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Texas Tea (feat. John Fugelsang)
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Friday, July 11th, 2025 Today, oh look! The witness the government provided in the Abrego case didn’t have knowledge of Abrego’s situation; Mahmoud Khalil is suing the government for $20M for false imprisonment - malicious prosecution - and defamation; the Texas flood response was slowed by DHS secretary Kristi Noem’s cost controls; Kerr County officials waited 90 minutes to send emergency alerts to the people; Judge Breyer has set an August 11 trial date for whether the government violated the Posse Comitatus Act when it deployed troops to Los Angeles; a judge has blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship order in a new class action lawsuit; the documents and emails proving protected whistleblower Erez Reuveni’s account of Emil Bove instructing the DoJ to tell the court to fuck off have been released; Minnesota Senator John Hoffman is back at home recovering after being shot nine times by a political assassin; Ken Paxton’s wife is leaving him after 38 years for biblical reasons. Dan...
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- [00:00]
Alison Gill
MSW Media hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Friday, July 11, 2025. Today. Oh, look. The witness the government provided in the Abrego case didn't have the knowledge of Abrego situation. Mahmoud Khalil is suing the government for $20 million for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and defamation. The Texas flood response was slowed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's cost controls. Kerr county officials didn't send emergency alerts to people for 90 minutes after receiving them. Judge Breyer has set an Aug. 11 trial date for whether the government violated the Posse Comitatus act when it deployed troops to Los Angeles. A judge has blocked Trump's birthright citizenship order in a new class action lawsuit. The documents, emails and text messages proving protected whistleblower Erez Reuveni's account of Emil Bovey instructing the Department of Justice to tell the court to fuck off. Those have been released. Minnesota Senator John Hoffman is back at home recovering after being shot nine times by a political assassin. And Ken Paxton's wife is leaving him after 38 years for biblical reasons. I'm your host, Alison Gill. Hey everybody.
- [01:35]
John Fugelsang
Woohoo.
- [01:36]
Alison Gill
We made it. We made it through the week. It is Fugal saying Friday on the Daily Beans. I'll be joined later by my friend John Fugal saying Dana is back on Monday. We are up with the countdown is on the dinner with a final countdown till Dana Goldberg returns to the Daily Beans. I'm very excited about that. Thank you all for hanging in with me solo these past couple of weeks. I really appreciate it. And welcome to all our new listeners. And you know, just can't thank you enough for sticking with me during this. Also, there was a wild hearing in Judge Senas courtroom today about Mr. Abrego and it went just about how I thought it would go. The person the government produced, his name is Giles, didn't have any knowledge about what the Department of Homeland Security intends to do with Mr. Abrego once they detain him after his potential upcoming release from criminal custody. So as you know, there's two cases here, right? There's Abrego, Garcia's civil case in Judge Sinis's courtroom. Then there's his criminal case in Tennessee because they charged him with two bogus felonies that are ridiculous. And I think they're going to have a really hard time proving because a lot of the testimony is hearsay and it's coming from somebody who was given asylum and released from prison in exchange for their testimony. That's wild. But anyway, regardless of that he is right now in criminal custody. Right. Because his lawyers have said, hey, can you keep him in criminal custody until we can figure out what the Department of Homeland Security is going to do? Because they might just disappear him without any notice to South Sudan, where we won't be able to find him anymore, or back to El Salvador. We don't know. They've. The government's not trustworthy in this arena. And so right now he has a hearing coming up, I should say, on July 16 with a federal judge in Tennessee who is hearing the Department of Justice's arguments as to why his bail should be revoked. He's been granted bail. Right. He could be out right now. But the problem is if they let him out of criminal custody, ICE swoops in and there's no guarantees that he won't just be completely disappeared without due process because of what this government's been doing and shown itself to have been doing. So he could be released. There's a hearing on July 16, like I said, federal court in Tennessee. Judge Crenshaw will hear arguments from the government, the Department of Justice, on why his bail should be revoked and he should be kept in criminal custody pending his trial. A judge has already decided. A magistrate judge has already decided he's not a flight risk and he's not a danger to the community. So under normal circumstances, he would be released, he'd be free to go awaiting trial because he's not a danger to the community. But the government says he is a danger to the community and that DHS would just swoop in and take him away to somewhere and we can't tell you where and we can't tell you when and we don't know and we don't have any control over ourselves, I guess, is there position. But that person, Mr. Giles, didn't bother. The person who testified today didn't bother to get any of the knowledge he needed to answer the questions. In Judge Cenis's order from Tuesday on Tuesday, she said, come back Thursday. Bring me somebody who knows. Because their Department of Justice lawyers on Tuesday didn't know. And she was very frustrated with that. It's a guy they brought in today. He has no idea either if there's a third country. His contention is the government doesn't even start to think about what third country they're going to send a detainee to until they're detained. And so Judge Sinis seemed really frustrated with the fact that this guy didn't have the answers that she required. Somebody have come today or yesterday. I Should say Thursday, as you're listening to this, on Friday. And she said at the end she's inclined to issue a temporary restraining order preventing ICE and the Department of Homeland Security from disappearing Mr. Abrego to a third country until DHS knows what third country they intend to send him to and and when. Once he's released on July 16, if he is released, if the judge there, if Judge Crenshaw denies Donald Trump's motion to revoke. Well, the government's motion, I should say to revoke his bail. If he's released. Right. Then according to dhs, ICE will come and get him and then he'll be detained and then they'll start to figure out what to do with him. And what Judge Sinis is saying is after, if he's released and after he's detained, I need you to keep him where he is until we have another hearing. She said that she is likely to issue a temporary restraining order to that effect. And that kind of freaked out the Department of Justice lawyer. So they were like, no, let me figure it out. Give me 30 minutes. But then like, I'll explain it to you. See, Judge Sinis wanted to hear more argument after this Giles guy testified, but they ran out of daylight, they ran out of time. It was a long hearing. It was a five hour hearing. So she asked if everyone could come back Friday morning. That's this morning. If you're listening to this on Friday, DOJ was like, no, I can't. But once she said she might issue a temporary restraining order if they didn't come back. The DOJ Lord was like, oh, yeah, no, I can come back. I can come back. Actually, they said, give me 30 minutes. Like I said, give me 30 minutes and I'll see if I can get these answers. Maybe they were trying to work something out where they could, like if he called DHS and his clients and ICE and said, can if you grab Mr. Abrego on the 16th, if