Biden Corruption: It's Time for a Merrick Garland Special Counsel, plus Biden Builds the Wall!

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Biden Corruption: It's Time for a Merrick Garland Special Counsel, plus Biden Builds the Wall!" The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
Release Date: July 12, 2023

In this gripping episode of The 47 Morning Update, host Ben Ferguson engages in a candid discussion with Senator Ted Cruz, delving into serious allegations surrounding President Joe Biden's administration. The conversation spans multiple topics, including alleged corruption within the Biden family, the need for a special counsel to investigate Attorney General Merrick Garland, media bias in covering these issues, and the unexpected shift in Biden's border wall policies.

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1. Cocaine Found in the White House

[00:01] Ben Ferguson: Ben opens the discussion by highlighting a troubling claim about cocaine being discovered in the West Wing of the White House. He sarcastically remarks on the likelihood of frequent visits from Hunter Biden, linking them to business deals.

[00:48] Senator Ted Cruz: Senator Cruz reinforces the claim, expressing frustration that corporate media has seemingly dismissed or ignored the story. He states, “We are just a few days out from a bag of cocaine being found in the West Wing of the White House,” emphasizing the lack of media coverage compared to what would have been expected if similar incidents occurred during the Trump administration.

2. Allegations of Biden Family Corruption

[02:21] Senator Ted Cruz: Cruz shifts the conversation to the House Oversight Committee's revelations about the Biden family. He references a tweet claiming that U.S. Attorney David Weiss confirmed a meeting on October 7th, as reported by whistleblower Gary Shapley. Cruz highlights the FD 1023 form, which alleges that then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, each received $5 million in a bribery scheme involving a Burisma executive. He critiques Weiss's credibility, asserting, “We know what team he's on. He's on Team Biden.”

[04:06] Senator Ted Cruz: Emphasizing the gravity of the allegations, Cruz remarks, “the FD 1023 form alleges that then VP Biden and Hunter received $5 million each as a part of a bribery scheme with a Burisma executive.” He discusses the implications of these funds, suggesting they indicate a deeper level of corruption within the Biden family.

3. The Case for a Special Counsel Investigating Merrick Garland

[09:29] Senator Ted Cruz: Cruz argues for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Attorney General Merrick Garland. He accuses Garland of obstruction of justice and acting as a political operative to shield the Bidens from scrutiny. “There needs to be a special counsel to investigate Merrick Garland for lying under oath to Congress,” he asserts, aligning his position with Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s call for independent investigation.

4. Indictment of Dr. Galoff and Its Implications

[11:48] Senator Ted Cruz: The discussion moves to the indictment of Dr. Galoff by the Biden DOJ for failing to register as a foreign agent for CEFE Energy Company—the same company Hunter Biden was associated with. Cruz suggests that this indictment is retaliatory, occurring after Galoff released a video alleging corruption by the Bidens. “They’re trying to sweep it all under the rug,” Cruz states, pointing out the double standards in prosecuting individuals connected to the Bidens.

5. Media Bias: The Case of Jake Tapper

[26:22] Senator Ted Cruz: Cruz criticizes media figures like Jake Tapper for their lack of coverage on the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election period. He recounts that despite possessing authentic evidence, major networks suppressed the story to avoid influencing the election outcome. “Jake Tapper is now acting like he's Mr. Journalist,” Cruz notes, highlighting the media’s reluctance to challenge the Biden administration.

[31:40] Senator Ted Cruz: Reflecting on his personal history with Tapper, Cruz emphasizes the absence of coverage on the laptop story: “Do you know in the entire month how many times Jake Tapper mentioned Hunter Biden's laptop on either of his two CNN programs? Zero times.”

6. Biden’s Unexpected Shift on the Border Wall

[36:53] Senator Ted Cruz: The conversation pivots to border security, where Cruz reveals that Biden’s administration is now filling gaps in the previously halted Trump-era border wall. He cites Department of Homeland Security reports indicating that 129 gaps are being addressed across states like Arizona and Texas. “Biden promised in an interview with NPR in August of 2020 that, 'there will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration.' Now that promise he has broken,” Cruz asserts, labeling the move as hypocritical.

[40:25] Senator Ted Cruz: Addressing Vice President Kamala Harris’s limited visibility concerning the border issue, Cruz questions her active role, jokingly suggesting she might be in witness protection due to her minimal engagement.

[42:53] Senator Ted Cruz: Delving deeper into border security effectiveness, Cruz argues that while a wall alone isn't a complete solution, it serves as a critical barrier to slow down illegal crossings, especially in urban areas. “The single biggest cause of our open border crisis is Joe Biden refuses to follow the law and deport people,” he contends, emphasizing the need for both infrastructure and strict enforcement.

