D (2:38)

Like a fair fight, but a good fight.

C (2:40)

We should have a pickleball tournament to. Just to discover.

D (2:43)

Amen.

C (2:45)

Awesome. All right, everybody, we have tons of news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes Notes. All right, everybody. First up from Politico, the Pentagon is preparing to deploy about 3,000 more troops from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle east, adding to the thousands of Marines already headed to the region to assist with operations in Iran. No decisions have been made for troops to enter the country, according to two defense officials who confirmed the deployment. But the buildup of troops is a drastic escalation in the US Israel war against the Iranian regime and heightens the possibility that American service members will go to Iran. I told you, right? I said keep an eye on the 82nd Airborne. Also from Politico, the Trump administration ending its war against Iran now would essentially cede control of the key energy choke point of the Strait of Hormuz to Tehran. That's according to President Trump's former secretary of defense on Monday. The assessment comes from General Jim Mattis. He's known as Mad Dog Mattis. We called him Moderate Dog Mattis. And it comes as Trump declared a five day pause on military strike. The US And Israeli attack against Iran enters its fourth week. Iran's retaliation has forced the de facto closure of the Narrow Passage where 20% of the world's oil and seaborne gas supplies move from the Middle east to the wider market, quote, Iran right now. If we declared victory, they would now say they own the strait. That's what Mattis said during a S and P global conference thing. He said you'd see a tax for every ship that goes through. We're in a tough spot, ladies and gentlemen. I can't identify a lot of options. And when the former secretary of defense, I mean, you know, Dana, you and I sit here and we're like, we can't think of any way to get out of this. But when the former secretary of defense is like, I don't see a lot of options, that's bad.

D (4:42)

Yeah, because that's what they are supposed to look for, options.

C (4:46)

Yeah, they actually are. Yeah. They're supposed to think about those things ahead of time. Right. Maybe just for a second. And also the Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf are inching toward joining the fight against Iran, getting tougher following persistent attacks that have disrupted their economies and risk giving Tehran long term leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. The recent steps support America's ability to carry out airstrikes and open up a new line of attack on Tehran's financ. They don't yet go as far as deploying their militaries openly in the fight. A line the Gulf's rulers have hoped not to cross, though pressure is building as Iran threatens to exert greater sway over the energy rich region. Saudi Arabia recently agreed to let American forces use its King Fahd air base on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula. According to people familiar, the kingdom said ahead of the fighting that it would not allow its facilities or airspace to be used for attacks on Iran, an attempt to stay out of the war that failed when Iran began raining missiles and drones down on important Saudi energy facilities and the capital, Riyadh. Now, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, we call Mohammed Bonsa, is now eager to reestablish deterrence and is close to a decision to join the attacks. According to the people, it's only a matter of time before the kingdom enters the war. So this is expanding. We're sending boots on the ground. I don't see an end to this.

D (6:13)

I don't either. All right, Allison, this one's from the Times. And we touched on this briefly yesterday. The Trump administration will pay the French energy giant Total Energies nearly a billion dollars to abandon its plan to build wind farms off the East Coast. This is the Interior Department said on Monday at an energy conference in Houston. Under the unusual deal, Total Energies would forfeit its leases in federal waters for two wind farms, which would have been built off New York and North Carolina. The Justice Department would then reimburse total energies $928 million, the amount of paid for the leases during the Biden administration. I'm sorry, do we think they're actually going to get this money?

C (6:53)

I was just curious.

D (6:55)

All right. I know. In exchange, Total Energies. This is such a disappointment, to be honest with you. Total Energies would invest that money in oil and gas projects in the United States, including a facility in Texas that would export liquefied natural gas to global markets.

C (7:11)

Okay.

D (7:11)

The company would also commit to producing more oil in the Gulf of Mexico and said it was developing some additional gas burning power plants to meet rising electricity demands from data centers. The deal is that. That's it right there, by the way, the electricity from data centers. Pay attention, Palantir. The deal is an extraordinary transfer of taxpayer dollars to a foreign company for the purposes of boosting the production of fossil fuels, a main driver of climate change, while throttling offshore wind power. It comes as the war in the Middle east has shocked global oil markets, prompting concerns about energy supplies. Late last year, the Trump administration tried to quash five wind farms in various stages of construction along the East Coast. It took the drastic step of ordering a halt to construction of the projects, which had each received federal permits. After years of review, the project's developers in several states, they sued. Federal judges ruled against the Trump administration in every single case. The larger of the two wind farms planned by Total Energy is known as Attentive Energy. It would have been built 54 miles south of Jones Beach, New York. It would have produced enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes and businesses in New York and New Jersey. The smaller of the wind projects, Carolina Long Bay, would have operated 22 miles south of Bald Head Island, North Carolina, and could have powered about 300,000 homes and businesses starting in the early 2000 and 30s.

C (8:41)

Hey, I've got a great idea. You know how that closure of the Straight of Hormuz is completely the energy markets around the world. Why don't we move away from renewable energy and back toward more dependence on oil and then give a billion dollars away that Joe Biden had secured?

D (8:57)

Yeah, it's just this. It's absurd.

