moving.

00:03:43.760 But we definitely see signs out on the street

00:03:46.220 of communication,

00:03:48.300 of organization,

00:03:49.840 of pre-planning,

00:03:51.040 pre-positioning of things.

00:03:53.120 So it's definitely organized activity.

00:03:56.320 Well, if you're calling in

00:03:57.680 the terrorism task force,

00:03:59.260 that means presumably

00:04:00.180 that we're dealing with terrorism here.

00:04:02.940 I know the president came out

00:04:04.640 and said just a couple of days ago

00:04:06.380 that this will not be tolerated

00:04:08.560 on federal land.

00:04:09.280 You cannot destroy federal property.

00:04:10.860 And he's authorizing the government

00:04:12.460 to go and hold people accountable.

00:04:16.600 What will this mean

00:04:17.660 in terms of a change of policy

00:04:19.060 or an acceleration of a policy

00:04:20.280 that was already in place?

00:04:22.080 Well, it's not a change in policy

00:04:24.180 in the sense that

00:04:24.840 we've always had the obligation

00:04:26.300 as the federal government

00:04:27.220 to protect federal facilities

00:04:28.700 and federal landmarks

00:04:30.620 and monuments and so forth.

00:04:32.400 But now,

00:04:33.240 because in some places,

00:04:34.700 the local police

00:04:35.580 are not doing an adequate job,

00:04:37.060 we're going to have to step up

00:04:38.040 the federal effort to do that.

00:04:41.000 And there are two aspects to it.

00:04:43.060 Obviously, we're going to prosecute,

00:04:45.120 right now,

00:04:45.960 all the videos involved

00:04:47.900 in the attack

00:04:48.740 on President Jackson.

00:04:51.240 This statute

00:04:52.060 are being carefully reviewed

00:04:53.420 and we will go after people.

00:04:56.320 So if you attack

00:04:57.360 a monument on federal property,

00:05:00.060 you're going to get prosecuted.

00:05:01.060 That's right.

00:05:02.240 That's good to hear.

00:05:03.380 Yeah.

00:05:04.040 But we're also going to...

00:05:04.980 And the criminal statute

00:05:07.560 has serious jail time.

00:05:09.580 Ten years.

00:05:10.620 Ten years.

00:05:11.260 Yep.

00:05:12.180 And the other thing is

00:05:13.900 we have to do a better job

00:05:15.360 of trying to stop these groups

00:05:16.660 before they are able

00:05:18.300 to do damage

00:05:19.040 to these monuments

00:05:20.320 and statues.

00:05:20.960 It's fine to punish them afterward,

00:05:22.440 but I think a lot of us

00:05:23.140 would like the statues

00:05:23.880 to remain up.

00:05:24.900 Right.

00:05:25.460 Well, and we're seeing

00:05:26.820 a lot of local,

00:05:28.440 whether it's mayors

00:05:29.320 or police departments

00:05:30.260 or governors

00:05:30.880 that may agree

00:05:32.000 with the political agenda

00:05:33.200 of the rioters

00:05:34.240 standing by

00:05:35.820 and allowing them

00:05:36.780 to destroy,

00:05:38.380 tear down monuments

00:05:39.380 they don't like.

00:05:40.180 And, you know,

00:05:40.620 it started with

00:05:41.520 Confederate war generals,

00:05:43.100 but now they're tearing down

00:05:45.400 or defacing Ulysses Grant.

00:05:47.560 They're defacing Abraham Lincoln

00:05:50.540 because, you know,

00:05:50.960 Lincoln was a known Confederate.

00:05:54.460 Famously.

00:05:55.060 They're going after

00:05:55.760 St. Junipero Serra.

00:05:58.100 And Cervantes.

00:05:58.960 It's anarchy

00:06:05.400 is what it is.

00:06:06.960 And it's, you know,

00:06:08.980 from people 1.00

00:06:09.700 who are very ignorant, 1.00

00:06:10.840 don't care about 1.00

00:06:11.640 history at all.

00:06:13.120 I imagine they looked

00:06:14.360 at U.S. Grant's statute,

00:06:15.820 didn't know who he really was,

00:06:17.120 wasn't sure what side

00:06:17.980 he was on.

00:06:18.820 But, of course,

00:06:19.540 Old guy with a beard,

00:06:20.720 he's got to be bad. 0.99

00:06:21.380 He's a terrible guy.

00:06:22.240 He was a great Republican 0.79

00:06:23.180 president who did more

00:06:24.440 for advancing the right

00:06:26.100 of African-Americans

00:06:27.100 in this country

00:06:27.820 probably than any single president.

00:06:29.300 He crushed the Ku Klux Klan.

00:06:30.860 Came down,

00:06:32.080 crushed the Klan.

00:06:34.100 Yeah.

00:06:34.560 And I expect

00:06:35.880 the protesters attacking him

00:06:37.260 have no idea of that

00:06:38.280 and don't care.

00:06:39.000 But guess what, Ted?

00:06:40.740 He used federal troops

00:06:42.020 to do it.

00:06:42.940 He brought out

00:06:43.760 the regular army.

00:06:45.180 He brought out

00:06:46.000 the regular army

00:06:46.720 to protect the rights

00:06:47.660 of freedmen.

00:06:48.560 And he did that before

00:06:50.200 in something called

00:06:50.800 the Civil War.

00:06:51.780 There were kind of

00:06:52.560 a whole lot of federal troops.

00:06:53.900 Played an important role

00:06:54.540 in that one, too.

00:06:55.360 So, you know,

00:06:56.480 on this point

00:06:57.300 of enforcing the law

00:06:58.500 and going after these people

00:07:00.080 who were causing violence,

00:07:01.580 the place that the president

00:07:02.920 announced this policy

00:07:04.400 was, as one might expect,

00:07:06.060 on Twitter.

00:07:07.240 And then Twitter

00:07:07.980 censored

00:07:09.540 the president's tweet.

00:07:10.720 So the president said,

00:07:11.800 we are going to enforce

00:07:12.680 the law against

00:07:13.640 people committing crimes.

00:07:15.380 And Twitter said

00:07:16.300 this violated the policy.

00:07:17.620 I know, Senator,

00:07:18.120 you have been talking

00:07:18.700 about this kind of thing

00:07:19.480 for years at this point.

00:07:21.220 I think it ties

00:07:22.080 into another question

00:07:22.780 people are asking

00:07:23.360 of the DOJ.

00:07:24.160 what are we going to do

00:07:26.060 about abuses

00:07:26.960 at big technology companies?

00:07:29.540 Well, there's sort of

00:07:30.240 a couple of lines

00:07:31.600 being pursued.

00:07:33.000 You know,

00:07:33.740 we have antitrust investigation

00:07:36.200 of all the major

00:07:37.300 internet platforms

00:07:39.000 or most of the major

00:07:40.300 internet platforms.

00:07:41.280 And that's very much underway.

00:07:43.180 I expect to be making decisions

00:07:44.620 in the next few weeks

00:07:45.800 about actions on that.

00:07:48.120 So I think during the summer

00:07:50.560 we'll see some developments.

00:07:52.880 But this issue

00:07:53.900 of censorship

00:07:54.500 is very troubling

00:07:55.880 because

00:07:56.540 our country was based

00:07:58.780 and the framers,

00:07:59.560 as you know,

00:08:00.180 believed in

00:08:00.860 that the thing

00:08:01.640 that would ultimately

00:08:02.280 keep us free

00:08:03.240 and keep a majority

00:08:04.820 from repressing

00:08:05.540 a minority

00:08:06.080 is a lot of diversity

00:08:07.360 of voices out there

00:08:08.420 in a robust marketplace.

