← The Briefing with Jen Psaki
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Psaki: Trump may be too clueless to understand consequences of his shutdown
00:41:21
Jen Psaki points out examples of Donald Trump not being aware of what his own administration is doing, or of the fallout of his own actions, raising questions about whether Trump understands the political consequences of the harm he is causing the American people with his shutdown of the federal government. Rep. Dan Goldman joins to discuss.
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- [00:02]
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- [00:04]
Michael Feinberg
These Doritos Golden Sriracha aren't that spicy.
- [00:08]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Sriracha sounds pretty spicy to me.
- [00:12]
Michael Feinberg
Um, a little spicy, but also tangy and sweet.
- [00:16]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Maybe it's time to turn up the heat. Or turn it down. It's time for something that's not too spicy.
- [00:23]
Michael Feinberg
Try Doritos Golden Sriracha.
- [00:25]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Spicy but not too spicy.
- [00:30]
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- [00:59]
Podcast Host / Narrator
We have now reached the end of day three of the government shutdown with no clear resolution at this moment in sight. Now, what we do know for sure is that the shutdown won't be resolved this weekend. Little Mike Johnson announced today that the House won't even be in session next week while he leaves it to the Senate to figure things out. So he kept them out of town this week and he's keeping them out of town next week, too. Now, in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune, who actually has the power to negotiate an end to the shutdown, he has a great deal of power, is continuing to act as if he is a powerless observer. I mean, yesterday Thune told reporters he believed that it was unlikely that senators would even be in the Capitol this weekend. He went on to say that, quote, we'll give Democrats the weekend to think about it, and then we'll come back and vote on Monday. So you may be wondering, I was, too. Why wouldn't the Senate Majority leader keep his members in D.C. to try to at least make some progress in ending the shutdown, have some meetings, do something right? Well, John Thune may have other reasons for keeping this weekend clear, because at least some of his members, some members of his caucus might have other plans. That's right. Senate Republicans are proceeding with a major fundraising retreat with top Republican donors, a retreat held by the NRSC at a luxury five star resort in Sea Island, Georgia. It started this evening. Of course, rooms at that resort cost about $500 a night. $500 a night. You can see some of the pictures of the resort there. But guys, this place has it all. It's a private island with miles of Atlantic beachfront, three championship golf courses, more than a dozen on site restaurants and a five star spa. So the government may shut down, but at least some Senate Republicans are planning to have a pretty good time this weekend, I guess. Now, according to a schedule obtained by Politico, the agenda tomorrow includes their choice of activities like golf, pickleball, fishing or shooting. And later in the day, they can enjoy some afternoon lawn games. What those might entail I don't know, on the resort's extremely well manicured grounds. And of course they can enjoy the kind of fine dining that you'd expect given the steep price tag. So that is quite a packed weekend. It's also a very interesting choice is one way to describe it, to hold lawn games in Sea Island, Georgia. While 750,000 federal workers are furloughed, thousands more are working without pay. And Trump's OMB hatchet man is taking an axe to basically any congressionally appropriated funding he doesn't like. And if you think the optics of a luxury weekend vacation at this moment look distasteful or out of touch or honestly, downright insane, consider what Trump posted on social media this morning, this weird AI video gleefully celebrating Russell Vote's promise to fire federal workers, cancel federal projects, and put the federal government during got the federal government during an already painful shutdown. As you can see, the video features both Donald Trump and Russ Vote dressed as the Grim Reaper, all set to a bad parody of the song Don't Fear the Reaper. Real political genius over there, guys. Because nothing reassures people in the country worried about their livelihoods more than the literal personification of death, which is basically what that weird AI video does. But while this administration is no doubt reveling in this shutdown, every indication tells us that. And no doubt brainstorming about perhaps the next creepy AI video they're going to post. Let's again, just take a quick second to remember why this is all happening. I mean, at the core of the shutdown is Democrats in Congress fighting to add the extension of the ACA premium tax credits into the government funding bill. That's what this is about. Those tax credits help millions of people afford health care coverage. And according to the nonprofit Kaiser Family foundation, if those tax credits expire, millions of Americans will see their premiums double in cost. So it's pretty reasonable that Democrats are asking to extend those ACA tax credits, which are incredibly popular. But here's the thing. Donald Trump either doesn't care or doesn't understand why Democrats would possibly fight for more affordable health care. It's politics and they're doing things and.