C (8:59)

So frustrating. So frustrating. Next up from Politico, Senate Republicans believe they found a path to ending the 5 week DHS shutdown after meeting Monday with President Trump. Asked after the White House meeting if they'd had a solution after meeting with Trump, Senator Katie Britt of Alabama said, we do. I think she went on to say, I'm going to be working through the night so hopefully we can land this plane now. Britt and Senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Steve Daines of Montana met with Trump to pitch an agreement that would fund most of dhs. Their pitch, according to two people with knowledge of it, was to pass a funding bill that would fund all of DHS except ice, which is already funded under last year's GOP mega bill. Now, Lindsey Graham told colleagues on the Senate floor after the meeting that the president is now open to a new party line reconciliation bill after rejecting the idea over the weekend, Senator John Kennedy said that that could give Republicans a path to pass more ICE funding if they can muster the votes. A second person with knowledge of the discussions also said a new reconciliation bill was a possibility. After the White House meeting, though, Senate Republicans have been cool to the idea given the uphill climb it would be to unite their members, not the, you know, so like the budget reconciliation bill, those are the bills that you don't need 60 votes to pass.

D (10:27)

Right.

C (10:27)

And they have to be focused on budgetary stuff. So they're actually willing to do this. And this blows my mind. Republicans are looking at using reconciliation to pass more ICE funding as well as parts of their partisan GOP elections bill, the SAVE Act. And that's according to the person. And another person granted anonymity to discuss the matter. The White House didn't respond to requests for comment. Republicans cautioned that nothing is official until Trump backs it publicly. But Republican colleagues involved in the DHS negotiations sounded increasingly confident they could have a deal in hand. And again, this would be a massive win for Senate Democrats if Republicans balked on this and Trump caved. First of all, Democrats wouldn't have to put another penny toward funding ice. TSA would be open, as well as the Coast Guard, fema, cisa, and it would be totally on Republicans to vote to fund ICE without reforms ahead of the midterms, an extremely unpopular thing to do.

D (11:26)

Yep.

C (11:27)

So I almost hesitate to celebrate this because I don't want Trump to know I'm happy about it.

D (11:33)

I know. Seriously, let's see if we can fool him. All right. This story, and I'm surprised, but I'm not surprised. I am surprised with one of the votes. This is from NBC. The Senate voted Monday to confirm Marquis Mullen to lead the Department of Homeland Security with zero, zero qualifications to do so. The vote to confirm Mullen, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, as the head of DHS, was 54 to 45. And that means two senators I get. We know one of them, John Fetterman. But it was Martin Heinrich, the Democrat from New Mexico, that also voted to support his confirmation. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the chairman of the panel overseeing dhs, voted against Mullen on Monday after he clashed with him at his hearing last week and questioned whether a man with anger issues could be trusted to set a good example for ICE and Border Patrol agents. The answer is no. Mullen, a staunch supporter of Trump on Capitol Hill, takes the reins at DHS during a volatile time for the agency. He replaces puppy killer Kristi Nome, his former House colleague, by the way, whom Trump fired about six weeks after DHS Asians shot and killed two American citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. In the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Preddy, Democrats withheld their votes and forced a shutdown of dhs. And Republicans refused to give in to their demands to rein in ICE and Customs and Border Protection. I. I'm not surprised by Fetterman. I am surprised by Heinrich. I don't know. I don't understand that one.

C (13:06)

Yeah, I guess they're friends.

E (13:09)

Why?

C (13:09)

I don't know. But speaking of Renee Goad and Alex Preddy, the state of Minnesota is suing the Trump administration They filed their lawsuit on Tuesday in the District of Columbia because they need access to investigative materials regarding the killings of Alex Preddy and Renee Goode, two Minnesota residents who were shot by federal agents during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, and also Sosa Selles, who was shot but survived. So that's another important part of this. And here's a quote consistent with these long standing principles of federalism, cooperation and evidence sharing between federal law enforcement and state and local authorities has been long a routine and essential feature of criminal investigations in Minnesota, as in other states where federal and state interests overlap. That's what the plaintiffs wrote, including Attorney General Keith Ellison on behalf of the state of Minnesota, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Drew Evans. Now, I've written this all up over@muellershirerote.com so you can see this lawsuit. And if you're wondering, like, what took them so long, first they had to file tuohy formal, what's called Tuohy requests. They had to basically exhaust all of their other options before they filed a lawsuit. Otherwise the judge would just be like, did you do this? Did you do this? Did you do this? Case dismissed. Go do those things and then come back and see me. So, yeah, that's kind of what took a little bit of time. So you, again, you can read it all@melorshiroad.com all right.

D (14:36)

And this is the good news I was talking about. This is from the Times. The civil jury in California on Monday found that Bill Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted Donna Motzinger, that was a former waitress at a Salito restaurant after escorting her to one of his comedy shows. 1972.

C (14:53)

Oh, my God.

D (14:54)

Yeah. The jury awarded Ms. Motzinger $59.25 million in damages, a judgment that comes as Cosby, by his own account, has run into financial difficulties. But an expert witness her lawyers called to the stand before the jury's final Decision estimated that Mr. Cosby is still worth about roughly $128 million. So I'm not sure what he considers hard on his luck, but that doesn't count for it. The decision on the third day of deliberations further tarnished the reputation of a man, 88, who's standing as one of America's most beloved entertainers dissolved as dozens of women came forward in recent years to accuse him of sexual misconduct. The jury award came in two separate decisions. Its first award to Ms. Matzinger. 19.25 million to compensate for her pain and suffering and then later levied an additional $40 million. Ms. Matzinger, speaking at the Santa Monica courthouse, welcomed the jury decision. She said, it's been 54 years to get justice. I know it's not complete for the rest of the women, but I hope it helps them a little bit.

C (15:58)

That's half his net worth. If that number is correct. It's about half.

D (16:03)

Good.

C (16:06)

I think that's so poignant that it's. When she says it's not complete for the rest of the women, she's thinking about all of the women. My God. Well, I'm glad that she got that settlement. That judgment, I should say, not settlement.

E (16:21)

Me too.

D (16:21)

Me too. Me too.

