Verdict with Ted Cruz - Who Is Ray Epps？

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.500 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.340 Who is Ray Epps?

00:00:08.000 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:16.040 Verdict with Ted Cruz is sponsored by American Hartford Gold.

00:00:19.680 I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed everything is getting expensive.

00:00:23.440 We are in the biggest economic crisis since 2008

00:00:25.880 with a government that's printing trillions and trillions of dollars.

00:00:29.460 Consumer prices are the highest we've seen in 30 years.

00:00:32.080 Inflation is certainly here to stay.

00:00:34.120 And if the government continues its out-of-control printing and spending,

00:00:37.560 the dollar could continue its free fall

00:00:39.800 and lose its coveted role as the world reserve currency.

00:00:43.000 So how do you protect your money, your retirement, your savings?

00:00:46.760 Well, American Hartford Gold can show you

00:00:48.620 how to hedge your hard-earned savings against inflation

00:00:51.040 by helping you diversify a portion of your portfolio

00:00:53.700 into physical gold and silver.

00:00:55.860 They'll even help move your existing IRA or 401k

00:00:58.620 out of the volatile stock market into a precious metals IRA.

00:01:02.180 And they make it easy.

00:01:03.320 They are the highest-rated firm in the country

00:01:04.760 with an A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau

00:01:06.740 and thousands of satisfied clients.

00:01:08.900 And if you call them right now,

00:01:10.500 they will give you up to $1,500 of free silver

00:01:13.120 on your first qualifying order.

00:01:14.460 So don't wait.

00:01:15.780 Call them now.

00:01:16.800 Call 855-768-1883.

00:01:20.420 That's 855-768-1883.

00:01:24.060 Or text CACTUS to 65532.

00:01:27.340 Again, that's 855-768-1883.

00:01:31.020 Or text CACTUS to 65532.

00:01:34.600 Verdict with Ted Cruz is also sponsored by Stamps.com.

00:01:38.240 If you've got a small business,

00:01:39.960 you know there's nothing more valuable than your time.

00:01:42.240 So stop wasting it on trips to the post office.

00:01:45.480 Stamps.com makes it easy to mail and ship

00:01:47.460 right from your computer.

00:01:49.080 So save time and money with Stamps.com.

00:01:51.360 Send letters and packages for less

00:01:53.040 with discounted rates from USPS, UPS, and more.

00:01:56.820 Since 1998, Stamps.com has been an indispensable tool

00:02:00.160 for nearly 1 million businesses.

00:02:02.440 Stamps.com brings the services of the U.S. Postal Service

00:02:05.120 and UPS shipping right to your computer.

00:02:08.000 Whether you're an office sending invoices,

00:02:09.740 a side hustle Etsy shop, or a full-blown warehouse

00:02:13.140 shipping out orders, Stamps.com will make your life easier.

00:02:16.620 All you need is a computer and a standard printer.

00:02:18.540 No special supplies or equipment.

00:02:20.300 Within minutes, you're up and running,

00:02:22.080 printing official postage for any letter,

00:02:24.320 any package, anywhere you want to send.

00:02:26.740 And you'll get exclusive discounts on postage

00:02:29.160 and shipping from USPS and UPS.

00:02:31.620 Once your mail is ready, you just schedule a pickup

00:02:33.760 or drop it off.

00:02:34.900 No traffic, no lines.

00:02:36.260 Cut the confusion out of shipping.

00:02:38.440 With Stamps.com's new rate advisor tool,

00:02:40.660 you can compare shipping rates and timelines

00:02:42.420 to easily find the best option.

00:02:44.300 So save time and money with Stamps.com.

00:02:46.140 There's no risk.

00:02:47.240 And with our promo code, VERDICT,

00:02:49.120 you can get a special offer that includes

00:02:50.700 a four-week trial plus free postage and a digital scale.

00:02:54.060 No long-term commitments or contracts.

00:02:55.900 Just go to Stamps.com, click on the microphone

00:02:58.140 at the top of the homepage, and type in VERDICT.

00:03:01.100 Welcome back to Verdict for Ted Cruz.

00:03:02.880 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:03:04.460 And Senator, just a very simple question

00:03:07.760 with which you set the internet

00:03:11.500 and the Senate on fire today.

00:03:14.280 Who is Ray Epson?

00:03:15.800 Specifically, what was the FBI's involvement

00:03:20.260 in January 6th?

00:03:22.720 Well, look, I think it is a very good question.

00:03:24.780 And it's a question right now we don't have an answer to.

00:03:27.220 We have seen for the past year

00:03:29.120 the Biden Department of Justice,

00:03:30.640 the Biden-FBI stonewall, refused to answer questions,

00:03:34.720 refused to take any accountability.

00:03:37.580 And we've also seen, sadly,

00:03:39.180 the Biden Department of Justice be deeply politicized.

00:03:43.160 We've seen this attorney general use DOJ

00:03:45.940 as a weapon to go after President Biden's political enemies.

00:03:50.540 And Ray Epps was a fellow who was there

00:03:53.360 on January 5th, January 6th.

00:03:55.460 There are numerous videos of him on the Capitol,

00:03:59.540 on the Capitol grounds and leading up to the Capitol,

00:04:03.220 urging people to enter into the Capitol.

00:04:06.640 And in particular, there's one video

00:04:08.840 that is very curious,

00:04:11.760 where he's wearing a MAGA hat.

00:04:13.800 He certainly appears to be a Trump supporter.

00:04:15.920 And he's screaming to the crowd,

00:04:18.460 this is the day before January 6th,

00:04:20.860 this is January 5th.

00:04:21.900 He's saying we must go into the Capitol,

00:04:24.220 not just up to the Capitol.

00:04:25.880 We must go into the Capitol.

00:04:28.600 Let's take a look at it,

00:04:29.520 because the crowd's reaction is remarkable.

00:04:33.120 I'm going to put it out there.

00:04:34.480 I'm probably going to go to jail.

00:04:36.280 Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol.

00:04:40.280 Into the Capitol.

00:04:46.000 Peaceful.

00:04:46.800 Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed.

00:04:51.300 So, Michael, it's very curious behavior.

00:04:54.440 The crowd, as you see, begins chanting,

00:04:56.720 Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed.

00:04:59.200 And the next day on January 6th,

00:05:03.380 there are also photographs of this fellow, Mr. Epps,

00:05:07.400 talking to someone else, wearing a Trump hat,

00:05:10.000 whispering in his ear.

00:05:11.380 And then five seconds later,

00:05:13.420 and you can actually on the video see

00:05:14.680 that it's a total of five seconds,

00:05:16.580 the person he was talking to

00:05:17.980 is suddenly trying to tear down

00:05:19.480 the barricades to the Capitol.

00:05:20.740 And the obvious inference

00:05:23.920 is that Mr. Epps urged him

00:05:26.520 to try to tear down the barricades.

00:05:29.460 That's certainly what the fellow does

00:05:30.760 five seconds after listening

00:05:32.760 to whatever it is that Mr. Epps says.

00:05:35.120 Now, the FBI posted a public posting

00:05:38.900 with a picture of Mr. Epps

00:05:41.300 asking for help identifying this person.

00:05:44.540 Who is this person?

00:05:45.580 They identified him as someone

00:05:47.060 that they wanted to question

00:05:48.140 that presumably they potentially wanted to charge.

00:05:52.680 And then magically,

00:05:53.860 he disappeared from the FBI posting.

00:05:56.500 And when they put out the next list of pictures,

00:05:58.940 Mr. Epps was gone.

00:05:59.960 And I think a lot of folks are wanting to know

00:06:02.620 what I asked today

00:06:04.160 at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

00:06:05.840 I asked the FBI, senior official at the FBI,

00:06:09.740 if Mr. Epps was a Fed.

00:06:12.320 Was he a federal agent?

00:06:14.400 Was he a confidential informant?

00:06:16.960 Was he actively?

00:06:18.520 We saw that he was actively urging people

00:06:20.720 to commit criminal conduct.

00:06:21.760 But was he doing so at the behest of the FBI

00:06:25.460 and the Department of Justice?

00:06:27.320 And the FBI and DOJ refused to answer that.

00:06:31.240 Did any FBI agents or FBI informants

00:06:34.160 actively encourage and incite crimes of violence

00:06:38.160 on January 6th?

00:06:39.940 Sorry, I can't answer that.

00:06:41.780 Ms. Sadburn, who is Ray Epps?

00:06:49.420 I'm aware of the individual, sir.

00:06:51.640 I don't have the specific background to him.

00:06:55.180 Well, there are a lot of people

00:06:56.800 who are understandably very concerned about Mr. Epps.

00:06:59.240 I mean, these four words,

00:07:03.200 these are a completely valid question.

00:07:05.000 It doesn't matter which end of the political spectrum you're on.

