Hour 2 - Texas Redistricting

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 2: Texas Redistricting

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts
• Description: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics, and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
• Episode: Hour 2 - Texas Redistricting
• Release Date: July 30, 2025

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1. Economic Outlook and Federal Reserve Insights

Timestamp: 01:32 – 06:56

Clay Travis opens the discussion with optimistic economic news, highlighting a 3% GDP growth that surpasses expert expectations. He notes that second-quarter wage growth is outpacing the cost of goods, a critical indicator that suggests individuals are retaining more disposable income. This economic shift under the Biden administration marks a significant change from the previous administration's trends.

Clay Travis (02:00): "If I had to point to one economic sort of bellwether it would be, is your average wage increasing more than the cost of goods? That is a sign that you end up with more money in your pocket than you used to under Biden for almost his entire time in office."

Travis anticipates the upcoming Federal Reserve announcement, expecting no immediate changes to interest rates. However, he forecasts two interest rate cuts before the end of the year, which could potentially reduce costs for mortgages, car loans, and credit card debts.

Clay Travis (04:30): "There is an expectation that there will be two interest rate cuts now priced in before the end of the year. So that would mean your mortgages, your car interest loans, your credit card debt, all theoretically would be getting somewhat cheaper from the interest rate perspective."

2. Texas Redistricting and Its Political Implications

Timestamp: 06:56 – 14:24

The core focus of the episode centers on Texas redistricting, a strategic maneuver poised to alter the political landscape significantly. Clay Travis outlines that Texas has released a proposed new district map, which aims to increase Republican districts by five—raising their total from 25 to 30 seats—while reducing Democratic seats from 13 to 8. This redistricting could be pivotal in determining control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming midterms.

Clay Travis (12:00): "Texas is in line. ... they just, in the state of Texas have released a proposed map that would increase the number of Republican districts by five. This could be hugely transformative given that five seats may well decide who ends up controlling the House or not."

Buck Sexton echoes the significance of this power play, likening redistricting to power politics where each party gerrymanders districts to its advantage. He emphasizes that both Republicans and Democrats engage in this practice, often under different nomenclature.

Buck Sexton (07:15): "This is just pure power politics, and that's a good thing. Meaning that this is what we should do in every state where we can do it, and Democrats will cry about it. Meanwhile, they do it in every state where they can do it."

The hosts discuss the broader national implications, including potential reactions from states like California, where the Democratic leadership under Governor Gavin Newsom may retaliate by redrawing districts, though such actions could face legal challenges.

3. Judiciary Appointments and the Blue Slip Process

Timestamp: 14:24 – 34:52

Transitioning from redistricting, Travis and Sexton delve into the judiciary appointment bottleneck caused by the blue slip process. This Senate tradition allows senators to approve or block judicial appointments. Currently, approximately 135 judicial nominees appointed by former President Donald Trump are stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition, leading to significant delays.

Clay Travis (12:29): "I think this is going to be a big deal. ... we have somewhere around 130 pending judiciary related appointments from Trump that are just log jammed."

Buck Sexton criticizes the Democrats' handling of the blue slip process, arguing that it effectively prevents Republican appointees from being confirmed, thereby undermining presidential authority to shape the judiciary.

Buck Sexton (11:36): "They are the ones that are causing this, this logjam and this madness to happen this way. The plan B is the acting US Attorney stays in the role. That's what's supposed to happen. They're the ones who have escalated, is my point."

The discussion highlights the political standoff and its potential impact on the midterms, with Travis suggesting that a Republican-controlled House and Senate could expedite the confirmation process for future nominees.

Clay Travis (13:36): "Senator Mike Lee, ... to talk to us about the procedural issues in the Senate."

4. Allegations of Mismanagement and Collusion Documents

Timestamp: 34:52 – 32:45

Clay introduces a controversial story reported by Fox News regarding Kash Patel uncovering thousands of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. These documents were allegedly found in multiple "burn bags" within the FBI, raising questions about the FBI's handling of classified information.

Clay Travis (22:32): "Kash Patel found thousands of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump Russia probe buried in multiple 'burn bags' in a secret room inside the bureau."

Buck expresses skepticism about the impact of these documents, suggesting that without clear, explosive revelations, the story may not significantly alter public perception or lead to charges against Trump.

