Hillary Clinton Testifies Before House Committee on Epstein

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Beat with Ari Melber

Episode: Hillary Clinton Testifies Before House Committee on Epstein
Date: February 27, 2026
Host: Ari Melber, MSNBC

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Episode Overview

This episode examines Hillary Clinton’s closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee regarding Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent political fallout. Ari Melber and his guests break down the optics, substance, and ongoing controversy surrounding the testimony, highlighting broader questions about transparency, accountability, partisan theater, and comparisons to the ongoing handling of Trump-related Epstein files. The episode also features a breaking story on media consolidation, commentary on the state of American justice compared internationally, and a satirical segment on political performance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hillary Clinton’s Testimony: Substance vs. Political Theater

• Clinton was called to testify about Epstein, despite repeatedly stating she never met him and had no relevant information (01:45).
• She calmly offered direct denials:
  • “I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him. I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually as an acquaintance, but whatever they asked me, I did my very best to respond.” (01:45, Political Analyst quoting Clinton)
• Clinton called out the hearing’s political motivations and criticized Republicans’ focus on the Clintons instead of Trump or more directly involved figures (02:59).
• Republicans were accused of using the deposition as political theater, seeking headlines rather than truth.
  • “We are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition.” (04:29, Political Analyst)

2. Rule-Breaking, Distractions, and Committee Dynamics

• Rep. Lauren Boebert leaked a photo from inside the deposition, breaking committee rules and causing a procedural pause (02:59, 34:04).
• Clinton questioned the lack of transparency, pointing out the committee rebuffed public hearings but went for selective leaks.
• Commentators mocked the Republicans’ approach as both a performative “photo op” and political own-goal.
  • “Members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth.” (04:36, Political Commentator)

3. Comparative Critique: Focus on Trump & Accountability

• Commentators and Melber repeatedly noted the glaring asymmetry: Clinton (unconnected) testifies while former President Trump, who appears multiple times in the released Epstein files, faces little Congressional scrutiny (07:17, 08:22).
• Discussion of missing FBI and DOJ files related to Trump—particularly sensitive ones regarding accusations of sexual abuse of minors (17:51).
• Melber parses the accountability gap:
  • “Transparency is a step, but if you have transparency that exposes wrongdoing... the transparency is usually viewed as a step to then fix things. Not just like, oh, good, we know there are liars in government.” (12:43, Host)

4. International v. U.S. Accountability

• Analysis of how other countries (UK, EU) are seeing consequences for officials and leaders tied to Epstein, while the U.S. lags (16:47).
• Notable resignations and scandals tied to the Epstein fallout are covered in a rapid montage (13:54–14:45).
• “If you were related to the Epstein files and you have an international connection, you may actually face justice. But here in America, I mean, there are scores of men listed in the Epstein files who are Americans. And yet we’re just starting to scratch the surface.” (16:49, Political Analyst)

5. Media Consolidation: Breaking News

• Melber and Gene Robinson cover the breaking story of the Ellison family acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (and CNN) over Netflix, linking it to pro-Trump media consolidation and impact on press freedom (22:15, 24:54).
• Robinson warns:
  • “I think in general, this sort of extreme consolidation is a bad thing. I think it’s a bad thing for the country... You lose a sort of diversity of voices... there are going to be huge cuts… I think this sort of consolidation tends to deaden the whole media space in a way that is harmful.” (25:41, 27:15, Gene Robinson)

