← Bulwark Takes
Loading summary
Transcript120 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie do it Gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow $267 million gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travie McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com everybody.
- [00:30]
B
Games.
- [00:30]
C
This is Bayard Winthrop, founder of American Giant. I started this company because I was fed up with cheap clothes that didn't last and companies that shipped manufacturing overseas.
- [00:41]
B
We believed we could still make incredible
- [00:43]
C
clothing right here in the US With American cotton and American workers earning real wages. That's what we stand for, making clothes that actually last. Get 20% off your first order when you use code giant20@american-giant.com all right, everybody, it's me, Sam Stein managing out of the Bulwark. I'm here with Sonny Bunch and we are currently watching the Mark Wayne Mullen confirmation hearings to be the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security takeover for Kristi Noem. I don't know what happens with Corey Lee Windowski in this exchange. He is in front of the Homeland Security Committee in the Senate. And Sonny, I don't know about you. I came in expecting not too many fireworks. Figured he would have a sort of friendly crowd. And by and large, he has, I would say, except among one particular person, the chairman of the committee, Republican Senator Rand Paul. Now, before we play you the clip that we're going to talk about, a little background, I suppose is in order here. How many years ago was it that Rand Paul was attacked by his neighbor?
- [01:52]
B
Oh, that's it. Must have been what now? 12, 15, 13? I should have looked this up before we started. It's been a while.
- [01:59]
C
We don't prepare for these things. Yeah. Rand Paul was attacked by a neighbor, a deranged neighbor. Rand Paul was out doing yard work. He had noise canceling, headphones on. The neighbor just absolutely tackled him. Broke ribs.
- [02:10]
B
Six ribs.
- [02:11]
C
Like six ribs.
- [02:12]
B
Really hurt him.
- [02:13]
C
Really, really hurt him as an assault. Rand Paul has talked about this. He said that some of the ribs, the recovery was almost hard to breathe, in fact, painful to breathe. That he developed cases of pneumonia because of this. It was, it was traumatic. Anyways, flash forward to somewhat recently where Mark Wynn Mullen, senator from Oklahoma, I guess they're talking about, like going after corruption or welfare or something like that. And Rand Paul just didn't say something that was particularly on the party line. And Mark Wynn Mullen said something akin to, now I understand why your neighbor did it. And that presaged this. So here we are, this morning's hearing where Rand Paul, the chairman of this committee, that Markway Mullen has to get through in order to get a vote on the Senate floor, opens the hearing with Mark Wayne Mullen, and it just gets dramatic. Let's play the clip, please.
- [03:06]
D
Senator Mullen, if you have time to listen. You were confronted by constituents that were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs. Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was a freaking snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force.
- [03:55]
C
Okay, so that was testy. And it got worse from there. So Mark Wayne Mullen didn't apologize. He basically said, well, you know, I forget. He's just sort of, like, unapologetic about it. He's like, yeah. He was like, you. You go off.
- [04:11]
B
I meant what I said.
- [04:12]
C
Yeah. So what did you make of that? I mean, it was very, like, shocking to me.
- [04:16]
B
It's interesting because, as you said, Sam, I was expecting pretty straightforward Republican, a Republican senator. Like, not. It's not like he's just some random Republican. He's a colleague. He's, you know, he's a guy who they deal with a lot and should be pretty friendly with. And Rand Paul just comes out and says, you don't have the temperament for this job. But because you said I deserved to be hospitalized, and my ears kind of perk up at that. It's like, wait, what's happening here? The wildest part of this is that Mark Wayne Mullen simply refused to just be like, my bad. I was speaking in haste. It was testy. We were. You know, there was a lot of. It's a high pressure situation. It's the United States Senate. We're trying to pass laws. We're trying to know, keep the country safe. And instead, he's just like, n. I meant it. I. I meant. I meant what I said.
- [05:08]
C
Well, yeah, and it's like, it was kind of crazy to me. Let's just keep playing it because it goes on from there. There's a second clip where ran just. That wasn't the end of it. That was just 40 second. 40 or 6 seconds of it. Here's another part of it he just keeps going.
- [05:21]
D
Called why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind. Have six ribs broken and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you're at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border patrol agents. Explain to the American public how a man who has no regrets about brawling in a Senate committee can set a proper example for over 250,000 men and women who work at the Department of Homeland Security.