Buck Sexton (25:01): "Look, I hope that my sense on this is not what happens, but I'm pretty sure it will. I don't think you're going to see charges or certainly not convictions and probably not charges related to anything Russia collusion."

Travis and Sexton also touch upon the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell saga, criticizing the media for what they perceive as inconsistent coverage and the minimal legal repercussions faced by Maxwell despite extensive allegations.

Clay Travis (27:55): "All the Epstein victims ... but around 120 some odd women came forward and said, hey, I am a victim. Here is my story."

5. Upcoming Discussions and Guest Appearances

Timestamp: 34:52 – 43:07

As the episode progresses, Travis and Sexton announce upcoming segments featuring Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who is expected to provide insights into the Senate's procedural hurdles, and Tomi Lahren, who will discuss issues faced by attractive blonde women in America.

Buck Sexton (37:54): "Coming up here, we're going to be taking some big guests on in the next hour. Senator Mike Lee of Utah will be with us. And Tomi Lahren, Fox News and Outkick Zone."

The hosts also engage with callers, addressing concerns about the Israel-Hamas conflict and emphasizing the role of Hamas in obstructing food distribution to Gaza.

Clay Travis (41:51): "I had a grandson that served in the military and in Afghanistan, and he was called by some of his buddies to do food distribution in Gaza. ... Hamas is getting most of the food. It is not getting to the right people."

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Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (02:00): "If I had to point to one economic sort of bellwether it would be, is your average wage increasing more than the cost of goods? That is a sign that you end up with more money in your pocket than you used to under Biden for almost his entire time in office."

• Buck Sexton (07:15): "This is just pure power politics, and that's a good thing. Meaning that this is what we should do in every state where we can do it, and Democrats will cry about it. Meanwhile, they do it in every state where they can do it."

• Clay Travis (12:00): "Texas is in line. ... they just, in the state of Texas have released a proposed map that would increase the number of Republican districts by five. This could be hugely transformative given that five seats may well decide who ends up controlling the House or not."

• Buck Sexton (11:36): "They are the ones that are causing this, this logjam and this madness to happen this way. The plan B is the acting US Attorney stays in the role. That's what's supposed to happen. They're the ones who have escalated, is my point."

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Conclusion

In this episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, the hosts provide a comprehensive analysis of pivotal political developments, particularly focusing on Texas redistricting and its potential to reshape the balance of power in Congress. They also delve into the complexities of judiciary appointments thwarted by the blue slip process, raising concerns about partisan obstructionism. Additionally, the episode touches upon controversial allegations regarding the FBI's handling of sensitive documents related to the Trump-Russia probe and critiques the media's portrayal of the Epstein-Maxwell case. Upcoming guest appearances by Senator Mike Lee and Tomi Lahren promise further in-depth discussions on procedural Senate issues and societal topics, respectively.

Listeners are encouraged to stay informed and engaged with these critical issues that hold significant implications for the political and economic landscape of the United States.