6. Satire & Culture: Political Performance and ‘Theater Kids’ in Congress

• The show’s last segment brings in comedian Gianmarco Soresi, who lampoons political performance and the overlap between politicians and failed theater kids (32:21, 36:38).
• Jokes about political optics, the rules broken during Clinton's deposition, and the performative nature of viral political moments:
  • “Lauren Boebert doesn’t know how to be an appropriate audience member. She’s always doing inappropriate things with her hands. And then Benny Johnson, the picture, he put his watermark all... His name was more on that picture than Clinton’s name in the Epstein emails.” (35:27, Comedian)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | | ------------- | ------------------ | --------- | | 01:45 | Hillary Clinton (Political Analyst reading) | “I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had any connection or communication with him. I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually as an acquaintance, but whatever they asked me, I did my very best to respond.” | | 02:39 | Clinton (Political Analyst reading) | “At the end, quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the Internet.” | | 04:29 | Political Analyst | “We are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition.” | | 08:24 | Gene Robinson | “In the category of first ladies. Okay, if you're going to take deposition from first ladies, what about the first lady who was photographed multiple times with Jeffrey Epstein, who knows him? What about Melania Trump?... This is a botched attempt, I think, at political theater because it only makes the Republicans look even more furtive and manipulative and, and frightened of information that could come out that could damage Donald Trump.” | | 10:01 | Gene Robinson | “It absolutely does look dated. You know, we’ll distract everybody by, you know, Clintons. We’ll point at the Clintons and those awful Clintons and that will get everybody riled up and make them forget about all those tens of thousands of mentions of Donald Trump in the Epstein files.” | | 12:43 | Ari Melber | “Transparency is a step, but if you have transparency that exposes wrongdoing... the transparency is usually viewed as a step to then fix things. Not just like, oh, good, we know there are liars in government.” | | 16:49 | Political Analyst | “If you were related to the Epstein files and you have an international connection, you may actually face justice. But here in America, I mean, there are scores of men listed in the Epstein files who are Americans. And yet we're just starting to scratch the surface.” | | 27:15 | Gene Robinson | “You lose a sort of diversity of voices… there are going to be huge cuts... I think this sort of consolidation tends to deaden the whole media space in a way that is harmful.” | | 36:38 | Comedian | “There’s a lot of theater kids, and because they didn’t express themselves, they are now destroying the country.” |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:00–03:00 — Background on Hillary Clinton’s testimony; direct statements, objection to the proceedings
• 04:29 — Critics label the hearing a “clown show”
• 07:17–10:39 — Analysis of political motives, lack of scrutiny on Trump, irony in oversight priorities
• 13:54–14:50 — Montage: International and high-profile resignations in the Epstein fallout
• 16:47–17:51 — Accountability gap between U.S. and abroad; discussion of missing Trump-related Epstein files
• 22:15–27:51 — Breaking media story: Ellison family buys Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN; Robinson’s perspective on press freedom and consolidation
• 32:21–37:02 — Satirical reflections on congressional theater, viral political moments, and DC’s “theater kid” culture
• 39:39 — Observations about comedy, political satire, and media cycles

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Theme & Tone

The episode maintains a sharp, slightly irreverent tone, critical of political grandstanding and the lack of substantive inquiry. Ari Melber’s legal and journalistic gravitas anchors the conversations, with analysts and guests providing both policy critique and cultural commentary. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter (Epstein investigation, abuse, governmental cover-up), the inclusion of satire and media analysis injects levity and a critical eye on the absurdity in current political life.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

If you missed the episode, here’s what you need to know:

• Hillary Clinton was summoned by House Republicans to testify on Epstein, despite no evidence of personal connection—Clinton herself labeled it a distraction and “political theater.”
• The committee’s process was marred by protocol breaches and accused of prioritizing optics over truth, especially as major investigative questions loom around Trump and missing DOJ files.
• There is a stark contrast between how foreign officials and top U.S. figures are facing consequences over Epstein ties, with the U.S. lagging in accountability.
• Breaking media news revealed a Trump-aligned family’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN, raising alarms about consolidation and press autonomy.
• The episode is punctuated by humor and cultural critique, poking fun at the performative aspects of politics and the role of “theater kids” in Congress, reflecting the show’s blend of depth and wit.

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Recommended Listening:
For an informed, irreverent, and thorough breakdown of one of the most politically charged congressional testimonies in recent memory—with broader implications for justice, governance, and the media—this episode is essential.

Transcript

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[News Anchor / Host]

I want to show a little more of what is a newsworthy event. This is one of those moments that is not a split screen in different information universes. The former Secretary of State, a candidate who got more votes than Donald Trump in 2016, but of course lost in the Electoral College, a person who had disclaimed and there's no evidence to suggest she has personal knowledge in the Epstein matter. But Republicans brought her in for only the way they can explain. And when she came out to speak. I'm gonna show you a little bit of what she said tonight. This was covered all of the news channels, not just one or the other. And obviously Hillary Clinton is a person in American life where everyone can look up and go, oh, what is she saying tonight? Well, here is some of what she said coming out of that Epstein private hearing.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

I never met Jeffrey Epstein, never had

[News Anchor / Host]

any

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

connection or communication with him. I knew Ghislaine Maxwell casually as an acquaintance, but whatever they asked me, I did my very best to respond.

[News Anchor / Host]

The former Secretary of State saying that she showed up. She has her objections, but unlike so many people who are not perhaps serious about subpoenas or the rule of law or other government rules and laws, she says, okay, I showed up. She's been very critical, though, and released a public opening statement in writing where we could see some of her robust, really evidence backed criticisms of how the committee's approached this thus far. Now, of course, she's finished the deposition. She mentioned in her public remarks that she was asked about things ranging from UFOs to a discredited conspiracy theory.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

At the end, quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the Internet.

