Mixed messages on Iran expose Trump making it up as he goes

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Episode: Mixed messages on Iran expose Trump making it up as he goes
Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Jen Psaki, MS NOW
Guests: Ali Velshi, Sean Harris, Senator Adam Schiff, Lisa Rubin

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Overview

In this episode, Jen Psaki unpacks the tumultuous political landscape dominated by the Georgia special election and the U.S. conflict with Iran under former President Trump. The conversation focuses heavily on the Trump administration’s erratic communications about the war, their impact on global markets and American security, the reverberations for U.S. politics, and newly unearthed reporting on the Epstein files. Featuring sharp analysis, critical interviews, and direct commentary, Psaki and her guests challenge the administration’s narrative and highlight the real-world consequences of mixed messages and policy contradictions.

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Key Segments and Insights

Georgia’s 14th District Special Election Results

With Ali Velshi, Chief Data Reporter
Timestamps: 00:46 – 06:08

• Backdrop: The race to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s most Republican district sees unexpectedly strong Democratic performance.
• Ali Velshi’s Analysis:
  • Sean Harris, Democrat and retired Army brigadier general, leads and outperforms previous cycles, even in conservative areas.
  • “Sean Harris is the biggest vote getter at the moment… outperforming Kamala Harris 2024 performance in the district by very significant margins.” – Ali Velshi [02:30]
  • Turnout higher than anticipated, with Harris even winning in unexpected places, including heavily Hispanic manufacturing areas near the Tennessee border.
• Election Mechanics:
  • Runoff set for April 7th between Harris and Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller.

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Interview: Sean Harris, Democratic Candidate

Timestamps: 06:08 – 12:11

• On Campaign Strategy:
  • Harris emphasizes a coalition approach: “A coalition of Democrats, Independents, and yes, Republicans can all get behind a candidate like me, and we can actually bring about change here in Northwest Georgia.” [07:00]
  • Shifted from being a “rigid retired general” to a relatable farmer, focusing on “kitchen table issues” for everyday residents.
  • Criticizes Trump’s hold over the district: “When somebody tells you they’re going to help Donald Trump... everybody else in this district don’t count.” [08:29]
• Military Experience:
  • Harris leverages his service, voicing concerns about another “war of choice” and critiquing Trump’s justifications for conflict with Iran.
  • “Donald Trump needs to come up on the net, talk directly to the American people and tell us why we’re in this war, how is it in our national interest?” [09:53]
• Relationship with Democratic Party:
  • Harris values local and state party support but positions himself as accountable to all constituents: “Even when I win this district, it will not be blue, it will be pink... if I don’t actually bring home results, then fire me.” [11:11]

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Mixed Messaging on the Iran War

Host Commentary & Clips
Timestamps: 12:13 – 25:57

Contradictory Statements from the Trump Administration

• Erratic Leadership:
  • Trump calls the war “very complete, pretty much” from a golf club [13:22], while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth simultaneously states, “This is only just the beginning.” [13:58]
  • When questioned, Trump responds, “We could call it a tremendous success right now … Or we could go further. And we’re going to go further.” [14:37]
  • Psaki’s critique: “It’s both. Everyone literally cannot be both.” [14:48]

Unstable Impact on Global Markets

• Oil Markets:
  • Conflicting updates on oil tanker escorts in the Strait of Hormuz cause massive price swings.
  • Secretary Chris Wright tweets that the U.S. Navy escorted a tanker—tweet is later deleted, and claim denied by the White House. [16:07]
  • “These are life and death issues that affect the safety of shipping workers and the international economy.” – Jen Psaki

Reckless Presidential Guidance

• On Oil Tankers:
  • Trump’s advice: “These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts.” [18:58]
  • Psaki notes Iran is mining the strait, making Trump’s comment dangerously cavalier.

Contradictions on Russia

• Sanctions Relief:
  • Despite allegations that Russia aids Iran, the administration considers easing sanctions on Russian oil.
  • Trump’s envoy (Steve Witkoff): “The Russians said that they have not been sharing [intel]...so, you know, we can take them at their word.” [20:49]
  • Psaki’s rebuttal: “You don’t have to be an intel officer to know that you can’t trust the Russians.” [20:49]

Tragic Incident: Bombed Iranian School

• Notifications and Accountability:
  • Reports: U.S. missile kills ~175 (many children) at Iranian girls’ school.
  • Trump shifts blame to Iran—“No, in my opinion. And based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran.” [22:11]
  • White House falls back on: “The president has a right to share his opinions with the American public.” [23:54]
  • Psaki points out the absurdity: “Trump’s claim that Iran is responsible is nothing more than an opinion. No one else in his administration is willing to stand behind it.”

