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- [00:00]
Steve K. Ban
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- [00:02]
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- [00:37]
Director Patel
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Director Patel
support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind.
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- [01:21]
Director Gabbard
Has the news been getting you down? I'm Megan McCardell and I'm here to help. I'm the host of a new show from Washington Post Opinion. I'm called Reasonably Optimistic and it's an antidote to the pessimism that's riddling America right now. Every Wednesday I'm going to talk to people who see a path forward.
- [01:38]
Unidentified Commentator
It does seem to me that there
- [01:39]
Kobe Bloomfeld
is some awakening of a desire to act together to solve problems where they are.
- [01:44]
Steve K. Ban
You know, I am a believer in America and it's worth fighting for.
- [01:47]
Director Gabbard
Join me Wednesdays on YouTube or wherever you get.
- [01:50]
Unidentified Commentator
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- [02:20]
Director Ratcliffe
u n d of nuclear weapons. They currently possess at least 440kg of highly enriched uranium at 60% weapons grade that would be capable of putting together 10 nuclear weapons.
- [02:36]
Congressman
Director what nation state has achieved 60% enrichment and then not produced a nuclear Weapon.
- [02:44]
Director Ratcliffe
I'm not aware of any.
- [02:45]
Congressman
There's none. You get to 60%. There's a reason you're at 60% because you are pursuing nuclear ambitions. So we have. Sanctions have been imposed in the past, and yet that pursuit continued. Their economy was teetering, the pursuit continued. Their people were suffering. The pursuit continued under The Bush, Obama, Trump 45, Biden now Trump 47, that pursuit continued. Then last June, Operation Midnight Hammer nuclear program was dealt a significant setback. But not only that, the autocratic illegitimate regime in Tehran witnessed firsthand that the American resolve under this administration should be taken very seriously. I want to read you a few quotes. Iran will never be permitted to build a nuclear weapon. Barack Obama 15 the message to Iran should be loud and clear. We will never allow you to acquire a nuclear weapon. Never. HILLARY clinton Iran will never get a nuclear weapon. On my watch. Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon. Joe Biden make no mistake. As president, I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend American forces and interests from Iran. KAMALA Harris so last June, we have Midnight Hammer. And not only did they see the resolve, I mean, they saw that we were committed to actually taking action and not just the words this time. And even after all of that, did they abandon their pursuit and their nuclear program?
- [04:16]
Director Ratcliffe
They absolutely did not. Congressman, I think you point out the success of Operation Midnight Hammer is that one of the things that we assess in the intelligence community broadly is that since that operation, Iran has been unable to enrich a single kilogram of uranium to 60% since that operation. But as you correctly point out, Congressman, notwithstanding that our intelligence is also clear that they have not lost their ambition and that the activities to rebuild or reconstitute their nuclear facilities and centrifuges is something that the intelligence, there's a body of intelligence that I think confirms that.
- [05:03]
Congressman
Then we had eight months of negotiations and attempted diplomacy. They proved fruitless, and yet the pursuit continued. And the Director and is there any intelligence or evidence that the supreme leader and his thug mullahs, after all that at the beginning of this year were going to finally stop their pursuit of their nuclear weapon in their program?
- [05:26]
Director Ratcliffe
No.
- [05:29]
Congressman
So we have some folks here that are splitting hairs about imminent threat. You know what? Was it a grave threat?
- [05:34]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Director, in your opinion, nuclear weapons are
- [05:37]
Director Ratcliffe
a grave threat in the hands of religious ideologues?
- [05:40]
Congressman
60% enrichment, no nation state that achieved that hadn't produced a nuclear weapon. We can either talk about it, kick the can down the road and let them get a nuclear weapon to get danger close to it on the precipice. Or we can take action now. And this is what this administration chose to do. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
- [05:55]
Steve K. Ban
I yield back, Mr. Stubby.
- [05:57]
Congressman
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Every day, the brave men and women of our intelligence community, armed forces, and federal law enforcement work to protect our homeland from a constant and evolving array of threats. But since Democrats chose to shut down the Department of Homeland Security, those threats have grown more acute. Our country has already experienced four terrorist attacks since the shutdown began. The consequences are no longer hypothetical. They're unfolding in real time at a moment when the global threat environment is intensifying, terrorist organizations are resurging, and adversaries continue to encourage violence against Americans. Congress should be reinforcing our defenses. Instead, Democrats have sidelined the very department responsible for keeping the homeland safe. Not a single Democrat here on this committee voted to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. That was not an accident. It was a political decision made at the expense of the safety and security of the American people. As threats to our homelands rise and our enemies grow more emboldened, this decision has weakened our defenses and replaced action with dysfunction. Each day, the threat environment worsens, and with it, the risk to the American people, which is indefensible. Do each of you agree that the reckless Democratic shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has affected your agency's ability to detect, deter, and respond to threats, threats against the homeland specifically? Has it impacted intelligence sharing, operational coordination, or your capacity to prevent attacks? General Hartman.
- [07:19]
Director Ratcliffe
Congressman. It hasn't had a significant impact on the foreign intelligence mission of the National Security Agency.
- [07:24]
Congressman
Director Patel?
- [07:25]
Director Patel
The shutdown has had a significant impact on how we protect and defend the homeland.