[News Anchor / Host]

Secretary Clinton speaking again. She finished those remarks just about six minutes ago. While she was testifying before what is a closed door House Oversight Committee, a Republican congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, leaked this image that apparently breaks protocol for a closed deposition. Remember, it's the committee she's on that deemed this closed. That actually led to a pause in the hearing. We understand she did post Secretary Clinton her opening statement online. She says she had no idea of Epstein's activities. She never called meeting him. She heard, I should say, you heard her say that just moments ago. She also addressed Republicans saying, you're fully aware I have no knowledge that would assist your investigation. But in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions, she says they're hauling in the Clintons and doing these other things. She goes on to say, if the majority were serious, it would not waste time on fishing expeditions. We do have reports from some lawmakers that she went through all the questions. Democrats today say all of this is a distraction from what has been well documented to the point that Donald Trump, of course, was overruled by both parties late last year, forced to release the Epstein files. That the distractions and the foot dragging and the delays, ironically, perhaps have only enlarged and lengthened the duration of time that Americans continue to hear about Donald Trump, along with many, not all, but many Republicans doing this slow motion cover up. Here's some of what we heard.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

We are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

We are talking to the wrong person.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Today, members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth.

[News Anchor / Host]

We're demanding immediately that we asked President Trump to testify in front of our committee. This is where we land tonight. It is unprecedented to have a former president appear under subpoena before Congress. President Clinton is slated to do that. We heard Secretary Clinton there and as I mentioned, it can seem topsy turvy. The main reason no other former president has been subpoenaed like this is not about the subject of the case or the pile of evidence. It is that in past times we have seen the Congress be more deferential. Here we have a Congress that claims they want to get to the bottom of this with the Clintons, but they show no interest in currently Pressing Donald Trump on a cover up exposed just this week of the very Epstein files that they demanded under law be released. One more point. As we compare what's happening to what maybe could happen in a serious probe, Secretary Clinton made a very fair point, which is fact check true about what is happening in the actual governmental resources and fight against sex trafficking. Whatever people think about Hillary Clinton and there's been times politically where she's been seen as divisive. I mentioned she got a lot of votes in 16. But as Secretary of state and in her work in public advocacy, she has long been a champion of women and girls. She has spoken out about the abuse of women and girls abroad, the methods of sex trafficking. She's not new to this, if you will. And I just want to read briefly that she notes in her statement today, the Trump administration gutted the trafficking in person's office at the State Department, the agency she once ran, cutting more than 70% of the career civil and foreign service experts who work to prevent the trafficking of women and girls. There are some who might not have noticed that or might not care. There are others who watch the Elon Musk Doge escapade and said, yep, gotta cut all these parts of government. Secretary Clinton reminding the committee today and the Trump administration there are actual serious, proven ways to fight sex trafficking which with the force and the power of the US Government, if politicians are so interested. I'm joined now by veteran journalist Gretchen Carlson, co founder of Lift Our Voices and Gene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, Ms. now analyst Gretchen let's try to start with substance, although on a fight like this, we can also discuss the politics. Secretary Clinton's point that there are proven ways to do this and they didn't just reform or trim that office. She says the Trump Republicans gutted it.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Yeah, I mean look, they're putting all the attention trying to on Hillary Clinton today and not on Donald Trump and it's having the reverse effect. The effect now is that why is Donald Trump not being deposed? I mean that's the biggest question right now. He's mentioned third in line after Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in the Epstein files, at least what we've seen so far now tomorrow is the relevance of having President Clinton there potentially. But today to have Hillary Clinton, who has been on the record as saying that she didn't, she never even met Jeffrey Epstein, this was political theater to try to, I think embarrass Hillary Clinton today. And you know, she had no reason to be called. Where's Alex Acosta? I Mean, where are all these lawyers and judges and border control agents and all these people in the Miami Herald article today that Epstein apparently manipulated over years and years? Where are they coming to testify with regard to all of this? There are a lot of missing parts. Hillary Clinton is not the answer to getting to the bottom of the interesting files.

[News Anchor / Host]

Gene, your thoughts tonight?

[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

Well, all right, you know, just in the category of first ladies. Okay, if you're going to take deposition from first ladies, what about the first lady who was photographed multiple times with Jeffrey Epstein, who knows him? What about Melania Trump? So you could reasonably, I suppose, call her. But of course, the Republicans did not. This is a botched attempt, I think, at political theater because it only makes the Republicans look even more furtive and manipulative and, and frightened of information that could come out that could damage Donald Trump. That's what it makes them look like. And I think it was in the end a great big own goal on the part of Republicans. I don't think anybody is buying this because this is not, as you said, it's not a partisan issue. It's just an issue that everybody wants transparency. And this, it doesn't get you any transparency. It gets you the opposite.

[News Anchor / Host]

And does it, Gene, as you've covered the Clinton wars since the 90s, does it also, at a macro level, just look a little dated, like they wish they could rerun campaigns that are decades old?

