Major Legislation to Protect the Flying Public, plus New Evidence FBI Complicit in Russia Hoax
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Summary
On January 29th, 2017, a helicopter crashed into Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard. Six months later, Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation to make air travel safer for the traveling public. Today's episode is dedicated to the victims of the crash, and the families who lost their lives in the accident.
Transcript
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Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
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And Senator, it's nice to talk about a really important issue tonight
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that many Americans have become much more concerned about.
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You fly a lot, I fly a lot, and you have introduced new legislation
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that's going to deal with what happened with that helicopter crash
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And six months to the day, you've introduced this.
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It is Tuesday night, six months ago to the day, on January 29th,
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is when the horrific accident occurred over Ronald Reagan National Airport.
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And this week, today actually, I introduced legislation to dramatically improve
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We're going to talk about that, talk about the need to avoid any accident like that going forward.
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We're also going to talk about stunning evidence that's come forward,
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that the FBI was complicit in the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.
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The FBI knew what they were doing, and they played an active role.
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We're going to lay out what the head of the CIA laid out this week.
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So, Senator, let's go back six months in time and remind people.
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It was a night where we had that helicopter that went right into that plane that was coming down at Reagan National,
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It also, I think, really shook a lot of travelers to their core.
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And the question that was asked was, like, how does this even happen?
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And now there's real legislation to keep our families safe as they fly.
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It's something that's on a lot of people's minds.
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And actually, the night it happened, I was having dinner with Mike Waltz.
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Mike Waltz was, at the time, President Trump's national security advisor.
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The two of us were talking about the national security threats to the country.
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And then at the very end of the dinner, we were wrapping up, and he got a text over his phone.
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He said there was just a major crash over Reagan Airport.
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And so Mike rushed off to the situation room to deal with it from the White House.
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As I got up, that night, it so happened, Heidi was flying into D.C., and she was landing at Reagan.
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And I will say, my body man came up to me, and Trent, and you know Trent, he's a great guy.
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Trent came up to me, and he said, Heidi's okay, but there was a plane crash at Reagan.
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I got to say, Trent did a very good job starting with Heidi's okay, because I get, you know, when your wife's in the air like that, if you reverse those statements, that causes you to freak out.
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Heidi's plane was scheduled to land about a half hour after the crash.
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So they diverted her to BWI Airport, which is, you know, about an hour away.
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We normally live in Houston, but she was coming up that night to be with me.
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It could as easily been her plane as the plane that crashed.
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And it was a plane, an American Airlines plane that was flying from Wichita to D.C.
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An Army Black Hawk helicopter came across the landing path and collided.
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And there were three soldiers on the Army helicopter.
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There were 64 people, 61 passengers and three crew members on the plane.
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I will tell you, in the wake of the accident, I went to the NTSB site where they pulled all the wreckage out.
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And the wreckage, the damage, here's the good news.
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Because the plane and the helicopter went down in the Potomac.
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And I suppose the good news is they said nobody drowned.
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They said the helicopter rotor struck the wing.
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So they died instantly, which I've got to say, if you're going to die in a plane crash, you'd rather die instantly than slowly and painfully.
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But I will say standing at the NTSB site with the wreckage of the plane, the wreckage of the helicopter,
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and you see just charge seats, you see just pieces of the plane and helicopter.
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And you also saw, you know, children's backpacks and toys and luggage and all of the wreckage of 67 people who died instantly.
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And, look, what was frustrating is it should not have happened.
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And so in the six months that have followed, I have chaired multiple hearings.
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I've had multiple roundtable discussions with the NTSB, the National Traffic Safety Board, with the FAA, with the Department of Transportation, to say what went wrong.
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And there are multiple pieces of what went wrong.
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One of the things that went wrong is the Army helicopter did not have functioning ADS-B-OUT.
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ADS-B-OUT and ADS-B-IN is advanced technology to locate where a plane is, where a helicopter is.
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And ADS-B-OUT broadcasts to everyone so you can get a precise, the air traffic controllers can get a precise image,
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and other aircraft can get a precise image of exactly where that aircraft is.
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ADS-B-IN is the ability to receive the signals from all the other aircrafts.
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You need ADS-B-OUT, so you're broadcasting to the whole world, and you need ADS-B-IN, where you can see the images of the other aircraft.
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Now, for 20 years, 20, the NTSB, the National Traffic Safety Board, has been recommending that every aircraft have ADS-B-IN and ADS-B-OUT.
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That is not the law, and the Army Blackhawk helicopter did not have ADS-B-OUT that was functioning that night.
