← The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show
BREAKING NEWS: FBI Arrests Milwaukee Judge with former Trump Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews and former DC Police Officer Michael Fanone
00:41:59
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- [00:00]
Jim Acosta
Welcome, everybody, to the Jim Acosta Show. It is Friday. Thank goodness it's Friday. And as you can see, joining me is somebody I used to speak with all the time, and we're sort of getting reunited here on Substack. Sarah Matthews, great to see you.
- [00:15]
Sarah Matthews
Great to see you as well. Happy to be reunited.
- [00:17]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, absolutely. And for the folks tuning in now, who, I apologize, I usually come on at 4:00. I'm doing it early today because I'm getting the hell out of Dodge. I will not be here for the White House Correspondents Dinner. And I wanted to have Sarah on because Sarah worked in the White House press office during the first Trump administration. She resigned on January 6 after what happened that day. And Sarah has been courageous enough, brave enough to speak out about what's been going on inside the Trump administration, not only the last time around, but this time around. And I guess, Sarah, I wanted to talk to you about things that are happening in the press room and the correspondence dinner and so on, but there is this very urgent breaking news that we should talk about. The Washington Post, others reporting that the FBI director, Cash Patel, said today that the bureau had arrested a Milwaukee judge and charged her with obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week. The first known instance, the Washington Post says, of the Justice Department prosecuting a local official for allegedly interfering with immigration enforcement since Trump returned to office. Sarah, this is disturbing stuff. This is the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan. And Patel announced this on social media and apparently he deleted it moments after posting. What are your thoughts? I guess this is what people were afraid of.
- [01:40]
Sarah Matthews
Yeah, I think obviously we don't know all the details yet. And so I'm curious to see exactly what evidence the FBI has that would warrant this arrest. But it makes me think, though, given how they haven't really been giving due process to these individuals, that they're disappearing to foreign gulags, that there might not be a ton of evidence to up this arrest. And it goes into this larger narrative that the administration has been pushing about how there are these radical leftist judges who are interfering with the Trump agenda. But what the Trump administration is failing to acknowledge is that's how our government operates. We have a system of checks and balances. So these aren't just radical leftist judges pushing an agenda. Oftentimes, these are some conservative judges who are ruling against them in these cases. Or you even look at the case with Kilmar, Abrego Garcia, where you had The Supreme Court ruled 9, 0 against them. And so it is really concerning hearing this news. But obviously we still have more details to learn. But from what I do know, it sounds like a really dangerous precedent that's being set.
- [02:45]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. I mean, Kash Patel accused this judge of intentionally misdirecting federal agents who arrived at the courthouse to detain an immigrant who was set to appear before her in an unrelated proceeding. But I mean, to me, it's sort of wild that the, the results of all of this is not, you know, a meeting with the judge or, you know, firing off a letter and saying, don't do this again or can we talk? It's to arrest the judge. And as you were saying, we have checks and balances in this country. We no longer have checks and balances if the executive branch can go about arresting members of the judicial branch, it seems to me.
- [03:21]
Sarah Matthews
Exactly. And this is what I warned about in the lead up to the 2024 election, was that Trump wants to dissolve that system of check imbalances because he wants to amass as much power at the executive level. And we're seeing this happen where in this case, where they're arresting this judge, where they're defying Supreme Court orders, and we have a constitutional crisis on our hands. So it's really scary because a lot of the things that people were telling me, I was being an alarmist about and saying, oh no, the institutions will hold and oh no, that won't happen. They won't do that. A lot of it is now happening.
- [03:58]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, it is absolutely happening. And for those who are just tuning in, I'm coming on a little early today. Sorry about that. I usually come on at 4 o'clock, but coming on at noon today. And it's a good thing because there is breaking news. Sarah Matthews and I talking about this. The FBI director saying that the Bureau has arrested a Milwaukee judge and charged her with obstructing an immigration arrest operation. And Sarah, I mean, you're absolutely right. You warned about this before the election. I was, you know, I was pretty tough before the election. That's no secret. And others were as well. But the, the public didn't listen. Voters did not listen. Folks in MAGA world did not listen. The Republicans, by and large, did not listen. And you have to wonder, is this kind of the wake up call that that may start happening for some people? They, if we're, if we're arresting judges, that is a scenario that a lot of people, like you said, oh, that sounds hyperbolic, that sounds far fetched, but now it's happening.