7. Cocaine Incident and Accountability

[47:31] Senator Ted Cruz: Revisiting the initial claim about cocaine in the White House, Cruz expresses skepticism about the administration’s willingness to investigate the incident. He predicts that the Secret Service might stonewall the inquiry, much like the DOJ and FBI. “They are trying to behave as if the criminal laws don't apply to them,” Cruz concludes, underscoring a perceived disregard for accountability within the administration.

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Key Takeaways

• Alleged Corruption: The episode centers on serious allegations against the Biden family, suggesting involvement in bribery schemes and corruption facilitated by high-ranking officials like Merrick Garland.

• Media Suppression: Cruz critiques mainstream media outlets for ignoring or downplaying significant stories that could impact public perception of the Biden administration.

• Legal and Investigative Oversight: There's a strong call for independent oversight, including the appointment of a special counsel, to investigate potential misconduct within the DOJ and the broader administration.

• Policy Inconsistencies: The unexpected shift in Biden's stance on the border wall is portrayed as a sign of hypocrisy and poor policy management.

• Accountability Concerns: The discussion reflects deep concerns about accountability within the highest levels of government, questioning the administration’s commitment to upholding the rule of law.

This episode serves as a critical examination of the Biden administration's actions, highlighting concerns about corruption, media bias, and policy inconsistencies. Through the incisive dialogue between Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz, listeners are encouraged to scrutinize the integrity of governmental institutions and demand greater transparency and accountability.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It's Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you, and the White House has got a new official song they're playing. Apparently when people come in the door, I can just see like the Secret Service, like, you know, you're walking through. You gotta hand them your phone. They're like, welcome to the White House. We got a great party for tonight. That's how they get Hunter Biden to come over so often, working the business deals. Well, you can't make it up. We've got problems with cocaine at the White House and now we're being told that Congress may get some answers. Fill us in on that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, I got to say, so far all we've gotten from the Biden White House is a lot of malarkey. Well, there is that. You know, I don't know if Corn Pop was a cocaine dealer, but, you know, let me make a serious point. We are just a few days out from a bag of cocaine being found in the West Wing of the White House. And the corporate media has altogether dropped. This story. Doesn't exist anymore. Can you imagine how the corporate media would have lost their mind if a bag of cocaine were found in the Trump White House like we would have had every night round the clock coverage. And by the way, the claim from the White House, we don't know who did it. Look, the White House has records of every person who enters the building. They know what time that person enters the building. They know what time that person leaves. At any given time of day. You know exactly who is in the building, what entrance they came in or out of. All of that is kept. There are Secret Service agents everywhere, their cameras. And yet the reason that the Biden White House wants to tell us they can't figure out whose cocaine it is is because any answer to that question is politically damaging. And this administration's approach is to hell with the rule of law. It's politics, politics. All politics, all the time.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. It brings us into the other big story, and this is one that a lot of people are paying attention to, and that is the House Oversight Committee put out a tweet and they said, part of the Biden family cover up. They said, quote, for those keeping score at home today, the U.S. attorney, David Weiss confirmed the October 7th meeting happened. The whistleblower Gary Shapley's October 7th meeting rap email says Weiss, David Weiss, claimed, quote, he did not have the authority to bring charges against Hunter Biden. Mr. Shapley's boss confirmed the accuracy of those notes in a follow up email. And David Weiss is now changing his tune about having the authority to bring charges and is quibbling about what type of authority status he sought out instead. Now we talked about this in the last podcast. Senator Weiss was saying, well, I didn't say actually I wanted special prosecutor status. He tried to change it a little bit. And now Weiss is acknowledging that Gary Shapley as a whistleblower. Weiss also acknowledged that the FD 1023 form alleging that the then Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden received $5 million each as part of a bribery scheme with a Burism executive is part of a, quote, ongoing investigation. So when you see this all of a sudden backpedaling from Weiss, I, I see it as clearly, we know what team he's on. He's on Team Biden. And this whole idea that he's some great guy that we're supposed to be excited about because Donald Trump appointed him, we know that was crap. We know the two liberal senators had to say he was okay to get the job, otherwise he would have never gotten that job. And now we're seeing his true colors come out.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You know, I got to say, the most amazing word in all of that tweet that you just read is the word each, which is that the FD 1023 form alleges that then VP Biden and Hunter received $5 million each as a part of a bribery scheme with a burism executive. So let's be clear, the Bidens, if they're for sale, it's not cheap, it's not $5 million to buy the Bidens, it's 10. It's five for Hunter and five for the big guy. That, that is astonishing. And listen, every day the facts implicating Joe Biden in personal corruption and the facts implicating Merrick Garland in corruption, in politicization and in cover up, they get worse. So we have now that the two IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and the other unnamed individual who all we know about him is his own self description that he's a gay Democrat with a man for a husband. And presumably that means he does not have a political ax to grind with, with Joe Biden, but rather is coming forward because he is dismayed about the corruption he observed. We now have essentially a third whistleblower, which is that Mr. Shapley's boss has confirmed the accuracy of Shapley's notes in a follow up email. Now mind you, Shapley's boss is not willingly a whistleblower, but he inadvertently confirmed in writing what Shapley is saying. And listen, when you're dealing with allegations of criminality, you need to approach them with skepticism. And so as I'm sitting here today, I don't know for a fact that the allegations these whistleblowers have put forward are true. They may not be. I will say the indicia on the front end are highly credible. There are no indications that these individuals had a political motive. There are no indications that they had a grudge. There are no indication that they're trying to pursue an agenda. These are career IRS employees who are stating that they were outraged by what they saw. And all of the objective indicators are confirming that claim. That being said, what needs to happen is the House of Representatives needs to bring both IRS whistleblowers under oath to testify before the House. The House needs to bring David Weiss, the U.S. attorney, under oath to testify before the House, and the House needs to bring Merrick Garland, the US Attorney General, under oath to testify. Now, I don't know if and when that's going to happen. My understanding is Abby Lowell, who is the attorney representing Hunter Biden, is trying to do everything possible to discourage, to threaten to intimidate the whistleblowers to prevent them from testifying publicly. The Biden administration is desperate to prevent David Weiss or Merrick Garland from testifying on these issues if they follow past patterns. If and when Merrick Garland testifies and he's going to have to testify before Congress, he'll stonewall. That's been the approach of DOJ and the FBI. But I will say, every day, as the evidence keeps coming out and it keeps getting worse, the merits of what I said on this podcast now over a week ago, that the Department of Justice needs to appoint a special counsel to investigate Merrick Garland for lying under oath to Congress in response to my questioning in the Senate Judiciary Committee and to obstruction of justice, engaging as a political operative to block investigation into Hunter Biden and even more critically, into Joe Biden to protect the Big Guy. That point, that there needs to be a special counsel, you and I on Verdict, called for that and within hours of our calling for it on verdict, Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House, likewise called for the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel. At the end of the day, Ben, the Attorney General is not above the law. And that's what he's trying to be. He's trying to behave as if the criminal laws don't apply to him, that he can commit felonies, that there could be serious allegations of felonies. By the Attorney General. And no one investigates because he's above the law. That is not the way our system.

