The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show: The Truth with Lisa Boothe

Episode Date: January 13, 2026
Featured Guest: Paul Morrow (retired NYPD inspector, attorney, and Fox News legal analyst)
Host: Lisa Boothe
Main Topics: Maduro’s Capture, Minnesota Welfare Fraud Scandal, Trump’s Foreign Policy, and Uprisings in Iran

Episode Overview

This episode dives into three major headlines with legal analyst and retired NYPD inspector Paul Morrow. Lisa Boothe and Morrow break down the historic capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, discuss the $9 billion Minnesota welfare fraud scandal, and explore shifts in U.S. foreign policy, especially under President Trump, including covert influence in Iran. Their conversation is candid, incisive, and blends insider expertise with humorous, no-nonsense commentary.

Maduro’s Capture: Legality, Politics, and Precedent

Context and Public Reaction

• Democratic Dilemma: Both Boothe and Morrow highlight confusion and shifting narratives among Democrats, who previously called for Maduro’s removal but now dissect the legality of Trump’s methods.
• Political Irony:
  • Lisa Boothe: “Democrats wanted President Trump to go get Maduro… now that he’s gotten Maduro, it’s a problem in the way that he did it.” (05:00)

International Law & The "Police Action" Argument

• International Law Critique:
  • Paul Morrow: “International law is something of a canard. It really doesn’t exist… where it does, it’s unenforceable, because who’s going to enforce it? The UN?” (05:41)
• Law Enforcement, Not Military:
  • The operation is legally justified as a "police action" due to prior indictments—avoiding the complications of a military intervention.
  • U.S. precedent supports this action (see Noriega’s capture, 1990).
• Sovereign Immunity Questions:
  • Morrow explains that challenging Maduro’s immunity is weak since he isn’t widely recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, including by the U.S. and even by Democrats themselves.

Notable Quote

• Morrow:

  “Of course you had to go grab him. There’s no other way to do it… It can be characterized as a police action under the auspices of not only the indictment. And the extraterritoriality of American law has been proven and tested a thousand times over.” (06:36)

Legal Challenges Ahead

• Possible defenses include:
  • Invoking international treaties and sovereign immunity.
  • Likely to fail based on precedent and Maduro’s lack of legitimacy.
• Why New York?
  • The case’s ties to New York: DEA involvement, longstanding investigations into Venezuelan criminal activity (03:36, 11:36).
  • Bureaucratic momentum keeps it there; moving would disrupt years of work and lose “institutional knowledge.”

The Geopolitical Message: Trump’s Foreign Policy and the “Trump Corollary”

A Signal to the Hemisphere

• Boldness on the World Stage:
  • Lisa Boothe: “President Trump is demonstrating to the rest of the world that he’s got a big pair of stones on him.” (17:20)
  • Paul Morrow: “He comes across as shocking in his boldness because Roosevelt was quite a bold guy as well… this is very much an outgrowth of the Roosevelt Corollary. I think a better term for this is that it’s the Trump Corollary.” (17:54)
• Intended Effect:
  • Puts Latin American leaders on notice; prompts regional realignment toward U.S. interests.
  • Weakens anti-U.S. alliances—Cuba, Venezuela, and their relationships with Iran, China, and Russia.
• Morrow’s Predictions:
  • U.S. could see a “rightward shift” in Central and South America.
  • Jokingly (but pointedly) suggests Cuba could vote to become part of Florida in the next three years (19:40).
  • Suggests outreach to Cuba or even protectorate status with Greenland as an illustration of U.S. assertiveness.
• Weakening Rivals:
  • Maduro’s capture makes Cuban and Russian defenses look weak, disrupts the “axis” of Latin allies for China and Iran.
  • Venezuelan territory contains terrorist training camps connected to Hezbollah, further underlining the national security issue.

Notable Quotes

• Lisa Boothe: “They look weak… now he’s taken out a teammate, Venezuela, from Iran, China and Russia, which they’re all trying to creep into our backyard…” (23:05)
• Paul Morrow (on the significance of uncovering terrorist training camps):

  “Just the discovery of a Hezbollah training camp on Margarita Island… will go a long way to letting people know why we had to do what we did.” (24:44)

Minnesota Welfare Fraud Scandal: Unpacking $9B in Corruption

The Allegations and Political Fallout

• Scope:
  • $9 billion in fraud across 14 Minnesota welfare programs.
  • Political figures implicated, including Governor Tim Walz (who has resigned) and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
• Ellison’s Legal Peril:
  • Alleged “quid pro quo” meeting with Somali fraudsters before their indictment.
  • Evidence includes audio tape of Ellison promising to “fix it for them” and subsequent campaign donations.
  • As Morrow frames it: “Getting campaign contributions within... a week or two of having a meeting like that… is getting very, very close to the line.” (27:30)
• Federal Investigations Underway:
  • At least 16 active federal investigations.
  • Political and legal exposure depends on flipping witnesses and tracing money flows.