C (16:23)

All right, everybody stick around after this quick break. I'm gonna have a quick interview with Michael Isikoff from the Spy Talk podcast and then we'll have the good news. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.

E (16:34)

We'll be right back.

C (16:36)

Hey everybody, it's AG and I don't know about you, but I am tired of companies acting like my bank account is a community resource. That was basically one of our producers with his old wireless carrier. The monthly bill was high, the extra fees kept piling up, and the so called free perks never really felt free. That's why switching to Mint Mobile was such a relief. Compared to his previous carrier, it felt simpler, more transparent, and a whole lot easier on the budget. Plus the coverage was every bit as good. He's happy he made the switch, so let's thank Mint Mobile for supporting this episode. Make the switch@mintmobile.com, one thing I love about Mint Mobile is that it exists to challenge the idea that wireless has to be expensive just because it always has been. Mint keeps it simple with premium wireless plans starting at 15 bucks a month. That alone was enough to get my attention, but you are still getting high speed data, unlimited talk and text, and access to the nation's largest 5G network. It's also easy to switch. You can bring your own phone, keep your phone number, activate with EIM in a matter of minutes and start saving without getting locked into some long term contract. So if you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans@mint mobile.com DailyBeans that's mint mobile.com DailyBeans upfront payment of $45 for three month five gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 a month new customer offer for first three months only, then full price plans, options available, taxes and fees extra. C Mint Mobile for details I'm Brian Caram.

A (18:00)

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B (18:30)

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C (18:45)

Hey everybody. Welcome back. I'm happy to be joined today by our friend, author, journalist and co host of the Spy Talk podcast here on MSW Media. He's also a contributor to Spy Talk Substack, which you can find at spytalk Co. Please welcome like one of the first book clubs we ever did on the Mueller She Wrote podcast was for Russian roulette, Michael Isakoff. Hi, Michael, how are you?

E (19:08)

Hi. Great to be with you.

C (19:10)

So all of a sudden I want to talk about Spy Talk in a second. But I mean, this weekend, particularly with the death of Bob Mueller, all those old podcasts and the reports and findings started to pop up again, but none so much as when Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian oil, Iranian oil as well, but Russian oil helping fund Russia's war against Ukraine and then subsequently helping fund Iran and their war against us that we started for no reason, illegally, I think with lifting those Iranian sanctions to the tune of about $14 billion. And I seem to remember there being a really big, big problem with about $6 billion of Iran's own money being accessible to Iran again after the signing or upon the signing of the nuclear deal by Obama and then again when Biden did a prisoner swap with them. But all of every time I see news like this, all roads lead back to Russia. I think of Russian roulette. I think of the book that you wrote about Trump's ties to Russia going way back and I think about the entire Mueller investigation. Talk a little bit about that and what, I don't know what you're feeling after all the news from this weekend, everything being kind of dredged up again.

E (20:36)

Well, I mean, first of all, I mean, just to be, I mean, Trump's tasteless, vulgar, despicable reaction. Good, I'm glad he's dead. Kind of just like Trumps everything and just sort of crystallizes who our commander in chief is. I mean, you know, you might say something like that after the Death of, oh, I don't know, Paul Pot, Joseph Stalin, somebody who has, you know, murdered millions of people, oppressed and brutalized.

C (21:15)

Donald Trump basically wrote the post that we're all going to post about him, probably not too far in the distant future.

E (21:22)

But to say it otherwise and just you put on top of that looked Bob Mueller, you can criticize him for a lot of things at the FBI and, you know, as special counsel, but you can't get around the fact that this was an American patriot who volunteered to fight in Vietnam, won a Bronze Star in a Purple Heart after being shot in the leg leading a platoon against the Viet Cong attack. And, you know, to have Trump, a guy who never served a day in his life, cited Bones Burns, they did the draft that way. It's just, I don't know, what can you say other than, like, how repellent that that was. Now, that said, look, Mueller, I've known Mueller for decades. I covered him when he was at the FBI. You know, he was not the most communicative person with journalists. He didn't like to give interviews. If he did, he didn't like to say very much, if at all. And, you know, I think that was. That was maybe not so helpful because sometimes it's good to have leaders communicate with the public and explain what they're doing. But he was a hardcore law and order guy and believed in law enforcement, believed in doing it aggressively. And, you know, he steered the FBI through quite a tumultuous period. He took office as FBI director the week before 9, 11. And so he gets thrown into the biggest crisis that the FBI has ever faced within a week of taking office. And, you know, there were a lot of calls to break up the FBI to, you know, turn it and create a MI5 in the United States, which a lot of people in the civil liberties space really did find a bit troubling. The idea of an internal, purely investigative agency, as opposed to a law enforcement agency, which is what the FBI primarily is. And Mueller fought back on that. And, you know, most critically or importantly, that really speaks to his ethical core when he discovered that FBI agents who were working with CIA agents, CIA officers who were torturing terror suspects, subjecting them to waterboarding, slamming all sorts of other things that we would look at today as torture or certainly abusive treatment. Mueller said, no, we're not going to be a part of that. And he pulled his FBI agents out of there.

C (24:27)

There was a hospital bedside visit, I think, as well.

E (24:30)

Well, that was. Yes, that was the, the wireless wiretapping.

C (24:34)

Yeah.

