
Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 In the Hot Notes: Trump’s lawyers met Monday with special counsel Jack Smith and other DoJ officials to discuss the documents case; CNN reports that the maintenance worker who asked the Mar-a-Lago IT guy about the surveillance footage accidentally flooded the server room where they were kept; Jared Kushner’s $2 Billion Saudi check appears even more comically corrupt than previously thought; US Senators are questioning Twitter’s privacy compliance under Elon; a former spy convicted of spying on the US for Russia, Robert Hanssen, has been found dead in his prison cell; plus AG and Dana deliver your Good News.
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Allison 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.
Allison Gill
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 with swearing.
Dana Goldberg
Daily Beans. Daily Beans. Daily Beans. Daily Beans.
Allison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Today, Trump's lawyers met Monday with special counsel Jack Smith and other DOJ officials to ask them, please not indict Trump. CNN reports that the maintenance worker who asked the Mar A Lago IT guy about the surveillance footage accidentally flooded the server room where they were kept. Jared Kushner's 2 billion Saudi check appears even more criminally and comically corrupt than previously thought. US Senators are questioning Twitter's privacy compliance under Elon Musk. And former spy convicted of spying on the US For Russia, Robert Hanson has been found dead in his prison cell in Colorado. I'm Allison Gill.
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
Allison Gill
Yay. Dana's back. Hi, Dana.
Dana Goldberg
I am back. Hi. This is such a weird hodgepodge of news. Like, if you just read these headlines, you're like, what the fuck is going on?
Allison Gill
Like, Trump's going to be indicted. Former spy dies. Kushner is comically corrupt. Twitter's privacy, it's all over the map today. It really is.
Dana Goldberg
It is indeed.
Allison Gill
I mean, I could talk for an hour about what's going on with the DOJ and Donald Trump, but I'm just going to briefly go over that. Of course you can listen to everything in depth with me and Andy McCabe on this weekend's episode of Jack the Podcast. If you're not listening, now would be a good time. I think he's going to be indicted this week, at least in the documents case. Now there's two grand juries. There's one down in Florida. I think what's happening is that the espionage would be charged in D.C. and the obstruction would be charged down in Florida. I don't know.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, God, it's just so good. Just something happened. I love these people who's never going to be held accountable. There's leaks, there's breaks in the dam, and I really feel like it's coming. You know, Stephanie Miller asks me all the time, what do you think? What do you think? And I'M like, I think that AG's right on this one. We've waited a while, but I think this is going to happen.
Allison Gill
Cool. Yeah. Love Steph. I'm a Steph head for sure, Mama.
Dana Goldberg
Me too. Yep.
Allison Gill
No Zoom happy hour this week. On Friday, I'm going to be in D.C. i'm going there to see if I can, I don't know, hang outside the Prettyman courthouse and see if any grand jury people will tell me whether or not they indicted Donald Trump. But I may try to throw together a quick meetup in D.C. with patrons. So keep an eye out on your Patreon email account for that. If you're a patron of the beans or, you know, cleanup or Jack, whatever. Like all of them. I'll just, whatever, we'll set it up. It'll be great. Drinks, you, me, do it. D.C. possible indictments. All right, we do have a lot of smorgasbord of news to get to, so let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right. Huge news hits in the classified documents case today. First up from the Times, lawyers for the former guy met on Monday at the Justice Department with officials, including the special counsel, Jack Smith himself, two weeks after requesting a meeting to discuss their concerns about Mr. Smith's investigations into Donald. That's according to two people familiar. The meeting did not include Attorney General Merrick Garland or Lisa Monaco, the DAG deputy attorney general. And it's unclear what precise subjects were discussed. But the visit came amid indications the prosecutors in the special counsel's office are approaching the end of their inquiry into the former guy's handling of classified documents. And it also comes at a time when Trump's advisors have concluded that there might be not much more time to stave off charges. Now, Hugo Lowell has followed up and said they did ask the DOJ not to indict their client during this meeting and that there were some other things discussed, like what the Trump lawyers consider to be prosecutorial misconduct on behalf of Jack Smith and his team. So the DOJ has said the meeting was unproductive. Imagine according to Hugo, though. So the lawyers, Jim Trustee, John Rowley and Lindsey Halligan. Remember, Corcoran's off the case because he's probably a witness now because of all of his notes. So he's not representing Donald on the parlatore resigned because he apparently hates Epstein's guts a lot. Epstein's not on this one either. They questioned him, the doj, for two full days, but not in front of the grand jury. And he might have proffered something. So we just have trustee Rowley and Halligan. They spoke for nearly two hours to.
Dana Goldberg
The Justice Department law firm. Ever.