00:08:09.540 But these behemoths

00:08:11.460 have gotten

00:08:12.160 a vast,

00:08:13.040 you know,

00:08:13.320 strong control

00:08:14.500 over

00:08:14.960 the expression

00:08:16.700 of views

00:08:17.320 and public forum

00:08:18.880 here in the United States.

00:08:20.060 And they got there

00:08:20.960 and I've said

00:08:21.680 this is the biggest

00:08:22.380 bait and switch

00:08:23.040 in history.

00:08:24.000 They got there

00:08:24.640 by saying,

00:08:25.120 hey,

00:08:25.140 we're going to be

00:08:25.800 open to all views.

00:08:27.860 You know,

00:08:28.060 come join us

00:08:28.860 because then you can

00:08:29.660 have your views.

00:08:30.420 So they built up

00:08:31.100 this powerful network,

00:08:32.980 very strong market power

00:08:34.520 based on the

00:08:36.280 representation

00:08:37.140 that they were

00:08:37.920 sort of open to all

00:08:39.060 as sort of

00:08:39.840 a bulletin board.

00:08:41.020 But then when they

00:08:41.580 got that market power,

00:08:42.920 now they're censoring views

00:08:44.420 just like the example

00:08:45.500 you gave

00:08:46.140 and they're now

00:08:47.080 censoring views.

00:08:48.360 And so we're getting

00:08:50.360 increasingly

00:08:53.060 monolithic viewpoints

00:08:54.840 being presented

00:08:55.540 to the American people

00:08:56.680 rather than the kind

00:08:57.600 of robust debate.

00:08:59.440 So one thing

00:09:00.440 we're doing there

00:09:01.220 is we're saying

00:09:03.040 that Rule 230,

00:09:04.440 which is a rule

00:09:05.060 that gave immunity

00:09:06.280 to companies

00:09:07.080 for taking down

00:09:08.120 things

00:09:10.820 and didn't therefore

00:09:12.600 convert them

00:09:13.200 into a publisher

00:09:13.940 where they'd be

00:09:14.580 responsible for everything

00:09:15.880 that appears

00:09:17.000 on their site.

00:09:19.020 We want to modify that

00:09:20.740 so that they have to

00:09:22.920 have clear terms

00:09:23.800 of service.

00:09:25.500 They have to show

00:09:27.340 that what they took down

00:09:28.800 reasonably,

00:09:30.560 they had reasonable

00:09:31.320 grounds for saying

00:09:32.100 it violated their

00:09:32.900 terms of service

00:09:33.660 and they have to

00:09:34.560 give notice

00:09:35.260 and process

00:09:36.640 to people

00:09:37.240 whose content

00:09:37.960 they take down.

00:09:38.900 That's one of the things

00:09:39.860 that we're proposing.

00:09:41.000 This is perfectly

00:09:42.040 reasonable to me

00:09:43.000 and yet,

00:09:43.460 Senator,

00:09:43.720 I know when you've

00:09:44.300 brought up

00:09:44.720 Rule 230,

00:09:46.680 people have harangued

00:09:47.780 you for it

00:09:48.240 and said this is

00:09:48.840 absolutely not

00:09:49.540 the right way to go

00:09:50.420 and just leave

00:09:51.180 Twitter alone

00:09:51.800 and leave Google alone

00:09:52.740 and let them control

00:09:53.580 the flow of information

00:09:54.340 around the internet.

00:09:54.780 Well, look,

00:09:55.860 there's good news

00:09:57.540 on this

00:09:58.000 and that I think

00:09:58.620 there's growing

00:09:59.580 and even bipartisan

00:10:00.980 frustration with big tech

00:10:03.020 that you've got

00:10:04.400 a handful of

00:10:05.680 Silicon Valley billionaires

00:10:07.280 that are the new

00:10:09.020 colossus

00:10:10.400 and they are,

00:10:13.340 they behave as if

00:10:14.720 they're untouchable

00:10:15.560 and let's use the Twitter

00:10:16.680 example from this week.

00:10:18.000 You don't have to go

00:10:18.440 back very far.

00:10:19.800 So the President

00:10:20.740 of the United States

00:10:21.840 sent out a tweet

00:10:22.920 that if violent anarchists

00:10:25.920 try to set up

00:10:27.220 a lawless autonomous zone

00:10:29.420 in Washington, D.C.,

00:10:32.060 that law enforcement

00:10:33.100 will stop them.

00:10:35.160 Twitter blocked that tweet

00:10:36.920 and said it was abusive

00:10:39.380 for the president to say

00:10:41.520 we're not going to let

00:10:42.760 violent anarchists

00:10:44.160 take over our capital.

00:10:46.480 And this is,

00:10:47.980 you know,

00:10:48.500 I assume,

00:10:49.640 you know,

00:10:49.920 you've got a Silicon Valley

00:10:51.120 billionaire on his yacht

00:10:52.520 saying,

00:10:53.800 no, no,

00:10:54.280 silence, little one.

00:10:55.600 And by the way,

00:10:56.480 if they have the right

00:10:57.240 to do that,

00:10:58.260 if they can silence

00:11:00.020 the president,

00:11:01.160 if they can silence

00:11:02.200 media outlets,

00:11:03.740 what hope does

00:11:05.160 an ordinary citizen have?

00:11:07.520 I mean, look,

00:11:07.900 the president at least

00:11:08.720 has a pretty big megaphone

00:11:09.800 even if they do silence him.

00:11:11.400 True.

00:11:11.620 He doesn't have difficulty

00:11:12.620 being heard.

00:11:13.940 How about the rest of us?

00:11:15.260 Right.

00:11:15.460 And the absolute

00:11:17.260 brazenness of it.

00:11:19.400 Another example

00:11:22.360 from this week,

00:11:24.140 Google

00:11:24.480 went after the Federalists,

00:11:26.400 a conservative media outlet,

00:11:28.500 called them up and said,

00:11:29.560 okay,

00:11:29.900 our problem,

00:11:30.740 it's actually not

00:11:31.180 with your content.

00:11:32.280 They said,

00:11:32.760 we're going to demonetize you 0.90

00:11:33.980 because there's some comments

00:11:36.340 on your comment section

00:11:37.300 that are objectionable.

00:11:38.040 I don't know if they

00:11:38.440 identified the comment.

00:11:39.540 So they're going to

00:11:40.040 take this news organization

00:11:41.740 off of the advertising platform,

00:11:44.620 which the advertising

00:11:46.220 is what allows

00:11:46.940 the news organization

00:11:47.620 to exist.

00:11:48.340 If you kick them off,

00:11:49.080 you're bankrupting the news.

00:11:50.200 It is doing exactly that.

00:11:52.340 It is sucking the oxygen out.

00:11:54.540 And, you know,

00:11:55.680 a quick perusal

00:11:56.720 of liberal websites

00:11:59.960 show a bunch of them

00:12:01.140 have comment sites

00:12:02.320 and you can find

00:12:03.200 all sorts of obnoxious

00:12:05.340 and offensive comments

00:12:06.500 on the liberal websites.

00:12:08.220 They're not imposing

00:12:08.980 that on them.

00:12:10.120 And here,

00:12:10.960 and this is an interesting

00:12:11.800 development actually

00:12:12.680 for the DOJ investigation.

00:12:15.080 One place you find comments

00:12:16.640 is YouTube.

00:12:17.540 Now, YouTube is a wholly

00:12:18.860 owned subsidiary of Google.

00:12:20.760 It's an incredibly profitable

00:12:22.200 subsidiary of Google.

00:12:24.320 I guarantee you,

00:12:25.460 you can go right now

00:12:26.400 today on YouTube,

00:12:27.420 take a look at the comments

00:12:28.500 and you will find racist,

00:12:30.600 you will find profane,

00:12:31.840 you will find offensive comments

00:12:33.560 all over YouTube.