Transcript

[Annabe]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Order [e-mail] welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Good news on the economy this morning. If you're just joining us, 3% growth. It exceeded the expectations of the so called experts. We are nearing yet again another record high in the stock market. Second quarter wage growth also based on the evidence and data that I have seen has been outgrowing cost of goods. That is the number one. If I had to point to one economic sort of bellwether it would be is your average wage increasing more than the cost of goods? That is a sign that you end up with more money in your pocket than you used to under Biden for almost his entire time in office. That was not true under Trump. In this most recent quarter of 3% growth that is becoming true. I think it is likely to continue and that is when Covid hit to take you back into February of 2020. By basically every economic measure the country had never been stronger than it was in February of 2020 when all of that happened. So that is good news that came out. We will await further news. I believe the Fed is the Fed is announcing next hour. I think I'm right on this team. Make sure that I am correct on this. What they are going to do with interest rates, expectations are that they will not be changing anything with interest rates. But there is an expectation that there will be two interest rate cuts now priced in before the end of the year. So that would mean your mortgages, your car interest loans, your credit card debt, all theoretically would be getting somewhat cheaper from the interest rate perspective. So that is the big news I would say of the day of an economic perspective. That's where we started off the show. Encourage you to go subscribe to the podcast if you like it audio wise, you can find us, Clay Travis, Buck Sexton anywhere on the podcast universe. And if you want the video, more and more video going up on a daily basis at the YouTube channel where we are rapidly advancing, send us over 100,000 subscribers there today. You can search out my name, Clay Travis, you can search out Buck Sexton and you can find many of the clips of our discussion from a video viewing perspective there. 2:00 clock today we will on the East Coast. So about an hour from now we will hear from Jerome Powell, Fed Reserve chairman to Fed board chairman to see what he is going to do and what the Fed has voted to do. Again, expectation nothing going to change. Okay. Two other stories. We're going to dive into some in this hour. One reports and I'm going to read up on this because I haven't had time to fully read it from Fox News that Cash Patel has found documents relating to Russia collusion that they were trying to destroy, they were trying to burn, they were trying to get rid of thousands of them. We'll dive into that. I want to get bucks take maybe at the bottom of the hour off the top. I think this is really significant news and so far it has not gotten as much attention. But we all know midterms are coming up next year. A little bit over a year from now it's going to be determined who controls the House and who controls the Senate. Republicans in pretty good shape in the Senate. Senate, the House is swinging back and forth on a pin prick. A tiny Republican majority or a tiny Democrat majority. And every state out there to a large extent has gerrymandered at this point. Their state. If it's a strong red state, there is a strong bias in favor of the Republican Party when it comes to districts. If there is a strong blue state, there is a strong Democrat Party bias when it comes to districts. That is most states are not directly proportional. So if you had a state, let's say, where 60% of the vote goes red or blue, it's likely the case that more than 60% of the congressional seats are going one way or the other. Okay, Texas is in line. They don't have a legislature that is in session. Every year the legislature is in session. They are called to design new districts. And they just, in the state of Texas have released a proposed map that would increase the number of Republican districts by five. This could be hugely transformative given that five seats may well decide who ends up controlling the House or not. So this new plan would take Republicans from 25 seats expected to 30, and Democrats in Texas from 13 to 8. It is a big story. It is one that I think is going to become increasingly more important because California under Gavin Newsom is saying, well, we're going to redo all of our districts if Texas acts, even though that might be challenging legally. Trump wants to control the House. It is important that he do so. This is going to be, I think, the number one battle next year.

[Buck Sexton]

And you'll see that this is just pure power politics, and that's a good thing. Meaning that this is what we should do in every state where we can do it, and Democrats will cry about it. Meanwhile, they do it in every state where they can do it. This is what goes on now. This is the there. It's. It's like countries drawing lines on a map. A lot of the time it's arbitrary, and he who is mighty enough to do it does it. And that's what you get with the, the redistricting. If you like what's going on, you call it maybe redistricting. If you don't, if it's the other party, then you call it gerrymandering. And you're supposed to be very upset about the gerrymandering that's going on. But Republicans need to pay attention to this. The there are states where, even state level, obviously, congressional redistricting fits right into the federal issues, into Congress. But what we've seen in Wisconsin with the state Supreme Court there is troubling for Republicans. We're going to be losing likely control there. There's a whole bunch of fights that are playing out now in different states. And another thing that I want to bring up, Clay, is this blue slip process, which I think Trump just tweeted about it earlier today, and he's saying that Republicans need to just stop playing this game where if you have a Democrat senator, even one, not even necessarily two in Georgia, there's two of them. But if you have a Democrat senator in a purple state, Trump's judges aren't getting through and Trump US Attorneys aren't getting through. And now I know you could say, well, this is the way it goes. This has been the rule. It is a self imposed rule. And Democrats are abusing the spirit of the rule such that you can't get anybody through unless they're essentially a Democrat, unless it's clear that they're going to let so what's the point of the president being able to appoint US Attorneys and judges, federal judges in these states if they're just going to only allow Democrat appointees effectively to get through? It's absurd. It's absurd. And, and they're by the way, they are the ones. This is very important to know. Usually the way it works with a U.S. attorney is you get the acting U.S. attorney and then if they don't put through somebody else, that acting U.S. attorney is often by a judge made the permanent U.S. attorney. This is the way the system works. That's not, it's not happening in New York, it's not happening in California, it's not happening in New Jersey. All of a sudden judges are getting really picky about these Trump appointees. Clay.