00:07:07.140 This is a question that we all want to know the answer

00:07:08.860 because here's the thing.

00:07:10.000 This should be a very easy question for the FBI to answer.

00:07:13.440 If the FBI knows that Ray Epps is not a Fed,

00:07:17.060 then they should just deny it

00:07:18.240 to put an end to these questions.

00:07:20.160 I mean, those on the left try to paint this

00:07:21.660 as a conspiracy theory.

00:07:22.500 It's not.

00:07:22.900 It's a valid question

00:07:23.980 because the FBI has engaged

00:07:25.480 in this type of entrapment behavior before

00:07:27.980 with the Gretchen Whitmer plot, for example.

00:07:30.640 And so all the FBI has to say is,

00:07:31.900 no, he's not a Fed.

00:07:32.900 No, Feds do not engage

00:07:34.200 in any kind of entrapment behavior.

00:07:35.860 And yet the FBI is refusing to do so.

00:07:37.800 And listen to this.

00:07:38.620 This is the statement

00:07:39.480 from the January 6th committee.

00:07:41.280 They say, quote,

00:07:42.000 The committee has interviewed Epps.

00:07:44.460 Epps informed us that he was not working,

00:07:46.840 that he was not employed by,

00:07:48.120 working with,

00:07:48.800 or acting at the direction

00:07:49.960 of any law enforcement agency

00:07:51.300 on January 5th or 6th

00:07:52.740 or at any other time

00:07:53.900 and that he has never been an informant

00:07:55.380 for the FBI

00:07:55.900 or any other law enforcement agency.

00:07:57.700 This, this is the statement

00:08:00.360 from the January 6th committee.

00:08:01.440 And honestly, I laughed when I saw this

00:08:03.060 because Ray Epps,

00:08:04.000 them using Ray Epps's words,

00:08:05.980 his denial that he was a Fed

00:08:07.220 as I guess their insinuation

00:08:10.440 that he is not a Fed,

00:08:11.220 I thought to myself,

00:08:12.520 well, Ray Epps denying he's a Fed

00:08:13.800 is exactly what he would say

00:08:14.820 if he were a Fed.

00:08:17.160 It does, it does raise more questions

00:08:19.520 than I think it answers.

00:08:21.200 And we will have a lot of questions

00:08:22.480 from our wonderful subscribers,

00:08:24.840 our Verdict Plus subscribers

00:08:26.280 coming up in the mailbag

00:08:27.660 not too long from now.

00:08:28.760 Is that right?

00:08:29.540 That is correct.

00:08:30.200 And there are questions related to,

00:08:32.120 I mean, as you know,

00:08:32.960 this clip of your senator

00:08:34.200 went wildly viral on social media,

00:08:35.920 millions of views.

00:08:37.240 And a lot of people have questions

00:08:38.680 about how this can be investigated

00:08:40.380 and what kind of accountability

00:08:41.880 there would be

00:08:42.840 if these questions

00:08:43.720 are not answered correctly

00:08:44.800 or if they're answered

00:08:45.760 in the way that we think

00:08:46.780 they might be answered.

00:08:47.820 I'm going to go over there

00:08:48.600 and collect all of those.

00:08:49.680 We'll answer them

00:08:50.120 at the end of the show.

00:08:50.960 Anybody who wants to ask a question

00:08:52.420 can join us on Verdict Plus

00:08:54.160 at verdictwithtedcruz.com

00:08:56.040 slash plus.

00:08:57.100 And I'll see you in a few minutes.

00:08:59.060 Wonderful.

00:08:59.420 We'll see you in a second, Liz.

00:09:00.800 Senator, I want to get to

00:09:02.180 what Liz just brought up,

00:09:03.640 which is that the January 6th committee,

00:09:06.800 partisan though it may be,

00:09:08.460 is saying that Ray Epps

00:09:09.560 says he's not a Fed.

00:09:10.940 He's never been an informant.

00:09:13.100 So what do we make of that?

00:09:14.900 Well, it could be true.

00:09:16.560 It could be false.

00:09:17.460 The January 6th committee

00:09:19.100 is wildly partisan.

00:09:21.240 It is a kangaroo committee. 0.89

00:09:22.700 It is set up by Democrats

00:09:23.880 with an explicit purpose

00:09:25.320 to elect Democrats.

00:09:26.440 And it's going to be

00:09:28.220 a partisan show committee

00:09:29.640 from day one.

00:09:30.960 So I don't give a lot of credence

00:09:32.040 to their statements.

00:09:34.060 I don't know if Mr. Epps

00:09:36.220 is a Fed or not.

00:09:39.120 His behavior is odd.

00:09:40.780 It's weird when you watch

00:09:42.240 how he behaved,

00:09:43.060 how the crowd reacted to him

00:09:44.860 when they start chanting Fed.

00:09:46.720 That's fairly suspicious.

00:09:48.900 And look, it's important

00:09:49.960 to distinguish.

00:09:51.580 The FBI has federal agents

00:09:53.280 and they have federal agents

00:09:54.400 who go undercover.

00:09:55.360 That is a legitimate

00:09:56.420 law enforcement investigative technique

00:09:59.900 to go undercover in groups,

00:10:01.360 particularly if you anticipate

00:10:03.620 that criminal conduct may occur.

00:10:06.620 What the FBI can't do

00:10:08.980 and shouldn't do,

00:10:10.020 and it's improper for them to do,

00:10:11.780 is for them to instigate

00:10:14.160 criminal conduct.

00:10:15.160 So the FBI can't join

00:10:17.280 the Michael Knowles book club.

00:10:19.620 And while you're sitting there

00:10:20.900 reading some incredibly dry,

00:10:23.020 you know,

00:10:23.520 Latin book about

00:10:24.760 the medieval times,

00:10:27.320 say, hey,

00:10:27.960 let's go knock off a bank tomorrow.

00:10:29.760 Come on, Michael.

00:10:30.600 Are you man enough

00:10:31.660 to knock over a bank?

00:10:33.460 If the FBI agent

00:10:35.200 instigates the criminal activity,

00:10:37.500 if the FBI agents incite you

00:10:40.000 to commit criminal activity,

00:10:41.440 that's where they cross the line.

00:10:43.120 And the reason so many people

00:10:44.200 are concerned about Mr. Epps

00:10:45.960 is what we saw on the video.

00:10:48.520 He is urging people

00:10:50.200 to commit criminal activity

00:10:51.920 that ultimately a lot of people

00:10:53.880 have been or are being prosecuted for.

00:10:56.540 And so it was really stunning.

00:11:00.000 I asked the FBI

00:11:01.060 over and over and over again,

00:11:04.420 did FBI agents commit

00:11:06.200 acts of violence on January 6th?

00:11:08.960 The FBI refused to answer

00:11:10.260 that question,

00:11:11.000 whether or not FBI agents

00:11:13.480 committed acts of violence.

00:11:14.620 I asked, did they incentivize?

00:11:17.140 Did they incite?

00:11:18.640 Did they urge others

00:11:19.980 to commit acts of violence?

00:11:21.360 Again, the FBI refused to answer.

00:11:24.580 And look, I get

00:11:26.200 most law enforcement agencies,

00:11:27.840 if you ask them,

00:11:28.820 do you have an undercover officer?

00:11:30.160 Do you have an informant somewhere?

00:11:31.280 They're going to say,

00:11:31.740 I'm not going to tell you.

00:11:32.420 And that's fairly typical

00:11:34.900 law enforcement behavior.

00:11:37.160 This is unusual.

00:11:38.360 The level of public scrutiny,

00:11:41.020 there is a public accountability

00:11:42.940 that needs to occur

00:11:44.380 if the federal government

00:11:46.220 was actively encouraging

00:11:48.120 illegal conduct,

00:11:49.200 was actively encouraging violence.

00:11:51.660 That is incredibly concerning

00:11:54.240 because it is an abuse of power.

00:11:56.380 And look,

00:11:57.240 everyone views this

00:11:58.320 in the context

00:11:59.040 that we remember

00:12:00.240 the four years

00:12:01.440 of the Trump presidency.

00:12:02.380 We remember the FBI

00:12:03.680 and the intelligence community

00:12:04.780 and the Department of Justice

00:12:05.760 and the deep state

00:12:06.740 actively conspiring

00:12:08.720 against the president.

00:12:09.660 We remember the FBI

00:12:11.480 fraudulently altering

00:12:14.280 a document,

00:12:15.880 submitting it to a federal court,

00:12:17.640 creating counterfeit.

00:12:18.760 And by the way,

00:12:19.360 this is not me saying this.

00:12:20.720 This is the Department

00:12:21.560 of Justice Inspector General

00:12:23.100 that outlined how these

00:12:25.280 deep state operatives

00:12:27.840 were so passionately anti-Trump

00:12:30.240 that they broke the law.