00:12:34.980 And that's just what

00:12:35.500 they write to us.

00:12:36.220 That's just what they say

00:12:37.060 about us.

00:12:37.420 Imagine all the other videos.

00:12:38.340 And Google is not imposing

00:12:40.480 those terms on its wholly

00:12:42.100 owned YouTube,

00:12:44.260 but is instead using,

00:12:45.980 and this is where

00:12:46.620 the censorship

00:12:47.280 and free speech issues

00:12:49.020 intersect with antitrust laws

00:12:51.740 because they're a monopoly power

00:12:53.440 imposing differential standards

00:12:55.620 on their competitors

00:12:56.520 than they are on their own

00:12:57.720 wholly owned subsidiary.

00:12:59.860 And also, 0.74

00:13:01.640 just think of the hypocrisy.

00:13:03.600 The point that these big

00:13:05.100 companies are saying is,

00:13:06.860 look,

00:13:07.440 we shouldn't be held

00:13:08.280 responsible for third-party

00:13:09.780 content on our website.

00:13:11.840 So, YouTube says,

00:13:13.020 if people say things

00:13:14.140 that are defamatory

00:13:14.940 on our website,

00:13:16.180 we shouldn't be held

00:13:16.900 accountable for that

00:13:18.080 because it's good

00:13:19.860 to have this kind of forum

00:13:21.420 for people to come in.

00:13:23.400 And yet,

00:13:23.800 when someone comes in

00:13:24.720 on their website,

00:13:26.220 they're saying,

00:13:27.080 the rules that we want

00:13:28.000 to apply to us

00:13:28.620 don't apply to you.

00:13:29.740 You're responsible

00:13:30.640 for what's on your

00:13:31.600 comments section.

00:13:32.520 Right.

00:13:33.460 It's hard to have those

00:13:34.900 both at the same time.

00:13:35.960 Sure, of course.

00:13:36.480 You know,

00:13:36.740 Senator,

00:13:37.100 you mentioned the autonomous zone

00:13:38.480 before.

00:13:39.320 Mr. Attorney General,

00:13:40.000 I would like to ask you

00:13:41.040 about that,

00:13:41.560 but perhaps I should

00:13:42.780 instead ask the Secretary

00:13:43.840 of State

00:13:44.260 because these zones

00:13:45.900 in Seattle

00:13:46.600 and in Washington, D.C.,

00:13:47.920 they've declared themselves

00:13:48.920 fully autonomous,

00:13:50.580 separate from the United States.

00:13:52.300 As a legal matter,

00:13:53.640 how does the DOJ

00:13:55.040 look at such a claim?

00:13:57.440 Well, obviously,

00:13:58.180 they're not separate

00:13:59.120 from the United States.

00:14:00.220 They're, you know,

00:14:01.680 a bunch of agitators

00:14:05.060 who have planted themselves

00:14:06.800 in the middle of Seattle

00:14:08.160 and are bullying

00:14:09.580 the people who live there

00:14:11.140 and the businesses

00:14:11.840 that are there

00:14:12.700 and the Seattle government

00:14:13.940 is not protecting

00:14:14.780 its people.

00:14:15.780 It's not enforcing,

00:14:17.080 it's not protecting

00:14:18.400 the federal rights

00:14:19.440 of those citizens.

00:14:20.640 Right.

00:14:21.180 And the police

00:14:22.860 do not seem to be

00:14:24.340 enforcing the law there.

00:14:26.020 But, of course,

00:14:26.740 this is another question

00:14:27.520 that has come up

00:14:28.220 on the show quite a bit.

00:14:29.040 This matter of police reform,

00:14:31.260 it's talked about

00:14:32.060 from the question

00:14:33.600 of police on the ground.

00:14:35.120 I'd like to talk about it

00:14:35.960 from a higher level,

00:14:37.160 particularly in your role.

00:14:38.920 When people talk about

00:14:39.940 corruption in the DOJ,

00:14:42.060 I am reminded of

00:14:43.780 your predecessor,

00:14:45.160 Loretta Lynch,

00:14:46.040 who sat on a tarmac

00:14:47.680 with Bill Clinton

00:14:48.380 three days before

00:14:49.540 Hillary Clinton

00:14:50.780 was going to speak

00:14:51.680 to the FBI.

00:14:53.020 I am reminded

00:14:53.980 of her predecessor,

00:14:55.920 Eric Holder,

00:14:56.580 who referred to himself

00:14:57.560 as Barack Obama's

00:14:58.700 wingman in 2013

00:14:59.760 while he was

00:15:01.120 in office.

00:15:02.380 I'm reminded

00:15:03.140 of Loretta Lynch again,

00:15:04.540 who wrote

00:15:05.360 the description

00:15:06.140 that James Comey

00:15:07.060 used of Hillary Clinton's

00:15:07.960 email server.

00:15:09.060 How politicized

00:15:10.620 was the DOJ

00:15:12.160 before

00:15:12.960 you got there?

00:15:15.400 Well,

00:15:15.900 I think there were

00:15:16.820 many examples

00:15:17.540 of political decisions,

00:15:18.960 but I think

00:15:19.720 one of the things

00:15:20.420 that's perplexed me

00:15:21.280 about this

00:15:21.980 is that we

00:15:23.320 had one of

00:15:24.760 the largest

00:15:26.440 frauds

00:15:27.860 and injustices

00:15:28.580 in American history

00:15:29.760 conducted

00:15:30.940 during the

00:15:32.220 2016 election

00:15:33.740 by the Justice

00:15:35.580 Department

00:15:36.140 and the FBI

00:15:37.120 right in the center

00:15:38.160 of it,

00:15:38.760 and that was

00:15:39.680 turning the law

00:15:40.720 enforcement

00:15:41.100 intelligence agencies

00:15:42.220 of the government

00:15:42.840 against an opponent's

00:15:44.220 political campaign.

00:15:45.660 That,

00:15:46.400 as far as I know,

00:15:46.940 has never happened

00:15:47.620 before,

00:15:48.200 and it's one

00:15:48.900 of the ultimate

00:15:49.360 dangers in a

00:15:50.200 democratic republic

00:15:51.060 like ours.

00:15:52.580 And the things

00:15:54.360 that I have been

00:15:55.040 criticized for

00:15:55.880 generally are

00:15:56.560 coming in

00:15:57.240 and trying to

00:15:58.180 get to the bottom

00:15:58.860 of that

00:15:59.280 and hold accountable

00:16:00.080 the people

00:16:00.600 that were involved.

00:16:02.380 I know there was

00:16:03.360 just a development

00:16:04.400 on this

00:16:04.940 over the past

00:16:05.880 couple of days,

00:16:06.520 too,

00:16:06.640 in the case of

00:16:07.360 Michael Flynn.

00:16:08.200 Michael Flynn,

00:16:08.960 who was entrapped

00:16:09.900 when he was coming

00:16:11.720 in as the

00:16:12.060 national security

00:16:12.720 advisor,

00:16:13.440 and the DOJ

00:16:14.520 turned over,

00:16:16.020 I believe it was

00:16:17.040 exculpatory,

00:16:18.260 to use the phrase,

00:16:19.180 of Flynn's lawyer,

00:16:20.400 memos from an

00:16:22.100 anti-Trump

00:16:22.660 official named

00:16:24.220 Peter Strzok.

00:16:25.540 Now a judge

00:16:26.880 has told

00:16:28.300 the other judge

00:16:29.240 to drop the case.

00:16:30.960 Where does this

00:16:31.620 all stand?