- [05:54]
C
And it keeps going from here. Let's play the next part, and then you can jump in after this where. So this is the. This clip we're about to play is Rand comes back to it because again, Mark Wood Mullen does not apologize. He basically says, you know, I. Stan, you know, I don't. I didn't call you a liar. In fact, at one point, he says, I didn't say you should be assaulted. He says, I understood why you were assaulted. Like, the distinction is very minimal. But here's here. Here's Rand going back to it a third time.
- [06:23]
D
No apology today and no regrets. Haven't heard the word apologize. Haven't heard the word regret. Haven't heard. I misspoke and it was heated, and I made a mistake.
- [06:35]
E
Those words, sir, actually, it wasn't heated, and I'm not apologizing for pointing at your.
- [06:40]
D
Good, good. So you're. You're jolly well fine, and you want the American public and the people up here to vote that may or may not vote for you to know that you supported the felonious, violent attack on me from behind.
- [06:52]
E
I did not say I supported it. I said I understood it.
- [06:59]
B
I. It's. It's. I. I sent a gif to the slack of Tom Haverford from Parks and Rec laughing because that is how I felt watching this. And it was wild. It was wild to watch the. The. The extent to which he simply refuses to, like, try to grease the skids of this nomination by just being like, ah, it's my. You know, my bad. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't mean it. He clearly did mean it. And I, you know, look, we're joking about this, and we're laughing, and it is funny. I'm sorry. This is a this is objectively a very funny thing. But the. But the truth of the matter is that Rand Paul's totally right, that this is an agency that has been beset by accusations of undue force being used. This is. They are, you know, people are getting shot, people are getting killed. He is being asked to come in and take over an agency that is in disarray, that is not behaving in a way that is fit for American civil liberties, civil rights. And he's just saying sometimes violence is good. And Rand Paul kind of alluded to this. I think we have a clip of this. But Mark Wayne Mullen tried to fight a guy in the Senate at a Senate hearing, Sean o'.
- [08:07]
C
Brien. Not just any guy. Sean o'. Brien.
- [08:09]
B
Yeah, Sean o'. Brien. I was head of the Teamsters Union. This is. This is. This is not a. This is not a man who has, I think, great self control, at least in this sort of showboaty, faux masculine way.
- [08:26]
C
Yeah, I just pick up on that. I want to pick up on that because, you know, there's people will say, and maybe there's some truth to it, that, you know, Rand's objections to Mark Win Mullen are personal and rightfully so. Right. Like, the guy did say, you know, he understood why Rand got absolutely pummeled. I would certainly take that personal. But I do think there's something more to it, which Rand's own top aide, guy named Doug Stafford, tweeted about, which is that this is. Here it is. So Doug is responding to John Thune dismissing this as just personal stuff. This is an agency that is beset by an immense amount of criticism for roughing up Americans, for. For taking it too far, for believing that violence is the proper approach to immigration enforcement, and for, frankly, murdering two Americans. And I think it matters to have someone with proper temperament atop the agency. And I think that's a very valid point that Rand was making. Now, it happens to be that he's making it from a personal perspective, but it absolutely is valid. I don't see how it can't be valid. And I can't fathom why Mark Wayne Mullen, on the doorstep to confirmation, couldn't just be like, I got a little. Oh, I got a little heated in the moment. I regret that. I just don't understand it. Why wouldn't he do that?
- [09:50]
B
It shows a remarkable inability to think one of two things. It either shows a remarkable inability to think on his feet, which is probably not a thing you want in a guy who's running.
- [09:59]
C
So you think Rand Sprung this on him. There's no forewarning.
- [10:03]
B
Oh, I think it's pretty clear that Rand sprung this on him. I, like, I don't think that. Well, maybe, maybe not. On the other hand, maybe it's just he actually believes this, and that is maybe worse. I honestly, it's. Which, Sam, do you think is worse? Do you think it's worse if he meant it, that he wanted. That he understood why Rand Paul got hospitalized? Or is it worse that he just couldn't think on his feet and be like, ah, you know what? This is my bad.