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Interview: Senator Adam Schiff

Timestamps: 25:53 – 39:40

• Dangers of Mixed Messaging:
  • Schiff stresses the consequence of unclear war aims: “If you don’t have a clear rationale for going to war, it’s very difficult to say when the war should end.” [27:33]
  • On cost: “If a hospital costs $100 million, you could build ten hospitals every day for what we’re blowing up in Iran.” [27:33]
• On “Excursion” Language:
  • “Describing this war as some kind of excursion is insulting. It is denigrating, belittling the sacrifice that people are making.” [29:52]
• Demand for Accountability:
  • Calls for public hearings, not closed-door intelligence briefings:
    • “We need, since the administration has never come to the Congress for authorization for this war, as the Constitution requires, we at least need these cabinet members to come before the American people in an open setting...” [35:34]
• Role of Russia:
  • “The big winner so far of the Iran war is... the Russians. The Russian war coffers are now surging once again... and we are not going to have the same number of supplies to give Ukraine.” [36:33]
• Election Subversion Concerns:
  • Cites DOJ actions in Arizona and Georgia as groundwork for 2026 election interference:
    • “This is, I think, part of laying the foundation to interfere with, suppress the vote or ultimately subvert the vote… the best protection we have... is the voter.” [38:24]

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Epstein Files Exclusive Reporting

With Lisa Rubin, Senior Legal Reporter, MS NOW
Timestamps: 41:29 – 44:10

• Missing DOJ Documents:
  • The Justice Department is still missing key Epstein files, including FBI notes & memos on abuse allegations by associates Jess Staley and Leon Black.
  • “There was a cost to the delay… there were people whose stories got caught in that delay. This woman is one of them.” – Lisa Rubin [42:48]
• Legal System Shortfalls:
  • Statute of limitations has now run out for many alleged crimes linked to associates of Epstein.

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Notable Quotes

• Jen Psaki (On Trump’s Iran War Messaging):
  “Everything this administration says about the war is a pile of hot, steaming, contradictory nonsense.” [12:13]
• Sean Harris:
  “When somebody tells you they’re going to help Donald Trump... everybody else in this district don’t count.” [08:29]
• Adam Schiff:
  “Describing this war as some kind of excursion is insulting. It is denigrating, belittling the sacrifice that people are making.” [29:52]
  “The big winner so far of the Iran war is... the Russians. The Russian war coffers are now surging once again...” [36:33]

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Summary of Important Segments (with Timestamps)

• [00:46] Georgia special election deep dive with Ali Velshi
• [06:08] Interview with candidate Sean Harris
• [12:13] In-depth breakdown of the Trump administration’s chaos over Iran war messaging
• [25:53] Interview with Senator Adam Schiff: Congressional checks, public hearings, dangers of mixed messages
• [41:29] Lisa Rubin reports on missing DOJ Epstein files, and the implications

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Episode Tone and Style

Direct, critical, and data-driven. The tone is urgent and analytical, with a skeptical view of the Trump administration. Jen Psaki and guests use direct language, often highlighting the real-world impacts of political decisions and the necessity for accountability and transparency.

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For Listeners

This episode is essential for anyone following U.S. politics, foreign policy, or recent election developments. It provides both breaking news analysis and in-depth discussion of the political, economic, and ethical ramifications of current events—especially in the context of war, accountability, and the democratic process.

Transcript

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[A]

the app Download Today okay, there is a ton to get to tonight. I mean, the mixed messages coming from Donald Trump about his war with Iran reached new heights of absolute insanity today and Senator Adam Schiff is standing by with his reaction to all of it. I'm gonna talk through some of it myself too, but I do wanna start with what has been a fascinating election night in Georgia. I mean today voters went to the polls to decide who will replace Marjorie Taylor Greene after she resigned from Congress, of course, last fall. And in normal times, I mean the outcome of this election would wouldn't really be a question. I mean, we might mention it, but we probably wouldn't be talking about it as that much. I mean, this is a district that Marjorie Taylor Greene won by 29 points back when she was still a MAGA diecard. It is a very red, very red, very Republican, very Trump friendly district. It is drawn to be the most Republican district in the state of Georgia. And in just the past hour we learned that the race is going to go to a runoff between Democrat Sean Harris and the Trump endorsed Republican Clay Fuller. There's a lot of reasons for this. There were a lot of Republicans in the race, but there's no question Sean Harris way overperformed and that's pretty exciting right now. Democrat Sean Harris is currently the lead vote getter and is outperforming Kamala Harris 2024 performance in the district by very significant margins. And I should mention and I just mentioned this to Chris, but again, Sean Harris is gonna join me live in just a moment. First, let's get straight to msNow's chief data reporter Ali Velshi in his special vest that we all love he's standing by at the big board with the latest results. Okay, Ali, where do things stand right now?