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Congressman Greg Kazar
Asking for things that you wouldn't want.
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Michael Feinberg
And most people that are sane wouldn't want.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
Okay, so you just heard Donald Trump say most people who are sane wouldn't want more affordable health care. Just think about that for a moment. Remember when I said that the ACA premium tax credit extensions that Democrats are asking for is popular? When I say popular, I mean really popular. I mean like puppies and apple pie popular. According to new polling from the KFF, a whopping 78% of people say that Congress should extend those tax credits. That of course includes 92% of Democrats. No surprise, but also 82% of independents and even 59% of Republicans. Let's dig even deeper into that last number because this is very interesting. A full 57% of self identified MAGA supporters say that the ACA tax credits should be extended. As I said, it's popular. Very, very popular. Even a majority of Trump's own supporters want what Democrats are asking for. That's what that polling tells us. And that level of support shouldn't be surprising, really. I mean, given that over 70% of people who receive ACA tax credits live in states that voted for Donald Trump. What is head spinning? One of the things that's head spinning about this entire standoff is that Trump and Republicans think they're owning the libs, but they're really just hurting their very own voters. They'd rather dig their heels in, clearly, than take the political win that is sitting right in front of them. And on some level, people inside Trump's White House seem to recognize that what they're doing is not at all a great idea. I mean, according to new reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Trump's advisors are worried that the GOP will take the blame for allowing health care subsidies to expire, raising costs for millions of Americans ahead of next year's midterm elections. His advisors even acknowledged privately this week that allowing the subsidies to expire could cause political headaches for a president who was elected in large part because of voter frustrations with inflation and the rising cost of living. Now, I mean, it is pretty, yeah, very safe bet that allowing the subsidies to expire will cause political headaches for Trump. But the thing is, we don't even know if Trump is fully aware of this. I mean, he could literally have no idea that millions of his own voters are about to be paying up, you know, up to, you know, what, to afford their health care plans. Because a far too common theme in this second Trump presidency is that Trump does not know what is going on within his own administration. Just this week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after his White House meeting with Trump that after laying out the health care consequences to him, Trump, quote, looked like he heard about them for the first time. It has been increasingly clear that Trump's own people seem to leave him in the dark on the goings on and key decisions really being made in his own administration. I mean, consider this headline from the New York Times earlier this week. Trump Cuts to Counterterrorism Funds for New York reach $187 million. Now, if you saw that headline earlier this week, you would have thought Donald Trump signed off on those cuts, had been briefed on those cuts, or at least had some idea that they were happening. Those are big cuts to counterterrorism in New York. Well, think again. Because according to new reporting from the New York Times today, Trump didn't know about the cuts until New York's Governor Kathy Hochul called him and urged him to change course. And today, he did change course and said it was his great honor to do so, as if he was providing some magical new funding for law enforcement and not just not doing the cuts that his administration had approved. If those cuts had stayed in place, they would have been the largest federal defunding of police operations in New York in decades. So of course, he sort of, he reversed course. But apparently, somehow the President of the United States didn't have a clue that they were being put in place in the first place. And when he finally got wind of what his own administration had done, he threw things in reverse. Not a great look, but here's the gravity does still exist. Trump might not care about policy or even understand policy or the people that bad policy affects, but every now and then, even he can recognize when something is too stupid to possibly justify. So will he throw things in reverse on the shutdown fight, too? Who knows? But he'd be pretty stupid not to. Okay, starting us off tonight is Democratic Congressman Van Goldman of New York. He's a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. So, Congresswoman, let me start there. I mean, the Trump administration halts nearly 200 million in counterterrorism funding, a huge amount to New York. Obviously, Trump has apparently no idea. When he finds out about it, he reverses courts and then takes credit. There's a lot packed in there. What do you think this whole episode reveals about the state of this administration?