he's released by Judge Crenshaw on bail, will you agree to not send him anywhere until Judge Sinis has a hearing? But anyway, that didn't happen, I guess, because according to Anna Bauer, who I was following along, she works for Lawfare, I was following her play by play of what was going on in the courtroom. The media feed into the media room just stopped. And they said that they are adjourned until 9am this morning. So that might already be underway as you're listening to this. Just a wild hearing all around. But when I said yesterday that the person who they brought in probably wouldn't have the answers either. That's exactly what happened. There was no privilege, assertions or anything like that, but they didn't know what they needed to know in order to satisfy the judge's order from Tuesday. So that could be a violation of a court order, but we'll see. All right, some Texas tea for you. Apparently, Ken Paxton's wife is leaving him after 38 years of marriage for what she cites as biblical reasons. Quote, I believe marriage is a sacred covenant, and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation. That's what she said. This is Angela Paxton. She's a senator, by the way, Republican from McKinney. And she said this on Twitter. But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage. Okay. In her divorce filing, according to the Texas Tribune, Senator Paxton alleged that her husband had committed adultery, listing it as the grounds for divorce. The couple stopped living together more than a year ago on or about June 1, 2024, according to a copy of the filing obtained by the Texas Tribune. Now, the National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson, Joanna Rodriguez said of this divorce, quote, what Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting. No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time. So why is the National Republican Senatorial Committee weighing in? Because Paxton is currently running against John Cornyn in next year's Republican primary for Texas Senate. He's been impeached. Ken Paxton. I mean, he's been. I think he's been the Attorney general for, what, 10 years or something? Anyway, adultery is what it says in the divorce papers. So assuming there'll be more tea on this, especially if the National Republican Senatorial Committee is weighing in and calling it repulsive and disgusting, I imagine there'll be more details. I'm also assuming that, like, independent journalists and investigative reporters will be hounding this story until they get the details of it right, because it's one of those salacious stories, kind of like the Falwell Jr. Stuff. So, anyway, the hypocrisy is astounding. All right, we have a lot of news to get to today, but we need to take a quick break. We'll be right back with the hot notes. Stick around after these messages.
- [10:04]
John Fugelsang
We'll be right back.
- [10:06]
Alison Gill
Hey, everybody. This episode is sponsored by Peak. We all know what a bad night of sleep can do to a good day. And unfortunately, stress has A way of lasting long into the night, making real rest feel out of reach. And that's what led me to Peak's re Fountain electrolyte. And it's become the foundation of my night nightly routine. Each night I mix a sachet into water. It's simple, but the results are clear. I fall asleep with less tension. I wake up without that dull mental drag. And it doesn't knock you out, it just helps you rest. It gives me clarity and calm and that gives me energy that I need to get through my day. The secret is Peaks Triple biomaxed magnesium. That's a trio of glycanate, taurate and L Threonate. These forms of magnesium are chosen for how easily they can be absorbed and how deeply they support your nervous system. It's a smarter, more effective way to approach rest and recovery. 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Hot notes. All right. First up from cbs, a week before an expected committee vote on the controversial nomination of Trump ally Emil Bovey for a federal judgeship. And not just any federal judgeship. A third Circuit Court of Appeals judgeship with a fast track to the Supreme Court. CBS News has obtained the emails and text messages shared with Congress by a whistleblower who accused Bovee of unethical actions while he was a top Justice Department official this year. The messages were released Thursday morning by the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats who are trying to defeat Bovey's nomination for a judicial appointment to the Third Circuit U.S. court of Appeals. The text and email messages allegedly offer new insight into the administration's response to its mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego from Maryland to el Salvador on March 15. The whistleblower former Justice Department attorney Arez Reveni we have a complete audio version of that 27 page whistleblower letter on the Unjustified podcast feed. It's free if you want to listen to it about 90 minutes. It's really important. He was fired on April 11 after more than 14 years at DOJ, when department leadership accused him of presenting an insufficiently vigorous argument on behalf of the Trump administration during Abrego's court proceedings, meaning he didn't lie to the court and so he was fired. Last month, Rouveni issued a public statement opposing the nomination of Bovey, who is one of Trump's former criminal defense attorneys. The text and email messages, which were obtained by Democratic leadership on the Senate Judiciary Committee, show Rouveni unsuccessfully pressed his colleagues and other federal agencies for assistance in fulfilling a court order that Abrego be returned to the US In March. Dozens of email messages also allegedly reveal attempts by the Trump administration officials to label Abrego a leader of the gang MS.13, which Abrego Garcia's lawyers have strongly denied, and downplay the agency's mistake in removing him to El Salvador, which they're now again openly admitting in court and in court documents after denying it for months. But these emails show that even the government was like he's not a member of Ms. 13. How am I supposed to present that the declaration signed by this one guy under penalty of perjury says he's not. Some email exchanges in which Reuveni was a recipient during the week of March 27 included questions about the extent of Mr. Abrego's membership, or leadership for that matter, in Ms. 13, and inquired about whether or how the US could request that El Salvador return Mr. Abrego. The messages by Rouveni also warn about the legal peril of ignoring court orders. One of the messages in the batch purportedly showed that a Homeland Security official conflated Abrego's alleged MS.13 membership with membership in Trende Aragua, a totally different gang based in Venezuela. Some of the text messages from Rouveni included exchanges by Rouveni and a Justice Department colleague in which they refer to alleged instructions from Bovey and to tell the court fuck you about their court order that the order that Abrego and others be returned to el Salvador to U.S. custody after the March 15 deportation flights. One such exchange between Trump administration officials, including Justice Department officials, from the night of March 15, that night that the court order happened to return the flights, turn them around, includes a reference to the alleged fuck you guidance. The fuck you guidance is what they're calling it now. At his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Bovey denied Rouveni's accusations of unethical conduct. Quote, I have never advised a Department of justice attorney to violate a court order. That's what Bovey told the Senate Judiciary Committee. He added, I don't think there's any validity to the suggestion. The whistleblower complaint filed yesterday calls into question my qualifications to serve as a circuit judge. The committee is expected, by the way, to hold a hearing on Bovey's confirmation Thursday, according to two congressional sources. All right, let's talk about the Texas flood response. This reporting comes from cnn. As