Refried Beans | A Baker’s Dozen (feat Hugo Lowell) | 6/21/2022

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans – "Refried Beans | A Baker’s Dozen (feat. Hugo Lowell)" | June 21, 2022

Released on June 22, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Daily Beans, hosted by Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg, the team delves into significant political events and updates surrounding the fourth committee hearing on the alleged coup attempt. Featuring insights from Hugo Lowell of The Guardian, the episode provides listeners with a comprehensive analysis of recent developments in U.S. politics, judicial misconduct, and Republican party dynamics, all delivered with the podcast's characteristic progressive slant and sharp wit.

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1. Fourth Committee Hearing on the Attempted Coup

Timestamp: [00:46]

Alison Gill opens the discussion by outlining the key topics for the day:

• Committee Hearing: The fourth committee hearing addressing the alleged coup attempt is scheduled for 1 PM Eastern Time. Alison will be live-tweeting from the hearing room to capture real-time reactions and significant moments that may not be evident through traditional media coverage.

• Witness List: The initial list includes Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, his deputy Gabriel Sterling, and Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers. Notably, Wandrea Shay Moss has been added as a fourth witness.

• Legal Actions: Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, have filed lawsuits against several organizations, including OANN and Rudy Giuliani, for defamation related to unfounded claims of election fraud. These lawsuits stem from accusations that they manipulated ballot counting processes, a theory thoroughly debunked by the Department of Justice and FBI agents like BJ Pack. A critical piece of evidence involves video footage of Kanye West’s publicist pressuring Ruby Freeman to confess to election fraud under threats of physical harm and imprisonment.

Notable Quote:

Dana Goldberg [02:50]: "We are going to want to pay attention to that."

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2. DeSantis Judge and Judicial Misconduct

Timestamp: [03:59] – [06:05]

Hugo Lowell highlights a significant scandal involving Florida Supreme Court Judge Renatha Francis, who falsified information on her judicial application by denying past complaints to the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Key points include:

• False Statements: Judge Francis falsely claimed no prior complaints, despite having three complaints against her, including one citing, “When I appear in her court, it's like watching a judge burn our flag that is white,” referencing her biased rulings.

• Legal Implications: Under Florida statute Section 837.06, making a false official statement with intent to mislead a public servant is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

• Appointment Issues: Francis was prematurely promoted to a state Supreme Court position by Ron DeSantis without meeting the ten-year legal experience requirement, a move that was legally contested and overturned in court.

Notable Quote:

Hugo Lowell [04:04]: "Making, quote, a false official statement in writing with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official duty is a second degree misdemeanor crime."

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3. Proud Boys' Ethan Nordean and Pretrial Release Denial

Timestamp: [06:05] – [10:34]

The hosts discuss the latest developments in the legal battles faced by Ethan Nordean, a leader within the Proud Boys:

• Pretrial Motions: Nordean has filed a baker’s dozen (13) motions seeking pretrial release, citing his right to a speedy trial. A federal judge, appointed by Trump, has consistently denied these motions, emphasizing the extensive discovery process and the impact of COVID-19 on court proceedings.

• Legal Proceedings: Nordean's attempts to manipulate the speedy trial clock by claiming his detention period includes time on home detention have been dismissed. The judge maintains that his trial, set for August, remains on schedule despite Nordean's efforts to delay.

• Proud Boys' Activities: The discussion touches on Nordean’s involvement in seditious conspiracy, including creating an online crowdfunding campaign to fund activities on January 6th. His social media posts reflect a determined stance to challenge the election results and support for Trump’s claims of election fraud.

Notable Quote:

Alison Gill [06:52]: "Nordean was a member of the Proud Boys Elders chapter and a president of his local chapter."

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4. Texas Republican Party Platform and Far-Right Declarations

Timestamp: [10:34] – [14:16]

Hugo Lowell critiques the Republican Party of Texas' recent platform updates, pointing out a shift towards more extreme positions:

• Election Legitimacy: The platform includes unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, stating, “We hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.”

• Social Issues: The party rebukes Senator John Cornyn for bipartisan gun legislation and labels homosexuality as an “abnormal lifestyle choice,” reflecting a stark departure from previous platforms.

• Secession and Legislative Control: The platform controversially mentions retaining the right to secede from the Union and showcases the party's control over Texas' legislative bodies, which has facilitated the passage of stringent anti-abortion laws and other conservative measures.

• Public Reaction: Alison and Hugo express alarm and frustration over these declarations, highlighting the growing influence of far-right ideologies within the Texas GOP.

Notable Quote:

Hugo Lowell [11:01]: "The resolutions adopting the false claims that former President Trump was the victim of a stolen election in 2020... were the latest examples of Texas Republicans moving further to the right in recent months."