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Congressman Dan Goldman
Well, it first of all reveals that they want to defund the police. And part of Project 2025 is to do just that. So when they bash defunding the police, they ought to look right in the mirror because that's what they're doing. The second thing is that Donald Trump is the K of creating his own fires and then putting them out. He did that back in December with the budget deal where he threw in the debt ceiling and then he pulled out the debt ceiling and claimed that he was giving a great sacrifice. I think one of the things that we realize now on the Democratic side is we're not playing Donald Trump's shenanigans and his games anymore. What we are fighting for is simply healthcare for Americans, for millions and millions of Americans. You listed some of it. There's more. And the Republican bill that they claim they just want to pass as a clean CR is far from clean. It's very dirty, it's very one sided. But most importantly, it cuts health care for millions of Americans and it increases premiums for tens of millions more. And so we're not going with Donald Trump's games and his play acting of, you know, AI or I'm going to cut things and then put them back and act like the savior. The fact of the matter is they cut counterterrorism finance funding in New York City where 911 occurred in my district. And then they realized, oh shoot, that's probably not good, let's put it back. And this has happened time and time again and it will continue to happen because this is a completely chaotic administration that has no North Star other than Russ Vaught trying to cut as many jobs and as much funding that Americans rely on as possible.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
I love your analogy or description of how he creates a problem and then he pretends he's solving it. That's exactly what he does over and over again. You're still in the middle of this. Everybody's in the middle of this shutdown. Do you think this reversal of sorts tells us anything about how to get into reverse course on the shutdown? Cuz he's politically on the way wrong side of the health care issue as well.
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Congressman Dan Goldman
Yeah, I mean, look, you pointed out the polling and healthcare generally is not surprisingly appreciated by the American people. Donald Trump is not a president for the American people and he blatantly lied to the American people during his campaign, promising to lower costs to make life more affordable, to lower inflation. All he has done with his tariffs and his policies generally is to increase costs, increase the price of groceries, increase the price of healthcare, increase energy costs. And I do wonder whether he actually knows it. I think he has Fed so much dung from his staff that was put in there with a very express purpose of usurping total control of the government and cutting back as much as possible of the government to benefit the billionaire patrons that they have. And it may be that he doesn't know, it may be that he doesn't care, but either way, I think that he's clearly getting old and not aware, fully aware of everything that's going on.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
You've watched him for a long time. I was speaking with one of your colleagues, Madeline Dean, about this last night. Do you think his engagement or capacity to understand what's going on or understanding of policymaking or involvement has changed or gotten worse? What have you seen?
- [14:08]
Congressman Dan Goldman
No, I do. And the example that really jumped out to me was when he was caught talking a couple weeks ago to Republicans and saying, well, just ram it through. Ram through the cr. We don't need them, we're just going to pass it. And it really seemed like he didn't understand that the filibuster exists in the Senate and in order to pass a budget you need 60 votes, which requires Democratic votes. It felt like he was back in the big ugly bill land where that was reconciliation. They only needed 50 votes. It is startling that a president of any kind, certainly a second term president, would not understand the filibuster and would not understand that Senate Democrats are necessary in order to pass a budget and keep the government open. And if he is actually saying that as if he believes it, he certainly knew that before. And so this is senility, I think, rearing its ugly head.
- [15:11]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Let me ask you to put your prosecutor, former prosecutor hat on for a second before I let you go. I'm going to talk about this a little bit more later in the show, but we learned late tonight that an FBI agent in the Washington field office has been fired for refusing to arrest and perp walk James Comey. And I just wanted to get your reaction to that.
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Congressman Dan Goldman
It is unbelievable. It is. The bottom just does just gets lower and lower and lower. First, a completely bogus and politicized charge against James Comey. It will not stand. It may not even make it to trial. But then to try to use the criminal justice system in a completely improper and unethical way to embarrass James Comey by arresting and perp walking someone who was charged with false statements made five years ago and had agreed to surrender as it already violates every norm and policy of the Department of Justice. But worse yet, just shows how much of a political arm the Department of Justice is for Donald Trump. And the fact that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel continue to do his political bidding is shocking. And there need to be repercussions. And certainly the Republicans in Congress have to stand up if they care at all about their own words, their own promises, their own beliefs, and their own oath. They clearly only do when there are Democrats in office. But this is descending in a really, really dangerous way, no question about it.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
We're going to talk to a former FBI official a little later in the show. Congressman Dan Goldman, thank you so much for joining me on a Friday night. I appreciate. Okay, we're going to take a break. After that, we're going to talk about whether Mike Johnson is keeping the House out of town during the shutdown to avoid a vote on the Epstein files because some Democrats sure think so. Congressman Gary Kazar is standing by and he joins me next.
