Alison Gill (0:00)

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.

Adam Klassfeld (0:22)

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.

Larry (0:31)

Larry Daily Beans. Daily Beans. Daily Beans. Daily Beans.

Alison Gill (0:45)

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, April 28, 2022. Today, another proud boy has flipped for the Department of Justice. Trump admits something relevant to the Manhattan district attorney's criminal probe whose grand jury is about to expire. The DeSantis v. Disney battle isn't going the way Ron would like it to. The CEO of Boeing regrets doing business with Donald, a MAGA candidate for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor is homeless after his wife files a protective order. A judge says Trump's appraisers violated their own policy when they lied about his real estate values. And the 16 committee asks for an expedited briefing schedule in the Mark Meadows case. I'm your host, Alison Gill. Wow, it's a big, heavy news day. First of all, I wanted to talk a little bit about the Boeing CEO situation because I'm going to go in depth on that this Sunday on Mueller, she wrote. But apparently They've lost about $660 million when they made that deal to refurbish the Air Force One planes that Trump was using. And now they're sad about it. So we're going to talk a little bit about that and some other problems that are facing the Boeing CEO as well. And also later in the show, I'm going to have a chat with Adam Klassfeldt. We're going to talk about how Elon Musk has lost in court against the securities and Exchange Commission. You don't want to miss that either. And as you could tell by the top of the show, we do have a lot of news to get to. So let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up from the Justice Department, a Missouri man, a member of the Proud Boys, pled guilty today to a felony charge for obstructing law enforcement officers during the breach of the Capitol on January 6th. His and others actions disrupted a joint session of the US Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election. Luis Enrique Colon, 45, of Blue Springs, Missouri, pled guilty in the District of Columbia to civil disorder. Colon was a member of the Proud Boys, which describes itself as a pro Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, aka Western chauvinists. Beginning on or around December 2020, he and other Proud Boys members and others began discussing plans to travel to D.C. on January 6, he and others drove from Kansas City to Washington, D.C. colon brought a handgun with him on the trip, but did not bring it into Washington. On January 5, he and two others went to a hardware store to purchase items to use. On January 6, Colon purchased a modified axe handle to be used as both a walking stick and a weapon. On January 6, Colon and others met with a large group of Proud Boys at the Washington Monument, then marched to the Capitol, making their way to the west side of the grounds. At the time, Colon was carrying a pocket knife and wearing a backpack, tactical vest, tactical gloves, boots and a helmet adorned with orange tape. Colon and others proceeded past the police barricades and onto the Capitol's west plaza. He climbed a wall to gain access to a higher level of the Capitol's exterior and unlawfully entered the building at approximately 2pm while inside the Capitol, Colon obstructed police officers who were attempting to lower retractable doors to stop rioters from proceeding further into a portion of the building. Colon used his hands to stop one door and placed a chair in its path. He remained in the Capitol building till about 2:50pm so very interesting. There's a lot of talking about using force there, which makes me think that they are going to charge any of the Proud Boys who do not cooperate with seditious conspiracy. We'll see. That is just a theory of mine. I don't have any proof. And from Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney of Politico, multiple current and former RNC staffers have spoken with the January 6th select committee. Amid questions about the party's messaging and fundraising in the weeks after the 2020 election, the committee has shown particular interest in staff from the RNC's Digital and Finance teams. Most of the officials who've spoken with investigators are former employees who worked during the 2020 election cycle, including the fraught period between Election day and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. This means the committee has more insight than previously known into the Republican Party's activity in the lead up to January 6th. And by the way, today Vanita Gupta confirmed in a cafe.com interview that they are investigating at the Department of Justice, not the committee, but in the Department of Justice, not just the Capitol attack, but the lead up as well, and also what happened after now the interviews of these RNC staffers with the Jan. 6 committee, though they underscore the committee's interest in how political messaging by the national GOP apparatus, which partnered with the Trump campaign on digital fundraising efforts, may have stoked falsehoods about the 2020 election, they also want to know just how successful one particular email campaign was at getting users to click to donation websites. Those emails prompted people to give money based on false claims that the election was stolen. That's according to the committee. Committee investigators have said they're interested in who authorized the RNC's specific messaging about the election outcome and whether it played a role in stoking the violent mob that breached the Capitol on January 6th. Could the RNC be a co conspirator here? Salesforce, a third party vendor that the RNC had used to store internal political and fundraising data, appeared to reach that conclusion, saying Shortly after the 16 attack they were concerned their platform could have contributed to the violence. They've said that they've admitted it. The Select Committee has subpoenaed the company for its internal analyses that led to that conclusion, along with a host of materials related to its work for the RNC. Ronna Romney McDaniel, the RNC chair, has met with panel investigators, but on the day she did, the RNC sued to block Salesforce from complying with the subpoena. The subpoena, issued in February, also sought information on fundraising pitches questioning the integrity of the 2020 election and on metrics related to the campaign. US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly has said he will rule this week on whether to permit the Select Committee to access those materials through the Salesforce subpoena, side with the RNC and block it, or prolong the lawsuit. He has indicated he's inclined to dismiss the RNC's claims against the Select Committee on the grounds of that the Constitution's speech or debate clause prevents Congress from being sued for conducting its official business. However, Kelly is grappling with whether to allow the RNC to continue its legal fight against Salesforce, which would keep alive the prospect of blocking the committee from obtaining those records. In other 16 news, the committee has filed for an expedited briefing schedule in the good old Mark Meadows case. Time is of the essence, they say, in rectifying plaintiff's refusal to comply with a select committee's subpoenas. The House of Representatives is not a continuing body, so just in case anyone was wondering whether or not the committee knows that they're on a timetable, they do. The current Congress will end, they say, on January 3rd, 2023, just over eight months from now. Prompt resolution of this case is required for the Select Committee to have enough time to investigate fully the matters addressed by the subpoenas and to propose, and for Congress to pass any legislation that it may deem appropriate. In response. Time is of the essence. Plaintiffs combined opposition and cross motion for summary judgment they want to have done by May 10th. Defendants combined opposition to plaintiffs cross motion on May 20th and plaintiffs reply by May 31st, 2022. And they also request oral arguments on these cross motions be held at the earliest possible date the court is available following conclusion of the briefing. Meadows opposes this expedited schedule, just in case you were wondering. I'll keep you posted on what happens and In a lawsuit's never before seen testimony, Donald Trump himself admitted to personally overseeing the compensation of an executive whose corporate perks have been under criminal scrutiny by the Manhattan district attorney, potentially strengthening the case against the former president and his company for tax fraud. Never before seen, Trump's sworn testimony was filed in New York State court on Tuesday as part of a lawsuit against the Trump Organization over the way its security guards manhandled protesters outside Trump Tower in 2015. So this is a deposition from Trump about something that happened in 2015. According to the transcript of the October 18, 2021 deposition, Trump repeatedly asserted that he, and only he, oversaw the way Matthew Calamari Sr. Was paid for his work as the family company's chief operating officer. It would be me, trump repeatedly said when asked who had authority over Calamari's compensation. That's one of those bombshells, one of those smoking guns that we were waiting for, wondering whether or not Alvin Bragg had that when he decided to sort of not prosecute Trump, or if he's just now getting it. This could potentially make Trump personally responsible for any tax dodging scheme. And more importantly, is useful evidence in the grand jury investigation that has yet to produce an indictment against Donald. For months, three sources familiar with the Manhattan DA's investigation have told the Daily Beast that investigators have been probing the way Calamari was paid off the books with allegedly untaxed perks, such as an extravagant corporate apartment at the Trump Park Avenue in New York City's expensive Midtown and a Mercedes Benz. Prosecutors went as far as having Calamari's son, corporate security director Matt Calamari Jr. Receive total immunity for potential crimes and testify before a grand jury. In Calamari's case, Manhattan DA investigators have been asking about the corporate perks since at least February of 2021. That's what, eight months before this testimony was given, according to one witness who was interviewed by prosecutors. It was clear to several witnesses the prosecutors had hoped to leverage a long standing feud between Calamari and Weisselberg, their families, a Shakespearean drama over who's more loyal to the boss. However, formal charges have yet to materialize against the elder Calamari. Prosecutors could present these newly available statements to the grand jury as additional evidence tying Trump to whatever illegal payment scheme the DA's office is alleging took place at the Trump Organization. However, the special grand jury seated to hear evidence in the Manhattan DA's investigation is set to expire at the end of the week and will not be extended, according to people familiar with the investigation. So this six month special grand jury, which was impaneled in October, heard evidence late last year from several witnesses, including reporters to whom the former guy boasted about his personal wealth. The Forbes guy stands out in my head. Presentations to the grand jury were halted earlier this year after Alvin Bragg was sworn into office and raised concerns about the strength of the evidence. The decision to not extend the jury's term is not surprising because prosecutors already had pulled back from presenting evidence. But the development does indicate that over the past few months, the investigation has not escalated to the point that Bragg's calculus has changed. Bragg, who has stressed that the investigation is continuing following the abrupt and public departure of two senior prosecutors, said earlier this month there's no magic to the special grand jury's timetable and that his office could present evidence to a future grand jury if the investigation moves in that direction. Grand juries are impaneled in New York all the time, and any of them could hear the evidence, and I hope they do, because a New York judge has determined that Cushman and Wakefield that's Trump's one of the world's largest real estate firms that was doing real estate appraisals for Trump broke its own rules to appease the Trump Organization and the former American president's chronic practice of inflating the value of his properties. This is Judge Engoron. We talked about him yesterday. His surprising assertions were included in his court order on Wednesday in which he formally directed Cushman and Wakefield to turn over documents to the New York attorney general's office. In his order, the judge indicated he personally reviewed the sensitive documents in the privacy of his court chambers that indicate Cushman and Wakefield employees played along a damning revelation that could open a