- [10:30]
C
I, I don't know. I think it's probably worse if he meant it, if he was like, yeah, I don't. I stand by what I'm saying. Because that's just like, at that point, it's just being dickish. Right. And an inability to sort of apologize or just recognize that that is dickish is a character assessment that I don't particularly find admirable. Now, let's play the other side of it. If it was sprung on him and he couldn't say, ah, shoot, I need to, like, sort of get, get out of this one and think on my feet and probably should just, you know, say, rand, I'm sorry I said that. And, you know, you know, I, I, I would value our relationship. And I, of course, abhor the idea that someone would just commit random wanton acts of violence on lawmakers. If you can't think of that, then you're not particularly, like, the, the brightest bulb. And in fact, I, I will say this. There is a clip where Mark Wayne Mullen does admit that he is not the brightest bulb. So we might as well just play that, because this could be sort of the defining characteristic. Hey, he's like, I'm not a sharp dude. I just say what I mean. And so let's play this one.
- [11:32]
E
Senator Noem's family and I consider them friends, but everybody has different leadership styles. And throughout my businesses, when I would have to transfer one manager to the next or one executive to another area, and I'd bring in a different one, they all have different management styles. My management style is empowering people. And as I said in my opening statement, I want to protect the homeland, I want to bring peace of mind, and I want to bring confidence back to the agency. I'm not going to be the smartest guy in any room I walk into, but I know how to get talent.
- [12:04]
C
I mean, I'm not the smartest guy either, but I wouldn't say that in my confirmation here.
- [12:10]
B
It's a very funny way to phrase that, too. Like, I'm not going to be the smartest guy in any room I walk into. Any room I walk into, I'm going to be mid tier at best, you know, so I would, I would think at some rooms I walk into, I'm the smartest guy. Room full of, you know, kids. I don't know, I'm probably smarter than them.
- [12:26]
C
Gym class. I would hope to be the smartest guy.
- [12:29]
B
And look, I think, and I think you can make an argument that pure intelligence is overrated as a, you know, you need to be an administrator, a bureaucrat. You need to be able to. He has not shown the ability to do that either. Like, he's not. This is, this is, this hearing has really. It's fascinating, too, because as we were discussing this, you know, before the show, but it did feel kind of like the Democrats were just like, this guy, he's okay, whatever. We're not going to, we're not going to fight too hard on him. He's getting so much more pushback from the GOP on this that I, I, it, he has to be in some, some minor trouble here.
- [13:05]
C
Just, yeah.
- [13:05]
B
Going forward.
- [13:06]
C
I'll summarize. Let's quickly summarize how the hearing has proceeded outside of the, the Rand Paul theatrics. So basically, you know, as, as expected, other than Rand, most of the Republican, all the Republicans are supportive of this, and they're using their, the time during this hearing to go after the Democrats for the shutdown, the current shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, making note of just all the agencies that are unfunded. All the employees, including the TSA employees, shout out to the people waiting in these airport lines who are going and working without pay. The Democrats were the more interesting part because this is a real opportunity to kind of come in on some of the more egregious and controversial DHS policies and practices under Christine. And they've done that to a degree. But to your point, what's been really, what's really stood out is how little they're or how unaggressively they are going after Marco Mullen. I mean, some of them are clearly like the guy. Federman is among them. Even Ruma Gallego, who, who is, you know, positioning himself as maybe a 20, 28 candidate. You know, they, they had a cordial exchange. They pressed him on some stuff, and much of the stuff they pressed him on were okay. You know, you said, you know, for instance, that Alex Preddy was deranged or you, you know, agreed with Christian Ohm that Renee Goode was engaged in acts of terrorism. Like, how do you feel about that? They asked him about, you know, monitoring polling locations and whether HHS would be hhs, DHS would be part of that. They talked about judicial warrants and whether they would use those. But it wasn't the type of stuff you would see normally with respect to a Trump, current Trump cabinet member. Like if this was Pam Bondi or if it was Kristi Noem, it would have been much more aggressive. And I have theories about it. But I'm curious for your theories.
- [14:55]
B
Well, I. Look, I think the, the. What was interesting is he did seem to back away from some of the things I think, you know, when talking about Peretti, he said, I, you know,
- [15:06]
C
let's play the pretty one.
- [15:07]
B
I spoke.
- [15:08]
C
Yeah, let's play it. Play the pretty one. We can talk about.
- [15:10]
E
Shot and killed two American citizens this past January. You joined top administrative officials in publicly blaming and disparaging the victims following the killing of Renee Good. Secretary Noem called her a domestic terrorist. You, sir, you called Alex Preddy, quote, a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage. Could we expect those kinds of quick responses? If you are confirmed as secretary, would
- [15:40]
B
you be basically what you.