[Clay Travis]

Well, and if you want to point to something that is not we've moved at rapid speed and Trump has done a ton in the first six months. If you want to point to an area where the speed has not reflected, maybe what you would hope for, it's judges. And to your point, that's because of Democrat roadblocks. I think there are team look this up in New York City, if you would, please. I think there are somewhere around 130 pending judiciary related appointments from Trump that are just log jammed. You cannot get them through right now because Democrats have thrown themselves athwart the procedural posture here to keep it from happening. And I'm talking about federal district court judges, I'm talking about circuit court judge appointments. Emil Bove was just appealed, was just approved yesterday by a vote. One, one vote. They are really doing everything they can to keep this from happening. And to your point, US Attorneys as well. And I think they're doing it because they've got their fingers crossed. They have big announcement. We need to get Michael Watley on in North Carolina. That's going to be an absolute donnybrook of a battle in North Carolina between he and Roy Cooper over that Thom Tillis seat to see who retains it. North Carolina, major battleground, purplish state. And I think Democrats are hope, hopeful. I don't think it's going to happen, but I think they're hopeful that they may be able to make a run in the Senate as well and then just basically keep Trump from doing anything for two years.

[Buck Sexton]

But it's just for people who are going to say, and I know I'm going to get some of this and probably get some calls, but buck the blue slip process. This is the, what the Senate has had and they'll do it to us. Yeah, but they're already doing unprecedented things by jamming up the acting. You know, if you're not going to, here's what's going on. If the acting U.S. attorney, for example, cannot be elevated to that role because Democrats refuse to vote on and put forward a qualified permanent U.S. attorney that would get, you know, that would get voted through in the Senate. They're the ones that are causing this, this logjam and this madness to happen this way. The plan B is the acting US Attorney stays in the role. That's what's supposed to happen. They're not letting that happen. So they're the ones who have escalated, is my point. It's very unusual. Even the New York Times had to admit it's very unusual for this to be what goes on. And of course, the hashtag resistance, judiciary and now US Attorneys as well. This is what they are doing. So I'm with Trump on this one. I think you got to, you got to fight fire with fire because Clay, time is flying and the midterms are going to be here. We're going to be talking midterms in six months.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. And Senator Mike Lee, it's 135, by the way, that are currently log jammed in the judiciary universe that Trump is trying to get through. And he laid out some of the reasons that this is an issue. And I think we have him scheduled to come on soon because I think he could take us through the procedural mechanisms that are causing this to be an issue. Some people are out there arguing now and again, this gets into sort of the, the, the arcane nature of the Senate and what is and is not permissible. Trump needs to start to contemplate, I think, recess appointments, which have been used aggressively by prior presidents. And for whatever reason, President Trump has not been particularly aggressive when it comes to recess appointments. And again, this, that gets into the weeds of how the Senate moves. And I'm sure there is a logic behind that. But when you've got 135 people, according to Senator Mike Lee of Utah that are right now backed up. This is something that is, that needs to be rectified, Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Also I've got here there's a response from Senator Chuck Grassley. He is quote, offended and disappointed by the tirade that Trump unleashed on, on social media over the blue slip process. So, you know, this is already getting more attention, Chuck, I mean, Chuck, sorry, Trump wrote this about Grassley. Chuck Grassley, who I got reelected to the US Senate when he was down by a lot in the great state of Iowa, could solve the blue slip problem we are having with respect to appointment of highly qualified judges and US Attorneys with a mere flick of the pen. Democrats like Schumer, etc. Sleazebags all have ironclad stoppage of great Republican candidates. That's what's going on.

[Clay Travis]

I look, I think this is going to be a big deal. I was just texting right now with Senator Mike Lee, told him that we need to get him on to explain exactly the protocol behind this and why it is, why it's getting held up like it is right now. So we will follow up on this. But I wanted to give you the latest on the redistricting which is a big deal and also on the Senate holdup. And and then we'll dive into some of these reports from Fox News now about Cash Patel and the potential documents that he has found inside of the FBI trying to cover up the Russia collusion hoax and the details surrounding it. Look, if you've got kids out there right now and maybe you don't want to put them on a cell phone yet because you don't want them to have access to tech, you don't want them to have access to social media. But, but you want to be able to let them kind of run around and have fun. Rapid Radios is actually a really good option for you with young kids. We have used with my 10 year old rapid radios, hey, he's going to run around, he's going to play wiffle ball in the neighborhood. He's going to run around with some of his friends, maybe go get ice cream in the neighborhood. And we wanted to be able to stay in touch with him but he doesn't have his own cell phone yet because he's too young. But he likes to run around with that Rapid radio because he thinks it's fun. If you remember back in the day, sometimes they had these old school radios. We're also using it with my mother in law who happens to live basically in a location where her cell phone just doesn't work. It's still amazing to me the blind spots that cell phone networks can have for particular networks. Maybe some of you have had this issue where you're in an apartment or you're in a condo or you're in a house and your cell phone just stops working. Rapid Radio is a great option for that as well. No setup required. Pull them out of the box, press a button, boom. You you can talk. It will use all different sorts of networks to make sure you can stay in touch with your family. Visit rapidradios.com to save up to 60% now free UPS shipping from Michigan Codes Code Radio for an extra 5% off. That's rapidradios.com code radio get hooked up today. You don't know what you don't know, right? But you could on the Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck podcast.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