[Ben Ferguson]

Works, not how it's supposed to work. And that's why I think so many people are so upset about this. This comes on top of another big issue. Biden's Department of Justice indicted a whistleblower, a guy who, full disclosure, I think anybody that's doing business with Hunter Biden was shady and corrupt as hell and scumbags. I don't think this guy's any different than any of the other business partners that Hunter Biden had, because you. You have to be at the bottom of the barrel to do this type of corruption and bribery and money laundering, et cetera. But you got this guy Gallup, too. Maybe he was a smart enough guy to say, hey, I'm going to keep intel on the Bidens. If they ever cross me, they ever try to screw me over. Uh, this. This reminds me a lot, Senator, of. Of the. The idea that maybe the FBI has tapes where there were conversations between Joe Biden and Hunter Biden that were kept by someone else they were doing deals with that dealt with maybe some of those payments coming in. But Galoff is a guy who's now under indictment from Biden's DOJ after he put out a video. And. And this is a guy that's now been charged with Farah violations. He worked with cefp, the same company that Hunter Biden, James Biden, partnered with, and the president played golf with them and had multiple meetings at the White House with them, allowed them to come in the White House countless times. And this is the company that bankrolled millions of dollars of Biden's. There's 5 million here, the other 5 million here, and countless other paychecks in between. They've now charged this guy, Dr. Galoff, for failing to register as a foreign agent of CEFE Energy Company, the same company for which Hunter Biden worked for and made even more money than this doctor. And yet now, off a guy who's a fugitive, a guy that maybe should be charged with crimes, I don't think he's probably a good guy at all. But the fact that he gets charged from Biden's doj, and they've never charged Hunter Biden or James Biden with the same damn crime that they're accusing this guy of committing with the same exact company working in the same area with the Bidens. How angry are you over that?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, I am angry about the overall pattern of double standards and corruption, both from President Joe Biden and his family and also the COVID up from the DOJ and the FBI with regard to this particular individual. I think we need to be very careful and listen on this podcast. We have tried to be very measured even with the IRS whistleblowers who the objective indicia are. They suggest that they have a high level of credibility. But I've tried to be clear and to say I don't know if they're telling the truth. They might not be. We need to investigate further with this individual, Gal Luft, who is an Israeli professor, a dual Israeli American citizen. I think we need to look at what he's alleging, but I also think we need to be very, very cautious with his testimony. The indictment. So he's been indicted in a comprehensive indictment that describes Gal Luft as operating as an agent at best of China and at worst, someone who was actively helping China develop assets in the United States. And it in particular alleges that he recruited Bill Clinton CIA Director James Woolsey to put his name on articles written by Luft which portrayed China favorably and that he assisted Woolsey with efforts to get placed in the Biden administration in a political role, either as Secretary of DHS or Secretary of Defense or Director of National Intelligence. Luft also discussed, according to the indictment, with the Chinese, how to get Wolseley educated in our narrative so the other side, the usa, doesn't shape his views. Those are serious allegations. I don't know if they're true. I don't know what evidence the Department of Justice has. And it is true that this indictment happened after Luft created an 18 minute video alleging corruption from Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. So it is conceivable that this indictment is retaliation for those allegations. That being said, for that to be so, the government would also have to fabricate enormous amounts of false emails and calls and texts and bank statements to make this case against Loft. And so I want to caution, I want to caution conservatives, I want to caution people who care about integrity in our government that you may want to believe Luft's allegations but recognize that it seems just about everyone Hunter Biden did business with was a crook.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, and that's what we were talking about a moment ago and even before the show, is the fact that, hey, this guy may be just as shady as Hunter Biden and the federal government knew it. And they didn't charge him with these crimes until after he spoke out. And then he speaks out and they're like, all right, now we're coming after you. But the blaring double standard with Hunter Biden is the part that I think so many Americans are furious about. It's okay, this guy does it. And maybe he should have been charged three, four, five years ago with these crimes that they just charged him with now. But it's the fact, the timing of it, Senators, looks like it's just straight up trying to silence anyone that comes out and says anything about what you've done. And if he did commit these crimes 4, 5, 6, 7 years ago, why didn't they charge him earlier than after he puts out his 18 minute video also exposing his friends, the Bidens?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, look, maybe that's right. It's also possible he put out the 18 minute video because he knew he was about to get indicted and was trying to create a defense for himself. And so when someone is facing a serious indictment, you have to be cautious about their activity. Now, that being said, it is striking that right at the heart of the charges against this individual is the fact that he had ongoing business relationships with cefc, the Chinese company that is alleged to have been bribing and paying off Hunter Biden and Joe Biden.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