00:16:32.820 Well,

00:16:33.320 we moved to

00:16:34.860 drop the

00:16:35.820 prosecution

00:16:36.500 of General Flynn

00:16:37.920 because

00:16:38.340 we had

00:16:39.680 investigated

00:16:40.480 that investigation

00:16:42.140 and prosecutorial

00:16:43.240 decision,

00:16:44.160 and we had

00:16:44.840 determined

00:16:45.300 and felt

00:16:46.280 that there

00:16:47.120 was strong

00:16:48.500 indications

00:16:49.580 and evidence

00:16:50.400 that the

00:16:51.960 decision to

00:16:52.660 move against

00:16:53.320 Flynn was

00:16:54.280 not bona fide

00:16:55.160 and that

00:16:57.000 they didn't

00:16:57.460 really have

00:16:57.960 a basis

00:16:58.400 for a

00:16:58.840 counterintelligence

00:16:59.720 investigation.

00:17:01.360 And we just

00:17:01.960 filed a document

00:17:04.440 in court

00:17:05.220 yesterday

00:17:05.820 that hasn't

00:17:07.260 been seen

00:17:07.700 before.

00:17:08.240 They're handwritten

00:17:08.760 notes of the

00:17:09.760 January 5th

00:17:10.600 meeting in the

00:17:11.180 White House

00:17:11.840 between the

00:17:13.000 president,

00:17:13.460 the vice

00:17:13.760 president,

00:17:14.460 James Comey,

00:17:15.500 and others.

00:17:18.020 And in there,

00:17:19.780 Comey, 1.00

00:17:20.340 in response

00:17:20.800 to a question

00:17:21.420 from President

00:17:22.020 Obama,

00:17:23.020 seems to,

00:17:23.960 I mean,

00:17:24.200 he says,

00:17:24.640 according to

00:17:25.060 the notes,

00:17:26.160 that the

00:17:26.880 calls between

00:17:27.740 Flynn and

00:17:29.400 Kislyak,

00:17:30.020 the Russian

00:17:30.380 ambassador,

00:17:31.680 appeared

00:17:32.200 legitimate.

00:17:33.620 So,

00:17:35.260 just a few

00:17:36.560 days later,

00:17:37.520 they became

00:17:37.940 the basis

00:17:38.440 of a

00:17:38.860 counterintelligence

00:17:39.760 investigation.

00:17:40.480 And these

00:17:40.680 were Peter

00:17:41.000 Strzok's

00:17:41.400 notes.

00:17:41.740 Yes.

00:17:42.440 Who was an 0.92

00:17:42.860 FBI

00:17:43.240 counterintelligence

00:17:45.200 agent running.

00:17:46.720 So,

00:17:46.780 he's admitting

00:17:47.160 it appears

00:17:48.200 legitimate,

00:17:48.900 and then all

00:17:49.220 of a sudden,

00:17:50.380 we're being

00:17:50.740 told it isn't

00:17:51.300 legitimate,

00:17:51.920 and he's

00:17:52.480 got to be

00:17:52.860 prosecuted for it.

00:17:53.300 Now,

00:17:53.420 the notes

00:17:53.820 also indicate

00:17:54.740 that it was

00:17:55.380 Vice President

00:17:55.960 Joe Biden

00:17:56.640 who suggested

00:17:57.520 the Logan Act

00:17:58.400 could be used

00:17:59.120 to target

00:17:59.520 General Flynn.

00:18:00.640 Well,

00:18:01.020 what the notes

00:18:01.700 show is that

00:18:02.460 the vice

00:18:03.640 president raised

00:18:04.480 the Logan Act

00:18:05.280 in connection,

00:18:06.380 it appears,

00:18:07.200 with the calls

00:18:08.500 made by Flynn

00:18:09.820 to Kislyak.

00:18:10.860 which is

00:18:12.640 a ridiculously

00:18:13.440 unconstitutional

00:18:14.500 statute.

00:18:16.180 I'm no expert,

00:18:17.120 but it certainly

00:18:17.480 seems unconstitutional

00:18:18.440 to me.

00:18:19.680 Under which

00:18:20.740 no one

00:18:21.320 has been

00:18:21.800 convicted

00:18:22.260 by the

00:18:22.680 Department

00:18:23.020 of Justice,

00:18:23.940 and it

00:18:25.000 purports

00:18:25.440 to prohibit

00:18:26.080 anyone

00:18:26.420 from conducting

00:18:27.140 foreign policy.

00:18:28.080 I promise

00:18:28.840 you,

00:18:30.400 John Kerry

00:18:31.000 today is

00:18:31.720 violating

00:18:32.140 the Logan

00:18:32.520 Act.

00:18:33.320 He's talking

00:18:34.060 to the

00:18:34.340 Iranians 0.58

00:18:34.840 or to

00:18:35.100 somebody

00:18:35.520 because

00:18:35.820 John Kerry

00:18:36.280 does that

00:18:36.680 every day

00:18:37.240 trying to

00:18:38.020 undermine

00:18:38.440 the administration's

00:18:39.360 foreign policy,

00:18:40.100 and you

00:18:40.900 know what?

00:18:41.400 John Kerry

00:18:41.920 as an American

00:18:42.400 citizen has

00:18:43.000 every right

00:18:43.400 to do it.

00:18:44.160 And the fact

00:18:45.020 that Biden

00:18:46.580 and Obama

00:18:47.440 were willing

00:18:48.320 and DOJ

00:18:49.320 and the

00:18:50.000 intelligence

00:18:50.440 agencies

00:18:50.880 were willing

00:18:51.260 to go along

00:18:51.820 with it

00:18:52.240 to weaponize

00:18:54.100 law enforcement

00:18:55.240 after Donald

00:18:57.220 Trump had been

00:18:57.800 elected to go

00:18:58.420 after the next

00:18:59.020 president,

00:18:59.620 I think is

00:19:00.500 absolutely

00:19:00.940 scandalous.

00:19:02.260 It is an

00:19:02.820 abuse of power

00:19:04.000 at a level

00:19:05.240 that I think

00:19:07.400 makes Richard

00:19:08.240 Nixon's

00:19:09.000 abuses in

00:19:09.640 Watergate

00:19:10.240 pale by

00:19:11.100 comparison.

00:19:13.140 And I

00:19:14.340 got to say,

00:19:14.940 Bill,

00:19:15.640 the job

00:19:17.360 you've done

00:19:17.800 as AG

00:19:18.260 to simply

00:19:20.320 be willing

00:19:20.980 to speak

00:19:21.600 the truth,

00:19:22.800 to bring

00:19:23.700 transparency

00:19:24.360 to what

00:19:24.880 happened,

00:19:25.920 has been

00:19:28.200 historic,

00:19:30.680 and you've

00:19:32.820 done it

00:19:33.260 knowing

00:19:33.980 that the

00:19:35.400 entire world

00:19:36.380 would descend

00:19:37.040 upon you,

00:19:37.580 that you

00:19:37.860 would be

00:19:38.160 politically

00:19:38.580 targeted,

00:19:39.220 that you'd

00:19:39.460 be vilified, 0.91

00:19:40.200 that the

00:19:40.440 media would

00:19:40.880 go after

00:19:41.320 you,

00:19:41.480 that the

00:19:41.700 political

00:19:41.980 process

00:19:42.600 would go

00:19:43.600 after you.

00:19:45.440 And I

00:19:46.000 got to say,

00:19:46.860 you know,

00:19:47.600 there's a

00:19:48.180 popular video

00:19:50.020 on the

00:19:50.340 internet

00:19:50.640 of the

00:19:52.300 honey badger.

00:19:54.420 And I

00:19:55.480 got to say,

00:19:56.820 you have

00:19:58.280 been the

00:19:58.780 honey badger.

00:19:59.640 Thank you.

00:20:00.140 Thank you.

00:20:01.040 And to be

00:20:02.240 clear,

00:20:03.040 and this,

00:20:03.720 you know,

00:20:03.840 because everyone

00:20:04.240 gets this

00:20:04.680 wrong,

00:20:05.640 you have

00:20:06.060 not been

00:20:06.760 a Republican

00:20:08.180 Attorney General.

