
Monday, February 19th, 2024 Judge Engoron fines Donald Trump and his associates $364M and bars Trump from running a business in New York for 3 years; the immunity issue has been fully briefed to the Supreme Court; Comer’s star witness in his impeachment investigation into Joe Biden has been indicted for making false statements to Bill Barr’s DoJ; Fani Willis and her father both testify in the recusal hearing in Fulton County; Putin dissident Alexei Navalny has died in a Russian prison camp; Trump is booed at sneaker convention in Pennsylvania; a whistleblower has says the top Border Patrol medical officer tried to order fentanyl lollipops for his trip to a UN General Assembly meeting in NY; and a judge has rejected Ken Paxton’s efforts to delay his fraud trial in Texas. Plus, Allison and Dana deliver your good news.
Loading summary
A
Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what, you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do.
B
That's right.
A
It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear.
B
That's right.
C
We think you need to hear it.
A
Okay. Yeah. It's what we say.
B
So.
C
That's right.
A
And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to. Okay?
B
All we do is give.
A
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.
C
Refried beans. I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're wasting time.
A
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Monday, February 19, 2024. Today, Judge Angoron fines Donald Trump and his associates $364 million and bars Trump from running a business in New York for three years. The immunity issue has been fully briefed to the Supreme Court. Jim Comer's star witness in his impeachment investigation into Joe Biden has been indicted for making false statements to Bill Barr's Justice. Fani Willis and her father both testified in the recusal hearing in Fulton County. Putin's dissident Alexei Navalny has died in a Russian prison camp. Trump is booed off stage at Sneaker Con in Pennsylvania. A whistleblower has said the top border patrol medical officer tried to order fentanyl lollipops for his trip to the UN General assembly meeting in New York. And a judge has rejected Ken Paxton's final efforts to delay his fraud trial in Texas. I'm Alison Gill.
B
And I'm Dana Goldberg. Hey, Dana.
A
Happy Monday. How was your weekend?
B
Oh, it was. It was good. I spent it working in Florida. This. This weekend I was in Florida for another event raising some money, and I'm exhausted, actually. Some nights at work are just easier than others, and that wasn't one of them. But we did what we needed to do. We hit our goals and There was people fired up. The thing is, is that Florida, thank goodness, has a fantastic Equality Florida, another LGBTQ organization. So there's more than one down there that is fighting the good fight. And so if you are in Florida, any LGBTQ organization, Equality Florida, hrc, support them. Support them so that they can help, especially in this upcoming election. We can flip some seats. And if you are in Florida, please remember that Rick Scott only won his Senate seat by 10,000 votes. That's it. And he's got a challenger that is doing really well. So get out there and vote. Please, please, please, please.
A
Yeah, and especially in Florida, too. Right? Hats off to Equality Florida and all LGBTQ organizations running down there under that onslaught of just hate and bills and transphobia, like, all of it. It's just the work that they do down there is so important and so incredible and brave. So thank you, my friend, for absolutely helping raise money down there for. Oh, also, by the way, speaking of Florida, the congressional representative for their 23rd district, Jared Moskowitz, is going to join me today.
B
Nice.
A
For a discussion. He's wonderful. We're going to talk to him. And I'll have a separate segment today on the indictment of Jim Comer's star witness, Alexander Smirnoff. But first, the $364 million question. This is Judge Engoron's decision. It came down Friday at the very last minute, and it's a doozy. I assume you've seen all the reports, Dana.
B
Oh, yeah, I have. And, you know, I've also seen the report saying they're going to try, and I don't even know the right legal terms, but, you know, he's going to try and get this down so that the judgment isn't as high as it is. But right now, it's pretty beautiful.
A
It's pretty high. And to appeal, he will have to put forward the full amount.
B
Thank you for the word appeal that I could not come up with on this Sunday, Monday morning.
A
Plus interest. Yeah. So if you take the 355 is what Trump owes the other 11 million. Nine million is for Weisselberg and his two adult sons. But 355 plus 9% interest, plus what he owes Eugene, plus 9% interest. Also in New York, you look at a $550 million. So it's going to be pretty difficult. Also, Trump has been barred for from running a business in New York for three years. Eric and Junior have been barred for two years. McConney and Weisselberg have been banned for life from being accountants for anybody And Judge Angoron also addressed that $2 million Allen Weisselberg severance package and said, yeah, looks like you were paid, buddy, to. To not talk and to not cooperate.
B
So you have to.
A
You have to pay us a million dollars of that. The million you got to pay. Pay that back to us. And he seemed to signal to Weisselberg that Trump can't hold him to an illegal promise to not. To not cooperate. Right. So he. That's interesting. And so, you know, all I can think of, though, is that there's still classified documents missing.
B
I know. Highest bidder.
A
How is he going to get this money? I mean, RNC is broke, NRA is broke. Trump Save America, PAC is bleeding cash for legal representation, not just for Trump, but for his adult children and for Ivanka and Jared. So, I mean. I mean, I guess maybe he can. He can borrow it from Jared, I guess.
B
Oh, but wait, you, too, can order a pair of his new tennis shoes for 399. 300. Get to that.
A
And 99.
B
Yeah.
A
Bidenomics must be working if you can afford $400 sneakers.
B
My goodness.
A
And Fani Willis blew us all away on the witness stand during the recusal hearing in Faul. Absolutely incredible testimony from her. Then her father came up and testified and corroborated. You know, that, hey, I taught her to keep cash in the house and to keep cash on her. That's why she has this cash to pay back a $2,500 trip. And she was pissed, and rightfully so. And defended herself fantastically, I think.
B
Oh, I agree. I mean, this would have never. The fact that there is a conflict of interest because they think Fani Will did not pay her part in a date or anything else. And we have not brought up the conflict of interest with Clarence Thomas. I'm like a big go fuck yourself. Because it is a blinding second. Yeah. I just. I can't. I can't. It's because she's a woman. It's because she's black. I just. I can't.
A
Yep. And both of Mike Roman. Mike Roman, the. That brought this whole disgusting thing up in the first place. Two of his attorneys are married. Mm. So that's not a conflict. And I loved her line, a man is not a plan. A man is a companion.
B
So good. And that turned into a meme after Trump was told he had to pay $355 million. Melania's sitting next to him, and it's like the night Melania found out. A man is not a plan.
A
Oops. Yeah. And Pete and I are going to cover the Judge Angoron decision and the testimony in Fulton county in depth on this Wednesday's cleanup. 45. When we recorded our bonus episode, Pete and I, we had only seen Wade's testimony. We hadn't seen Fani Willis's and, and her father's. And that just kind of changed the whole ball game there. And lastly, the immunity issue for Trump is fully briefed. Andy and I go over all of those. The, the, you know, Trump's application for a stay, Jack Smith's response, and then Trump's response to that response. Andy and I go over all of those in detail on the latest episode of the Jack podcast, which is out now. It came out yesterday. And because I'm a huge nerd, I spent my Friday night partying writing a mock Supreme Court ruling.