Notable Moments

• Lisa Boothe on the extent of fraud:

  “The lack of effort… in even spelling it correctly just shows how rampant this fraud has been, that they didn’t even feel like they had to try.” (28:50)

• Paul Morrow:

  “Ellison needs to lawyer up.” (29:08)

Is Minnesota Unique?

• Pattern Across the U.S.:
  • Morrow: “No way… It happens everywhere. I can tell you here in New York, the bodegas are universally run by Yemenis… making a fortune… The money all goes… we were funding both sides of the Yemeni civil war from bodegas inside New York City.” (29:25–32:30)
  • He accuses the Democratic Party of creating a “nationwide RICO” (racketeering network) with government funds recycling into campaign donations via fraudulent NGOs.
  • Systemic problem, not isolated to one state.

Iran: Protest Movements and Foreign Influence

Unrest on the Streets

• Social Media Reports:
  • Protests, supposed city takeovers—hard to verify due to government censorship.
• Class Divide:
  • Most Iranians are “pro-West” beneath the theocratic leadership.
  • Morrow: “Iran is a very, very sort of bifurcated place” (37:13)
• Historical Context:
  • Western-leaning, educated class exists under the thumb of clerical/military elites (Besiege, IRGC).
  • The regime has survived due to repression and control over key lower-class groups.

Covert Western Influence

• U.S./Israel Involvement:
  • “Covert. We’re definitely involved. I’m not telling you anything you haven’t intuited your way to anyway.” (37:13)
  • Past operations included smuggling Western media (e.g., Top Gun) into Iran to shape perceptions.
• Potential for Regime Collapse:
  • Khamenei reportedly prepping a “Plan B” for fleeing, with real cracks in the regime’s foundation.
• Big-Picture Implications:
  • A toppled Iranian regime, Venezuela and Cuba out of the “axis of evil,” means America faces fewer coordinated adversaries.
  • “What a difference a president makes, right?” (41:47)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lisa Boothe: “President Trump is demonstrating to the rest of the world that he’s got a big pair of stones on him…” (17:20)
• Paul Morrow (on Democratic legal confusion): “They’re bumping into each other, trying to figure out how to play this one, because the numbers on it in terms of approval are very high.” (05:41)
• Paul Morrow (on U.S. assertiveness): “…We’re not here to be a piñata for every two-bit basket-case of a nation who wants to blame us for every rainy day.” (17:54)
• On systemic fraud: “The Democratic Party is morphing into a nationwide RICO… and it happens everywhere.” (31:10)
• On Iran’s future: “It was almost an accidental revolution… but the problem is, once these guys get in place, dislodging them is next to impossible… If you see the images of what Iran looked like before the Shah fell, it looks like New York.” (37:13–40:00)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:00]– Maduro’s capture, legal/foreign policy debate
• [06:36]– The international law “canard” & justification for the operation
• [11:36]– Why the trial is in New York
• [17:20]– Trump’s foreign policy: “Trump Corollary” and signaling hemispheric realignment
• [22:59]– Weakening foreign adversaries, reshaping Latin America alliances
• [24:45]– Hezbollah and terrorist connections in Venezuela
• [25:27]– Minnesota welfare scandal details and political consequences
• [29:25]– Fraud is a national problem, not just Minnesota
• [36:40]– Uprising in Iran, U.S./Israeli involvement, and prospects for regime change
• [41:47]– The impact of presidential leadership on international events

Concluding Tone

The episode features forthright, sometimes darkly humorous, insider analysis—critical of the left’s inconsistencies and deeply skeptical of “international law” or the effectiveness of establishment institutions. The overarching message: assertive U.S. leadership is shaking up old power structures, both domestically (exposing welfare fraud) and internationally (dismantling adversarial regimes). Morrow and Boothe close by reflecting on how quickly world politics can shift under strong presidential resolve.

This summary provides a comprehensive, time-stamped breakdown of the major discussions, positions, and memorable soundbites from the episode — perfect for those who want to get the heart of the debate without listening to the full recording.