- [17:19]
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- [17:48]
Kat Abu Ghazale
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Podcast Host / Narrator
We are on day three of the government shutdown and there's really no telling right at this moment how long it's going to last. I mean, today Mike Johnson scrapped All votes next week and had Republican lawmakers hightail it back home. Now, he claims he just wants the Senate to work things out. That's what he says. But Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is one of several Democrats pointing to the Epstein files as a potential factor. She said today that Johnson is keeping the House out of session to avoid swearing in a new member who would trigger a vote on the release of those files. Now, is that the reason? Or is it to avoid hard questions over the shutdown and cuts to health care? Or is it all of the above, which it could be, who knows? But that's kind of the point, right? Republicans are feeling pressure on a whole host of issues right now. Democrats know it. Just listen to Congressman Greg Kazar outside of Ted Cruz's office yesterday.
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Congressman Greg Kazar
Please reverse these massive cuts to our health care. Stop jacking up costs for everyday people. Stop trying to block out your own constituents. You have to hear the voices of your constituents that want an open government and also believe that we should have an open government and our health care and our basic rights.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
Joining us now is Congressman Greg Kazar, Democrat from Texas and Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Okay, we just showed that you left that message for Senator Ted Cruz on his office ring camera, which is really ingenious. Probably surprises no one that he wasn't there. But I just started the show by talking about how there are Republicans who may or may not be at a retreat, a fancy retreat in Sea Island, Georgia. Mike Johnson has let the House leave for another week. They were out this week. What does this tell you? What should people at home understand about what this tells us about Republicans leaving during the shutdown, leaving D.C. where the negotiations should be happening.
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Congressman Greg Kazar
It's like the entire Republican Party has taken a lesson out of Cancun, Ted Cruz's playbook here. I mean, it has been now weeks since the House has been scheduled to come in for votes when this government shutdown occurred. And all of it is linked basically to Republicans not wanting to answer their own constituents questions. Remember how Republicans didn't want to host town halls to answer their own constituents questions. Now Republicans don't want to be in Washington, D.C. they don't want to answer questions about the Epstein files. They also don't want to answer questions about why they are taking away millions of their own constituents, health care, all to give billionaires a tax break. Not just Democratic constituents, but Republican constituents in the state of Texas and all over America. Want to know why are you taking my hard earned money just to give it to the richest people on earth, I read.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
I've been obsessively talking about the health care situation here because these tax credits are so popular and millions of people in this country rely on them to afford health care. And there's this startling statistic. I just want to read it to you because it made my jaw drop. The Texas Tribune cited federal data reports that the ACA enrollment in Texas has tripled since Democrats passed the expanded tax credit in 2021. 3.9 million Texans are now enrolled in the ACA marketplace. KFF also found that most Texans would see their premiums double if the credits at stake in this shutdown expire. It doesn't even have to be a moral vote or a policy vote, which it should be. It can be a political vote for Republicans. Have you heard any rumblings that this is something that they're worried about, that this matters, that may push them to push the caucus to make a deal here?
- [22:33]
Congressman Greg Kazar
Look, Donald Trump and the Republican members of Congress know that they are on very shaky ground here. I mean, if you remember when Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer went to meet with Donald Trump, we didn't see video of that. When was the last time that there weren't cameras in the Oval Office? Donald Trump doesn't want to talk about this issue. He doesn't want to get asked hard questions. And that's exactly when you have to push him on it. Because no matter how strong their propaganda is, those health care premiums don't lie. When now there are folks going online to check their health care premiums and they could be going up $10,000, $15,000 next year. And Donald Trump promised to bring prices down. That's the moment where we could start bringing so many voters back into the fold and build the kind of Democratic Party that can beat Trump's propaganda, restore our basic rights, restore democracy, and actually make life more affordable for everyday people. That's why it's so important for Democrats to be taking a stand right now to put health care over billionaires.