00:20:08.940 I don't want

00:20:09.300 a Republican

00:20:09.740 Attorney General.

00:20:11.280 You have

00:20:12.000 been an

00:20:12.380 Attorney General

00:20:13.140 dedicated to

00:20:14.360 following the

00:20:14.920 law.

00:20:16.040 And in

00:20:16.920 particular,

00:20:18.140 reopening some

00:20:19.260 of these

00:20:19.940 prosecutions,

00:20:21.780 going back and

00:20:22.640 looking at and

00:20:23.280 bringing in U.S.

00:20:24.220 attorneys to

00:20:24.780 say, let's go

00:20:25.460 assess what

00:20:26.060 happened here.

00:20:26.700 How did

00:20:27.100 General Flynn

00:20:27.820 get targeted?

00:20:29.060 What was the

00:20:29.500 basis for it?

00:20:30.320 I think it

00:20:32.440 is incredibly

00:20:33.300 important,

00:20:35.100 and I have

00:20:35.460 to say,

00:20:35.760 I was telling

00:20:36.220 your staff

00:20:37.140 right before

00:20:37.560 we started,

00:20:38.980 you know,

00:20:39.440 they were

00:20:39.620 sort of

00:20:39.900 commenting,

00:20:40.500 wow,

00:20:40.800 they're coming

00:20:41.980 after us

00:20:42.460 on every

00:20:42.740 front,

00:20:43.120 and I

00:20:43.320 just said,

00:20:43.740 listen,

00:20:44.320 take that

00:20:44.920 as a

00:20:45.360 compliment.

00:20:46.960 Doing the

00:20:47.400 right thing

00:20:47.840 has a

00:20:48.200 price,

00:20:49.060 and the

00:20:50.680 job you

00:20:51.560 have done

00:20:52.120 as Attorney

00:20:52.700 General

00:20:53.280 is

00:20:54.480 inspirational,

00:20:56.100 flat out,

00:20:56.820 and it's

00:20:57.340 important.

00:20:58.160 Thank you,

00:20:58.460 Ted.

00:20:58.640 That's real

00:20:59.960 important to

00:21:00.540 me that

00:21:01.080 you said

00:21:01.420 that.

00:21:02.740 You know,

00:21:03.260 and one of

00:21:03.620 the stunning

00:21:04.040 things,

00:21:04.520 and I'm

00:21:05.040 sure you'll

00:21:05.440 agree,

00:21:06.580 is that

00:21:07.160 the media

00:21:08.440 just went

00:21:09.720 hell-bent for

00:21:10.340 leather on

00:21:11.580 pushing this

00:21:12.120 Russiagate

00:21:12.660 story that

00:21:13.240 Trump was

00:21:13.680 essentially an

00:21:14.620 agent of

00:21:16.180 Russia,

00:21:17.320 and they

00:21:17.800 were merciless.

00:21:18.780 And up

00:21:18.960 until,

00:21:19.940 you know,

00:21:21.560 recently,

00:21:22.940 you had

00:21:23.360 former senior

00:21:24.480 government

00:21:25.180 officials sort

00:21:25.820 of talking

00:21:26.620 knowingly about

00:21:27.560 how the

00:21:28.160 president was

00:21:28.580 going to be

00:21:28.920 indicted and

00:21:29.600 so forth and

00:21:30.160 so on.

00:21:31.000 Do you hear

00:21:31.240 any of,

00:21:31.820 is there

00:21:32.420 anyone standing

00:21:33.020 up now and

00:21:33.640 saying that

00:21:34.040 President Trump

00:21:34.780 is an agent 0.85

00:21:35.760 of a foreign

00:21:36.280 power?

00:21:36.600 No.

00:21:37.100 Oops,

00:21:37.420 they got it

00:21:37.860 wrong.

00:21:38.560 And you

00:21:39.100 wouldn't know

00:21:39.520 that because

00:21:40.260 there's been

00:21:40.800 no retraction,

00:21:42.320 there's been

00:21:42.660 no readjustment

00:21:43.880 by the media

00:21:45.480 or all the

00:21:46.640 people who've

00:21:47.340 been pushing

00:21:47.800 this story.

00:21:49.320 They're acting,

00:21:50.060 you know,

00:21:50.480 they're just

00:21:50.740 on to the

00:21:51.320 next full

00:21:52.400 scandal because

00:21:53.320 their purpose

00:21:54.220 seems to be

00:21:55.800 to cripple this 0.99

00:21:56.500 administration and

00:21:57.460 drive it from

00:21:58.020 office at any

00:21:58.920 cost.

00:21:59.340 It's just

00:21:59.820 sort of gone

00:22:00.180 down the

00:22:00.480 memory hole.

00:22:01.120 We've

00:22:01.260 completely

00:22:01.620 forgotten about

00:22:02.160 it.

00:22:02.500 I do want

00:22:03.760 to get back

00:22:04.260 in a moment

00:22:05.040 to all of

00:22:05.760 the top

00:22:06.260 important

00:22:06.600 questions of

00:22:07.140 state,

00:22:07.780 but Senator,

00:22:08.600 you've brought

00:22:09.140 up something

00:22:09.880 that I think

00:22:10.420 a lot of

00:22:10.720 people are

00:22:10.980 curious about.

00:22:11.440 I certainly

00:22:11.780 am.

00:22:12.020 what am I

00:22:13.660 supposed to

00:22:14.020 call you?

00:22:14.380 Is it Mr.

00:22:15.840 Attorney General?

00:22:16.580 Is it

00:22:16.840 General Barr?

00:22:17.680 Is it

00:22:17.940 Honey Badger?

00:22:18.820 What is the

00:22:19.480 proper term to

00:22:20.740 refer to the

00:22:21.360 Attorney General

00:22:21.820 of the United

00:22:22.120 States?

00:22:22.900 Well, people

00:22:23.900 say Attorney

00:22:24.520 General, but

00:22:25.220 it's also in the

00:22:26.240 United States, we

00:22:27.120 also use

00:22:27.880 General to

00:22:29.700 refer to the

00:22:30.440 Attorney General.

00:22:31.400 But that

00:22:31.920 actually is a

00:22:32.860 mistake.

00:22:33.280 I like it, and

00:22:34.000 I think we should

00:22:34.560 still keep this.

00:22:35.840 But it's

00:22:37.240 actually from

00:22:37.780 the Norman

00:22:38.200 French, which 0.79

00:22:39.300 was Attorney

00:22:39.900 General, which

00:22:40.760 was then carried

00:22:41.400 over to England

00:22:42.240 by the Normans,

00:22:43.620 and they referred

00:22:44.480 to Attorney

00:22:45.080 General, something

00:22:45.820 general.

00:22:46.240 And general is

00:22:46.820 the adjective.

00:22:47.740 It meant

00:22:48.000 general attorney,

00:22:48.860 the general

00:22:49.340 attorney, like

00:22:49.900 the general

00:22:50.300 counsel.

00:22:51.680 And we just

00:22:54.800 use the term

00:22:55.540 general, but

00:22:56.220 every other

00:22:56.980 English-speaking

00:22:57.740 country to refer

00:22:58.640 to the Attorney

00:22:59.220 General says

00:23:00.080 attorney.

00:23:01.320 So the form of

00:23:02.760 address in

00:23:03.420 Britain, New 0.83

00:23:04.300 Zealand, Australia,

00:23:05.180 in Canada, is

00:23:06.120 attorney, the

00:23:07.400 form of address

00:23:08.160 in the United

00:23:08.660 States is general.

00:23:09.740 It's based on a

00:23:10.980 mistake.

00:23:11.740 It's based on a

00:23:12.780 mistake.