- [15:42]
E
You did, you responded as Secretary Noem. Are we gonna just expect that same behavior all over again? No, Senator, I have a deep amount of respect for you. We've had our differences, but I do respect you. I think I said this privately when we had a conversation. Those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that. And Secretary, I wouldn't. The investigation is ongoing and there is, like I said, there's. Sometimes they're gonna make mistake and I own it. That one. I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That's my fault. That won't happen as secretary. So you regret that statement? I already said that. Yes, sir. Would you want to apologize to the family of Alex Preddy? Well, sir, I just said I regret those statements.
- [16:24]
A
Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I'm inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie Do It Gaming team take on Gilly The King Wallow 267's million dollars gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. So four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com everybody
- [16:53]
F
games when you've got Omaha Steaks convenient everyday protein waiting at home. That what's for dinner Panic turns into your weeknight win. And now's the time to buy. During the Omaha Steak Spring Savings event, save big on their exclusive lineup of mouthwatering steaks, gourmet burgers, air chilled chicken, pork, seafood and more. Go to OmahaSteaks.com for an extra $35 off when you use promo code audio at checkout. That's omahasteaks.com promo code audio terms apply C Site for details.
- [17:26]
B
It's, it's one thing that jumps out here that we had mentioned a little bit before. Do you, do we think Rand Paul sprung that question on him at the beginning? I, I think we do because, look, here is a situation where Peters and Mullen clearly talked about this and he had time to formulate an answer, and he was like, I regret speaking so quickly. I shouldn't have done it. You know, he doesn't, he doesn't say the word I apologize, whatever we can get into. You know, he should, he should apologize because it's terrible thing to say. But the, but you know, it's clear, like he had time to sit there and think about it and come up with a better answer and did not. With Rand Paul, he just kind of was like, whatever, you, you got it.
- [18:05]
C
Yeah, you got it.
- [18:06]
F
Anyway.
- [18:07]
B
But, but, but to your point, I do think, I think the Democrats just see him as not the somebody who they can possibly work with in the sense of, like, he's not the brightest bulb, not, not the sharpest tool. And, you know, you can, you can sometimes get away with things with a guy like that. Maybe. I don't know.
- [18:29]
C
Well, it's like, okay, look at it from this perspective, okay? The Cabinet members, and this is just, it makes obvious sense when you say it out loud, but it's, I think it's worth pointing it out. The Cabinet members who Democrats have been more aligned with or favorable towards were the ones they worked with, right? Marco Rubio. There is sort of consensus early on during his confirmation that he was a sensible choice. Mike Walls was considered a sensible choice. These are sitting members of Congress. The people who Democrats have not really jived with were the ones who came from outside of Washington. Kristi Noem, she had been a member, but she had been in South Dakota for a while. Pam Bondi obviously had been in Florida. Cash Patel, no one, really, everyone was just dumbfounded by the appointment. Pete Hegseth had no, no relations whatsoever. There is a sense. And you can read in the contemporaneous reporting around Markway Mullen that he an affable guy minus his relationship with Rand Paul. But you know, Sean o', Brien, who you're mentioning, the Teamsters guy. If people saw in the video we played of of Mark Wayne answering Rand Paul, Shawn Barnes, that bald bowling ballheaded dude right behind him, like, they clearly patch things up and they like each other. Now, I sense just from observing this and having talked to Dems throughout many years now that they look at this and they say, okay, here's a guy. At least we can call in a pinch. If, for instance, DHS is doing something totally insane like sending agents to polling locations, we at least can get Mark Wayne on the phone and say, don't do this. Whereas Christine, um, that was never going to happen. Ever going to happen. Now, last thing, he is making some slight concessions. Ish. I think the Preddy thing was notable. I will say on the Rene Good stuff. He absolutely did not say he regretted saying it was an act of domestic terrorism. In fact, he said the investigation is ongoing. I think Maggie Hassan or some other Democrat was like, they aren't investigating.
- [20:28]
B
There is no investigation.
- [20:29]
C
There is no investigation. I don't know what you're talking about, but let's play the judicial warrants thing because I think it's worth noting the substantive stuff that he has said. This is with Richard Blumenthal, another member of the committee. He's talking about the use of judicial warrants when ICE is involved in detaining suspected lelands. Let's play that.
- [20:50]
B
If confirmed, will you commit to me and the chair and member, ranking member of this committee and the American people that ICE will no longer instruct agents to break into people's homes without a judicial warrant?