- [23:39]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Let me ask you about something that your colleague, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said. I mean, basically, Adelita Grijalva, who was elected to Congress just a few weeks ago, it's all space time continuum here. But recently hasn't been sworn in yet. She would be the key vote enforcing a vote on the releasing the Epstein files, still hasn't been sworn in. Do you think that's why Mike Johnson is keeping the House out of town? How central do you think that is?
- [24:06]
Congressman Greg Kazar
I think that is right. And look, this is all part of the same story. The Republicans are basically running a billionaire protection racket. Maybe there is a lot of mentions of Donald Trump and the Epstein files. Maybe the billionaire is all wrapped up in this sex trafficking ring. The Republicans will call off votes to try to not answer hard questions about it. Billionaires need a tax cut and are going to take away your health care in order to pay for it. Republicans will call off votes. They don't have to answer hard questions about that. But again, we are seeing how the Republican Party is basically doing everything they can to protect their billionaire buddies, whether it is in the Epstein files and that horrific sex trafficking ring or whether it is sticking their hands in the American taxpayers pocket. It is all part of one story of Trump's Republican Party today.
- [24:59]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Congressman Greg Kazar, thank you as always for joining me. Okay, coming up.
- [25:03]
Congressman Greg Kazar
Thanks for having me.
- [25:04]
Podcast Host / Narrator
The Trump administration opens up a new front in its assault on one of America's biggest cities. And tonight that city is continuing to push back. You're going to want to hear from our next guest. And we'll be right back.
- [25:18]
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Podcast Host / Narrator
Imagine relying on a dozen different software programs to run your business, none of.
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Congressman Greg Kazar
Which are connected and each one more.
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Expensive and more complicated than the last.
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Podcast Host / Narrator
It can be pretty stressful. Now imagine Odoo.
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Congressman Greg Kazar
Doesn't Odoo sound amazing?
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Podcast Host / Narrator
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- [26:21]
Kat Abu Ghazale
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Podcast Host / Narrator
Show employers what, you know upskill for.
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Kat Abu Ghazale
The career you want@udemy.com.
- [26:48]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Now back to your regularly scheduled listening Chicago has long been one of Donald Trump's favorite targets. @ this point, it is frankly difficult to keep track of all of the ways he is trying to intimidate that city. I mean, just today the Trump administration announced that it plans to claw back $2.1 billion in federal funding for Chicago's desperately needed infrastructure projects. And those cuts come as Trump continues to threaten to deploy National Guard troops onto the streets of Chicago. Federal agents are already on the ground there openly carrying guns as they patrol on boats down the Chicago R and conduct barbaric raids like the one on a Chicago apartment building this week. In the early morning hours on Tuesday, agents rappelled from Black Hawk helicopters and reportedly broke down people's doors, pulling men, women and children, some of whom were naked, out of their apartments, separating families. Those families belongings, everything from shoes to toys to food, were ransacked and thrown into piles in the building's hallway. A man who lives in the building next door told cnn, I've been on military bases for a good portion of my life and the action I saw, it was an invasion. DHS says it has made more than 900 arrests in the Chicago area over the past few weeks, and many of those detainees have been taken to this ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where for the past few weeks protesters have been vehemently demanding transparency but have been met with tear gas and violent attacks by law enforcement. Democratic congressional candidate Kat Opa Ghazali has been taking part in those protests and was thrown to the ground by ICE agents herself. You can see it right on the video there. Earlier today, she spoke at a press conference outside of the Broadview facility and described what she witnessed.
- [28:43]
Kat Abu Ghazale
This is a processing facility. It is only supposed to hold people for 12 hours at a time. But we have heard reports of people being held for days or weeks at a time time without beds or hot meals or access to hygienic facilities. It is likely that the conditions in the Broadview Processing center are much worse than we already know because ICE will not allow our elected officials to inspect the facility, which is their our leaders legal right. ICE masks their faces. I set up gates to keep us away from their crimes. ICE boards up their windows. Republicans have described Chicago as a war zone. They are obviously wrong. But Broadview is a war zone. It's a war zone with the government waging war on peaceful Protesters joining me.