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5. Interview with Hugo Lowell on the Hearing and Potential Evidence of Trump's Involvement

Timestamp: [16:23] – [23:19]

Alison Gill engages in a detailed conversation with Hugo Lowell, a Congressional reporter for The Guardian, regarding the upcoming committee hearing:

• New Evidence: Lowell confirms that the committee has obtained new evidence suggesting direct involvement of former President Donald Trump in the fake elector scheme, which aims to overturn the 2020 election results.

• Fake Elector Scheme Details: The discussion explores how individuals like Cleta Mitchell and John Eastman devised the strategy to present alternate slates of electors in key states, intending to challenge the certified election outcomes.

• Legal Implications: Lowell emphasizes the potential criminal charges for falsifying election documents and the significance of connecting Trump directly to these fraudulent activities.

• DOJ and State Investigations: The Department of Justice, along with state prosecutors like Fani Willis of Fulton County, are actively investigating these schemes, which could lead to substantial legal repercussions for those involved.

Notable Quote:

Dana Goldberg [17:54]: "I'm really looking for what the committee has in terms of evidence that connects Trump directly to the fake elector scheme, which, as we know, is a potential crime."

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6. Good News Segment – Listener Contributions

Timestamp: [25:06] – [33:37]

The episode concludes on a positive note with Alison and Hugo sharing heartwarming stories and listener submissions:

• Listener Highlights: Contributions range from birthday celebrations, adoption of rescue animals, to personal anecdotes that showcase the supportive Daily Beans community.

• Heartfelt Tributes: Stories of overcoming challenges, such as adopting previously unloved pets and celebrating milestones despite personal hardships, add a touch of warmth and humanity to the episode.

• Community Engagement: The hosts encourage listeners to continue sharing their good news and experiences, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual support among the audience.

Notable Quotes:

Alison Gill [26:36]: "We made new friends. Best night in a long time."

Robert Beamer [28:24]: "They're a vegan organization run by the sweetest young family you'll ever see."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Daily Beans offers a thorough examination of pressing political issues, including judicial misconduct, extremist movements, and the evolving dynamics within the Republican Party. By incorporating expert insights from Hugo Lowell and engaging listener stories, Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg deliver a balanced and informative narrative that keeps their audience well-informed and connected.

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Notable Timestamps and Quotes

• Witness List and Legal Actions: [00:46]

  • Dana Goldberg: "We are going to want to pay attention to that."

• Judicial Misconduct: [04:04]

  • Hugo Lowell: "Making, quote, a false official statement in writing with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official duty is a second degree misdemeanor crime."

• Proud Boys' Legal Struggle: [06:52]

  • Alison Gill: "Nordean was a member of the Proud Boys Elders chapter and a president of his local chapter."

• Texas GOP Platform Critique: [11:01]

  • Hugo Lowell: "The resolutions adopting the false claims that former President Trump was the victim of a stolen election in 2020... were the latest examples of Texas Republicans moving further to the right in recent months."

• Trump's Involvement in Fake Elector Scheme: [17:54]

  • Dana Goldberg: "I'm really looking for what the committee has in terms of evidence that connects Trump directly to the fake elector scheme, which, as we know, is a potential crime."

• Good News and Listener Stories: [26:36]

  • Alison Gill: "We made new friends. Best night in a long time."

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and notable moments from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for both regular listeners and newcomers alike.

Transcript

[Alison Gill]

MSW Media. Hey, everybody, it's Ag. And welcome to Refried Beans, where we play an episode of the Daily Beans podcast from the same week either one, two or three years ago, so we can see how far we've come. So please enjoy this episode from days gone by and note the date in the intro.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans. I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried.

[Alison Gill]

Beans, because maybe they're just as good.

[Dana Goldberg]

And we're wasting time.

[Alison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Today. The fourth committee hearing on the attempted coup is today at 1pm Eastern Time. A Desantis judge committed a crime by lying on her state supreme court application. A federal judge rejects a proud boy's motion for pretrial release. And the fascist Texas Republican platform has been released. I'm Alison Gill.

[Hugo Lowell]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Alison Gill]

Hello, my dear friend. How are you today?

[Hugo Lowell]

Hi. I'm doing okay. I'm making it through. I have moments of feeling like I turned the corner, and then I get hit with the wave. But right now, we're doing all right.

[Alison Gill]

All right. Well, I would love to say that you sound better, but your voice is still pretty raspy, my friend. And I'm so sorry. I appreciate you being here. You don't have to.

[Hugo Lowell]

No, I'm kidding. I'm all right. And it'll go in and out. Everything's fine.

[Alison Gill]

It's good.

[Hugo Lowell]

See, listen. It sounds totally normal, doesn't it?

[Alison Gill]

Everyone totally totes normal.

[Hugo Lowell]

Toad's normal.

