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The Daily Beans
Fighting The Slush Fund (feat. John Fugelsang)
00:46:32
Friday, May 29th, 2026 Today, Trump has re-filed his $10B libel suit against the Wall Street Journal for publishing his birthday book drawing; a company tied to Don Jr. gets a $620M contract after the White House intervened; Trump visited soldiers at Walter Reed but not the 14 wounded in his war; a federal judge denies an attempt to stop Trump’s mail-in voting and citizenship order; Governors Newsom and Hochul vow to tax slush fund recipients at 100%; a student journalist blasts CBS News as a ‘stain’ on Mike Wallace’s legacy; and Allison delivers your Good News.
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- [00:01]
Frances Collier
Hi, I'm Frances Collier.
- [00:03]
Angela V. Shelton
And I'm Angela V. Shelton.
- [00:04]
Frances Collier
And we're Frangela.
- [00:06]
Angela V. Shelton
You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast.
- [00:09]
Frances Collier
Yes, you do. That's right.
- [00:11]
Angela V. Shelton
It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we
- [00:15]
Frances Collier
make real news, real funny, where we
- [00:17]
Angela V. Shelton
inspire you so you can resist.
- [00:20]
Frances Collier
Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear. That's right.
- [00:27]
Angela V. Shelton
We think you need to hear it. Okay.
- [00:29]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
- [00:29]
Frances Collier
It's what we say.
- [00:30]
Dana Goldberg
So.
- [00:30]
Angela V. Shelton
That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week.
- [00:37]
Frances Collier
We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.
- [00:40]
Dana Goldberg
Okay. All we do is give. MSW media. News. We're swearing. Daily beans. Daily beans. Daily beans. Daily beans. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Friday, May 29, 2026. Today, Donald Trump has refiled his $10 billion libel suit against the Wall Street Journal for publishing his birthday book drawing. A company tied to Don Jr gets a $620 million contract after the White House intervened. Trump visited soldiers at Walter Reed when he was there. But wounded in his war. A federal judge has denied an attempt to stop Trump's mail in voting and citizenship order. Governors Newsom and Hochul vow to tax slush fund recipients at 100%. And a student journalist blasts CBS News as a stain on Mike Wallace's legacy. I'm your host, Alison Gill. Hey, everyone, Happy Friday because it's Friday. We're going to talk to John Fugelsang today. It's Fuglsang Fridays here on the Daily Beans. And also, I have some really good news for you. Dana's back Monday, so if you've been sick of just my voice in your ears all week, Dana will be back. I am really looking forward to it. Tell your friends. Get everybody and tell them. All right. We have so much news to get to today, and I'm sure there's going to be a big news dump, you know, Friday and Saturday and Sunday. So we'll have a lot to cover on Monday when Dana gets back. But for now, let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up from ProPublica. When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump, jun defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism. The president's eldest son said through a spokesperson that he wasn't involved. The Pentagon said Trump Jr. Played no role in the record setting deal and the startup's founder told reporters that his company, Vulcan Elements, received no political favoritism. But interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. To was made by Peter Navarro, a White House advisor President Trump and loves. And he's also a friend of Don Jr's. Of the dozens, dozens of companies that the Pentagon was considering funding at the time, Vulcan's was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president. That's according to an official at the Pentagon who was not authorized to speak publicly. After defense officials got the White House request, they asked the Pentagon staff to move at an unusually rapid pace, said another person who was involved in the deal at the Pentagon, but also not authorized to speak about it. The staff worked late nights and with little sleep to get the loan through in a matter of weeks, the source said. I worked for the government. I dealt with contracting. It takes years. They moved this through in weeks, quote, the call came from the White House. We have got to get this done. That's what the person said. The deal is one of many actions by the Trump administration that have helped companies in which the Trump family holds stakes. Government contracts and other benefits have gone to various Trump linked companies, prompting allegations of self dealing by Democratic lawmakers and good government experts. But ProPublica's reporting on the Vulcan loan represents the first time the awarding of a contract from a federal agency has been directly linked to White House intervention. The loan was a massive financial commitment from the Pentagon in its effort to fund companies that could help the US Reduce dependence on China's critical mineral supply chains. The deal was a dramatic win for Vulcan, a North Carolina rare earth magnet company launched just two years ago. Estimates of its valuation grew tenfold after the deal was announced. And it's also a win for Trump Jr. S venture capital firm, which took a stake of undisclosed size in Vulcan about three months before the Pentagon announced the deal. So my goodness, this is all from ProPublica. There's more@proPublica.org I think they just won two Emmys for their amazing reporting, so congratulations to them. All right, next up from the Times, President Trump on Wednesday refiled his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over an article about a birthday book greeting to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A judge had dismissed Trump's previous complaint. The amended complaint, like the original, was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Judge Darren P. Gales had thrown out Trump's first lawsuit in April, saying the president had not plausibly shown that the Journal published an article with actual malice, which is a legal standard that public officials must meet in defamation cases. To meet that standard, the publication had to have either known that what it was publishing was false or acted with reckless disregard to the truth. Judge Gales had given Donald Trump until Wednesday to refile, and so he made it just under the deadline. Now the lawsuit centers on a Journal article published on July 17, just a couple weeks before Ghislaine Maxwell was moved to her low security Club Fed in Bryan, Texas, that described a letter. This is the the Journal article. It described a letter in a drawing of a naked woman that appeared to be signed by Trump in a 2003 birthday album compiled for Jeffrey Epstein. The message read, in part, happy Birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret. The article said the Journal had reviewed the letter and it included Mr. Trump's denial. A copy of the birthday book was later given by lawyers for Epstein's estate to the House Oversight Committee, which publicly released a redacted copy, and that included that letter. Trump's lawyers have argued the letter was not written or signed by Trump. In the amended complaint, they argue that the Journal and its reporters had shown actual malice by not explaining in the article how the letter was obtained and how its contents were verified. That's not how you meet the actual malice standard, but okay. They also argued that the reporter should have included a denial from Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted associate of Mr. Epstein's who compiled the birthday book. Oh, really? A denial? Did she write you a denial right before she got moved to Bryan, Texas? Well, the journal article said Ms. Maxwell had not responded to a letter requesting an interview sent to her in person. Excuse me. Sent to her in prison. After the article was published, Maxwell told the DOJ that she had no recollection of receiving a letter from Trump for the book. Oh, that's convenient. The lawyer said Trump called Rupert