00:12:32.220 And so it does raise the question,

00:12:34.440 did that happen on January 6th?

00:12:36.720 And the fact that the Biden

00:12:37.920 Department of Justice

00:12:39.460 refuses to answer

00:12:40.880 is deeply, deeply concerning.

00:12:44.360 And I got to say,

00:12:45.600 even for Democrats,

00:12:48.080 it ought to be concerning.

00:12:50.560 And I'm not going to out anybody,

00:12:52.200 but I will tell you,

00:12:52.900 I had a conversation

00:12:53.820 with a Democratic senator today

00:12:55.660 who saw the questioning

00:12:59.060 in judiciary.

00:13:00.660 And he said,

00:13:01.520 you know,

00:13:01.660 I got to tell you,

00:13:02.300 I'd never heard of this guy,

00:13:03.600 Ray Epps,

00:13:04.160 before that hearing.

00:13:06.040 That's really troubling.

00:13:08.180 And he said,

00:13:08.980 I'd like to know that answer.

00:13:10.120 Now, I'm not going to out

00:13:10.920 this senator because it,

00:13:13.080 frankly,

00:13:14.140 he or she would come

00:13:15.140 under a lot of heat

00:13:16.200 for saying that publicly

00:13:17.600 because the Democrats

00:13:18.360 don't let you buck their party.

00:13:21.120 But if anyone genuinely cares

00:13:23.460 about the integrity

00:13:24.360 of law enforcement,

00:13:25.940 you ought to be troubled

00:13:28.060 by law enforcement

00:13:31.040 entrapping people

00:13:33.160 incentivizing criminal conduct.

00:13:35.340 That's not what law enforcement

00:13:36.800 is supposed to be doing.

00:13:38.680 And I think the Biden DOJ

00:13:40.480 needs to have some real transparency

00:13:42.400 answering these questions.

00:13:44.020 But how are we going to get an answer?

00:13:45.420 Because you, I think,

00:13:47.180 brought this issue

00:13:48.100 and this man, Ray Epps,

00:13:49.920 to national attention today

00:13:51.320 in a way that he had not been before.

00:13:53.500 But the FBI just stonewalled you

00:13:55.260 and said,

00:13:55.560 well, we're not going to tell you.

00:13:56.460 Well, we're not going to tell you.

00:13:57.320 Well, I can't answer that.

00:13:58.320 And, you know, apologies,

00:14:00.780 but I don't exactly take the FBI

00:14:02.480 at their word,

00:14:03.600 especially these days.

00:14:05.160 So are we ever going to,

00:14:06.440 if a United States senator

00:14:07.700 in an open hearing

00:14:08.860 can't get an answer out of the FBI,

00:14:11.060 is that it?

00:14:11.500 We just have to believe them

00:14:12.580 because they say so?

00:14:14.120 Well, it doesn't have to be.

00:14:16.040 Look, Republicans are in the minority

00:14:17.740 right now in the Senate.

00:14:18.880 So I lack the ability

00:14:20.720 to subpoena anything.

00:14:22.440 It takes a majority of a committee

00:14:24.220 to subpoena something.

00:14:26.000 If you had even one Democrat

00:14:28.040 willing to break from the herd

00:14:29.520 and say,

00:14:30.060 let's get an answer to that,

00:14:31.600 that would be a step

00:14:32.460 in the right direction.

00:14:34.080 What needs to happen at this point,

00:14:36.360 the first step we can do

00:14:37.440 is shine a light.

00:14:38.300 What needs to happen

00:14:39.440 is we need reporters

00:14:41.520 actually to do their job.

00:14:43.220 We need reporters

00:14:44.020 to ask the attorney general,

00:14:45.500 who is Ray Epps?

00:14:46.240 Did you have confidential informants?

00:14:47.820 Did they incite violence?

00:14:49.300 What are the details?

00:14:50.300 You need reporters

00:14:51.720 to ask Democratic senators,

00:14:53.560 why don't you care?

00:14:54.440 Why aren't you asking this question?

00:14:57.400 Why are you allowing

00:15:00.100 the Department of Justice

00:15:01.100 to stonewall?

00:15:02.980 We need sufficient public uproar

00:15:05.840 that the Department of Justice

00:15:08.020 is forced to have some accountability.

00:15:11.840 It may take until a year from now.

00:15:15.060 A year from now,

00:15:16.000 I believe we will have at a minimum

00:15:17.780 a Republican House of Representatives.

00:15:19.780 We may and I hope

00:15:21.160 we'll have a Republican Senate 0.56

00:15:22.340 a year from now as well.

00:15:23.580 If that happens,

00:15:24.880 I very much hope

00:15:25.980 that we see a House

00:15:27.440 and or a House and Senate

00:15:28.940 willing to use the subpoena power

00:15:31.080 to get answers to this.

00:15:33.240 But absent that,

00:15:34.940 we've got to have

00:15:35.520 enough public attention

00:15:36.540 that the Democrats

00:15:37.960 are guilted or shamed

00:15:39.500 or feel enough heat

00:15:41.360 that they have to answer questions

00:15:43.480 and get to the truth.

00:15:44.860 I don't think that it makes

00:15:47.240 a lot of sense right now

00:15:48.260 to expect bipartisanship

00:15:49.840 because last I checked,

00:15:52.500 the Democrats are trying

00:15:53.880 to whip all the votes they can

00:15:55.160 to get rid of the filibuster,

00:15:57.260 to ram through the federalization

00:15:58.920 of elections.

00:16:00.720 You actually have come to be

00:16:02.740 the public enemy number one,

00:16:04.900 at least for the White House.

00:16:06.020 They're whipping votes against you

00:16:07.460 on this issue of Nord Stream 2

00:16:09.060 and Russia trying to build a pipeline.

00:16:11.120 So it does seem like the stakes

00:16:13.960 are very, very high right now.

00:16:15.680 And any Democrat

00:16:16.580 who bucks the party line

00:16:18.280 is going to be thrown

00:16:19.520 into the outer darkness.

00:16:20.980 Well, Michael, that's exactly right.

00:16:22.860 The Biden White House

00:16:23.960 is fighting me tooth and nail

00:16:26.040 on multiple fronts.

00:16:27.960 They're fighting me on January 6th.

00:16:29.680 They're fighting me

00:16:30.220 trying to cover up what happened.

00:16:31.560 They're fighting me on the filibuster

00:16:33.640 and their attempt

00:16:34.360 to federalize elections.

00:16:35.720 And they're fighting me,

00:16:37.140 ironically, in defense of Russia 0.59

00:16:39.160 and Nord Stream 2.

00:16:40.320 You know, if you look at January 6th,

00:16:42.400 the other half of the hearing

00:16:43.280 this morning is I asked

00:16:44.760 the Department of Justice.

00:16:45.880 I said, all right,

00:16:46.360 how many people have been charged

00:16:47.540 with crimes of violence?

00:16:48.920 If you assault a police officer,

00:16:51.120 if you physically assault

00:16:54.020 a police officer,

00:16:54.900 you should be prosecuted.

00:16:55.900 You should go to jail.

00:16:56.780 Nobody should be able

00:16:57.900 to violently assault a cop.

00:16:59.620 But I asked.

00:17:00.680 Especially if it's a fed

00:17:01.780 who's doing it.

00:17:03.480 How many people have been charged

00:17:05.080 with crimes of violence?

00:17:06.860 Department of Justice

00:17:07.580 refused to answer.

00:17:08.440 How many people have been charged

00:17:10.580 with nonviolent crimes?

00:17:12.080 They refused to answer.

00:17:13.680 I asked how many people

00:17:14.700 are currently incarcerated?

00:17:16.080 They refused to answer.

00:17:17.500 I asked of those people,

00:17:19.180 how many have been placed

00:17:20.200 in solitary confinement,

00:17:22.240 both violent and nonviolent?

00:17:24.060 They refused to answer.

00:17:25.240 And then I asked,

00:17:25.760 I said, all right,

00:17:26.380 let's look at a different instance

00:17:28.780 where we had violence

00:17:30.800 across the country,

00:17:31.680 which were Black Lives Matter

00:17:33.100 and Antifa riots

00:17:34.180 all over the country.

00:17:36.700 So on January 6th,

00:17:38.640 there were roughly 140 police officers

00:17:40.820 who reported assaults

00:17:42.780 on January 6th.

00:17:43.820 That is,

00:17:44.680 those cases involving violence

00:17:47.280 need to be investigated

00:17:48.480 and prosecuted.

00:17:50.040 In 2020,

00:17:52.200 Black Lives Matter

00:17:53.040 and Antifa riots

00:17:54.120 injured roughly 750

00:17:56.140 police officers nationwide.

00:17:59.220 750 cops.

00:18:00.840 I asked the Department of Justice,

00:18:02.820 those 750 cops

00:18:04.120 that were injured,

00:18:05.560 how many crimes of violence

00:18:06.880 have been charged?