And so at some level, if, if, if Mr. Lu, I don't know, I have no interactions with him at all. So I don't know if he's a crook or not. But if he was involved in crooked deals with cefc, as the indictment alleges, that raises a very significant question. Well, gosh, who else was engaged in business deals with this same Chinese company? And if Luft was corrupt, how much more so for the millions of dollars that flowed to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden and the extended Biden family. And so, so what I would say I'm going to give a word of caution. Don't get too invested in the allegations of this one individual because they need to be investigated. We don't know if they're true, but they are part of the broader mosaic. And when overlapped with the allegations from whistleblower after whistleblower after whistleblower, after many of whom are career government employees with no political ax to grind, the cumulative mountain of evidence against Joe Biden and the entire family is, is growing by the day.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. I want to also hit another aspect of this story that really seems to be getting big right now and that deals with the doj, David Weiss, in this FBI informant file alleging that Biden bribes were a part, are a part of an ongoing investigation. But first, let me tell you about our friends at Augusta Precious Metals. If you are preparing for retirement, getting close to retirement or in retirement, you know how important it is to protect your assets because there's no time to make up losses. That is why I want you to know about what gold can do for you in your IRA, in your 401k to diversify and protect your hard earned dollars. My friends at Augusta Precious Metals are here to help you understand exactly what gold can do for you. Not only will they send you the Free Investors Guide on gold, they will do a one on one web conference with you to talk about everything about your 401k, about your IRA and how gold can be used as part of a strategy to protect your dollars. Call them, sit down with them one on one and they will even tell you if gold is not right for you. The number 877. The number 4 Gold IRA. 8 7, 7. The number 4 Gold IRA. Say that I sent you and they'll pay your fees for up to 10 years as well. That's Augusta precious metals.com 877. The number four gold IRA. Senator, I want to talk about the, the Biden, not only the doj, but the FBI and this whistleblower. Uh, apparently the United States Attorney David Weiss is admitting now, and you mentioned this earlier, that the FBI informant form alleging the Biden family bribes is part of a quote now ongoing investigation. According to House Oversight Committee Republicans who reviewed the Bureau's FD 1023 form, an FBI informant claims to possess two pieces of evidence that show that President Joe Biden and hunter Biden received 5 million each. And after Joe Biden threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine until a prosecutor was fired, a source familiar with the FBI's informant document confirmed that Hunter and Joe Biden allegedly coerced the Burism executive into paying them the 10 million in bribes. Now, the FBI informant also claims that this individual kept these 17 audio recordings of his conversations with Hunter and Joe Biden as an insurance policy. Chuck Grassley, we played that audio a couple shows ago where he talked about that from the floor of the Senate. Now you put all that together with now the DOJ and them and refuting what the IRS whistleblowers are saying. Lindsey Graham, your colleague in the Senate, he put it this way when he was asked, hey, do you trust the doj? Now seeing these two stories come together, here's what he had to say.