monstrous floodwaters surged across Central Texas late last week, officials at FEMA leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and life saving resources like they have in countless past disasters. But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles, according to four officials that spoke to cnn. As CNN has previously reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees fema, recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending that every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign off before the funds can be released. So for fema, where disaster response costs can routinely soar into the billions as the agency contracts with on the ground crews, officials say that that $100,000 threshold is essentially pennies requiring sign off for relatively small expenditures. In essence, they say that order has stripped the agency of much of its autonomy at the very moment its help is needed the most. Quote, we were operating under a clear set of guidance. Lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs and be ready to deliver it. That's a longtime FEMA official speaking to cnn. That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment. For example, Central Texas towns were submerged in rising waters. FEMA officials realized they couldn't pre position urban search and rescue crews from a network of teams stationed regionally across the country. In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams, which are specifically trained for situations including catastrophic floods, that would have positioned them closer to a disaster zone in anticipation of urgent requests. But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed nome's approval before sending those additional assets. And Noem didn't authorize FEMA's deployment of urban search and rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began. I guess she was busy celebrating her independence. So their blood is on her hands, but not just her hands. From ABC at 4:22am on Friday, as Texas began to flood, a firefighter in Ingram, just upstream from Kerrville, asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office to alert nearby residents. And that's according to audio obtained by ABC affiliate ksat. But Kerr county officials took nearly six hours to heed that call. Quote, the Guadalupe Schumacher sign is underwater on State Highway 39. That's what the firefighter said in the dispatch audio. Is there any way we can send a co our hunt residents asking them to find higher ground or stay home? Quote, stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor. That's what a Kerr County Sheriff's Office dispatcher replied. The first alert didn't come through Kerr County's code red system until 90 minutes later. Some messages didn't arrive until after 10am Six hours later. By then, hundreds of people had been swept away by the floodwaters. Records show that the topic of flood warning systems for Kerr county has come up in at least 20 different county commissioners meetings since it was first introduced in 2016. Now they're not answering the questions. They say we'll get answers, but they're not answering them. We'll see what we find out. All right, we're going to shift gears. This is from Democracy docket. A federal judge set a three day trial in August to determine if Trump and his ongoing use of the California National Guard and Marine Corps in Los Angeles violates federal law. This is a non jury bench trial and it's been set by Judge Charles Breyer. It's going to run August 11th through the 13th and it will address whether Trump's use of the military in the second largest city in America has violated the Posse Comitatus Act. That act criminalizes the use of armed forces to enforce civilian laws under normal circumstances, though, Trump officials say troops were being sent to Los Angeles to protect federal property and personnel. Soldiers have been authorized to accompany Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE officials on immigration raids and temporarily detain civilians. Troops have also been used to assist DEA and their routine counter drug operations hundreds of miles away from the city. Such arrangements heavily blur the line between military and civilian authority and get the military closer to direct law enforcement without the invocation of the Insurrection act, one of the president's most powerful emergency authorities that does temporarily suspend Posse Comitatus. But he didn't invoke that. So we'll see how that bench trial goes. All right, Some better news from the Times, and this was expected following the Supreme Court's ruling on the nationwide injunctions. A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a contentious executive order ending birthright citizenship after certifying a lawsuit as a class action, effectively now the only way he could impose such a far reaching limit since the Supreme Court's ruling last month. Ruling from the bench Judge Joseph N. LaPlante, the U.S. district Court for the District of New Hampshire, said in his decision that it applied nationwide to babies who would have been subject to the executive order, which included the children of undocumented parents and those born to academics in the United States on student visas on or after February 20th. Now, the Trump administration has fought to challenge the long standing law laid out in the Constitution that people born in the United States are automatically citizens regardless of their parents immigration status. Judge LaPlante's order reignites a legal standoff that has been underway since the beginning of Trump's second term. This Judge LaPlante, an appointee of President George W. Bush, he issued a written order formalizing the ruling on Thursday morning. He also paused his order for seven days to allow for an appeal. That's normal. All right. Some great news from NBC On a recent afternoon, Mahmoud Khalil sat in his Manhattan apartment cradling his 10 week old son as he thought back to the pre dawn hours spent pacing a frigid immigration jail in Louisiana, awaiting news of the child's birth in New York. For a moment, the outspoken Palestinian activist found himself uncharacteristically speechless. I cannot describe the pain of that night, khalil said, finally gazing down as the baby dean cooed in his arms. This is something I will never forgive. Now, weeks after regaining his freedom, Khalil is seeking restitution. On Thursday, his lawyers filed a claim for $20 million in damages against the Trump administration, alleging that he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an anti Semite as the government sought to deport him over his prominent role in campus protests. The filing, a precursor to a lawsuit under the Federal Tort Claims act, names the Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department. It comes as the deportation case against Khalil, a 30 year old recent graduate from Columbia University, continues to wind its way through the immigration court system. The goal, Khalil says, is to send a message that he will not be intimidated. They're abusing their power because they think they're untouchable, he said. Unless they feel there is some sort of accountability. It will continue to go unchecked. Next up from the Associated Press, Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman, who was shot nine times by a gunman posing as a police officer who authorities say went on to kill another lawmaker, is out of the hospital and he's now recovering in a transitional care unit. That's according to his family. Quote, john has been moved to a rehab facility, but he's still a long road of recovery ahead. That's what the family said in a statement Monday night. The family released a photo showing a smiling Hoffman giving a thumbs up while standing with a suitcase on rollers ready to leave the hospital. And I'm just sending every ounce of positive energy and love to the Hoffmans, their community and the people of Minnesota. And I'm wishing him a speedy and full recovery. All right, everybody, it's time for some good trouble. What are you guys doing?