00:18:08.260 I don't know the answer to that.

00:18:09.440 How many nonviolent crimes

00:18:10.760 have been charged?

00:18:11.580 I don't know the answer to that.

00:18:12.880 How do you explain

00:18:14.140 the differential,

00:18:16.880 the political partisan prosecution

00:18:19.200 that anybody,

00:18:21.240 you know,

00:18:21.480 a little old lady 0.52

00:18:22.380 who came to the mall

00:18:23.300 on January 6th

00:18:24.480 waving an American flag

00:18:25.960 and singing God bless America,

00:18:28.440 the Biden DOJ

00:18:29.580 is going to come down

00:18:30.580 on like a ton of bricks,

00:18:31.780 but some Antifa rioter

00:18:35.680 who's firebombing police cars,

00:18:37.880 they can't be bothered

00:18:39.120 to prosecute.

00:18:40.120 And the Biden DOJ

00:18:42.080 just stiff-armed,

00:18:43.860 did the Heisman,

00:18:45.220 said,

00:18:45.620 we're not answering anything,

00:18:46.900 we don't know.

00:18:48.120 There needs to be

00:18:48.820 accountability there.

00:18:51.180 On the filibuster,

00:18:53.780 Chuck Schumer

00:18:54.340 is trying to ram through

00:18:55.600 an exception to the filibuster

00:18:57.060 to federalize elections.

00:18:59.380 And in particular,

00:19:01.080 what he wants

00:19:02.060 is a bill

00:19:02.860 that would subject

00:19:03.880 any change in election laws

00:19:05.740 to what's called preclearance.

00:19:08.000 Preclearance

00:19:08.560 means the Department of Justice,

00:19:10.560 this same politicized

00:19:11.660 Department of Justice

00:19:12.420 that has no transparency,

00:19:13.980 that is behaving

00:19:14.780 in nakedly partisan ways.

00:19:16.620 He wants unelected bureaucrats

00:19:19.140 at the Biden Department of Justice

00:19:20.740 in charge

00:19:21.540 of every election in America.

00:19:23.100 And he wants them

00:19:24.440 to have the ability

00:19:25.260 to strike down laws

00:19:27.240 adopted by democratically

00:19:28.860 elected legislatures.

00:19:29.960 So I represent

00:19:31.180 the state of Texas.

00:19:32.220 There are 29 million Texans.

00:19:34.560 The people of the state of Texas

00:19:36.000 support voter ID,

00:19:38.280 support requiring

00:19:39.280 an identification

00:19:39.860 to go vote.

00:19:40.980 80% of Americans

00:19:42.180 support voter ID.

00:19:44.000 The vast majority

00:19:45.060 of African Americans

00:19:46.000 support voter ID.

00:19:47.680 Well,

00:19:48.420 the head of the Civil Rights

00:19:49.500 Division

00:19:49.880 at the Department of Justice

00:19:50.880 is a left-wing activist,

00:19:52.180 is one of the leading advocates

00:19:53.860 of abolishing the police

00:19:55.580 in the country.

00:19:56.700 She is a hard liberal partisan

00:19:58.520 and the Schumer Democrats

00:20:03.360 are saying

00:20:04.180 she should have the power 0.97

00:20:06.000 to trump,

00:20:07.320 to set aside,

00:20:08.400 to repeal laws

00:20:10.260 that 29 million Texans

00:20:12.440 through the democratic process

00:20:13.640 want adopted.

00:20:14.420 It is a brazen power grab

00:20:16.100 and I'm help leading the effort

00:20:17.900 to stop their destroying

00:20:20.100 the filibuster,

00:20:20.860 to stop their destroying

00:20:22.220 the integrity of elections,

00:20:23.420 to fight against voter fraud

00:20:25.440 because Biden and Schumer

00:20:27.140 and Pelosi have decided

00:20:28.260 voter fraud is good

00:20:29.180 for Democrats.

00:20:30.080 But the issue here,

00:20:31.540 of course,

00:20:31.960 is if we're getting back

00:20:33.700 actually to the issue

00:20:34.700 of Ray Epps

00:20:35.300 and the investigation

00:20:35.940 of the FBI,

00:20:37.000 we can't do anything

00:20:38.560 until we win more elections

00:20:40.800 and get a majority

00:20:41.460 in the Senate.

00:20:42.740 If the Democrats

00:20:43.800 grab this power,

00:20:45.220 it's going to be much,

00:20:46.440 much, much, much harder.

00:20:47.660 I think in a lot

00:20:48.140 of Democrats' minds,

00:20:48.840 they think it will give them

00:20:49.820 a permanent majority

00:20:51.480 because they're going

00:20:52.580 to be taking all the power

00:20:53.400 for running the election.

00:20:54.920 So how urgent

00:20:56.520 is this issue?

00:20:57.620 Am I just clutching my pearls

00:20:59.540 and waking up

00:21:00.080 in a cold sweat

00:21:00.720 for no reason?

00:21:02.000 Or is there a genuine threat here

00:21:03.880 that we're looking

00:21:04.820 at a generational

00:21:05.760 kind of power grab?

00:21:06.740 So listen,

00:21:07.340 there is a real threat here.

00:21:09.560 On the filibuster,

00:21:10.700 it all comes down

00:21:11.500 to Joe Manchin

00:21:12.340 and Kyrsten Sinema.

00:21:13.320 So far,

00:21:15.520 they have resisted

00:21:16.640 ending the filibuster.

00:21:19.280 What Schumer is trying

00:21:20.800 is to say,

00:21:21.360 well, let's just make

00:21:22.360 a limited,

00:21:23.380 narrow exception

00:21:24.200 for voting rights

00:21:25.360 because voting rights

00:21:26.980 are so important.

00:21:27.860 Now, mind you,

00:21:28.380 the bill he's pushing

00:21:29.720 actually undermines

00:21:31.620 voting rights.

00:21:32.340 It puts an unelected bureaucrat

00:21:34.060 with the ability

00:21:34.700 to throw out laws

00:21:35.840 adopted through voting rights,

00:21:37.980 through the democratic process.

00:21:39.600 So it's an anti-voting rights bill,

00:21:41.560 but their rhetoric,

00:21:43.360 they claim it's voting rights.

00:21:44.700 And listen,

00:21:46.160 I don't know

00:21:46.800 if the Democrats

00:21:47.380 are going to do it or not.

00:21:48.640 They're putting massive pressure

00:21:50.400 on Manchin and Sinema.

00:21:52.400 If they give into it,

00:21:54.640 it will have

00:21:56.240 a massive negative effect

00:21:58.500 on the integrity of elections.

00:21:59.780 It will be used

00:22:00.880 to undermine voter ID laws.

00:22:02.680 It will be used

00:22:03.260 to undermine laws

00:22:04.760 prohibiting ballot harvesting.

00:22:06.200 It will be used

00:22:07.000 to undermine

00:22:07.940 every reasonable

00:22:09.120 common sense law

00:22:10.220 that states have adopted

00:22:11.340 to try to protect

00:22:12.200 the integrity of elections.

00:22:13.220 So it is dangerous.

00:22:15.460 Democrats are doing it 0.56

00:22:16.720 nakedly as a power grab.

00:22:18.820 But the irony is

00:22:20.360 it's a power grab

00:22:22.320 on like multiple levels.

00:22:23.740 It's like an Escher painting

00:22:25.140 that it folds in itself

00:22:26.840 over and over again.

00:22:28.600 What they want to do

00:22:29.740 to elections

00:22:30.340 is a power grab.

00:22:31.540 The way they want to do it

00:22:33.140 is a power grab

00:22:34.360 because to eliminate

00:22:36.120 the filibuster,

00:22:37.020 they have to break

00:22:37.800 the Senate rules

00:22:38.740 in order to change

00:22:40.380 the Senate rules.

00:22:41.120 And, you know,

00:22:41.580 today I was part

00:22:43.200 of a press conference

00:22:44.560 with about a dozen

00:22:45.340 other Republican senators

00:22:47.380 where I and others

00:22:48.680 had great fun

00:22:49.620 reading from

00:22:51.060 a Chuck Schumer speech.

00:22:53.060 By the way,

00:22:53.800 those are words

00:22:54.380 that have never before

00:22:55.200 been uttered

00:22:55.700 in the English language.

00:22:56.620 Great fun reading

00:22:57.660 from a Chuck Schumer speech.

00:22:58.920 But it was in 2005

00:23:02.180 where he was railing

00:23:04.300 against some Republicans

00:23:05.680 that were talking

00:23:06.420 about ending

00:23:06.840 the filibuster then.

00:23:08.380 And he said

00:23:09.540 that if you break

00:23:10.740 the rules

00:23:11.420 to change the rules,

00:23:13.420 that it would turn

00:23:15.280 America into a,

00:23:17.040 quote, banana republic

00:23:19.400 and that it would be,

00:23:22.080 quote, doomsday

00:23:23.920 for democracy.