- [21:06]
E
Sir, you're using the word break into people's houses very loosely. However, I have made it very clear to the staff, and I think when you and I spoke, that a judicial warrants will be used to go into houses and a place of businesses unless we're pursuing someone that enters in that place. I have. I have not mixed words with that and I haven't changed my opinion about that.
- [21:28]
B
A whistleblower testified to our hearing that in fact, ICE agents have been instructed as part of their training to forcibly enter. I know you don't like the word break in, but forcibly enter is breaking into somebody's home, bashing down the door, terrorizing children instructed them to adopt this policy. Will you commit that? No longer will ICE agents or CBP Agents be instructed to forcibly enter people's homes without a judicial warrant.
- [22:03]
E
Sir, I already answered this question for you. I said we will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial warrant unless we're pursuing the individual that runs into a place of business or a resident or a house.
- [22:14]
C
Okay, let me just pick up quickly and then kick it to you. So it's remarkable that we consider this concession because it's like baseline shit. Right? Get a judicial warrant. But this is where we're at. Right. So the other yesterday. The context here is that yesterday, in order to break through this logjam on DHS funding, the White House offered concessions to members of Congress about what kind of reforms they would put in place. Some of them were actual concessions, I suppose, like more body cams, retaining the body cam footage, making sure that ICE doesn't wear masks in all occasions. But then some of them were just sort of like, wait a second, that's not a concession, such as a promise not to deport US Citizens, which they can't do, but apparently they have been doing. So anyways, that being the backdrop, I will say I think Mullins gave them this, or at least knew to give them this, because one, ISIS positions are untenable. But two, Democrats need to hear this if they're going to be comfortable.
- [23:16]
B
Yeah. And look, you're right. It's insane that we have to say, oh, well, this is a concession that they'll get a warrant. It's not in the Constitution or anything. That's not a thing that, you know. Yeah.
- [23:26]
E
Is.
- [23:27]
B
We're going to get a warrant. We're going to. We're going to. We're going to arrest people the right way. That's great. I'm glad about that. That's the. Not deporting American citizens also. Very nice to hear. It's a good, Good thing. Good thing to hear. Look, I. The problem is at this point, there are only so many cards Democrats can play.
- [23:46]
C
Yeah.
- [23:47]
B
And whoever. If, let's say Mullen goes down, I don't know who they would replace him with. That would be better. That would be.
- [23:54]
C
Right.
- [23:55]
B
You know, like, that's. There's. Who's the alternative here? Like, so, you know, if. As long as the real question is, can we believe any of this? Like, how much of this is what. How much of this would be Mullen's policies anyway? Like, none. You know, it's. It's all coming from the White House. It's coming from the White House. It's coming from Stephen Miller. You know, like he's, these are, these are not people who are super interested in niceties or reducing the amount of, you know, on the ground, terror that is being inflicted on some of these communities. But the, but you know, he's saying, he's saying the right things. Good for him, I guess. What's the alternative?
- [24:34]
C
No, it's such a good point. Like who else would you get in there, right? I mean, you're not going to get, I mean I can't even think of someone Trump would nominate that would be palatable. But it's like funny to remember, but like John Kelly was Trump's first DHS secretary, he ended up being not on Trump's good side. As for the politics of this, because you referenced it, it's probably worth just talking through this for a second. So the vote on his nomination is supposed to happen tomorrow through the committee. This is just through the committee. Once it gets through the committee, if it gets to the committee, goes to the floor. Here's how it works. Republicans have a one vote majority in this committee. Let's say Rand decides, you know what, I'm not going to vote for the guy who won't apologize for me getting absolutely pummeled by my neighbor. At that point, you would think there's a tie vote and it won't get through committee. However, there's two ways forward. One is a Democrat on the committee can vote for the nomination, in which case he would get through the committee. And there is a Democrat on the committee who has hinted he would vote for him and that's John Fetterman. The second way is that you can just take it out of the committee and bring it to the floor. But at that point it requires 60 votes for passage. So that would probably doom the nomination. All things being equal, it looks like Fetterman will probably vote for. Mollie's being a little bit cagey about it now. And so we'll see in terms of saying the right things. The other thing you said, you know, saying the right things for the right audiences. There was another moment where he said the right thing for the key audience, which is Donald Trump. He was asked about the 2020 elections. Asked about because one, he's was part of the effort to question the validity of the 2020 elections. But two is because DHS, at least according to this administration, may have a role in monitoring election sites in 2028. Anyways, he was asked about the 2020 elections and he gave the classically evasive now answer for not saying that he believes they were legit. Elections, but not also hinting that he still believes in the big lie. So let's play it.