B
That's fun.
A
On immunity. It's based on Trump v. Benny Thompson, which was remember when The national, the January 6th Committee wanted stuff from the National Archives and Trump sued to block it, saying he has executive privilege. And the January 6th committee says you're not the president. Joe Biden, the incumbent, is who decides executive privilege. But the D.C. circuit Court said it doesn't matter. Even if he was the sitting president right now, it still wouldn't overcome the compelling need for these documents in an investigation by Congress. So the Supreme Court then wouldn't intervene. They denied the stay. And I think that we could see a similar outcome here. And I sort of based my mock Supreme Court ruling on that. We'll see what happens. I think maybe the 21st is when we could get a decision, but who knows? It could be any time. So we'll talk about that on the Jack podcast. You can hear that now. All right. We have a lot of news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes, all right, from Politico. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died from, quote, sudden death syndrome. That's what his mother was told Saturday by the prison where he had been incarcerated. This is from Reuters. Navalny, who's 40, who was 47, his longtime political opponent of Vladimir Putin, died in prison Friday, according to Russia's Federal Prison Service. While the prison service said he died after losing consciousness following a walk, there was immediate widespread speculation, including from the US And Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that Putin was involved. This is an assassination. The location of Navalny's body is unclear. A morgue near the Arctic prison where he died said it had not received the body. Where is it? Nobody knows. They were later told by officials that the body would not be handed over until an investigation was complete.
C
Mm.
A
What, like a cremation?
B
Yeah.
A
Even though his lawyers were previously informed that the investigation had been concluded. And that's according to Navalny's spokesperson. Now, there were media reports on Sunday that Navalny's body had been found in a hospital morgue in the Arctic and that it showed bruising. Russian opposition media reported there were bruises on Navalny's head and chest when his body was brought to the Salicard District Clinical Hospital. I'm probably pronouncing that incorrectly, but those reports couldn't be verified. Navalny was arrested, as we know, in 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he successfully recovered from a Novichuck poisoning that was Kremlin ordered. This all comes on the heels of Trump proclaiming he would encourage Russia and Putin to attack our NATO allies. And as Congress struggles to pass a foreign aid package that includes funding for Ukraine, Ukrainian forces are now having to retreat because they're running out of ammunition. Then the death of Navalny should increase the urgency to pass this foreign aid package, but we'll see.
B
Yeah, it came on the heels of that in ag. Unless I'm wrong. It also came on the day after of Tucker Carlson being like, sometimes leaders kill some people. That's it. Some kill more than others.
A
Yeah. Going around Russian grocery stores talking about picking up a wine and saying, this is a great wine. This is from Russian wine, from Crimea. That's where the grapes are grown. I'm like, that. Crimea, really? Okay.
B
Yeah. It's all sketchy. Okay. It's such a sad story. His bless his wife, too.
A
She's incredible. She made that brilliant appearance.
B
I know. I hope they put her in protection immediately, though.
A
100%.
B
This is from Nicholas Rice at People. Donald Trump is facing criticism after he promoted 399 sneakers a day after court ordered him to pay 355 million as a penalty. Penalty for fraud. The former president, who is also 77. I'm just going to point that out, even though it's not necessary because everyone's talking about Biden's age, showcased three different pairs of shoes while attending Sneaker Con, an apt name for this situation at the Philadelphia Convention center in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
A
Quote, con man at Sneaker Con.
B
I wanted to do this for a long time. I have some incredible people that work with me on things, and they came up with this. This is what the incredible people came up with. This is something that I've been talking about for 12 years, 13 years. I think it's going to be a big success. That's what Trump said. According to the video shared online, he was supposed to give a 45 minute speech but was booed off the stage in under a minute. That means people are tired of him. I guarantee these weren't just Democrats in that audience. Among the items Trump was promoting were shoes known as the T Red Wave and the POTUS 45, which are both priced at 199 and feature T for treason. On the, on the number 45. On the sides, a pair of. A pair of gold footwear deemed the quote never surrender high top sneakers, which should be called you can't run and you can't hide, which similarly featured a T on the shoe. Meanwhile, those were priced at 3.99. They're currently sold out.
A
Do they come in like wide because of bone spurs?
B
They might, yeah. I'm assuming they're soulless. But I haven't seen the shoes. The purchase of a pair of sneakers which are not tied to Trump's presidential campaign or the Trump Organization, I would really like to find out where they're made. I've been trying to research this.
A
By the way, been seeing China.
B
I've been seeing China. Yep. By the way, they're not supposedly made by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization. Given that his name, image and likeliness have been licensed, by the way, to CIC Ventures llc. Comes with extra laces and a Trump quote superhero charm.
A
So he set up a shell company to take in the money for these sneakers. That's interesting.
B
The website is also selling a quote Victory 47 perfume. Yeah, it smells like desperation and I think cold ketchup smells like a Las
A
Vegas, like a downtown bathroom in Las Vegas.
B
Victory 47 perfume cologne. That's 99. If any of you listening would like to purchase them. In a statement obtained by people, Biden Harris 2024 Communications Director Mich Tyler reacted to Trump's promotional appearance over the weekend stating, and I quote, this is so good.
A
This is so good.
B
Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg off whites is the closest he'll get to any Air Force ones ever again for the rest of his life. It's so good.
A
Hawk bootleg off whites. That's. I just. It's great turn of phrase.
B
I love it. Trump's appearance at Sneaker Con occurred a day after we know that he was ordered to pay 354.9. If you want to get really specific million dollars in penalties following a lengthy civil fraud trial on Friday. Since leaving office in 2021, Trump has been involved in several legal issues, several legal issues and investigations on various fronts, including into his political conduct and business affairs. Also other affairs, if you know where this case actually started. Four of those investigations have led to indictments, including the first, which made him the only US President to face criminal charges, and his first criminal trial, the one for election interference involving hush money payments. Like I said, that affair begins March 25th in Manhattan.
A
Yep, March 25th, we got our first criminal trial. And from Juan Lozano at Associated Press, A judge on Friday rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. The decision by District Judge Andrea Beal, an elected Democrat, keeps keeps Paxton on track for an April 15 trial on charges that he duped investors in a tech startup. If convicted, he faces up to 99 years in prison. Paxton, who has pled not guilty, appeared in the Houston courtroom for the hearing, sitting at the defense table with his lawyers, quote, he's ready for trial. This thing has been pending for eight years. That's what the special prosecutors want to dance. Put on your shoes. It's time to go. Let's dance. That's what Ken Paxton's attorneys.
B
Where do they find these people?
A
Porters, put on your Trump, Never surrender gold shoes. We're gonna dance.