Allison Gill
Yeah, totally. They declined to speak to reporters, though. Shortly after the visit, after two hours, man, Trump posted a message on his social media platforms suggesting that they've been. They discussed that he could possibly be.
Dana Goldberg
Indicted, and he went bat gone and crazy. I can't say batshit anymore because everyone corrects this thing and it's like, bats don't have shit. It's gonna.
Allison Gill
Or whatever it's called Guano. Batguano crazy.
Dana Goldberg
Bat. Guano crazy.
Allison Gill
Mm. So I'm on a plane to D.C. tonight because the grand jury hearing the documents case is also set to meet this week, and the Florida grand jury is going to be hearing from a witness later in the week. So maybe they've flipped somebody in the obstruction case, like maybe the guy who helped Walt Nada move boxes and then spoke to the IT guy and then flooded, Oops. Accidentally the server room where the surveillance tapes were kept. That's this next story. It's crazy shit. The employee at Donald Trump's Mar? A Lago drained the resort's swimming pool last October and ended up flooding a room where computer servers containing surveillance video logs were kept, according to sources familiar with the matter. It's unclear if the room was intentionally flooded or if it happened by mistake. The incident occurred amid a series of events that federal prosecutors found sus. At least one witness has been asked by prosecutors about the flooded server room as part of the federal investigation into Trump's handling of the classified documents. The flooded room, as well as conversations and actions by Trump's employees. While the criminal investigation bore down on the club, has caught the attention of prosecutors. They're looking at, like, obstruction conspiracy. Right? The circumstances may factor into a possible obstruction conspiracy case, multiple sources tell cnn, as investigators tried to determine whether the events of last year around Mar A Lago indicate that Trump or a small group of people working for him took steps to interfere with the Justice Department's evidence gathering. Prosecutors from the special Counsel's office have focused their obstruction inquiries around Trump, Trump's body man, Walt Nauta, and a maintenance worker who helped Nada move the boxes of classified documents ahead of federal agents searching the property last summer and potentially others. The sources say that the maintenance worker is the person who drained the pool that led to the flooding of the IT room where the surveillance footage was held. So this guy. In a previous report from the Washington Post, this is the guy who called the IT guy at Mar? A Lago and was like, where do you keep those surveillance tapes? How long do you hang on to them? Tell me more about the surveillance tapes. And his lawyer, John Irving was like, totally innocent. That's just, you know, he's just curious about surveillance tapes. Then he drains the pool and floods the fucking server room.
Dana Goldberg
And there's gaps. We don't know why there's gaps in the footage.
Allison Gill
It could just be. Honestly, it could just be glitches. Right? But, you know, they're looking into it because they didn't think the footage was complete. This DOJ did go to the source and, you know, submit a subpoena to the software company that, you know, probably keeps this shit in the cloud. That's just the dumbest group of fucking idiots that like, like you can't recover info on wet servers. It's just so dumb. All right, anyway, that's what's going on. Andy and I are going to go over all of this and the implications on the next episode of Jack, which out on Sunday, we record on Friday. So I don't know what's going to happen this week. Andrew Weisman is saying he'll be indicted this week.
Dana Goldberg
All right, we'll find out. And ag. This is from Brian Fung at CNN for U.S. senators. Well, they are scrutinizing Twitter's privacy practices and questioning whether the platform under CEO Elon Musk may have flouted consumer protection laws following widespread layoffs and resignations. It's an inquiry that could highlight vast legal risks Twitter and potentially for Musk himself. And I would say they probably did. In a letter dated Sunday and addressed to Musk and Linda Yaccarino, Twitter's incoming CEO, lawmakers cited last week's high profile departure by Ella Irwin, Twitter's former head of trust and safety, as the latest source of concern about Twitter's compliance track record. Sweeping staff changes at Twitter, combined with a hasty launch of new products such as Twitter Blue, have repeatedly raised doubts about the company's ability to meet its legal obligations under two consent orders signed with the Federal Trade Commission in 2022 and 2011. This is from the lawmakers and this is a quote. Mr. Musk's behavior reveals an apparent indifference toward Twitter's long standing legal obligations, which did not disappear when Mr. Musk took over the company, said the letter, and a copy which was obtained by cnn. It went on to say, regardless of his personal wealth, Mr. Musk is not exempt from the law and neither is the company he purchased. The letter was signed by Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren because She's a badass. We got Oregon's Dem Senator Ron Wyden, Massachusetts Dem Ed Markey, and Hawaii Dem Sen. Mazie Hirano. Twitter didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawmakers asked Musk and Yakurino to respond to a series of questions about Twitter's FTC obligations and whether the layoffs and resignations have hindered its ability to comply. In particular, the letter asks whether Twitter conducted a privacy and security assessment of Twitter Blue, it's paid subscription service, before rolling it out earlier this year.