[Lindsey Graham]

So this is an important moment here. Here's what I can tell you without any doubt when it comes to the Department of Justice, I don't trust them. They got to come forward under oath and testify so here's what the whistleblower has said, the group of whistleblowers, that Hunter Biden got the benefit of the doubt unlike anybody they've ever seen, and they've been there for decades, that every time there was a question, it wound up being in Hunter Biden's favor. They claimed that Mr. Weiss, the US attorney from Delaware, sought special counsel status and was denied that status and that he wanted to bring charges in D.C. and California, but he was told no. So what did I do? I wrote Mr. Weiss and said, what's the deal here? Did you ask for special counsel status? He told me in the letter he had a discussion about it, but he was sure he could get it if he needed it. And he never really answered the question. The second thing that he said in the letter back to me was he Never went to D.C. or California for more serious charges. He was never rebuffed by those jurisdictions. But here's the big one. Ask him about the 1023. Remember the 1023 report? If it had not been for Senator Brassley, we would never have known that there was an accusation that Hunter and Joe Biden both were involved in a bribery scandal involving Burisma, the giant gas company in Ukraine. That 1023 investigative report was found by Senator Grassley. It was redacted. He got the redactions lifted. And we now know a credible source for the FBI, literally on their payroll claims that there were conversations up to 15 between Hunter and Joe Biden regarding a gas company official in the Ukraine. Here's what Mr. Wise said. I cannot tell you about that accusation because it's part of a criminal investigation. That's one of two things that. They're still looking at Hunter Biden for additional charges.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

What?

[Lindsey Graham]

I. I don't believe that. They don't want to tell me what happened to the 1023 investigation. And I can tell your audience you're all going to know what happened. Did they sweep it under the rug? Did they investigate and find out it was fraudulent? I want to know what happened to the accusations regarding Hunter Biden, Joe Biden taking bribes in Ukraine. I did not get that answer in this letter. I'm not going to stop until I found out to find out how that accusation was disposed of.

[Ben Ferguson]

Senator. You hear Lindsey, there I. This infuriates me, the fact that we can't even get now a straight story from David Weiss. And are they still investigating the President's son? Or could they have thought, hey, we're going to stop it, we'll give them these These couple of charges we know about the plea deal go through and we're done. And now are they having to backtrack because all this is coming out Well.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

I don't believe they're still investigating Hunter Biden. I think they're trying to sweep it all under the rug. I think this is a sweetheart deal. This is designed to make all of the allegations go away. That's why Democrats in the corporate media repeatedly said when the plea deal was announced, this resolves everything. Everything's done. We're finished with this. Oh, and by the way, Hunter spends no jail time and nothing implicates Joe Biden at all. That's what this is designed to do. I don't think it's going to succeed. But listen, that clip from Hannity last night where Lindsey said, I mean, it is significant that Lindsey and Lindsey is a friend. We have served together. We're on Judiciary together. Lindsey is the ranking member. He's the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. It's a big deal for the ranking member of Judiciary to say, I don't trust the Department of Justice. That has not happened many times in our nation's history. Usually the Department of Justice has enough credibility that the minority party trusts the Department of Justice, at least to some extent. That is an incredible commentary on just how politicized the Biden Department of Justice is. And, and, and, and Lindsey is right also in what he says, that David Weiss inadvertently confirms where when he was asked about the FD 1023 alleging bribery from Hunter, that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden both received bribes from senior executives at Burisma, he said, I can't answer because it's part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Now, that is implicitly a confirmation. Now it's a confirmation that I suspect is less than fully honest because they're not, I believe, actively investigating it anymore. They may never have investigated it, but I don't think they're actively investigating it anymore. And it's an example of how the Biden DOJ and the Biden FBI use the words active investigation as a shield to prevent any oversight into their misconduct, which is if you ask them, what evidence do you have of criminal conduct? They say active investigation. If you asked him, what do you did you do to investigate that evidence? They say active investigation. If you ask him, what's the status? Are you going to indict anyone? They say active investigation. And you know what they don't do? They don't actually follow through and investigate and prosecute the massive evidence of actual corruption by The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and even more so, Biden's Attorney General, Merrick Garland, the evidence keeps suggesting is actively obstructing that investigation.