[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

Yeah, yeah. And that never works, but it absolutely does look dated. You know, we'll distract everybody by, you know, Clintons. We'll point at the Clintons and those awful Clintons and that will get everybody riled up and make them forget about all those tens of thousands of mentions of Donald Trump in the Epstein files. And again, who thought this would work? Who thought this was a good idea? I can't imagine anybody. They're not getting very good advice.

[News Anchor / Host]

Gene Robinson, I want to come back to you later in the hour. This was breaking news because we didn't know when Secretary Clinton would come out tonight. So you jumped in with us. Gretchen Stays. I want to turn to the Justice Department's problems with these missing Trump related Epstein documents. They have now announced an internal review into their own compliance with this Epstein law. They need to determine, as reported. So kind of because they were busted, whether these documents were deliberately withheld or could it have been just a sudden Trump and whether they need to publish them to comply with the law. There's the reporting we've shown FBI memos of accuser interviews that are missing from the released files. Including a victim who alleges that Donald Trump assaulted her when she was a teenager. Now, the question is whether today they are deliberately, illegally covering up those files. That is separate from any attempt to. To go into those underlying accusations. Nothing that has been publicly reported suggests that the FBI further corroborated, let alone move to indict on those reports. I say that very carefully because it's important to understand that a cover up is different from a crime. We hear them often in tandem, but there's very little public faith in the DOJ to be honest. And the deputy Attorney general in charge was saying they weren't going to do this. I can assure that we complied with the statute, we complied with the act, and there is no, we did not protect President Trump. My team has certain communications with the White House. Let me just be clear. They had nothing to do with this review. They had no oversight over this review. That is the point person, Todd Blanche, saying they didn't take actions to, quote, protect Trump and they didn't coordinate with the White House. Now, either those statements are true and this is some sort of error that they might fix by releasing the material, or those statements are false and the allegedly missing Trump documents are missing on purpose. The wider calls for accountability are rising. We've seen it in the UK and places where there is actual consequence based on the evidence in the file. We keep track of these stories and they keep coming. The World Economic Forum CEO Brende resigning over ties to Epstein. He was last in contact as late as 2019 and had said he was unaware of Epstein's past activities. But that's just the latest of many top people losing their posts or being investigated. We continue to update just this partial list of prominent individuals. We can note that the people facing UK arrest deny any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, over here, Americans are looking at their own government and wondering what gives. Remember, transparency is a step, but if you have transparency that exposes wrongdoing, particularly, for example, being knowingly tied to or lying about your links to a sex trafficker like the Commerce Secretary of the United States. The transparency is usually viewed as a step to then fix things. Not just like, oh, good, we know there are liars in government, and yet we have not seen the same level of accountability.

[Commercial Announcer]

President and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Borgay Brende said he was stepping down.

[News Anchor / Host]

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is resigning

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

his academic and faculty appointments at Harvard.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Billionaire former Victoria's Secret CEO Les Wexner testified today in the House's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was grilled by senators on Capitol Hill today over his appearance in recently released Epstein Epstein files.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Kathy Rummler now says she is resigning.

[News Anchor / Host]

New Epstein fallout.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Hollywood heavyweight Casey Wasserman is putting his namesake talent agency up for sale. Celebrity doctor PETA Attia has resigned as a contributor at CBS News.

[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

The biggest story in the world right

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

now, that is the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

In the past few days, revelations from the release of the Epstein files have

[Goldbelly Advertiser]

nearly brought down a prime minister, implicated

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

royals and launched investigators around the world into action.

[News Anchor / Host]

That's a great range of consequence, even short of any finding of criminal wrongdoing, which those individuals are not yet facing. Although the UK Process will play out. And yet in the Trump Cabinet, no changes now. Epstein has avoided all kinds of legal accountability. Miami Herald reporting about how he did it. At least two federal probes conducted, one in 2011 into unduly influencing federal prosecutors. In that original Florida case, we've covered so much. Another in 2020 that officers were turning a blind eye to young female passengers that Epstein was flying on his plane. Those probes did not reach criminal charges. We are watching the continuation of these problems even as the original sex trafficker is dead because those links clearly had a lot of people trying to hide and cover them up in history. And once exposed, some places are dealing with them with accountability. Other places, like the Donald Trump administration that was forced to release these files are resisting doing anything about what we've learned from the files. That pressure is building. It is not ending. Gretchen Carlson returns with us. We're back in 90 seconds. Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18? Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today, I'm going to have to assert my 5th, 6th, and 14th amendment right. Sir, we are back with Gretchen Carlson. We looked at the House committee's attempt to shape the story today. Now I turn to the facts coming out of journalism and what we showed there in the montage, which is that many publicly accountable institutions and businesses help, however late, are responding to this evidence.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Well, most of them, though, internationally.