- [26:38]
A
Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We Do It Gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow $267 million gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now at globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com everybody games warning the following zip
- [27:09]
C
recruiter radio spot you are about to hear is going to be filled with
- [27:13]
F
F words when you're hiring. We at ZipRecruiter know you can feel frustrated, forlorn, even, like your efforts are futile and you can spend a fortune trying to find fabulous people only to get flooded with candidates who are just fine. Fortunately, ZipRecruiter figured out how to fix all that and right now you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com Zip with ZipRecruiter you can forget your frustrations because we find the right people for your roles fast, which is our absolute favorite F word. In fact, four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day.
- [27:50]
B
Fantastic.
- [27:52]
F
So whether you need to hire four, 40 or 400 people, get ready to meet first rate talent. Just go to ZipRecruiter.com Zip to try ZipRecruiter for free. Don't forget that ZipRecruiter.com Zip finally, that ZipRecruiter.com zip you have your own history. You did not certify the 2020 election. There are people at the Department of Homeland Security, three people specifically, who are well known election deniers now running election security functions. Who won the 2020 election?
- [28:27]
E
Ma', am, we know that President Joe Biden was sworn into office. He was a president for the last four years. But I do believe my job.
- [28:37]
C
What do you make of that line? It's all they use.
- [28:41]
B
It's a bigger, bigger red flag for me than anything else is this, this you know, we know who, we know who was the president for the last four years. Like if you can't say Joe Biden won the election, I really puts me up to here. Like I can't, I can't abide by that sort of thing. It is so evasive, wormy. It drives, it drives me crazy. It drives me crazier than any of the immigration stuff or the discussion of the bizarre discussion about the secret mission went on.
- [29:12]
C
We're going to get to that. That's our closing.
- [29:14]
B
But. But, like, the election stuff is pretty straightforward. Like, if you. If you are kind of dancing around a straightforward acknowledgment that Joe Biden won the presidency, that he was rightfully elected, that there were no. There was nothing. Election fraud in the. In the amount that would overturn the election, then you are on a. At a very basic level, and I. You are. You are not doing your job. You are not doing your job, and you're not to be trusted in a position where you will be. Be required to monitor this sort of thing.
- [29:49]
C
Well, he did say he wasn't never the smartest guy in any room. So it's possible that this is just. No, he's. Obviously, they can't say it because that would mean the end for Trump's support of them. It's nuts. I'm with you. I find it disqualifying. It's because it's also sort of
- [30:09]
E
what
- [30:09]
C
it does is it erodes trust in our foundational democracy. It's basically saying, I'm operating in a faulty fake system where, you know, we had four years of a phony president, and it's like, just get over it and man up, basically, in terms that Mullen would understand. So, yeah, I'm with you. I find it really obnoxious and it's sad that he couldn't do it. All right, you alluded to it. This was the weirdest part. I mean, it wasn't maybe tied for the weirdest part with the first part. I'm gonna set this up because if you don't have the context here, it's. It might not be. Yeah, it might be hard to follow. There's a Post, a Washington Post piece this morning that got it. People can go and find it if they want to. But basically, throughout his career, Mark Wayne Mullen has sort of hinted that he's been tangentially involved in some sort of overseas quasi military or mission operations. And he doesn't ever reveal details. He did end up in Afghanistan trying to help people get out of the country, I believe around the time that we were evacuating it. He's talked about how the smell of war really is grotesque and. But he's never actually served. His background is that he took over his dad's plumbing business successfully, but he's never been a service member. People have been calling it like kind of quasi stolen valor at least trying to hint that you were involved in these things but you actually weren't. So this was brought up early in the hearing by the Democratic ranking member Senator Peters and he was Mark when Mullen was really evasive about it said he couldn't talk about it, sort of like super secret stuff and like it dropped. But then they brought it back up Rand Paul and Senator Peters and they just had this insane exchange where it was really weird and cryptic. We're going to play you almost a three minute long clip. All right. But it's worth it and you can take your popcorn out or you know whatever but just enjoy this and we'll try to dissect it on the other side.