00:23:13.000 It's a fortunate

00:23:13.560 one.

00:23:14.240 I do like it.

00:23:15.000 It sounds very

00:23:15.680 powerful, and that

00:23:16.560 would mean that the

00:23:17.280 plural is attorney's

00:23:19.020 general, honey's 0.83

00:23:20.160 badger, but it

00:23:20.860 is not, you

00:23:21.520 wouldn't put it

00:23:22.060 on the floor.

00:23:22.220 Well, and I'll

00:23:22.700 tell you a funny

00:23:23.740 story.

00:23:24.340 So the first time

00:23:25.280 I met Bill was

00:23:26.460 25 years ago, and

00:23:28.060 I was a law

00:23:28.960 clerk for then

00:23:30.280 Judge Mike

00:23:31.600 Ludig.

00:23:32.680 And Ludig at

00:23:33.560 the time was

00:23:34.760 41, was the

00:23:36.360 strongest

00:23:36.700 conservative

00:23:37.360 appellate judge

00:23:38.080 in the country

00:23:38.640 and was an

00:23:39.260 incredible friend

00:23:40.400 and mentor.

00:23:41.540 But Ludig had

00:23:42.580 been Bill's

00:23:43.340 deputy at the

00:23:43.920 Department of

00:23:44.380 Justice.

00:23:46.200 And the

00:23:47.460 year I was

00:23:47.920 clerking was

00:23:48.400 Ludig's fifth

00:23:48.920 year on the

00:23:49.320 bench.

00:23:49.800 And so we

00:23:50.260 organized a

00:23:51.500 party, a

00:23:52.140 black tie party

00:23:52.980 to celebrate

00:23:53.480 five years on

00:23:54.160 the bench.

00:23:55.040 And in

00:23:55.340 addition to

00:23:55.780 former law

00:23:56.240 clerks, we

00:23:56.660 invited people

00:23:57.400 who had been

00:23:57.740 important in

00:23:58.660 Ludig's life.

00:24:00.360 And so

00:24:01.240 Scalia was

00:24:01.920 there, Justice

00:24:02.900 Thomas was

00:24:03.600 there, and

00:24:04.280 Bill was

00:24:04.820 there.

00:24:04.980 So that was

00:24:05.240 the first time

00:24:05.720 I met him.

00:24:07.080 And Judge

00:24:07.660 Ludig tells

00:24:08.360 stories.

00:24:08.820 You work about

00:24:09.200 18 hours a

00:24:09.820 day when you

00:24:10.200 clerk for

00:24:10.500 Judge Ludig.

00:24:11.200 But at

00:24:11.940 least six of

00:24:12.940 those hours are

00:24:13.480 just listening

00:24:13.920 to stories.

00:24:14.540 And so you

00:24:14.800 hear lots of

00:24:15.540 stories.

00:24:16.560 But one of

00:24:17.000 the stories I

00:24:17.680 remember hearing

00:24:18.420 is when, so

00:24:20.260 Bill was the

00:24:20.840 head of the

00:24:21.200 Office of Legal

00:24:21.760 Counsel, truly a

00:24:22.980 storied office of

00:24:24.060 the Department of

00:24:24.640 Justice.

00:24:25.960 Antonin Scalia

00:24:26.600 was also head of

00:24:27.460 OLC.

00:24:27.860 William Rehnquist

00:24:28.920 was head of

00:24:29.360 OLC.

00:24:29.960 So he

00:24:30.360 continued at a

00:24:31.860 grand tradition

00:24:32.520 and then got

00:24:32.940 promoted to

00:24:33.560 Deputy Attorney

00:24:34.140 General and

00:24:34.700 then Attorney

00:24:35.080 General.

00:24:36.320 And Ludig told

00:24:37.300 the story of

00:24:37.960 one day in the

00:24:39.320 AG's office, there

00:24:40.400 was, I guess, an

00:24:41.260 Army helmet in

00:24:42.140 there.

00:24:42.320 I don't know

00:24:42.720 why, but he

00:24:43.920 described Bill

00:24:44.820 putting the Army

00:24:45.520 helmet on and

00:24:46.220 going out to his

00:24:46.920 balcony and

00:24:47.480 saying, I'm a

00:24:48.420 general.

00:24:49.200 I'm surveying my

00:24:50.840 troops.

00:24:52.520 Is that true?

00:24:53.900 Is that?

00:24:54.200 Well, what

00:24:54.480 happened was

00:24:55.020 Attorney General

00:24:56.640 Thornburg had

00:24:57.320 to leave town

00:24:58.080 and he made

00:24:59.160 me acting

00:24:59.760 Attorney General

00:25:01.000 because I was

00:25:02.420 assistant attorney.

00:25:03.180 He made me

00:25:03.600 acting Attorney

00:25:04.240 General.

00:25:04.820 And I put the

00:25:05.980 helmet on and

00:25:06.520 took binoculars

00:25:07.300 and I went out

00:25:07.960 on the balcony

00:25:08.640 and Ludig comes

00:25:09.860 up, what are

00:25:10.380 you doing?

00:25:11.400 And I said, I'm

00:25:12.540 looking for

00:25:13.100 injustice.

00:25:16.540 Now you might

00:25:17.580 not need very

00:25:18.560 strong binoculars.

00:25:19.880 I'm sure half

00:25:20.540 the population

00:25:21.220 will say, oh,

00:25:22.740 we tried to

00:25:25.180 keep a sense

00:25:25.700 of humor in

00:25:26.300 the Department

00:25:26.780 of Justice.

00:25:27.620 So I will

00:25:28.460 say, so when

00:25:29.120 I was

00:25:29.860 Solicitor General

00:25:30.780 of Texas, it

00:25:31.600 follows the

00:25:32.260 same history

00:25:34.080 where when

00:25:34.800 either of us

00:25:35.380 argue in the

00:25:36.000 Supreme Court,

00:25:36.620 the justices

00:25:37.320 will refer to

00:25:38.400 you as

00:25:38.660 General Barr.

00:25:41.120 The five and

00:25:41.640 a half years I

00:25:42.200 was SG in

00:25:42.820 Texas, I

00:25:43.480 begged Heidi, 1.00

00:25:45.040 just once call

00:25:45.920 me General.

00:25:46.520 Just please,

00:25:47.140 come on,

00:25:47.620 honey.

00:25:47.900 Come on,

00:25:48.360 do it for me.

00:25:49.820 Never once.

00:25:50.740 You know,

00:25:54.040 this story too,

00:25:55.340 I mean, it

00:25:55.840 occurs to me

00:25:56.300 when you say

00:25:56.780 you were in

00:25:58.220 the office of

00:25:58.780 the Attorney

00:25:59.020 General,

00:25:59.820 this was a

00:26:00.980 while ago.

00:26:01.580 This was not

00:26:02.080 just a couple

00:26:02.580 of years ago.

00:26:03.620 30 years.

00:26:04.900 30 years ago.

00:26:06.140 So he was

00:26:06.720 41 years old.

00:26:08.260 Wow.

00:26:09.280 Bill is only

00:26:09.880 the second

00:26:10.300 person in

00:26:10.840 U.S.

00:26:11.180 history to be

00:26:11.800 Attorney General

00:26:12.540 twice.

00:26:13.440 Right.

00:26:15.100 John Crittenden

00:26:15.920 was the first

00:26:16.660 more than a

00:26:17.560 century ago.

00:26:18.260 So I'd be

00:26:19.500 interested,

00:26:19.920 Bill, how

00:26:20.360 is it

00:26:20.720 different?

00:26:21.100 You're 41,

00:26:22.400 a young man,

00:26:23.780 you're agey,

00:26:24.340 and then you

00:26:24.680 come back.

00:26:25.980 The world's

00:26:26.540 changed a lot.