- [04:55]
Sarah Matthews
Exactly. I think that a lot of people are seeing these things that myself and plenty of others warned about in the lead up to the 2024 election. They're seeing them come true. And I think a lot of people thought things like this wouldn't happen in America, but now we're seeing that play out. And a lot of those folks voted for Trump because they said, oh, well, I'm voting for him because of the economy or because of border. And then you look at this FOX News poll that came out yesterday where people are unhappy with his handling of issues like the economy and his overall broad approval rating. And so it's just really interesting that people aren't happy with what they're seeing come out of the Trump administration. But I guess this is what it's gonna take for voters to kind of wake up and realize what a second Trump term actually will mean.
- [05:43]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And you mentioned the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. And you know, immigration has always been one of his go to issues. But there's a new Washington ABC News poll that came out today. It says a majority of Americans, 53%, disapprove of Trump's handling of immigration. And so even on the issue of immigration, where Trump thought he had the advantage, a lot of Americans are saying, and I think it's in particular because of the case of Kilmar, that he's gone too far, that you can't just scoop up people off the street. I mean, he was saying in a truth social post the other day, we can't have trials for all of these migrants. I mean, that's unconstitutional. That unconstitutional. You can't go against the Constitution. It says you have to have due process. But he doesn't care about that stuff.
- [06:24]
Sarah Matthews
No, exactly. And that's what I've been arguing against, is that it doesn't matter. Take the case of this one individual man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Obviously, the Trump administration has been out there saying, well, he's an alleged Ms. 13 gang member, he beats his wife, all these things. Well, I'm not here to defend this one individual man, but I'm here to defend Americans right to due process. And not just Americans. Right. Because that's what I think a lot of people are confused about. They say, well, he entered this country illegally, he's not a US Citizen, so he doesn't therefore need due process. But that's not what the Bill of Rights says. It says that any person in the United States is guaranteed that Fifth Amendment right. And so it's tourists, it's permanent legal residents It's US Citizens and it's illegal immigrants who are guaranteed due process. And so we can't just be disappearing folks to foreign gulags without due process and sentencing them to a life sentence there. And, you know, it doesn't matter if they're good or bad. I can't speak to the case of this one individual man. But imagine when Trump sends American citizens there, because that is an idea he has floated, is sending American citizens to that El Salvador in prison. And so folks don't care right now because it's not impacting them or they think, oh, well, this guy's an illegal immigrant, get him out of the country. But what happens when it's you or your neighbor or your friend? Because this is something very real that Trump is floating.
- [07:53]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. When he talks about the homegrowns, I mean, I mean, my goodness. You know, and I guess just to get more broad on this, Sarah, what has been your general impression of Donald Trump since coming back into the Oval Office? I mean, he seems to me to be even more detached and sort of resorting to the same very simplistic talking points. And he looks very tired at times and all too eager to hand over, you know, the keys to much of the administrative duties of the president to people like Elon Musk and so on. I mean, I know you're not on the inside anymore. You were on the inside, but it does not look like the same Donald Trump. It looks like a more, I don't know, just sort of tired and worn down and more extreme version of himself.
- [08:40]
Sarah Matthews
Yeah, I definitely think he's a much more extreme version. I think that now you have, you know, all these sycophants who are surrounding him and enabling him and you don't have folks who are pushing back on his horses instincts. And that was something I was really worried about of a second Trump administration, what the staffing would even look like. And then he also, it seems like is kind of all talk and no action. I mean, even with the stuff with the tariffs, like him instituting the tariffs and then putting the pause on the tariffs, it's something he ran on, but he saw now how it's tanking the economy. And so I think he's all, he's all freaked out. But it's, it's just interesting because I think that it is concerning when you look at how people voted for this. And I don't think they really realized exactly what they were going to get. And I don't think that people are happy when they see, you know, even Though he ran on the tariffs, they didn't want Trump to tank the economy. They wanted him to bring down the cost of groceries. They wanted him to focus on immigration and border security. But they don't want to see people getting deported without due process to foreign gulags. And so I don't think people quite realized what they were buying. And now they might have some buyer's.