- [07:29]
Director Gabbard
Director Gabbard, this has directly affected the intelligence elements within the Department of Homeland Security negatively.
- [07:37]
Congressman
Director Ratcliffe?
- [07:38]
Director Ratcliffe
I would agree with the Director of National Intelligence, General Adams.
- [07:44]
Prime Minister of Japan
No significant impact on the Defense Intelligence Agency and the foreign threat that we analyze.
- [07:51]
Congressman
So, Director Gabbard, you, in your opening statement, talked about the threats to the homeland and the changes that you've made as it relates to the border and the changes that the President has made. After four years of open border policies under President Biden, during which cartels and gangs expanded their operations into American cities, what specific actions has ODN and I taken to disrupt these criminal cartels and networks and stop the fentanyl poisoning and murdering US Citizens?
- [08:16]
Director Gabbard
Thank you for the question, Congressman. We've taken several actions to be able to get after this threat that the president made. A priority, number one being making historic shifts in intelligence collection towards addressing this threat. I believe it is the biggest shift in intelligence capabilities that, that we've ever seen or certainly in a long time. The integration and cooperation between our National Counterterrorism center with the DEA and other Department of Homeland Security elements is also unprecedented. We have taken and coordinated the collection of individuals, known and suspected terrorists, known and suspected cartel members, leaders, and inputted that into the TIDE system, which has radically increased and improved our ability to identify those who are cartel and gang members trying to enter our country and those who may already be in our country. National Counterterrorism center has been working again in coordination with our inter agency partners to get after the financial networks that these cartels and gangs rely upon to be able to continue to fund. As Director Patel has spoken about, we have national counterterrorism elements that sit within the Joint Terrorism Task Forces and support the interagency efforts to continue to get after this threat very effectively.
- [09:40]
Congressman
Thank you. Director Patel, Mr. Cohen was asking you about a recent firing of counter espionage agents with Iranian expertise. You and the FBI are taking, will continue to take all required steps to keep the American people safe during President Trump's historic military action against an oppressive and evil Iranian regime. Is that correct?
- [09:59]
Director Patel
Absolutely. And there's 36,000 people employed at this FBI, and I reject the notion wholeheartedly that determination of those that were weaponizing law enforcement are the only ones that can do the mission. There's a 43% increase in counterintelligence and espionage arrests just related to Iran alone, which is a record year for the FBI.
- [10:17]
Congressman
Well.
- [10:17]
And you plussed up nearly 1,000 agents in the field throughout the United States since this has occurred.
- [10:22]
Director Patel
Yes, sir.
- [10:22]
Congressman
And there's a document that you posted on X, and I think that's what you have in front of you about all of the wins and the changes that the FBI has made under your leadership and President Trump's leadership during 2025 and the little time that I have remaining. Could you just highlight some of that for the American people?
- [10:38]
Director Patel
Thank you. Under the Trump administration, this FBI has literally had a historic year. We have 112 increase, 112% increase in violent offenders arrested last year alone. A 20% decrease in homicides, 20% decrease in robberies. We have disrupted 1800 criminal gangs. That's a 210% increase. We've seized enough fentanyl to kill 178 million Americans. That's a 31% increase. We have gone after the most vulnerable in our society. Protecting children. A 490% increase in arrest on those that prey on our children. Online, we have located, found and identified 6200 missing kids. That's a 30% increase. We have dismantled and taken down 1700 child predators. That's a 17% increase. And those that wish to traffic our young American citizens and women. 300 human traffickers have been arrested. That's a 15% increase. And seven, seven of the FBI's top 10 most wanted fugitives in the world have been apprehended in the last 13 months. To put that into perspective, there was four in the prior four years. So this FBI under President Trump is fully stocked to get after every single fight we have. And these are just some of the statistics. So I thank you for letting me highlight those.
- [11:50]
Congressman
Thank you.
- [11:50]
My time's expired.
- [11:51]
Steve K. Ban
Mr. Crenshaw,
- [11:54]
Congressman
thank you all for being here in this marathon two day, two day marathon. Appreciate you all. I want to talk about FISA because we all have scars on our back from two years ago when we were authorized fisa. I anticipate it being easier this time, but I still want to go over the myths that public believes and that many members of this Congress believe. Mr. Patel, I'll focus on you here. Myth number one has to do with 702 versus FISA. Title one, Trump was targeted with FISA. 702. Is that a myth?
- [12:29]
Director Patel
That's a myth. It's not true.
- [12:31]
Congressman
So how. It's just real quick. How, how was President Trump targeted?
- [12:35]
Targeted?
- [12:36]
Under Crossfire Hurricane.
- [12:37]
Director Patel
Under FISA Title 1, Title 3, authorities information was presented to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a search warrant to surveil individuals associated with the Trump campaign, which was later revealed through the House Intelligence Committee's work that the information collected was not only unverified, but individuals left lied in that application. Individuals that were government officials.
- [12:56]
Congressman
I think it's worth, worth pointing out that whether, whether this process was FISA or in regular court, it was still lies told by the people trying to get the warrant had nothing to do with fisa. It was simply the people trying to get the warrant were lying. Okay, Myth number two. A query means that we're spying on Americans. Means we're reading their inboxes, we're getting inside their text messages, all of that. Is that true?