B
Yeah. We take the golf cart at dawn because none of us can run that far.
A
We ride it. Don, get in, loser.
B
We're going lose the golf cart at dawn.
A
Brian Weiss, one of the special prosecutors handling the case, said it was important that Paxton's case go to trial because, quote, no one's above the law, and that includes Ken Paxton. That's why this case matters. During Friday's hearing, the other special prosecut, Kent Shaffer, announced he was withdrawing ahead of the trial. After the hearing, Weiss said the two prosecutors parted ways after disagreeing over Schaefer's push to avoid a trial and instead settle the case through pre trial intervention. He wanted to settle. He wanted to plead this thing out. And Weiss was like, nah, nope, he's going to trial. Weiss and Schaefer recently reached out to Cogdell with the offer for pretrial intervention, which is like probation and would ultimately lead to the dismissal of the charges if a defendant stays out of legal trouble. Weiss says he doesn't believe pretrial intervention would have been appropriate because there would be no admission of guilt and no jail time, quote, and without an acknowledgment of guilt. To me, that was worse than a slap on the wrist. That was, gee, let's get you a cocktail, a hot meal and a breath mint. And that wasn't going to happen on my watch. That's what Weiss said. Cogdell and Shaffer had reached out to him about the proposal and would have been happy to resolve the case without a trial and a dismissal. Now Paxton is charged with defrauding investors in a Dallas area tech company called Servergy okay by not disclosing that he was being paid by the company to recruit them. His case has been delayed for nine years.
B
Good Lord.
A
With pre trial disputes over whether to hold the trial in Dallas or Houston and payment for the state special prosecutors who have contended they've not been consistently paid in this case. Paxton still faces other legal troubles. A federal investigation has been opened into some of the charges presented in his recent impeachment. He is also fighting efforts by former top aides to make him testify in a whistleblower civil lawsuit that also includes allegations central to that impeachment.
B
Thank you so much, AG and last in this segment. This is from Julia Ainsley at NBC. The chief medical officer for Customs and Border Protection pressured his staff to order fentanyl lollipops for him to take to the United Nations General assembly meeting in New York in September. That's according to a whistleblower report sent to Congress on Friday. The whistleblowers said Dr. Alexander Eastman's staff raised questions about why he would need to order fentanyl lollipops to take with him. And he answered that it was part of his duties to make sure that any injured CBP operators were cared for, making the argument that the lollipops would be necessary for pain management should an emergency occur. Quote, Eastman spent copious hours of his and Office of the Chief medical Officer staff time directing the OCMO staff to urgently help him procure fentanyl lollipops, a Schedule 2 narcotic, so that he could bring them to CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter on which he would be a passenger in New York City. This is from the whistleblowers report. It went on to say Dr. Eastman claims that his possession of fentanyl lollipops was necessary in in case a CBP operator might be injured or in case the CBP Air and Marine Operations team encountered a patient in need. Okay. Eastman's staff initially responded to his request by explaining that Narcan, which can save the lives of those who overdose on fentanyl, has been requested by CBP operations in the Past, but not fentanyl itself. The whistleblowers say staff members raised questions about how he would store the lollipops and what he would do with unused fentany at the end of the operation. That's all. According to the report, Eastman responded by writing his own policy, his own policy regarding procurement of Schedule 2 narcotics, which omitted any mention of how narcotics were to be stored and disposed of. I'm just going to write this up and whatever happens, who knows where they went? Maybe my pocket. We don't know. Eastman was ultimately unsuccessful in procuring fentanyl lollipops because a vendor could not be found in time for the US General Assembly.
A
Huh.
B
The whistleblowers, represented by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, also allege Eastman was under investigation by CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility at the time regarding improper ordering and securing of narcotics for a friend who was a pilot for Air and Marines Operations. So this guy has been in trouble, well, at least under scrutiny for a while.
A
Well, now that the White House, now that Trump and Ronnie Jackson aren't at the White House anymore, it's, you know, probably a little more difficult to obtain these.
B
Yeah.
A
So he had to write a policy. He had to change the policy to say, you don't, I, we don't have to talk about how it was disposed of or not used, what happens to the leftovers.
B
Apparently you can just write your own policy.
A
Okay. Well, anyway, that's a mind blowing story. It'll be interesting to watch where that whistleblower report goes. It's with Congress right now. And speaking of Congress, I get to talk to Jared Moskowitz. He's a congressman from Florida's 23rd district. But before that, I wanted to quickly go over with you all what's going on with that indictment of Alexander Smirnoff, who is Jim Comer and Jim Jordan's star witness in their impeachment of Joe Biden who has been indicted for lying about everything. But we need to take a quick break first. Everybody stick around. We'll be right back after these messages
C
will derive at back.
A
Hey everybody, welcome back. I wanted to take a segment to go over the recent indictment of House Republican star witness in the Joe Biden impeachment. His name is Alexander Smirnoff. And let me just read to you from the DOJ press release on the indictment of the Biden impeachment witness. It says today a federal court. This is Friday. Today a federal court unsealed a two count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Central District of California charging Alexander Barnoff, 43 with making false statements in violation of Title 18 U.S. code Section 1001 and creating a false and fictitious record in Violation of Title 18, US Code Section 1519 for statements he made that were recorded in an official record of Federal Bureau of Investigation known as a Form 1023. This is from David C. Weiss, Special Counsel. On February 14, 2024, a federal grand jury returned the indictment and Smirnoff was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada after his arrival from the US to the US from overseas. Later today, Smirnoff will have an initial appearance at the federal courthouse in the District of Nevada at 2:30pm Pacific Time. According to the indictment, Smirnoff was a confidential human source with the FBI as alleged in the indictment. Despite repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information to the FBI and that he must not fabricate evidence, Smirnoff provided false derogatory information to the FBI about Public Official 1. That's Vice President Joe Biden at the time and business person one, that's Hunter Biden, the son of public official one, Joe Biden in 2020, after public official one became a presidential candidate. So the indictment says In March of 2017, Smirnoff reported to an FBI agent he had a phone call with the owner of Burisma holdings limited concerning Burisma's interest in acquiring a US Company and making an initial public offering on a US based stock exchange. In reporting that conversation to the FBI, Smirnoff also noted that Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son, was a member of Burisma's board, a fact that was publicly known. The indictment alleges that Smirnoff provided no further information at that time in 2017. Three years later, in June 2020, the indictment alleges that Smirnoff reported for the first time two meetings in 2015 or 2016. As alleged in the indictment, Smirnoff falsely claimed that during those meetings executives with Burisma admitted to him they hired Hunter Biden to quote, protect us through his dad from all kinds of problems. And later that they had specifically paid $5 million to Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, 5 million