Allison Gill
No.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. No. Under its 2022 consent agreement, Twitter is required to perform such assessments and I quote, prior to implementing any new or modified product. The letter also asks whether Twitter has maintained a comprehensive cybersecurity program to protect user data since must take over, and whether Twitter has met various reporting requirements, including obligations to report any significant data breaches to the authorities. I would again imagine they haven't. Yeah. The lawmakers asked Twitter to respond by June 18th. Well, Twitter's already under investigation by FTC for its possible breaches of its consent orders. Now, the agency confirmed the investigation in a rare public statement last year. The probe is linked to allegations made by Twitter's former head of security, Pieter. Is it Pieter Mudge? Zatko. Mm.
Allison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
And a whistleblower report first disclosed by CNN in the Washington Post. Well, Zatko claimed, among other things, that Twitter did not implement effective security policies as required and was extremely vulnerable to penetration by foreign spies. Musk has some defenders in Congress. House Republicans have alleged that the FTC probe is intended to harass Musk and represents an example of the weaponization of the US Government. The FTC has said the investigation is intended to determine whether Twitter is complying with its legal obligations under the consent orders, consistent with the agency's broader consumer protection mandate from Congress. Specifically.
Allison Gill
Yeah, we're weaponizing the government against Elon because we want to make sure that Saudi Arabia doesn't have all of our private user data. What a bunch of dicks we are. All right, From Best Lemon at Vanity Fair. Back in April, the New York Times reported Kushner's four years of Saudi ass kissing and murder excusing had paid off in the form of a $2 billion investment from the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund to his newly formed private equity firm. That struck a lot of people, ethics officials among them, as pretty shady, given that far from having impressed would be clients with his investing prowess, the panel that performs due diligence for the Saudi fund concluded no one in their right mind would give the former first son in law a dime. Among other concerns, the panel noted that management was inexperienced, that the kingdom would be responsible for the bulk of the investment and risk that its fee seemed excessive, and that the firm's operations were unsatisfactory in all aspects. Given those reservations, that's a nice way to put Warned that the country's public investment fund should stay far, far away from Kushner's firm, a recommendation that was overturned by the fund's board, which happens to be led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that is the guy who approved a plan to kidnap dismember a journalist with a bone saw and benefited from Kushner's unwavering support within the White House and reported insistence that the prince could survive the outrage as he had weathered past criticism. Again, just so it's abundantly clear the outrage and criticism were over a Saudi dissident and a US resident being chopped up into pieces. So it wasn't that difficult for people to put two and two together and infer Kushner's firm seemingly got $2 billion to invest in, at least 25 million to pocket regardless of performance. Good list as a thank for being so good to a human rights abusing autocrat. And a new story from the Times suggests somehow even further shadiness than that the papers Kate Kelly and David Kirkpatrick report. Shortly before the 2020 election, Kushner unveiled a government sponsored program dubbed the Abraham Fund, which the Trump administration said would raise $3 billion for projects around the Middle east, capitalizing on the Abraham Accords, which are the diplomatic agreements normalizing relations between Israel, the uae, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. As part of that endeavor, Kushner and then Treasury Secretary Steve Steve Mnuchin crisscrossed the Middle east in the final months of the administration on trips that included trying to raise money for the project. But the Times reported, quote, it was little more than talk. With no accounts, employees, income or projects, the fund vanished when Trump left office. The fund was overseen by Adam Bowler, at the time the head of a newly formed development finance agency and a college roommate of Mr. Kushner's. Mr. Boller joined Mr. Mnuchin on his Gulf visit in October and accompanied Kushner to Qatar and Saudi Arabia in December. Officials said the fund would invest in poorer countries that joined the accords, and its first projects were said to include upgrading checkpoints into Israel from Palestinian territories and building a gas pipeline between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Neither project went anywhere, nor did the efforts to enlist Gulf money. In January last year, Boller announced the only publicly disclosed investment in the Abraham Fund was a commitment of up to 50 million from Uzbekistan, a relatively low income country, Uzbek officials said at the time they sought to reduce poverty and foster regional cooperation. Long criticized for human rights abuses, Uzbekistan had begun a lobbying push in Washington to approve its image after a leadership change. Its new president also gave Mr. Trump a $2,950 silver replica of a historic building and his wife a $4,200 bed cover. But no money for the short lived Abraham Fund was ever delivered. Yet while the countries and the people who lived there that were supposedly going to benefit from the Abraham Fund never saw a dime, Kushner and Mnuchin would soon be raking in the cash. As The Times notes, Mnuchin's