- [13:22]
Director Patel
No. I'm going to borrow General Hartman's answer. A query of 702 is pursuant to lawfully collected information of non US citizens overseas.
- [13:33]
Steve K. Ban
Right.
- [13:33]
Congressman
So if you query an American citizen, are you accessing their inbox?
- [13:38]
Director Patel
No.
- [13:39]
Congressman
You're just seeing if they have spoken to Somebody who is a foreign intelligence officer, let's say. And you would know they've spoken to them because they would show up as
- [13:49]
Director Patel
part of that conversation in foreign intelligence collection.
- [13:52]
Congressman
Foreign intelligence collection. So if, and if you wanted to get inside their inbox, you would have to get an actual warrant under current law, right?
- [14:02]
Director Patel
A U. S. Person, a warrant or a subpoena process? Yes, sir.
- [14:06]
Congressman
Okay, so that's a really important distinction, Congressman.
- [14:09]
Steve K. Ban
If I could just. Sure. But you wouldn't use FA702 to do that, correct?
- [14:15]
Kobe Bloomfeld
To get in the.
- [14:16]
Director Ratcliffe
I just want to be clear about that.
- [14:17]
Congressman
Yes, there is.
- [14:18]
Prime Minister of Japan
There is.
- [14:18]
Congressman
You would use your regular court process,
- [14:20]
Kobe Bloomfeld
no authority under 702 to collect intelligence intentionally against US persons.
- [14:25]
Congressman
Absolutely right.
- [14:28]
Yeah. So when somebody, and let's say their name rhymes with I don't know, Tucker Carlson is claiming that the CIA is spying on him, I would. I'm going to guess here because I don't know, I'm going to guess that the most likely scenario is that in the process of him split, speaking with Iranian intelligence officials. It is incidentally collected. Nobody is spying on Tucker Carlson or his inbox, to my knowledge at least. Number three, another myth, a warrant requirement, should it be required by law, is it's for a simple query that should be easy to get. Right? What's the problem? It's easy to get a warrant. We do it all the time. Would it be easy?
- [15:10]
Director Patel
In my opinion, no, but.
- [15:13]
Congressman
And the reason it wouldn't be easy is because oftentimes these queries are part of a very typical analytical process and they would not meet the judicial standards of probable cause. And I've seen many examples of this. I would love if you guys had some examples that are declassified. I've seen them in a classified session. So I guess my point is, and now that we've debunked these myths, is you put that warrant process on a simple query, you're taking away our analysts ability to connect the dots. To connect the dots from the outside actors which we, we can collect on. They have no constitutional protections, but you're removing our ability to connect them with the inside actors, which is kind of where it matters. It's like, it's like giving up when you're, when you're, when you're right at the goal line. That makes zero sense to do. And that's exactly what this would do. I already, I've already heard Director Radcliffe's answer on this, but 18 months reauthorization, clean reauthorization does that. I don't know where that number came from, but would you rather have it longer?
- [16:15]
Director Patel
As director Ratcliffe said, I'd like five or ten years.
- [16:18]
Congressman
Okay, me too.
- [16:22]
Steve K. Ban
Okay, let me have.
- [16:23]
Congressman
We went over that really quickly and. Well, I yield back. Thank you.
- [16:26]
Steve K. Ban
Was that, Was that, was that Cash Patel that used to be one of the co hosts here? Listen, we're gonna have plenty of time to get into FISA and the 702 and all that, but let's say this, I heard a couple of different things there that maybe we haven't heard before. We're going to get into that. People have been behind the scenes talking to us. We're going to get into a whole analysis of that. But Crenshaw, Dan Crenshaw, who was beaten in a primary pretty substantial, I think by 14 points or so, not going to return to the house is obviously one of these ones that is pushing hard for this. We'll get into all that. The house intel today grilling particularly Tulsi Gabbard. We're gonna take a short commercial break. We're back in the war room in just a moment.
- [17:21]
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- [18:22]
Congressman
Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.
- [18:27]
Steve K. Ban
Okay, the situation with these gas fields in the, in the oil in the Persian Gulf and who said, hey, theory of the case is the war has the center of gravity in a Clausewitzian sense is the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. And now as we said yesterday, the pipeline going from Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea that gives them an alternative than going through the strait that was a hit last night by the Iranians. We said the gap down in the Red Sea is even more treacherous than the strait or Hormuz. We're going to get to all that. Brent, which is the indicator of European the cost there went to 119 backed off now 110. West Texas Intermediate, which is the checking for the US is about 96.83 bouncing all around. And we'll talk more about that. Try to get bowling up here if we have time. Brandon Weickert is also going to join us in a little while, talk about the strategic situation. What we're hearing from both the Pentagon and other sources. We'll get that in a minute. Kobe bloomfeld, Gantz thank you for joining us. Founder CEO of Chapter I'm pretty stunned. I want you to describe your industry first and why you set this company up. But my understanding and looking at this analysis, there's essentially in the Medicare advisory to make sure people get the best Medicare possible. And I admit I use somebody to help me go through this right now because it's so confusing to me. I can't make head nor tails of it, but that the fees that are out there are like $100 billion. That is this pool that the insurance companies want to make sure it all cuts their way. What what is Chapter? Why did you found it? And and what's your value proposition to folks, sir?