[Alison Gill]

It does come in and out. I know. I remember being sick and trying to perform and somehow pulling it off. So I just want you to know, if you need to rest, you just tell me and we're gonna have you rest.

[Hugo Lowell]

I will.

[Alison Gill]

No worries at all. But I'm very glad that you're here today. We're gonna also be talking to Hugo Lowell a little bit later in the show about what to expect from this hearing today. I'll be in the hearing room live, tweeting as it happens. So tune in wherever you watch your hearings. We have a lot of news to get to, especially some disturbing news. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, we have the witness list for the hearing today, which begins at 1pm As I said, I'll be in the hearing room live, tweeting the standout moments. There's a lot of times that you can't tell on TV when the whole room, like, gasps. And I will be tweeting out those moments for you, Hugo Lowell at the Guardian tweeted out three of the names we know about that are testifying tomorrow. That's Raffensperger and his deputy, Gabriel Sterling, and House speaker in Arizona for the House of Representatives Rusty Bowers. But we've learned they've added a fourth, Wandrea Shay Moss. And if she sounds familiar, Moss, along with her mother, Ruby Freeman, have sued several organizations and got a settlement from oann. They've also sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation because they were accused by right wing pundits, Trump allies and Trump himself of committing election fraud by producing suitcases of ballots and running them through counting machines multiple times. This suitcases theory was also investigated by the Department of Justice and BJ Pack and they both told Trump there's nothing to this. In fact, there was video, Dana, if you remember released of Kanye West's publicist. Oh, I remember trying to pressure Ruby Freeman at her home. She said she was sent by a high profile individual named Harrison Ford, of all things. I, I guess it's not, you know, Indiana Jones, but someone else named Harrison Ford and told her that if she didn't confess to her election fraud that people would be coming to her home within 48 hours or that in threatening that she would be going to jail. And that was Ruby Freeman. That's Wandrea Moss's mother. And it's Wandrea, also known as Seamos, that will be testifying before the committee today. So we are going to want to pay attention to that.

[Hugo Lowell]

Great. Thank you so much, A.G. wow, that was a little Peter Brady slipped right in there, didn't it?

[Alison Gill]

Okay, changes.

[Hugo Lowell]

Thanks, A.G. all right. The Florida Bulldog revealed that the documents filed for a state Supreme Court justice position in Florida were made a false statement on the official document. Judge Renatha Francis lied on her application for the state Supreme Court in the question asking if she'd been on the receiving end of an evidence ethics investigation. Now, Frances, who was promoted by Donald to Ron DeSantis as a good candidate for federal judge, answered no when asked if she has ever had, quote, a complaint about you ever been made to the Judicial Qualifications Commission. She said no. If she had, Frances would have had to add details about the specifics. Now, the comment could even fall under a Florida crime for lying on an official document because she signed the document saying she answered all the questions, quote, truthfully, fully and completely. She did not. She's actually had three complaints filed against her. Three, not just one. One in a divorce case where lawyer Margarita Downey said publicly about the judge. And this is a quote, when I appear in her court. It's like watching a judge burn our flag that is white.

[Alison Gill]

The quote, Yelp review.

[Hugo Lowell]

Right. That's a one star if I've ever seen it. In another case, it's worth noting that DeSantis tried to put Frances on the Supreme Court in 2020, but there's a rule that you must be a licensed attorney for at least 10 years, and Francis didn't meet that requirement. Republican officials tried to ignore the rule, but ultimately they lost the case in court, probably because the judge had been a lawyer for more than 10 years. There's also a matter of appeals overturning her ruling. Okay, so as the bulldog points out, making, quote, a false official statement in writing with the intent to mislead a public servant in the performance of his or her official duty is a second degree misdemeanor crime, and it's punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine up to $500. It falls under Florida's statute, Section 837.06. So that's what we have on that.

[Alison Gill]

So it's like she's burning the flag. She wasn't a lawyer for 10 years and wasn't able to be on the Supreme Court in 2020. So I guess she was only a lawyer for eight years because in 2022, you put her on there, but now she's lied on her thing. So those complaints, plus all of the appeals that have overturned her ruling. So, yeah, super great judge. Let's go to a little bit. This is a little more of a funny story in the courts. Proud Boy leader Ethan Nordean filed a motion for pretrial release citing his right to a speedy trial. Has been, you know, trampled upon. And Trump appointee Judge Kelly made a ruling. This is from Adam Klassfeldt at Law and crime. He says 13 times isn't the charm for Proud Boys member whose attorneys have filed a baker's dozen motions for his pretrial release.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh, my God.