To Clay and Buck. We'll get some of your talk back, your calls, your thoughts, all of that good stuff, and let's do it. Actually, CC Don from California, who listens on the Patriot KE be I'm so.

[Tommy Lahren]

Glad you're bringing up this Senate issue. Hey, I've been. I'm 56 years old. I'm just speaking by myself. People are so sick of the Congress and Senate and their little political games and all this stuff. It's America first. Take care of the American people.

[Clay Travis]

Look, I just think there is a significant impact when you win the House, the Senate and the White House. You had the One of the most important things you can do is fill all the nominees on the judiciary with people who reflect your political worldview. And I thought Trump 1.0, Buck, I don't know if you would sign off on this. Maybe the most single successful thing of Trump 1.0 was the judiciary. If you go back and look at all of the important rulings that help to keep Biden, for instance, from being able to mandate the COVID shot. Remember when he was trying to tell you basically, if you have a job, you're allowed, you're forced to get this shot. Student loans, presidential powers, all of it is a function of Trump getting three nominees through on the United States Supreme Court, to say nothing of all the district court judges. One of my favorite judges out there was the one who did away with the mask requirement. Remember when we celebrated, you still had to wear those stupid masks on airlines until the one judge down in Florida.

[Buck Sexton]

Said, Judge Meiselle, my hero, Judge Meiselle, my hero forever and for all time. The, the great, the greatest, maybe the greatest federal judge of all judges of all time.

[Clay Travis]

And she actually gave the Biden team an opportunity to avoid, like, driving their base insane by actually removing it. They could just say, well, this is a judge. We disagree. I think they initially appealed and then they abandoned the appeal. But that's a function. She was a Trump appointee. And all of these different decisions that are going to be made from the judiciary are going to exist long after any of us right now are talking about the Trump presidency for the next 20, 30 years.

[Buck Sexton]

Trump would have had to put out an executive order on day one about masks if she hadn't done that biden would not have, Biden would not have allowed us to take masks off on planes all four years. You would be, you would have been wearing masks like, like we're all a bunch of idiots for all four years. So, Judge Meiselle, forever in our hearts. Forever in our hearts. Fantastic work. Honestly. One of the, one of the, one of the most fantastic decisions of all time. All right. There's a phrase we use every now and then. Good as gold.

[Clay Travis]

You know what it means Even before.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Okay, there is a story that is out there right now that I want to dive into and see whether or not we buy this. Because again, I would say one of the challenges that is out there in the Russia collusion Epstein world of powerful people behaving badly is there has consistently been overpromise and under delivery. And so this story is out. This is from Brooke Singman at FOX News exclusive. Kash Patel found thousands of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump Russia probe buried in multiple quote, burn bags in a secret room inside the bureau. Sources familiar told me. And this is up on foxnews.com right now. And so a couple more details and then I want to get your take on whether you buy this. And again, my concern here is these stories come out, they immediately go viral. They set the expectation of my Lucy Charlie Brown scenario. Oh, we've got them now. And by the way, this has gone multiple directions. Democrats consistently told their base, Trump's done. Now he's going to prison. And you know, he's in the White House and he's more powerful than he's ever been before. Uh, one of the documents found was a class classified annex to former special counsel John Durham's final report, which includes the underlying intelligence he reviewed. And all of this is out there. Sources exclusively briefed say that this information is. Is going to quote the release will lend more credibility to the assertion there was a coordinated plan inside the US Government to help the Clinton campaign stir up controversy connecting Trump to Russia. According to a source granted anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. Okay, what do you think here? Buck does. Is there basically anything that's going to change your opinion about where this is headed? And what do you think about the latest news?