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So, that meant the American Airlines plane could not see it until the two collided and everyone died.
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I called it the ROTARACT, and it mandates that every aircraft, a jet, a helicopter, or any other aircraft that is in commercial airspace,
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that is in the airspace where planes are flying, where the flying public is, must have both ADS-B-OUT and ADS-B-IN.
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And I think when we get it passed, it is going to make the flying public significantly safer.
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I mean, I know there was a lot of people that said, well, it was just a cost issue, and it was a cost add-on to the price of a plane.
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It was cost add-on to small, you know, planes and different things, and people were frustrated.
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They were like, this is another one of those regulations.
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Was it as simple as that, and that's the reason why it was always basically not made a law?
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The FAA required ADS-B-OUT, so it required aircraft to broadcast their location,
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so the air traffic controllers could get it, and other aircraft that had ADS-B-IN could get it.
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However, there was an MOU, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Army, that exempted a lot of Army flights.
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This was not like they were transporting nuclear secrets.
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This was a training flight, but they did not have functioning ADS-B-OUT-ON in a way that anyone could see.
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I think that exemption makes no sense, and so part of the Rotaract is ending that exemption and saying,
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look, if you're flying commercial airspace, you need to have ADS-B-OUT-ON.
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The second component is ADS-B-IN, which is the ability to see the other signals.
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Many, many large airline flights typically have ADS-B-IN, but a lot of other flights do not,
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That 20 years ago, it was fairly expensive to put this on.
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And it's not that expensive anymore, and one of the things I've done over the last six months
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is that I've met with a lot of the stakeholders.
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I've met with a lot of the folks that are flying, and you can actually get ADS-B-IN
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with an iPad and fairly inexpensive technology.
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So you're not talking like a $100,000 upgrade on a plane.
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You're talking for relatively low cost, maybe a couple hundred, a couple thousand dollars.
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You can have an iPad and the technology to have ADS-B-IN.
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So it doesn't cost a lot, but it makes the flying public a lot safer.
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I want you to listen, first of all, to what I had said about the Rotaract,
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and then I want you to listen to Secretary Duffy, the Transportation Secretary.
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So start with what I said at the press conference today.
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Today is an auspicious day for aviation safety,
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a day marked, I hope, by a revived spirit of hope and a shared determination
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to act in the face of an unforgettable tragedy.
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and our duty as lawmakers is to ensure that they are.
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I would like to start by thanking the individuals who are joining me
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for the introduction of the Rotarcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform,
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Secretary Duffy, Chairwoman Homendy, Tim and Sherry Lilly, Doug Lane,
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and my colleagues have all worked hard to make the American skies safer.
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Tim, Sherry, Doug, thank you for your courage and your advocacy.
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We are here today because of your efforts and the memory of Tim and Sherry,
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your son Doug, your son Doug, your wife and son,
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and all of the loved ones that were lost over the Potomac.
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The Rotaract represents a common-sense step forward in aviation safety reform.
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One of the most important parts of this bill is the requirement that all aircraft,
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military and civilian, use both ADS-B out and ADS-B in.
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This technology allows aircraft to broadcast their positions and to receive positions of others
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in real time, faster than other technology in use today.
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It gives pilots and air traffic control a clear view of what is happening in the skies.
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The NTS-B first recommended ADS-B in nearly 20 years ago.
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Well, we are going to make that happen this year.
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Make no mistake, there cannot be a double standard in aviation safety.
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We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights operating in congested airspace.
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No matter the circumstances, any aircraft flying near commercial traffic must fully adhere to safety standards.
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Given the communications breakdown that led to the accident,
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it is also important to address helicopter routes in congested commercial airspace.
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We cannot have commercial airplanes and helicopters on a collision course ever again.
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technological transparency and institutional responsibility.
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While American skies are among the safest globally,
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We will not wait for another accident to happen
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before we act decisively to protect the American skies.
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We have made it abundantly clear that when American lives are at risk,
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The families standing here, they didn't ask to be a part of this story.
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However, they stand with the courage to ensure that it has a better ending for others.
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This is the kind of legacy we should all aspire to build.
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Thank you, and I now recognize the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to give his remarks.
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Sean, you know, the night that this plane crash happened was the night he was actually sworn in,
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I remember seeing his family heading into where his office was going to be,
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and then apparently he's there, and then immediately has to deal with this.
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And obviously that impacted him in a major way.
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This is what you were dealing with, this type of tragedy.
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He's doing a great job as President Trump's Secretary of Transportation.