- [29:28]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Now from Chicago is Democratic congressional candidate who you just saw there in that video, Kat Abu Ghazale. Kat, it's so great to see you. And that was such a powerful set of remarks you gave earlier today. And you've been tireless in advocating for more transparency there. I just wanted to ask you, I mean, you've been on the grounds again, but protesting at this facility. Can you just describe how the situation there has escalated over the past couple of weeks?
- [29:52]
Kat Abu Ghazale
Yeah, absolutely. And thank you for having me on. Talk about this, Jen. This facility is where anyone that is abducted in the Chicago area probably ends up. This is where they end up. And as I described earlier, they're held in inhumane conditions. A few weeks ago, I believe about six weeks ago now, a couple of protesters were arrested at a vigil for peacefully blocking a van. And week after week, more and more people have showed up. I showed up the next week and we have been out there every Friday morning to bear witness to deportations happening and to demand transparency, accountability and safety from our leaders. In regards to this ICE facility. Every single week we have seen one sided escalation from ice. We come with songs and chants and signs. They come with tear gas and pepper bullets and flashbangs. They have started abducting protesters into the facility. They have started arresting press for doing their job. I have watched them target press multiple times. They tell families that are trying to deliver medication to their loved ones to leave before shooting them with pepper balls. They have tried to drive vehicles through protesters multiple times. This is a war zone. Except it's a one sided war. It is ICE agents in masks. We don't know who they are. In the five, six weeks I've been there now, I have seen two badge numbers the entire time. We don't know who these men are. We don't know what they're allowed to do. We don't even know what agency many of them work for. And they are just allowed to brutalize anyone that they want. That video that you showed, that was actually the third time an ICE agent has picked me up and thrown me on the ground. And the worst part is, is that all the things I just described don't compare to what is actually happening in that facility. That is the reason we're out there protesting and that is what we are trying to get, transparency and accountability.
- [31:51]
Podcast Host / Narrator
It's really powerful hearing from you describe this because I think a lot of people don't know all of the things that are happening. Given everything you just said. I want to play for you. Something DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she was at the Broadview facility today. Let's play that. We'll talk about it.
- [32:08]
Kat Abu Ghazale
There's going to be consequences for how these guys act and for what they do and how they impede our vehicles when they lay hands on our officers, but even prevent them from going out and doing their duty. And we're going to not just show.
- [32:20]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Them that we're here to stay, but.
- [32:22]
Kat Abu Ghazale
That we're going to expand our footprint and make sure that the citizens of Chicago are put first and that their safety is put first.
- [32:29]
Podcast Host / Narrator
That is so. That was speaking with podcaster Benny Johnson, by the way. But that is so out of touch, disconnected, cruel. Lots of words. But what is your response to that? You're living with this. You see it.
- [32:40]
Kat Abu Ghazale
Yeah, I think Christine Oem should have consequences. I think she should be tried at the Hague. What we are seeing from her operation are crimes against human. And if the response from ICE to people exercising their First Amendment right is to drive vehicles through them, is to shoot them, is to put a stationary gun on top of a roof, as we saw today, they shouldn't be allowed to operate if that is what their operations entail. They should not be an agency in the United States. What I really want to stress to people is that none of this is normal. It is not normal to have masked men rappel down from helicopters into apartment buildings to arrest families in the middle of the night. That is not normal. It is not normal to have agents with no identification of where they work, who they are, what they are allowed to do. That is not normal. At least in the United States, it's not normal. Today we were corralled into a free speech zone, and I'm not a big fan of that term because it implies there are areas in the US that are non free speech zones, mainly everywhere else. It is ICE's responsibility to respect and uphold our rights. It is not on us to accommodate them. And it is not on us to accommodate Kristi Noem's racist, fascist agenda.