[C]

Well, we got about 82% of the vote in, so we've been counting fast. As expected. Sean Harris and Clayton Fuller, as you said, have gone. They're going to a runoff that will be on April 7th to fill the rest of Marjorie Taylor Greene's term, which is to the end of this year, beginning of next year. They're still going to have a normal primary in May for the next election. But this is interesting because as you said, Sean Harris is the biggest vote getter at the moment. It's very, very close at the moment. He's only ahead by about, but he's at 37%. There are two other Democrats in the race, so add a couple of points to that for the Democratic vote. And again, that outperforms what Sean Harris did when he last ran against Marjorie Taylor Greene. Clayton Fuller did get Donald Trump's endorsement, but Colton Moore is the guy who's sort of Trumpier than Clayton Fuller. So it'll be interesting to see what happens here. There are 11 Republicans running in this race, so that will obviously coalesce. But when you look at the numbers, you take all the Republican numbers together, you do end up with a slightly weaker number than what Marjorie Taylor Greene got. So there is some level of enthusiasm. The district was also redistricted a little bit, and you can see it got a couple of parts of Cobb county in here, which is an Atlanta suburb. These are the Democratic strongholds around Atlanta. Sean Harris has performed very, very well there, but he's also performed very well in places around Rome, Georgia. He's performed in places that you wouldn't have actually thought that he was going to perform. The further northwest you get in this state, this top left is the most conservative, the Trumpiest part of the state. But this is a more competitive evening for Sean Harris and Democrats than history would suggest it would be. And I think that's very telling about this race tonight.

[A]

I know. So you're showing the county or the area, sorry, the district right there on that map. And you mentioned some counties. Is there any counties that have stuck out to you as being sort of different from what you and the other data experts expected or maybe anticipated coming into the.

[C]

So Cobb, by the way, we got 83% of the vote in. Statewide, we only have about 55% of the vote in in Cobb. And again, that's a place where you're expecting Sean Harris to do very well. So his lead has narrowed over the last hour, as I said, about 1,659 votes ahead of Clayton Fuller. But as the Cobb county vote comes in, you'll expect that to actually go up a little bit more. Paulding county next to it, he's doing particularly well there. The areas around Rome, Georgia, he's doing particularly well there. So he's holding his own in places that you wouldn't necessarily expect. You're seeing a lot of parts of that are underperforming what they did in the last election, overperforming for Sean Harris how Kamala Harris did in the last election. Again, as you go further northwest into the state and up to the Tennessee border, it gets a little bit trickier. It gets a little bit more conservative. But there's a county up here with 37% of the population is a Hispanic population. It's a big manufacturing area. Again, Sean Harris is doing particularly well there. So this is we've got a bigger voter turnout than we expected, like we saw in Texas, and we've got more enthusiasm than you would expect. You'll remember there was a point when Marjorie Taylor Greene first ran. There wasn't a Democrat running against her at all. So Sean Harris has been the recipient of any Democratic enthusiasm or any frustrated Republican enthusiasm or any independent enthusiasm in this election. And again, this is not the same over performance that you're seeing in some of the special elections that we've seen in the last few months. But it is. It's a marginal over performance and it's an over performance against Sean Harris own performance in the last election. So positive trends for Democrats tonight in

[A]

Georgia in the most conservative district in the state of Georgia. So that's saying something. Ally Velshi, thank you, as always. We're gonna get right to the person you were just talking about, Sean Harris, who is the Democrat in the runoff right now. So joining me now is the Democratic candidate in Georgia's 14th congressional district. I should note, just for some of you out there who are just getting to know him and his name and who he is, he's a retired army brigadier general who also served in Afghanistan. So quite a bio. What a night you're having. Let me just start by asking you. I mean, the district you're running in, it's mostly rural. I was just talking about this with Ali Velshi. It's drawn to be the reddest district in Georgia, which I'm just gonna keep telling people. Cause that that is so telling in terms of how incredible it is that you're outperforming but looking at the results so far, are you where you expected to be or what did you expect to be coming into tonight?

[D]

What Jay and I will tell you, this is exactly where we thought we were going to be. The reality of it is, with this many people being in the race, I think it was 16, 17 of us running, we knew going into this race that was going to be virtually impossible mathematically to get to that 50 plus 1%. But we also said internally to our team is, guess what? We want to make sure that tonight we win the election by getting the most votes. And we did that, and we're going to get even more votes as more votes come in later on tonight. So what it's basically saying is this, is that a coalition of Democrats, Independents, and yes, Republicans can all get behind a candidate like me, and we can actually bring about change here in Northwest Georgia. And the reality of it is we're seeing that tonight. President Trump came down here two Thursdays ago. He was right here in Rome, Georgia, where I'm standing up tonight. And it made absolutely no difference. So the reality of it is tomorrow morning we get up, we start it all the way back over again, and then we actually win it on April 7th.

[A]

You've got a lot of hurdles to get to Congress, which I think you're very clear eyed about, I'm sure either this spring or in November, there's a runoff and then primaries and a campaign in this super Republican district. You better like campaigning, because that's going to be what you're going to be doing for a while. The anti Trump sentiment has definitely clearly grown in this district. But how have you. Is there anything you've done to change your own strategy since you ran against Marjorie Taylor Greene the last time?

[D]

No, we didn't change our strategy. What we did was after laying our strategy out against Marjorie Taylor Greene, you got to keep in mind, I got to give Marjorie credit. She's bigger than life. And when I ran last time, I was still Brigadier General Sean Harris retired, I was rigid. Now I'm past that. I'm just a farmer here in Northwest Georgia, raising cattle like everybody else. I don't have anything to lose. And the people now know me, they trust me, and they say, you know what? This is the only person in the race that's talking directly to me, talking about kitchen table issues. And he said very clearly that, hey, when I go to D.C. i'm a Democrat, but I'm not tied to a party where versus my opponent, the first thing comes out of his mouth is I'm going to D.C. to help Donald Trump. When somebody tells you they're going to help Donald Trump, and they basically said that everybody else in this district don't count. And Margie told us that from a long time ago. Is that when she represented us, she's only represented Mega and all the rest of us didn't count. I'm the only candidate that's saying I want to represent everybody here in northwest Georgia.