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He had not been on the job 24 hours when this accident occurred,
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And I want you to listen to him now at the press conference today about our legislation.
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It is Democrats and Republicans, House, Senate, DOT, FAA, the President's administration.
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And so, Senator, I commend you for this bold effort and rallying the forces in this body to make sure we lead and make sure our skies continue to be the safest in the world.
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And this is one giant leap that's going to help make that happen.
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And I look forward to working with you and your colleagues to advance this cause.
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Again, 22 years ago, the NTSB recommended this.
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By the way, sometimes people get concerned about cost.
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And I don't think we should be concerned about cost when it comes to safety.
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But I was talking to the administrator of the FAA.
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The cost to deploy this technology is not that great for commercial aircraft or for the military.
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We can drive safety way higher and also at a very affordable cost.
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That's the benefit of the advancement of technology over the course of the last 22 years.
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And I think the American people expect this from this body, this administration, to keep them safe.
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Yeah, I mean, you wrap this up and you talk about the family members that were there for this.
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They want to make sure this tragedy never, ever happens to another family again.
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So, the big question becomes, is this going to be a bipartisan thing and can you get it done?
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And listen, there are 67 families who lost a loved one that night.
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And yet, they're using their agony to be advocates.
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And they're trying to use that horrific tragedy to change the law to protect the flying public so that there's not another family.
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So, it's not your family or my family that sometime in the future loses a loved one on an air flight.
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And I want you to listen right now to Tim Lilly.
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Tim is the father of the American Eagle co-pilot, Sam Lilly.
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And he was flying the American plane that crashed into the Blackhawk helicopter.
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And actually, Tim himself was a Blackhawk pilot.
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So, he had flown those exact routes right along Reagan Airport.
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And yet, tragically, he and his wife lost their son that night.
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This is not going to be Sam's legacy to die in vain.
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67 really great people lost their lives that night.
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What we have here is legislation, if it's passed, is going to close some very important safety loopholes so that this never has to happen again.
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Yeah, and look, to see the families standing together.
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So, I actually, this evening, I had drinks with the Secretary of the Army.
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And the Secretary of the Army met today with the families of those whose lives were lost.
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If your family was killed that night, you'd be pissed off.
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You'd be pissed off at the Army flight that crashed into the plane.
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And it was apparently, look, it was not an easy meeting.
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And I respect the Secretary for going and listening and hearing their pain.
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I respect the families for channeling that pain into something productive.
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It's easy to just, if you lose a loved one, to mourn, to get angry, to be angry at God, to be angry at the world.
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And yet, I really admire these families that they, or are they feeling those sentiments?
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But they've made the conscious decision, I'm going to channel that anger into trying to make a difference and change the laws.
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Now, the bill I introduced today is not bipartisan.
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And I will say the Democrats, they filed their own legislation that is partisan legislation,
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that they decided they wanted to tee off on President Trump and Doge and have a bunch of elements in the bill that have nothing to do with safety,
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but have everything to do with scoring partisan points.
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And it is one of the advantages of chairing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
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Every member of the Commerce Committee is going to vote on this bill.
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I think we're going to get overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill.
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There's nothing in this bill that, from a Republican side, is partisan.
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There's nothing that I put that is a crazy right-wing priority.
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This is designed to keep the flying public safer.
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And my prediction, Ben, this will be signed into law this year.
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00:22:03.740
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00:22:28.400
I want to move to the other topic that we mentioned earlier.
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And I got to say, a lot of people are going to be shocked by it.
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And I want to get your take on now what we're learning about the FBI with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.
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And the controversial Trump-Russia actions predicted with alarming accuracy by foreign actors.
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And it's just a joke how incredible this whole, I call it a play.
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And everybody was playing with the script that they knew was a lie.
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But I want to take a minute and sort of pull the curtain back for our listeners.
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And we do this podcast sometimes late at night.
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So, the headline of this story says that it was predicted with alarming specificity.
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And I want y'all to know, we recorded this, and this is one of the advantages of doing a podcast.
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When you record it and screw it up, you can just stop and rewind and do it again.
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We recorded it, and twice, Benjamin was unable to say the word specificity.
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And I will confess, I kept making it harder because I kept saying specificity.
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So, finally, after twice crashing and burning on saying specificity, he just said, with alarming accuracy.
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You didn't say the word quote, but I just wanted our listeners to know that, like, the specificity with which we—
00:24:36.260
So, let's cover the—but this is the important stuff to understand.
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No, I'm in a house in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
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And you've got to be up at, like, 6.30 is tea time.
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All right, Benjamin, while you're at tea time, I will be fast asleep.