E (24:36)

Fiasco where James Comey raced to the hospital room where an ailing John Ashcroft was recovering and tried to get him to resist the. What the Bush White House was trying to do, which is extend this warrantless wiretapping program. And Bob Mueller was among the senior officials who said, if they do that, I will resign. And to have the idea, the idea that the FBI director would resign over something the White House was doing, that he, the FBI director viewed as illegal, was just a bridge too far for the Bush White House. They didn't want to take that on as much as they wanted their wantless wiretapping program. So that was an instance where Bob Mueller, you know, did the right thing and showed his. His internal mettle as much as he was an aggressive law enforcement guy. And, and he could be criticized for some aspects of that. You know, a lot. These FBI investigations that netted terror suspects went through FBI informants who arguably, in some cases, maybe encouraged folks to do the things they shouldn't be doing. I remember I once asked Mueller about that at a Aspen security forum, and I brought up a particular case that had just been highlighted in upstate New York. HBO had done a documentary about it and, you know, raised some serious questions about the FBI's conduct. And, you know, what, what Mueller's response was? Did we get a conviction in that case? Yes, you did, sir. What more do I need to say? You know, that was his mindset. So I only brought that up to show his aggressive law enforcement creds. But when it violated, as what the CIA was doing with the approval of senior Justice Department lawyer and the White House, he would not go along because it was wrong, because it violated FBI standards. It violated, you know, ethical. His own ethical standards, and he wouldn't do it. Right.

C (27:04)

Which is kind of surprising because I feel like a lot of people think that Bob Mueller was a Democrat appointed by Democrats and as a Democrat, failed to hold Donald Trump responsible.

E (27:13)

No, he was a hardcore Republican all his life.

C (27:16)

Yeah, no, he's a Republican. He was appointed by a Republican, Rod Rosenstein, who was appointed by Donald Trump, a Republican, as special counsel. So, yeah, I just kind of want to make sure everybody sort of understands the background of Bob Mueller, but he had to walk a very precarious line. There was a counterintelligence investigation that kind of went nowhere. He was constantly under the threat of being fired if he looked at finances. There were multiple attempts by Trump to curtail and. Or end the Mueller investigation, whether it was through White house counsel Don McGahn or. Or otherwise tried to tried to get his former attorney general to un. Recuse himself so that he could take back control of the Mueller investigation, by the way.

E (28:09)

But Don McGann, remember, refused. Yeah, he did the order to fire.

C (28:15)

He absolutely did.

E (28:16)

Did the right thing in that instance and stood up.

C (28:18)

Right. So these are all Republicans at the time, but now we're in a situation where time after time, we failed to hold this president accountable. Whether it's Mitch McConnell failing to convict after either of the impeachments, or whether it's the Supreme Court declaring presidential immunity, thereby ending the investigation into January 6th by Jack Smith, whether it's Eileen Cannon dismissing the documents case outright, thinking that asserting that Jack Smith was unconstitutionally appointed and inappropriately funded. So time after time, we have all of these failed attempts to criminally hold Donald Trump accountable. We electorally held him accountable in 2020, but to criminally hold him accountable. And now here we are in this absolute disaster of a war in Iran. The Strait of Hormuz is closed and Iran holds the cards there. And then there's all this sort of capitulating on why we're there in the first place and how things are going. I mean, I think in one press conference, he wavered from we won to we're fighting to we're talking to. We're not talking to. We don't need help to. We need help. But if you don't help, we can do it ourselves. I mean, just this, it's flailing. And I'm trying to figure out whether this is incompetence or some sort of stock manipulation deal or both. Like, is it? Well, since we're so incompetent, we might as well manipulate the stock market. Like, it's just so out of control and gas prices are through the roof and he's panicking because of that. So he lifts sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil, giving them billions of dollars in order to get a moment's relief at the pump so that maybe Republicans can get reelected this November. It's asinine.

E (30:20)

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, certainly the statement early Monday morning that we've got these serious talks going on and after threatening to do the or giving the deadline, I'm going to bomb the power plants, 48 hours, he said, well, because we've got this great progress going on in talks, I'm going to put that off. It was clear, I think, to a lot of people that Trump was getting up Monday morning and freaking out that the market was going to crash and oil prices would keep going up and he'd have a financial panic on his hands. And so he did, you know, what he felt he needed to do to stabilize the markets by totally exaggerating, if not lying, whatever negotiations were going on. I mean, it's so Trumpian.

C (31:23)

Well, any announcement that happens right before markets open, I mean, like, and it's

E (31:29)

really amazing to me that the markets respond as though this guy is particularly credible. You would think by now we kind of know the extent to which he's a bullshit artist and that you would not put your financial bets on comments that this guy makes. But that said, I do want to say, look, as an American, I hope he does pull something out here because we are in the precipice of a quagmire that could go on for quite some time that will be really bad for the country. It will be bad for the world economy. And, you know, I'm, I hope that something is coming. The Pakistanis seem to be, you know, stepping up, trying to play an intermediate role of Brooke or something. I mean, if that happens, Trump will no doubt benefit. But I'll take that if, you know, it spares the pain that the country is going to go through if this war continues.

C (32:41)

Yeah. And I don't, I don't see an easy way out of it. And certainly that was all communicated to Pete Hagseth and Donald Trump by the former chair of the Joint Chiefs and vice chair of the Joint Chiefs and some of the admirals who no longer are employed by the federal government. But, you know, to. I just don't see. I just don't see a simple solution. But this, this Friday on Spy Talk, this is the podcast that you co host, former deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle east, and a CIA paramilitary officer named Michael McMullroy is going to be coming on and talking to you. Can you talk a little bit about what you're going to discuss with him?

E (33:22)

Well, I think this guy was a CIA paramilitary officer for quite some time, and I believe he served in Afghanistan. But, yeah, what we're looking at right now is all these troops, Marines and others, being sent to the region, presumably to try to seize Carg island and somehow clean out all the Iranian missile and drone sites that are threatening passage through the Strait. That strikes one as a, you know, potentially quite risky, formidable military operation. And is it doable? Is it, is it something that can be accomplished in a reasonable time? Because, look, so far the US casualty rate is not that great. Right. Lost 14 soldiers and, you know, a bunch of them were in a, in an accident that had Nothing to do with. With the conflict itself. But you do something like this, it's likely people are going to get killed. Right. And that casualty rate is going to come up. And I think that, look, gas prices are. Are bad enough. Right. But if you put on top of that a escalating casualty and deaths and more of those dignified transfers, it's hard to see how he's gonna sustain public support for this war.