- [24:08]
John Fugelsang
Getting into trouble. Getting into trouble.
- [24:11]
Alison Gill
All right, everybody. This is an Atta y'. All. Not like an Atta boy or atta girl, but atta y'. All. I've decided. And this is from KPBS here in San Diego in my hometown. Just a few days, maybe a week after we spotlighted the Battle Buddies program for veterans to escort immigrants, Afghan immigrants to court. Now in the last week, more than 200 veterans just this past week have volunteered to attend immigration hearings with Afghans who worked with US forces during the 20 year war in Afghanistan. And that's according to Kyleen Hunter, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, IAVA and the nonprofit Afghan Evac partnered on the Battle Buddies initiative. And after the June 12 arrest of Syed Nasser, a former Afghan interpreter, after his San Diego asylum hearing, quote, this isn't political, hunter said at a Monday news conference. This is personal for many of us. These are the people that we served with. Nasser and his brother fled Afghanistan in 2023 after the Taliban killed another one of his brothers at a family wedding. That's according to his asylum request papers. He arrived in the US in 2024, crossing at the San Ysidro port of entry via the CBP1 app. Two months ago, Nassar's brother was granted asylum with the same story and documentation that Nassar provided. That's according to his attorney, Brian McGoldrick. But on Thursday, an immigration judge dismissed Nassar's asylum case, placing him on expedited removal status. His attorney said Nassar will have a credible fear interview with an asylum agent to determine whether he can reapply for asylum if the agent determines that his Fear is not credible. He could be deported. McGoldrick said they'd appeal a negative decision. That interview has not yet been scheduled. Now, Nasser's case has galvanized a community that came together in 2021 to help get former US allies in Afghanistan out of the country. Sean Van Diver, the San Diego Navy veteran who co founded Afghan Evac, said all the Afghans who came to the US since 2021 were vetted and approved to come. The Department of Homeland Security has said Syed was not vetted. DHS has said there's no evidence that Syed served alongside our country. That's what Vandiver said on Monday. He went on to say, both of those things are lies, knowable lies. They know they're not telling the truth. So thank you to all the veterans working with Afghan evac and battle buddies for being there for our friends and allies. Just wanted to give you that good trouble update today. And your other good trouble is to take some time for yourself this weekend, okay? Do something for yourself and then tell us about it Monday when Dana comes back. All right, everybody. We have a great interview with John Fugalsang right after this quick break, followed by the listener submitted good news. Stick around. We'll be right back. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It's Friday on the Daily Beans. That means it's Fugalsang Fridays. That's right. I'm being joined by my good friend. He hosts Tell me everything on SiriusXM progress channel 127, which you can hear weeknights at 9pm Eastern, 6 Pacific. Sometimes I pop up on there. You never know. Yeah, but he always has great guests on that show. If you don't have that, you can listen to the John Fugal Saying show podcast. And you should all subscribe to the John Fugal Saying substack because that is new. And you want to make sure you get your inbox updates on everything this guy is doing. Hey, John. How's it going?
- [27:41]
John Fugelsang
You're like. You're like my Flavor Flav at this point. Thank you, Hype man. That's. That's. I should mention my. My book, too, because the blurbs are coming in my. I got blurbs, Allison. It's. I wrote a book, so. Yeah, it's a crazy summer.
- [27:52]
Alison Gill
What's your favorite blurb so far?
- [27:54]
John Fugelsang
Oh, man. I mean, Willie Nelson was pretty special, but we got. I got the most. I have the most schizophrenic collection of, like, my publishers didn't know what to expect because this is a book about Christianity and politics. And I think they were expecting I'd bring in a lot of theologians and clergy and academics. And I brought in like, you know, Anita Baker and Nick Offerman and Yvette Nicole Brown and John Cryer and a lot of really wonderful artists who. And real authors too. Katherine Stewart, who wrote the Power Worshipers and Joel Edward Goza. I got some academics, but, you know, I also got Patton Oswalt and, and some very. And Elaine Boozler to give me book blurbs as well. Elaine Boozler has never been asked to give a book blurb for something about Jesus before. So it was a real first for her career wise too. So. But I'm just.
- [28:40]
Alison Gill
Some of the folks are like, well, will I burst into flames if I'll be getting.
- [28:44]
John Fugelsang
So thank you.
- [28:45]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And you know, speaking of bursting into flames. Well, first of all, I saw something. I know we were going to kick off with the Epstein files, but I saw something and I thought of you. I thought this was great. That I think the Archbishop or the diocese in Los Angeles, I mean, it's not great, but I think it's a great response from the Catholic Church. And I want you to explain how big of a deal this is to maybe non Catholics, but they are forgiving people, excusing people from Mass to avoid ICE raids at churches. And I have never in my life, in my lifetime growing up as a Catholic all the way through confirmation, have never seen any archbishop or otherwise or any diocese excuse you from Mass. That's pretty big.
- [29:27]
John Fugelsang
Let me talk about that then. Because, yeah, I mean, I grew up extremely Catholic, as you know, very Catholic. We had open casket reunions. Like, like there's Catholic. And then, you know, my parents were both ex clergy and, and they, they, some kids get piano lessons. I had organ lessons.