[Alison Gill]

13Th Ethan Nordean, one of the men charged in the Proud Boy seditious conspiracy indictment, can't cite the speedy trial clock to win his freedom before his August trial. That's according to a federal judge on Monday. And keep in mind, the Proud Boys have asked to move kick their hearing their trial back to December. And, you know, I figured that's cool with the Department of Justice because they're like, whatever. Your speedy trial clock hasn't even started ticking yet, Buddy. Arrested on February 3, Nordine initially succeeded in securing home detention in the early stages of his prosecution, but the federal judge currently presiding over his case revoked his release and ordered him detained months later, in April 2021. Nordean, who has been incarcerated since then, is now among the group of five Proud Boys accused of seditious conspiracy. This is District Judge Tim Kelly, a Trump appointee. As I said, he recounted Nordine's many failed attempts to secure his release. For more than a year between then and now, Nordine has filed 13 motions, 15 supplements to those motions and two appeals, Kelly wrote. In a ruling on Monday rejecting Nordean's latest bid to win his freedom on speedy trial grounds, Nordean claimed that the 90 day speedy trial clock began running on the day of his arrest rather than the day Judge Kelly ordered him detained on April 20, 2021. He also objected to some of the judge's determinations as to when the ends of justice justify excluding certain days from his calculations. But after considering Nordine's motions, the post hearing supplements to those motions, the government's motions, Nordine's appeals, his co defendant's motions and his co defendant's appeals, and the court's many ends of justice findings related to the enormous amount of discovery in this case and Covid 19's impact on the court's ability to hold trials consistent with the public health. That deadline is still a ways off, he wrote in a 27 page ruling. Nordine, also known as Rufio Panman, super Hook fan I guess, was a member of the Proud Boys Elders chapter and a president of his local chapter. Prosecutors placed him in the so called Ministry of Self Defense encrypted messaging chat group along with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Joseph Biggs, Zachary Real and all those guys. On December 27, 2020, Nordine allegedly created an online crowdfunding campaign seeking donations for protective gear and communications to be used on January 6th. Tracing Nordine's alleged plotting far earlier, prosecutors quote him posting the following statement on social media on November 27, 2020. QUOTE we tried playing nice and by the rules. Now you will deal with the monster you created, nordine wrote. And that's according to his indictment. Quote the spirit of 1776 has resurfaced and has created groups like the Proud Boys and we will not be extinguished. We will grow like the flame that fuels us and spread like love that guides us.

[Hugo Lowell]

Hmm.

[Alison Gill]

We are unstoppable, unrelenting and now unforgiving. Good luck to all you traitors of this country we so deeply love. You're going to need it now. At multiple points in his ruling, Kelly describes the speedy trial rules proposed by Nordine's lawyer as novel. They claim that Nordine has been continuously detained since his first detention, which fell close to his arrest. In fact, Nordine was released on bond before his release was revoked. His lawyers also claimed that someone released from prison with certain conditions could be said to be quote, unquote, detained. So they they wanted to count the time he was released to his home confinement as detained.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh geez.

[Alison Gill]

In the end, no court has adopted the alternative reading Nordean proposes, and this court will not be the first, Kelly wrote. The Proud Boys leaders are scheduled to go to trial in August. As I said, they've asked for continuance because they said they want to wait till the dust settles from these hearings because they're making them look bad and so they want to, you know, do it at the end of the year.

[Hugo Lowell]

Thank you so much, AG in the last story in the segment, the Republican Party in Texas made a series of far right declarations as part of its official party platform. This was over the weekend, which is funny because they've never had one in the past claiming that President Biden was not legitimately elected. That's one. Issuing a rebuke to Senator John Cornyn for his work on bipartisan gun legislation and referring to homosexuality as an abnormal lifestyle choice. Are you fucking kidding me? So I saw this article up. Subscribe Absurd.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah.

[Hugo Lowell]

The platform was voted on in Houston as the state party's convention, which concluded on Saturday. The resolutions about Biden and Cornyn were approved by a voice vote of the delegates, according to James Wasilek, the communications director for the Republican Party of Texas. The statements about homosexuality, as well as additional stances on abortion that called for students to, quote, learn about the humanity of the preborn child were among more than two hundred and seventy planks that were approved by a platform committee and voted on by the larger group of convention delegates using paper ballots. The results of those votes were still pending on Sunday, but Mr. Wasilek said it was rare for a plank to be voted down by the full convention after being approved by the committee. The resolutions adopting the false claims that former President Trump was the victim of a stolen election in 2020, as well as the other declarations, were the latest examples of Texas Republicans moving further to the right in recent months. If you can even imagine that now Republicans control both chambers of the legislature, which is part of the problem, the governor's mansion, and every statewide office, and have used their dominance to push tough anti abortion legislation, create supply chain problems by temporarily adding additional state Inspections at the border and renominate. You heard me re nominate the Trump backed state attorney general over a member of the Bush family in a primary runoff in May. Now, the state party's resolution embracing the baseless 2020 stolen election claim stated that, quote, substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas significantly affected the results in five key states in favor of Mr. Biden. The state party, the resolution continued, rejected the certified results of the 2020 presidential election. And we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States. You've got to be fucking kidding me.