Murdoch, the founder of News Corp. Which is a parent company, for the Journal before the article was published and told him that he had not signed or sent a letter to which Murdoch said, I'll handle it. According to the complaint, Mr. Trump believed he meant the article would not be published. Oh, that's too bad for you. Mr. Murdoch has declined to comment. Wow. Ghislaine Maxwell said that she never saw that letter right before she was moved to Bryan, Texas, and her sex offender status was waived. Fascinating. All right. From Democracy Docket. A federal judge said it's too soon to block Trump's latest push to restrict mail voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Oh, it's too soon, okay. Trump signed an executive order in March directing the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create lists of verified U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, which it calls a state citizenship list. It also instructs that the U.S. postal Service send absentee ballots only to voters on these approved lists submitted by the states, also called mail in and absentee participation lists. Led by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the DSCC Democrats quickly sued to block the order. Election law experts agree that the diktat is unconstitutional, as states and Congress have authority over elections, not the president. But U.S. district Judge Carl Nichols didn't necessarily agree that the order could be unlawful, but said that the lawsuit was nonetheless premature. The agencies haven't implemented the order yet, so the Democrats and pro voting groups haven't been harmed by it yet. Nichols reasoned that you can't have standing based on potential future harm without that injury. They just don't have standing. The order, quote, requires nothing from plaintiffs. No compliance, no changed behavior, nothing at all because it's not aimed at them, but instead tells only the agencies to do something. That's what Nichols said. He's a Trump appointee, by the way. In the wake of the ruling, Democratic plaintiffs promised to keep fighting the order. Nichols also made a similar determination concerning the mail in and absentee participation list, finding the plaintiffs lacked standing because the post office has not finalized the rule yet. So that's where we are now. Speaking of finalizing rules, a rule was never proposed on the Federal register for the $1.8 billion slush fund, so no one got noticed and no interested parties got a chance to publicly comment. I am an interested party because I am a victim of Trump administration weaponization and lawfare. When the government investigated my Mueller she wrote podcast in 2019 and then removed me from my job after a decade of exemplary service. So I filed a lawsuit. I'm suing the Department of Justice, the United States, Todd Blanch as the acting Attorney General and you can read that lawsuit and see what I'm on about. Check my standing and all that@muellershirote.com I've also put up a couple of quick video explainers on all my social medias at Muller She Wrote, which is like Blue Sky Instagram. At Muller She Wrote Threads, I think Facebook. We've got a pretty robust socials team, so look for that video explainer or go to muellershirerote.com you can read my lawsuit. And if you want to help, I'm not taking any money for this. But Public Citizen Litigation Group is filing this lawsuit on my behalf and they're doing it pro bono. Beans team, you can donate directly to those lawyers, tax deductible donation because it's a 501C3 and you can do that@citizen.org beans all right, next up from CBS, President Trump made time to visit with service members during his trip Tuesday to Walter Reed National Military Medical center, but he refused to see any of the 14 troops injured in the war he started with Iran, who were also recovering at the hospital. And that's according to the family of one soldier and another military official familiar with Trump's visit. The White House said Mr. Trump met with service members during a six month checkup at the Army's flagship medical center, but repeatedly declined to say whether the president saw soldiers injured in operation epic fury. Mr. Trump has previously faced scrutiny for his descriptions of wounded service members during his first term. Of course, he said the soldiers injured in the 2020 Iranian airstrike on an American base in Iraq weren't worth mentioning because they had suffered only headaches, which he described as not very serious. But a CBS News investigation later found dozens of soldiers had suffered brain injuries and they were denied the Purple Heart as part of an effort to downplay their wounds and avoid undercutting Donald Trump. One later took his own life. All right, next up from Politico, Governor Gavin Newsom vowed Wednesday to tax any payouts that California residents receive from the $1.776 billion Anti Weaponization Fund that Trump secured in a settlement with his own Justice Department. That's, I don't like that settlement language, but it's in here. And this is as Democratic lawmakers in states across the country ramp up efforts to counter the president on the measure. So if I actually am eligible for my $8.647 million claim, all $8.647 million will go to California because I am a resident. Quote, anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100% of those proceeds. That's what the California governor told reporters during a press conference in his office, calling the settlement a slush fund. Democratic state lawmakers in New York are also pushing for a vote by next week to fully tax payouts from the fund. Queens State Senator Mike Generis, I hope I'm saying that properly, in an interview, said his measure was in the process of being introduced in the Democratic dominated legislature. There's widespread bipartisan agreement that this is bald faced corruption at its worst, and if we have the ability in New York to combat it by ensuring that none of this money benefits anyone in our state's borders, I'd expect there'd be red support for that idea. I concur. And from the Daily Beast A student journalist who won a scholarship named after a celebrated CBS News reporter bravely called out the network's moggification during his fiery acceptance speech. Santiago Campos received the $10,000 Mike Wallace memorial Scholarship at Wednesday's National Academy of Television and Arts Sciences 47th Annual News Documentary Awards in New York. Having received his award from former CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, Campos, a senior at the District of Columbia International School in D.C. thanked the network for funding his generous gift toward my education. He immediately added, I also want to acknowledge how the recent direction of the outlet stains the legacy of Mike Wallace, the namesake of the scholarship. Applause and cheers could be heard coming from the audience. Media reporter for the Guardian, Jeremy Barr also said there was some surprise in the room at the very bold remark. Campos kept firing, saying, quote, as corporate elites take hold over the very pipes through which our information flows, journalism that serves a people becomes increasingly harder to come by, yet even more crucial and what the people want is the truth now. He finished by saying, so if at any time you hesitate to utter the word genocide or remain silent in the face of blatant lies, remember to ask yourself, who is this for? I hope you choose us now. During his presentation, Peli also noted that 60 Minutes correspondent Sharon Alfonsi was in the audience. That's on the same day she announced she'd been iced out of the flagship CBS News show following political interference. Introducing former 60 Minutes chief Bill Owens, who resigned from his role as executive producer of CBS News 60 Minutes in April amid growing pressure from both Paramount and the Trump administration, Pelly referenced the circumstances that precipitated Owens departure. Quote, our previous owner at CBS faced political pressure and crumbled. All right, as you know, it's Friday, so it's Fugal saying Friday. So we're going to be right back with the man himself, John Fugal, saying, stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.