[Ben Ferguson]

Jake Tapper, great example. A guy I had to work with against my will for seven years as I was a commentator fighting the good fight over at cnn. He's now saying that he, quote, insists that he won't shy away from covering the Hunter Biden scandal after avoiding the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in 2020. Now, he was a guy that has a lot of weight in the DC Office. I know this because I was working there at the time. And he made it clear early on, you're not to talk about Hunter Biden. You're not to talk about the laptop. We had directives come down from CNN from the very top, telling us we were not to mention the story about the laptop, anything on the laptop or Hunter Biden when we were there. That's part of the reason why I left. But Jake Tapper is now acting like he's Mr. Journalist playing journalist now, saying during an interview on a podcast he was asked about the recent plea agreement with President Biden's son that he reached the DOJ over his tax crimes. And critics have panned this plea, Obviously a sweetheart deal. Particularly in the wake of the explosive IRS whistleblower allegations that prosecutors were blocked from bringing heavier charges and investigators were told not to look into potential financial ties directly between Hunter Biden and his father, the President, Joe Biden. His response? I think we cover it. We have been covering it, and we need to cover it. Then he goes on to give the liberal media's line, look, I mean, Hunter Biden is who he is. It's pretty clear who he is. Tapper continued, in addition to being an addict. Right. So there's the alibi that every. Oh, you should feel bad for him. He's an addict. He's a guy who ethically has. There have been questions raised about his behavior, and I think it's worth covering. Well, then why the hell didn't he cover the actual laptop? Which it was not hard to verify it was authentic. If he actually meant this, then he would have done his damn job for years when that was going on.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You have a long history with Jake Tapper. So do I. I know Jake. Well, Jake and I met 24 years ago in 1999, when I was a young staffer working on the George W. Bush campaign. I was domestic policy advisor on the campaign. And Jake Tapper was a cub reporter, a young, young reporter. He was on the campaign plane. He was on the road covering the campaign. And so I met him then. Long before he worked at cnn, he worked at Salon, the left wing website. He has since gone to cnn, risen to become their top political reporter and their Sunday show anchor. And look, I have conflicting feelings on Jake Tapper because I think Jake Tapper, unlike many in the media, actually has some tiny inkling, some little voice buried deep in his soul that wants to be a real journalist. There were times when he actually did try to be a real journalist. I used to go on CNN all the time. I used to go on CNN when I started in the Senate. I was on the CNN once a week. And it used to be possible to get. Look, they were always hostile lefties, but it used to be possible to get a reasonable interview from CNN even while they're being hostile. What happened to Jake Tapper is Donald Trump broke him. He's emblematic. And we've talked a lot on this podcast about how Trump broke the media across the board. They hate Trump so much that they abandoned their objective of being journalists. There is no one for whom this is more true than Jake Tapper. And I actually in significant ways feel sorry for Jake because some of these other hacks have never been journalists. They've always been political hacks. And so they don't feel any guilt about it. I actually believe there's a tiny still voice in Jake that is crying out for the journalist he used to be that he's just given away because CNN decided to be rabidly partisan and an anti Trump hate station. And he saluted, put on his captain's hat and said, let's go. So what's happening now? Now he's saying on this podcast this week that, well, we CNN should cover the allegations of criminality concerning Hunter Biden. Now mind you, he didn't say cover the allegations concerning Joe Biden. So he's still trying to cabinet to the Sun Hunter, who he quickly notes is an addict. And gosh, isn't that a shame. But let's be clear, what Tapper behavior were was in October of 2020, which is when the Hunter Biden laptop story broke. Do you know in the entire month how many times Jake Tapper mentioned Hunter Biden's laptop on either of his two CNN programs?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, he had two by the way. And I know this answer, Senator, because I was there. I'm gonna. Well, I'm gonna guess I'm pretty sure it's zero times because they refused to cover the story.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Zero, nada, Nyet. Nada kaka. Sorry. I ran, I ran out of languages and so I just went back to what they were really doing. And by the way, part of the reason they wouldn't cover it is because, well, it was the month before presidential election and covering it might actually hurt Joe Biden help Donald Trump. And to be clear, CNN is not a news organization. It is a political organization. And so they don't want to do anything to harm their political objectives. But it's also worth noting that they and Big Tech were responding to the FBI who was actively asking Big Tech suppress the Hunter Biden story because they had claimed they had pre warned Big Tech that the Russians would engage in a hack and leak operation. Now here's the amazing thing. The FBI had in its physical possession Hunter Biden's laptop since December of 2019, so a year earlier. So they knew, or