- [20:13]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Thanks for having me, Steve. Really excited to be here. Yes, Medicare is one of the most consequential decisions that American seniors face. It's also one of the slimiest industries I've ever seen. So I started the company a few years ago after seeing my parents struggle with the Medicare signup process. They had been working with a local Medicare advisor who didn't really have the tools, the data or frankly the incentives to provide. Great advice. My parents were then far overpaying for the same Medicare plan that they could have had for a lot less. And my mom actually now is subject to lifetime late enrollment penalties because she got bad guidance. And so there's all these gotchas and difficult areas in Medicare to navigate that the government for a lot of reasons over time has created a system that's really not transparent. What we do at Chapter is we
- [21:09]
Steve K. Ban
are the only hanger. But Kobe hanger. Hang on a second. I just wanted to go through that. Why is it, you know, I'm a Harvard Business School grad and worked at Goldman Sachs. I can't make I tell people I can't Understand it, it's too complicated for me. I have to have somebody explain it to me. And now I realize after I've been introduced a chapter, it may not be actually transparent. First off, why is the system on something that's so important to seniors so opaque?
- [21:40]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Sir, it's because it's been Frankensteined together over generations. Medicare was initially started under LBJ in 1965, and over the past 60 years, different rules and regulations and regimes have basically been layered on top as new dynamics have come out and new paradigms have come out. So that's really the underlying reason why it's so complicated, that on top of just our healthcare system in this country in general, not just Medicare, but all of it is so complicated and, and rife with a lot of, a lot of issues. I, I heard, as you said, it's, it's very hard even for very well educated people to navigate. I heard a Stanford health economist, this is a guy who has a PhD in health economics from Stanford, say he couldn't navigate Medicare. So how is anyone supposed to.
- [22:32]
Steve K. Ban
What is, talk to me before we get into the data and what you guys have created, given your parents situation, why is it not full transparency on the incentives that people, people that come. Because there's all these commercials and it's all this complicated, even watch tv, but who you go to, who do you talk to? Why is it not transparent of what the incentives are? Because now that I've researched your company, I find out that some people that actually say they're there to help you and get the best, get you the best deal turns out their incentives are really related to the insurance companies making out better. And that's why I Talked about this $100 billion annually pool of fees out there. Why is it not a requirement that you actually got to say? Because people wouldn't mind. Just tell us what side of the football you're lined up on.
- [23:18]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Unfortunately, every Medicare advisor in this country with the exception of chapter, is really an agent of the insurance carrier, not a fiduciary to the individual. And that's really what it comes down to. So insurance carriers want Medicare advisors, Medicare brokers to push plans that the insurance carrier wants. It's not let me find a plan that's in your best interest as a consumer. It's let me find a plan that makes the insurance carrier the most money. That's how the laws are actually written. As a Medicare advisor, you are an agent of the insurance carrier, not an agent of the individual. Which is really unfortunate. Why I started the company really. But all of these fees in the industry are there to push Americans into plans that pay the insurance carrier more and then ultimately that pay the Medicare broker more.
- [24:07]
Steve K. Ban
So walk me through then your combination of fiduciary responsibility, working for actually your client and data, and your access to data that other people don't have or you guys have put together. So walk me through the whole value proposition of the company.
- [24:24]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Then we look at 100% of Medicare plans across every type of Medicare. And there are a lot of different types of Medicare. There's Medicare Advantage, which you've probably seen a lot of ads for. There's also a thing called a Medicare supplement plan. There are part D prescription plans. There are lots of different types of Medicare plans which a lot of people don't realize. So we look at 100% of options. We ask each individual American what their needs are, their doctors, their prescriptions, their lifestyle preferences, and then we match the right plan for each person whether or not chapter earns any money. And so we enroll people in Medicare plans every day, even when we earn nothing. And importantly, our Medicare advisors don't know how much chapter earns on a given plan. And their compensation doesn't vary whether you enroll in a plan that chapter earns money on or a plan that chapter doesn't earn money on. So we've aligned incentives entirely with the end user to make sure that we're always doing what's right for the American. And you know, selfishly in the long term, we think that actually creates a better business because it creates a better user experience, it builds trust. But we are really pushing against the legacy industry that is just trying to push these plans into people, onto people who really don't need them or where it's far more expensive than it needs to be.
- [25:41]
Steve K. Ban
Somebody understand this. The advisors, these other advisors are incentivized on a, on a percentage basis or some sort of bonus basis or some sort of incentive about getting someone into a plan, a commission basis that they're, they're, that the insurance company is essentially paying them and they're really working for the insurance company.
- [26:00]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Yes, and, and the labeling is very confusing, as you said. It's, you know, it's very, it's not transparent. A lot of Medicare brokers will call themselves independent advisors. Independent in Medicare just means you represent at least two insurance carriers. There are hundreds of insurance carriers that a given American probably has access to, and the only requirement is that they represent at least two to be called independent. And so the labeling is also very misleading.
- [26:32]
Steve K. Ban
Just take a Second, tell us about your mom and dad and what happened to your mom, because that sounds like a Kafkaesque nightmare.