[News Anchor / Host]

Right.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

I mean, it appears that if you were related to the Epstein files and you have an international connection, you may actually face justice. But here in America, I mean, there are scores of men listed in the Epstein files who are Americans. And yet we're just starting to scratch the surface. And are we ever really going to have the DOJ be responsible for going after any of these other individuals? I mean, that remains to be seen.

[News Anchor / Host]

I Do think I'll mention for your, for yourself commentary, you have people on the far left, Wexner and Lutnick, not facing consequences to your point. We also, though have, you know, Larry Summers, who was treasury secretary ousted. We have some individuals, Kathy Rumler, Rummler was a Democratic lawyer. So there are some steps. And I guess the question is what happens when or if our government is run by anyone who would take accountability on this? I mean, if you had a Republican President Massie or a Democratic President Kana, I would think we'd have a very different DOJ right now.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Yeah. And I think that one of the other huge problems right now for President Trump is that three of these files that are missing are directly related to him. And the potential allegations of a 13 year old girl who says she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein and alleged that she might have been sexually abused by Donald Trump. Those three files are missing in the Epstein files. And so, you know, look, if you're instructing, and let's just say hypothetically you're instructing the DOJ to keep things out, that only now raises suspicions. We don't know if he's instructed anyone to do that. But you would think that people in his inner circle would be calling the DOJ and saying, we better release these files right away. Right. Because the suspicion just keeps mounting and mounting.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah. These are numbered files.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

What are the chances those are the only ones that are missing?

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah. If the priority was get your top people on this, that could take more than a day, but it wouldn't take more than a week. At one point, there was 50 points missing out of millions of files that, as you say, relate to Trump. You could have someone look at them and release them. They're not doing that. And yet Blanche seems to want to argue in public that he is complying. He doesn't admit if there's a cover up, he's not admitting it.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Well, it's also Blanche doing the arguing and not Pam Bondi. I mean, where is Pam Bondi, the Attorney General in all of this? I think the majority of Americans right now, if you did a poll, would say that they don't trust the information that's been released. And I think the more that this goes on, that we're going to have more and more calls for more transparency. I mean, it can't just be that there are only going to be three or four Republicans who believe that young girls should not be assaulted and that men should be held accountable. I mean, at some point these people are gonna go up for reelection. And an average voter is going to say to themselves, raise your hand if you're in favor of letting people who assault young girls get off scot free.

[News Anchor / Host]

Well. And if you're gonna be tough on crime and say no welfare fraud, no stealing, those are real crimes in our criminal code, short of murder. The next most serious thing are crimes against minors and children.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Of course. And I always like to bring it back to these young girls who are now women. It's because of them that we're having this conversation. Right. And they continue to ask for justice. And I hearken back to Pam Bondi when she testified and she didn't even acknowledge them.

[News Anchor / Host]

Right. Nor did the president given the opportunity to state the union when, as you know, he had time to acknowledge a lot of folks. Gretchen, in two of our reported segments tonight, we appreciate you as always. Thank you. Coming up, Republicans facing midterm panic. Mom Donnie getting ready to meet with the president. And elections. Who needs them? The American people. Gene Robinson returns.

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[News Anchor / Host]

Hey guys.

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[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

Ali,

[News Anchor / Host]

we have news crossing the wire right now in the ongoing debates over who should own media. This is something that Donald Trump wanted. A Trump allied billionaire family. The Ellisons who own Paramount, overseeing CBS now we're learning moments ago has won a bid for Warner Brothers discovery, including cnn. They're beating out Netflix which had all but tried to close this deal but they have dropped out after Paramount raised its bid. This is a huge media story from the Wall Street Journal to the Washington Post on the politics of it to how you will watch Warner Movies or HBO and who will own cnn. The Netflix CEO was at the White House today discussing their interest in closing their deal. They'd put up many billions but they've been beat out. This is an outcome that Donald Trump and many MAGA allies view as favorable. It continues on the clashes over Colbert and cbs. The folks who own CBS now are winning and gearing up to take control of WarnerMedia empire, including CNN. Back with us is someone who knows all about a free press, Eugene Robinson, the Pulitzer Prize winning longtime Washington Post veteran. Gene, I want to put this in plain English. Then we can always get into the weeds. The folks that Colbert has been fighting with, the folks who've been gutting according to many long time independent journalists, what CBS in 60 minutes means tonight, new as of the last five minutes, they're going to get control of the Warner Brothers media empire, including cnn. Your view of this big development?

[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

Well, I think many of us who are in the news business who are journalists are worried and are concerned about what might happen to CNN and whether they get the CBS treatment essentially a clear tilt in a rightward direction. I think that's one big question. The other big question is just the larger story about consolidation, Hollywood consolidation. And I think this is a huge story for Hollywood in general. These were like two huge independent movie studios, movie and television studios, first Paramount and now Warner. These are huge Hollywood institutions that now have been swallowed by the elephants.