C (35:06)

Yeah. And some of the early polls already out show that, like, his approval rating dropped 4 points and his disapproval rating went up 4 points in one poll. And that's just for the early days of the war. I think we're about to start seeing a flood of polling now that we're fully weeks into this. This illegal war of choice. And, you know, it's no wonder Jeanine Pirro tried to go and failed to get an indictment against the six members of Congress who stood up and made a video to say, to remind service members that they have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders, which, by the way, if any Republican senator that voted for the NDAA approve to the Uniform Code of Military justice, which includes the rule that you cannot obey, it's your duty to disobey unlawful orders. So they all agreed with that part of it, at least when they're trying to fund the Department of Defense. But one last question for you, and I hesitate to say keep it brief, because there's no simple answer here, but I was thinking the other day, how do we get out of this? Does he declare victory and then secretly go and apologize and beg for them to open the Strait of Hormuz? Are we looking at. He just withdraws and declares victory, and then they open the Strait of Hormuz but charge millions in taxes for any vessel passing. You know, I know Lindsey Graham says we have to do it like iwo Jima, where 10,000 soldiers died, or take Kharg island, which is still on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz. It doesn't fix the Hormuz problem if you. You occupy and try to somehow defend Kharg Island. I mean, and then.

E (36:48)

And then, by the way, how long do you occupy it for?

D (36:51)

Right.

C (36:51)

I couldn't think of a way would

E (36:52)

this be a permanent occupation.

C (36:54)

And as much as they want to say that they're not sending boots on the ground, you know, a couple of Marine Expeditionary Units, all right? I mean, that's how Vietnam started. But now they're doing serious preparations for the 82nd Airborne, which is. I mean, to me, that's A full on indication of absolutely you're going into a ground war. So I mean, what's we're in it, how do we get out of it?

E (37:17)

I don't, I mean there has to be some kind of negotiated deal because

C (37:24)

it'll probably look just like Obama's J car, you know, like his nuclear deal.

E (37:31)

I, you know, who knows if it would even be that. But I mean, the key is the Iranians have to agree to open up the strait because he can't declare victory if the world's oil supply is on it being put on a chokehold by the Iranian government. There's no way he could sell that as a win. So there has to be some negotiation. He knows that his instinct, which is throughout his business career and his public career is always to threaten bluster and then come down. Right. So it is possible that these, the marines and the 82nd Airborne is bluster as threats to try to get them to a deal, as was his threat to blow up the power plants. But you know, it's not clear to me that the Iranians are, you know, going to be threatened. I mean they've already, you know, withstood an unbelievable pummeling. They're, you know, the Ayatollah is dead, their top leadership is dead. It's likely the IRGC is calling the shots. They're pretty hard line, they're pretty hardcore, they're nasty folks. And you know, it may, it could well be that, you know, Iran is even more threatening to US interests after this if we don't get a deal. Yeah.

C (39:04)

Especially considering we've completely gutted our national security apparatus. And you know, which is frightening there

E (39:12)

is that we've had a, you know,

C (39:15)

and you know, you've talked about this on spy talk.

E (39:18)

Yeah, we, we have spent a lot of time on this on spy talk. We also spent a lot of time talking about Tulsi Gabbard, the gift who keeps on giving. I mean, what a wacky DNI she has turned to be.

D (39:33)

Do you see her avoiding all the

C (39:35)

questions about her intelligence assessment about the imminence of a threat from Iran? And she actually in real time edited and pulled out her statement about there not being an imminent threat from her opening remarks. And then every time anybody asked, well was it as an imminent. What did you say? What did you say? I was like, it's not up to me to decide. I provide the intelligence and the President decides that's not the role of the dni.

E (39:59)

It's not. But, but I do want to not to not to drag this out and perhaps disappoint some of your listeners. It was the Obama folks who first gave the elastic definition of imminent threat. And I wrote about this in Spy Talk recently because back in 2011, I got exclusively hold of their internal, of what was a white paper based on their internal memos to justify the drone strikes that Obama was ordering Yemen and Pakistan at enormous clips. I mean, hundreds of people were being killed under Obama's drone policy.

C (40:40)

Right, but I mean, even under Obama's more elastic definition, this still doesn't come anywhere close.

E (40:47)

No, no, no, no, I'm not.

C (40:49)

But yes, that is the first to sort of tamper with the word imminent.

E (40:52)

Not using this to justify Iran. I just want to point out that the Obama people, you know, said they wanted to give a more expanded of imminent to justify the killing of an American citizen, Awlaki, who was a nasty Al Qaeda guy in Yemen with a drone strike. And because it wasn't, there wasn't evidence he was preparing an imminent attack, but they redefined it. Look, all I'm saying is slippery slopes. When you start down a slippery slope, you're not quite sure where it's going to lead. And in this case, the slippery slope that Obama began with his drone strikes has ended with a war against a Middle Eastern country that was not posing an imminent threat as we would traditionally define the word.

C (41:48)

Yeah. All right, well, hey, I'm really looking forward to Friday's Spy Talk and thanks so much for the podcast. It's free, everybody, so you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. And I really highly recommend any of your books. Seriously. We even have a, we, we even have a limited series on our Mueller She Wrote podcast feed, which I believe now is where we have the unjustified feed with, with Andy McCabe and I. But you can find, I think, a 10 part series deep dive into that first book that launched it all for me.