- [15:23]
Allison Gill
We'll be right back.
- [15:25]
Dana Goldberg
Fast growing trees caught my eye because they're America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants and over 2 million happy customers. And that's a big claim, but it makes sense once you see the selection they offer the Kind of variety most people hope to find at their local big box stores. But now you can get it from home and actually compare options without giving up half your Saturday. They have plans for just about every kind of project. Fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, houseplants. And what makes the experience especially useful is they help match you with options that work for your climate, your space, and your lifestyle. And that turns a huge catalog into something a lot more manageable. Instead of guessing, you can make better decisions from the start. Fast growing trees also makes the process easy to follow. Just click, order and grow Healthy plants arrive at your door ready to get established. And their alive and thrive guarantee gives you confidence your plants will show up in good shape. And if you need help beyond that, they have trained plant experts who are there to help you plan your landscape, choose the right plants, and even learn how to care for them after delivery. I was especially excited about our guacamole garden. Got some avocado trees, a lime tree, a lemon tree. I'd priced out the landscaping and almost laughed at how expensive it was. And this gave me a much better route. I got exactly what I wanted, I saved a lot of money, and now I have the start of a backyard guacamole garden. So right now they have great deals on spring planting essentials, up to half off on select plants, and our audience gets 20% off your first purchase. When you use code Daily beans at checkout, that's an additional 20% off. Better plants and better growing at fast growingtrees.com using code daily beans at checkout fast growingtrees.com code daily beans. Now is the perfect time to plant. So let's grow together. Use Daily Beans to save today. Offer is valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply.
- [17:06]
Frances Collier
Hi, I'm Frances Collier.
- [17:07]
Angela V. Shelton
And I'm Angela V. Shelton.
- [17:09]
Frances Collier
And we're Frantila.
- [17:10]
Angela V. Shelton
You know what you need in your life? The Final Word podcast.
- [17:14]
Frances Collier
Yes, you do. That's right.
- [17:16]
Angela V. Shelton
It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we
- [17:19]
Frances Collier
make real news, real funny, where we
- [17:22]
Angela V. Shelton
inspire you so you can hashtag resist,
- [17:25]
Frances Collier
subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear. That's right.
- [17:32]
Angela V. Shelton
We think you need to hear it. Okay.
- [17:34]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
- [17:34]
Frances Collier
It's what we say.
- [17:35]
Dana Goldberg
So.
- [17:35]
Angela V. Shelton
That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week.
- [17:42]
Frances Collier
We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.
- [17:45]
Dana Goldberg
Okay? All we do is give. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It is Friday. Ah, I love Fridays, because Fridays on the Daily beans are fugal sang Fridays. Which means we are being joined by the New York Times bestselling author of Separation of Church and Hate. He also hosts Tell me everything on SiriusXM progress channel 127. That's weeknights at 9pm Eastern, 6 Pacific. He also has the John Fegelsang show podcast. If you don't have SiriusXM and he's pretty much everywhere else you want to be, please welcome John figelsang.
- [18:15]
Allison Gill
Thank you, Dr. Gill. What an honor. It's great to be here again in spite of popular demand. And congratulations, Texas Republicans. Finally, someone with your values. It's great.
- [18:25]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, let's talk about this, because. What a gift. What a gift.
- [18:29]
Allison Gill
Yeah, yeah.
- [18:30]
Dana Goldberg
I mean, just the first of all, it's historically low turnout for, I think 1.4 million people turned out to vote for Republicans across the state in a state of 35 million people or something like that. Just historically low turnout for Republicans. Yeah.
- [18:42]
Allison Gill
Kind of weary there. Like, like they did in 18. Like they did in not 22.
- [18:46]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Like what you've been saying, they're just going to stay home. They're not going to come down out of their houses and, and, and vote because Trump's not either not on the ballot or they're sick of them.