[Alison Gill]

This is a serious party.

[Hugo Lowell]

This is literally insanity. And yes, it gets worse. The resolution encouraged Republicans to, quote, show up to vote in November and to bring your friends and family, volunteer for your local Republicans and overwhelm any possible fraud.

[Alison Gill]

So they've stolen our vote in numbers too big to manipulate.

[Hugo Lowell]

Correct. Now, the resolution rebuking Mr. Cornyn that passed at the convention opposed red flag laws which allows guns to be seized from people deemed to be dangerous. Those laws, according to the resolution, quote, violate one's right to due process and are pre crime punishment of people not adjudicated guilty. Now, the homosexuality plank that was passed ag the platform committee by a vote of 17 to 14. That's according to Mr. Vaughn, who is an openly gay member of the committee who voted against it. And in addition, and this is in the article, I believe they also voted out Log Cabinet Republicans from having any sort of a say in decision making, which is a new thing that they've done. Because if you're not familiar with Log Cabin Republicans, they're gay Republicans, which I don't necessarily understand, but they've also rebuked them. And so it'll be interesting to see what they end up doing in this next midterm.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, that. It just shows you're not part of the club.

[Hugo Lowell]

Nope.

[Alison Gill]

No. Absolutely disgusting. A hundred percent fucking disgusting. And then they also talked about secession.

[Hugo Lowell]

Right.

[Alison Gill]

Like retaining their right to secede from the union. Yeah. But then, you know, I think of all my friends and beautiful, amazing people who live in Texas.

[Hugo Lowell]

Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

And it's just. That's frightening. It's frightening. And of course, Paxton, who's been under indictment now for like a long time. Years. Unbelievable. All right, we'll be right back with Hugo Lowell. We're going to talk about what to expect in today's hearings right after this. And then the good news comes after that, so stick around. Hey, everybody, it's ag. I recently started taking athletic greens AG one every day because I wanted more energy and optimized immune system results. With one delicious scoop of AG1, you're absorbing 75 high quality vitamins, minerals, whole foods, sourced superfoods, probiotics and adaptogens to help start your day right. This special blend of ingredients supports your gut health, your nervous system, immune system, energy recovery, focus, aging, everything. And now is a great time for you to start as well because Athletic Greens is offering a free one year supply of immune supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase when you go to athleticgreens.com DailyBeans Athletic Greens also supports better sleep quality and recovery, making it an ideal choice for anyone unable to get the rest they need. Plus for every purchase they donate to organizations helping to get nutritious foods to kids in need. That's amazing. Including no kid hungry which is right here in the United States. Right now it's time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient daily nutrition. It's just one scoop and a cup of water every day. I do it right before the gym. It's an easy habit to pick up and it replaces all those millions of different pills and supplements that I used to have to take separately to make it easy again. Athletic Greens is going to give you that free one year supply of immune supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com dailybeans Again, that's athleticgreens.com dailybeans to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. Hey everyone, welcome back. Happy to be joined today by my friend Hugo Lowell. He writes for the Guardian Congressional Reporter. Hey Hugo, how's it going?

[Dana Goldberg]

Hey, I'm good. How are you?

[Alison Gill]

I'm doing good. Long time no see. It's been like a day and a half. So I really wanted to get your take because I know that you're doing this, writing this up for the Guardian. You're very, you know, really involved in these hearings and what they mean. And you know, I just reported a little bit earlier on the show that We've added that fourth witness, Ms. Moss, to the deus tomorrow. Can you tell us a little bit about what we might expect as far as maybe any new evidence or anything that we should be looking for in today's hearing, which starts incidentally at 1pm Eastern.

[Dana Goldberg]

So I just got off a background briefing call with the committee and the one thing I wanted to get confirmed was what Schiff said on CNN on Sunday, which was that they had evidence of Trump's involvement, direct involvement in the fake elector scheme, which would be significant and it would be new. Right. To date, we have seen evidence that the White House Communications Agency was listed on the metadata of some of the fake election certificates that these Trump electors signed and then sent to the National Archives and other government bodies. So I'm really looking for what the committee has in terms of evidence that connects Trump directly to the fake elector scheme, which, as we know, is a potential crime. Right. It's a crime to falsify election documents or formal kind of official documents, and it's also a crime to send that off to government bodies.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And I know we got a very brief glimpse in the hearing last Thursday of a letter that was. It said to be sent to POTUS about some disagreements that Eastman, back in October was having way back before the election, in a draft letter that he was sort of reviewing and putting, you know, how you review and put comments on things and strike things and add things. And Eastman was telling presumably Donald Trump, no, you can't. You know, 12th amendment doesn't let Pence just do what, you know, act unilaterally, and neither does the Electoral Count Act. So, you know, that sort of establishes that Eastman knew it couldn't be done early on, and then that sort of changed over time. And we know it was supposed to be sent to the President, but we don't know if the President received it. And we certainly haven't seen any communications from Trump to any of his team about this elector slate. But we do know about the call to Raffensperger. Could Schiff had just been referring to the Raffensperger call?