- [29:44]
Alison Gill
And.
- [29:44]
John Fugelsang
Yeah, you, you don't. I really did. And you don't miss Catholic Mass. Like, you don't do it.
- [29:49]
Alison Gill
Sin, big sin, huge sin.
- [29:51]
John Fugelsang
The only way you ever miss Catholic Mass is if you are sick or dying. And if you're gonna die on a Sunday, you can still make 5 o' clock mass on Saturday night. So that, that's, that's canon. And what Como over Caligula has done, and it's amazing is six months into his second term, he has managed to pick a fight with the Vatican, the Pope, the bishops and an entire institution that's been around for 2,000 years because apparently mass deportations of children was the Vatican's last straw. Jesus flipped the tables in the temple, but Donald Trump is flipping off the beatitudes. And what we're seeing now with the. The bishops who are telling people not to come to Mass. First off, that's because they're not going after criminals. They're going after people at work, in their schools and in church. These Ice Gestapo, I mean, they're. They're proving that you can be a fascist thug and a dickless coward wearing a mask at the same time. But when they say, don't come to Mass, look, families that are worried are already not going to come to Mass. No one's going to really pay that any mind. That's a public statement approved by the new Pope to let everyone know where the Catholic Church officially stands on this racist, dishonest policy of kidnapping people. Again, the same people who put up the Help Wanted sign at our border and then promised a wall big enough, but couldn't hide the Help Wanted sign. And they'll never go after the employers who are the reasons that these people cross the border. They'll just go after the brown people and never do a thing to take down the Help Wanted signs. So we just saw a coalition of 60 Catholic sisters protesting outside the Capitol. Cardinal McElroy, Cardinal Tobin signed a public leader condemning Trump's budget for harming the poor and sowing chaos, which is an ecclesiastical way of saying, you're a goddamn fascist. Trump pretends not to hear it, but when the cardinals are saying, your policy is morally repugnant, you don't get to shout fake news. And Pope Leo, who is fluent in five languages, including ethics, he condemned.
- [31:54]
Alison Gill
Does he speak Liberian?
- [31:56]
John Fugelsang
Listen, most people are shocked that there's an American in Italy who speaks five languages and doesn't own a gun. The Liberian thing is totally hilarious, though. The Liberian thing to me was like, Trump sent a room full of yes men and no one told him what Liberia was. No, again, the Pope is calling him out on all of this because this is what the Bible actually says. And for your listeners, you don't have to be a believer to use this against your racist loved ones and co workers. Okay? I have a whole chapter in my book about this. God is unambiguous about welcoming the stranger. He says to do it all over the Hebrew scriptures. And he won't let you mistreat them either. You got to welcome them, and then you got to treat them like they're one of your own. That's God, if you're into Him. His son comes along and says in Matthew 25 that individuals and nations will be judged heaven or hell, by how they welcome the stranger and how you treat the stranger is how you treat him. So.
- [32:51]
Alison Gill
But those Christian nationalists aren't afraid of going to hell. No, but the reason that this excuse note from the bishop is so important and from the church is so important is because I will tell you, literally, if you are a Catholic and you miss mass and something happens to you where you die before you are able to go to reconciliation and ask for forgiveness and do your penance, if something happens before that happens after you miss mass, you will go to hell.
- [33:17]
John Fugelsang
That's a real belief. That's in Hamlet, by the way. That's in Hamlet. When Hamlet's father comes as the ghost and talks about how he was killed and no reckoning made, but sent to my account with all my imperfections on my head, that's baked in like, you don't get to confess your sins. You. You burn in hell forever. Fortunately, these guys, they believe nothing. They love the church when it's policing women's bodies. But as soon as the church says, hey, you know what, maybe don't deport 4 year olds at gunpoint, then it's woke socialist propaganda. This is authoritarianism wrapped in a rosary. And J.D. vance is this little, you know, smiley face button they put on the whole thing. But just don't be afraid to tell your. Your believer, maga friends, God and Jesus, command us to welcome the stranger. Why should I listen to you and Donald Trump and completely fucking reject God and Jesus? Try it out on grandma. It's a good line.
- [34:09]
Alison Gill
Yeah, see how that works out. All right, so let's transfer to what we were going to start with, which is the, the quote unquote, Epstein files. Been touting this for months, walking around with binders that say the Epstein files on them. Bondi saying, I've got the list, I've got the client list on my desk. As we speak, Kash Patel and Boingo, Boingo or whatever his name is, saying, we're going to get this out.
- [34:32]
John Fugelsang
Kash Patel's deep stink out.
- [34:34]
Alison Gill
Yep. And. And now. Oh, it's nothing. There's no client list. Move along. And then when Trump is asked about the missing minute in the Epstein video, and by the way, there's like a whole section of the video missing to like 60 seconds. Not the right rendition, right size. There's a whole piece missing from that. He says, why are you still talking about Epstein? Oh, this is old. That guy's a creep. Move along. Move it along. I mean, wow, talk about protesting too much.
- [35:02]
John Fugelsang
Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, there's so much to unpack in this story here. First off, I'm sorry for maga. I know their super bowl just got canceled, but Pam Bondi sold this thing like qvc. I mean, five months ago, she promised thousands of pages. Remember, she promised justice for 254 victims. And all these videos, little Republican quizlings are so angry. Boy, the Nazis really hate it when Nazis protect Nazis. That's what I've learned from this experience. But like, they're all like, but Trump said he'd release the Epstein list. And I'm like, moron, Trump is the Epstein list. But listen, I mean, the Deep State is real. And apparently it's run by Dan Oingo Boingo and Cash Patel, these conspiracy pilled meatheads who got their jobs because they made viral videos about Epstein being murdered by Hillary Clinton and George Soros's laser shark. And we warned MAGA about this. Trump promised to release his taxes, too. He was never going to release these files. And according to this new memo that Pam Bondi put out, and let's not forget, Pam Bondi got the job because she was willing to publicly accept a bribe to drop charges against Donald Trump for ripping off Americans. This new memo says, well, Epstein, he ran a global child sex trafficking ring, but just for fun. No rich people involved, no powerful people, no blackmail, no dirt, no compromise, no leverage. Just Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell working alone like two enchanted pedophile forest gnomes trafficking underage girls and never jotting down a single name.