- [32:15]
D
I think it would be easy and I'm still willing to have the vote tomorrow. But I can cancel the vote tomorrow. I'm still willing to have the vote, get this done and get it over with. But I think that just to make clear and it doesn't sound like it's a secret you're too concerned about divulging. If you would to spend an hour and go to the skiff or 30 minutes and just tell both the ranking member and the other and it would be private and it won't be revealed. I think it would get this over with and we wouldn't have a complaint about going ahead of the vote tomorrow.
- [32:45]
E
I have no issue with that if you guys get cleared on it because I way my understanding was is there's only four people read in it and it was a special program inside the House. Just like I wasn't on intel at the time. I'm not saying I was but I have no issue with that at all. I welcome being being brought up. It's very unique and it was that
- [33:04]
D
would be on you not going to try to figure out who the four people are and whether we can be of approval to it. And I don't if you're doing something that important really it probably ought to be revealed and discussed.
- [33:16]
E
Sir. Senator, I don't or Chairman, it's not on me to. I don't have the authority to do that. This is and this is why I said I was very care. Very clear sorry that I never talked specific dates or, or, or locations on this. And so I have, I have zero issue with talking about it. But do it this afternoon. I don't have clearance to talk about this this afternoon. I don't. It's not me to release.
- [33:46]
C
This is a legislative program.
- [33:47]
D
This is a program that Congress assigned You to.
- [33:50]
E
Yes. This was within my official duties. Who assigned it to you, sir? That's not for me to talk to you about on this. I'm sorry. This is a classified. This isn't a classified. I'm sorry, I don't. I'm not trying to be ugly. You know how classified situations. Which classified.
- [34:05]
D
Which agency classified was.
- [34:08]
E
It wasn't an agency. It was. It was done here. Well, in the House on the time the House classified it, I'm assuming. I don't. I wasn't on. I wasn't on intel.
- [34:20]
D
We're just not really aware of House. How the House class.
- [34:23]
E
I have. I have no idea. I know every time we spoke about this, we had to go to the sky if. And visit about it. I know there was a. There was a paper that I had to sign before it even started. And I may be wrong. There may be more than four, but I know there was only. It was only me and three other people that ever discussed so secret that
- [34:41]
D
we can't know about it. I would think that there'd be some paperwork in the skiff that they should show us saying, this is so top secret. And this was made.
- [34:48]
E
I have no problem. You're welcome to go to the House. This started in 2015. It ended in mid 20, a little late in 2016. I have. I have nothing to hide on this. This is too easy. I would really enjoy sitting there and have a conversation with you because I don't want you to have a question or question my character on this. So that's. That's very simple for me. But I can't make that authorization. Do you guys know that?
- [35:12]
C
I mean, what do you. I don't even know what to say.
- [35:15]
B
Well, I. It's. It's so bizarre because we don't have any context here for. For any of it. It's just like you went on a secret mission. He's like, yes. And he's like. And then they're like, but the House classified it. Yes. They can't do that. I don't know. And it's really interesting too, because I almost imagine somebody pulling a prank on him because again, he's not the brightest guy in any room he walks into. They're just like, look at this paper. It's secret. We gotta talk about it down in the skiff. Then they hop on their bat poles and slide down to the fake skiff and their Reddit. But it's one of these things where I have no idea really what Peters and Paul are getting at. They seem to Think there's something here that hurts him. But since we don't have any context for any of it, it's just like, what are you guys talking about? Just go, you know, just go talk us out.
- [36:02]
C
Yeah, sort of. It's so weird. I can't recall ever seeing something quite like that at a confirmation hearing. It's. It's possibly just totally benign. Right. It's like he went to Afghanistan with some committee, but because they were, like, working with, I don't know, CIA agents or people on the ground there, and they were doing sensitive work, like they classified it and that's that. But, like, why can't they just say let's.
- [36:27]
B
I mean, he doesn't have the authority to say, Sam. He doesn't have. He can't. He can't do it. He's gonna go to. He's gonna go to prison if he talks about it in this hearing.
- [36:38]
C
Yeah, exactly. This goes to. How rushed, though? I mean, I guess. I guess if there is something to take from this. This is an incredibly rushed nomination. I mean, this is only weeks in the making. They're. This is the only hearing. They're supposed to vote on this tomorrow. The paperwork, I have to imagine barely any of it got done. I mean, I think people are just sort of relieved that Christine is getting out. But this is not typical. I would guess that this is not typically how quickly these things usually get done. And in a normal situation, I think the ranking member and the chairman would have been like, hey, before we go into this hearing, let's talk in the skiff about what these trips were, because we want to ask you about it. And all this would have been handled in advance, but this is what happens when you don't do that homework again.