each when Joe Biden was still in office as vice president so that Hunter Biden would take care of all those issues through his dad. Referring to a criminal investigation being conducted by then Ukrainian prosecutor into Burisma that was shoken and quote, a deal with the then Ukrainian Prosecutor general. So this is the bribery that Jim Comer and Jim Jordan talk about, as alleged in the indictment, the events that Smirnoff first reported to the agent in June of 2020 were fabrications in truth. In fact, the defendant had contact with executives From Burisma in 2017, after the end of the administration, when Joe Biden no longer had the ability to influence US Policy, and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Shokin had been fired in February of 2016. The indictment alleges that the defendant transformed his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma in 2017 into bribery allegations against Joe Biden after expressing bias against Joe Biden and his presidential candidacy, as further alleged in the indictment, when he was interviewed by FBI agents in September of 2023. That's just like seven, eight months ago. Smirnoff repeated some of these false claims, changed his story as to some of his other claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. That's five years for the 1001 charge and 20 years max for the 1519 charge. Obstructing obstruction of justice, falsification of documents. And that's a blockbuster blow to Jim Comer and Jim Jordan, along with all House Republicans and Fox News, who has been breathlessly reporting on the bribery scheme in exchange for policy, which, as it turns out, was Russian disinformation from a Kremlin spy. But the fact that in 2020, Bill Barr set up an office to intercept all the Rudy Giuliani stuff from Ukraine. And In February of 2020, Mother Jones reported, quote, the top federal prosecutor in Western Pennsylvania has been thrust into the news on Monday, when Attorney General Bill Barr confirmed to reporters that the Department of Justice had set up a, quote, intake process in the field to receive information related to Ukraine, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden that had been gathered by Rudy Giuliani, remember that? That prosecutor's name is Scott Brady. And it's of note that Smirnoff lied to him and the FBI back in 2020. But that case was quietly closed without charges. Bill Barr just this week told CNN that it wasn't closed. It was handed off to Delaware, which is where David Weiss was the U.S. attorney in 2020. But Weiss, who was appointed to investigate Hunter Biden in 2018 by Bill Barr, didn't actually get the case until one month before Merrick Garland gave him special counsel status. It's less than a year ago and before David Weiss indicted Hunter Biden so why is Weiss just now indicting Smirnoff? I think think it's to cover up the fact that Bill Barr and his college buddy Scott Brady, they're longtime friends, that U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh, I think that was a setup to insulate Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump from indictment. And now that Weiss, who originally, by the way, wanted a plea deal with Hunter Biden, but was forced basically to indict him because of political pressure from Trump and House Republicans. And remember, he didn't get a search warrant for the stuff until after he indicted him because of that indictment. Now he's facing discovery in this case. And I think he indicted Smirnoff to cover his ass, Bill Barr's ass, Trump's ass, and Scott Brady's ass. Because all of this would have come out in trial, in the trial and the discovery process and Hunter Biden's indictment, and there would obviously be questions about why this guy smirnoff and his 1023 at the heart of Joe Biden's impeachment wasn't indicted by Barr and Brady four years ago. All of this had been covered up, and it would all come out now. And Weiss didn't want to indict Hunter Biden member. He had a diversion agreement, a plea deal, but the Republicans went after him so hard. And then indictments came. He asked to be made special counsel, and indictments came. And now that he's been forced to indict Hunter Biden with really flimsy charges, he would have to go through discovery, and all of this shit would come out. So I think he indicted this guy to cover his ass. Just my two cents. And I'll ask Congressman Jared Moskowitz about it after this break. Stick around. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I am happy and proud to be joined today by Florida's 23rd representative, Mr. Jared Moskowitz. Hi. Hi, Representative Moskowitz, how are you?
C
How's it going? I'm good.
A
It's going good. I am so happy to meet. First of all, having been a standup comedian for 10 years, you are the funniest member of Congress that I know. So thank you for that.
C
Well, they make it easy. I mean, they're. They're writing all the material. I'm just pointing it out.
A
It is comedy gold, isn't it? And the latest comedy gold is that 1023 that they've been harping on for years now. That is at the center place, the
C
1023, the birthplace of the Joe Biden fake folk frivolous. Joe Biden impeachment.
A
Yes. That 1023 was generated from a man who was just indicted. His name is Alexander Smirnoff for lying about everything that was in that 1023. And I just wanted your top line thoughts on that first.
C
Well, the best part, and I want to paint the scene for you, is it breaks about this 1023 form. They make a whole big deal. Grassley is the one who releases it because it's a classified, you know, document. And all of a sudden all the members of oversight have to go into a skiff, right? So we got to go into like a lead proof room to read this document, which we're then not supposed to talk about because of course it's classified. But you know, Comer and, and company, you know, they have a, they have a podium set up right outside the room. And what, they start talking about everything in the document. Oh, it says specifically that Joe Biden got $5 million right out of this Burisma nonsense. First of all, even if you at that time believed what was in the document, it was seven year old information, double hearsay, which had been translated from Russian. So right off the bat we were like, what is this garbage? But that's right. That's right. We now find out that the gentleman who provided the information into the 1023 form, which was the birth of why Joe Biden, Tribune beach, was fibbing, was lying. He made the whole thing up. It is pure fiction. And it read like it, by the way, when we, when we first saw it. So, you know, I, you know, thoughts and prayers to James Comer. His, his days are numbered. You know, it's why we're not having any hearings anymore. You know, because even when he called his own witnesses, they said there was no evidence to impeach Joe Biden. And now the very little evidence they had. Right. Was all made up.
A
Well, they're two star witnesses. The other one is an indicted Chinese spy for the People's Republic of China. So. Right. So now we have.
C
He was only trying to sell Iranian oil and, and be an arms dealer to the Libyans. This is who James Comer wanted to rely on.
A
Well, it makes sense. The entire Trump administration was helping Iran skirt sanctions, but, you know, we could talk about that another day. This goes deeper, though. This was laundered information that Rudy Giuliani brought in to a guy named Scott Brady, who Bill Bar set aside as a silo, as a filter to this Russian disinformation to come in.
C
And now you should show some due respect. To Rudy Giuliani. Okay, that's your, that's the future Attorney General.
A
Yes, you're correct. I apologize. Future Attorney General Rudy Giuliani. But you know, this all like they were filtering, laundering Russian disinformation into the Congress and into congressional investigations through, through Rudy Giuliani, into good old Ron Johnson from Wisconsin. And you know, Grassley, like you mentioned, this was part of that whole thing. And so it's very curious that David Weiss, who is investigating Hunter Biden and about to have to get a bunch of discovery about Hunter Biden all of a sudden comes up with this indictment for lies that were told in 2020 under Bill Barr's watch, by the way. So this whole thing, I think, goes a lot deeper than just even the surface ridiculousness. That is the fact that Comer wants to impeach Joe Biden on a ton of Russian laundered propaganda lies.