- [26:39]
Kobe Bloomfeld
It really is. So my parents, like any American signing up for Medicare, had to figure it out. They had to go and talk to the Social Security office. They had to make a lot of calls, had to fill out a lot of paperwork, and they were working with a local Medicare broker who only had access to a small subset of the plans that were available. So my parents signed up for a Medicare plan that I learned much later was more expensive than it needed to be for the same coverage. And then the government actually imposes penalties that accrue over your lifetime if you don't sign up at the right time. And the policy rationale here, because there is one, is that Medicare is a risk pool and they need to make sure that people who are younger and healthier of the Medicare population sign up when they're still healthy. They don't want people to just sign up for Medicare once they're sick. So there is some logic to it. But it's so hard to know when you are supposed to sign up that if you miss that window, the government then adds percentages of premiums to your required payments each month that you are late. So my mom was a few months late after her window to sign up, and so now she has to pay significantly more every month to the government until for as long as she's on Medicare.
- [27:57]
Steve K. Ban
So for our audience for the Warren Posse, if you've already used a broker, you've already signed up for something, can you still come to chapter and you guys deconstruct it and help it get better? Or is that just tough break for a swell guy or gal?
- [28:11]
Kobe Bloomfeld
No, there's opportunities to optimize people's coverage. So if you're already on a Medicare plan, it really depends on on your specific situation. But you can give us a call. We will tell you if you're already on the right plan and you know nothing you should do if there's a better plan, we'll help you switch if you're eligible. And then importantly, it's not just about selecting a plan. It's also really important that people get the most out of their health care. They can actually use their Medicare plan. So we help you find a doctor who might be in network if you need to find a specialist. We help you appeal bills and claims. We help you minimize your prescription expenses. Maybe there's a cheaper way to get the same prescriptions you need. We help you understand what other benefits are in your plan that you might not be aware of. So we can definitely help beyond just the initial enrollment. So. And it's a totally free service. We're really just trying to upend the industry and help as many people as we can.
- [29:04]
Steve K. Ban
If you don't mind, I want to just hold you through the break. We got other stuff we got to cover, but this is important. I just want to we got about a minute here. Why is this thing so complicated? Again, this is ought to be something that ought to be pretty straightforward for people, particularly as you get older that. Why is this so complicated?
- [29:21]
Kobe Bloomfeld
There's so many perverse incentives in the Medicare system where the insurance carriers want you to sign up for one specific plan that makes them more money. They incentivize Medicare brokers to push that plan and as a result, Americans overpay by $100 billion a year. And there's really no reason other than this Frankenstein system with perverse incentives that's really leaving Americans in the lurch when Medicare is not a welfare program. This is a program people have been paying into their entire careers. So a chapter we're really trying to make sure people get the health coverage that they've been paying into. And frankly, they deserve.
- [29:59]
Steve K. Ban
Kobe, just hang up for one second. $100 billion a year. Take your number two pencil out and just write that down. I want you to think about that for a second. Short commercial break Back in the worm in just a moment.
- [30:22]
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- [30:52]
Congressman
Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.
- [30:57]
Steve K. Ban
Look, Kobe, I think everybody in the audience has signed up for one of these things. Regret it. They don't. It's still confusing to them. They don't fully understand it. They're. They now realize they've been dealing with brokers that are really paid for by the insurance companies. In addition, they're working with limited data so they can't look at the whole range of alternatives and really deal with making it an efficient market because you got, you know, perfect information, which is where the data comes from. Here's what I want. I really want everybody in the Warren Posse in our audience, both on the live show, in the podcast, to be able to get in touch with you guys. Just walk us through right now, Take a minute. How to. Because this audience loves the receipts. They love to immerse themselves in information. And this is one of the things where other sponsors have built relationships with people. And I know you guys do too, but I want them to get access to you guys and I want to do it today because I. When you listen to you, when I first got to know you guys and started doing the due diligence, you just get so mad when you this perverse incentives and something that should be straightforward. And you just made a brilliant point. This ain't a welfare program. People have been paying into this. This is not a welfare program. This is your hard earned money. And this is why you ought to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of that investment. So you just tell us, sir, where do people go?
- [32:14]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Yeah, Please come to AskChapter.org is our, is our website. And there should be a phone number that people can, can call. We're available anytime. Generally, when people have any questions about the Medicare plan, we're here to answer it. And there are so many of these mistakes that people make along the way that as you said, people sign up for a plan, they don't realize that they've been pushed into a wrong plan until maybe they go try to see their doctor and they're not in network or their prescription is far more expensive than they expected. And so we are really just here to help. And anyone can give us a call for free. The number for this specific audience is 845 War Room. So it's very easy. Give us a call at 845 War Room and we will help you out. And if you're already on the right plan, we'll tell you that. And really, we're just trying to make sure that all Americans are aware of their options. And we're really fighting back against this system.
- [33:13]
Steve K. Ban
So I just really wonder. So if somebody's already in a plan, they can come to you just for a check on that plan, or maybe you guys can then help them deconstruct it and make it better. Correct. So if I've already signed up, that doesn't preclude me from getting in touch with you guys and working it through, Right?
- [33:29]
Kobe Bloomfeld
That's right. We help people every day optimize their plan, switch their plan if it's appropriate, and make sure they're getting the coverage. They, they want a need at the lowest possible price.
- [33:39]
Steve K. Ban
845 war room. That's the number. Write it down. Go right there. You'll talk to a representative. And what's the website again? AskChapter.org/Chapter.org Sir Kobe, thank you very much. Thank you. First off for starting the company. Sorry it worked out like that for your parents, but it'd be a great benefit to the country, their inspiration. So thank you so much. Appreciate you and look forward to having you back.