[News Anchor / Host]

They've been swallowed by the Ellisons. Larry Ellison's one of the richest people in the world and has been close to Trump. You mentioned what's happened at cbs. Defenders of these kind of deals say this is what the quote market wanted, that there was gonna be consolidation and not every product will be treated the same. That's sort of the defenders and I wanna quote that. And that's been discussed at length, including in D.C. and on Wall street critics and we've hosted both sides on here, we've had experts about this story last several weeks. Critics say look, there's a reason why Monopolies and duopolies are disfavored, whether that comes to freedom of thought and speech or the actual politics. And they say that you should expect CNN to get the CBS treatment. Do you have a view on that, or is it too early to tell?

[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

Well, of course it's too early to tell for sure. But I think in general, this sort of extreme consolidation is a bad thing. I think it's a bad thing for, for the country. It is good to have let a thousand lights shine, let a thousand voices be heard. You lose a sort of diversity of voices. Inevitably, there's going to be cost cutting and consolidation because recall what happened. David Ellison, Larry Ellison's son, started with a small company called Skydance, ate a much larger company in Paramount, and now Paramount is eating this huge company, Warner Brothers. And the first order of business is going to be cutting everything. There are going to be huge cuts, just as there are cuts coming at CBS News that will be serious. And again, I think that is not good for the public in terms of what it does to the journalism. I think it's not good for the public in terms of what it does to the variety of entertainment offerings that we get. I think this sort of consolidation tends to deaden the whole media space in a way that is harmful.

[News Anchor / Host]

Right. And it comes with a backdrop of a lot of government pressure. It's a complex story. There were folks who said, hey, the Netflix side might not get through European regulators and other things. It's not all about us in America, but it comes on a day when, as reported, you had Netflix leadership at the White House. You had Trump and some of his allies saying they like the changes to cbs. They wanted more change. Trump has posted about that very blatantly, and they want that change at cnn. Here we go. Gene Robinson, you're good at breaking news. Add that to your list of accolades. Thank you, sir.

[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

A little bit of it. A little bit of it over the years, but you've done more than a

[News Anchor / Host]

little and, you know, to let the viewers in. The proof is in the pudding. You know, Gene didn't prepare for this exact segment, although he's well read because this news broke in this hour. So thanks for rolling with us on that, Gene. I'm gonna fit in a break. When we come back, a popular mayor and an unpopular president. That's next. If a picture is worth a thousand words, take a look at New York City Mayor Mamdani in the Oval Office with Trump, a meeting that had not been on the schedule. Mamdani shared this image and is pushing Trump to support housing in the city. You can see the two newspapers, a mock up with the headline Trump to City, let's build. Contrasting with something New Yorkers remember all too well. Ford to city. Drop dead, mom. Donnie. Invoking his own signature style to try to lobby a very different presidential leadership. He also says he spoke to Trump about a Columbia University student, I should say, who was detained by ice and they released the student. Call that a personal diplomacy. And again, a reminder that sometimes you got to get in the room and do straight up politicking. There were protests this morning. Federal agents entered the university housing, detaining the student. Columbia says they misrepresented themselves to get inside the Mamdani. Trump talks build on the last time they were together, when we actually got to see how Donald Trump acts, when I guess without any capacity for reflection or shame, he thinks somebody else has the hot hand and we're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true. Having a strong and very safe New York. And congratulations, Mr. Mayor. And I appreciated the time with the president. I appreciated the conversation. I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers. Trump may also be looking for anything visual, political or otherwise, to change how things are going. Because if things keep going this way, the Republicans around him, the chair of the party, and a lot of other folks even on their side, say they're bracing for a midterm route. Or take Republican strategist Karl Rove, who says the State of the Union approach Trump used was a bust for swing voters. The president's speech almost certainly didn't sound based in reality. Rove wrote diplomatically in the Wall Street Journal, a favorite of many conservatives. He went on, quote, so almost everything the president said energized his MAGA hardcore, but they aren't enough to stave off a shellacking this fall. Now, if Trump sees the problems ahead, he's not exactly just trying to meet people in the middle or hear out the independents who now overwhelmingly reject his second term. Instead, we're seeing reports about Trump wanting to do something that he's not allowed to do, to try to require different rules for how people vote, which I can show you here, but it's not going to work because it's unconstitutional. We will continue to follow these stories and a time when you have your government looking at your preference. Donald Trump is as unpopular now as he was after January 6th. And some of the reactions reportedly are, well, what if we can just rig and cheat the elections instead of listening to the people now. Up next, we're seeing some Republicans under fire for violating their own secrecy in that hearing today. Alicia Menendez joins me. There is so much going on. I have good news for you. It is time right now to fall back. Joining us for her sixth fallback, Alicia Mendez is co host of the Weeknight, which is on in about 15 minutes. She also hosts the Latina to Latina podcast and is the author of the Likability Trap, something she knows all about because she is so unlikable. Oh, thank you. I was gonna say well liked and a comedian who I have watched on YouTube for many late night hours. Gianmarco Sorese, host of the podcast the Downside with Gian Marco Ceres. Very funny, guys. You're about to see his new special, Thief of Joy has racked over 3 million views up on YouTube.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Look, I am no fan of Donald Trump, but I would love to get him on the $1 bill because then no matter how big you are, he'd be like huge. That joke will be funnier when he's Not President in 12 years, believe you me. You have my word. I tell my, my, my Democrat friends, like, you know, get ready because it's January 6th, it's your turn. And you know they're going to do it. They're not going to storm the Capitol, dress like Vikings. They're going to not dress like they're in the musical cast.