they should have known for a fact that it was real, that it was authentic, that it was not a Russian counterfeit laptop. But the partisans at the FBI worked with the partisans at Big Tech worked with the partisans at the corporate media to cover up the story. And so as we sit here today, I got to say it is significant. We talked about this a week or two ago on the pod. CBS is the first major corporate media outlet to begin covering these allegations. CBS had Gary Shapley, one of the two IRS whistleblowers for a two minute interview. Now, two minutes is not saturation coverage, but it's not nothing. They actually acknowledged it existed. And we talked about how, wow, there are cracks in the facade. Jake Tapper saying CNN ought to cover this. That's another crack in the facade that is significant. If you. Now let's see if Jake Tapper and CNN actually do cover it as compared to telling a podcast host, yeah, we ought to actually cover news. Boy, that, that, it's amazing that that is newsworthy. Someone who claims to be a journalist saying they should cover breaking news about multiple whistleblowers coming forth with evidence of corruption by the President of the United States and the Attorney General of the United States. And by the way, that's not just about the son who as Tapper says is an addict. It is about the highest level of government speak truth to power, which the corporate media never does. But all that being said, CBS is starting to crack now. CNN is starting to crack. That's significant. And as the evidence grows, we're going to see more of this.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's going to be interesting to see how it continues to how they fall over themselves to not cover these types of things in the media, especially going to this presidential election year. Let me tell you about chalk. If you're a guy and you deal with a real issue that other men are dealing with and that is you feel like you're getting weak. You feel like complacency is set in. You don't want to go work out. You don't want to be active. You just feel like you've lost your edge. You, you're not alone. Testosterone levels have dropped off a cliff historically. And chalk is helping men just like you take back your right to maximize your masculinity by boosting your testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. Yes, you can get rid of that weakness and complacency and replace it with strength and vitality. It's manufactured right here in US Of A. Chalk's natural herbal supplements are clinically proven to have game changing effects on your energy, your focus and your mood. Check out chalk. Choq.com I've been taking the male vitality stack now for several months. It works. You can boost your testosterone levels up to 20% over 90 days. [e-mail] use promo code BEN and you'll get 50, 35% off. That's promo code [e-mail] you get 35% off center. I want to move to another big issue and this deals with the border wall. It's amazing how this didn't make headlines and being sarcastic, obviously. But now as we get closer to a presidential election year, we're being told apparently that the White House is all on board now with this idea of filling in parts of the border wall. Filling in the gaps. The same border wall that Biden canceled calling it Trump's wall. And now we're being told that, well, Biden's saying, okay, maybe we should fill in those gaps because illegal immigration is so out of control. This is just hypocrisy 101.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, you're exactly right. And we now have media reports that say the Department of Homeland Security is halfway through filling in 129 gaps. So a lot of gaps in border wall projects. After Joe Biden had abruptly halted the remaining 300 miles of Trump era wall construction within days of taking office in January 2021, dozens of gaps have been filled across Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas where more than 450 miles of 18 foot and 30 foot slatted steel wall was installed by Trump. But despite such efforts, much of the 2,000 mile border is still open. Biden promised in an interview with NPR in August of 2020 that, quote, there will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration. Now that promise he has broken, but he's broken it quietly. You know, there was not a major announcement. There wasn't a White House speech. There wasn't a speech from the administration saying we were wrong, Trump was right, the Republicans were right, we need to build a wall. None of that. They're just quietly doing that. And here's some border stats from May of 2023. CBP reported 204,561 alien encounters along the southwest border just in May of 2023. That's a 13% increase from May. A year ago, 35,317 aliens were encountered at ports of entry. That's a 17%. 17% of the total encounters in May. This is a 20% increase from just a month ago, in April of 2023. And it is a massive 34% increase from January of 2023. So far in fiscal year 2023, CBP has arrested 20,923 aliens with criminal conviction. So these are aliens that have different criminal convictions, including 442 known gang members. 134 of those were Ms. 13 members. And in just the first eight months of the fiscal year, 125 people whose names appear on the terrorist watch list were stopped trying to cross our southern border, surpassing the last fiscal years in tighter tire total of 98. So 125 this year, 98 last year. And back when Republicans were in charge, those numbers were something like 4 and 6. They were in the single digits as compared to hundreds of terrorists crossing the border illegally and coming here, presumably to. To. To threaten the lives and security of Americans.