00:23:25.700 That is Charles Schumer

00:23:27.540 on what nuking

00:23:29.240 the filibuster

00:23:30.000 would mean.

00:23:31.520 And yet now

00:23:32.300 he's trying

00:23:33.000 banana republic

00:23:33.880 and doomsday

00:23:34.640 for democracy

00:23:35.400 to use the Schumer words.

00:23:37.720 Why?

00:23:38.860 Look, frankly,

00:23:39.480 the real reason is

00:23:40.280 Schumer's terrified

00:23:41.240 AOC is going to

00:23:42.240 primary him from the left.

00:23:43.460 And so he wants 0.94

00:23:44.200 to give the crazy left

00:23:45.900 everything they can

00:23:46.900 in order to show

00:23:48.280 just how tough he is.

00:23:50.200 This theory,

00:23:51.000 I've heard it

00:23:52.220 whispered before,

00:23:53.720 but this would explain it

00:23:55.220 because Chuck Schumer

00:23:56.840 is an institutionally

00:23:59.160 very savvy guy.

00:24:01.140 He's certainly not

00:24:01.840 the most radical

00:24:02.620 of the Democrats.

00:24:04.540 I can't believe,

00:24:05.420 you said for the first time

00:24:06.740 that you enjoyed

00:24:08.220 reading a Chuck Schumer

00:24:09.060 speech.

00:24:09.540 I'm saying for the first time

00:24:10.740 I agree with Chuck Schumer

00:24:12.160 on what would happen

00:24:12.820 if we repealed

00:24:13.380 the filibuster,

00:24:14.420 but there is

00:24:15.480 a legitimate threat

00:24:16.380 from the most talked

00:24:17.220 about politician

00:24:17.860 in New York

00:24:18.360 and that would be AOC.

00:24:19.220 Listen, I think he is

00:24:21.120 looking over his left

00:24:22.040 shoulder like crazy

00:24:23.500 and whatever she says,

00:24:26.200 if she says jump,

00:24:27.860 he says how high,

00:24:29.020 he's in the air

00:24:29.980 and doing backflips.

00:24:32.420 And by the way,

00:24:33.060 I got to say,

00:24:34.280 you know,

00:24:35.080 the image of Chuck Schumer

00:24:36.420 exerting himself

00:24:38.080 athletically

00:24:38.660 is really a frightening thought.

00:24:42.000 But it is almost

00:24:43.600 complete and total

00:24:44.640 that, you know,

00:24:46.060 when AOC went down

00:24:47.980 to party

00:24:48.540 over the holidays

00:24:49.780 in Miami,

00:24:50.900 I expected Schumer

00:24:52.100 to show up

00:24:52.840 in a Borat monokini

00:24:56.060 just, you know,

00:24:56.840 partying alongside her.

00:24:58.740 Thank you for putting

00:24:59.800 that image in my head,

00:25:01.100 Senator.

00:25:01.600 On that note,

00:25:02.360 should we bring

00:25:02.840 our friend Liz back

00:25:03.700 to hear from some

00:25:04.360 of our listeners

00:25:04.840 in the mailbag?

00:25:05.520 We should,

00:25:06.340 and Michael,

00:25:06.800 you will wake up tonight

00:25:08.180 in nightmares

00:25:10.380 with the image

00:25:11.680 of Chuck

00:25:12.520 and the Borat.

00:25:14.040 Yep,

00:25:14.380 it's already there.

00:25:15.420 Liz?

00:25:16.060 I just want to say

00:25:16.720 it's very mean

00:25:17.640 to bring me back

00:25:18.720 right at that reference

00:25:19.820 to put that in my mind

00:25:21.000 as you bring me back.

00:25:22.400 You both owe me for that.

00:25:24.220 You both owe me for that.

00:25:25.920 We have a lot

00:25:26.680 of good questions,

00:25:27.400 fortunately none

00:25:28.020 on that particular topic,

00:25:29.440 but we have a lot

00:25:29.980 of good questions.

00:25:30.540 Senator,

00:25:30.780 I want to combine

00:25:31.440 this question.

00:25:32.340 It's actually two questions,

00:25:33.340 one from Bill Smith

00:25:34.080 and one from Linda Brown.

00:25:35.900 Bill Smith says,

00:25:36.720 Senator Cruz also asked

00:25:37.720 the question,

00:25:38.120 where is Ray Epps?

00:25:39.300 Why doesn't Congress

00:25:40.680 subpoena him to appear?

00:25:42.360 And Linda Brown says,

00:25:43.400 what can be done

00:25:44.260 to find out

00:25:44.980 who Ray Epps is

00:25:46.200 and if the FBI

00:25:47.220 are in collusion

00:25:47.960 with the Democrats

00:25:48.560 to instigate these riots?

00:25:50.220 Well,

00:25:50.820 Congress certainly

00:25:52.320 could subpoena him.

00:25:53.680 An individual committee

00:25:54.940 could subpoena him,

00:25:55.840 but it takes a majority

00:25:56.760 on any committee.

00:25:57.760 And right now,

00:25:58.260 the Democrats

00:25:58.640 have the majority.

00:25:59.640 So it would take

00:26:00.740 Democrats being willing

00:26:02.520 to go along with it.

00:26:03.420 And right now,

00:26:04.320 they're not willing to.

00:26:06.420 If the January 6th committee

00:26:08.180 were anything

00:26:08.840 other than

00:26:09.360 a Democratic kangaroo court,

00:26:11.420 they would subpoena him

00:26:12.440 and bring him in

00:26:13.460 for public testimony,

00:26:14.260 but I'm not going

00:26:14.940 to hold my breath there

00:26:15.780 because that conflicts

00:26:17.220 with their narrative.

00:26:19.560 In the meantime,

00:26:20.980 you know,

00:26:21.180 there's information

00:26:21.920 about where he's from.

00:26:23.320 There's information

00:26:23.980 on the Internet.

00:26:24.760 People are speculating.

00:26:25.720 And I don't know this fellow.

00:26:26.560 It may be that he's not.

00:26:29.120 These are questions.

00:26:30.720 His behavior

00:26:31.520 is very curious.

00:26:33.800 And the fact

00:26:34.560 that the FBI

00:26:35.340 was unwilling

00:26:36.420 to deny it

00:26:39.020 raises serious questions.

00:26:40.720 But it would take

00:26:42.300 either coercive

00:26:44.320 legal force

00:26:44.980 through a subpoena,

00:26:45.840 which right now

00:26:46.440 the Democrats

00:26:46.960 have a monopoly on,

00:26:48.880 or it would take

00:26:50.000 sufficient public scrutiny

00:26:51.540 that the FBI

00:26:53.700 and Department of Justice

00:26:54.720 feels compelled

00:26:56.220 to actually answer

00:26:58.060 the questions.

00:26:58.840 Right now,

00:26:59.460 I think they believe

00:27:00.320 they are totally unaccountable,

00:27:01.920 that there is no,

00:27:03.600 there are no consequences

00:27:05.480 for their conduct.

00:27:09.020 And that's really

00:27:10.120 a dangerous dynamic.

00:27:12.860 Look, it's frankly

00:27:13.940 what we saw earlier this year

00:27:15.460 when Merrick Garland

00:27:17.400 directed the FBI

00:27:18.520 to go after

00:27:19.520 and target parents

00:27:22.280 at school boards

00:27:23.180 as domestic terrorists.

00:27:24.180 It's the same thing.

00:27:25.240 It's abusing

00:27:26.700 the political process

00:27:28.160 for partisan ends.

00:27:30.200 And that's really dangerous.

00:27:32.140 Yeah, I mean,

00:27:32.860 I think that's correct.

00:27:33.640 Obviously,

00:27:33.980 the Democrats are partisan

00:27:34.920 and they're certainly

00:27:35.920 going to be unwilling

00:27:36.640 to vote in favor

00:27:38.520 of subpoenaing Ray Epps.

00:27:40.140 The question is

00:27:40.720 if the Republicans

00:27:41.560 gain control

00:27:42.320 of the House of Representatives

00:27:43.500 at the end of the year,

00:27:44.900 which I think most people

00:27:46.020 are expecting

00:27:46.580 that Republicans will.

00:27:47.780 I don't want to jinx it,

00:27:48.620 but history shows

00:27:49.700 that that's very likely

00:27:50.560 and so does the condition

00:27:51.480 of the country.

00:27:52.500 Do you think Republicans

00:27:53.340 could possibly subpoena him

00:27:54.740 at that point

00:27:55.360 if the question

00:27:56.560 has not been answered by then?

00:27:57.780 Yeah, I think

00:27:58.160 the House of Representatives,

00:27:59.160 we take the House,

00:27:59.980 the House could absolutely do it.