[News Anchor / Host]

Drama king is tour is out now. Welcome to both of you. Hello, Hello.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yeah, I hope those bits made sense. You know, you take a little bit. Did you? Was it clear what I was measuring with that dollar bill?

[News Anchor / Host]

Explain your joke if you want.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

I don't know if I can.

[News Anchor / Host]

It's a family program, sir, but we cut it accordingly.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yeah. Watch the special so the joke makes

[News Anchor / Host]

sense, but the Jan6 joke speaks to your audience, gets the joke. They think, oh, yeah, maybe liberals are a little whatever.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yeah, yeah, a little. You know, but we're getting there.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

I just love the idea of like a performance of magical Mr. Mistoffeles on the stairs of the U.S. capitol.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yeah. I mean, it'll be that. It'll be, who knows? I think if my mom might get in there, you know, these Pilates moms, they're gonna climb the wall a lot faster.

[News Anchor / Host]

Is your mom engaged? Is she following our civic life?

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

I thought you meant engaged. I was gonna say no. Divorce. Several times. Yeah, to a degree.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

You know, she was mad when Jimmy Kimmel was off the air for two days.

[Political Analyst / Commentator]

Yeah.

[News Anchor / Host]

Well, that struck a nerve With a lot of people speaking of comics and free speech, because Alicia's hometown. I'm gonna let you go first. What's on your fallback list?

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

So today, big news. We're all following the deposition that former Secretary Clinton was giving in Chappaqua. It's a big deal for a lot of reasons. The fact that I think the Oversight Committee is trying to set a precedent with it by virtue of having a former president, Bill Clinton, in a depot tomorrow. The first big news that we got out of this deposition was that they had to take a 30 minute pause because one congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, decided to not only take a photo inside the deposition, which was against the rules that were laid out very clearly.

[News Anchor / Host]

Their rules.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Their rules. The rules of the committee that she is on, but also she, she seems to have leaked it to, you know, a right wing propagandist, Benny Johnson, who then shares it broadly, which is not only improper, but also like Hillary Clinton had said the entire time, let's just do this in public. Like, if you guys want to ask me these questions, let's let Americans hear it for themselves instead of having it characterized by you. And then they didn't want video in there, they didn't want cameras in there, except for Lauren Boebert, which is so.

[News Anchor / Host]

It's so unserious. If you ever have a friend who's like overly secretive and then you find out they're the ones sharing everything. You ever know anybody like that?

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

We've all known someone like that.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Lauren Boebert doesn't know how to be an appropriate audience member. We all know this. She's always doing inappropriate things with her hands. And then Benny Johnson, the picture, he put his watermark all. I mean, his big watermark. His name was more on that picture than Clinton's name in the Epstein emails. It's just like, do you. It's just so clear. It's not caring about the thing. It's just using every step to build a fan base. And so you wish people would. Why aren't you taking this seriously?

[News Anchor / Host]

Can you recognize that quickly that, oh, this person's just trying to be a performer and they're not that good at

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

it as a performer? Yes, totally. I watermark all my videos, of course, but just go into my field. It's okay to want to get a fan base, but at least be in the field that's appropriate for what you're doing.

[News Anchor / Host]

There it is, by the way.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Yeah, well, that's the zoomed in version.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

There's another one where it's like 20 Benny Johnsons with salutes to the editor

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

who cropped it for us. But it's.

[News Anchor / Host]

And if I. Benny Johnson does sound a little bit like a vaudeville performer.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yes, I do.

[News Anchor / Host]

Benny Johnson.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

You know, listen, there's a lot of theater kids, and because they didn't express themselves, they are now destroying the country.

[News Anchor / Host]

Wow. Do you feel like DC's full of theater kids?