C
Yeah, it's kind of funny, right? Like the Republican special counsel that was appointed to it was a Donald Trump appointee, the Republican special counselor. He's the one who's going to look into Hunter Biden. Right. And Republicans are super excited. Look into Hunter Biden. But then you can also see that they were like a little nervous about it. Like, you know, they didn't, you know, they were worried about the David Weiss stuff. And look, Hunter's gotten himself into trouble. He's going to have to deal with that. But, but now, of course, someone's looking into the accusations, all of the accusations. And as a result of looking into the propaganda that they've been pushing out of oversight, we now find that the entire case that they've built against Joe Biden is done. It's just done. It's just completely over. I mean, if Mike Johnson really was the speaker of the House, which he isn't, because that's Donald Trump. Mike Johnson would end this thing.
A
Thing.
C
It would be, it would be over with.
A
He would, and he would pass Ukraine aid and, and foreign aid, and he would, he would have passed that border bill.
C
Now, now listen, don't, but don't take the wins away from them. You know, they, they, they're, they, look, the 118th Congress has been crushing it. I mean, it, that under their leadership, they are making history.
A
Only Republicans in the 118th Congress could actually give Democrats the border as an issue to run on.
C
Let's, but you don't understand how historic it is, okay, that they removed the speaker, which had never happened. They haven't, they have impeached a secretary without any evidence by the way that hasn't happened in 150 years, they threw out one of their own members. That hadn't happened in 20 years. And, and you know what? When they really have the energy, they pass a censure. And so, you know, they've. They're really delivering, I think, for the American people.
A
Speaking of that, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about Comer because there was some back and forth with you, which was spectacular, by the way, about. I think it was Sullenberger or some other intrepid journalists who uncovered the fact that Comer himself has had some land swaps. And within those LLCs. Oh, with a shell company. And, and I think, I think he referred to you as a smurf. And then the next time you wore a tie with a smurf on it. Well played. But talk a little bit about what you know about Comer's land swaps beside what's in the. Is there anything that we don't know about it yet? I mean, is it all kind of out there on the table and obvious?
C
So here's what I would say about that. Right. I was never accusing Comer of doing anything wrong. I was merely applying the same standard to him that he was applying to the Bidens. Right. People have LLCs. Like limited liability Corporation is a legit corporation.
A
I have an llc.
C
Right. There's a gazillion of these things. Okay. And yes, even, you know, some people have LLCs that feed into other LLCs, because it depends on whose partners in what business operation. And so when it was uncovered that comer had LLCs with his brother. Okay. And that's great. Comer's a successful guy. I'm very happy for him. Right. Although he then took shots at Dan Goldman for, For, for, for being successful.
A
Yeah, I noticed.
C
All I was. All I wanted to do was just say to do what the Republicans do all the time, which is. I don't know, James. You know, some people are saying those LLCs could be a problem. Are they shell companies? Who knows? We don't know, James, you might have to tell us. You might have to show us the information. I mean, why are, why are there land swaps between you and your brother? That sounds fishy. Perhaps, maybe, you know, and because that's all James was doing on, on Newsmax for six months is he was asking these open ended questions like, well, why do they have this? What are they hiding? They're shell companies. There was no evidence of any of that. And I don't have any evidence against Comer I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. And you saw him come unglued?
A
He did.
C
I mean, I'm a freshman in the minority, right? I'm a nobody. And he stopped the clock. I mean, look, we get five minutes. In those five minutes, I can say whatever I want. Of course, there are rules. We have to, to, we have to, you know, apply. But I get to talk about whatever I want. And if you're, if you're comber, if you're the chairman, you want my five minutes to go as fast as possible. But no, no, no, he stopped the clock to take me on, which he lost. It didn't go well for him. And then I got my remaining time back, which means I got to close on the issue. So, yeah, he called me a smurf. I, I, when he said that, I was like, oh, James, keep talking me, baby. Keep coming. You have just given me gold. I knew exactly what he had done when he did it. And so, yeah, I've been trolling him with the whole, with the whole, what did he think he was going to get under my skin? I mean, but that's one of the things that's fascinating is that some of these folks that you serve with in Congress that can dish it out, man, they cannot take it. They have thin skin. They're snowflakes. And as soon as you give it back to them, they just like, how dare you? It's like, wait a second.
A
Well, Taylor, you're doing this all day. Taylor Swift. Swift scares them. So. But, yeah, but the swaps with, with Comer weren't, you know, the loans and the paybacks weren't equal. When, when the Biden family loans money to, for the truck, he gets exactly what he sent back, and they have the checks to show it.
C
Well, that's also my point, right? He never talks about the truck. He just says, there's a check. Yeah, and what is this check for?
A
But Comer and his brother had some land swaps that didn't even out. Somebody got a lot of extra money out of the deal, and so that it's, it's a little bit weirder. And I'm, I'm glad that they're journalists looking into it. And, and I hope y' all in. I want to talk about the next Congress because the Democrats are going to take the House back. Obviously, the Republicans have driven it into the ground.
C
And I'm wondering, you don't want to talk about what it's like to go to a Russian grocery store these days.
A
Well, let me tell you, the unemployment rate is amazing. And so. Yeah. And the. And did you. Did you know, if you put money in the cart. Cart. To get the cart, then you return the cart, you get the money back.
C
Jared, it is very clear that the sanctions against Russia have not stopped their march on technology. I mean, these locks, these locks that they have on these shopping carts are so advanced that. Here's what's really cool. You put a coin in, right?
A
10 rubles.
C
And if you return the cart, you get your coin back.
A
It's like he's been to an American airport in the last 50 years.
C
Just brilliant. It's like Chinese.
B
Yes.
C
I mean, it's unbelievable what's going on in Moscow. You know, if I could have a summer home, that's where it would be. Except, unfortunately, I'm on the. I'm banned. Putin has banned me from entering now.
A
You can't take advantage of that rapidly improving.
C
And I'm gonna have to live through Tucker. I'm gonna have to live vicariously through Tucker. Tucker, as he, as he, as he walks through the city and takes the subway and goes to a Russian grocery store and tells Americans that, boy, you know, we. We really are not living.
A
How. How could. How have we gone this far with. Well, wait, never mind. You know, we have had it, but only in airports. I wish we had it in grocery stores like they do in Russia, so far ahead of us. No, I want to talk about. I do want to talk about that, but I also want to talk about what's. What you're going to do in the next Congress, other than maybe investigating what's going on here with David Weiss and. And their whole debacle with multiple indicted whistleblowers and stuff like that. That would be fun to. To investigate that. But what are you looking forward to when Democrats take the House back?