newly formed commercial enterprise received $500 million in commitments from the Emiratis, Kuwaitis and qataris, plus the billion 1 of the billion dollars from the Saudi Sovereign wealth Fund within a few short months of his time at the Treasury Department ending. And while Kushner took slightly longer to get things off the ground, his new firm reached an agreement for $2 billion of investment from the Saudis six months after he left the government. And while we would never suggest anything about this looks less than totally above board, others seem to believe it might be. An examination of the two men's travels toward the end of the Trump presidency raises other questions about whether they sought to exploit official relationships with foreign leaders for private business. In the weeks after the election, Kushner made three trips to the Middle east, the last for January 5 summit in Saudi Arabia. Leaders of the Gulf monarchies Minutian Steve that day began a tour through the region that was planned to include private meetings with the heads of the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the Emiratis, Qatar and Kuwait, all future investors. The path from public service to private investing is well trod by members of both parties. The two treasury secretaries under Barack Obama later went to Wall Street. But Kushner and Mnuchin stand out for the speed of their pivots and for the sums they raised from foreign rulers they had recently dealt with on behalf of the United States. Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in Lewis who studies government ethics, said each fund raises different issues. For Kushner, quote, the reason this smells so bad is that there's all sorts of evidence he did not receive this on the merits. But for Mnuchin, who was a successful investor before entering the government, the biggest question is whether he was burnishing relationships as Treasury Secretary that he knew would be useful to him in the near future. Ms. Clark says if he was, that's an abuse of his office. I don't know if it's criminal, but it's certainly corrupt. Kushner declined the Times request for comment. A spokesman for Steve denied to the Times that he had solicited investments while working in the government and claimed, without providing any facts or specifics, of course, that some of the details were inaccurate. The spokesperson added the firm has diverse backers, including US Insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and other institutional investors. So totally nothing shady.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, not at all. I mean, I tell you what, ag, like, I've always paid attention to the news, and I know that there's corruption in this country, but to actually be reading about it every day and having it being investigated in. And, I mean, I know that the country went to shit when he got elected or when he stole the election, you know, the orange bag of bone spurs. But he also created a situation where he and his entire family are now under a microscope, and I could not be happier about it.
Allison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Mm.
Allison Gill
That's what you.
Dana Goldberg
It's the only. Yes, a collateral beauty from this shit show. Anyway, this is from Ben Brash, and Ben's at the Washington Post. Robert Hansen. Now, he's a turncoat American spy whose leaks to Moscow the FBI dubbed possibly the worst intelligence disaster in US History. He was found dead in prison Monday. Now, Hansen, 79, was found unresponsive at the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. This was about 6:55 in the morning. That's according to news release from the Justice Department. Medical staff tried and failed to save him. And that's also in the release. The former FBI agent was sentenced to life in prison for espionage in 2002. His actions were so damaging that two decades later, the FBI has a web page, a web page explaining what he did and how they uncovered his ruse. And I love that they call it that. Such a. Hansen was arrested Feb. 18 of 2001 for spying on behalf of Russia in the former Soviet Union. That's according to the FBI. He used the alias Ramon Garcia with his Russian handlers, with whom he exchanged highly classified national security information for about $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. I'm telling you, the news stories that just fucking day, they all sound made up.
Allison Gill
It's all like, bad writers room.
Dana Goldberg
It really is there. Everyone would be like, pass, pass. All right.
Allison Gill
That you flooded the surveillance tape, server room with the pool.
Dana Goldberg
Come on. Yeah.
Allison Gill
After you spoke to the IT Guy about where the surveillance stuff might be. No, it's too on the nose.
Dana Goldberg
And the Onion is like, you're putting us out of a job.
Allison Gill
Oh, yeah.
Dana Goldberg
This is a quote from the story. The information he delivered compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, dozens of classified US Government documents, and technical operations of extraordinary importance and value. That's from the FBI about Hanssen. Now, the FBI wrote that his espionage activities began in 1985, and that was about nine years after he took his oath with the Bureau. The federal government established the Commission for the Review of FBI Security Programs in the wake of this huge scandal. Now it's in review of security programs. Published In March of 2002, the Commission described Hansen's espionage as possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history. And I can only imagine that might get overtaken with the Mar? A Lago documents case.
Allison Gill
It's like, I'm trying to pick the news stories today, and I'm like, all right, well, doj, like, possible indictments, okay? Kushner's shady. Like, it's just all.
Dana Goldberg
It's so many to pick from.