[A]

You may just be a farmer from northwest Georgia, but you're also a retired brigadier general at a time where we're at war. And that is something that Marjorie Taylor Greene also criticized. Is that an issue that has come up on the campaign trail? Do you anticipate it being an issue as you proceed in this runoff?

[D]

Yes, it is an issue and it's affecting several different ways. You know, in the rural community where we at, many of our kids go into the military and we have many of our kids from northwest Georgia is probably in the Middle East. As you know, my background, my last assignment was Israel. So I actually clearly understand what's happening in the Middle East. Many of my friends are there. I know the commander sitcom. But on top of all of that, I know what it means to be in a war. And the last thing I want to do is see another generation fighting for something that we didn't have to get in touch and get into. What I would say Marjorie Taylor Greene and I both agree, but we agree on it on separate terms. One is this. I say that Donald Trump has put us in a war of choice. He chose to get in this war. And I said it two nights ago. And I said again tonight, Donald Trump needs to come up on the net, talk directly to the American people and tell us why we're in this war, how is it in our national interest? But on top of all that, how do we know that we win in it and then how do we get out of it? Because we have a history of getting in wars and they turn in forever.

[A]

I think that's something a lot of people who may not identify as Democrats probably agree with you on out there, according to the polling. Before I let you go, are you expecting for help from the Democratic Party? Do you want support from the national Democratic Party?

[D]

I'm already getting help from all 10 counties here. Locally, all the Democrats voted 100% for me. I obviously I had two other gentlemen that were running as Democrats, but then the Georgia state Democratic Party actually also voted and supported me. What I'm saying to all the Democrats around the country and Everybody around the country support me in the best way that you can. However, I can't say that I need everybody from the Democratic Party to come here, because I'm a realist. I live in Northwest Georgia. Even when I win this district, it will not be blue, it will be pink. Because what I've said to my Republican brothers and sisters is when you hire me, hold me responsible. And if I don't actually bring home results, then fired me. Nobody else would say that because guess what? That in my mind, that's why leadership matters and that's why people are voting for me.

[A]

Sean Harris, thank you so much for joining me on quite a day for you. Really appreciate it.

[D]

Thank you very much.

[A]

Okay. As we were just discussing the backdrop to another election night today in America is, of course, Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran. And right now, the entire planet is hanging on every word about that war that comes out of this administration, which is quite normal, because when there's a war, the president's the commander in chief. World leaders, both our allies and our foes, they're all watching. Energy CEOs are watching. And global oil markets that will determine the price of gas for the foreseeable future are reacting. American service members and their families wondering if they will get called up for duty in yet another Middle Eastern war. They're watching stock traders, shipping companies, airlines, Americans traveling stuck abroad who can't get home. And there are still many of them. Everyone is carefully scrutinizing every single sentence uttered by the Trump administration about what they can expect to happen next. And that's a problem, because everything this administration says about the war is a pile of hot, steaming, contradictory nonsense. I mean, just take Donald Trump's ever evolving answer about how long this war will last, a pretty pivotal question. Yesterday, Trump gave a phone interview from his golf club in Doral, Florida, of course, in which he said, I think the war is very complete, pretty much. I mean, great, if true. And that offhand characterization, muttered over the phone from a golf resort, was enough to send sinking global stock markets into a sudden rally. Newspapers around the world blasted Trump's words in headlines as though this was a clear signal that this war with Iran would be ending very soon. And look, you should be able to take any president of the United States at his word. But just the previous day, Trump's own secretary of defense was saying this.

[B]

What I want your viewers to understand is this is only just the beginning.

[A]

That was the day before. This is only just the beginning. And that is obviously very different from the war is very complete, pretty much. And incredibly, Hegseth and Trump actually gave those contradictory statements to the very same news network. So who are we all supposed to believe? Trump who says the war is pretty much over, or Pete Hegseth who says the war is just starting? Trump was asked by reporters about that very contradiction, and here's what he said.

[E]

You've said the war is, quote, very complete, but your defense secretary says this

[A]

is just the beginning.

[E]

So which is it? And how long should Americans be?

[B]

Well, I think you could say it both. We could call it a tremendous success right now as we leave here, I could call it. Or we could go further. And we're going to go further.

[A]

It's both. Everyone literally cannot be both. Maybe he ends it, maybe he doesn't. I mean, in other words, Trump's market moving, international headline making comments about the war being almost over were meaningless. It's just something that he randomly blurted out to a reporter on the phone from his golf course. It's the same with all of his messaging about this war. I mean, for days, Republicans have been tying themselves in knots over whether or not to call this a war. And they were kind of in a tough spot because Trump kept calling it a war.