- [36:32]
Alison Gill
That's like Schrodinger's Johns, right? Like, they, they're there, but they're not, you know? No, it was, it was a sex trafficking ring. Yes, that's why Ghislaine Maxwell's in jail. But there were no, There were no actual.
- [36:44]
John Fugelsang
Oh, no, it wasn't a ring. There were no clients. It was just a ring. And, and, you know, so maga, I mean, some of them are losing this. Some of them are getting in line because again, Don Trump could eat a baby and they'd go along with it. I mean, these guys that are angry now, we know they would hold Donald Trump's lube while he did this. But a lot of Magas are not coming back. This was their final fantasy, Allison. I mean, this was going to be the great reveal, the smoking gun. They would finally expose all the libs and Hollywood lizard people and, and, and it would be like Hunter Biden's laptop, but with even more dick pics they could have on their hard drive. And they were going to get the elites and Obama and. And what do they get? They got. They got Prince Andrew again and a note that said, please stop calling here. And. And Bambodi says there was never a list.
- [37:28]
Alison Gill
They got Prince Andrew and the measles.
- [37:29]
John Fugelsang
Yes, but, I mean, even Kevin Sorbo. Kevin Sorbo is confused. The star of Hercules, the Dumb Years, he was like, saying, is she lying or just incompetent? And, you know, when the star of God's not Dead, three is asking that. I mean, Trump's DOJ is stacked with sycophants who have zero incentive to dig any deeper. And this is what MAGA gets for trusting this man. They were so ready to wallow in their hate, and now he's taken that away. This was their moon landing and they blew up on the launchpad.
- [38:03]
Alison Gill
Did they not hear Trump in the interview before the election when asked if he was going to release, you know, release the JFK stuff. Oh, yeah, you're going to release the aliens stuff about visitors from other plants. Oh, yeah, you're going to release the Epstein files. Yeah, well, part of them, maybe not all of them.
- [38:19]
John Fugelsang
Yeah, who cares, right?
- [38:21]
Alison Gill
You know, I mean, he told you what he was going to do, which is. Which was this he had to go through. They had to spend the last six months trying to get his name out of those files. And it was in there so many times, apparently, they can't even release one page of it.
- [38:33]
John Fugelsang
And Elon Musk told the truth about something this year, right? I mean, Trump's in the flight logs, he's named in depositions, he's been sued in court by victims. He's photos. Doe 174. Doe 174. In legal records, a girl was allegedly trafficked out of Mar A Lago, which means there was never a list and. Shut up.
- [38:51]
Alison Gill
Yeah, and why are you asking me about Epstein? Move. Move on. Move on, please.
- [38:56]
John Fugelsang
Oh, did you see that? The press conference in the White House. He just wanted to talk about gold leaf versus gold trim. Like. Like he's redesigning a Cheesecake factory. And they brought up Epstein and he got triggered. I mean, desecration. Why are we still. Why are we wasting time with that creep? It's like I come in in Nuremberg saying, why are we still talking about that dead Fuhrer?
- [39:18]
Alison Gill
I mean, why aren't we talking about our failed response in Texas? Because we gutted the National Weather Service and Noah.
- [39:24]
John Fugelsang
Exactly. But that's. I mean, even Roseanne came through with this. Roseanne. I've known her since. Look, when When Maga, Roseanne is making more sense than the Attorney General, I mean, you know, they're losing it. I mean, Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, they're going to go after, but you'll notice they're going to go after Pam Bondi. They won't go after Trump. They can't. They're obedient. So Mag is not mad, Allison, because they were lied to. They're mad because they didn't get the lie they wanted.
- [39:52]
Alison Gill
Yeah, yeah, I thought for sure they were just going to kind of falsify some Epstein files and put them out there.
- [40:00]
John Fugelsang
They can't. And that's the thing, right? If, if they release these files and if it was revealed that if the evidence showed that Bill Clinton and Donald Trump had both gone to this island and partook with underage girls, Democrats would reject Bill Clinton forever and Republicans would reject the evidence forever.
- [40:19]
Alison Gill
That's pretty much how it always goes. So. Yeah, well, we're gonna stay on that. I mean, we, you know, we don't even have to keep poking on Epstein. That's something that MAGA and right wing folks who wanted this so bad are gonna do for us so we can do their work.
- [40:36]
John Fugelsang
Oh, and listen, let's, let's, you know, they're going to do their best job to keep Donald Trump away from any journalist who would ever ask a question about this. But every Republican deserves to answer it. Everyone, especially the Alina Havas who promised this. Right. Remember those binders for those libs of TikTok suckers? I bet they feel really proud now that they were used as props. Holding props.
- [40:56]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I liked the, when Riley Gaines was mad about it, somebody tweeted, oh, did, did you tie for fifth in swimming with them as well? It's just like, oh, you seem real mad.
- [41:11]
John Fugelsang
MAGA found out their red pill was a placebo and they're very angry. But this, this is kind of like the Theranos of sex scandals, right? It's all hype, no actual data, and a bunch of grifters trying to make you buy stock in something that's not real.
- [41:24]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I want to see a conversation about how being red pilled doesn't make you woke. I don't get that at all. I mean, I thought that was the whole point, but maybe that's just me still in jail. How is she?
- [41:35]
John Fugelsang
How is this happening? And she didn't cut a deal to get out. That's what I want to know. Like how are they keeping her? If they're saying that there, there wasn't, there was no clients. Like you'd think that she'd have some leverage. There's so much here we'll never know about. I can't wait for all these people to die. So I'll. So Michael wolf can write 400 books and we'll learn everything. I can't wait. Michael Wolf is right now as it is.