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Oh, absolutely.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Absolutely. Theater kids. That, that just didn't, you know, not quite. Ted Cruz did the Crucible in college. There's footage of it and it's not great. I think the bar for being an actor is just lower as a politician, and that's why a lot of them gravitate towards it. And I do think that if we gave them more acting opportunities, they might leave.

[News Anchor / Host]

It's a deep thought. It's a true. But it's true. And then you look at Ted Cruz regularly takes time out of being a senator to do a podcast. I don't mean just like doing interviews. He has his own podcast. So you're like, we would usually see that after the government job, but for him, he's like, well, let me just get this going. I want to give you time for your fallbacks.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yes. It's getting in the middle of a snowball fight and then being upset that you were hit by a snowball. You saw there was a snowball fight in New York City and the NYPD came in and they were very upset about getting hit by these snowballs, which was confusing because I thought they were okay working with ice. And I just think if you're gonna go into a snowball fight.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

And you're dressed as a cop, you kind of get hit by a snowball. That's like joining a food fight in an all white suit and then being like upset. Like you entered that space. This is fun. Can we have fun?

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah. And then throwing us. I mean, it is. I don't want to be too intellectual about it.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

You shouldn't about a snowball fight.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

But.

[News Anchor / Host]

But, uh huh. But uh huh. A snowball is inherently a playful object.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yes.

[News Anchor / Host]

If I threw something of the same weight, but it was like metal, let's say, then I could very much see people being like, well, that's a type of. You're trying to hurt someone. Yeah, but when it's a snowball, is it not then playful? I agree.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

And listen, if you get hit by a snowball, you might get a little hurt. I know there were two officers that went to the hospital. I don't know what I assume.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah, I don't want anyone hurt.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's a snowball fight. It happens sometimes.

[News Anchor / Host]

In a snowball fight, you were emoting through your face.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Well, you know, I like the rules, so I understand that sometimes fun gets a little too fun.

[News Anchor / Host]

Okay.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

But I thought what was interesting about this story that you're referencing was the fact that it sort of put the mayor in a sticky spot, because initially he's, you know, he came out and he said, we need to be respectful towards our police officers. And then there were so many videos, of course. Cause there had been so many people who partook in this really fun thing that as the video circulated, he almost seemed to walk back what he had been saying and sort of took more of the approach that you're saying, which

[News Anchor / Host]

is like, it's a snowball ficus, and snow is just cold water.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yes. And we're probably not going to have much left in the coming years. Can we please enjoy the snow before it's gone?

[News Anchor / Host]

I watch a lot of your youtubes. How do you decide, oh, what's going to land if it touches on this crazy political world we're in? What's going to land versus. I'll leave it out. Because you're a general comic. You'd make a lot of funny observations. And then you do. You do a little bit of politics.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yeah, I think. I mean, listen, I test it out on stage, and if it doesn't land, it doesn't get uploaded. So, you know, I just take whatever's happening, and I gotta have, you know, you gotta have an angle about it. You have to fight that urge, especially when you cultivate a fan base that's very politically aligned with you, to not just pander. So you gotta try to have some kind of twist.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

Do you ever have anybody show up who's not aligned with you?

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

It can happen now and then, but it's increasingly rarer. And that's just like a result of this. This algorithmic fan base that's cultivated.

[News Anchor / Host]

Is there anything in politics that just cracks you up where you look at it and you're like, I can't even believe them.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

I think there's just a lot of, like, being able to say the truth in an inappropriate way that people won't talk about. Like, you know, there's a degree where, you know, everyone talks about Epstein or whatn. And then Trump will do something. He'll talk inappropriately about the women's Olympic hockey team. And it's like, I can't believe he said, I'm like, okay, but we should stay the course on the fact that the DOJ tried to hide this accusation against There's a thing where I think the media can leave behind just doesn't have a long attention span.

[News Anchor / Host]

Yeah, simple gaffe gets hyped for that reason.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

And, and I think, I think Trump.

[Political Commentator / Co-host]

I don't think that was a gaffe, though, but go ahead.

[Comedian / Political Satirist]

Yes, respect. I, I think, I think a lot of politicians like, like people like Trump, they, they saw kind of the politeness of the world and they, they subverted it. And now a lot of politicians are subverting in a way that someday we're gonna be like, you know what? I like a politician who doesn't curse all the time. But that's a tool we have to

[News Anchor / Host]

run because Alicia has a show.

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[Gene Robinson (Pulitzer Prize-winning Columnist)]

Ollie,

[News Anchor / Host]

you can always catch up with the Beat and our favorite guests on our podcast. We put it out every night. You can go to the on Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts on your phone. Search the Beat with Ari Melber. We drop it every night. You will never miss an episode. And we have extras on there, too. All right, that's our show. Imagine relying on a dozen different software programs to run your business, none of which are connected, and each one more expensive and more complicated. Than the last. It can be pretty stressful.

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