- [34:05]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Thanks for having me.
- [34:08]
Steve K. Ban
Let's get everybody in. Let's pound into that today, totally free. Check it out. Talk to him. I am. Trust me. Let's go. I want to go back and play the, the, the, the Intelligence Committee just wrapped up. We're going to have highlights this afternoon. Natalie's going to join us this afternoon. I'm already, I'm also talking to Jim Hoff about getting Jordan. Conradson asked a brilliant question over at the Pentagon. We're going to get Jordan up also, hopefully. But let's go ahead and play this. I'm going to bring Brandon Weickert in.
- [34:40]
Director Gabbard
The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missile launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability and their navy, the IRG see navy and mining capability.
- [34:58]
Congressman Castro
So the death and destruction continues. The economic cost the United States to Israel, to the Gulf states and to the world continues to increase. So I want to ask you, to the best of your knowledge, do you know whether Israel is supportive of the president's call to make a deal with Iran?
- [35:17]
Director Gabbard
I don't know the answer to that. I don't know Israel's position on that.
- [35:23]
Congressman Castro
And to what do you attribute Israel's decision to strike Iranian energy infrastructure despite President Trump's call to keep those facilities off limits?
- [35:32]
Director Gabbard
I don't have an answer for that.
- [35:42]
Congressman Castro
So they ignored the president. Do you agree with that?
- [35:48]
Director Gabbard
I'm not privy to any of their deliberations or what went into their calculus in launching this or other attacks. I'm not, we, we are, we are not involved with the, in the operational element of this. We're providing continuously, on a daily basis the intelligence assessments of the events that are occurring.
- [36:09]
Congressman Castro
And I guess I know the FBI can because they're domestic, but can anybody else at the table provide any insight into that?
- [36:21]
Director Ratcliffe
I guess I'm not sure what the question you're asking, Congressman Castro. I guess a couple of things. The goals that the president set out are clearly defined. The DNI related those what was not Included is a goal of the US Goal.
- [36:38]
Congressman Castro
Director, let me start with this question. You asked what my question. Let me reclaim my time, Director. Come on. Do you know why Israel decided to strike that infrastructure despite the fact that the President said it should be off limits?
- [36:53]
Director Ratcliffe
I wouldn't. I wouldn't speak for Israel.
- [36:56]
Congressman Castro
And what do you guys know?
- [36:58]
Congressman
We're at war.
- [36:59]
Congressman Castro
What do you guys know? Let.
- [37:01]
Steve K. Ban
To take that for the record.
- [37:02]
Congressman Castro
Yes.
- [37:06]
Steve K. Ban
Okay. Like I said, regardless of how we got in here, and we can debate that, and I'm sure that even in the next couple days will come up, we are where we are. We have to win. Right now, the definition of that victory is for the President, United States. But what if the President, United States gave a very clear order out to the public, to the country, to everybody, that Iranian infrastructure, oil infrastructure, was not to be hit, these gas fields were hit deliberately. He said that he put out this true social. That couldn't be more searing. Of course, he put the Iranians on notice, too. You hit Qatar again, it's going to be the end of you. Brandon Weickert. I know we got a broader picture to talk about. The center of gravity of this war, and the objectives are very precise, but the objectives are very tied to Tehran in Iran. Now we're in the Persian Gulf, straight Hormuz, Red Sea, all of it. And it's rattling. Whether you like it or not, whether you support President Trump or not, the reality is Brent crude went up to 119, back to 110. But even at 110, it's rattling the world's economy and President Trump's economic plan. Your thoughts, sir?
- [38:19]
Brandon Weickert
Well, I think that committee hearing was stunning. I've never seen anything like it, really, ever. Clearly, there is a severe breakdown in communication, not only between the US and its purported allies in the region, but also between within the administration itself. And I would encourage everybody in the administration get on the same page now, because this is not. This is not going well. The American people do not understand what's going on. And committee briefing like that only makes it worse. And then you add in these high.
- [38:55]
Steve K. Ban
Hang on one second. But hang on. But this is where CENTCOM and the chairman and today in his briefing on the indices, the nuclear program, the missile, ballistic missile program, the industrial infrastructure, and they keep saying to project power not internally anymore, but against neighbors like Israel and the Gulf, we're methodically going down. I also want the audience to understand. Pete's pretty blunt. Every day it's ratcheted up, it's getting more intense. Every day today is going to be more intense than yesterday. Yesterday was more intense than the other day. Now the sorties are going to get to what, 10 or 15,000 and you're just grinding this. But that doesn't really seem like it's to the heart of what this problem is today, what the problem is now, does it?
- [39:42]
Brandon Weickert
No, it does not. And furthermore, whatever the Pentagon and CENTCOM and the intel community is saying publicly behind the scenes, the Iranians are still popping these missiles off. You just had, I texted you brief shortly a while ago that the Qataris are saying they're going to be doing force majeure on five year contracts, which means they're going to be turning the spigot off because they can't reliably produce oil given what's going on. You have the Saudis now and you can talk more about this with Bowling, but the Saudis announced their selling off their gold assets now to try to fund their operations going forward because it's getting so bad. So the Iranians are still in this fight and the Iranians are still affecting a very effective strategy of going after the center of gravity, as you and I noted last week, which is the economies of the region. And you asked about Israel and I would just say that I don't think we have any idea who is running Israel right now. I have seen no confirmation as to whether or not Netanyahu is still alive or in command. I have seen no confirmation that anyone has succeeded him.