E (42:22)

How did I miss all 10 parts called Russian Ruling? I heard a couple of them, but

C (42:28)

so anyway, to wallow in nostalgia if you're feeling, feeling nostalgic for.

E (42:34)

But still relevant, but still relevant.

C (42:36)

Always relevant, always relevant. And every time you try to make sense of what this administration is doing, just think about who benefits. And it tends to be Putin or any other despot that you can think of, the handful of despots that are in charge.

E (42:50)

And by the way, I wrote that book with David Korn and before that we had written another book earlier book Hubris about the Iraq War and how we got into the Iraq War and that is also quite relevant because the parallels are really striking.

C (43:09)

Well, thank you so much for coming on the Daily Beans today and tell everybody where they can find and follow you and get information on your books.

E (43:18)

Yeah, Spy Talk. And I'm on X M Isakoff M I S I K O F F. You can go to Amazon and get a fresh copy of Russian Roulette.

C (43:30)

I don't think most of our listeners are on Twitter or Amazon, so.

E (43:33)

Oh really?

C (43:34)

So I'm going to say blue sky, blue sky, blue sky and go to your independent book seller to order the books. And I usually encourage people to buy multiple copies and put them in the little free libraries around their neighborhoods. But yeah, should have said that

E (43:50)

for next time, especially given what the owner of Amazon is doing to my former newspaper, the Washington Post. But that's a whole other subject.

C (43:59)

Yeah, that's a whole other podcast. Anyway, thank you, my friend. Everybody. Check out Spy Talk. Michael Isakoff, we appreciate your time anytime and please stick around. We'll be right back with the good news.

E (44:08)

Thank you.

C (44:10)

Did you know Fast Growing Trees is America's largest and most trusted online nursery? I can confirm this by the way. They have thousands of trees and plants. Plants and more than 2 million happy customers, including yours truly. So if you've been wanting to improve your yard or bring more plants into your home but don't know where to start, Fast Growing Trees makes the whole process manageable. They have enormous selections, including fruit trees, flowering trees, privacy trees, shrubs, houseplants. So you can find everything you need all in one place instead of driving around from nursery to nursery getting dirt in your trunk and coming home probably with nothing. But what I really like, like is that it still feels personal, almost like getting help from a local nursery, but with the convenience of delivery right where you live, I also appreciate they help you choose plants that actually fit your climate and your space. That kind of guidance matters when you want your plants to thrive without having to become a gardening expert overnight. The process is simple. You click your order and you grow your plants arrive at your door and you skip the crowded weekend nursery trips. They also offer a 30 day alive and thrive guarantee. So if your plants arrive in rough shape or something goes wrong in the first month, month, they'll replace them for free. On top of that, their plant experts are always there. They have a support team that can help you with planning and care, which can save a lot compared to paying for expensive landscaping advice. So thanks to Fast Growing Trees, I now have my own little guacamole garden with lime and avocado trees and I can't wait to see them start. Producing Fast growing trees made it much easier to create what I wanted for my yard and they can do the same for you. And right now they have great deals on spring planting essentials, up to half off on selected plants and our audience gets 20% off your first purchase when you use code DAILYBEANS at checkout. That's an additional 20% off. Better plants and better growing at fastgrowingtrees.com using the code DAILYBEANS at checkout again fastgrowingtrees.com code DAILYBEANS now's the perfect time to plant, so let's grow together. Use daily beans to save today. Offers valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply.

F (46:00)

Filming the Way on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela was one of the most important and rewarding experiences of my life. And it it was by far the most satisfying role of my career. The Way was filmed in 2009 over an eight week schedule and followed the pilgrimage route from St Jean Pierre de Port in the French Pyrenees across northern Spain to Santiago and then on to Muchia for the final scene. And the entire production was a family affair. Those are the opening lines of a story I share and they reflect the very heart of my podcast. And through sharing autobiographical stories and inspired poetry and personal reflections, that is the theme I find myself exploring again and again. But I do so in the hope that it sparks listeners to see how it relates to their own lives and their own story of discovery. So please join me each Sunday for a beautifully crafted 20 minute journey of personal exploration. I'm proud to announce the Martin Sheen Podcast Season two. I've often said if it's not personal, it's impersonal. And that is how I choose to approach my podcast. With all its contents. From storytelling to poetry and book selections, each unique episode is a journey we will share together. And I think it's important you know that I have no intention of leaving who I am at the door with this podcast. Anyone who knows me knows I cannot tell a personal story that doesn't have at least some social justice connection at its core. I have my convictions and issues that draw on my empathy and compassion. Frankly, that's what drives and informs my conscience and makes me who I am. How could I bring any less to this endeavor? So tune in Sundays as I invite you to follow, subscribe and receive notifications about what's next next for me, Martin Sheen oh, and for more information, please visit themartensheenpodcast.com and thank you again everybody.

C (48:08)

Welcome back. It's time for the good news.

E (48:10)

Good news everyone. Then good news everyone.

C (48:27)

And if you have any little bit of good news, it can be small, it can be big, it can be from yesterday, it can be from 17 months ago. Whatever it is, if it brings a smile to our faces, we definitely want to hear about it. You can also send your Good Trouble recommendations to us also if you want. You can send a shout out. If you want to shout out like your spouse, partner a small business in your area, a non profit, a self shout out. Tell us why you're amazing. Because everyone who listens to the Daily Beans is amazing. Amazing.

E (48:53)

That's true.