global Corporation to accusations of conspiring along with the Trump Organization. Quote, this court has reviewed numerous documents in camera demonstrating that CNW was not consistent in adhering to its own internal quality control practices when conducting appraisals on behalf of the Trump Organization. By enforcing the Attorney general subpoenas, Engoron's court order adds key support to the New York investigation, which is heating up. This is Tish James's investigation in what could be the final phase of her probe. When the investigation concludes, she'll be able to sue the Trump Organization and others for violation of the state's business laws and seek to shut them down permanently and seek monetary damages. In other News, As Florida legislators were rushing through the passage of a bill to repeal the special district that governs Walt Disney World last week, they failed to notice an obscure provision in state law that says the state could not do what legislators were doing unless the district's bond debt was paid off. Disney, however, did notice, and the Reedy Creek Improvement District quietly sent a note to its investors to show that it was confident the legislature's attempt to dissolve the special taxing district operating the 39 square mile parcel it owned in two counties violated the pledge the state made when it entered and enacted the district in 1967 and therefore was not legal. The result, Reedy Creek told its investors, is that we'll just continue to go about business as usual. Don't just ignore it. Ignore what the legislators did. In essence, the state had a contractual obligation not to interfere with the district until the bond debt was paid off. And that's Jake Schumer, a municipal attorney in the Maitland law firm of Shepard Smith, Colmier and Hand. And this is in an article for Bloomberg Tax posted on Tuesday and it cited Law and Crime, a law and crime article. So basically you can't do that until Disney's debts are paid off, so it's not binding. Over to Pennsylvania and Content Warning here for domestic violence and child abuse Teddy Daniels, a far right Republican MAGA candidate for lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, was removed from his home this week after his wife asked a court for emergency protections against abuse. This is at least the third relationship in which Daniels has been accused in court documents of mistreating a female partner. In court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Daniels wife accuses him of striking her and being verbally abusive, as well as threatening her, their young child and the family dog. Daniels wife initially received an order granting emergency protection from abuse to her and her child on Monday from the Wayne County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. On Tuesday Those protections were extended via a separate order from the same court. Under the terms of this order, Daniels is barred from the couple's home in Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania until the court orders otherwise. The order bars Daniels from contacting his wife and gives her temporary custody over the child. It also notes that there are firearms present in the couple's home and bars Daniels from possessing or acquiring any firearms while the order is in effect and to relinquish any he currently possesses to the court or an approved third party. In handwritten notes from Daniels wife that the court included in its Tuesday order, Daniels wife alleges that her husband, whom the court lists as a 6 foot 4, 350 pound guy, quote, grabbed me by the shirt during an incident in August and threatened to kill our family dog in front of the children. Quote, I'm afraid of him and what he will do to me and our child. The notes from his wife that accompanied Tuesday's court order detail a disturbing domestic saga in which she lives in fear for her safety and the safety of the child. According to Daniels wife's written notes, state police came to their home after being called to do a wellness check. Quote, after they left, Ted became very agitated about who called the state troopers and accused my family of talking to Rolling Stone about his prior domestic violence. He falsely accused me of talking to Rolling Stone. He was verbally abusive and I called the state police. Daniels wife has never communicated in any way with the reporters at Rolling Stone. She did not respond to requests for comment. Rolling Stone is withholding her name as she's an alleged victim of domestic abuse. Rolling Stone obtained the court documents from a family friend of the couple who asked that their names be withheld citing safety concerns. Now, according to Daniels wife's notes, when the state police returned to their home on Sunday, they suggested her husband leave the home overnight to cool down and suggested she get a protection from abuse order. Rolling Stone reached out to the state police in Holmesdale, Pennsylvania on Sunday to confirm they'd visited the home. The officer who answered the phone declined to comment. In her statement included in the court order, Daniel's wife said he returned to their home at approximately 6 Monday morning. He asked if I was going to file a protection from abuse order and I started crying. I started to go to the courthouse and he tried not to let me go. Daniel's wife wrote that, adding, ted followed me to the courthouse and then came into the courthouse. In her notes, Daniels wife makes alarming allegations about his prior conduct. He stalks me at work, screams at me, makes me cry. He cursed at me continuously, and our son repeats it to me. He has constantly said he would throw myself and our son out of the house if he lost the campaign. I wouldn't have a place to live in three weeks now. In her statement, Daniels wife further alleges that he curses at me and our son. She also says Daniels has threatened the young boy by saying he would kick his ass and that he needs an ass whooping. She also claimed Daniels gave alcohol to a child he had with another woman when that child was 12 years old. The Order for Emergency Protection, which documents the third relationship in which Daniels has been accused of abusive behavior, sets a court hearing for May 6. And Elon Musk tried to ditch his SEC babysitters to no avail. And Adam Klassfeld and I will break it down for you right after this break. Stay with us after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody, welcome back. Happy to be joined today by my friend from Law and Crime, Mr. Adam Klassfeld. Hi, Adam.