- [41:55]
Alison Gill
Yeah. Well, my friend, it's always a pleasure to talk to you and I encourage everyone to. First of all, you can pre order your book now, right?
- [42:04]
John Fugelsang
Yeah. And the audiobook too. It's very exciting.
- [42:06]
Alison Gill
Yeah. So that's called the Separation of Church and Hate. And if you have Sirius, check out XM progress channel 127 weeknights at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific for tell Me Everything. If you don't have that, there's a John Fuguel Sang show podcast. I can get it all out. John Fugal Saying show podcast. And if you don't have that, there's.
- [42:23]
John Fugelsang
The Fugal stack, there's the fuel sack. Can you imagine, Allison, that we didn't even get a chance to talk about Alligator Auschwitz or, or the budget or Texas. Like that's how much fuckery is going on.
- [42:35]
Alison Gill
Yeah, there's, there's just too much. But that's why you have a three hour show on every night of the week.
- [42:41]
John Fugelsang
Come on down, folks. And again, yeah, if you don't have SiriusXM, you can hear the podcast at a sensible hour the next day. Dr. Gill, I am so honored to do your show and I'm thrilled every time you do mine. Thank you for being one of the people who, who, who gets me to pull my head out of the oven every day.
- [42:54]
Alison Gill
Ah, thank you, my friend, and we appreciate you. We'll see you next Friday. Have fun. Until then, reporting the news, who knows where we'll be that, you know, this, this, you know, what we talked about today will be 76 what the fucks ago. And who knows, who knows what we'll have on our plates next Friday.
- [43:11]
John Fugelsang
We live in a world where Ron Desantis could work at Gitmo and decide, oh, it needs more reptiles, needs more gator. That's where we're at, man.
- [43:19]
Alison Gill
Yeah, well, he always wanted his alligator moat, so here we are. Anyway, appreciate you and we will see you next Friday. Thanks for joining us and everybody, thanks for sticking around. We're going to be right back with the good news, so hang in there, everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone.
- [43:36]
John Fugelsang
Then, good news, everyone.
- [43:51]
Alison Gill
And if you have any good news stories at all, you want to tell us about something great that happened to you or over this weekend. The self care you're about to do as part of your Good Trouble assignment. We want to share that with us. Any shout outs you want to give to a loved one, a family member, maybe yourself, or a small business in your area? If you want to send us your dissertation titles or your theses titles, we would love to hear those. They're so great usually and we have so many amazing people who listen to the beans and folks that are makers and creators. Tell us about your small business. Tell us what you're making, tell us what you're doing. We want to hear about that too. Also, if you have a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one, send that to us as well and you can send it all to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. And all you got to do to get your submission read on the air is pay your POD pet tariff, which means attach a photo of your pet. And if you don't have a pet, send an adoptable pet in your area. We'll see if we can find him a home. We have a pretty good track record. If you don't have that, you can always just attach any random animal photo. We're also doing bird watching for the foreseeable future, which can be a photo of an actual bird or you and your family and friends flipping the bird to Trump and Musk Properties. You don't have any of that. Family photos, baby photos, happy place photos. Photos of your signs of the last rally or protest that you went to, or maybe a great community meeting or some sort of activist organization that you're part of. We would love to hear about it. Got some great photos last year of postcard writing groups, for example. Send it all to us dailybeanspot.com and click on Contact. All right, first up from Heidi. Pronouns she and her hi AG and dg. I was so excited that you had Katie Paris from Red Wine and Blue on the podcast today. I've been following them since 2020 and recently, after the crushing disappointment of the last election, helped form a troubled nation in my corner of northeast North Carolina. We're still a baby group, having only formed in December, but we've been busy since then. We've attended listening sessions for our Congressman and the state Superintendent of Schools. We met with our Congressman's deputy director to learn more about what he can and cannot do for this led to one of our members nephews applying for and now serving as a summer intern. Awesome. We lobbied our local school districts to make policy regarding ICE in our schools through emails and phone calls, attending board meetings and requesting individual meetings with administrators. Incredible. We're proud to say all four districts in our area had a policy within six weeks. This is all it takes. We have helped each other learn about state and national legislation, and many of our members have made their first ever call to a representative. We started a banned book club. We've put banned books in local little free libraries and supported local free pantries. We've been distributing Know youw Rights cards to the immigration population in our communities and we've been showing up to protests. Last month I was invited to speak to the local League of Women Voters about our group. It was an amazing opportunity to connect with another group of women. We talked about working together with each other and other groups in our community to support each other's initiatives because we're stronger together. Leading this group and now connecting with other progressive groups has given me new life. I'm excited for all the things we can do going forward. We're looking at how to make healthcare more accessible in our rural communities. We're looking at how to fight funding for our schools, fight for funding for our schools and maybe even taking on the state legislature to fix the problems with our underfunded, understaffed dmv. Tonight, though, we work on an equally important part of our goal, creating community and third spaces. We're gathering at a local winery for music, conversation and a glass or two of wine because this too is part of the resistance. Our Trouble Nation is nenc Northeast North Carolina alliance for Change, and if you live, work or play in the far northeastern corner of North Carolina, we would love to have you join us. If you're looking for us on the red wine and blue Trouble Nation map, where the pink dot in the middle of let's see, Currituck sound. I hope I'm saying that right. We'll have a link in the show Notes Podpataraf is my pup learning about climate change with me earlier this week on a red wine and blue webinar, as well as a picture of one of the many kittens up for adoption at the Currituck Animal Shelter. Their cat room is full, which means lots of amazing kitties for your home. Awesome. So this post is amazing. That's incredible work you're doing, Heidi, and it just must be so fulfilling. So thank you for