[Buck Sexton]

Look, I. This is one of these. I hope that my sense on this is not what happens, but I'm pretty sure it will. I don't think you're going to see charges or certainly not convictions and probably not charges related to anything. Russia collusion, because they're just too much time has passed and the statutory framework is not in place to bring those charges. If it was, wouldn't you be hearing about what the likely charges would be? And people keep writing into me, they'll say, like treason. And I appreciate the sentiment because it is a betrayal of the country, what happened. But treason has a specific federal statutory definition. Giving aid and comfort to the enemy, for example, and making that statement about Comey engaged in collusion behind the scenes to pretend that he believed, analysis that he didn't really believe, and then forwarded it. You know, you can try to make this stuff stick. Look, maybe I'm. Maybe I'm wrong. I mean, I tend not to be wrong on this stuff, but maybe I'm wrong. The Cash Patel thing that we're just seeing now, the story that there's all this stuff found in burn bags, sensitive information. What does that mean? I used to live my life throwing things into burn bags all day at the CIA, right? That's how you deal with hard copy. That's classified. You throw it into burn bags. That's the proper way to dispose of it. I don't know what's in these pages. You know, this is something, you know, one way you can always tell is, does the stuff that does the stuff actually come out, the explosive stuff or not? Remember when they went into Mar A Lago and they were. Trump was like, he had nuclear secrets that he was keeping in the shower.

[Clay Travis]

They took photos of the like on the ground as if it were like, scandalous. And then they leaked them which seems kind of significant, but a desire to try to make it seem like he had engaged in incredibly dangerous behavior.

[Buck Sexton]

And yet you never really found out anything about what was in those documents? Because I think it wasn't anything that anyone would say, oh, my gosh, how could Trump have had these locked in some part of Mar a Lago somewhere after being president? So that's. That's one way to assess these things. Is it possible that there's something in this burn bag pile? Sure. But, you know, let's. Let's go through this logically, everybody. You're at the FBI. You're engaged in a really underhanded and disgusting and disgraceful conspiracy against Donald Trump. Which was. Which is true and which is what happened. You're gonna just leave that stuff in burn bags and not make sure it makes its way to the incinerator. Now, maybe, maybe. But that's a level of sloppiness that you're assuming the enemy, so to speak, has engaged in here that. I don't know. I don't know if they're that dumb. It is possible. It is possible. But I just think. Don't get your hopes up.

[Clay Travis]

All I'm going to say is if I had in my possession a document that I wanted, that I was so worried about burning because I was concerned about what the impact might be, I'm going to start the process of burning it and not complete it. To your point, it is a level of incompetence that I find staggering to believe could occur. And again, I think a lot of you are out there, and you're just of the opinion as it pertains to Russia collusion or Epstein or anything else in that universe, hey, go ahead and put some people in handcuffs and let's see some arrest. Let's see some charges brought. And on the Epstein thing, on this Jelaine Maxwell angle buck, it's now pivoted to, hey, maybe we should pardon her. So the only person who is actually in prison for anything related to Epstein, the whole Epstein universe, it just spirals out of control, and one conspiracy builds on top of another. I will confess to everyone. I never thought the Epstein angle would go from where we were about, I don't know, a few weeks ago to, hey, the only person who is in prison for committing crimes relating to Epstein. It's just Ghislaine Maxwell. Maybe she should be pardoned and let out of prison so that nobody ever has any. Any responsibility here. And you were out, I think. And I did mention this, and I. I think this is a failure of media in general. And I think a lot of people out there don't know it. You know it because I think we've talked about it off air, but I don't know that we've talked about it on air. People say, what about all the Epstein victims? I mean, do they not demand justice? All these things? Around $500 million was paid out to the women who said, I was abused by Epstein, by his estate. And it's like nobody talks about those payouts, but around 120 some odd women came forward and said, hey, I was a victim of Epstein. Here is my story. And roughly $500 million from the Epstein estate and a couple of different big investment banks that were associated with him paid out damages to those women. So people say, well, what about all these women? They're not getting their stories told. Around 130ish of them came forward and said, hey, I am a victim. Here is my story. And the estate paid out over nearly $500 million in damages. So many of these women got paid millions of dollars civilly. Ghislaine Maxwell went to prison. Epstein probably would have, but there's only one person in prison. I'm a little bit surprised that the topic now is, oh, maybe Trump should pardon Maxwell, and now she's negotiating to talk in front of Congress. But all those things.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I just say this, Clay?