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And you'll be dreaming about the alarming specificity, the word I can't say.
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By the way, you know what I did Monday on the flight to D.C.?
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Do you know what I did Monday on the flight to D.C.?
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I love when they don't screw up a sequel like Top Gun Maverick.
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Happy Gilmore 2 may be better than Happy Gilmore.
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If you haven't watched it yet, turn it down for five seconds.
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When he killed his wife with a golf ball, I did not see that coming.
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I will say, by the way, as a complete aside, I've gotten to know Adam Sandler's producer.
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I got to tell you, I'm told that Sandler, I've invited him to come play hoops with me,
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So, hadn't happened yet, but I'm actually really psyched because Sandler and I are almost exactly
00:26:30.880
By the way, really, do I say count me in for that game?
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Don't injure Adam Sandler like he is a national comedic treasure.
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The last time I played hoops with you, you broke your finger.
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And you throw your body around pretty physically, which I admire.
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If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
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But I'm just saying, don't injure Adam Sandler.
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We actually had a story to do, but I just had to call you out because you, like, magically
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And so I just had to, like, bring our listeners in and say, you know, sometimes the magic
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When you do radio, like I did three hours a day, my producer Diaz, who does this show
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as well, when that would happen, the worst part is he's just laughing at me through the
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glass on the other side of the wall because it's live and there's nothing you can do to fix
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So now this is like my weird revenge because for how many years we worked here at Diaz,
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So, yeah, when it's live, there's nothing you can do about it.
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So with all that specificity, the word I can't say is still the night for some reason.
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You have reported on this story with alarming fesificity.
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Quote, U.S. intelligence has credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play
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a role in spreading the salacious Trump-Russia collusion narrative before the Bureau ever
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launched its controversial crossfire hurricane probe.
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Sources familiar with the intel told Fox News Digital.
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe is expected to declassify the underlying intelligence,
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including a classified annex related to former special counsel John Durham's investigation
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A source familiar with the contents of the classified annex told Fox News Digital
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that while it may not have been exactly clear in the moment what the intelligent collection meant,
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with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted the FBI's move with alarming specificity.
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Ultimately, the release of the classified annex will lend more credibility to the assertion
00:29:14.740
that there was a coordinated plan inside the U.S. government to help the Clinton campaign
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stir up controversy connecting Trump to Russia.
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The source, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence matters
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that have not yet been made public, told Fox News Digital.
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You put that in perspective, and I think it's fair to say at this point,
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and everything we were hearing during the back of the day on this,
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it was all just straight up government propaganda,
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It was driven by the Hillary Clinton campaign.
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And then they gave to the Obama administration to launder it.
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They laundered it through the Department of Justice.
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And it was the federal government attacking Donald Trump
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because they did not want Donald Trump to be president.
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And the degree to which the government was complicit in partisan politics,
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partisan politics that was false, that was a lie.
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It was concocted through the Hillary Clinton campaign.
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It was laundered through the FBI and the Department of Justice.
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And it was a lie that was a political attack job.
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And I want to commend John Ratcliffe, the head of the CIA,
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for drawing accountability and truth to what occurred.
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Because there's so many, I think, just gruntled and frustrated Americans
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we're now getting more and more confirmation that's happened.
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And I will say you have Tulsi Gabbard who released her bombshell information
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about the degree of the complicity of the administration.
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And if you didn't hear our podcast last week on this,
00:31:41.840
you should listen to the podcast on Tulsi Gabbard's bombshell information.
00:31:50.240
I also had, when I was having drinks with the Army Secretary,
00:31:52.600
I also had drinks with the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
00:31:58.880
follow the facts and prosecute anyone who is complicit.
00:32:02.700
There are challenges because some of the people who were involved in this,
00:32:07.020
their criminal conduct was before the statute of limitations expired.
00:32:11.020
And so it is harder to prosecute someone who committed criminal conduct
00:32:18.160
Andrew McCabe, who was the Deputy Director of the FBI,
00:32:20.780
he testified before Congress, he testified falsely,
00:32:24.400
and the statute of limitations has not yet expired on his testimony.
00:32:28.300
So if I were to predict the single most likely person
00:32:31.400
in the Obama administration to face prosecution,
00:32:36.100
because there's still a window where he lied to Congress
00:32:43.480
Don't forget to hit that subscribe or auto download button.
00:32:45.880
Share this podcast and please write us a five-star review.
00:32:48.620
It helps us reach more people out there on the charts.
00:32:51.260
And then, Senator, I will see you back here in a couple of days.