The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode Title: Top IRS Lawyer Under Fire for Anti-Trump Bias plus POTUS Scores Major Win as NY Court Slams Excessive Fine
Date: August 22, 2025
Host: Ben Ferguson (Premiere Networks)

Brief Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson delivers an intense and critical rundown of “three big stories” dominating headlines from Washington, D.C.:

1. Controversy over a top IRS lawyer’s anti-Trump and far-left social media posts.
2. The New York appeals court overturning a half-billion-dollar penalty against Donald Trump.
3. Data revealing that the Biden administration “packed” swing states with over a million illegal immigrants, allegedly for electoral advantage.

Ferguson’s tone is passionate, confrontational, and focused on exposing what he asserts as “deep state” resistance against President Trump and conservative causes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Top IRS Lawyer’s Alleged Anti-Trump Bias

(Starts at 03:36)

• Ben spotlights IRS attorney Anthony Sacco, accusing him of “resisting” President Trump and holding “radical, far left policy positions.”
• Background on Sacco:
  • Former Democratic aide who joined the IRS Chief Counsel’s office in 2022 (under Biden).
  • Social media history includes calls to “resist the GOP,” “pack the court,” abolishing prisons, and anti-police posts.
  • Contributed to policy under both administrations, including a revenue ruling implementing a Trump executive order, despite his alleged “resistor” stance.
• Reactions:
  • After the Daily Wire reported on Sacco, his X (Twitter) account was locked.
  • Sen. Tom Cotton called for Sacco to be fired, saying:

    “With deep state leftists in its leadership, it’s no wonder the IRS has repeatedly targeted conservatives and conservative organizations. This individual should be fired immediately.”
    (09:10)

• Concerns Raised:
  • Ferguson and unnamed GOP aides claim Sacco embodies a politicized IRS, referencing his involvement in creating or advancing left-leaning policy initiatives like the “direct file” program.

  • Ben underscores that Sacco helped draft a Harvard Law Review article asserting U.S. legal institutions are built on white supremacy.

    “So in other words, if you’re black, you should be able to commit any crime and not have to worry about the consequence. Apparently, based on what the Harvard Law Review has…”
    (12:36)

  • Heavy criticism of Sacco's anti-police views and posts supporting controversial figures like Colin Kaepernick.
• Takeaway:
  • Ferguson frames Sacco as emblematic of embedded opposition (“deep state”) undermining Trump’s agenda from within the government.

2. NY Appellate Court Overturns Trump Fine

(Starts at 17:15)

• Major victory reported for Donald Trump: the $500 million civil penalty in Letitia James’ fraud case is thrown out by a NY appeals court.
  • The court found the fine “excessive” and a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
• Political Context:
  • Ferguson recounts James’ campaign promises to “go after Trump,” referencing her fundraising and political messaging:

    “She was going to make sure that Donald Trump knew her name. She said, if you vote for me, I’m going after Donald Trump. And that’s exactly what she did.”
    (17:55)

• Decision Details:
  • Liability for fraud remains but the punitive financial judgment is voided.
  • Trump and Letitia James both claim partial victory; Trump calls it “a total victory” on Truth Social.
  • Ferguson sides with Trump, calling the original prosecution “a political witch hunt…the likes of which no one has ever seen before.”
    (19:10)
  • Judge David Friedman dissented, stating the case was purely political:

    “James’ true aim was political…ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business.”
    (19:37)

  • Ferguson highlights Friedman’s additional commentary that the legal mechanism was weaponized for unprecedented political targeting, rather than to address legitimate public harm.
• Takeaway:
  • Ferguson frames the appellate decision as exposing the prosecutorial overreach and political motivations behind Trump’s civil cases.

3. Biden Administration and Illegal Immigration in Swing States

(Starts at 21:05)

• Claims that, in just Biden’s first two years, over 1 million illegal immigrants were resettled in electoral swing states, citing Pew Research Center data.
• State-by-State Breakdown:
  • Florida: +700,000 illegal immigrants
  • Georgia: +100,000
  • Pennsylvania and Michigan: +80,000 each
  • North Carolina: +100,000+
  • Ohio: +75,000
  • Arizona: +50,000
  • Nevada, Wisconsin: +30,000 each
  • Colorado: +40,000
  • New Hampshire: +10,000
• Total U.S. illegal immigrant population estimated over 14 million in 2023, over 22 million projected by 2025.
• Ferguson’s Argument:

  • Asserts the Biden administration’s border policies were intentionally designed to alter the electoral landscape and redistricting by increasing population counts in contested states, knowing illegal immigrants are counted in the census.

    “The Biden administration knew what they were doing and they knew they were overseeing a massive surge of illegal aliens in non-border states that would help them when it came to redistricting and to how many representatives different states receive based on population.”
    (21:57)

• Motivation Questioned:
  • Ferguson alleges a deliberate strategy to provide incentives and benefits (hotel rooms, phones, food, etc.) to encourage illegal immigration.

  • Criticizes census policies and calls Trump’s efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from voting or being counted as urgent and justified.

    >  “If you don’t have a secure border, you don’t have a country. And now we understand the plan. The Biden administration said, let’s pack the swing states, just like we want to pack the Supreme Court, and then we’ll give them amnesty and they’ll vote for us forever.”  
    *(22:24)*
    

• Conclusion:
  • Ferguson sees Trump’s current policies as a response to this alleged “power grab.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Deep State Resistance:

  “I don’t think Donald Trump understood just how many people hated him. I don’t think he realized how much the deep state had dug into our government.” (16:16)

• On IRS Politicization:

  “We shouldn’t trust left wing ideologues at the IRS in light of their weaponization of the agency during the Obama and also the Biden administrations.” (15:11)

• On NY Court’s Trump Decision:

  “The amount, including interest and penalties, was over 550 million. It was a political witch hunt…the likes of which no one has ever seen before.” (19:10)

• On Swing State Immigration:

  “They started giving them hotel rooms and credit cards and cell phones and food. They started giving them everything to entice them to flood America.” (22:10)

• On the Biden Administration’s Alleged Strategy:

  “Let’s pack the swing states…then we’ll give them amnesty and they’ll vote for us forever.” (22:24)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | IRS Lawyer Bias & Deep State Concerns | 03:36–17:15| | NY Appellate Court Tosses Trump Fine | 17:15–21:05| | Immigration Influx in Swing States | 21:05–22:44|

Final Takeaways

Ben Ferguson’s August 22, 2025 episode of The 47 Morning Update focuses on exposing perceived anti-Trump bias within the federal bureaucracy, celebrating a significant legal win for Donald Trump, and warning of the electoral implications of immigration policies under the Biden administration. The episode is characterized by fervent critique, pointed accusations, and a combative stance against political opponents, always reinforcing fidelity to the Trump administration’s perspective.