← The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
DOJ Probes BLM: Where Did the Millions Go plus Comey "‘I Didn’t Lie! I Was Confused by Cruz’s Questions"
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Donald Trump
You know, the sad thing is I have my highest numbers that I've ever had. As I should. I ended eight wars and we have the greatest economy in history. And by the way, energy prices are way down. Everything's way down. Beef is a little bit high. We're going to get beef down too. But prices are down and the economy's up. The only thing that's not down is the stock prices. And 401ks are through the roof. Everyone's 401.
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Ben Ferguson
You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
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Good Friday morning. Nice to have you with us in the 47 Morning Update. And we've got two very big stories for you. First up, accountability. The Justice Department is now investigating whether the leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded their own donors who contributed millions and millions of dollars. We'll have the latest on that and what it means for the investigation. Also, in a shocking filing in the courthouse, former FBI Director James Comey now is demanding that the line to Congress indictment against him be tossed out. Why? Because apparently he's too dumb to understand questions that he was asked by senator ted Cruz. They literally said in the court filing that the questions were too long and just confusing. So therefore he couldn't have actually lied to congress. I'll break that down for you as well. But first I want to tell you about our friends over at patriot mobile. Every so often, something happens that reminds us just how fragile our freedoms are. We can't afford to take our rights for granted. We must draw a line in the sand. And our friends at Patriot mobile have been doing just that for more than 12 years. The truth is, there is only one provider that boldly stands in the gap for Americans who believe freedom is worth fighting for, and that company is patriot mobile. Not only are they leading the red economy, they're also out pacing the competition in technology. Patriot mobile is one of the only carriers offering premium access to all three major U. S Networks, giving you nationwide coverage and service that you can count on day after day. They also offer unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming, Internet backup, and so much more. And switching has never been easier. You, you can activate in minutes on your phone from your home or your office. And you keep your same number you've got now. Keep your same phone or upgrade to a new one. And this is where the magic happens. Every month, about 5% of your bill is given back to conservative causes at no extra cost to you that stand up for our first and our second amendment rights, the rights of unborn children and our wounded warriors and those that have fought for our country. And wear a badge. So take a stand today. Go to patriotmobile.com ben47 or call 972-patriot and if you use the promo code BEN47, you're gonna get a free month of service. That's patriotmobile.com BEN47 or 972-patriot and make the switch today. It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now. Accountability is part of what Donald Trump ran on. And he promised that those that were abusing their power within the government or those that were abusing their power outside the government getting protections from the Biden administration could be held accountable. We now know what some of that accountability is going to look like. And this time it involves black Lives Matter. The Department of Justice, we're now being told, is probing black Lives matter for fraud. Sources are saying the justice department investigating whether the leaders in the black Lives matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during the racial justice protests. In 2020 that according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and at least one search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc. And other organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing criminal probe by name and spoke on condition of amenity to the Associated Press. It was not clear if the investigation would result in criminal charges, but its mere existence invites fresh scrutiny to a movement that in recent years has faced criticism about its public accounting of donations and what they've received. The recent burst of investigative activity is also unfolding at a time when civil rights groups have raised concerns about the potential for the Trump administration to target a broad variety of progressive and left leaning groups they claim that have been critical of him, including those affiliated with Black Lives Matter, the transgender rights movement, and they claim the anti ICE protesters. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on Thursday. One of the people said the investigation had been initiated during the Biden administration but is getting renewed attention because of the Trump administration. A second person confirmed that the allegations were examined as well in the Biden administration. So what is this really all about? Massive amounts of money that came in and the question is, where did it all go? The foundation said it actually took in over $90 million in donations following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a black man whose last press under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer sparked protests across the US and around the world. Critics of the nonprofit foundation and of the Black Lives Matter movement broadly accused organizers of not only not being transparent about how it was spinning the donations, but that criticism grew even louder after the BLM foundation leaders in 2022 confirmed that they in fact used donations to purchase a not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but a six million dollar Los Angeles property that includes a home with six bedrooms and bathrooms. Leaders previously denied wrongdoing and publicly released the tax documents. No prior investigations into the nonprofit's finances had yielded proof of impropriety. Leaders of the foundation have received subpoenas now and in statements emailed to the Associated Press on Thursday, the foundation said it is not a target of any federal criminal investigation, quote unquote, saying this. We remain committed to full transparency, accountability and the responsible stewardship of resources dedicated to building a better future for black communities, the foundation said. The Black Lives Matter movement first emerged in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed a 17 year old Trayvon Martin in Florida. But it was in the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri that made the slogan Black Lives Matter a rallying cry for progressives. The movement founders and organizers also pledged to build a decentralized organization governed by the consensus of BLM chapters. But as the movements influence grew, so did the number of organizations that became affiliated with BLM in 2020. There was a tidal wave of public contributions in the aftermath and the protests over Floyd's murder, and they came mainly to the BLM foundation, although other organizations and resources came in from funds as well leaders. However, the foundation opened up about finances and organizational structure in 2022, revealing detailed accounting of their expenditures. The latest Form 990 filings show the BLM foundation had 28 million in assets for the fiscal year ending June 2024. Now the investigation, we're also being told, is being run out of the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California in LA. The top prosecutor there was in fact disqualified from several cases earlier this week after a federal judge concluded that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law. It's not clear whether that judge and its disqualification will impact the BLM investigation. So what we know now is this. You have BLM and it's been characterized by many in the media as a radical organization. And there's many that believe that the money coming in was not actually going to help black lives or the community at all. Which brings us back to the accountability aspect of all of this. The President, United States of America, made it very clear that he was going to hold those accountable, especially those that were committing crimes or defrauding the public. We'll have to wait and see, but this is certainly a major step forward when it comes to transparency.