- [09:57]
Jim Acosta
Remorse, a lot of buyer's remorse. But Trump was pretty. I mean, he was pretty upfront about what he was going to do. He talked about tariffs all. He's been talking about tariffs for decades now. And he talked about going after people. He, he said, I am your retribution. He talked about the enemy from within. And now as he gets back into the White House, he's talking about deporting homegrowns. And so, you know, that to me, you know, I think people should have put the puzzle pieces together while he was up for reelection during the campaign. But obviously, you know, folks were thinking about their own self interests and the economy and inflation and so on. But you're right, a lot of buyers remorse out there. And you mentioned the people who are around him now, the sycophants and so on. I'm so. Because you were in the White House press office during the first Trump administration, Sarah, I have to ask you what your assessment is of Caroline Levitt. I think she worked in the press office, maybe with you when Kayleigh McEnany was the press secretary, and maybe even Stephanie Grisham, too. I can't remember the whole chronology of it exactly, but, I mean, Caroline seems to be going in there and doing the same thing that we saw other press secretaries do, in particular Kaylee, which has just kind of come in there and sort of spread talking points and just flat out lie to the public. That's my assessment. I'm not saying that's your assessment. What do you think?
- [11:12]
Sarah Matthews
Yeah. So, yes, Caroline worked with me in the press office when Kayleigh McEnany was press secretary. We started around a similar time, and I was deputy press secretary under Kaylee. And then Caroline was one of our assistant press secretaries. And what I will say is she's always been a really hard worker and smart as a whip. And so I'm not surprised to see her ascend to this level at such a young age. But at what cost to me? I think that I was someone who is very career driven. And so that's why, you know, even though I had some reservations about taking the job during the first Trump administration, because I didn't fully Support the man, but supported a lot of the agenda. But, you know, eventually, obviously, it came to a breaking point for me where I was like, I can't keep doing this because I know that this is wrong. And so it. I don't. Caroline and I don't speak. We're not in touch anymore. We were close at one point. But I just have to imagine that, you know, it takes a toll on you when you're going up there and spreading lies and, you know them to be lies. I mean, you look at some of the things that she spread, like, you know, where they were. You know, I think back to her first press briefing where she spread the lie about the condoms in Gaza and how she found, you know, all this money that we were sending. And, and it was all bs. It was. And. And so. But she was espousing it. And she, you know, when you say something with so much authority, it sounds like you know what you're talking about, and it comes off as fact. And so, you know, it makes me sad for the American people because it's oftentimes when they hear folks like Caroline or the president himself saying these things, they won't question it because these are people in positions of authority. And so they would think, of course they're telling me the truth. But, you know, that's. That's not necessarily the case. And so it's quite disappointing to see because it's not just this one individual. I think it speaks to Washington as a whole, how people will do anything for access to power and to climb the ladder, and they'll sacrifice their integrity to get there. And I'm happy to be in a position now where I can speak freely and I don't have to defend anything. And I'm not saying that, you know, I said this before where, when I worked for Trump. You do have to check your beliefs at the door. For any politician you work for, you're not going to agree with them 100% of the time. If you do sign me up for that job, I would love to work for that person, but majority of the time, you're not always going to agree with them, but, you know, it's their name on the door. But when you look at Trump and especially the second term and the things that they're doing and pushing, I just can't imagine any job being worth that. And. But, you know, I only have to look at myself in the mirror and judge my own actions. And those who are working in the second Trump administration will have to do the same. And so if they can sleep well at night, then more power to them. But I don't think that I could.
- [14:20]
Jim Acosta
Absolutely not. And I mean, the other thing too, that Caroline has been doing is they've been bringing in these ringers, as I like to refer to them. I mean, you know, they have this new media seat, but oftentimes the new media seat has occupied somebody who basically will, you know, spew the same talking points that they want out of the briefing on any given day. And we saw earlier this week, this guy, Tim Pool, I think that's his name, he's a podcaster. He wears the beanie. Even though it was 75 degrees in Washington the other day, he's wearing the beanie. I'm like, dude, it's. It's hot out. Take the beanie off. It's not a big deal. Yeah, and. And it just seems like the question that was asked and what he said in the briefing room, it just felt like pro wrestling, where it was just sort of choreographed in advance. I mean, what was your assessment of that?
- [15:04]
Sarah Matthews
Well, first off, with Tim Pool, I thought it was very interesting that he showed up in a beanie and like a sweatshirt, because this same guy on his own podcast was berating Zelensky for showing up to the White House and not a suit. So, you know, the irony there is not lost on me, but I think that you think I could go to.
- [15:22]
Jim Acosta
The White House and sit in the breathing room and not wear a suit. I might get called out for that, I guess.