- [18:54]
Allison Gill
And again, this wasn't, this wasn't the primary. This was the runoff. Which means, imagine hating women so much that you would drive to vote for this guy three times in one year. Can you imagine, I mean, Ken Paxton voting for Ken Paxton three times and getting in your car, driving wa and casting a ballot for this indicted, impeached lech. That's, that's true commitment to evil. Yeah. The beautiful thing about this is beyond the obvious monster versus choir boy material we've got to deal with for the next few months, even if Talarico can't pull this off, and he might not be able to be. I mean, they. Corin was great at fundraising, but they're going to pour money onto this monster. But even if he can't, they're going to divert tens of millions of dollars to a state that should have been a safe state. This is going to drain the coffers of the evil machine so much whether Talarico comes out on top or not. And he just might win this.
- [19:51]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And also, as my friend Charlotte Clymer pointed out, they're giving up their seniority. I mean, he was a senior. Cornyn was a senior senator. He had, he had committee assignments. He was, he was a party whip. He almost was speaker of the House.
- [20:05]
Allison Gill
Yeah, it's almost like it's stupid. It's almost like they made a stupid choice. It's almost like if Joe Biden gave billions to Texarkana and they still hated him anyway. Right.
- [20:15]
Dana Goldberg
I mean, but I mean, thinking of the ads that are just kind of come pouring out of this, we saw that right after Ken Paxton won. First of all, CookPoliticalReportVote.org, they all went from either likely or leans Republican to likely Republican or toss up. For the first time in history. It's a toss up seat for Vote.org, which is just phenomenal. We also have to remember that Beto came pretty close within three points of Ted Cruz. But Beto never once led Ted Cruz in the polling. And Talarico has been leading Paxton in the polling. He hasn't fallen behind Paxton in the place. I think he's up seven points on Paxton.
- [20:55]
Allison Gill
Well, we had to give the Republicans time to find the Texan more loathsome than Ted Cruz. I mean, if the Candyman killer had been in there, that's a worse Texan than Paxton. I mean, Trump would have endorsed that guy as well. But, yeah, when you think of this as the party that talked to us about family values, this is the party that was screaming to us for the last few Biden years about corruption. And they're going with this guy. Talarico is not exaggerating when he says he's the most corrupt politician in America with the possible exception of Trump. I mean, this guy impeached by his own Republicans in Texas for abuse of power, not Democrats. Tech. You know how hard you've got to try to offend Republicans in Texas. His own aides called the FBI on this guy. He's so. His wife divorcing him for biblical reasons. She says to shame him in public. I mean, this guy's expired deli meat. And I just can't believe how much he deserves to be the face of this party.
- [21:52]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And what do you think of Talariko's, you know, the night of the, the runoff, he put out his, his new message, his new campaign messaging, which is basically the people, we, the people, the people versus Ken Paxton. I think it's a great way to go. He's inviting Cornyn voters to, to come, you know, into his campaign, saying, there's
- [22:10]
Allison Gill
room for you here.
- [22:11]
Dana Goldberg
I'm not sure how many he'll convert, but, you know, with the amount of people staying home but you're right. I think the important thing here. And Lindsey Graham said it, too. He's like, look, he. Lindsey Graham thinks that even if Ken Paxton won the runoff, that he would still win in the general, but that it's going to cost him an arm and a leg to get it done so much.
- [22:29]
Allison Gill
Yeah, he. I mean, and Ken Paxton might win. And if he does win, I want you to look at it this way. He won't really vote any differently than Corden was voting, but he will be a loathsome face of corrosive hypocrisy that the Republican Party deserves to wear. He should be the face of the Republican GOP in the Senate. He'll. He'll have earned it. I mean, and then you contrast that with Talarico, who's like. He looks like the youth pastor who's politely explaining to the elders why Jesus would hate all these bills. I mean, what is the GOP attack machine gonna do with this guy? Like. Like. Like vegan is. Is as harsh as they can go on this guy. And he's not even a vegan. And he already had a good comeback for that. This is. This is. This guy makes Jimmy Carter look like James Woods. I mean, imagine being so clean politically that your enemies have to script he might eat kale. I heard he eats kale. Like, they're going to attack his manhood. They're gonna. They're gonna call him gay slurs before this whole thing is over. That's all they got and all they can.
- [23:28]
Dana Goldberg
Stephen Miller called him. What did he say? I can't even remember.
- [23:31]
Allison Gill
Transgender.
- [23:32]
Dana Goldberg
Transgender? Oh, yeah, he said he was transgender.
- [23:34]
Allison Gill
Wasn't that funny? And that's an insult for Stephen Miller.
- [23:36]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, that's an insult for them. But the Democrats had a pretty good comeback. They said.
- [23:41]
Allison Gill
Oh, they. Yeah, they sure did.
- [23:43]
Dana Goldberg
I think. Shut up, you ugly. Was.
- [23:45]
Allison Gill
I believe that was it.
- [23:46]
Dana Goldberg
It was the official comeback from the official.
- [23:48]
Allison Gill
And again, Stephen Miller proves that, you know, only in America, social media could a. Could a Jewish child from Santa Monica grow up to be a Nazi. So, you know. Yeah, it's just like. But what do you think's going to happen here, Dr. Gill? Because I. I think Talarico actually has a really great chance, and I'm biased because he has a copy of my book, so I. I already respect him. But, I mean, I think that even if he can't win this, he has a chance to really shift a moral center of Texas, I mean, beyond who wins. Just think about what these debates are going to be between these can't wait for these debates. I, I've never seen a more stark difference of character in men before. And they're going to try to sell this loathsome crook to Christians all over Texas. I mean, I'm sure they'll be fine with it.
- [24:33]
Dana Goldberg
It's a physical manifestation of the polarization that we've seen over the last decade and we're going to see it on a debate stage and it's going to be, I think, amazing for all to see because there's something about Talarico. I feel like he studies Obama in the way he talks and in his low register and his delivery. He's just so very good at speaking on camera. One of the best orators I think we have, along with like Pete Buttigieg.