[Dana Goldberg]

That is not the indication that I got from the committee. The indication I got from the committee is that they have direct evidence that ties Trump to the fake elector scheme itself, not just his court to Raffensperger saying, can I find 11,780 votes, one more basically to give me the election win in Georgia. I think the thing to remember with Eastman, and this is kind of what I'm going to keep in my head as we go into the hearing tomorrow, is Eastman knew that he needed a basis, some sort of basis that underpinned the strategy on January 6, which was to have Pence either send the. Or to declare a recess and send. And give time for states to send Trump slates of electors, or to just throw the results out completely and have the House decide the election in a contingent election. The point was he knew that he needed to have some sort of underlying basis. And this was the underlying basis. It was, you know, I like to think of it as Eastman conceived of the fake elector scheme in order to give Pence some sort of COVID some sort of reason that he could use to say, oh, they're dueling electors today, which means the outcome of the election is in doubt, which means I can't count the states which have electives, which means, oh, fun, fancy that. I return Trump to the Oval Office. And that's the thing that I'm going to keep in mind. And the other thing to keep in mind, of course, is that Eastman knew the plan could only work if those fake electors were certified by the state legislatures. And as we learned in the last hearing, Eastman, by January 2, January 3, January 4, had found out or had realized that these states were never gonna certify these so called alternate slates and therefore went to Trump and said, and then went to Pence and said, you know, forget this thing about sending them back. You just need to declare Trump president.

[Alison Gill]

Right. Because he had said, these elector slates will be dead on arrival because they haven't been certified by states. And I'm also very interested to see if they touch on when Eastman changed his mind because, because of that letter we saw to potus, that draft letter to potus. Eastman seemed pretty dead set on there not being a way to get around the 12th Amendment or the Electoral Count Act. So I'm wondering if it was the email sent to him by Cleta Mitchell what sort of changed his mind. And maybe there's some sort of culpability for Donald there to say, find a way, push through it. But that is what I'll be looking for is that particular thing that Adam Schiff hinted at when he talked to Dana Bash this weekend. So I'm definitely looking for that too. And it sounds like from the indication you got from the briefing conference call, that it is something new that we haven't seen before and it directly ties Donald to the fraudulent elector scheme.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. And you know, it's the thing to keep in mind also is that DOJ is already investigating this as part of its criminal investigation to January 6th. Right. They are looking. One grand jury has been in panel to look at the rally organizers, but more recently another grand jury, and we know it's a different grand jury because they have different grand jury numbers. I've seen the subpoena is this other grand jury is looking at the involvement of Trump lawyers in the fake elective scheme. They're looking at what Giuliani was doing, what Eastman was doing, and they are now actively subpoenaing people to appear before that grand jury to give evidence. And so DOJ already has taken a big interest in this. I think the state attorney general in Michigan has already said she believes she has enough evidence to charge Trump and others with with potential crimes. So this is obviously an interest to the DOJ and to both state and federal prosecutors. And so if, if it's true that the second, and then the second he does have sufficient evidence to connect Trump to the fake Lecter scheme, I think it could be a really big deal.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah. And we can't forget about Fani Willis, Fulton County District Attorney, who is also looking at the fraudulent elector scheme along with the interference in the general election. Well, generally in the election with the Raffensperger call, the Lindsey Graham call and stuff like that. So 11,780 votes and we're going to hear from him tomorrow or today I should say as well. So thank you so much for coming on, letting us know. Everybody check out the Guardian. You submitted a really good explainer about what we can look for. So you can find that by following Hugo on Twitter. I appreciate your time today.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much for having me. As always.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Hey everybody. As you know, I used to have a lot of problems falling asleep and staying asleep. But those problems are over because I own a mattress from Helix Sleep. Helix Sleep has a two minute online sleep quiz that matches your body type and sleep preferences with the perfect mattress just for you. My perfect mattress is the Helix Midnight. I'm a side sleeper and I prefer a medium firm mattress. So that's what the two minute online sleep quiz matched me with. But they have the perfect mattress for anyone. They have soft, medium and firm mattresses. Mattress is great for spinal alignment to prevent morning aches and pains. They even have a Helix plus mattress for plus size sleepers. Once you take the quiz and order the mattress that you're matched to, they'll ship the mattress right to your door for free. You won't even need to go to the mattress store ever again, which is nice because those are weird. Helix is great, but you don't have to take my word for it. Helix was awarded number one best overall mattress pick of 2020 by GQ and Wired magazine. They have a 10 year warranty and you get to try it out for 100 sleeps risk free. They will come and pick it up for you if you don't love it and give you a full refund. But you will love it. And they have, you know, Helix is recommended by multiple leading chiropractors and doctors of sleep medicine as a go to solution for improving your sleep. And they have financing options available at Helix and flexible payment plans. So a great night's sleep is never far away. Just head to helixsleep.com dailybeans to take their two minute sleep quiz. They'll match you to a customized mattress that'll give you the best sleep of your life. That's Helix H E l I x sleep.com DailyBeans Right now they're offering up to 200 off all mattress orders and two free pillows to listeners. Again, that's helixsleep.com DailyBeans everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news.