- [37:24]
B
It's just such. It's such a weird thing because I can't imagine any trip he would have been on in the House would be disqualifying for this role. Dhs, like, I don't. But it clearly seems like they think they have him on some sort of gotcha. Well, and.
- [37:38]
C
And I would just guess if you're playing out where you're. If I'm just going to pick up what you're putting out there. Maybe they think that he has wildly overstated the type of work he was doing abroad or that he just manufactured some sort of trip and it was like, you know, he was in, like, Thailand doing, like, I don't know, Like, I don't know.
- [38:01]
B
What was he doing in Thailand, Sam?
- [38:03]
C
Oh, maybe not Thailand. Wrong country. You get my Point. So it's possible that they think they've just caught him in a real whopper, But I don't even know if that would be disqualified. I don't know.
- [38:19]
B
Maybe the trip just never happened. Maybe I. Like, maybe it is. Maybe it's his girlfriend in Niagara Falls. I don't know. Like, it's. It's. It is certainly. It's certainly a possibility, I guess. But it. But it just is such a. It's such a weird. It's such a weird thing. It was so weird.
- [38:33]
C
I was watching. I was like, what is going on here? And then I just left wanting to know. I was like, I actually now really want to know what this trip's about. Like, I. I'm, like, really invested in figuring out what this trip was about at this point.
- [38:44]
B
Yeah, I did. I. I wish I could be in the skiff. I wish I could hop down the bat pole and get down.
- [38:48]
C
Yeah. Do you have the bat pole down to the skiff? It's right here. All right, well, we'll keep monitoring it. I don't know if they're still in session right now. They're supposed to be out. I think they're probably out by now. We probably will get. Yeah, they're out. We'll probably get a vote tomorrow, depending on how the skiff session goes between Rand and Senator Pet and Mark Wayne Mullen. But my predictions. You heard it here first. Is that this thing passes, Fetterman gives him the vote. He goes to the floor. He only needs 50 when he gets to the floor. In that case. And he will be confirmed, and he will be our next DHI secretary. You heard it here first. Bold predictions by me. Sonny, thanks for doing this, man. I appreciate it. Always. Always a pleasure to yap. Oh, you're in a live show soon, right?
- [39:33]
B
Yeah, we're doing. We're in Dallas. Come say hi. If you're gonna be in Dallas, I'll be in Austin.
- [39:39]
C
That shows out, though.
- [39:40]
B
That show is sold out. I'll also be in Austin. We still have some tickets there. But I'm not. I'm not on. I don't think I'm on the stage. I'm just glad handing in the background. If you want to come. If you want to come, we can discuss what happens in Thailand with Mark Wayne Mullen. I don't know. You know, it's.
- [39:52]
C
You don't know where the trip was. It could have been. We just don't know. He's got it. He's got to reveal this stuff. All right. Take care Buddy, have a good one. And for those who are watching, thanks for watching. If you're in Dallas or you're in Austin, mainly Austin, try to get tickets. We only have a few left. If you're not, we're sorry. We're hopefully doing more live shows, but also we can get these live broadcasts like this. Thank you for subscribing to the book and we'll be in touch later.
- [40:17]
A
Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow267's million dollars gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com everybody
- [40:46]
C
games finding great candidates to hire can be like, well, trying to find a needle in a haystack. Sure, you can post your job to some job board, but then all you can do is hope the right person comes along.
- [40:59]
B
Which is why you should try ZipRecruiter
- [41:01]
C
for free at ZipRecruiter.com Zip ZipRecruiter doesn't depend on candidates finding you. It finds them for you. Its powerful technology identifies people with the right experience and actively invites them to apply to your job. You get qualified candidates fast. So while other companies might deliver a lot of hay, ZipRecruiter finds you what you're looking for. The needle in the Haystack.
- [41:25]
A
See why 4 out of 5 employers
- [41:27]
E
who post a job on ZipRecruiter get
- [41:29]
A
a quality candidate within the first day. ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire.
- [41:34]
C
And right now you can try ZipRecruiter for free. That's right. Free at ZipRecruiter.com Zip that's ZipRecruiter.com Zip
- [41:44]
A
ZipRecruiter.com Zip hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my how we do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow267's million dollars gaming and in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com everybody games.