- [24:59]
Allison Gill
I agree.
- [25:00]
Dana Goldberg
Right. And I think it's gonna be interesting to see what he can do and who he can move. Especially since Hispanic voters are now negative 56 for Donald Trump right now. He's not only lost the plus 19 or the, excuse me, he was negative 19 with Hispanic voters when he was elected, now he's negative 50 something. So he had gotten a lot of Latino voters on his side in 2024. Not only has he lost them, he's dug himself and the Republicans an even deeper hole. And in a place like Texas, I think that can make a lot of difference.
- [25:35]
Allison Gill
Yeah, I agree with everything you just said and it's amazing because he is so Christian and does bring up Christ on a policy level in ways that kenpact is not going to be able to do. And that is direct marketing to Catholics in the state and that's your Latino residents. So I mean Christianity could be the Democrats secret weapon in this particular campaign. And it's fascinating with Talarico because he, he has this real gift like Obama, like Buttigieg, that he's able to take very nerdy policy wonk stuff and make it seem accessible. And part of why he, how he does it so well is that he's always the most relaxed guy in the room.
- [26:15]
Dana Goldberg
Yes.
- [26:16]
Allison Gill
He's like Kevin Spacey. He's just, it's incredible. He's always the most relaxed guy in any room. He is, he looks like he's 16 and he speaks with the exhausted tenor of a 90 year old Presbyterian librarian. Like he's just on it. I mean this guy, he looks and I respect him, man. I think he was grown in a lab to reassure suburban moms during turbulence. Like he is so calming and it's a superpower and it's magnetic and it's what Obama had. Obama was calming. Oh, this guy is here. Who knows what he's talking about? And he's not trying to. On a human level. You just relate to that level of calm. At least that's what I learned in my speed seduction workshops. So I feel like this whole thing is, hey, I bought a Bible. I have a public school textbook, and I brought some emotional maturity, which is terrifying to today's gop. Watch these senators all getting behind Ken Paxton now. The entire apparatus that has been dreading this moment is now embracing this loathsome cur.
- [27:10]
Dana Goldberg
They believe nothing. National Republican Senate Committee had to go and delete all of their Ken Paxton attack ads going back for forever on Twitter. But, sorry, the Internet is forever. Republicans, I know you have a hard time with tech, but the. The Internet is forever.
- [27:24]
Allison Gill
I mean, you've got Paxton, who is literally accused of corruption by his own staff, and you have this other guy who looks like he spends all weekend at Habitat for Humanity, and he apologizes to chairs he bumps into. I mean, it's like a documentary about two completely alternate different timelines for Christianity in America. And I am so excited for the entertainment value of it. And for Republicans to waste tons of money they didn't have to waste.
- [27:50]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And it seems like they wasted a ton of money on redistricting in South Carolina as well, because, boy. And here's what I think is chutzpah, if I may. Now, we've seen Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy lost their primaries. There's done. Now they're standing up. They've generated.
- [28:11]
Allison Gill
They found their courage right away.
- [28:13]
Dana Goldberg
And then we had Indiana Republicans go against Trump's redistricting, and we saw five of seven of them, I think, lose their primaries now in South Carolina after seeing what happened in Indiana, standing up and saying, no, I'm not going to vote for this redistricting. That's chutzpah, I think.
- [28:30]
Allison Gill
Yeah, Yeah. I. I keep trying to understand what was going on with these South Carolina Republicans. I want to believe that they were smart enough to just say, guys, it's just Jim Clyburn. I mean, why we want to be bigger dicks? Like, like, they. Democrats have no power. There's only one of them. Come on, let's let one be there. Let's. These are Southern men. I assume even the Republicans have black friends. They don't want to be part of this. Of just, like, xing out, just diluting the black vote completely. And Clyburn, who is so popular, we can never forget that. Clyburn is probably the strongest reason Joe Biden got the Democratic Party. So he is such an institution in that state. And you remember when this all happened and Clyburn said two weeks ago, I'm not worried. I'm not worried about my job. I'm keeping my job. And I was like, does. Does Clyburn understand what's going on?
- [29:15]
Dana Goldberg
He.
- [29:16]
Allison Gill
He. Something's going on. Clyburn was not worried. And these guys showed up. And you put that. That right now. And they might do it before 2028, but you put that right with what just happened with these two Trump judges totally rejecting this Alabama map, which. Which looks like a couple of drunk racists try to parallel park this whole design. And it's two Trump judges, like, not in the group chat following the Constitution. Bad week for this guy. And they're just so inspiring because, again, the Voting Rights act is still gutted, but it's nice to see the guardrails are hanging on with duct tape.
- [29:51]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. And I do want to be clear. So South Carolina Republicans, you know, don't want to paint people out as being heroes for, you know, doing the bare minimum here, because they don't come out and say things like, clyburn's an institution and black votes.
- [30:04]
Allison Gill
No, they won't say that.
- [30:05]
Dana Goldberg
No, no. What they say is, is it's just too late. It's too late. Which is more than Louisiana Republicans are saying, for example, or the Alabama Republicans, who's. Who. Who wanted to redraw the maps and are still trying to redraw the maps in after voting has already started. So.
- [30:22]
Allison Gill
But it also shows they're scared. It also shows that they didn't want this headache because, you know, like, the democracy still works when enough people get angry enough. And they saw the outrage across these other Southern states for what they're doing. And I think some of them decided, hey, let's just. Let's just punt this till after the midterms and then do it then.
- [30:40]
Dana Goldberg
But, yeah, so they will do it. And they are bad people.
- [30:42]
Allison Gill
I don't give them credit for not being extra racist and evil.