[B]

We're doing very well on the war front. I have to go back and look at the war, you know, have a lot of things happening. We have unlimited middle and upper ammunition, which is really what we're using in this war. We may have casualties. That often happens in war.

[A]

It's actually branding on this whole Iran war that he was kind of consistent on. But then yesterday, Trump decided to give his war a little rebrand.

[B]

But we took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. And I think you'll see it's going to be a short term excursion. Short term, short term.

[A]

So now the President's war is a short term excursion, emphasis on short term. He's now talking about the war like it's a weekend golf trip, just a short little excursion. Remember, this is the same president who said just last week that wars can be fought forever and very successfully. Nothing Trump says day to day has any real meaning. Every pronouncement is liable to change on a dimension. And it's not just coming from Trump himself. It's really his entire administration. I mean, at the start of the week, oil prices skyrocketed after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which much of the world's oil supply is shipped. And then Today, Trump's Energy Secretary, Chris Wright took to Twitter to announce that the U.S. navy, quote, successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. You can see the tweet right there on the screen. That single tweet sent the price of oil tumbling back to earth because it sent the message that oil tankers would perhaps be able to get through this very key strait moving forward, which means there wouldn't be the same reduction of available oil in the marketplace and prices would then come down. The Wall Street Journal reports that Wright's tweet may have wiped out nearly $84 million worth of value in just one oil linked fund alone. But then, just 10 minutes later, Secretary Wright suddenly deleted the tweet. And the White House then confirmed that the Navy did not escort to any tanker through the strait, as Chris Wright had claimed in his tweet. And a few hours later, Reuters reported that the US has actually been refusing near daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts, telling them the risk is simply too high, according to sources familiar with the matter. So the Energy Secretary then tweets, basically tweets, that the US Is helping oil tankers navigate around Iran. That happened first, causing massive swings in the oil, in the global market for oil. And then he quickly deletes his tweet and the White House comes out and says, yeah, that never happens. And to top it all off, we learn that actually the US has been refusing to help oil tankers because the risk is, of course, too high. These are life and death issues that affect the safety of shipping workers and international waters. And it has massive effects on the global economy, including the price of gas paid at the pump every single day by millions and millions of Americans. So what does the President have to say about all of this, what I just outlined there? Does he have a plan for how those oil tankers can navigate safely out of this war zone? Well, here's what he told his buddies over at Fox and Friends.

[B]

So, Brian, you did a phone interview with the President of the United States. What is his read on this? So I asked him, how do you get that? How do you get the prices down? I know how much you care about oil and gas. And he says, tell these tankers to get themselves get to it. We've wiped out most of their launchers. Here's exactly what he said. These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts.

[A]

What a solution. Trump says oil tankers and all of the people working on them should just sail on through that deadly strait and show some guts. Which is even crazier when you consider that CNN reported today that Iran has been laying mines, begun laying mines throughout the Strait of Hormuz, according to people familiar with an intelligence report on the issue. And the president just told civilian oil tankers to show some guts and start sailing through there anyway. Almost as if he maybe realized his mistake or someone told him it was. Who knows? He posted to Truth Social this afternoon demanding Iran remove any mines in straight or face consequence, quote, at a level never seen before. You know the man loves a threat. It's quite obvious they are just making this all up as they go along. In another poorly thought through effort to curb rising oil prices, the Trump administration is reportedly considering easing sanctions on Russian oil. And this despite the fact that Russia is, of course, an ally of Iran. And the Washington Post cites three U.S. officials who say Russia is providing intelligence to target U.S. forces. Today, the real estate guy Trump made his envoy for the Middle east was asked about that contradiction inherent in easing sanctions on Russia at a time when they are helping to target and kill U.S. troops. And here's what he had to say.

[B]

Do we think that the Russians have shared intelligence about the location of US Military assets? And if they have, why would we be giving waivers on Russian oil sanctions? Well, I'm not an intel officer, so I can't tell you. I can tell you that yesterday on the call with the president, the Russians said that they have not been sharing. That's what they said. So, you know, we can take them at their word.

[A]

You don't have to be an intel officer to know that you can't trust the Russians. Just see 2016, see the war in Ukraine, see any number of things Vladimir Putin and the Russians have done in recent years. Yet his answer was, the Russians say they're not doing it, so we should just take them at their word. Oh, and also as a reminder, Russia is one of Iran's biggest allies. Just take them at their word. This haphazard policy and contradictions coming out of this White House are staggering. Everything they say feels like it was kind of made up on the spot and not coordinated in any way to justify whatever they did. Not just yesterday, but maybe just a few hours ago. And perhaps the best example we have of that involves one of the most serious and tragic incidents in this war so far. As you probably know by now, in the early hours of this war, an Iranian girls school was struck by a missile. Iranian officials estimate that around 175 people were killed, many of them children. And we've now had multiple reports claiming that the strike likely came from the United States, that our country likely killed those girls. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been asked about those reports multiple times, and each time he has responded with some version of we're investigating it. But Donald Trump has a kind of a bit of a different story.

[D]

Mr. President, did the United States bomb

[C]

a girl's elementary school in southern Iran

[A]

on the first day of the war and killed 170?