00:28:01.240 If we take the Senate,

00:28:02.060 the Senate could do it also.

00:28:03.700 Now, I think there's

00:28:04.480 a very real chance

00:28:05.640 that potentially Mr. Epps

00:28:08.200 might fight the subpoena.

00:28:09.700 He might plead the fifth.

00:28:10.820 I don't know

00:28:11.100 what he would do

00:28:11.700 if Republicans

00:28:14.300 in the House or Senate

00:28:15.180 tried to subpoena

00:28:16.400 the Department of Justice

00:28:17.400 or the FBI.

00:28:18.640 They would almost certainly

00:28:20.100 fight it in Stonewall.

00:28:21.740 And I think the pattern

00:28:23.620 we can expect

00:28:24.540 is similar to the pattern

00:28:27.080 we saw in the Obama

00:28:28.140 Justice Department.

00:28:29.100 The Obama Justice Department

00:28:30.340 was heavily politicized.

00:28:31.940 And we ended up

00:28:33.480 ultimately seeing Eric Holder,

00:28:35.100 the attorney general,

00:28:35.980 held in contempt of Congress

00:28:37.220 because he defied

00:28:39.560 congressional subpoenas.

00:28:40.820 So just winning a majority

00:28:42.760 wouldn't necessarily

00:28:43.760 cause the FBI

00:28:44.840 or the Department of Justice

00:28:45.860 to answer the question.

00:28:47.800 But I think

00:28:48.460 if we had a majority today,

00:28:50.740 I would be prepared

00:28:51.720 to issue a subpoena today

00:28:53.380 if it were up to me.

00:28:54.260 And I would certainly

00:28:54.780 vote for that.

00:28:55.780 We'd need to get

00:28:56.640 a majority willing to do so.

00:28:58.460 Yeah, I think the American people

00:28:59.580 certainly call for it.

00:29:00.740 And his behavior,

00:29:02.100 if he were to face that,

00:29:03.380 hypothetically,

00:29:03.920 it would be very telling

00:29:04.840 depending on what

00:29:05.720 his behavior is.

00:29:06.980 OK, the next question

00:29:07.740 I think is for Michael.

00:29:09.380 This is directed to

00:29:10.600 just the senator's co-host

00:29:12.860 with the question,

00:29:14.700 why aren't you willing?

00:29:15.860 And like I said,

00:29:16.540 I assume this is Michael.

00:29:17.220 Why aren't you willing

00:29:17.840 to have Madison Cawthorn

00:29:19.580 on your show on MSNBC?

00:29:21.520 Michael, I think this person

00:29:23.260 thinks you're Rachel Maddow.

00:29:25.220 You know, I was waiting

00:29:26.760 for the punchline on that.

00:29:28.540 And it's a good question,

00:29:30.520 actually, because Rachel Maddow

00:29:32.340 has said or her producers

00:29:33.880 said in an email

00:29:34.700 that they didn't want

00:29:35.660 to ask Madison Cawthorn,

00:29:37.240 the Republican congressman

00:29:38.140 for comment

00:29:38.580 because he might come

00:29:39.340 on the show.

00:29:40.220 I would criticize Rachel,

00:29:43.340 but we doppelgangers

00:29:44.940 have to stick together.

00:29:46.220 And so I'm not going

00:29:47.300 to be throwing any stones

00:29:48.220 at my MSNBC counterpart.

00:29:50.460 OK, that's a very political

00:29:52.080 answer to that, Michael.

00:29:53.500 Well, that's all right.

00:29:54.240 I made that question up anyway

00:29:55.260 because I thought it was funny.

00:29:56.120 Senator, here's a real question

00:29:57.760 for you.

00:29:58.300 This is from Real Truth Cactus,

00:29:59.660 who has some of the best questions.

00:30:01.880 She says, why have we seen

00:30:03.060 the left suddenly switch

00:30:04.340 the COVID messaging

00:30:05.160 from inflated statistics

00:30:06.580 and fear mongering

00:30:07.520 to accurate COVID information

00:30:09.580 that would have gotten

00:30:10.560 you banned from Twitter

00:30:11.640 a year ago?

00:30:13.140 Yeah, because they're 1.00

00:30:14.120 brazen hypocrites 1.00

00:30:15.080 and they realize 1.00

00:30:16.760 that their policies

00:30:18.180 are very unpopular.

00:30:20.340 People don't want

00:30:21.600 small businesses

00:30:22.280 shut down again.

00:30:23.300 People don't want

00:30:24.260 their schools shut down again.

00:30:25.740 Children, literally millions

00:30:28.080 of children are being hurt 0.97

00:30:29.480 by these ridiculous policies. 0.95

00:30:31.500 And people are tired 0.97

00:30:33.220 of the brazen mask mandates.

00:30:35.340 You know, today we had

00:30:36.660 a press conference

00:30:37.660 in the Senate

00:30:38.160 and there were about

00:30:40.160 a dozen Republican senators

00:30:41.420 there and all the reporters

00:30:42.640 were there.

00:30:43.180 And a reporter from PBS

00:30:44.240 asked me a question.

00:30:46.400 She said,

00:30:46.880 all of we reporters

00:30:48.660 are wearing masks.

00:30:50.480 None of you senators

00:30:51.600 are wearing masks.

00:30:52.600 What's wrong with you?

00:30:53.440 Why aren't you wearing masks?

00:30:55.820 And I laughed at her

00:30:57.060 and I said,

00:30:57.440 because people are tired 0.98

00:30:58.500 of the ridiculous 0.94

00:30:59.460 double standards. 0.97

00:31:01.120 We've seen,

00:31:02.000 we've seen Biden say

00:31:03.260 no vaccine mandates

00:31:04.600 and then suddenly

00:31:05.280 vaccine mandates

00:31:06.180 for everyone.

00:31:06.820 We've seen Biden say

00:31:08.280 if you're vaccinated,

00:31:09.180 you don't got to wear a mask

00:31:10.200 and then suddenly

00:31:10.840 everyone's got to wear a mask.

00:31:12.400 We've seen Fauci say

00:31:13.580 masks don't work

00:31:14.840 and then suddenly

00:31:15.420 you need two, three, four masks

00:31:16.900 and then, well,

00:31:17.840 I'm going to lie

00:31:18.300 to the American people

00:31:18.980 about masks

00:31:19.540 because I don't think

00:31:20.200 they can handle it.

00:31:20.860 We've seen the flip-flops

00:31:22.720 back and forth

00:31:23.480 and I told her,

00:31:24.240 I said, look,

00:31:25.360 you're a reporter.

00:31:26.440 If you want to wear a mask,

00:31:28.080 you can wear a mask 1.00

00:31:29.200 for the rest of your damn life. 1.00

00:31:31.380 I don't care. 1.00

00:31:33.520 But some of us

00:31:34.700 actually believe in freedom

00:31:35.900 and are not going to wear a mask

00:31:37.560 for the rest of our lives.

00:31:38.600 But then I turned to her, Liz,

00:31:39.600 and I said, you know what?

00:31:41.400 How come you reporters

00:31:42.480 never ask Joe Biden

00:31:43.620 when he's standing 1.00

00:31:44.420 at the damn podium 1.00

00:31:45.680 in the White House, 1.00

00:31:46.960 he's not wearing a mask.

00:31:48.760 How come you never asked Joe Biden,

00:31:50.780 where's your mask?

00:31:51.740 How come Jen Psaki, 1.00

00:31:53.060 the White House press secretary,

00:31:54.200 when she's standing

00:31:55.040 at the podium,

00:31:56.080 no mask,

00:31:57.420 we don't see reporters say,

00:31:59.160 Ms. Psaki,

00:31:59.800 why aren't you wearing a mask?

00:32:00.960 Because you guys 1.00

00:32:01.540 are a bunch of partisan hypocrites. 1.00

00:32:04.440 She didn't like that answer. 1.00

00:32:07.180 No, I bet she didn't.

00:32:08.540 I personally would like

00:32:09.880 if the press

00:32:10.720 would question Biden

00:32:12.080 about not just

00:32:12.860 why he doesn't wear a mask

00:32:13.940 at the podium,

00:32:14.480 but why he does wear a mask

00:32:16.000 on the beach

00:32:17.060 by himself outdoors

00:32:18.400 when he's walking his dog

00:32:19.520 because that one,

00:32:20.420 that one will blow your mind,

00:32:21.600 I tell you.

00:32:21.980 That one's the craziest.

00:32:23.800 Okay, the next question

00:32:24.580 is from a new,

00:32:26.360 a new Verdict Plus

00:32:27.700 community member,

00:32:28.800 Padre Boston.

00:32:29.720 I happen to know

00:32:30.160 that this is a Catholic priest

00:32:31.180 in Boston.