[Clay Travis]

Also, I think it's a bit strange.

[Buck Sexton]

Bringing it back to the story about FBI Director Patel finding these thousands of pages of sensitive documents. Well, if it's thousands of pages, I don't think anybody knows what's in the documents. Really sensitive documents just means they're more classified. And if you work inside of a classified facility, let me tell you, a lot of people classify what they had for lunch yesterday. They shouldn't, but they do, just because it becomes habit if you're a classification originator. So everything the FBI is working on is going to be marked, you know, secret or more confidential or whatever it may be. So I'm sure there's a lot of classified documents in burn bags. Does any of it have any? Again, I don't know. I can't see, but I don't want. This is clearly a story that is going to get people thinking, oh, wait, maybe now we've got it, we got it. We got to pump the brakes. All I'm saying is pump the brakes. We don't know if we have anything with this yet. I believe that there's a lot of sensitive stuff. That's a lot of. I Should say classified stuff that has been found in burn bags that may relate to Russia collusion. Is that going to tell us anything we don't already even know? We'll see. Thousands of pages would take some time to read through. Right. Thousands of pages is not something you can scan and just go, oh, yeah, I know what's going on here. So we'll. We'll have to give a little bit of time to this one. But again, on the Russia collusion thing, the. I think the transparency aspect of it is important, and I think that also harassing the people involved at some level with the process, because this is what they do to us all the time. If you want to raise the temperature, if you want to raise the cost of what they did, at least make them go through the process of explaining why it's not criminal. You know, put them in front of. Put them in front of members of Congress. Put them in front of these.

[Clay Travis]

Do you think it's change behavior in the agencies?

[Buck Sexton]

Can you. Do you.

[Clay Travis]

Do you think that this story. Because I think. I think the odds of there being substantial punishments are low. I do retrospectively. But I do think prospectively, if people start thinking, hey, we've got to be careful about how we analyze politics inside of these agencies. Maybe there is more of a. Less of an aggressive political bent. Do you buy that? It's changing the culture, I guess, inside of these agencies.

[Buck Sexton]

This is a wimpy answer, but I think it's the correct answer, which is just too soon, too soon to tell. I think the efforts are in earnest, underway right now to do that. But these are after. These are vast organizations. Think of it like if you're trying to root out all the communists in a state school with tens of thousands of students and professors. And, you know, it's. These are big entities. These are not. You know, I mean, the FBI number, for example, I think is how many FBI agents. I know DOJ has 100,000 employees or 100.

[Clay Travis]

When we visited, the CIA was just stunned by the sheer. In Normandy.

[Buck Sexton]

It is. It is massive. And that's what I told Clay. It. It felt like going to work at Langley every day. You know, when you see it in the spy movies and stuff, it's all like, hey, and now you're in the director's office and there's like five people making all the decisions. Showing up to Langley is like showing up to Giant Stadium. There's parking lots. There's like, parking lots, you know, X, Y and Z that are like a mile walk from the building because there's so many freaking people who work there. So changing the culture of these places is really complicated.

[Clay Travis]

And we'll see what ends up happening. By the way, we'll take some of your calls, some of your talkbacks. I think we're going to have Senator Mike Lee in the third hour to talk to us about the procedural issues in the Senate. And Tommy Lahren from Outkick, get your popcorn. She has been firing on all fronts. We are confirmed with Senator Mike Lee of Utah going to join us top of the third hour. So we'll get some answers from him about what exactly is going on with the log jam.

[Buck Sexton]

And Tommy's going to speak to us about the discrimination that good looking blonde women are, are facing right now. And it's just very sad that beauty.