Allison Gill
And it's all over the place. It's just. It's all. I'm going to talk to Pete Strzok because I think he has a. Probably a pretty good grasp on who this motherfucker is, this Hanson guy. I'm going to talk to him about that on Tomorrow's cleanup on L45 podcast. But, yeah, so found dead. And, you know, I think he was giving, like, tunnels and plans to Russia for the, you know, the FBI, which could have caused, like, lots of death. And I don't know how what he did compares to what Donald Trump may or may not have done with his classified documents.
Dana Goldberg
True.
Allison Gill
You know, we could be anywhere from he was giving Iran nuclear information to Saudi Arabia so he could have golf games on his properties, to he just really wanted to show off his Iraq map to Kid Rock. Like, we. We.
Dana Goldberg
It could.
Allison Gill
It could be anywhere in there. You know?
Dana Goldberg
Funniest example you could have possibly come up with. I'm telling you, it's like a weird fucking game of political Mad Libs. You're like, give me a noun, all right? Give me an adjective and a verb, all right? He wanted to show off his rack map to Kid Rock.
Allison Gill
He could be a washed up, has been music star that really should change his name to Man Rock.
Dana Goldberg
That's so good, Boy Rock.
Allison Gill
Oh, God, what a dipshit. All right, everybody, we need the good news today, and it's going to come right after this quick break. If you have good news, you can send it to us@dailybeanspot.com just click on contact. We'll be right back. Messages will be right back. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news everyone. Then good news everyone. Good news, good news. And if you have any good news confessions corrections. Shout out to an adoptable pet in your area. If you can't pay pod pet tax a local business, your business. If you're making or creating something. I know we got a lot of entrepreneurs here that listen to the program. Shout out to a loved one. A woobie story. What the mutt, what the hecwine, frog orgies, babies. Whatever you want to send to us. Light brighting Republicans getting pegged.
Dana Goldberg
We love it.
Allison Gill
Yeah, pegamaga. All right everybody. Send it to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact Production Correction Kanai is fired Edition Yesterday's submission included references to they Might Be Giants and a heartfelt shout out to her beloved Mimi Sora was actually from Patty, not Julianne. Patty sent in paintings of Mimi Sora and a picture of her son's stitchery assignment. We will fix the pictures in the show notes for you patrons and sorry about the mix up. And look at the painting.
Dana Goldberg
So glad I was absent on this completely catastrophic day.
Allison Gill
And there it is. That is a very little little glowing friend with the little glowing friend and the bees. I love love.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, it's one of my favorite songs ever.
Allison Gill
It's so good, right? It's just the perfect pop song.
Dana Goldberg
Oh I do. Oh and here ag is the actual submission from Julianne and pronouns she and her excellent Dear Beans Queens. Thank you for all you do to help us understand the craziness of our world. Having a deeper understanding of the issues helps relieve some of my anxiety about the current craziness. Knowing that there are talented, intelligent people working hard to educate, inform and show support to those being affected the most is heartening. I have been inspired by your repeated examples of reiteration that we can all make a difference in our own way. I've often felt helpless, wondering what I could possibly do to help move our society in a positive direction. You've inspired me to look at my talents and think about what I have to offer. I started an Etsy shop during the pandemic to sell small pieces of original art with inspirational messages. My best selling pieces are Kintsugi. Is that right? Mended Hearts and Art Kits. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken things with gold. Transformation is not just about putting the pieces of one's broken life back together. It's about a reinvention of self in which our shattered pieces are alchemized into a beautiful, thriving masterpiece. Love that.
Allison Gill
I know.
Dana Goldberg
For Pride Month, I've created Rainbow Pride versions of the paintings and art kits and I'm selling them at 25 discount. I'm especially excited about the Kintsugi Group art kits, which have everything needed for each person to create a beautiful ornament slash magnet to honor their strong, beautiful hearts, including a link to a guided meditation and video instructions. This is beautiful. The process of ripping a heart, gluing it back together and mending it with gold is very therapeutic. It's even more therapeutic when done in a group. We're going to put in a notes in the show notes for that Etsy link so you can go right to it now for Pet Tax, I'm including a photo of my daughter's three cats who are staying with us while she is in deployment with Army National Guard in Eastern Europe. Thank you for your service. Already I've only been able to get one photo with all three. They are everywhere.
Allison Gill
There they are.
Dana Goldberg
Oh my God. They are really everywhere.
Allison Gill
This is so great. Thank you so much. And Kanai, you're not fired. You're never fired. Dude.
Dana Goldberg
We love Kanai.
Allison Gill
Ben. I'm glad. Yeah, I couldn't. My life would not be able to happen without.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, he saved me on more than one occasion too.