C (48:54)

And not be not because you listen to the Daily Beans. You're amazing and therefore the Daily Beans appeals to you. But you know what I mean. Anyway, send us all your good news. And all you got to do to get your good news read on the air is pay your POD pet tariff, which means attach a photo of anything. Really anything. It can be your pet. It can be an adoptable pet in your area. A random animal from the Internet. Family pictures, baby photos, photos of your favorite favorite protest and rally signs. Because we're getting ready to make ours for no Kings this Saturday. Photos of what you're making or creating. Seriously, anything at all. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. First up is your Good trouble and your Good trouble today. If you were not able to attend the virtual trainings offered by no Kings and Indivisible or would like a refresher on what was covered, The No Kings YouTube channel has you covered. No Kings YouTube will have a link in the show notes. They've posted their trainings and tips for attendees and hosts. There's a Know youw Rights Protest Rights and Safety Practices video. There's a Tips for no King Attendees video. And then you can find your event@nokings.org or on mobilize Us. So we're going to have links to those videos in the show notes. That's so amazing that they just put all that stuff up for free and anybody who wants to can access it. So that's your good trouble today.

D (50:16)

All right, this next one's from Rachel. No pronouns given. Hello. I've made it a near daily habit to contact my reps regarding various political causes and pieces of legislation. Something I hear frequently is that people feel they shouldn't call their reps because they know their reps disagree and won't listen. In my view it's more important to contact those reps. They're not going to come out and say that they changed their vote due to constituent messaging. But over time, I've noticed how certain pieces of legislation suddenly stall. Moreover, they need to know that we are paying attention to. It would be amazing if you had on someone from five calls. Oh, or Americans of conscience who can discuss the best ways to contact reps and how to go about it. Hint. Keep it brief, to the point. Infrequent for my pod pet tariff, I'm attaching a photo of my weirdo dog, Scout. Scout is the dog version of a pop diva like Celine Dion or Whitney Houston. I've never met a dog with such dramatic vocals. One photo is her photo from the shelter so you can see how she's put together. Other the other is her normal state of being. Taking a nap with at least five throw pillows that she has arranged herself. Guess what breed she is? She's about £90.

C (51:27)

£90. Okay, so huge dog. Huge skinny dog. Like

D (51:35)

a Great Dane in like a. I don't know if there's pitbull in

C (51:38)

there, but the ears. Like a shepherd, maybe?

D (51:42)

Also, it could be a shepherd. Yeah, an Australian shepherd. I would say Great Dane. An Australian shepherd, which is a wild kind combination.

C (51:48)

All right, let's see what we've got here. Great Dane. Oh, and the dog we can never remember. Catahoula Leopard Dog.

D (51:54)

Oh, there you go.

C (51:56)

I call her a Cajun Dane. I love it. So it's a. Oh my God.

D (52:00)

The second photo. So good.

C (52:02)

I notice we 90 pound little baby that probably thinks she's a lap.

D (52:07)

It's a lap dog.

C (52:09)

All right, next up, from Grace Pronoun. She and her hello beans Queens. First, thank you both for this podcast as it's kept me sane during Clementine Caligula's reign of stupidity and incompetence. I'm a longtime listener and writing in a correction yesterday, Dana read a submission from an Ohio voter and wasn't sure how to pronounce Medina. Being a fellow Ohioan, I knew Allison was right. It's pronounced Medina.

D (52:32)

Well done.

C (52:33)

Thanks. You know what? I was going to say? It'd be weird if I didn't since I'm from Ohio, but I've mispronounced a lot of stuff from Ohio, so not go that way. Way. Attached is my pod pet tariff, a photo of our sweet boy Winston, who runs this house. He's a bit of a weirdo, scares easily, but recovers fast. And thanks. Getting brushed by my husband is the Greatest thing next to eating and sleeping. He brings us joy and we wouldn't be as happy without him. Also, who the heck at AT T decided a soy based chemical was good to put on wires that squirrels would like? What the.

D (53:05)

I know.

C (53:05)

Are they headed for a trip Trump cabinet position? I wish that the worst that this administration could do would be have some squirrels chew through some wires, man. Oh, thank you both for all you do. Much love, Grace. Look at the pretty tuxedo kitty. Hi, sweet boy. Winston. Thank you so much, Grace. I appreciate it.

D (53:26)

All right, we've got from Linda Pronounce. She and her beans queens reign supreme. The soy in wire coatings also impacts cars. I'm not sure if the idea was to use less petroleum, but the road rodents are grateful we use rat race rodent repellent spray on the newer car. My old 2001 Prius is pre soy attaches our newest family member, Alex. Their damaged tail matches Alex in my sister's hopefully future animated story of Alex and the Sleepy Hollow Gang. Thank you both and your team for all you do. You keep us strong and engaged. There is more of us and we hold the moral high ground.

C (54:02)

Okay, so Alex is a squirrel.

D (54:04)

Squirrel, yes. And a very cute sploot from the squirrel.

C (54:08)

Look at the super loot. Don't eat my wires. Oh, adorable. That's interesting. It affects cars, too. Yeah, I got a bunch of people responding to me on social media saying, yeah, I've had this in my car and they like, show me under the hood with all these chewed through wires and whatnot. Brutal. All right, next up is Quinn. Pronoun she and they. Hi, Allison. I had to laugh when I heard about the squirrel eating your wires because my car, a Hyundai Sonata, had to have the full wire harness replaced a few years ago for the same reason. I don't know if it was squirrels or mice, but they love the soy based wire coating a little too much. Thankfully, it was fully covered by my insurance, but there are still car companies that use it. I don't know what you drive, but be warned, for my pet tax, I included a picture of my sweet kitties Barb, which is a great name for a cat. The gray one. And L, the black cat. Oh, look at little chunky butts. They're so cute. Cuddling, they are. Thanks, Quinn.