- [30:46]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, exactly. I wanted to kind of put that forward. And now, you know, many of them are. We're so close maybe to the primaries that they're like, well, Trump can't hurt me like they hurt the Indiana Republicans. So I don't know that it's necessarily as chutzpahy as I'd like it to be, you know, if they could say what they're doing for the correct reasons, but at least they're doing it in the face of what happened to Indiana Republicans. So.
- [31:09]
Allison Gill
Hey, I want to ask you, Can I ask you something?
- [31:11]
Angela V. Shelton
Yeah, sure.
- [31:12]
Allison Gill
You're engaged in some civil litigation, Dr. Gill. And can I, can I, can I ask you about that? You. You get a lot done in a day. And I always am so inspired by how you keep showing us new ways to resist.
- [31:24]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, yeah, yeah. On Thursday, I filed a lawsuit to stop this 1.8 billion dollar slush fund. I'm suing Todd Blanche in the Department of Justice.
- [31:31]
Allison Gill
Beautiful.
- [31:32]
Dana Goldberg
Now, you know, we've got a lot of law. We've got three or four lawsuits out there to stop this thing. What, what makes mine different is just, just who I am. Right. Because I've been weaponized against. And so, yes, when you establish a slush fund like this, it constitutes a rule under the Administrative Procedures Act. That's the law. Right. And when the government creates a rule like this, they have to give notice and comment in the Federal Register so that we the people have an opportunity to provide comment on this. Government didn't do that here. So I'm asking the court, since they violated the Administrative Procedures act, to set aside the fundamental. So because had I had the opportunity to comment, like, one of my main questions is, is this an equitable fund? Do people who were weaponized against by the Trump administration have the same chance as people who were weaponized against the Biden administration? And I was weaponized against when they investigated the government in federal government investigated my podcast about the Mueller investigation in 2019. And then I lost my job at the Department of Veterans Affairs. So I have an interest here for a requisite notice and comment period. So that's what I'm doing. We'll see how it goes. Public Citizen Litigation Group is filing it on my behalf, and they're doing it pro bono because they're awesome.
- [32:46]
Allison Gill
If, if your listeners, if you're like, it's my show. If your listeners want to learn more about your suit, where do your listeners go?
- [32:51]
Dana Goldberg
Go check molassyroute.com I'm going to post it there. And social media.
- [32:57]
Allison Gill
Listen, can I just say, this is like, this is like you, you. It's like you're creating porn for the angels.
- [33:06]
Dana Goldberg
Justice boner.
- [33:08]
Allison Gill
Indeed. My pets have justice boners. Over the last two minutes of you explaining what you're doing, because, you know, at first I was like, well, at least they finally believe in reparations just for racists and terrorists. But I mean, this is so unjust. It's so vulgar. And I I. I don't know if it's ever going to actually happen. Like, it's the most honest thing he's ever done. It's so disgusting. But I really need history books to record how many of us stood up against this. That's what's important to me. There's no way this corruption is not going to be historic forever. But the IRS is going to be writing checks directly to these violent douchebags. We are paying for cop beating.
- [33:45]
Dana Goldberg
Well, that's another thing, because I'm eligible. I believe I'm eligible for a claim for weaponization, but the fund is finite. It's $1.776 billion, because that's what the finite fund I would have had if I had been provided a notice and comment period. I would have asked whether people who are ineligible for the fund would be receiving money from it. Like, people who, I don't know, can't get a payout from the government because they never know they participated in an insurrection. Right. So there's lots of legal problems with this fund.
- [34:16]
Allison Gill
It's secretly rewarding criminals who either confessed or were found guilty by juries. I mean, at least Mussolini did this under the table.
- [34:24]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, and we'll see if they. If. What happens when the Department of Justice comes back and says she's not even eligible for the fund? Oh, well, then we have a discriminatory problem, don't we, beautiful? Yeah.
- [34:35]
Allison Gill
I'm going to sue for the time I got fired from hosting Page Six TV because of all my Trump jokes.
- [34:40]
Dana Goldberg
I've done it.
- [34:40]
Allison Gill
Yeah, you've inspired me.
- [34:42]
Dana Goldberg
Awesome.
- [34:43]
Allison Gill
This is just the fascist felon frequent flyer fraud fund. I mean, this whole thing is so dirty, and we can never even. We're not allowed to know who the disbursements go to as the empire reimburses the barbarians. Like, we just got to. It's just trust us. And in the midst of all of this, that the IRS is forever barred from pursuing claims against Trump and his sons. I mean, just. But they should just start wearing military uniforms now. You know, we've reached that point. We're the Gaddafi family. They can just do it. I mean, this is Banana Republic stuff. And congratulations for being on the right side of history.
- [35:16]
Dana Goldberg
Well, thanks, man. That's the least I can do. I appreciate you coming on every Friday. It's always a pleasure to talk to you, my friend. If you want to hear more John Fugal saying, which you always do do.
- [35:26]
Allison Gill
Oh, dear.
- [35:27]
Dana Goldberg
You definitely need to check out. Tell me everything. It's on SiriusXM. Progress channel 127 weeknights, 9pm Eastern, 6 Pacific. I know you have all read the New York Times bestseller Separation of Church and hate, but buy 10 more copies, put them in your little free libraries. Give them these people as, as gifts. God bless us, everyone, especially your Christian nationalist relatives.
- [35:46]
Allison Gill
Oh, word. Yes.
- [35:48]
Dana Goldberg
And I look forward to your next book. Anything else you want to. Anything else you want to get off your chest before we get out of here for the weekend?