- [34:05]
Podcast Host / Narrator
Karen Bugazale. Never hold back. I really appreciate you taking the time tonight and speaking out so forcefully about such an important issue. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. Okay, we're going to take a quick break, but when we come back, we're going to talk about this. That breaking news tonight that an FBI agent has been fired for refusing to arrest and perp walk former FBI Director James Comey. I'm going to tell you more about that and what we know and get Reaction from someone who actually worked in Cash Patel's FBI, when we come back. Before he was appointed to lead our country's premier law enforcement agency, FBI Director Kash Patel had an extensive line of Kash Patel branded merchandise. He even trademarked this nifty logo with the dollar sign in it. Get it? Cash Patel Cash money. Yeah, it's kind of obvious. He slapped that logo on all kinds of stuff and sold it with profits ostensibly going to his personal foundation that fought the Deep State or something. There were cash hoodies and T shirts, cash camo hats, big cash flags. Who has purchased one of those? I would love to know. Please report it to us on social media somehow. I mean, all of these things, by the way, still appear to be available for purchase online right now. So act fast, I guess, while supplies last. The holidays are coming, who knows? No longer available, alas, is this official cash wine. But for a time, you could get six bottles for just $243.99. Hints of BlackBerry, dark chocolate, plum, and a touch of French oak is the description. Kashpatel also sold a number of items with this design, which appears to feature the skull logo of the vigilante comic book character Punisher. You can see it right on your screen there, topped with Donald Trump's hair. What a combo. You can get the T shirt, the socks, the Christmas hoodie, or the $250 wall art. But you know what? That was the old Kash Patel. Now he's the director of America's top law enforcement agency, nominated by the president and confirmed some by 51 United States senators. He doesn't have time for childish stuff like that anymore. Right? Well, behold the FBI director Kash Patel challenge coin. What a coin it is. It is reportedly being handed out by the FBI director to people. Challenge coins, if you're unfamiliar, are these commemorative things traditionally made for US Military units? Presidents often give out challenge coins as well to mark special occasions or special meetings with people. And, well, there on the screen, that's Kash Patel's. Instead of the traditional, you know, coin shape for the challenge coin, he has gone for the Punisher skull with guns for its teeth, obviously, and spiders in its eyes. What a choice. Now, there on the forehead is his own personal cash logo, including the dollar sign. Now, whatever you may think, and I think a lot of things about the proprietary or tastefulness of the FBI director handing these things out, sure seems like somebody spent a whole lot of time and effort on this. That thing didn't just get whipped up overnight. Those are some serious Priorities there. Now what Kash Patel does seem to have had a little trouble with lately, with the actual doing of the directing of the FBI stuff. Dining at a schmancy New York restaurant while the manhunt for Charlie Kirk's killer got underway, incorrectly posting that Kirk's killer was in custody when he definitely was not, taking credit for the alleged shooter's arrest when in fact he was turned in by family. There was also Patel's visit to New Zealand where he gifted the country's police and intelligence chiefs inoperable pistols that are illegal under local New Zealand law and had to be destroyed after Patel left. What a diplomatic visit. The 3D printed pistols were a display stand for. What else? Challenge coins. The one thing Kash Patel does appear to be quite effective at is firing people. Patel has fired dozens of FBI employees, especially high ranking women and people of color, including the decorated officer who ran the Salt Lake City office who would have been in charge of the Charlie Kirk investigation had Patel not given her the boot. Last week, at least 15 FBI agents were fired over a five year old photo of them kneeling during a protest over the murder of George Floyd. The agents reportedly took a knee as attracted to deescalate a tense standoff with demonstrators. And this week Kash Patel fired an FBI agent in training who received multiple awards for service because of a rainbow flag he displayed at his desk last year before Trump was even president. Priorities. But the FBI is hardly the only place or only part of Trump's Justice Department being flooded with pink slips. Across the department, public servants are being fired for retribution, for just doing their jobs or because somebody on the Internet made up something about them. And tonight we have breaking news I've referenced already in the show on that front tonight, MSNBC has confirmed that an FBI agent has been fired for refusing to arrest and perp walk former FBI Director James Comey, a former top ranking FBI official forced out by Kash Patel himself joins us live next. Employees at the FBI and the DOJ have been getting fired for all sorts of crazy reports reasons lately. And tonight we can add another one to the list. MSNBC has confirmed that an FBI agent has been fired for refusing to arrest and perp walk former FBI Director James Comey. And that comes after a top federal national security prosecutor, Michael Ben Ari, was fired this week apparently over a social media post and not even his own post, but a random post on X from a MAGA influencer who without evidence claimed Ben Ari had resisted Trump's order to press prosecute another one of his perceived enemies, James Comey Ben Ari was forced to abandon his important national security prosecutions and instead spent today cleaning out his office. He did leave one thing behind on his way out, though, a letter taped to the door with a warning to his fellow DOJ employees about the political leadership of the department. He ends by writing, while I am no longer your colleague, I ask that each of you continue to do the right thing in the right way for the right reason. Our country depends on you. Michael Feinberg was the assistant special agent in charge at the FBI's Norfolk Field Office earlier this year when he was essentially forced to resign simply for being friends with yet another one of Donald Trump's perceived enemies. And he joins me now. Michael, it's great to see you. I was thinking about you as someone I really wanted to talk to about all of this today. I want to start by just getting your reaction to the news tonight that an FBI agent in the White House Washington field office was fired for refusing to arrest and per walk James Comey. When I should note, he is legally allowed to surrender for booking at his arraignment next week.