00:32:32.020 Padre Boston says,

00:32:33.120 Senator,

00:32:33.720 can Dr. Fauci

00:32:34.720 be forced out

00:32:35.760 by a Republican-dominated Congress?

00:32:38.600 That's actually

00:32:39.360 a good question.

00:32:40.340 By a Congress

00:32:41.120 is tough

00:32:42.340 because the executive power

00:32:45.460 has the power

00:32:46.220 of hiring and firing.

00:32:48.300 So Fauci,

00:32:49.440 as far as I know,

00:32:50.400 is not currently

00:32:51.140 in a Senate-confirmed position,

00:32:52.700 so he doesn't require

00:32:54.120 Senate confirmation.

00:32:57.380 I assume,

00:32:58.540 I haven't studied this,

00:32:59.700 but I assume

00:33:00.560 the secretary

00:33:01.200 of HHS

00:33:02.620 could fire Fauci

00:33:03.820 or the president

00:33:06.740 could direct

00:33:07.340 that he be fired.

00:33:08.680 Congress could put

00:33:09.440 a lot of heat

00:33:10.140 on the administration.

00:33:11.440 Congress could,

00:33:12.620 I suppose,

00:33:13.720 theoretically try

00:33:15.280 to attach

00:33:15.880 something like

00:33:16.500 an appropriation rider

00:33:17.720 to legislation.

00:33:18.560 I've never seen

00:33:19.600 that targeting

00:33:20.940 a particular individual

00:33:22.220 that would almost

00:33:22.820 surely be challenged

00:33:23.920 in litigation

00:33:24.940 if you tried.

00:33:26.760 So the principal thing

00:33:28.460 Congress could do

00:33:29.440 is shine a light

00:33:30.320 on Fauci's

00:33:31.760 repeated contradictions

00:33:33.660 on his abuse of power, 0.60

00:33:35.220 on his hypocrisy,

00:33:36.480 and on what appears 0.75

00:33:39.020 on the face of it

00:33:39.820 to be his committing

00:33:41.040 of a federal crime,

00:33:42.160 lying to Congress

00:33:43.420 about whether

00:33:45.260 the federal government

00:33:46.220 funded gain-of-function

00:33:47.440 research at the

00:33:48.940 Wuhan Institute

00:33:49.720 of Virology.

00:33:50.740 And that's a,

00:33:51.900 lying to Congress

00:33:52.720 is a federal crime,

00:33:53.780 a felony punishable

00:33:54.720 by up to five years

00:33:55.760 in prison.

00:33:56.900 I've asked about that.

00:33:58.220 I've shined the light

00:33:58.920 on that.

00:33:59.680 I've pressed on that.

00:34:00.700 But the problem is,

00:34:01.700 look, under our Constitution,

00:34:03.320 we've got three branches

00:34:04.340 of government,

00:34:04.980 legislative,

00:34:05.580 executive,

00:34:06.080 judicial.

00:34:07.040 Only the executive

00:34:08.080 can prosecute Fauci

00:34:09.500 for lying to Congress.

00:34:10.980 And at least right now,

00:34:12.680 the Biden, DOJ,

00:34:14.100 they ain't gonna do it.

00:34:15.340 Forget about the law.

00:34:17.320 Politics trumps everything,

00:34:18.960 sadly,

00:34:19.260 with this administration.

00:34:20.480 And that's part of the problem

00:34:21.540 with the administrative state

00:34:22.800 is Congress should have

00:34:24.460 more power than they have,

00:34:26.080 but they legislated away.

00:34:27.240 They legislated away

00:34:28.040 using vague wording

00:34:30.760 in pieces of legislation

00:34:32.300 that just defers

00:34:33.300 this rulemaking

00:34:34.020 to these agencies.

00:34:35.200 And these bureaucrats 0.84

00:34:35.860 are unaccountable

00:34:36.820 to the American people.

00:34:37.900 They are in positions

00:34:38.700 that it's difficult

00:34:39.300 to fire them.

00:34:39.900 This is one of the problems,

00:34:41.180 one of the many problems

00:34:41.940 with the administrative state.

00:34:43.780 Senator,

00:34:44.260 this is a fun question.

00:34:46.180 This is a question

00:34:46.920 that reminds me

00:34:47.640 of what one of the audience members

00:34:49.180 at Texas A&M

00:34:50.140 asked you

00:34:50.820 about your home state of Texas.

00:34:52.820 This person's username

00:34:53.580 is SSNYH.

00:34:55.480 He asks,

00:34:56.300 would Ted be willing

00:34:57.240 to moderate

00:34:57.860 a Texas governor's debate

00:34:59.420 before the primary?

00:35:03.080 That's an awfully good question.

00:35:04.800 It's a lively question.

00:35:06.080 You know,

00:35:06.400 I probably shouldn't do that.

00:35:08.520 I'm friends

00:35:09.360 with all the people

00:35:10.140 running for governor.

00:35:11.600 Greg Abbott

00:35:12.520 has been a good friend.

00:35:14.000 He was my boss

00:35:14.740 five and a half years.

00:35:17.640 There's enough contentious dispute.

00:35:20.020 I'm supporting Abbott

00:35:21.100 because he has been

00:35:21.940 a close friend

00:35:23.840 and supporter

00:35:24.500 for decades.

00:35:26.100 So you probably

00:35:27.040 shouldn't have

00:35:27.880 a moderator

00:35:28.700 who's taken a position

00:35:29.860 in a race.

00:35:30.660 Senator,

00:35:31.180 Senator,

00:35:31.680 that has never stopped

00:35:32.740 a moderator before.

00:35:34.460 Obvious and overt bias

00:35:36.060 in personal relationship.

00:35:37.020 I think that's just

00:35:37.920 the par for the course

00:35:39.060 at this point.

00:35:40.040 So actually,

00:35:40.620 Michael,

00:35:40.980 remind me,

00:35:42.240 when Chris Wallace

00:35:43.360 moderated the debate

00:35:44.520 between Trump and Biden,

00:35:46.300 was Wallace actually

00:35:47.400 wearing a Biden t-shirt

00:35:48.720 with a giant foam finger

00:35:50.180 that said number one?

00:35:51.300 I'm pretty sure

00:35:52.060 he was like wearing

00:35:53.160 the same shirt

00:35:53.980 we see on illegal aliens

00:35:55.260 crossing the border now

00:35:56.600 and, you know,

00:35:58.260 with a giant foam cowboy hat,

00:36:00.860 you know,

00:36:01.240 Biden's cheerleader.

00:36:04.160 Yeah,

00:36:04.400 I mean,

00:36:04.640 you're thinking of

00:36:05.320 Candy Crowley,

00:36:06.180 surely,

00:36:06.600 or someone from CNN

00:36:08.000 who's giving questions

00:36:09.180 to Hillary Clinton.

00:36:10.320 Let's not get confused here.

00:36:11.700 I personally don't believe

00:36:12.800 that there is someone

00:36:13.860 who isn't biased.

00:36:14.860 Anybody who follows politics

00:36:15.860 has an opinion

00:36:16.460 and I don't think

00:36:17.340 there's anything wrong

00:36:18.000 with that.

00:36:18.400 I think,

00:36:18.940 in fact,

00:36:19.360 sometimes owning up to bias

00:36:20.640 makes it more fair

00:36:21.940 because then your audience

00:36:22.720 can control for your bias.

00:36:23.880 But I thought

00:36:24.520 that was a fun question.

00:36:25.420 So Liz,

00:36:25.820 I was going to jump in

00:36:26.700 on the question

00:36:27.280 of debate bias

00:36:28.140 real briefly.

00:36:29.120 One change

00:36:29.960 I've actually suggested

00:36:31.200 in how presidential debates happen.

00:36:33.360 is two stage.

00:36:35.580 Number one,

00:36:36.360 Republican primary debates

00:36:37.700 in the presidency

00:36:38.420 should only be moderated

00:36:40.680 by people

00:36:41.280 who intend to vote

00:36:42.540 in a Republican primary.

00:36:44.660 So if you're

00:36:45.840 a lefty journalist,

00:36:46.640 if you want

00:36:47.480 every Republican to lose,

00:36:48.760 you shouldn't be

00:36:49.320 a moderator.

00:36:50.280 Every primary,

00:36:51.480 a condition for it

00:36:52.360 to be a moderator

00:36:53.080 is you have to say,

00:36:54.020 I'm going to vote

00:36:54.940 in the Republican primary.

00:36:56.080 I'm making this choice

00:36:57.160 as well.

00:36:58.340 Secondly,

00:36:59.260 in the general election,

00:37:00.860 obviously that's not

00:37:01.660 an option

00:37:02.020 when you have a Democrat

00:37:02.740 and a Republican.