[B]

No, in my opinion. And based on what I've seen, that

[D]

was done by Iran.

[B]

Is that true?

[C]

Mr.

[B]

Himself.

[C]

It was surrounded with that. We're certainly investigating.

[A]

Okay, lots to unpack there. Including Hegseth, like leering over Trump on Air Force One. That aside, Trump says Iran did it, reports say that the US did it. Trump's defense secretary won't go beyond we're investigating. But basically, just to kind of put a fine point on this, Trump is suggesting, with no evidence, that maybe it was actually Iran who bombed their own school with weapons. Iran does not have. Just to just cut through it right there. I mean, yesterday, New York times correspondent Sean McGreish offered the world a lesson in how to hold an erratic president accountable during a time of war. Here's what happened.

[B]

You just suggested that Iran somehow got its hands on a Tomahawk and bombed its own elementary school on the first day of the war. But you're the only person in your government saying this. Even your defense secretary wouldn't say that when he was asked, standing over your shoulder on your plane on Saturday, why are you the only person saying this? Because I just don't know enough about it. I think it's something that I was told is under investigation. But Tomahawks are used by others. As you know, numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us. But I will certainly, whatever the report shows, I'm willing to live with that report.

[A]

Every moment of that interaction makes it clear that Trump's claim is not based on anything other than his desire to deflect blame. And today, the White House basically admitted as much.

[C]

Why did President Trump say yesterday that

[B]

Iran may have Tomahawk missiles when there

[A]

are only three other US Allies plus the US that have those missiles?

[E]

The president has a right to share

[A]

his opinions with the American public. His opinion is Trump's opinion that Iran has Tomahawk missiles that they used against their own school. That's quite an opinion. Trump's claim that Iran is responsible is nothing more than an opinion. No one else in his administration is willing to stand behind it, which tells you a lot. They have a lot to answer for right now. And today we got reports that initial estimates showed Trump's war cost American taxpayers 5.6% billion in just the first two days. At the same time, a new report from an external government watchdog finds that Pete Hegseth's Pentagon was already on a massive spending spree before the war began, dropping $15 million on. Wait for it. If you haven't seen this story, look it up. Steak. And another 6.9 million on lobster tail in just the month of September. Wired magazine reports that in the middle of a war, the Pentagon is reportedly pushing civilian employees to go volunteer to help with Trump's immigration crackdown. And every day they are showing us that they have no plan, no strategy, and no unified message for the American people and for the world. Someone should answer for all of this. And today, a group of Senate Democrats threaten to effectively hold up every single vote on the Senate floor until Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio come before the Senate and testify under oath about this war. Is that where accountability starts? Maybe it is. One of the senators demanding those hearings, Senator Adam Schiff, joins me here at the table. When we come back, Day or night, VRBoCare is here 247 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the moment you head home. We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either.

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[A]

As promised. Joining me now is Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California. Senator Schiff, there's always so much to ask you about. I just want to start with all these mixed messages and the impact, because some of it just shows their complete incompetence. But also there's a danger to it. You have traveled around the world, you've been on so many committees where you have access to important national security information. I mean, specifically on the Straits of Hormuz and whether or not ships were being escorted through that made the oil markets kind of go up and down. I talked about some of the dangers, but what am I missing? And what should people understand out there about the dangers of how they're operating publicly?

[B]

Well, I think the biggest point I would make on this subject, and you went through so many of the gyrations of the president about the aims of the war, the purpose of the war, the threats we were supposedly facing that were so imminent. If you don't have a clear rationale for going to war, it's very difficult to say when the war should end. You don't know what your goals are. You're not sure why you're there. And so how do you say, okay, we have succeeded with what we attempted to do? And this is part of the reason why you can't get a straight answer about when this is going to end because they're not sure why they're there. And meanwhile, we just learned today from the Pentagon that one hundred and forty US Service members have been injured, eight of them gravely injured. We've already lost seven service members, including a Californian. So our service members are paying a real price. And of course, the American people are paying a real price. I keep thinking about the fact if we're spending a billion dollars a day dropping bombs in Iran, what we could be doing without a billion dollars here in the United States, if a hospital costs 100 million, you could build 10 hospitals every day for what we're blowing up in Iran. But you know, the comments, the back and forth about whether we're guarding ships going through the straits or we're not, is just reckless, dangerous, incompetent. I mean, let's say that some of these tankers had taken the president up on this and shown some guts, as he said, and been the victim of Iranian mines. What a disaster that would be. So our service members performing amazingly brilliantly, with great courage. I wish the same could be said for the civilian leadership, which is showing a dangerous level of incompetence.

[A]

I know one of the members of the military we lost was from California, if I'm correct. And I wonder, because you have spent time meeting with these families and seeing families who have lost loved ones or have daughters and grandchildren fighting. When you hear phrases like, this is a short excursion, it's just how Trump described it. And actually speaker Mike Johnson repeated that language. What do you think about how do you think these families who have men and women serving, who worry about their children being sent overseas, hear that?

[B]

I literally learned that he had used that word just before watching the dignified transfer of the last of the seven who were killed and seeing that psalm ceremony and then realizing that the President is now describing this the way a cruise liner describes, hey, if you want the beach excursion, you can do this. If you want a windsurfing excursion, you can do that. Describing this war as some kind of excursion is insulting. It is denigrating, belittling the sacrifice that people are making. The American people deserve better than that. Our service members deserve better than that. For the President to state on Air Force One that we had not bombed a girls school in Iran, but that Iran did it, and not just say that, and not just express what his press secretary lamely calls his opinion, but to say on the basis of what he had seen, this is what the President said. Well, what exactly did he see? This is why I want hearings in the Congress, open hearings before the American people. Let's put Secretary Hegseth, who was looking over his shoulder on that plane, under oath and ask him, what did you show the President? What did the intelligence community show the President that for even a moment suggested that Iran had used one of her own munitions to blow up one of their schools?

[A]

It's such a pivotal thing. And under oath. And what struck me when I saw the reporting about this is that historically, I mean, Democrats and Democratic and Republican administrations have briefed Congress and classified settings, and you've had hearings, but you haven't had the need to do this in the same or to call for this in the same way because you can't trust what they're saying.

[B]

That's exactly right. When we look, for example, at the dni, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and you look back at when we started bombing these ships in the Caribbean, the intelligence community put out a product that said that Trende Aragua, this Venezuelan gang, was not controlled by the government, not directed by the government. Well, that contradicted the President and part of his rationale for this campaign of blowing up ships. So Gabbard and her chief of staff basically told the Intelligence Council, rewrite your opinion. So if there's an intelligence opinion out there or analysis about who was responsible for blowing up that school in Iran, can we be confident that we're going to see it? Can we be confident the director's not going to tell those analysts to rewrite the report? This is the danger when you can't trust the leadership of the country. You just can't accept anything they tell you. Which in a time at peace is one thing, it's bad enough. But when you're at war, it's just catastrophic.

[A]

Senator Schiff, you've been so generous with your time and you've agreed to stick around. We're going to take a quick break. We'll keep going with our conversation after that. Why have I asked my H Vac guy I found on angie.com to change

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21/.

[A]

We are back as promised, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California. So before the break, we were talking about your call with a number of your other colleagues for public hearings under oath for these officials, a number of cabinet members from the Trump administration about the war. Because we don't. We can't believe them. We don't know what they're Saying, I think it's so interesting because everybody's not aware out there, maybe watching all of the levers that you have. So how would this work exactly? You want to end up with them in a public hearing? What are the levers you can use and how can you use them?

[B]

So there are a number of tools that we have. They're limited because we're in the minority.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But nevertheless, they need us when there's a 60 vote requirement. There are also resolutions that are privileged. Tim Kaine brought up resolutions, for example, on the trade issue. And much as the Republicans didn't want to have to vote on it, we could force them to vote on it. These war powers resolutions are also privileged. So we've introduced a number of them and we're going to look at a variety of tools that we have, including war powers resolutions, but other techniques we have to essentially force them to do what they don't want, which is to provide information to the American people, to submit to being under oath and being questioned. We saw what happened when Kristi Noem actually had to answer questions under oath.

[A]

Didn't go well.

[B]

It didn't go well. No. We still don't know whether she was lying or the President is lying about that PR campaign. But nevertheless, it's a chance to put people on the record. And we need, since the administration has never come to the Congress for authorization for this war, as the Constitution requires, we at least need these cabinet members to come before the American people in an open setting, not a classified setting where they can deny they ever said it or they can accuse us of saying something we shouldn't. But no, they should testify out in the open.

[A]

One of the questions I'm certain you would love to ask them about is about the Russia of this all. I mean, I just playedI just shared what Steve Witkoff had to say about Russia, said basically that they didn't share intel with Iran, as if we should be believing Russia, which I'm sure that gave you of all people, a chuckle. What should people out there understand about the Russia of this all and their role here and why that's so concerning?

[B]

So the Witkoff comments reminded me of two things. Reminded me of the classic Russian idiom of the useful idiot. What more useful idiot could they have than somebody who says that? But it also was such a flashback to Helsinki when Donald Trump was standing on the stage and Trump won next to Putin and he was saying, well, Putin says that they haven't been interfering in the election and why should I not believe him? So I guess the Witkoff apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They are being both of them useful idiots for Russia. And they are relaxing sanctions against Russia because they're afraid of the increase in oil prices. And look, I don't blame them for being afraid of the escalating oil and gas prices that they're causing. But the big winner so far of the Iran war is not the United States, it's not Iran, it's not our Gulf allies that are seeing their urban suburban facilities being bombed in retaliation. It's the Russians. The Russians are already the unmitigated winners of this Iran war. Because oil has appreciated so much in value, the Russian war coffers are now surging once again. And because we are now diverting resources to protect our allies and ourselves from the incoming from Iran, those interceptors are not going to be available for Ukraine. So we've both taken the focus off Ukraine. We are not going to have the same number of supplies to give Ukraine, and Russia's going to have more money to make war against Ukraine. So if there is a winner so far in this war, it's Russia.