D (55:01)

Thank you indeed. This is from Diane Pronouns. She and her. Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. Until Congress funds TSA and agents are paid. A spokesperson for Delta told AJC the federal lawmakers will now have the same customer Service as all passengers. That's according to their sky mile status. In other words, just like the rest of us. I love this. There's a link in the show notes. Delta is basically like you're waiting in line until you fix this if you don't have status just like the rest of the people. Podpet tariff, river also disapproved approves of waves. Pause all this. Trump poop.

C (55:37)

Oh my God. That is a very stern look.

D (55:40)

That's a gorgeous dog though. My goodness.

C (55:42)

The red color and the beautiful red eyes. Just what a sweet baby. Yeah, Diane, I saw that story and I was like, great, maybe you could stop doing ice flights then Delta. I mean, Delta's the one that took Liam to Dilly, you know, like, meh. I'm like, but, you know, I mean, I guess, I guess it's a step in the right direction, but like, I think they can do better with the ice. Shit. Next up from Roger. Nearly an octogenarian. I live in retirement on the French seacoast with my two dogs, Chanel and Findlay. I still vote as a constitutionally smitten American and attend a no kings rally with family in the States, which I plan to repeat. Findlay is from Colorado. Even well known American breeders of championship dogs sometimes find themselves with a puppy that just isn't wanted. And that was Findlay. But not anymore. Small French children are all in love with the cartoon character Scooby Doo and relish being able to hug and kiss a real life model even though he's probably five times their body weight. During a typical beach walk, Findlay will be photographed by moms and dads at least 20 times with new young friends. Oh my God. I didn't know they were so into Scooby Doo. In France, walking your big dogs on the beach and making little children incredibly happy is a great way to spend the last chapters of your life. And by the way, Chanel, the female is much smarter. The much smarter of the two. Hardly surprising. Look at this beautiful Great Dane.

E (57:10)

Oh my God.

D (57:11)

So sweet.

C (57:12)

You know what I think of? There's an old 1960s Disney movie called the Ugly Duckling. And we watched it after we went into a bookmobile and then got our personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut for reading. For reading a book. And we watched it in the school library in elementary school, I must have been in fourth grade and it was called the Ugly Duckling. And it was about a Great Dane that got mixed up, a puppy that got mixed up in a. A litter of, I don't know, small Fancy dogs and. And was raised like the, you know, at like the fairy tale, the ugly duckling. I just. I just remember that particular movie. And that's what this particular dog reminds me of.

E (57:55)

I love this. I love this.

C (57:57)

Thank you. Thank you so very much.

D (57:59)

Very sweet. All right. This is from S pronoun she and her hi beans queens. I wanted to send in a shout out to my person. He told me that it's like listening to your friends tell you about the news every day. And that's exactly what I've been needing. Thank you, AG and DG for being there for us. My pod pet tax is my cuddly boy cat, Oliver. The world's most beautiful cat. Oliver puts up with me singing your show theme as kitty Beans every day day like a champ. Thanks again. Your guess on breeze is as good as mine. He was picked up off the streets at five months old and immediately curled up on my lap at the humane society and started purring. I love this picture because it looks like he's posing on school picture day.

C (58:40)

It does.

D (58:42)

That's so funny.

C (58:44)

Kind of one paw forward and like, oh, my God, what a beautiful, beautiful cat.

D (58:49)

That's so good.

C (58:51)

I don't know what breeds. See? 100% awesome cat.

D (58:54)

You know me. I. I can't. Yeah. If you had a gun to my head, I'd be like, we had a good run.

C (58:59)

We had a good run, everybody. Look at the sweet second picture with the blankie on the bed. Oh, my goodness. So adorable. Thank you so much, S. And thanks to everybody for sending in your good news. It's only the taint of the week. It's only hump day, the middle of the week. We call it the taint of the week here on the beans. We've still got a couple more days to go, and we really could use your good news, so send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact. Dana, do you got anything coming up you want to talk about?

D (59:26)

I do. I've got a show that is selling very fast in Dallas on mother's day. So if you need to take a break from the kiddos or you don't have kiddos or you've got fur kiddos and you can leave them at home. We do have a few tickets left. It's going to be at the Dallas comedy club, and you can get tickets on my website, danagoldberg.com and then a week later, I'm going to be in Rochester, New York. And afterward, we're going to have a talk back with voice be from under the desk news. So those tickets are still on sale. I think VIP is gone, but there's still a lot of general mission left and I'd love to have as many Beans listeners there as possible.

C (59:58)

Amazing. Thank you so much. And my next show is going to be like a three minute set I'm doing ahead of the no Kings rally, the waterfront park in San Diego. It's so funny. Like, I'm so used to performing for like a hundred people, so the fact that there's like a hundred thousand people there is kind of weird. But like only the hundred closest to me can hear me, so it, you know, kind of makes sense. But I look forward to seeing everybody out there. It's going to be historic. It's going to be record breaking. And Rachel Maddow went through a list of shit that Trump has done since the last no Kings rally. Oh yeah, pretty extensive. Did you see that like I did?

D (60:35)

It is jarring.

C (60:37)

It is jarring. So if you're able to find that clip and watch it or listen to the Rachel Maddow podcast from her her broadcast Monday night, I highly rec that first first block is just really incredible and the whole show is great, but that it's in the first block where she lists all of the things that Trump and Republicans have done since the last no Kings rally. All right, everybody, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow and we'll see you over on the video episode of the Beans Talk. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health and take care of your family.

D (61:07)

I've been AG and I've been dg

C (61:10)

and them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written in exactly. Executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media.