- [40:48]
Steve K. Ban
I've been hearing rumors from people. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. That can't be the Internet slop that says he's a AI figure or anything like that. It's got to be more definitive. Clearly the command structure would give some indication if, if the commander in chief.
- [41:04]
Brandon Weickert
It's a mess in Israel right now.
- [41:06]
Steve K. Ban
Military.
- [41:07]
Brandon Weickert
It's a mess in Israel right now. I have heard that the idf.
- [41:10]
Steve K. Ban
Beside, hang on, beside, beside, besides, besides Internet slop. Why do you, why do you say that?
- [41:17]
Brandon Weickert
Well, because the, the entire Israeli system seems to be in confusion. You have people protesting in Tel Aviv, they're not getting water, they can't seem to get the resources to putting out fires that they need. There is clearly a problem right now. And then also you have these intelligence failures going on in Lebanon with Mossad where they're blowing up targets that are clearly not military. And I think it's not all because they're, they're trying to hurt people. I think they're operating off of bad intelligence because Mossad's capabilities have been degraded
- [41:52]
Steve K. Ban
given the President United States, we talked about the center of this war. The flip in this war was the Saturday night bombing of the oil facilities that turned into a firestorm in Tehran
- [42:02]
Brandon Weickert
that Trump did not want us to do, the Israelis to do.
- [42:06]
Steve K. Ban
And it was furious after that. Right. He put it on notice. No more. We gotta have some incentive for these people to overthrow the theocratic demons. Part of that is that they're gonna actually have some sort of economy afterwards. What possessed. What do we know now? Because they're saying President Trump. Listen, folks, the fight on this thing is that they're saying President Trump actually signed off on the bombing of the joint oil and gas field. I just don't think in a million years that President Trump would sign off on that. What are the Israelis saying was their incentive or why did they want to go after that? That it's very simple. That is central to the Qatar economy.
- [42:46]
Brandon Weickert
They want the. Not only do they want Iran to be collapsed like a Libya model, but they also want the surrounding Arab states to be weakened as well because they want the Greater Israel Project, which is clearly at hand here, at least in their minds. Now they've been getting slammed, but they're trying desperately to keep that viable. So they're gonna keep goosing this thing. And we saw, you know, we saw implications of this or hints of this in the Joe Kent resignation letter a couple days ago where he explicitly said that the Israelis are basically manipulating us into a war. The Israelis are on the ground, so they're able to do more, even more than we are in terms of kind of pushing this thing every day further down the line.
- [43:27]
Steve K. Ban
But, but, but for such a dramatic, for such a dramatic. And I'm sure more details are going to come out of it there. That is a very bold thing to say. I've been someone that's saying, hey, we got to look into this, right? We got to get to the bottom of this. But there weren't a lot of receipts last night when, when Joe went on Tucker, there was some general conversation, but if you make that charge, and particularly that the president states who's had your back before in your congressional campaigns and that you've and then selected you for one of the most important jobs in the United States government and had your back, you have to have more specifics. Now, I realize a lot of this is classified, but we still haven't gotten down to showing the receipt. You agree with that, that we haven't, that we haven't shown the receipts.
- [44:14]
Brandon Weickert
I stand with Joe Kent, I don't have any questions for Joe whatsoever. I'm completely behind him. I think that he is the most iconic war hero of the global war on terror generation. I. I have nothing negative.
- [44:26]
Steve K. Ban
I understand that anything he's done.
- [44:28]
Prime Minister of Japan
So.
- [44:29]
Steve K. Ban
Hang on, hang on. I'm not. Hang on. This, this show and me personally have been the biggest backer. Joe Kent.
- [44:34]
Brandon Weickert
No, I know.
- [44:34]
Steve K. Ban
I'm just saying congressional runs and this. But, but no, I'm just asking. As a matter of fact, we got to talk. Fact, you got to talk. You know, all this.
- [44:44]
Japanese Official
Okay, hang on.
- [44:44]
Steve K. Ban
A short break. We're back with Brandon Weickert in a moment.
- [44:52]
Prime Minister of Japan
Ever. So we have a very popular, powerful woman and she's a great woman. We have a very fine relationship and we're going to be talking about trade and many other things. And it's an honor to have you. Thank you very much.
- [45:15]
Director Ratcliffe
Thank you.
- [45:49]
Steve K. Ban
Thank you for inviting me to the White House today.
- [45:54]
Prime Minister of Japan
Thank you. My visit is timely, so given the current situation. Oh, please. Yes, absolutely. You have a very good interpreter who have known for a long time.
- [46:29]
Japanese Official
Right now situations in the Middle east and also the entire world. We are actually experiencing a very severe security environment. And also the global economy is now about to experience a huge hit because of this development. But even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world.
- [47:17]
Prime Minister of Japan
Thank you.