[A]

Meanwhile, while you're here, cuz you can talk about so many things. The administration subpoenaed records from 2020 from Arizona. We know that's not about changing the outcome of the 2020 election. We know that's already, they've already gone through that. It's obviously about 2026. What do you make of that and what's your level of concern about it?

[B]

I think the subpoenas in Arizona, Maricopa county, the FBI raid in Georgia, this is all trying to establish some kind of phony predicate for them to say that the election system is so flawed, the machines don't work, there's too much fraud and absentee ballots that come November, they can nationalize the elections, they can somehow outlaw absentee ballots, or they can seize ballot boxes and they will have some pretext to do it. So this is, I think, part of laying the foundation to interfere with, suppress the vote or ultimately subvert the vote. They understand, as we do in the Democratic Party, that they are likely to get clobbered in the midterms. And you know, they're willing to resort to anything. So we are doing everything every day to anticipate, to push back, to fight back. And really the best protection we have is not in the Congress. It's certainly not with the Supreme Court. It is those who have the most important title, and that is a voter. We need to so overwhelm the polls with Democratic votes that this election midterm is not even close.

[A]

Senator Adam Schiff, we'll have to come back and we'll have a longer conversation about that which I think is so important. Thank you so much for being here.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Okay. Coming up, we have brand new exclusive reporting about the Justice Department website still missing documents with accusations against Jeffrey Epstein's associates. Lisa Rubin broke the story just as we were coming on the air tonight. And she's going to join us to talk about it next. If you need any more proof that Trump's past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is not going away anytime soon, soon. Behold a 12 foot tall golden statue depicting Trump embracing his old pal Epstein from behind, just like Jack and Rose in the iconic scene from the movie Titanic. Yep, that's what that is. Now, this protest art was erected today on the national mall in Washington, D.C. by a group that calls itself the Secret Handshake. And it is, shall I say, timely because tonight Emma Snow has brand new reporting from our tireless reporter Lisa Rubin, highlighting the extent to which Trump's DOJ still has not released all of the Epstein files in their possession as required by law. And Lisa Rubin reports tonight that Epstein files released so far are missing FBI notes and memos reflecting interviews with other women alleging abuse by other prominent men, including former Wall street executive Jess Staley and private equity billionaire Leon Black. Now a lawyer for Leon Black told Ms. NOW there is absolutely no truth to any of the allegations. Additionally, both men have denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or any women they met through him. But joining me now to dig into her brand new reporting is Ms. NOW senior legal reporter Lisa Rubin. Lisa, you just broke this story. I'm so grateful you were available. Let's start by just tell us about your reporting.

[E]

Well, Jen, I think what you said at the top is the most important piece of it, which is that it's not just that there were allegations against President Trump memorialized in documents that were missing from the Epstein files. In fact, the Department of Justice, based on reporting from Ms. NOW and other outlets, including NPR and the independent journalist Roger Sullenberger, has now produced those missing documents. And last week, they also said that they were giving us a handful of others that they discovered were inadvertently withheld. And yet we know based on our own investigation that there are still missing documents reflecting accusations from women who didn't just say they experienced years of abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, but also made accusations that they were abused by or had assaults attempted on them by associates of Jeffrey Epstein, including Jess Staley and Leon Black, as the woman that I discuss in my reporting tonight told prosecutors in 2019.

[A]

Now, as you said, I mean this is Jess Staley and Leon Black are names we've heard a little bit before. This is new information we're kind of learning about these allegations given the memos. I mean, prosecutors seem to believe her story was was credible and at least some of her the conduct was criminal, it seems. Tell us about what happened to the case as far as you know.

[E]

Well, it's not clear what happened to this case. First of all, prosecutors spoke to this woman after Jeffrey Epstein was already dead. But we know that they spoke to her on at least three occasions. We also know that the Manhattan District Attorney's office was at various points in time, including as recently as June of 2023, looking into allegations about Jess Staley and Leon Black made by other women as well. And yet neither of those accusations materialized into charges. And Jen, the most important thing that I want to convey to you and our viewers is that there was a cost to the delay when Jeffrey Epstein got his sweetheart deal in 2007 and went without further investigation or prosecution until 2019 when the Southern District of New York got involved. There were people whose stories got caught in that delay. This woman is one of them. We don't know whether the federal government or New York State would have prosecuted any of the three people involved here if they had had a chance. But we do know that at this point the statute of limitations for the crimes that may have been committed against her have run both in the federal system and in the state system.

[A]

Lisa Rubin, I can't even describe to people watching how tireless you are. And for everybody who's frustrated and doesn't know what's in the documents you are digging, you're finding stuff. You're doing incredible reporting. Thank you so much for being here and sharing your new reporting with us.

[E]

Thanks Jen, for having me.

[A]

We have to sneak in a very quick break, but Lawrence has Senator Mark Kelly standing by. He's got a lot to say, I'm sure. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. That does it for me tonight on quite a Newsday. Thanks for being with us. You can catch the show Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern on Ms. Now. And don't forget to follow the show on Blue sky, Instagram and TikTok.

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