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Now story number two, you can file.
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This next story under things you just can't make up. Ex FBI Director James Comey has just come out saying he wants the lying to Congress indictment tossed. Why? He's complaining now that Senator Ted Cruz's questions were too long and too confusing for the FBI Director to follow. That's right. James Comey is now arguing that the criminal case against him for allegedly lying to Congress should just go away because Senator Cruz's questioning of him was just too confusing and too long. And the former FBI director's answer was, quote, unquote, true. Regardless, attorneys for James Comey, and I repeat, this is not a joke claim. His congressional testimony that he didn't approve leaks to the media about his investigation of President Trump wasn't a lie and that the comments were made after the Texas Republican senator allegedly rambled his question. The indictment conspicuously admits the lengthy, confusing questions that prompted Mr. Comey's testimony, the lawyers wrote in their documents filed Thursday in Alexander, Virginia court, which quoted from a Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30th of 2020, the Lone Star State politician asked Comey to recall statements that he had made three years earlier and to simultaneously address statements that Senator Cruz incorrectly claimed were made by Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI. This is again what their attorneys are saying in the filing for former Director James Comey. Viewed in context, Senator Cruz's questions cannot form the basis for the charges against Comey because they were fundamentally ambiguous and regardless, Mr. Comey's answers to them were literally true, the attorneys added in their 23 page filing the false statements. They also said charges that rest on a particular interpretation of a fundamentally ambiguous question must be dismissed. The indictment brought by the interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, charged the former FBI boss with one count of making a false statement to Congress and one count of obstructing a congressional proceeding. Now, if convicted, James Comey could serve a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Comey has pleaded not guilty and claimed the case was brought against him for political reasons at President Trump's behest in retaliation for Comey's probe into alleged collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russian officials. By the way, James Comey knew the FBI had taken that Steele dossier and classified it as user generated, meaning he knew that it was all made up from the very beginning. Now back to Cruz. At the time of the hearing was seeking to point out discrepancies and statements made by both James Comey and Andrew McCabe in separate congressional and federal inquiries. McCain had told the Justice Department Inspector General's office that his boss at the bureau said it was, quote, good he was passing certain information along to the Wall Street Journal. That information presented on in an 10-30-16 article, contained details about a pending investigation of the Clinton foundation, and the FBI director and deputy director discussed the disclosures the day after, according to the DOJ and OIG report released in February of 18. Cruz's meandering line of questioning was also less direct than the inquiry he referenced made by Senator Chuck Grassley. The attorneys for the former disgraced FBI director state three years prior on the subject of the FBI leaks, prompting Comey's defense team to argue for total dismissal of the first count against him saying this. Director Comey, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? Grassley asked in May of 2017. Never, Comey replied. Question 2 have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source? And news reports about the Trump investigation? The Clinton James Comey answered that question by saying no. In 2020, he affirmed, I stand by what the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017. Federal prosecutors now allege in their indictment that the statement was false because, as James Comey then and there knew, he in fact had authorized Person three to serve as an anonymous source in news reporting regarding the FBI investigation concerning Person one, Thursday's motion to dismiss noted that Halligan's team had since identified Person one as Hillary Clinton and Person three is Daniel Richmond, a Columbia Law School professor and former prosecutor, not McCabe Senator Cruz questions are fundamentally ambiguous, the lawyers went on to say, because people of ordinary intellect would not be expected to understand that he means to ask a broad question about Mr. Comey's interactions with anyone at the FBI, including Daniel Richmond. So, just so we're all on the same page, what the lawyers for James Comey are now saying is James Comey, as the FBI Director is too dumb to understand basic questions coming from Senator Cruz. So therefore he didn't break the law, lie to Congress when he claimed he had never had leaked information, go to the press or told anyone to leak to the press. This, my friends, is going to be very interesting moving forward because I have a feeling there's a lot in the courtroom that aren't going to believe Comey on this one either.
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Thank you for listening to the 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.
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Justin Richmond
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Ben Ferguson
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