[Hugo Lowell]

Who likes good news?

[Alison Gill]

Everyone? Then good news, everyone. Good news, good news. And if you have any good news or confessions, corrections, anything you want to send us. Photos of your happy place, adoptable pets in your area, your own pod, pet tax photos, Halloween pictures I take all year, Santa pictures, Easter bunny pictures, kids say, adults say, your parents say, that's always fun. You can send that in. Just shit. People say you can send it [e-mail] and click on Contact. And then also, if you're listening on Apple and you're not a premium subscriber, please go to Apple Co. Beans, all lowercase to make sure you're following and subscribed to the correct version of the Daily Beans. We're going to be archiving one of them soon. There is an imposter, but it's actually just a duplicate. All right, first up, from Michael, E. Pronouns he and him. Oh, no, I have to correct the correction. The S in Bruges is silent, much like the D in the previous episode. The D is silent in America.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh, my God. So funny.

[Alison Gill]

In Bruges. Bruges. Bruges. All right. Well, anyway, thanks, Michael. We'll get it right one day. And then real quick, I'll do this next one from Lisa Pronoun. She and they. Greetings, Beans queens following for years, gifted the pod to friends and family for Christmas. It's my birthday week. Turning 60 seems huge.

[Hugo Lowell]

It is.

[Alison Gill]

I hate parties, especially with COVID still roaring and especially since my husband is having chemo. Oh, man. But I wanted to share how I've decided to celebrate. I'm asking for stories as gifts. I started asking at the beginning of the month and I received some great stuff, especially from former students who remember the funniest things that I have no recollection of. For example, the one who shared one day in her classroom where she literally wrote Mrs. MCA gets mad on the whiteboard agenda. I don't remember that, but I'm absolutely sure it's true. Pretty sure it was about MLA format. Oh, mla. Grr. For podpet tax. Please accept our newest pack member, Paco, whose First adoptiversary is June 30th. He looks like he's thinking, I love the holidays. As he freaks out on the inside. Thanks for the awesome community.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh, that underbite. My goodness.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, that's like a. Yeah, this is great. Take the photo. Oh, man, look at. Paco is so cute.

[Hugo Lowell]

All right, this next one's from Robert Beamer of Different Situations, pronounced he him. Hey.

[Alison Gill]

Hey.

[Hugo Lowell]

I've been listening to y' all since the early, early MSW days. Thanks for continuing to do what you do for the world. I have some good news to share. My little production company called Different Situations just finished a mini doc on the wonderful Fluffy Butt Rescue Animal Sanctuary in Milford, New Jersey. They're a vegan organization run by the sweetest young family you'll ever see. Oh, and there's going to be a link to the mini doc in the notes and it's. We have them here.

[Alison Gill]

Fluffybuttrescue.org fluffybuttrescue.org is the organization and the mini doc. There'll be a link. This is amazing, Robert. Thank you so much. Do you want to take the next one too?

[Hugo Lowell]

Sure.

[Alison Gill]

Or do you want me to get it with your voice?

[Hugo Lowell]

You take it with my voice. I'll take the next one.

[Alison Gill]

Okay. From Bonnie Pronouns. She and her Starting with the bad news About a year ago, my sweetie cookie, honey pie and I were so excited to see AG in dc. We've been fans since the Kitchen table days and even went to one of the early shows in the Miracle Theater several years ago. Well, that day a year ago was a comedy of errors with miscommunications and last minute chores. For example, realizing we still had to get the chickens back into their coop and our poor 14 year old lovely husky Molly had wandered into a neighbor's farm again, it was still okay. We had time for the 35 minute drive to get to the metro and if there were no hitches, take the 45 minute ride into D.C. and go to the meetup. Except when we got to the metro, the station was closed and backup bus service was online. So we jumped on the bus. We were going to go see AG but when the bus dropped us off at the next station, we were informed that There would be a 35 minute wait for the train and it was already 6:45. We started doing the math. The wait plus the travel plus finding the meetup and then factoring in the old people. Old people midnight, which for us is between 9:30 and 10:30. We realized we were losing track of our fun factor. Sorry Ag. We went home. Fast forward to the good news this weekend. We made it to the meetup, had so much fun hanging out with Ag and several very wonderful like minded people. We made new friends. Best night in a long time. We met an American hero, Harry Dunn. Thanks Alison and Dana and everyone at MSW Media for all the hard work you do keeping us informed. Love you all. Look at this.