[Clay Travis]

Privilege doesn't exist anymore. What's it like to be called a Nazi because you have blonde hair and blue eyes? Tommy is going to speak out on this and I can't wait to see. Look, all the discussion out there about planning and all the time that you spend that I spend, that anybody out there who's got kids or grandkids spends trying to make sure that the next generation does better than you have, that they have opportunities you didn't have, that they are able to achieve things that you might not have. You want to give them everything that you can to allow them to succeed. That's honestly a huge part of being a parent and a grandparent is trying to ensure that your kids and grandkids are able, hopefully to have successes that you yourself were not able to have. You thought about how passing is going to challenge the dynamics of your family? I know it's sometimes an uncomfortable conversation to get into because no one likes to think about wills or trusts or what's going to happen after we're gone. But how much time do you spend as a mom, as a dad, as a grandma, as a grandpa trying to mediate family disputes? How often do the cousins or the siblings or your relatives, how often do they end up not getting along? Do you worry about where people are going to sit around Thanksgiving? Do you worry that there might not be a peacemaker when you're gone? Why not try and avoid all of that controversy by letting your family know exactly what you want, exactly what you desire for different heirlooms inside of the house or different assets? Tell them in your will, in your trust, what you chose. Don't leave it to them to fight it out. Tiny percentages, unfortunately, of people, small percentages of people have actually gone through this process. I have a will. I have a trust. Hopefully it's not going to be used for a long time. Just do the investigation while you can. Trust in Willcom Slash Clay look how easy it is to help you create yourself without having to pay for an attorney. A trust in a will that makes the whole process super easy. It can be intimidating. You can worry about how much it's going to cost. Why not just go check it out yourself? You get 20% off if you go to Trust and Willcom Slash Clay. Right now, that's Trust and Willcom Slash Clay. They will walk you through the process in an affordable way to make sure that you can take care of your family after you are gone, just like you're taking care of them while you are here right now. Trustandwill.com Clay that's trustandwill.com Clay News and politics, but also a little comic relief. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck. Coming up here, we're going to be taking some big guests on in the next hour. Senator Mike Lee of Utah will be with us. And then Tommy Lee, Fox News and Outkick Zone. Tomi Lahren, who is going to speak on behalf of the maligned attractive blonde ladies of America. Let's just be honest.

[Clay Travis]

Attractive blonde women are finally going to get a break.

[Buck Sexton]

I just get a moment in the sun.

[Clay Travis]

I know, I know.

[Buck Sexton]

Just.

[Clay Travis]

They're usually shrinking violets. You never see them, never get any attention. I just. It's good to have good looking people. Have a spokesperson.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I think it's. It's. It's high time. It's high time. Clay, remember that photo that we took.

[Clay Travis]

When we first started the show? Maybe they can find it.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, yes, I should have. Everybody saw it, remembers. It was. It was, you know, not. Not our finest moment. I look like an elephant seal.

[Clay Travis]

Tommy is in between us and whoever took the photo and allowed it to be distributed humbly should be murdered on the spot. For I believe it was. It was your. Your.

[Buck Sexton]

Your good buddy who's now doing something else. But yes, I think it was Mr. Dub who took the.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, that's right. Dub, who is out in San Antonio. He might be listening right now. Dub took a photo.

[Buck Sexton]

Love your job, but you're photo. Hopefully he's not working as a photographer.

[Clay Travis]

I will defend Dub this. Yeah, he better not be. He better not be working as a photographer for fat guys because he did not help us. I will say in Dub's defense, I bet he didn't even look at us in the photo. Tommy is in the center. I bet he didn't, like, he didn't realize that you and I looked like beach and whales. That there's probably never been a photo taken that's less flattering. And it just immediately went out on social.

[Buck Sexton]

Quick call here. We got 45 seconds. Keisha in Arizona, weigh in.

[E]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

Fire on the air.

[E]

I had a. Okay. I had a grandson that served in the military and in Afghanistan, and he was called by some of his buddies to do food distribution in Gaza. And so he went because he wanted to help but he said that it's Hamas that's getting most of the food. It is not getting to the right people.

[Buck Sexton]

That's thank you for that firsthand account. That's what I'm trying to say here, everybody. Hamas is creating the malnutrition and the starvation, blaming Israel for it. And then the New York Times is inflaming everybody blaming Israel for it even more. Stay connected when it matters most. Be prepared with Rapid Radio's walkie talkies with instant push to talk and LTE nationwide coverage, you can reach family and friends in any emergency. 100% private, no contracts, no hassle. For a limited time, visit Rapid Radios.com to save up to 60% plus get free UPS shipping from Michigan. Use code RADIO for an extra 5% off. Don't wait. Order today at Rapid Radios.com satisfaction guaranteed or 100% of your money back. Go to Rapid Radios.com code RADIO and get an extra 5% off.

[Annabe]

This is an iHeart podcast.