00:37:04.240 You know,

00:37:04.460 Liz,

00:37:04.720 what you just said

00:37:05.580 about everyone's biased,

00:37:06.760 rather than pretend

00:37:07.700 they're not,

00:37:09.120 I would open it

00:37:10.660 and I would have

00:37:11.680 one left-wing moderator

00:37:13.720 and one right-wing moderator.

00:37:15.680 So I,

00:37:16.040 you know,

00:37:16.300 I would have,

00:37:17.860 you know,

00:37:20.300 Chris Hayes

00:37:21.380 and Mark Levin,

00:37:23.380 I'd have Rachel Maddow

00:37:26.400 and Michael Knowles.

00:37:27.600 They could be separated

00:37:28.840 at birth

00:37:29.420 and just have them

00:37:31.120 own it completely.

00:37:33.380 They'd have to wear name tags

00:37:34.660 to differentiate.

00:37:36.140 Michael,

00:37:36.680 do you have the glasses

00:37:37.560 like her?

00:37:38.140 You've got the haircut,

00:37:39.020 but do you have the like

00:37:39.840 big dark black glasses?

00:37:41.820 I'm not joking.

00:37:43.320 Ben Shapiro told me

00:37:44.700 I couldn't wear

00:37:45.500 my glasses anymore

00:37:46.520 because I looked

00:37:47.900 too much like

00:37:48.900 a certain MSNBC host.

00:37:50.580 That is not a joke

00:37:51.800 and so everything

00:37:53.080 is just blurry

00:37:53.840 lest I be confused.

00:37:55.940 That's okay.

00:37:56.620 If you get this hosting role,

00:37:57.860 we'll give you name tags

00:37:58.660 to differentiate yourself

00:37:59.640 from her.

00:38:00.720 On that note,

00:38:01.500 anybody who wants

00:38:02.240 to spark one of these

00:38:03.140 lively discussions

00:38:03.840 and ask a question

00:38:04.680 to Senator Cruz,

00:38:06.540 Michael Knowles,

00:38:07.080 or to me,

00:38:07.960 can do so

00:38:08.500 at verdictwithtedcruise.com

00:38:10.020 slash plus.

00:38:11.020 Join us over

00:38:11.600 on the Verdict Plus community.

00:38:12.820 It's a lively bunch

00:38:13.640 over there

00:38:14.080 and you get access

00:38:14.940 to ask questions.

00:38:15.840 Also,

00:38:16.240 don't forget

00:38:17.000 if you want

00:38:17.660 a cactus hat,

00:38:19.240 if you want

00:38:19.780 a Verdict t-shirt,

00:38:20.820 if you want

00:38:21.140 a sticker

00:38:21.600 for the back

00:38:21.980 of your laptop,

00:38:22.980 visit our merch shop

00:38:24.140 at verdictwithtedcruise.com

00:38:25.760 slash shop.

00:38:26.640 We have some sweet

00:38:27.260 merch over there

00:38:28.060 that I like.

00:38:29.200 I think you'll like.

00:38:30.080 Michael likes.

00:38:30.760 The senator likes.

00:38:31.280 We all like it.

00:38:32.260 Michael,

00:38:32.600 on that note,

00:38:33.000 I'm going to hand it

00:38:33.420 back to you.

00:38:34.000 Wonderful, Liz.

00:38:34.700 Thank you very much.

00:38:35.620 I am not Ray Epps.

00:38:37.740 I am not a Fed.

00:38:39.780 I am Michael Knowles.

00:38:40.940 This is Verdict

00:38:41.760 with Ted Cruz.

00:38:42.500 We will see you

00:38:43.160 next time.

00:38:43.720 By the way,

00:38:53.160 don't forget

00:38:53.640 our tremendous

00:38:54.400 giveaway

00:38:55.120 in honor

00:38:55.880 of the two-year

00:38:57.140 anniversary

00:38:57.740 of Verdict.

00:38:58.760 If we reach

00:38:59.820 15,000 members

00:39:01.560 on Verdict Plus

00:39:03.300 by January 21st,

00:39:04.820 January 21st

00:39:05.580 being,

00:39:06.080 of course,

00:39:06.480 the anniversary,

00:39:07.240 the inaugural episode

00:39:08.480 of Verdict

00:39:09.220 with Ted Cruz,

00:39:09.780 then we will bring

00:39:10.280 one Verdict Plus

00:39:11.840 member to a live

00:39:13.620 taping of Verdict.

00:39:14.320 Now,

00:39:14.500 you don't have

00:39:14.800 to pay anything.

00:39:15.540 This is an unpaid.

00:39:17.020 All you have to do

00:39:17.880 is join the Verdict Plus

00:39:18.940 community at

00:39:19.520 Verdict with TedCruise.com

00:39:20.780 slash plus.

00:39:21.720 If we reach 15,000

00:39:23.120 members by January 21st,

00:39:24.860 maybe you will be

00:39:25.560 invited to a live

00:39:26.820 taping of Verdict.

00:39:28.420 Also,

00:39:29.140 on YouTube,

00:39:30.080 we will be selecting

00:39:30.840 15 random people

00:39:32.140 who leave comments

00:39:33.000 on episode 100.

00:39:34.640 That's episode 100

00:39:35.700 on YouTube.

00:39:36.660 15 random people

00:39:37.520 we will be selecting

00:39:38.580 to get a box

00:39:39.360 of Verdict merch

00:39:40.600 from the Verdict

00:39:41.300 merch store.

00:39:42.160 We're talking about

00:39:42.860 sweet cactus hats.

00:39:44.180 We're talking about

00:39:44.620 T-shirts.

00:39:45.160 We're talking about

00:39:45.620 stickers.

00:39:46.580 Really cool stuff.

00:39:47.520 You could be one

00:39:48.000 of the 15 lucky people.

00:39:49.040 Head on over

00:39:49.560 to our YouTube channel

00:39:51.060 and leave comments.

00:39:52.420 15 of you are going

00:39:53.340 to get a box

00:39:53.840 of Verdict merch.

00:39:55.940 And perhaps the most fun,

00:39:57.860 this isn't exactly

00:39:58.600 a giveaway,

00:39:59.240 but it's even better.

00:40:00.140 If we get to 50,000

00:40:01.680 reviews on Apple Podcasts,

00:40:03.180 that means that you go over,

00:40:04.360 you subscribe to the show,

00:40:05.600 Verdict with Ted Cruz,

00:40:06.540 you leave us

00:40:07.180 a five-star rating,

00:40:08.100 you give us a glowing,

00:40:09.220 obviously great,

00:40:10.100 review over there.

00:40:11.380 If we get to 50,000 reviews,

00:40:12.820 then we're going to do

00:40:13.540 a poll to see exactly

00:40:15.140 what Michael and Senator Cruz

00:40:17.280 are going to do in 2022.

00:40:18.760 These are the options.

00:40:19.540 And by the way,

00:40:20.440 shout out to Real Truth Cactus

00:40:21.760 for this idea.

00:40:22.600 These are the options.

00:40:23.520 Either the senator

00:40:24.140 wears a Braves jersey

00:40:25.560 for a whole episode.

00:40:27.820 That's option number one.

00:40:28.640 Option number two,

00:40:29.440 Michael and the senator

00:40:30.440 arm wrestle.

00:40:31.660 I'm very biased,

00:40:32.460 but this one's my favorite.

00:40:33.740 Option number three,

00:40:34.500 the cactus makes

00:40:35.200 a guest appearance

00:40:36.020 on our show.

00:40:37.060 Or option number four,

00:40:37.840 Michael roasts Princeton

00:40:38.960 and the senator roasts Yale

00:40:40.340 in a throwdown episode.

00:40:42.580 50,000 reviews

00:40:44.300 on Apple Podcasts,

00:40:45.620 and this,

00:40:46.920 you will be in control

00:40:47.680 of one of the episodes

00:40:48.460 in 2022.

00:40:49.480 Head on over to Apple,

00:40:50.220 subscribe,

00:40:50.660 give us a great review,

00:40:52.000 and those are our giveaways

00:40:53.200 for the two-year anniversary

00:40:54.960 of Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:40:56.020 This episode of Verdict

00:40:57.840 with Ted Cruz

00:40:58.680 is being brought to you

00:40:59.780 by Jobs Freedom

00:41:00.780 and Security Pack,

00:41:02.120 a political action committee

00:41:03.520 dedicated to supporting

00:41:04.700 conservative causes,

00:41:06.120 organizations,

00:41:06.980 and candidates

00:41:07.640 across the country.

00:41:09.000 In 2022,

00:41:10.240 Jobs Freedom

00:41:10.860 and Security Pack

00:41:11.880 plans to donate

00:41:12.720 to conservative candidates

00:41:14.040 running for Congress

00:41:15.020 and help the Republican Party

00:41:16.740 across the nation.

00:41:18.820 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:41:21.100 Guaranteed Human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 18, 2022

Who Is Ray Epps？

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript