CA Fraud Explosion 'Shooting Fish w Dynamite' plus 'Fauci Shaped COVID Narrative' Whistleblower Claims

Summary

Podcast Summary: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode Title: CA Fraud Explosion ‘Shooting Fish w Dynamite’ plus ‘Fauci Shaped COVID Narrative’ Whistleblower Claims
Host: Ben Ferguson
Date: May 14, 2026
Length Covered: [03:08] – [19:09]

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson delves into two headline-making stories:

1. The Trump administration’s sweeping anti-fraud crackdown, spearheaded by J.D. Vance, with bombshell revelations about widespread abuse in federal social programs—particularly in California’s hospice and Medicaid systems.
2. Explosive Capitol Hill testimony from a CIA whistleblower alleging Dr. Anthony Fauci influenced U.S. intelligence assessments about COVID’s origins—while Democrats conspicuously avoided the hearing.

Ferguson offers his signature, unfiltered conservative perspective, blending new investigative details with sharp political commentary.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Federal Fraud Crackdown Hits California

• J.D. Vance’s Role:

  • Vance is at the forefront of the Trump administration’s anti-fraud campaign, strongly prioritizing efforts to uncover and end waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs.
  • Ferguson notes, “The numbers being uncovered are staggering… hundreds of thousands of dead people getting food stamp benefits and now also shocking numbers of massive Medicaid fraud going to home health care and hospice providers.” [03:14]

• Staggering SNAP and Medicaid Fraud:

  • Over 186,000 deceased individuals were found to be receiving SNAP (food stamp) benefits.
  • 400,000+ cases of individuals receiving duplicate SNAP benefits—i.e., double dipping with two successful applications.
  • Ferguson demands accountability: “If you are double dipping, shouldn’t you go to jail? Shouldn’t you lose SNAP benefits indefinitely?” [04:18]
  • The White House equates investigating fraud to “fishing in a barrel with dynamite.” [05:17]

• Massive Scheme in CA Hospice Programs:

  • The Trump administration withheld $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements from California over fraud allegations.
  • Dr. Oz (reporting on the administration’s behalf):
    • Quote: “At least half of the hospices in the entire area around Los Angeles are fraudulent. And today we announce 800 of those hospices have been suspended. That’s…$1.4 billion will no longer be paid.” [07:52]
  • The crackdown has triggered a nationwide moratorium on all new hospice and home health care licenses.
    • Dr. Oz elaborates: “Nevada has a sevenfold increase in hospice already. Arizona, Texas—they’re moving across the country. So we’re today announcing a moratorium nationally.” [08:51]

• Political Fallout & Public Opinion:

  • Ferguson notes GOP sees “a war on fraud, waste and abuse from the Trump administration,” while Democrats accuse Republicans of overreach and risking legitimate care.
  • He states, “This is clearly a winning issue for Republicans because… Americans agree that fraud should be rooted out regardless of the party who’s in charge.” [10:09]
  • Ferguson speculates on years of “kickbacks to the political campaigns of those that look the other way. And that would be the Democratic Party.” [11:20]

---

2. CIA Whistleblower: Fauci Influenced COVID Intelligence

• Whistleblower Testimony Highlights:

  • A CIA whistleblower alleged to the Senate that, despite the majority of CIA scientists believing in the “lab leak” origin of COVID, Dr. Anthony Fauci influenced high-level intelligence officials to frame official assessments more neutrally.
    • Ferguson: “Not a single Democrat was there for the testimony. What are they running away from and what did the whistleblower have to say?” [03:46]
  • The whistleblower cites two specific Fauci contacts with the intelligence community (IC): Feb 3, 2020, and June 4, 2021.
    • Quote: “Anthony Fauci had contact with the interagency… he provided a curated list of subject matter experts, which coincidentally wrote ‘The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2.’” [13:41]
  • Fauci was not overtly instructing, but “provided recommendations.” The whistleblower suggests a pattern of Fauci’s preferred experts shaping the narrative within intelligence assessments.

• Internal Doubts Hidden:

  • Quote: “It’s when you look… at the IC, where you realize, okay, there is a narrative that was being generated by his contact not just with experts here in the United States, but… in Australia and the UK.” [14:18]
  • In August 2021, the CIA was on the verge of declaring COVID a lab leak, but within the week, shifted to a neutral position—documented, per the whistleblower.

• Questions of Conflict of Interest:

  • Senator Rand Paul presses whether anyone involved recognized Fauci’s potential conflict, given his approval of research at the Wuhan lab.
    • Quote (Rand Paul): “Did anybody ever bring up that he might not be an objective witness?” [16:36]
    • The whistleblower confirms it was not directly addressed: “Nobody said this is happening…Unfortunately, I think they probably should have.” [16:54]

• Democratic Senators' Absence:

  • Ferguson and Fox News note no Democratic senators showed up for the hearing.
    • Quote (Fox News Reporter): “Even James Erdman, who is the whistleblower witness today, was asked about…How does that make you feel knowing that those Democrats aren’t there? And he says, of course, I wish that they were.” [18:13]

---

Memorable Quotes and Moments

• “The Vice President has now called the finding of fraud in the federal government like fishing in a barrel with dynamite.” – Ben Ferguson [05:17]
• “We believe that at least half of the hospices in the entire area around Los Angeles are fraudulent. And today we announce 800 of those hospices have been suspended.” – Dr. Oz [07:52]
• “Dead people shouldn’t be getting food stamps. And the American people agree with that statement.” – Ben Ferguson [10:34]
• “CIA whistleblower went before Capitol Hill yesterday revealing…Anthony Fauci was able to convince high ranking intel officials to change their assessment from a lab leak to a neutral idea.” – Ben Ferguson [11:34]
• “Anthony Fauci had contact with the interagency…and he provided a curated list of subject matter experts, which coincidentally wrote ‘The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2.’” – CIA Whistleblower [13:41]
• “Your conclusion is that changing from the scientific consensus of it being from a lab to a neutral position by the CIA was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci.” – Senator Rand Paul [17:00]
• “It was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci’s injecting himself into the IC.” – CIA Whistleblower [17:11]
• “Not a single Democrat showed up to the Senate hearing…Could it be maybe because they were all involved in it too?” – Ben Ferguson [17:39]

---

Relevant Timestamps

• Introduction of Key Topics – [03:08]
• SNAP/Medicaid Fraud Stats & California Crackdown – [03:14] to [09:28]
• Dr. Oz on Nationwide Moratorium – [07:46] to [08:51]
• Political Analysis and Polling – [09:28] to [11:32]
• CIA Whistleblower Testimony (COVID/Fauci) – [11:33] to [17:39]
• Fox News on Absence of Democrats – [18:10]
• Episode Wrap-Up – [19:09]

---

Tone & Style

Ben Ferguson’s delivery is punchy, direct, and explicitly conservative. He employs rhetorical questions, pointed language (“crickets,” “overreaching,” “kickbacks”), and frequently invokes the “taxpayer” as the aggrieved party. The episode is imbued with urgency and a strong “drain the swamp” motif, especially regarding government accountability and perceived Democratic malfeasance.

---

This summary covers all major themes, quotes, and moments from the core content of the episode, offering a comprehensive guide for those who haven’t listened.

Transcript

[Sophia Donner]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Ben Ferguson]

Guaranteed Human Amazon Health AI presents painful

thoughts I I can't stop scratching my downtown.

[CIA Whistleblower]

Mm, yeah, but I'm not itching to

[Ben Ferguson]

go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud.

There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI. Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24.

[Public Investing Representative]

7 Health care just got less painful

[CarMax Representative]

do you want to find a stress free way to buy your next car? Start at CarMax and shop your way. If you want to browse with confidence, get pre qualified online with no impact on your credit score and shop cars within your budget. From luxury cars to family rides, CarMax has options for almost every price range, including more than 25,000 cars priced under $25,000. So hey, want to get started? Just head to CarMax.com for details and get pre qualified today. Want to drive CarMax?

[Public Investing Representative]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool put is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures wasn't that delicious?

[Ben Ferguson]

So good.

Your bill ladies.

[Sophia Donner]

I got it.

[CIA Whistleblower]

I got it.

[Sophia Donner]

No, I got it. Seriously, I insist. I insisted first. Don't be silly. You know me silly.

[Ben Ferguson]

People with the Wells Fargo Active Cash

Credit card prefer to pay because they

earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

[Sophia Donner]

Okay.

[Ben Ferguson]

Rock, paper scissors for it. Rock, paper, scissors.

[Sophia Donner]

Shoot.

[Ben Ferguson]

No the Wells Fargo ActiveCash credit card. Visit Wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply 800 hospices that last year charged the federal taxpayer $1.4 billion will no longer be paid. Mr. Vice President, if your core business was shut down by the federal government, would you call, you would call crickets? We have less than 20 who have complained. We're not even sure Those are legitimate. 800 hospices shut down and we're not hearing much to say it's crickets out there. You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

Good Thursday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got two big stories for you. First up, J.D. vance, making government fraud a front and center issue. And the numbers being uncovered are staggering. Vance not only is saying that the fraud task force has found hundreds of thousands of dead people getting food stamp benefits and now also shocking numbers of massive Medicaid fraud going to home health care and hospice providers. Also, there was a major hearing from a CIA whistleblower on Capitol Hill and not a single Democrat was there for the testimony. What are they running away from and what did the whistleblower have to say? We have it all for you. I want to take a quick moment and talk to you about an incredible organization and it is called Compassion International and how you can get involved. Love, generosity and compassion. We say those words all the time and they sound good, they feel good. But here's the truth. Those words don't mean anything unless they turn into action. And right now, not later today, not tomorrow, there's a child in the world who doesn't know if they'll eat, if they'll have a chance to learn or if there's any hope at all. And while we're all busy, life keeps moving forward. But that child is waiting. This is where you come in. With Compassion International, you have the chance to change a child's future not just with words, not with promises, but with real help that provides food, education and hope through local churches and people already in their community. Put your words into action and and join me. Introduce a child to a loving heavenly father [e-mail] that's compassion.com it's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now. Story number one, when Donald Trump got elected, he made it very clear that waste, fraud and abuse were going to be something he was going to focus on. Then he brought in Elon Musk and Doge. Well, they're not done. In fact, apparently they're just getting started. Now. J.D. vance is now leading the Trump administration's anti fraud crackdown. And we've got major new Developments including the fact that Vance now says the administration's fraud task force has found already 186,000 plus dead people allegedly still receiving SNAP food stamp benefits. Now, to be clear, we can't crawl back this money. These funds are being stolen and they're being used by people that are clearly not dead, but alive. And they're using dead people's identity to get the funds. Now, that obviously should make you angry. And they're expecting to find more than the basically 200,000 dead people who are getting money every single month from you, the taxpayer. Now, the task force also says that more than 400,000 people were actually defrauding the government, receiving duplicate SNAP benefits at the same time, meaning that they had two applications that were approved. Double dipping, getting twice as much as they should normally get. Now, if you are double dipping, shouldn't you go to jail? Shouldn't you lose SNAP benefits indefinitely? Shouldn't there be a major consequence for stealing from the U.S. government? Well, right now, apparently there's not much of a deterrent at all. Now, the White House is trying to change that, framing this as a massive taxpayer accountability effort. They're also arguing that Americans are tired of seeing waste, fraud and abuse in all of our federal programs. Now, the Vice President has now called the finding of fraud in the federal government like fishing in a barrel with dynamite. The administration is now escalating beyond rhetoric. They are now threatening as well to withhold Medicaid funding from states that failed to aggressively investigate fraud. The biggest move came, and it involved California, where the Trump administration has now deferred roughly 1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements amid massive allegations of widespread fraud in hospice and home health care programs. Just how bad is it? Dr. Oz explaining it from Washington as they announced the new program initiative.

Unfortunately, we have a reality that, again, we got to face a third of all hospices, a third of all these programs in the entire country are in Los Angeles. Ask yourself, how is that possible? It's not. There are not that many people dying in Los Angeles. We're not talking about California, just Los Angeles. So Kim and the team with Jeanina Uuggo and a bunch of other great folks went through the list of all the people, and we believe that at least half of the hospices in the entire area around Los Angeles are fraudulent. And Today we announce 800 of those hospices have been suspended. That's getting us, you know, close to where we think we should be. 800 hospices that last year charged the federal taxpayer $1.4 billion will no longer be paid. Mr. Vice President, if your core business was shut down by the federal government, would you call, you would call crickets? We have less than 20 who have complained. We're not even sure Those are legitimate. 800 hospices shut down and we're not hearing much. It's like it's crickets out there. So we believed we're on the right path here. Next is a nationwide moratorium on all new hospice and home health care. Why is that possible? Because when we squeeze the balloon in California and slow their growth of hospice and now take away 800 the payments, 800 hospices, we know what those fraudsters do. They move to nearby Nevada next door. Nevada has a seven fold increase in hospice already. Arizona, Texas, they're moving across the country. So we've today announcing a moratorium nationally. There will be no new hospices or home health care open in this country. If you have the program now, you can keep it. You can go to ones that already exist. We're not taking away any services, but there will be no new ones, licenses granted until we can figure out a better way of working across government.

One of the most interesting things you just heard there from Dr. Oz is the fact that he said we're shutting it down nationwide because we know that when they get busted in la, when they get busted in California, the people that are committing the fraud, they just go to another state and they open up there. Now Republicans, by the way, are arguing this is exactly what voters voted for, what they wanted. Someone finally going through federal programs line by line, asking where taxpayer money is actually going. And we're finding out just how much fraud there is. Democrats, however, are losing their minds right now, warning the administration is overreaching, gonna make mistakes and rushing investigations, and then people are going to get hurt. Now the question is, where are the American people on this issue? Well, politically this is clearly a winning issue for Republicans because in new polling, overwhelmingly the majority of Americans agree that fraud should be rooted out regardless of the party who's in charge. Now Vance is also trying to find more fraud, directly tying it also to border security and government spending, arguing Americans shouldn't be asked to pay more taxes. While billions may be lost through abuse and corruption. Dead people shouldn't be getting food stamps. And the American people agree with that statement. Taxpayers are finally asking where the money actually went and there should be people that go to jail. This is clearly a war on fraud, waste and abuse from the Trump administration. And the reality is Washington ignored this for years. Why? Because Many of the people that were getting the money were giving kickbacks to the political campaigns of those that look the other way. And, and that would be the Democratic Party. Thank goodness JD Vance is betting Americans care more about protecting taxpayer dollars than protecting bureaucracies. And politically that might be an extremely smart move ahead of the midterms.

Now story number two.

CIA whistleblower went before Capitol Hill yesterday revealing that despite a majority of CIA scientists concluding overwhelmingly that Covid leaked from a lab in Wuhan, Anthony Fauci was able to convince high ranking intel officials to change their assessment from a lab leak to a neutral idea. Why? Because they need to cover up the narrative that the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was tied directly to Anthony Fauci was actually involved. What's even more shocking than that is the CIA whistleblower also said that the CIA is still blocking full declassification of COVID documents. Why? Is it to protect Fauci or is it to protect China? I want you to hear the back and forth from Senator Rand Paul and the CIA whistleblower explaining exactly just how bad it really is.

[Senator Rand Paul]

But what I think is of importance that's new today is that your testimony is that the CIA scientists were concluding that it was lab. But then when this, There was a 90 day study in 2021 and this study was done by Nic, led by Nic. Tell us what NIC is again.

[CIA Whistleblower]

It's the National Intelligence Council and individuals responsible for writing various WMD and and bio related issues led to it.

[Senator Rand Paul]

So when they had this study, they had CIA scientists telling them look, the evidence, the scientific evidence looks like it came from the lab. But then they brought in Anthony Fauci. And is it your opinion that Anthony Fauci was able to overrule the scientist or get NIC to conclude somehow that there wasn't a conclusion to be had here we're going to be neutral contradicting what the scientists were telling them.

[CIA Whistleblower]

So there's two questions there and I want to break them up into two. One is where were the injection points Dr. Anthony Fauci, where did Dr. Anthony Fauci and when did he inject himself into the ic? And the other half of that question, if I'm, if I'm, and I don't want to extrapolate too much here is okay, what happened with why was there a change in analysis? So I'll start with the. If it's okay, Dr. Paul. Sure. Senator, I'll start with Dr. Anthony Fauci. There were two instances on the 3rd of February 2020 and the 4th of June 2021, Anthony Fauci had contact with the interagency. And how to sort of broadly generalize this is that that contact was happily pursued within the ic. They wanted that contact and he provided a curated list of subject matter experts, which coincidentally wrote the proximal origin of SARS cov2. So it's not like he came in and said, you have to do X, Y and Z. He provided recommendations. It's when you look at what has already been publicly released about Dr. Fauci and then what you're seeing under the curtain at the ic, where you realize, okay, there is a narrative that was being generated by his contact not just with experts here in the United States, but experts in Australia and the uk and that's the public facing piece. And, you know, he had tried to sort of keep his hands clear of, I didn't, I didn't have anything to do with the proximal origin of SARS CoV2. But in the meantime, he's pushing those authors and individuals that have been in his orbit into the IC as experts. And I'll jump to June 2021,

[Ben Ferguson]

we,

[CIA Whistleblower]

as the IC at the NIC, happily pursued those recommendations. And in one email, which I'll describe to you the person in charge of leading the 90 day study, he introduced himself to the community on what they were supposed to be doing. And then the community said, he said, listen, we've got these people we should be talking to. And another very senior NIC officer sent a direct email to him saying, hey, considering that Dr. Fauci is a public health expert, are you sure we should be relying on this? Shouldn't we have a separate set? And in this instance, the individual responded, no, in this case, Dr. Anthony Fauci is a subject matter expert. However, that's directly contradicting his public testimony of being a subject matter expert.

[Senator Rand Paul]

Part of the job in intelligence, when you interview someone is assessing their truthfulness, their potential biases or conflicts of interest. Did anyone ever bring up that Anthony Fauci approved the research that went on in Wuhan and that it might not be in his interest for the conclusion to be, be that it came from a lab that he had funded that there might be a conflict? It was. Did any. Everybody ever bring up that he might not be an objective witness?

[CIA Whistleblower]

That was one example of an email. No one laid it out quite that clearly. You're piecing it together. We were piecing it together from multiple emails, from multiple agencies, multiple documents. It was, it was, it was more subtle than that. Nobody said this is happening. And unfortunately, I think they probably should have. It was all, it was all out there.

[Senator Rand Paul]

But your conclusion is that changing from the scientific consensus of it being from a lab to a neutral position by the CIA was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci.

[CIA Whistleblower]

It was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci's injecting himself into the ic. And to go to the second part of your question about what happened, particularly during the 90 day study, we have documentation that shows that as of August 12th, the CIA was considering calling this a lab leak. August 12th of 2021. And then that changed on August 17th of 2021.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, what's even more shocking about the hearing and what you just heard, there is not a single Democrat heard any of what you just heard. Why? Because apparently not a single Democrat showed up to the Senate hearing today where the CIA whistleblower was testifying about the COVID cover up. Could it be maybe because they were all involved in it too? Listen to how FOX News explained no Democrats in attendance in this picture because

[Fox News Reporter]

just a few minutes ago, just shy of the top of the hour, you could see over the left shoulder of Senator Ron Johnson the empty seats of Democrats. And we can show, I mean, look at that room. And even James Erdman, who is the whistleblower witness today, was asked about and I believe it was Senator Yes, Bernie Moreno who asked him this. How does that make you feel knowing that those Democrats aren't there? And he says that of course, I wish that they were. I mean, you want everyone to know what he has to say.

[Ben Ferguson]

It really is amazing to know that you have a CIA whistleblower coming forward on the issue of COVID It involves Anthony Fauci, Democrats, God. And none of the Democrats will show up to hear what the whistleblower has to say. There should be massive accountability for that and also a lot more questions that should be asked of Democratic lawmakers of why you didn't show up.

Thank you for listening to the 4-47-morning update with Ben Ferguson.

Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever

you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.

[Sophia Donner]

This is Sophia Donner from ok Storytime this summer. Find your next obsession on Prime Video and listen, we're not saying you need another obsession, but there could be a lot worse ones. Steamy romance, addictive love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice, so why not watch them a third time off campus? Elle, the love hypothesis and more slow burns Second chances Chemistry you can feel through the screen and it makes you wish you were actually in that movie. We've got binge worthy series can't miss movies perfect for when you're ignoring your own problems or procrastinating as one does. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime Ryan Reynolds here

[Ben Ferguson]

from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone Paying Big Wireless Way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

[Public Investing Representative]

of $45 for three month plan equivalent

[CIA Whistleblower]

to $15 per month required intro rate

[Ben Ferguson]

first three months only, then full price

[Public Investing Representative]

plan options available, taxes and fees extra.

[Ben Ferguson]

See full [e-mail] your vehicle doesn't just

get you from here to there. It's a bridge to the people and places that matter most. It's how you show up for your family, your community and everyone else that depends on you. That's why for 125 years, Firestone has been building tires with one thing in to deliver products that are as reliable as you are. Firestone always dependable since 1900.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ever wonder how to make hosting look effortless? Here's a secret Getting ahead of the mess with new Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper Just lightly wet the counter beforehand so the paper grips and stays in place. Then lay down the Reynolds Kitchen's countertop prep paper so drips and spills stay on the paper, not all over your kitchen counter. You can roll out dough, prep a party spread or cook alongside family. When you're done, cleanup is as simple as lifting the paper and revealing that clean counter underneath. Effortless. You can use it for cooking and baking prep and even crafting, especially when you need extra working space. Because when the mess is already handled, you can focus on what matters the food, the people and the moment. It may look effortless, but now you know. It's Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper. Take a tip from me. Wet it, set it, prep it. Done. Make it easy. Make it with Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper, available now in the Reynolds Wrap aisle in Walmart, Target, Amazon and Costco.