that. Look at these babies. Hi Kitty. Kitty. So cute. And the pupper. Wonderful. I love that you're Doing this. This is incredible. You can do this wherever you are. Trouble, nation, red wine and blue. All right, next up, from James in Chicago. Pronouns he and him. Good news. I'm not sure if this is okay, but I'd like to make a shameless plug. I am 62 living in Chicago and I've been unemployed since just over a year when my employer tossed me out like an old shoe. Navigating the job market at my age has been less than successful endeavor. As an older business writer and editor, I am unfortunately not in demand. But here's the good news. I've decided to use this time to pick up new skills. And inspired by your very cool show, I persuaded a friend of mine to help me start a podcast. She's an experienced broadcaster, but I had no meaningful experience talking into a microphone. However, we decided to fly the plane while building it and we began putting on a show called Life in the Stupid Time. Our premise is that we're living in what is in many ways the stupidest period in American history, especially in politics. And every week we put out a half hour or so discussing the stupidity and attempting to spread some truth. This podcast is not a business, at least not yet. However, the project helps me stay motivated and gives me a weekly deadline. And that helps. My wife has been incredibly supportive, which helps me even more. I am not the most fantastic podcaster in the world, but I'm learning and Life in the Stupid Times helps me get through my days. Please accept photos of my cats. The gray and white gentleman is Coltrane, who is a three time shelter cat. Who was the other little guy is Francis, who was astray living in my neighborhood and claimed by nobody. Hi babies. Oh, they're adorable. And there's one in a box. Very awesome. James, this is amazing. This is so incredible. This is like when I started the Molochy wrote podcast. It's like I've never done a podcast here. What do we. Let's do this. Let's set it up. Kitchen table, let's go. I, like you, decided to fly the plane while building it. One of my favorite quotes is a Ray Bradbury quote, James, that says we have to jump off cliffs and build our wings on the way down. I just love it. All right everybody, Next up from Ryan. Pronouns he and him. I would like to give a shout out to my wife, Sam. She is amazing and has been the most supportive person in my life. She puts more time and effort into making me a better person. Even if sometimes I go kicking and screaming. She never gives up and I don't do enough to show her how important she is to me. I love her so much and I always want her to know that without her I wouldn't have gone back to school. I wouldn't have gotten the job that I have which now supports us enough for her to be able to stay home as a stay at home mom. Of our two girls, our youngest is about to start preschool and our oldest is headed into first grade. Sam is an amazing mother mama and she makes every day special to me and our girls. She is simply the best. She listens to the show, so I hope she hears this. In fact, she's the reason I listen to the show. We love listening whenever we get a chance. For my pet tariff, I submit pictures of the types of ducks that I own. I wish that I had pictures of all my 11 ducks, but if I took my phone out in their duck run, I would have to disinfect my phone. The types of ducks are the runners, which I have two of, Buffs, which I have four and khakis, which I have five of. I also have two tuxedo cats, Luna and Pip, and a rabbit named Muffin. You have a menagerie, Ryan. Thank you for all that you do. Hear you soon. Look at this. Oh, they're beautiful. Oh, I like these long necky ducks when they stand up tall like that. Almost like meerkats. Well, well. Sam, you're amazing. Love, Ryan. Thank you for sending that in, Ryan. I love that. Shout out. Next up from Candace. Shout out to EMU Eastern Michigan University for accepting all students and for offering in state tuition for Ohio students since our horrible homophobic racist state passed SB1. Oh, fuck yeah. I didn't know that Emu was doing that. That's incredible. Here are some pics of our high energy labradoodle. The muddy puppy. Need I say more? He loves to run up and down the fence line, especially when it's muddy. And the other is of a more clean puppy. Oh, look at the babies. Hi Doodle. I love his face. So cute. Candace, thanks. And thanks for letting me know about emu. I didn't know they were doing that for Ohio students. Fuck yeah. Next up, Diana Stein. I just got back from selling my art at Anthrocon, one of the largest furry conventions of the year. Besides being a huge inclusive community of people working to fix all the crazy, I want share the good news about the charity. This year we raised a reported $87,000 for various no kill shelters like Animal Advocates. I heard it was more. The numbers are still very fresh in the past, our friends in friendly animal costumes have raised at various cons. 52,000 for rabbit wranglers, 135,000 for street dog care. 100,000 for gray paws special needs dogs. 185,000 for pets with cancer. There was help for the National Aviary one year too. Pets take care of us in troubled times. Even in these times, we reach in to make our community have loving eyes who just want to share your life. For Paw Pet Terif, I'm enclosing a photo of my kitty, Indy. I have prints available at San Diego Comic Con. At my table, Diana Stein in the fantasy illustrator section. This art, Diana. This art is amazing. If I go to Comic Con, I'm definitely stopping by. Diana Stein prints available. This is just beautiful art. I don't know how else to say it. I am speechless. Which doesn't happen very often. Diana, thank you for that. And thank you for sharing all that amazing money that you've raised and that the community has raised. Just brilliant. Well done, everybody. You all are so awesome. I really hope that you get some time for yourself this weekend and do something kind for somebody else and for yourself as well. Kindness. What was the quote? In a world of performative cruelty, kindness is punk as fuck. Be punk as fuck. I appreciate you all. I'm so excited. Dana will be back Monday. Again, thanks for hanging with me solo. I appreciate it. I really do. I always kind of feel like. I don't know, like I. I'm just. It's just me and, like, waiting for that Dana to come back. Like, there's something about it that, you know, I just. I want you to have your news from both of us, but I really appreciate you and all of the amazing guests we've had over the last couple weeks. We've got more to come. If you have a chance to listen to the Unjustified podcast this Sunday, please do. If you're a patron of cleanup on aisle 45, there's a bonus episode for you this weekend. And then we'll have the public episode again on Wednesday. You're amazing. Thank you so much. Send your good news to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact and we'll be back in your ears on Monday. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family. I've been ag and them's the beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com msw media.