Allison Gill
Totally. Absolutely one of the coolest people and so thank you. Thank you for straightening that up. Next up from Anthony F. Pronouns he and him AG and dg. I want to say thanks so much for keeping all of us informed every single day. You two are incredible. Listening to the MSW family of podcasts keeps me informed and entertained and I tell everyone I can about all the good stuff that you two do. I'm paying a pet pod tax with our pup Cam. I won't ask you to play what the Mutt because he's a legit full blown mutt. I think he's literally a mix of just about everything. We got him from a rescue that helped him recover from heartworms. He's overcome that and some other health problems and is a big lovable goof who loves the cold weather and snow. We're happy to have this big lug in our lives. I'd also like to do a self plug embedded in a plug for a friend. Quiet City Books in Lewiston, Maine is owned by a friend. The store is a wonderful place that gives a platform to artists and creative types. I did my book release there a few years ago and I've participated in a few author reading events throughout the years. Quiet City is a welcoming, inclusive, safe place that is warm and welcoming to everyone and she ships to the lower 48. So if you're looking to support indie authors like myself, local artists and poets, or you're looking for homemade gifts or old books, check out QuietCityBooks square site. Look at this fluff.
Dana Goldberg
Oh look at.
Allison Gill
Oh, the happy baby with the arms folded.
Dana Goldberg
Gorgeous little ballerina feet. Love it.
Allison Gill
Thank you for that.
Dana Goldberg
Thank you for that indeed. This is from Beanie's mom. Pronouns she and her hello, my favorite smart, beautiful and funny ladies. Thank you so much Beanie's mom. Thank you for starting my days with laughter and sanity. Ish in these less than sane times. I adore you both. Meet my other joys. This is Bean Sprout. I call her Beanie. My amazing shelter veterinarian daughter. Mom brag there. By the way, found us with this Frenchie angel. She is greatest addition to our empty nester life. Co starring in my life's adventure is my amazing husband. Cruising us through a 30 plus year love. And rounding out the fun is our Harley Davidson. For context, a game show like your.
Allison Gill
Prize is right, right?
Dana Goldberg
Yep. And for context, I've been the opposite adventurous for my entire life. Fear of heights, worry about everything. Heck, I could never even ride a bike. Not who you would think of as a biker chick. But now I ride on the back of our Harley. I feel nothing but peace and tranquility. Makes no sense. And I love it. And now Beanie rides with us. Thanks for letting me share. I will send more pictures of Beanie's great adventures as we travel.
Allison Gill
That looks like a comfy Harley. I was just gonna dog with the doggles.
Dana Goldberg
Yep. Oh, loving the doggles. Oh my God. This is really cute. You look very happy on the back of that bike by the way.
Allison Gill
Yeah, this is amazing. That's a beautiful Frenchie, by the way. Love it. All right, now we have finally. Well nope, nope. We've got two. This is the penultimate from anonymous Pronouns he and him. Longtime listener, first time question asker. I need your help. I recently found two stray dogs that were abandoned at Indio Hills park while I was cleaning. They had shoestrings tied around their necks and looked scared. I used pepperoni sticks to gain their trust and managed to get them out of the desert heat for hours. On Friday, I tried calling everywhere around my area to help these dogs Find a shelter. And all pet rescues are at full capacity. Every pet rescue directs me to the county Riverside, which euthanizes dogs when rescue services are full. Also, our share of animal control in our area is very unhelpful. Long story. I called shelters in Yucca, Banning, Idyllwild, Palm Springs, Cat City. All are at full capacity. Yucaipa Rescue wants to see pics of the dogs before accepting them or no vacancy. I checked with the animal hospital campus and both dogs have no chips. I don't know the type of dogs that they are. The little dog is female and extremely shy, but she can be held like a baby. She cries a little when I place her back on the ground. The small medium one is male and is also shy but friendly around dog snacks and stays by your side. I have no friends at all to help me. My co workers pretty much told me, good luck with that. I might get fired for wasting company time helping these dogs. I don't know where to go or how I'm supposed to help them. I have no resources. If you know anyone that wants two dogs or a location that is not a kill shelter, please let me know. I thank you for your time and patience and I will forever vote blue. I only have a picture of one of them. So anyone in the Yucca, Banning, Idlewild, Palm Springs, Cat City, Yucaipa area, anyone at all, that's California. Reach out to us helloershirote.com and put dogs in the subject line. Rescue dogs or something in the subject line that I know that that's what that is so I can shuffle it up to the top of the pile and we'll see if we can help you out. That's a beautiful pupper.
Dana Goldberg
I know. They look really sweet. They look awfully sweet. I really hate people sometimes.