[Ben Ferguson]

When you hear this happen and the fact that the White House doesn't publicize it, you don't have the border czar going down there. The Vice President of the United States of America.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Wait, do we have the border czar? Who would that be?

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, right, the woman who's never really seen the border. Yes, she's the one that's in charge of the border.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So I have a serious question.

[Ben Ferguson]

Sure.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Is Kamala Harris actually in witness protection? Because I have to admit, look, I work in politics. My job is to go to the U.S. capitol, work in the Senate.

[Ben Ferguson]

I.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Okay, I was going to say, I can't recall the last time I saw Kamala. That's not true. I last saw her when India's Prime Minister Modi spoke a couple of weeks ago. On the floor of the house. And I was chatting with Kamala as we walked over, because she was sitting there for that. But other than sitting there, where her entire job was to sit there and smile and try to avoid cackling uncontrollably. Other than that, I genuinely cannot remember a single damn thing she's done in the last three months. Can you? Seriously?

[Ben Ferguson]

No, I can't. I mean, it's the weirdest dynamic at the White House. You have a president that keeps a schedule, maybe noon to 4, and then you have a vice president that. I don't even think the White House wants to use her at this point.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Look, I actually wonder if she's living as an accountant in Nebraska under an assumed name because they've told her that please stay away from TV cameras because you're really hurting the administration anytime you open your mouth.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, the cackle does kill it, right? Let's just be clear about that. You look at this White House and they're moving into this presidential.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

By the way, I got another question. Ben.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm ready.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Has anyone ever taken Kamala's cackle and Hillary Clinton's cackle and like, overlaid them and set them to music? I just think you do something with that. Like if you combine the two, like. Like this sort of overlapping cackles, it would be really something.

[Ben Ferguson]

Somebody could do that as a beat and probably get it to number one with the right lyrics, right? Just because people be like, yeah, I know those two people. I can put those two together. This White House senator, if they're going to do this right before the election, what does that tell us about what else they may change going into the presidential. I mean, if they're willing to start building the border wall but not tell you about it, and the media, by the way, is not covering this. And I think that's something else that should really frustrate people is the fact that the media. This is a big story. This is one they should be covering. Because as you mentioned the very beginning, it's a flip flop. It's a huge policy flip flop from Joe Biden, who said there won't be another inch of this border wall that's going to be built. Now he's actually building it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, we ought to have an honest conversation. Is a wall a good idea or a bad idea? Now, I can tell you, when you talk to border patrol agents, and I spend a lot of time on the southern border, I've spoken with hundreds and hundreds of border patrol agents. Every single one I've asked And it has been large, large numbers over more than a decade have said, of course we need a wall. Now a wall is not a magic wand. It's not a panacea. It doesn't fix everything. And part of the reason a wall doesn't fix everything is there's an old adage, if you build a 10 foot wall, someone will come with an 11 foot ladder. And that's actually right, that they see where the wall is constructed, that people bring ladders, they find ways to get over it. The reason a wall is beneficial is that what is critical if you're trying to stop illegal immigration is time between detection and apprehension. That when you see someone crossing, you want to get boots on the ground, you want to get border patrol agents there to stop them, apprehend them and deport them. And what a wall does is slows it down. And it's particularly important in urban environments, in places where when they cross the border they can disappear into a populated area quickly. There's some areas, for example, in very rural and rugged areas of West Texas where a wall doesn't do much good. Where it's such rough terrain that when you cross the border you've got miles and miles of desert. And so a wall is not really significantly slowing you down from, from the natural terrain barriers. But when you're crossing in an urban area where you've got a few hundred yards and you're suddenly in the middle of a, a, a city in Texas and can disappear, a wall is really important to slow you down. But a wall alone doesn't fix the problem because it takes, number one, Border patrol agents on the ground to apprehend people. But number two, it takes a president and administration willing to deport them. And the single biggest cause of our open border crisis is Joe Biden refuses to follow the law and deport people. Instead he lets them go. He follows catch and release. And until he changes that, he can build all the Wally wants. It's not going to fix the problem.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well I don't know. I think if we ever get it it will be dependent on the House of Representatives to press for answers on this and to vigorously question the Secret Service. The Senate's not going to do that because Senate Democrats don't care. They don't care if if the President of the United States, they don't care if the President's son, they don't care if the entire senior staff are actively on drugs. How do I know they don't care because they won't hold a hearing on it. They won't ask a question about it. It doesn't matter to them. It's all politics. So it's got to be the House that presses for accountability. And the question is is is the Secret Service going to stonewall the same way the Biden Department of Justice and the Biden FBI has? I suspect the answer is yes. But I, but I hope, you know, you know, some small part of me is an idealist that hopes there's someone in the federal government willing to actually honorably serve and not just be a political hack. And so maybe the Secret Service will do the right thing. But what I suspect is the Biden administration has made the decision. We don't want to know the answer. That they are. They are Jack Nicholson and A Few Good Men. You can't handle the truth. That's their view. Is importantly. Joe Biden can't handle the truth because the truth is it is going to be someone on the Biden administration staff, possibly the senior staff, who's using drugs. And you know, the Biden administration sent out a press spokesperson this week to say we drug test our employees. We take, we take drug policies very seriously and there will be consequences if we find out who did this. I gotta say, based on their pattern of stonewalling and cover up, I find that very, very hard to believe. But I also find it hard to believe they cannot figure out who did this. So. So if they don't figure it out, it's because they don't want to know.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, great point. Don't forget, we do this show three days a week. So make sure you hit that follow button if you're listening on Apple or subscribe or auto download depending on where you are listening. Share it please on social media with that little forward button. Wherever you are on social media helps us reach more people and write us a five star review that also helps us on the charts and helps us reach new people. And I will, we will see you back here in a couple of days.