- [47:25]
Japanese Official
And to do so, I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to achieve our objective together. So today I came here at the White House to directly convey this message to you. And speaking of the situation in Iran, Iran's development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed. And that is why we, Japan have been urging them and also reaching out to. To other partners in the world. In addition, Japan condemns Iran's actions such as attacking the neighboring in region and also the de facto or effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. As a matter of fact, my fellow minister, Minister Motegi, Foreign Minister Motegi, also had the direct exchange with the Iranian foreign minister and urged Iran to stop such activities.
- [48:56]
Prime Minister of Japan
You'll let me know. You will let me know.
- [49:21]
Japanese Official
And also the security environment in the Indo Pacific region is also becoming increasingly severe. Donald, you have shown deep trust in Japan and also the unwavering commitment to the Japan U. S Alliance. Once again, thank you very much for that. And today I look forward to having a discussion on how we can cooperate to make our two nations, both Japan and the United States, stronger and more prosperous. And I also brought specific proposals to calm down the global energy market. So today I really look forward to having our discussion, particularly focusing on our collaboration in economic security in the important areas such as energy and rare earth minerals. And also I look forward to, forward to discussing with you how we can make our two economies stronger moving forward. Thank you very much.
- [50:49]
Prime Minister of Japan
Thank you very much. And you're doing a great job. Again, congratulations on the biggest win in the history of Japan. That's not bad. That's a pretty long history. That's a large nation with a large, really, with a great, a great reputation. But it's a tremendous victory. Congratulations. Congratulations to everybody. I'm very, very proud of you. Very proud of you. We've become friends and I'm very proud of the job you've done. It's not easy. Any Questions, please, sir?
- [51:22]
Brandon Weickert
Mr. President, are you fully satisfied with
- [51:24]
Kobe Bloomfeld
the level of support that you're getting
- [51:26]
Congressman
from Japan on Iran, including around minesweepers?
- [51:29]
Prime Minister of Japan
Well, we're going to be speaking about it today. Go ahead, you can go. We're doing, we're going to be speaking about it today. We've had tremendous support and relationship with Japan on everything. And I believe that based on statements that were given to us yesterday, the day before yesterday having to do with Japan and they are really stepping up to the plate. Yes, Unlike NATO.
- [52:18]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Please, Mr. President, do you intend to lift sanctions on Iranian oil and do you intend to potentially put US Troops
- [52:25]
Steve K. Ban
or more troops in the region?
- [52:27]
Prime Minister of Japan
No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I, if I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you. But I'm not putting troops and we will do whatever is necessary to keep the price as low. I actually thought when I did this, look, the dow just hit 50,000 a couple of weeks ago. They said that couldn't happen for four years. It wouldn't happen in my term. It's such a outrageous thing because I said it would happen. I didn't know it was going to happen that fast, but it just hit 50,000 and we did that in one year, not four. S&P had just hit 7,000. They said that was even more impossible than the Dow hitting 50. And we did that in one year. So it was all done. Everything was going great. The economy was great. Oil prices were very low. Gasoline was dropping to, I mean, we had $1.99, $1.85. We had grid everything. And I saw what was happening in Iran and I said, I hate to make this excursion, but we're going to
- [53:26]
Steve K. Ban
have to do it.
- [53:27]
Prime Minister of Japan
And I actually thought the numbers would Be worse. I thought that it would go up more than it did. But we're doing this excursion and when it's completed we're going to have a much safer world. And the Prime Minister agrees with me on this. You can considers it to be terrible what Iran did. I think every country does, just about every country does. Iran is a serious threat to the world, to the Middle east and to the world. And everybody agrees with me. I think virtually every country agrees with me on that. So I wanted to put out that fire and I said, you know, if I do that oil prices will go up, the economy will go down a little bit. I thought it would be worse. Much worse, actually. Actually I thought there was a chance it could be much worse. It's not bad and it's going to be over with pretty soon. We've obliterated their navy. We've obliterated their, just about everything there is to obliterate, including leadership. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their anti aircraft equipment is gone. We're flying wherever we want. Pete. We have no, nobody even shooting at us. They have, I mean, and as you know, their leadership is gone. Their leaders are gone. They pick new leaders, they're gone. They pick new leaders, they're gone. And now they're looking for new leaders again. We can take out the island anytime we want. I call it the little oil island that sits there so totally unprotected. We've taken out everything but the pipes. We left the pipes because to rebuild the pipes would take years.
- [54:59]
Steve K. Ban
Okay, this is the war room. We're passing over the Charlie Kirk show. We're back at five. Natalie's going to join me, Joe Allen's going to join me. We're going to get deeper into the Joe Kent situation. See you back here at five o'. Clock. Back to the Oval Office.
- [55:11]
Prime Minister of Japan
President, this little excursion and do something that no other President had the courage to do. And everybody wanted to do it, but they never had the courage to do. And I don't blame them. I'm not blaming them. It was left to me and we've done a great job. Our military, military is incredible. We have an incredible military. We have the strongest military in the world by far. We have the greatest equipment in the world by far. In fact, Japan buys our equipment, buys a lot of it. And we're honored by that. And that's one of the things we'll be talking. They want to buy a lot of the military equipment. So it's just an honor to have the Prime Minister we've had a tremendous relationship. Okay.
- [55:48]
Kobe Bloomfeld
Mr. President.
- [55:49]
Prime Minister of Japan
Mr. President, I think she's going to have.