00:26:27.260 How is this

00:26:28.940 job different?

00:26:29.820 How is DOJ

00:26:30.580 different?

00:26:31.560 So I would

00:26:32.340 sum it up by

00:26:33.020 saying things

00:26:34.440 on the outside

00:26:35.860 move much

00:26:37.240 faster and

00:26:38.620 things on the

00:26:39.200 inside move

00:26:40.020 slower.

00:26:40.920 And that's a

00:26:41.620 bad combination.

00:26:43.440 It's more

00:26:43.840 difficult.

00:26:44.280 And we have a

00:26:45.300 much different

00:26:46.380 political environment.

00:26:47.320 So, you

00:26:48.460 know,

00:26:48.640 Attorney General

00:26:49.220 last time,

00:26:49.820 we didn't

00:26:50.120 really have,

00:26:50.680 we had really

00:26:51.500 no internet.

00:26:52.820 Our cell

00:26:53.400 phones were

00:26:53.840 like World

00:26:54.520 War II

00:26:54.880 walkie-talkies

00:26:55.720 and my

00:26:56.360 detail had

00:26:57.040 one and

00:26:57.580 that's my

00:26:58.160 only access.

00:26:58.920 So that's

00:27:00.120 the world

00:27:00.420 we lived

00:27:00.880 in.

00:27:02.400 And the

00:27:04.280 news moved

00:27:04.860 slowly.

00:27:05.400 It was like,

00:27:05.680 oh, the

00:27:05.960 New York

00:27:06.240 Times is

00:27:06.660 working on

00:27:07.040 an article.

00:27:07.500 It's coming

00:27:07.740 out next

00:27:08.180 week.

00:27:08.960 So now

00:27:09.780 everything is

00:27:10.720 instantaneous,

00:27:11.640 obviously.

00:27:12.380 So the

00:27:12.660 world moves

00:27:13.100 much faster.

00:27:14.900 Inside the

00:27:15.600 department, I

00:27:16.220 think, it's

00:27:16.920 slower.

00:27:17.320 Because I

00:27:17.900 think the

00:27:18.180 laws are

00:27:18.500 more complicated.

00:27:20.100 People have

00:27:20.920 to dot all

00:27:21.760 the I's and 0.76

00:27:22.720 cross all

00:27:23.240 the T's.

00:27:24.160 And there

00:27:24.720 are more

00:27:25.000 rules have

00:27:25.660 been put

00:27:25.980 into effect

00:27:26.700 that can

00:27:27.620 hold prosecutors

00:27:28.540 in jeopardy

00:27:29.780 if they make

00:27:30.340 a mistake.

00:27:31.000 So things

00:27:31.400 move a lot

00:27:32.240 slower in

00:27:32.780 the department.

00:27:33.920 And you

00:27:34.720 don't really

00:27:35.300 have many

00:27:35.880 people on

00:27:36.320 the other

00:27:36.640 side, you

00:27:38.840 know, who

00:27:39.160 are willing

00:27:39.560 to work

00:27:40.620 with you

00:27:41.100 on, even

00:27:42.260 when they

00:27:42.820 know that

00:27:44.040 the merits

00:27:44.500 are on your

00:27:45.020 side and

00:27:45.720 they would do

00:27:46.320 good for

00:27:46.660 the American

00:27:47.060 people and

00:27:47.760 help law

00:27:48.200 enforcement.

00:27:48.800 They're no

00:27:49.020 longer willing

00:27:49.640 to work.

00:27:50.340 There are

00:27:50.580 few, but

00:27:51.080 not many.

00:27:51.780 So this

00:27:51.940 leads to

00:27:52.300 one last

00:27:52.980 question on

00:27:53.740 this exact

00:27:54.660 point.

00:27:55.580 Before we

00:27:56.100 go, you

00:27:57.500 did the job

00:27:58.000 before.

00:27:58.780 You got all

00:27:59.300 the glory.

00:28:00.120 You've been

00:28:00.420 there, done

00:28:00.920 that.

00:28:01.600 All that

00:28:02.120 could be

00:28:02.400 left for

00:28:02.800 you to

00:28:03.120 do are

00:28:04.320 the headaches,

00:28:05.260 are the

00:28:05.800 difficulties.

00:28:06.580 And as

00:28:06.820 you've said,

00:28:07.360 the world

00:28:07.720 has gotten

00:28:08.040 so much faster

00:28:09.440 and more

00:28:09.760 tense, why

00:28:11.340 come back

00:28:11.900 and do

00:28:12.100 the job

00:28:12.420 again?

00:28:13.460 Because I

00:28:14.540 didn't want

00:28:15.020 to and I

00:28:15.860 resisted it

00:28:16.880 for a long

00:28:17.300 time and I

00:28:17.820 suggested other

00:28:18.520 people, but

00:28:19.140 at the end

00:28:19.460 of the day,

00:28:20.580 I saw the

00:28:21.400 department being

00:28:22.040 used as a

00:28:22.600 political weapon

00:28:23.320 in our

00:28:23.880 system.

00:28:25.080 And I

00:28:25.660 thought that

00:28:26.220 that was

00:28:27.020 injurious to

00:28:27.760 the rule of

00:28:28.320 law and

00:28:28.680 injurious to

00:28:29.280 our important

00:28:29.880 institutions in

00:28:30.760 our country.

00:28:32.000 And I

00:28:32.240 thought there

00:28:32.660 was a,

00:28:33.940 you know,

00:28:34.220 this idea of

00:28:35.440 resisting a

00:28:37.180 duly elected

00:28:37.780 president of

00:28:38.420 the United

00:28:38.740 States and

00:28:39.500 using every

00:28:40.240 device to

00:28:41.980 impair his

00:28:43.980 administration

00:28:44.720 was disastrous

00:28:46.040 and I

00:28:46.640 thought that

00:28:47.800 he needed

00:28:48.220 an attorney

00:28:49.060 general at

00:28:49.880 that point

00:28:50.460 and I

00:28:50.780 agreed to

00:28:51.260 do it.

00:28:52.560 Well, and

00:28:52.920 one of the

00:28:54.100 things that I

00:28:54.680 think you

00:28:55.000 have brought

00:28:55.400 to this

00:28:55.800 job is you

00:28:56.520 have an

00:28:56.800 understanding

00:28:57.360 of the

00:28:57.820 legal authority

00:28:58.640 that the

00:29:00.000 Department of

00:29:00.520 Justice has,

00:29:01.220 the obligation

00:29:01.860 to follow

00:29:02.320 the law.

00:29:02.780 One of the

00:29:03.140 latest attacks

00:29:03.900 coming at

00:29:05.480 you is the

00:29:06.680 firing of

00:29:07.140 Jeffrey Berman.

00:29:07.780 the U.S.

00:29:08.480 attorney in

00:29:08.860 the Southern

00:29:09.100 District of

00:29:09.560 New York.

00:29:10.140 Now, all

00:29:11.300 93 U.S.

00:29:12.660 attorneys serve

00:29:13.660 at the pleasure

00:29:14.140 of the president.

00:29:14.840 The president

00:29:15.220 can dismiss

00:29:15.900 any of them.

00:29:17.440 But some

00:29:18.920 voices on

00:29:19.520 Capitol Hill

00:29:20.240 are reacting

00:29:22.060 as if it is

00:29:23.120 an astonishing

00:29:24.200 thing to

00:29:26.140 ask the

00:29:27.580 U.S.

00:29:28.140 attorney to

00:29:28.540 step down.

00:29:29.360 So I'm

00:29:31.320 curious,

00:29:31.780 why did you

00:29:33.360 fire Jeffrey

00:29:33.900 Byrne?