- [40:59]
Michael Feinberg
And I'd point out that Donald Trump was actually afforded that same courtesy himself when he was indicted. I lose track of how many times, but I'm aware of at least two federal cases and case in New York and a case in Georgia. So the notion that they would want to perp walk a former director of the FBI does not come from tradition or norms or any policy requirements under the Department of Justice. It is solely an act of showmanship and an act of cruelty.
- [41:39]
Podcast Host / Narrator
I mentioned the letter, which is incredibly powerful, that fired national security prosecutor Michael Ben Ari left on his now former office's door today. He wrote in part, DOJ leadership is more concerned with punishing the president's perceived enemies than they are with protecting our national security. That's a very pointed statement. We've talked about this a bit on the show and I've talked with you about it. But do you agree with that and tell us more about the impacts you see about these from these politicized firings and the ability of the department and law enforcement to do their job jobs.
- [42:13]
Michael Feinberg
Well, the ability of the department, whether it's Main justice or the FBI or any of the other subsidiary agencies, it's diminishing. They are not able to do their job in the same way they were simply because you can't run an organization while driving out everybody who has any experience or institutional knowledge. You know, the FBI's priorities, for example, are still very much supposed to encompass national security offenses, but we have agents being pulled from terrorism counterintelligence to work immigration matters and to patrol the streets and enforce largely municipal codes. This isn't how you combat terrorist organizations. This isn't how you combat foreign spies. This isn't how you combat hackers. This is how you surrender to those entities. And, you know, it's worth noting that these resignation letters are depressing for a couple of reasons. Obviously, for the tragedy of the individual involved, obviously for the loss of expertise that the department is suffering, but also because of how common they are. You know, I say this sort of glibly, but resignation letters used to be an art form. Now they're just a template that every employee of the Department of Justice has memorized. It's like an erosion of constitutional norms themed Mad Libs. Like, everybody has worked out in their head what they're going to say when the time is for them to leave.
- [44:02]
Podcast Host / Narrator
It's such an important point, and I feel like there's one of these or more than one of these every Friday, many a week. It's become so much the norm, and it means so many talented and experienced people, no matter their political backgrounds, are leaving these departments. Michael Feinberg, thank you, as always, for helping put a fine point on how important this is. We'll be right back. Okay, the story goes like this. The NFL announced the next super bowl halftime star will be Bad Bunny, the enormously popular Puerto Rican performer whose lyrics are primarily in Spanish, some explicitly critical of Trump and who actively supported Kamala Harris in 2024. Now, that led former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who is now chief advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, to basically threaten to send I to the Super Bowl. Yes, you heard me right. And then today, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was asked about the NFL, and here's what she said.
- [45:02]
Kat Abu Ghazale
They suck. And we'll win and God will bless us and we'll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day. And they won't be able to sleep.
- [45:10]
Podcast Host / Narrator
At night because they don't know what.
- [45:12]
Kat Abu Ghazale
They believe and they're so weak.
- [45:17]
Podcast Host / Narrator
The NFL sucks. Put it on a bumper sticker. I guess that does it for me tonight.
- [45:21]
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