C
Well, look, there's no doubt, and we, we continue to bring this up, that as Republicans continue to break the place, right, and get rid of all sorts of norms, like that's going to come back. Right? I mean, that's going to come back. I mean, that's just the way the place works. Right? You sent your two members, then we. Then they sent your four members in the next Congress, and here we go. On this whole. On this whole merry go round, I do think we're going to have to look into some of this stuff that has gone on and oversight just to get our hands around what they knew when. Like, my biggest question now, quite frankly, is when did the Republicans know. Know that the 1023 form, the information in there was false, right? How and why did they conceal that in the American public? And by the way, I may be wrong. Maybe they found out, like we all did that, that he was being indicted. Maybe that was the first time they found out. But, you know, maybe not. Maybe they've known now for a couple of months that they peddled misinformation and then when they realized it was wrong, didn't come out and correct it, let it still be out there, there for a long period of time. And that's something that's good to know because I think we got to show the American people that a lot of what they see is just pure theater. It's pure Broadway, right? It's just, it could be Beetlejuice, but it's pure theater at all times. You know, as far as the, the new Congress, I mean, look, we have to, we have to look at the whole picture. So obviously, right off the bat, for me, I think we need to, to, we need to figure out how we can protect, you know, women's rights. I, I think we need to figure out how we can make progress on gun violence prevention while obviously still upholding the, the second Amendment. Florida did a really good job. After the shooting in my hometown of Parkland, my high school right raised the age to 21. Three day waiting periods, red flag laws. Those red flag laws have been used 12,000 times in Florida in the last six years. So 12,000 times law enforcement deem someone a danger to themselves or danger to others. And those laws are working. And there are no mass protests in the street of Florida that people can't, you know, get a gun to protect their family. So the second amendment is well preserved and yet we have these, these laws that are working that are keeping people safe. And so I, you know, for me that's a, that's a priority of mine. But also we have to look at, you know, what's the Senate going to be like? Are the Republicans going to take the Senate so we can have all these wonderful, great ideas that we can pass? And, and that's something that's weird in Congress. It's like, like sometimes you're like, we did, we passed a law. We, we did our job. And you're like, hold on a second. The Senate isn't going to take what we just passed.
A
So like the Mayorcas impeachment, right?
C
Like the Myorus impeachment, like they're declaring victory. Like there's not even going to be a trial in the floor of the Senate. On that day.
B
Yeah.
A
Even when the p. The, the new house in 117 passed HR1, we had a power sharing agreement in the Senate which made it. Even though, though Democrats had the majority in the Senate, we still couldn't get a lot of stuff passed. We did. I mean we ended up getting infrastructure and the inflation Reduction act and I mean chips impact. I mean this is more legislation than I've seen out of any one administration in the history of my life.
C
It's fun, it's funny. I'll give you a little like palace intrigue. Right. It's no secret that, you know, most of my Republican colleagues don't like Nancy Pelosi. But in private it, when the cameras are off, the way they talk about holy cow, how did she get this done with a 4 vote majority, you can see the respect level for how she was able to do all of that has gone up dramatically with Republican colleagues because they're going through it now. I mean they're really, they're really going through it. And so you had to think that Nancy had the identical scenario. Right. A very small majority and was able to pass these monumental life changing policies getting it through the Senate and President Biden. I mean it was a very successful two years for them. And the Republicans are showing in a similar scenario. They can't get that done. They're not able to do that. They're so fractured. Donald Trump, Trump has broken them in so many different ways that you know, they're better as a minority party, you know, because you get to say no to everything.
A
Yeah. And just before I let you go, do you think that they're going to bring up this Senate foreign aid bill in the House? How do you think that's going to happen? Are we going to. Are Dems going to make a deal with Mike Johnson that will protect him from a motion to vacate in order to get him to bring the bill to the floor? Because I don't know if a discharge petition is going to work. What. How do you see this? We need to get Ukraine aid passed. How do you see it happening?
C
Well, first of all, in addition to Ukraine aid and, and Israel aid and the humanitarian aid that's in there.
A
Right. For Gaza.
C
Yeah. A third of the money that's in there. Okay. Actually replenishes US Stockpiles.
A
Oh yeah, well we all know that. Yeah.
C
Yeah. So first of all. Well, so you know, I don't know that the American people actually know that of the 90 billion, a third of it, that money stays right in country to replenish our own stockpiles. In addition to the weapons we're supplying, those are also made here. So that money is staying here as well. It's not just all foreign aid, where it's going, you know, overseas, bye, bye to, you know, $90 billion.
B
Yeah.
A
Which also increases our U.S. manufacturing and uses U.S. steel and uses labor. So it's triple win.
C
That's exactly right.
B
Right.
C
And also sends a message, message that we're going to stand by our allies and it sends a message to our enemies that we can still function. I mean, if you're, if you're Putin or Xi, you're looking at Congress and you're thinking to yourselves, man, if they can't, if they can't do this, then we, it's free reign for us. So it, the message that the 118 Congress is sending around the world is, is pretty scary. Let alone Donald Trump saying just, you know, go invade Europe to Putin. But let me tell you about the Mike Johnson thing. The 118th Congress is totally governed by the motion to vacate. The motion to vacate is exactly the reason why things are so dysfunctional. Because as long as one member says, if you do this, I'm going to make a motion to vacate. We saw it with McCarthy and now we see it with Johnson. And Johnson has the history of what happened to McCarthy. So now the motion to vacate is even more powerful because they've seen it.
A
It's more real.
C
Yeah, it's more real. 100%. It's not a theory anymore. And so Johnson actually, I think himself as a person is actually with us. If you look at his statements, if you, if multiple statements, he has said that he, you know, it's very important to make sure that Putin doesn't continue to march. And so I think Mike Johnson wants to get it done. The problem is he knows that his, at whatever avenue he picks, someone is going to make a motion to vacate. Now, look, it's myself. I will never let Marjorie Taylor Greene succeed on a motion to vacate. I am not turning the House over to Marjorie Taylor Greene. So as myself, I would vote against anything that she puts forward. I don't know that Democrats can come out and say, hey, Speaker Johnson, if you do the right thing by our allies and send that message to our enemies, we're going to protect you. Because if we put that out there publicly, I think that hurts him. It hurts him. I think he'll lose more of his votes. But I do think if it were to happen that way, where he goes and he makes a decision, and then Democrats, and then, you know, the Freedom Caucus makes the motion. I don't think you would see it go the way of Kevin McCarthy. I think it would be. I think it would be a different outcome. Let me give you a wrinkle. Here's the wrinkle. We come back after our break, and we have 72 hours to keep the government open.
B
Open.
C
Okay.
B
That's right.
A
Yeah, that's right. Because of the LAD Continuing resolution.
C
That's right. So he could do another cr, which is a. A short term. He could do a long term, but he could face a motion to vacate with that, which is what happened to Kevin. Okay. So he's not out of the woods with this motion to vacate. He could also decide, you know what? I'm gonna. We're gonna shut down the government because that's what my freedom people want. And he shuts down the government. Will that the chess move? There.