Allison Gill
Yeah. And anonymous, if you don't get. If we can't find anybody or you don't find any help, just reach out to me directly. Helloershiroad. I mean, I'm in this. I'm sure I can help find somebody at least to foster these dogs. I know a couple of great foster folks, so we'll get in touch. But thank you. Thank you for that submission. All right, you got a short one at the end here.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, short but sweet. This is from Anonymous. Pronoun. She and her. I wanted to share my peaceful spot where I listened to the beans. Thank you, ladies for your piece. Oh, and it is gorgeous. I mean, it really does look peaceful. That little lantern there is moon. I know. I mean, I don't know, but I know it looks like it's overlooking water. It looks very sweet.
Allison Gill
Yeah, it looks like maybe there's a bay and the lights across the bay. You know what I mean? Like, there's that black spot in between.
Dana Goldberg
I love when you call me bae.
Allison Gill
Hey, bae.
Dana Goldberg
Hey, bae.
Allison Gill
Yeah, Looks very nice. That makes me super chill. I'm, like, super chill right now. I love it just staring at this photo. Thank you for that, everybody. Send your stuff in. Happy places. What the mutt? If you need help with something, shout out for your business, anything at all, send it to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. I'll be back in yours tomorrow. You're gonna be out. Yeah. You're here tomorrow. We have to have to work out a time once I land in the. In the. In the District of Columbia.
Dana Goldberg
Indeed we do. And a little good news. This is just more of, like, another Beans meeting moment. I was at a concert last night. I'm in New York for the week, and someone came up and said, dana? And I said, yeah. They said, dana Goldberg. And you have to remember, we're on the podcast. Like, not many people, unless they go into a deep dive, know necessarily what we look like. So it's not like she heard my voice, and she was like, I'm a Beans listener. I can't believe she was. And I want to keep her, you know, anonymous, but she was at a concert with her son and has taken him to four or five. The same concert with the Indigo Girls. And I just love that she was there with him. And Alec is a teenage boy. And they were just. It was a beautiful night, but she came up and said hi. We took a picture. And anyway, it just made my night, so. Another Beans listener. I know you're out there. You say you listen every day. I want to keep you anonymous, but it was such a pleasure to meet you. So always come say hello. It really makes my day. And I mean it. You're never bothering me. Never bothering me.
Allison Gill
Oh, that's so cool. I know. Samsies, right? I remember I was at a coffee shop, and, you know, somebody was like, what name should we put on the cup? And I'm like, just put. Just put Ag. And somebody was like, ag.
Dana Goldberg
Yep.
Allison Gill
Lucy Road. And I was like, why, yes. And they're like, oh, my God. I was like, oh, my God, you. And then we had a hug, and it was great. And we talked about the cross stitch that was for sale in the. In the shop. It was a lovely, lovely encounter. Always loved that Wonderful. All right, everybody, we'll be back tomorrow. Until then, I don't like, can it get weirder? What's the news tomorrow?
Dana Goldberg
I don't think. I don't fucking know. I'd love an indictment. I'd rather go from weird to fuck. Yeah?
Allison Gill
Yeah. I have to. Like, I'm traveling, so I can't take my bottle of Vuv with me. So I'll have to, you know, fork over the extra for the extra expensive shit. When you know that you pay. You know the markup you pay at hotels if something happens while I'm away.
Dana Goldberg
Nah. Instacart something.
Allison Gill
Yeah, you know what?
Dana Goldberg
That's cheaper than a hotel bottle of champagne. Trust me. You can instacart something to your hotel and you can just celebrate.
Allison Gill
Good effing call, all right. I don't. I don't know why I abbreviated fucking, but good effing call, all right? We'll be back in your ears tomorrow with who the fuck knows what. 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.
Dana Goldberg
And take everyone you know with you.
Allison Gill
I've been AG and I have been dg. And them's the beans.
Dana Goldberg
Refried beans.
Allison Gill
I like refried beans.
Host: MSW Media
Release Date: June 7, 2023
In this episode of The Daily Beans, hosts Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg delve into a whirlwind of significant political and social news events from June 5, 2023. With their characteristic blend of progressive insights and snarky commentary, they unpack the latest developments surrounding former President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner's controversial financial dealings, Twitter's privacy compliance under Elon Musk, and the death of convicted spy Robert Hanssen.
Key Discussion Points:
Meeting with DOJ Officials: Trump's legal team met with Special Counsel Jack Smith and other Department of Justice (DOJ) officials on Monday, seeking to avoid an indictment related to classified documents handling.
Potential Indictments: There is speculation about impending indictments, particularly concerning different grand juries in Florida and Washington D.C., focusing on espionage and obstruction charges.
Notable Quotes:
Allison Gill ([02:17]): "I think he's going to be indicted this week, at least in the documents case."
Dana Goldberg ([02:35]): "I think this is going to happen."
Insights: The hosts discuss the strategic maneuvers of Trump's lawyers and the DOJ's stance, highlighting the tense atmosphere as the investigation nears its conclusion. The possibility of indictments looms large, with the hosts expressing anticipation and speculation about the legal outcomes.
Key Discussion Points:
Accidental Flooding: A maintenance worker at Trump's Mar A Lago resort inadvertently flooded the server room by draining the swimming pool, compromising surveillance footage storage.
Investigation Implications: This incident is being scrutinized as part of the broader investigation into obstruction of justice, raising questions about potential interference with evidence gathering.
Notable Quotes:
Allison Gill ([05:09]): "They discussed that he could possibly be indicted..."
Dana Goldberg ([07:25]): "And there's gaps. We don't know why there's gaps in the footage."
Insights: The flooding incident adds another layer of complexity to the investigation, suggesting possible efforts to disrupt the DOJ's evidence collection. The hosts analyze the implications of this event, pondering whether it signifies intentional obstruction or mere negligence.
Key Discussion Points:
Controversial Investment: Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund for his private equity firm, raising ethical and corruption concerns.
Due Diligence Failures: Initial assessments by the Saudi panel deemed the investment inappropriate, citing management inexperience and excessive fees. However, these reservations were overridden by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Notable Quotes:
Dana Goldberg ([10:49]): "It's a nice way to put Warned that the country's public investment fund should stay far, far away from Kushner's firm."
Allison Gill ([17:33]): "We have to make sure that Saudi Arabia doesn't have all of our private user data. What a bunch of dicks we are."
Insights: The hosts critique the rapid pivot of Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin from public service to private investment, questioning the ethical boundaries and potential conflicts of interest. They highlight the speed and scale of the investments post-administration, suggesting possible exploitation of official relationships for personal gain.
Key Discussion Points:
Legislative Scrutiny: US Senators, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, are investigating whether Twitter, under Elon Musk's leadership, has violated consumer protection laws, especially following significant layoffs and resignations.
Consent Orders Compliance: The inquiry focuses on Twitter's adherence to FTC consent orders from 2022 and 2011, questioning the company's ability to maintain its cybersecurity and data protection measures.
Notable Quotes:
Allison Gill ([11:27]): "Mr. Musk's behavior reveals an apparent indifference toward Twitter's long standing legal obligations..."
Dana Goldberg ([10:00]): "Lawmakers cited last week's high profile departure by Ella Irwin, Twitter's former head of trust and safety, as the latest source of concern."
Insights: Allison and Dana discuss the gravity of the senators' concerns, emphasizing the potential legal repercussions for Twitter and Musk. They also touch upon the broader implications for user data security and the company's operational integrity amidst major organizational changes.
Key Discussion Points:
Espionage Conviction: Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent convicted in 2002 for espionage on behalf of Russia, was found dead in his prison cell in Colorado.
Impact of His Actions: Hanssen's espionage activities are considered one of the most damaging in US history, compromising numerous intelligence operations and national security information.
Notable Quotes:
Dana Goldberg ([18:01]): "I could not be happier about it."
Allison Gill ([19:46]): "The information he delivered compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques..."
Insights: The hosts reflect on the severity of Hanssen's betrayal and its long-term ramifications for US intelligence. They also speculate on the legacy of such espionage cases in the context of contemporary political scandals, including comparisons to the investigation into Trump's classified documents.
While the episode primarily focuses on heavy political topics, Allison and Dana dedicate a segment to uplifting listener submissions. From art and personal achievements to heartfelt anecdotes, this section serves as a counterbalance to the intense news discussions, fostering a sense of community and positivity among listeners.
Notable Highlights:
Listener Submissions: Inspirational messages, art showcases, and personal stories that celebrate resilience and creativity.
Community Engagement: Hosts encourage listeners to share their own good news and support one another, emphasizing the importance of solidarity in tumultuous times.
Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg wrap up the episode with their signature humor and camaraderie, maintaining an engaging and relatable tone. They reiterate their commitment to informing and supporting their audience, blending critical analysis with light-hearted interactions.
Notable Quotes:
Allison Gill ([34:38]): "I've been AG and I have been DG. And them's the beans."
Dana Goldberg ([34:41]): "Refried beans."
In "Refried Beans | Server Room Pool Party," The Daily Beans offers a comprehensive and incisive look into some of the most pressing political and social issues of June 2023. Through sharp analysis, candid conversations, and a touch of humor, Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of complex events, all while fostering a sense of community and resilience.
Note: All timestamps correspond to the provided transcript sections.