[Hugo Lowell]

That's fantastic.

[Alison Gill]

Isn't that a great picture?

[Hugo Lowell]

Yes, I love that picture.

[Alison Gill]

Look at the chickens.

[Hugo Lowell]

Look at the chickens.

[Alison Gill]

I love chickens.

[Hugo Lowell]

So good. All right, this is from Alan, pronouncing him hello Beans Queens. Here is a follow up the bittersweet tale of my best friend Bailey crossing the Rainbow Bridge on Valentine's weekend. Turns out it takes two puppies to fill the role of one Bailey. Yes, I need that much canine counseling. Over the course of two months we adopted these two pups from the Woods Humane Society in San Luis Obispo in addition to a Shih Tzu named Brandy on February 1st after their quote collar reveal party.

[Alison Gill]

Becca the episode title oh my God.

[Hugo Lowell]

Becca the brown one and Boomer the black one are now full members of the pack. But here's the important part. All three of these dogs were deemed quote difficult to adopt due to social anxiety issues and Boomers had even been placed on the blacklist at the county shelter for being too shy prior to the rescue by Woods. And this is just a parenthetical incidentally, Bailey had also been considered unadoptable for a cosmetic issue and was on the blacklist when we found each other. Now a few weekends ago we had a beans inspired what the Mutt party with a group of friends and no one was freaked out. Hiding or barking, humans or dogs with love and understanding, these once frightened, terrified and unsocial dogs have come a long way in a short time and are valued members of our family. I can't say enough good things about woods and similar organizations. I ask everyone looking for a dog to please give the quote tough cases a second look behind being the shy or scared face is a really great dog. I miss Bailey every day and he'll forever be in my heart. I'm thankful to have found these two scoundrels and Brandy and look forward to writing our story of living our life together. Can you guess their breeds?

[Alison Gill]

It looks like a. Like a Great Dane pit bull.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh, my.

[Alison Gill]

Shepherd.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh.

[Alison Gill]

And then Boomer is a shepherd something adorable. Look how cute. There's a little holly in there.

[Hugo Lowell]

I know. Yeah, Maybe a beagle.

[Alison Gill]

It looks like a. It looks like a miniature Great Dane.

[Hugo Lowell]

Oh, my God, those ears. And then I also think there might be, like, weirdly some chihuahua and pit bull in there. Those are some ears.

[Alison Gill]

Okay, so Becca, the tan one, is half pit bull, part German shepherd, poodle, and super mutt.

[Hugo Lowell]

Nice.

[Alison Gill]

So we got the pitbull part. I thought for sure there was Great Dane in that. Boomer is chihuahua, terrier, poodle, German shepherd, cocker spaniel. We got three. Three out of five.

[Hugo Lowell]

Those are fantastic mixed breeds, though. My goodness.

[Alison Gill]

They are so great. Thank you for sending these in. Yeah, always give the. The tough case is a second look. That's how I ended up with Bruce Willis. I went in there, I was returning a kitten that I tried to adopt. But the kitten needed to be an only cat household. The kitten had to be the only cat in the house. So I brought him back, and he was an adorable kitten. He's gonna get adopted. And it was a no kill shelter. And I was like, just keep the fee. Consider it a donation. They're like, well, do you wanna see another cat? And I was like, fine, show me the ugliest cat that no one wants that's been here the longest. And they took me to Bruce Willis, who was beautiful and amazing and loving, and I don't understand why nobody wanted him but I him, so.

[Hugo Lowell]

That's right. Well, because he was waiting for you. He was there for you.

[Alison Gill]

I love that guy. All right, that is the show. If you have any good news, corrections, confessions, anything you want to send into us, please do so again. It'[e-mail] Click on Contact. Dana, do you have any final thoughts for today?

[Hugo Lowell]

I do not.

[Alison Gill]

Use your voice sparingly.

[Hugo Lowell]

I. That's why I do not. I love you all. That's it.

[Alison Gill]

But you let me know if you want to do tomorrow or. Or not.

[Hugo Lowell]

I better be turning a corner.

[Alison Gill]

You better be. Yeah. Everyone send the healing vibes to Dana, and we'll be back tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health. Vote blue over Q. And watch that hearing.

[Hugo Lowell]

I've been AG and I've been dg.

[Alison Gill]

And them's the beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans. I like refried beans.