- [35:54]
Allison Gill
Next book is just trying to kill me right now. No, it's just amazing to see this pushback against what they've done to the Voting Rights Act. To see these judges just say you can't solve diversity by treating black voters like they're your browser history. Seeing Trump's own judges telling him no, it's like watching Frankenstein's monster telling Victor to calm down. And every bit of resistance helps right now. It's a great time to be alive. It's a great time to be on the right side of history and a great time to be a person who knows how to spell the word your correct. Thank you doctor.
- [36:27]
Dana Goldberg
Yes, it's, it's always wonderful hearing your opinion with an e on the end of it. Thank you so much everybody. What do we have next? Oh, we have good news next. Stick around, we'll be right back.
- [36:38]
Brian Caram
I'm Brian Caram and I've spent decades covering politics. Now I'm taking you behind the scenes one interview at a time.
- [36:46]
Allison Gill
Join us as each week Brian confronts the issues that matter, posing the questions
- [36:50]
Dana Goldberg
you wish you could ask. Mask.
- [36:52]
Brian Caram
No filter, no agenda, just the truth. We're not here for sound bites. We're here for substance. Join me, Brian Caram. Every week as we cut through the noise and get straight to it. This is just ask the Question for curiosity will lead us to the facts. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform
- [37:12]
Allison Gill
and remember, when you want answers, all
- [37:15]
Brian Caram
you have to do is just ask the question.
- [37:25]
Dana Goldberg
Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone.
- [37:29]
Allison Gill
Then good news everyone.
- [37:44]
Dana Goldberg
Good news, good news. And if you have any good news at all, please send it to us. Dana will be back on Monday, so send all of your great stories, big stuff that's happened to you, little stuff that's happened to you. Could be recent, could be in the distant past, could be, I don't know, just a funny meme or misheard song lyrics or whatever. You can send a shout out if you want to a loved one or a small business or a nonprofit, a self shout out. We love those. Tell us why you're awesome. Send it all to us dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. And all you got to do to get your stuff right on the air is attach a photo. It can be your pet. It can be a random animal on the Internet, an adoptable pet in your area. It can be your garden, a sunset, a funny meme, what you're painting, knitting, sewing, cross stitching, quilting, crocheting, anything like that. What you're making or creating. We'd love to see that stuff. It can be your favorite signs at the last protest that you went to, or family photos, baby pictures. Anything at all. Bird watching, which can be a bird or you flipping the bird to Trump buildings. Send it all to us dailybeanspod.com on contact. First up is your good trouble today. Good trouble comes from Maggie Pronouns she and her I want to let folks know that ICE detainees are on hunger strike in more places than just Delaney in New Jersey. And you can see a national real time map here. And we're going to have a link to this real time map in our show notes in my state of California, About a week and a half ago, more than 20 men at Adelanto's Desert View Annex started their strike in response to mold, unsafe drinking water and lack of medical care. Your list of demands is simple bond reform, improved living conditions, a low bar considering what they're enduring now, accountability for all deaths and the right to organize and communicate without interference or retaliation. Activists on the ground are giving the public ways to help barrage your representatives. Some of the main players you can call for Adelanto are Senators Schiff and Padilla, Rep. Torres, Governor Newsom, and Attorney General Bonta. Now the list will be different for detainees on strike in your state. So spread the word on social media or within your network of contacts. Show up in person to support activists and detainees and donate to the detainees commissaries. You can stay informed at Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice. We're going to have a link to that in the show notes. That's ic4ij.org and that's an account dedicated to supporting the immigrants of the Inland Empire. We cannot let these atrocities continue in silence. For my podpad tariff, I'm attaching a photo of Kevin, the kitten I recently spent a week trapping. He's named for the Macaulay Culkin character in Home Alone because he spent a week living alone inside a hollow Caltrans pillar supporting the interchange of highways 50 and 80 here in Sacramento. Did you know that the inside of your freeway Pillar looks like this. I've circled his beady little eyes. He's since been reunited with his mom and two sisters and they're all in foster in Lake Tahoe through the Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation. Or warfare. They're not available yet, but they will be soon. As always, thanks for all you do to keep us both sane and informed. Hello, brave mermaid of the blue legume. Thank you for holding it down solo this week. Of course we miss dg, but you're kicking ass as always, Ag. Oh, thank you for the kind words. I always feel so like, I don't know, weird when I do this by myself without. Without my partner in crime. That kitten is adorable. And I had no idea the inside of a freeway pillar looked like that. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for that good trouble slash adoptable pet in your area. Just incredible. All right, next up from Marnie Pronoun. She and her Veterans in theater event on June 13th in Los Angeles. Imagination Workshop is a nonprofit theater arts organization committed to using their unique power of the theater to provide life changing artistic opportunities for the mentally ill, veterans, senior citizens and at risk youth. For more than 50 years, our programs have given marginalized individuals who are frequently alienated and overlooked by society a safe way to express themselves. That's amazing, Mar. We currently work with New Directions at the Department of Veterans Affairs. New Directions specifically assists unhoused veterans with substance abuse treatment and counseling, education, job training and placement while providing room, board and medical. In our program, veterans are mentored by specially trained theater professionals, playwrights, actors and directors in weekly structured sessions under the guidance of the artists. Veterans create characters, imagine storylines, improvise scenes and experience the pleasure of genuine creation. Then together, pro and novice, they perform the original play on stage under the direction of a theater professional. That's amazing. This year we're performing Nashville 76. It's on June 13th at 8pm at the Brentwood School campus in Los Angeles. The event is free to