B
There is.
C
It's checkmate for him if he does that. Why? He doesn't have the votes to reopen the government, so he would have to come to Democrats to reopen the government. There are 10 Republicans that will never vote to reopen the government. They'll keep it closed indefinitely. So now he's got to go make a deal for us to reopen it. Well, once he does that, why don't those members go and make the motion to vacate? So wherever he turns, this is like chess. Wherever he turns, someone's going to get him. The. The. The bishop, the rook, the knight. Someone is going to get him and file that motion to vacate. I don't know that he can avoid the motion unless those Freedom Caucus members just back down or unless, again, he survives the motion to vacate. So I think we're headed there one way or another.
A
Yeah. It'll be really interesting to see how all that plays out. I can't wait until we have the 119th Congress.
C
Yeah. Look, Hakeem Jeffries is going to be an amazing speaker. He's going to be a historic speaker. And Hakeem gets what I just said to you. He understands. Yeah, the House can pass stuff, but if our Senate companions aren't going to take it, it doesn't become law. So Hakeem will figure that out. He will figure out how to get stuff through and get the Senate to take it. I actually have a lot of faith in him.
A
Yeah. And it's not just about that. It's about the committees and all the good work that the Committees. Do, do. Thank you so much for spending time with me. I feel like I overstepped my time boundaries with you. I know you're very busy, but I appreciate you spending some time with me today. Why don't you tell everybody where they can find and follow you on. On social media? Because it's, it's the, the videos, the, the comments, the hearings, the things that you bring up, the, the gun violence, the. Marjorie Stone. The Marjorie.
C
Marjorie. Stillman Douglas High School.
A
Stillman Douglas High School. Yeah. Yeah. Your speeches on the floor on that are so powerful. I want everybody to see these. I want everybody to follow you. So tell everyone where they can do that.
C
Well, you know, obviously I'm on Twitter. I'm on YouTube. We have an Instagram page. I'm not on TikTok. I'm much of my videos wind up on TikTok, but I, I do not. I'm not on Tik Tok. But so it's, it's Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and, and Twitter. If you want to see sarcasm, you can follow me on Twitter. I have a lot of fun on. It's my, you know, that, that's where I kind of like say the things that my staff cringes over. That's, that's on Twitter.
A
That's my favorite stuff. That's my favorite stuff from you. Florida 23rd representative Jared Moskowitz, thanks for spending time with us today.
C
No, thanks for having me.
A
Everybody. Stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?
C
Everyone Then good news,
A
Good news, good news. And if you have any good news confessions corrections, especially places and cities and towns, very bad because we need them with those pronunciations. You can send those in if you have a shout out to a loved one, a shout out to yourself, a small business in your area or your small business or you know, if you don't have pod pet tax to pay, you can shout out an adoptable pet in your area and we can try to help get that little fur baby adopted or reptile. It might be a scale baby instead of a fur baby. However you want to do it, whatever you're into. Also, we love to hear your stories about great care you've received at the VA or your, your student debt forgiveness stories are just incredible. Woobie stories, blankie stories, stuffed animal stories, anything you want to send us at all, you can send it to dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact First Step. Anonymous correction. Taylor Taranto is from Pasco Washington we are a three and a half hour drive from Seattle. Battle help. Sadly, we are surrounded by many Toronto types here in this very red part of a blue state. It's terrifying to think that he came extremely close to being released and coming back here. Love the POD and listen every day. Thank you Anonymous for that correction.
B
Nice ag. Do you want to take the next one and I'll take the two short after that?
A
Yeah, sure, let's do it that way. Next up, Grateful to have coffee with good news to start my day. Pronouns she and her Know your beans has been a longtime family motto. It began when my mom's brother, filling in his grandpa to our daughters after my parents passed away, hoisted my daughter then too onto his knee and leaned in with kind eyes and a huge smile and huge eyebrows and started the conversation with you look like someone who knows their beans. This uncle's family dog was a giant German shepherd named Mauler. My husband gasped and froze when introduced, thinking it was Mauler like M A a U L E r and not Mahler. M a H L E R. Hence the name was sending a message. My uncle said no, no after the composer. Every dinner during the visit had one of Mahler's compositions playing in the background. When the girls went missing, a large house in the woods. We searched and called frantically. They were found standing quietly next to the front door, herded into the corner with Mahler, the dog sitting at attention on on their feet and then moved or neither of them. If they moved or made a sound, his nose would give them a gentle nudge. When my uncle appeared and started laughing, Mahler released them and then there were hugs for all.
B
That's cool.
A
The love of dogs and the love of asking all questions all of the time to keep on top of know your beans were woven into my daughter's DNA. So thanks for all you do. Here's a photo. My pod pet tax is Lilu, who is now 14. This was taken at the height of COVID when keeping distance at the dog park was one's only way to talk to anyone in person. The ball is a gift sent to Lilou from her dog park buddy so she could save face after having a couple of teeth removed when her teeth were cleaned.
B
Oh my gosh, that's hysterical.
A
It's one of those balls that is teeth. That's so cute.
B
Perfectly placed. Yep, thank you for that. This one is from Suzuki. I hope I'm saying that right. Suski pronouns she and her song lyrics since correct song lyrics since correction it I'm One of five siblings who creatively sang along with the radio when we were preteen. One song's lyric out of my mother my mouths. Jesus, Dana. One song's lyrics out of our mouths was double knit toaster. Blub blub. It was years later that I realized the song was Love roller coaster.
A
I like double knit toaster.
B
I do too. Pet tax attached. My almost 12 year old Montana rescue who now resides in Washington state. Date.
A
What a sweetheart.
B
A sweetheart.
C
Oh, this looks like a.
B
What the mutt. We have stars going on here.
A
Okay. Jack Russell terrier. Chihuahua chow.
B
Looks like maybe there's like a beagle.
A
Catahoula beagle.
B
It's probably like a full bread something, right?
A
I know. All right, let's see.
B
We're all like 15. One of these will be right.
A
She's full bred. Parson Russell terrier. That's hilarious.
B
So if anyone's curious what a Parson Russell terrier looks like, it's a mix between a cattle dog, a terrier, a chihuahua, a beagle, a shepherd, a boxer. But apparently it's actually just one dog
A
because it looks like a Jack Russell. Right. But it's a person.
B
We also couldn't see how big she was.
A
Very cute.
B
Next short one is just from Lex. No pronouns given. Just wanted to share some underwater treasure in Monterey Bay.
A
Oh, beautiful.
B
Yeah, that's.