00:29:34.160 Well,

00:29:35.680 that particular

00:29:37.460 situation,

00:29:38.500 it wasn't

00:29:38.820 really a

00:29:39.720 move against

00:29:40.660 Jeffrey Berman

00:29:41.580 or to get

00:29:42.920 rid of

00:29:43.460 Jeffrey Berman.

00:29:44.260 It was

00:29:44.480 really that

00:29:45.520 the president

00:29:45.980 had not

00:29:46.480 nominated

00:29:47.180 his own

00:29:48.220 attorney general

00:29:49.000 for that

00:29:49.460 position.

00:29:51.060 Mr. Berman

00:29:51.440 had been

00:29:51.980 appointed by

00:29:52.560 the court

00:29:53.020 under a

00:29:53.460 particular

00:29:53.820 provision of

00:29:54.520 statute.

00:29:55.120 So how

00:29:55.420 does that

00:29:55.760 work?

00:29:56.040 How does

00:29:56.240 a court

00:29:56.700 appoint,

00:29:56.960 that's

00:29:57.420 unusual?

00:29:57.800 Yeah,

00:29:58.440 so there

00:29:59.380 are certain

00:29:59.880 situations

00:30:01.080 where if

00:30:02.880 there's a

00:30:05.280 vacancy in

00:30:05.980 the office

00:30:06.500 and there's

00:30:07.680 no one who

00:30:08.260 has been

00:30:08.720 yet confirmed

00:30:09.800 by the

00:30:10.260 Senate,

00:30:10.560 you can be

00:30:11.160 approved,

00:30:12.120 put in

00:30:12.440 place by

00:30:12.960 the court

00:30:13.520 until someone

00:30:14.780 is confirmed

00:30:15.760 by the

00:30:16.220 Senate.

00:30:17.140 And sometimes

00:30:18.080 they're put in

00:30:18.920 by the court

00:30:19.580 and then

00:30:20.460 the administration

00:30:21.880 doesn't even

00:30:22.480 proceed with

00:30:23.160 the nominee

00:30:23.560 and they can

00:30:24.080 stay in

00:30:24.540 for a

00:30:24.880 while.

00:30:25.220 But the

00:30:26.720 president

00:30:27.060 explicitly

00:30:28.240 has removal

00:30:29.080 authority

00:30:29.560 over all

00:30:30.140 U.S.

00:30:30.580 attorneys.

00:30:31.000 U.S.

00:30:31.400 attorneys

00:30:31.780 are assisting

00:30:32.980 the president

00:30:33.640 enforce the

00:30:35.040 law,

00:30:35.720 seeing that

00:30:36.420 the laws

00:30:36.780 are faithfully

00:30:37.340 executed.

00:30:38.120 So they

00:30:38.380 are agents

00:30:38.980 of the

00:30:39.380 president

00:30:39.780 in that

00:30:40.240 respect

00:30:40.640 constitutionally.

00:30:42.540 And so

00:30:43.940 in this

00:30:44.440 particular

00:30:44.900 case,

00:30:45.980 there was

00:30:46.820 a very

00:30:47.220 attractive

00:30:47.740 candidate,

00:30:50.080 a very

00:30:51.360 prominent

00:30:51.880 and distinguished

00:30:52.960 lawyer from

00:30:53.600 New York,

00:30:54.220 from one

00:30:55.340 of the

00:30:55.620 greatest

00:30:55.940 law firms

00:30:56.500 in the

00:30:56.780 world

00:30:57.100 and well

00:30:58.800 known in

00:30:59.240 New York.

00:30:59.980 And he

00:31:00.340 was the

00:31:01.940 chairman of

00:31:02.620 the Security

00:31:03.520 Exchange

00:31:04.040 Commission.

00:31:04.620 And as you

00:31:04.900 know,

00:31:05.080 securities are

00:31:05.620 really important

00:31:06.200 up in

00:31:06.580 New York.

00:31:07.060 And we

00:31:07.860 thought he

00:31:08.200 would make

00:31:08.500 a great

00:31:09.000 U.S.

00:31:09.760 attorney up

00:31:10.320 there.

00:31:10.680 And actually

00:31:11.200 initially,

00:31:12.060 you had

00:31:12.740 planned to

00:31:13.300 offer Berman

00:31:13.860 another position

00:31:14.620 in the

00:31:15.000 administration.

00:31:16.060 Yes,

00:31:16.420 we did.

00:31:16.980 We did.

00:31:17.600 But he

00:31:18.000 didn't want

00:31:18.340 to leave

00:31:18.600 that post.

00:31:19.600 And I've

00:31:20.100 got to say,

00:31:20.460 the letter

00:31:20.820 he wrote,

00:31:21.700 I thought,

00:31:22.460 was extraordinary.

00:31:23.120 He refused

00:31:24.280 to step

00:31:25.720 down.

00:31:26.180 And I don't

00:31:27.840 want to drag 0.94

00:31:28.300 you into

00:31:28.520 this,

00:31:28.740 but it was

00:31:29.000 a level

00:31:29.440 of defiance

00:31:30.440 that the

00:31:31.320 instant you

00:31:32.020 read that

00:31:32.560 letter saying,

00:31:33.460 I'm not

00:31:33.820 going anywhere,

00:31:35.700 it sets

00:31:36.460 off all

00:31:37.020 sorts of

00:31:37.500 warning bells

00:31:38.200 of someone

00:31:38.760 who has

00:31:40.960 their own

00:31:41.300 agenda.

00:31:42.020 An axe to

00:31:42.160 grind.

00:31:42.780 Which is why

00:31:44.260 it has become

00:31:44.820 a cause

00:31:45.180 to lab.

00:31:45.600 And so I

00:31:46.000 don't want to

00:31:46.320 ask you to

00:31:46.580 comment to

00:31:47.080 that,

00:31:47.300 but I'll

00:31:48.000 say that.

00:31:48.480 And I'll

00:31:49.520 agree with

00:31:49.820 that.

00:31:51.160 Mr. Attorney

00:31:51.800 General,

00:31:52.480 I am very

00:31:53.180 grateful that

00:31:53.800 you came in

00:31:54.280 to do the

00:31:55.000 job a second

00:31:55.760 time,

00:31:56.220 and I'm

00:31:56.580 very grateful

00:31:57.100 that you

00:31:57.420 came down

00:31:57.780 to speak

00:31:58.280 with us,

00:31:58.720 but we

00:31:59.100 have to

00:31:59.360 let you

00:31:59.580 get back

00:31:59.900 to work.

00:32:00.700 Thank you

00:32:01.120 for being

00:32:01.500 here,

00:32:01.920 Senator.

00:32:02.320 I will

00:32:02.600 see you

00:32:02.940 very shortly.

00:32:04.020 I'm

00:32:04.240 Michael

00:32:04.440 Knowles.

00:32:04.840 This is

00:32:05.200 Verdict

00:32:05.580 with Ted

00:32:06.080 Cruz.

00:32:06.360 This episode

00:32:15.400 of Verdict

00:32:16.020 with Ted

00:32:16.540 Cruz is

00:32:17.200 being brought

00:32:17.680 to you by

00:32:18.140 Jobs Freedom

00:32:18.960 and Security

00:32:19.700 PAC, a

00:32:20.460 political action

00:32:21.300 committee dedicated

00:32:22.100 to supporting

00:32:22.880 conservative

00:32:23.460 causes,

00:32:24.300 organizations,

00:32:25.160 and candidates

00:32:25.820 across the

00:32:26.540 country.

00:32:27.200 In 2022,

00:32:28.420 Jobs Freedom

00:32:29.040 and Security

00:32:29.640 PAC plans to

00:32:30.660 donate to

00:32:31.160 conservative

00:32:31.660 candidates running

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 25, 2020

Bill Barr is the Honey Badger ft. Attorney General Bill Barr

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