the public, though donations are welcomed and appreciated and keep this program running. A live audience is one of the greatest things we can give back to these veterans who work so hard to learn their lines, embody their characters and put themselves so bravely on stage under the bright lights. Anyone who would like to attend can RSVP@imagiNationWS gmail.com and donations are very needed to keep this program going. The Brentwood School and the Artists of Imagination Workshop are putting together the set, props, costumes, everything, and you can find more information@imagiNation Workshop.org all right, so that is amazing. And this photo is incredible. Gosh, I love the theater. Look at that. Nashville 76, June 13, 8pm Brentwood School Theater, everybody. It's free. We'll have links in the show notes, by the way, to all those links I just gave you. All right, next up, blue.inkissimmee pronouns he and him. Hello, Bean AG and Bean DG. Behind the scenes, Beans. I recently saw a photo and it was wonderful. It simply states the math does not lie. Eight plus six plus four plus seven equals the 25th amendment. I've been listening for quite a while and I generally get my news and updates as to what's going on from YouTube. I know you hear it often, but the statement is completely true. I appreciate what you both and the crew do. It definitely keeps me sane during this nightmare of an administration. My puppet tax is one of my tuxedos. He's 8 years old, but he's still a baby. He's the king giving his stepdaddy RBF resting bitch face while he's getting a bath. His government name is Chip. However, he responds to Chip, chippy chippy do chippy doo doodle fat boy Chipalonious and the doodle onius. Okay, amazing. Stepdaddy continuously claims there's only one brain cell floating around his head. Oh, look at this sweet tuxie. And yes, I love that. 8647 equals 25. That's fantastic. So thanks for the photo of that shirt as well. Next up from Chip S. I'm writing today to shout out my daughter Morgan. After a long time in school and several other degrees, she just finished her PhD in sociology. I'm super proud of her and all of her hard work. I understand a solid seven words of her dissertation today. You mentioned cross stitch, which brought back a memory. Years ago, a friend was cajoled by his girlfriend, now wife, to go to a cross stitch class. The attached piece is the result. Safe to say she didn't have him go a second time. Thanks for all you do. I'm looking forward to meeting you both in a few weeks in Chicago. Congrats, Chip. Let's see this. Okay, it's a. It's a cross stitch with a rainbow and a butterfly and hearts and a beautiful border. And it says, damn, it feels good to be a gangster. Two little squirrels holding a banner at the bottom with hearts and a glock. Oh my God, that's fantastic. All right, next up from Joelle Pronoun. She and her hello Beans team. I have a self shout out for you. I moved abroad and just finished Voting in the Montana primaries electronically. Several states, by the way, allow military personnel and citizens living abroad to vote online under UOCAVA provisions. These states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, and several others. Back to Joelle. My family moved to Montana from California, so I had to figure out how to register abroad in a new state. Lots of printing and scanning involved, but I got it done. I haven't missed an election, including primaries, since I turned 18 almost 20 years ago. And I wasn't going to let some paperwork stop me now. Electronically voting was pretty neat, but anticlimactic. I didn't even get a you voted check mark in the browser. In lieu of the fun rush of community coming together for their civic duty, I thought I would share it with the Daily Beans team. Hell yeah, everybody. Let's hear it. Community coming together, civic duty. I'm so happy to vote for Alani Bankhead. She's pro Medicare for all, anti ice, pro term limits, and wants to increase education funding. Montana primaries end next Tuesday, June 2, so mail those ballots soon. Attached is my very boring I voted proof and my dog Otto, who you've seen before but didn't believe. He was blank. But he is. I saw his mom. Ha ha. He recently was a model for a pet company here in Portugal and got to be a supermodel for a day. Oh, very fancy. Love all the hard work you put in, hearing your voices every day. Thanks so much for everything. Okay, I remember. I remember this dog. I don't remember what kind of dog it is, so I don't know. I give up. Let's see. It's a half poodle, half super mutt. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it doesn't look anything like a half poodle, half super mutt, but a very, very photogenic and attractive dog. I love the ad here. Thank you so much for that. Really appreciate that, Joelle. And at first I was like, is this my. My best friend in the world for 30 years? His name is Joelle. And there aren't too many, so. So. Hello, welcome. Another Joelle. Thank you all so much for sending in your good news again. Dana's going to be back Monday, so let's surprise her, like with maybe some baby photos or otters. You know, she loves otters. Black and white pandas. She loves those. Send. Just. Even if you just want to say hi or welcome back, I think a nice welcome back mess. If we flooded the good news with welcome back, Dana. You were the best. Allison sucks. We're so glad you're back. That would be so funny. That would be so funny to me. Please. Please send it all to us@digglybeanspot.com and click on contact. Make sure you head over to mullersherote.com, check out my lawsuit, check out my videos about my lawsuit on social media and we will see you Monday. 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. I've been ag and them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and 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.
- [48:50]
Frances Collier
Hi, I'm Frances Collier.
- [48:52]
Angela V. Shelton
And I'm Angela V. Shelton.
- [48:53]
Frances Collier
And we're Frangela.
- [48:55]
Angela V. Shelton
You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast.
- [48:58]
Frances Collier
Yes, you do. That's right.
- [49:00]
Angela V. Shelton
It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we
- [49:04]
Frances Collier
make real news, real funny, where we
- [49:06]
Angela V. Shelton
inspire you so you can resist.
- [49:09]
Frances Collier
Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news week we think you need to hear. That's right.
- [49:16]
Angela V. Shelton
We think you need to hear it. Okay.
- [49:18]
Allison Gill
Yeah.
- [49:18]
Frances Collier
It's what we say.
- [49:19]
Dana Goldberg
So.
- [49:19]
Angela V. Shelton
That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday you can listen to our hysterical podcast, Idiot of the Week.
- [49:26]
Frances Collier
We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.
- [49:29]
Dana Goldberg
Okay. All we do is give.