A
Oh, that's lovely. That's very peaceful. Like I can just stare at this and just chill. Thank you for that. Next up from Mike M. No pronouns. I appreciate the newsy laughs first thing in the morning. There was a minor misquote in a previous show. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania called Rand Paul a peckerhead, not a prick for forcing the Senate to work over last weekend. Apologizes for nitpicking, but I think you'll agree peckerhead is objectively funnier than prick prick. And the Senator earned the giggle. Absolutely. Mike M. Thank you for this. I'm imagining SCOTUS hearing over the textual intent of Fetterman's insult and Justice Gorsuch saying peckerhead in his drawn out prickish diction. Awesome job creating a space to discuss Senate and scotus penile insults. Many thanks.
B
I also love that this phrase peckerhead is drawn out prickish Dixon diction. So there's like basically dick three different ways in that sentence.
A
It's fantastic.
B
So good. All right, this one's from anonymous. Pronouns he and him. Hi, AG and dg. And my fellow Leguminati, good news from the woods of Northern Wisconsin. At long last I finished the first draft of a novel called Pumpkin Guts. It's a bonkers Halloween creature feature, comedy, horror and hitting send on the email to my editor felt like winning first place in the seventh excuse me, 70th annual Hog Creek Chili Cook off when you finish a novel at 1am, there's usually no fanfare, no confetti, no dumping of Gatorade. I have a full time job, a part time job, an 11 year old son, 10 side projects, and several brilliant podcasts that I'm behind on. It's hard to write it all, but I propped my eyelids open with toothpicks and took this thing across the finish line. Once it goes through editing, I'll start queer. This is gonna be a tongue twister for me, querying literary agents. These are trying times, but I hope every MSW media listener out there is relentlessly pursuing their own dreams. I second that. Here's a stanza from a poem called The Ladder of St. Augustine by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that keeps me motivated. The heights by great men, reached and kept, were not attained in sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in the night. Thanks for all you do, ag, DG and the MSW Team Putting my hand in the air mirror in case anybody wants to smack it and high five. I give you a high five.
A
Anonymous High five right back at you. Air Digital Virtual High Five Anonymous Congratulations. That's a lot of work.
B
That's awesome.
A
All right, next up from Anonymous Pronoun she and her Greetings fine human beings. I've been listening for about six months. I love the show, came for the news, was surprised at how much I enjoy listening to people look at cute pictures, and I played the mental game for a while of if I wrote in, what would it be about? My cats, my job, etc. Turns out this is about sports. Nobody saw it coming. I generally don't care about sports, but this is also about history. And I care about that. A couple weeks ago, my husband and I attended a hockey game. While Hubs was grabbing hot dogs and the players were doing their last practicing, I saw some little girls with signs excitedly jumping around as close to the glass as they could. Don't tell anyone, but I started to cry. I've lived in Minnesota most of my life. I knew lots of little boys who dreamed of being professional hockey players, but this was the first year that those little girls could have the same dream. I was there at one of the first games ever of the Professional Women's Hockey League Nice. There are only six teams so far and one of them is Minnesota. None of the teams have nicknames yet, so if you have any suggestions, please let them know. You guys are very good at naming things. Also, shout out to my husband for his pure, non assholeish love of sports. He is just as excited to watch men, women, children, whether his team is winning or not.
C
Not.
A
He's just happy to be there. It's enough to melt my cold, cold heart. For Pod Pet Tax. These are our three cats, sorted by tail length, shortest to longest. Bunny, chicky and Lazlo. Oh, look, no tail. Half a tail and full tail.
B
That's awesome.
A
Wow, that's amazing. Those moments, right? You just. Something clicks in you. You see girls holding signs for one of the first six women's hockey teams and yeah, the waterworks happen.
B
You know what? I really loved watching and few of us were talking about this. How many young boys were waiting with things for Caitlin Clark to sign in Iowa? Not just the young girls, young boys. And that to me is huge. I mean the focus on women's sports right now is growing so quickly and
A
I love to see it all of the it Agreed. Oh, that's so great. Thank you for telling me about that. I remember she just broke the record.
B
Yeah. It was so good. So good. Logo 3 boom. And she drilled it. It wasn't even like it went off and it made. It was like nothing but the noise of drilling a three pointer from that is. Is a noise that is recognizable on a basketball court by any basketball player. It was gorgeous.
A
That's perfect.
B
How perfect?
A
Oh, that's so great.
B
She knew she was going to do it too. It was awesome. It was awesome.
A
So good. All right, everybody, thank you for sending in your good news and thanks to Representative Congressman Jared Moskowitz for joining me today. That was a brilliant conversation. He's so great. I appreciate him and all our Dem reps who have to be in a two vote minority in the house right now.
B
It's just.
A
It's just such a shit show. So I thank him for coming on. And we'll be back on your ears tomorrow. Make sure to check out the new episode of Jack back and also the new episode of cleanup on all 45 comes out this Wednesday. Until tomorrow. We're back on your ears tomorrow. And until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family.
B
Vote blue over Q and take everyone you know with you, especially because early voting has started in Texas. And I want Jasmine Crockett reelected.
A
Yes, it's imperative. Take everybody with you. Texas, I've been AG and I've been DG and them so beans.
C
Refried beans.
A
I like refried beans.
D
You can always count on Sunday to be the best day of the week. You can sleep in, go off your diet, spend the day in your pajamas and go on, have that second croissant. You know what else you can count on every Sunday? The Martin Sheen Podcast. Join me, your host, Martin Sheen, for beautifully crafted 20 minute programs filled with never before heard stories of my life along with personal reflections and poetry that inspires. And season two begins Sunday, February 1st. The Martin Sheen Podcast is the perfect Sunday relaxing companion. A chance to put your feet up, take a deep breath and enjoy some stress free listening time from the comfort of your favorite easy chair and that second croissant that stays between us. There's no judgment here, so make my podcast your weekly moment of calm as we explore faith, hope, love and what it means to be human. And rest assured, this journey is ever unfolding as I invite you to see what's next with me, Martin Sheen. So let's keep Sunday the best day of the week together and thank you for listening.
Original Air Date: February 19, 2024
Rebroadcast (“Refried Beans”): February 21, 2026
Hosts: Allison Gill (“AG”), Dana Goldberg (“DG”)
Featured Guest: Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23)
This episode of The Daily Beans, part of the "Refried Beans" series, takes listeners back to a high-impact week in February 2024. The show covers a wide range of political and legal news, highlighted by a deep-dive interview with Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz. The hosts blend sharp analysis, snark, and hope as they discuss Trump’s massive civil fraud fine, the fall of Jim Comer’s impeachment case against Joe Biden, the tragic death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, dysfunction within the Republican House, Fani Willis’s fiery court testimony, shoes at Sneaker Con, and more.
[04:03–06:19]
[06:29–07:55]
[09:11–12:22]
[12:24–14:38]
[22:55–31:01]
[35:46–36:41, 49:03–51:34]
[42:34–46:55]
[46:55–51:34]