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Sarah Matthews
Can you even imagine if a woman showed up to the White House wearing something like that? A woman at the White House in a beanie? I mean, like, I mean, just. It's unreal what someone like that can get away with that, you know, someone like me would never be able to get away with. But beyond that, I think that the. The new media seat and kind of what they're doing with that, I don't think that it's necessarily a bad idea because a lot of Americans are moving toward non traditional media and getting their news from places like substack, places like TikTok. And so I podcasts and all of that. So I do think that it's smart. And they have invited some folks who I thought were really interesting. Like they had recently invited this one tiktoker and podcast host that I follow, a woman named Jordan Berman. She hosts a podcast called Unbiased News, and she's fantastic. But, you know, that's like one out of the last several folks that they've invited in who I thought was credible and, and interesting that they brought in. But a lot of these folks are more so propagandists, conspiracy theorists, and pushing an agenda. And it, and you're right, it does seem like there's almost this choreographed dance where they kind of know what question that they're going to be asked ahead of time, you know, and so I don't think that the, what they're pushing, I don't think it's a bad idea, but it's just the folks that they're inviting in, it seems like they're there to push an agenda and. Yeah.
- [16:54]
Jim Acosta
I mean, what do you think? I mean, a couple of things. What do you think of the way they handled the Associated Press? The way they tried to kick the Associated Press out of the Oval Office, off of Air Force One? The AP had to sue, and it was over the AP refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. I mean, just such a silly, ridiculous thing. And, you know, to me, you know, when they took my press pass away and I had to get it back, I thought, okay, well, that's, you know, that's one individual journalist they're going after. But the entire Associated Press, I mean, that, that was something else. And it was, it was scary. I mean, and I, I thought the way that the press corps responded to it was insufficient. They should have banded together a bit more and, and said to the White House, listen, if you don't let the AP in, we're not going in. I mean, what were your thoughts on that whole thing?
- [17:42]
Sarah Matthews
Yeah, I thought it was ridiculous that the Trump administration's hill to die on Washington, Gulf of America. But again, this just shows the misguided priorities of this administration. You know, they were voted into office to work on bringing down inflation in grocery prices, and instead they're trying to acquire Greenland and renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. But, yeah, I think too then I was disappointed to see how the White House Correspondents association handled it. It didn't really seem like their fellow journalists were and outlets were kind of backing up the AP in this fight because I do think that so many outlets are worried about kind of wanting to. I don't. It's almost like cater to the Trump administration and be on their good side and be in their good graces. I mean, we're seeing for access and.
- [18:31]
Jim Acosta
That kind of a thing.
- [18:33]
Sarah Matthews
Exactly. They're worried about the access or they're worried about being targeted themselves. I mean, we just saw this play out recently with CBS in 60 Minutes and their executive producer Resigning over journalistic independence. And so it's very really concerning what's happening on a broader scale looking at media and how they're kind of catering to the Trump administration. And yeah, I think with this case of the Associated Press, I'm happy that, you know, the courts ruled in their favor to get them their access back. But I think we'll see this happen time and time again where the Trump administration maybe isn't happy with coverage or story. And so then they, they, they did it during the first administration, too, but I think now in the second admin, they feel more emboldened to get away with this. And so I think we'll continue to see it.
- [19:23]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, totally. I mean, and it's great that you mentioned cbs, because that is just downright chilling to me. And, and obviously the EP of 60 minutes would not have stepped down if Trump were not suing CBS and suing 60 Minutes and, and putting pressure on the corporate parent company of CBS and so on. And, you know, you take that along with, you know, the White House trying to meddle with the briefing room seats or who's in the press pool, or they're allowing ridiculous people like Marjorie Taylor Greene's boyfriend into the Oval Office, and then he asked this crazy question of Zelensky about why he's not wearing a suit and so on. They've shown so much disdain and really just sort of mentality where they want to attack the press day after day. To me, it's mystifying that we're even having a White House correspondence dinner. I wrote a substack post that said they should just pull the plug on the current incarnation of the correspondence dinner for now until, you know, we have a different president who respects the free press and the First Amendment. It's just ridiculous to go in there and sit down at these dinner tables and break bread with people who want to put us out of business. And I, I just wonder what your thoughts are on all of that, Sarah.
- [20:29]
Sarah Matthews
Yeah, you know, this administration and Trump, they love to tout that they're transparent and they want to go against censorship, but then they're trying to censor anyone who says anything negative about them. And yeah, it's so, it's just so hypocritical. And, and yeah, I think the White House Correspondent center, unfortunately, I never got to go to one because it was Covid during the time I was working at the White House. So. But I do think that what you were saying is, is true that times have changed. And so it does feel odd for you know these journalists to probably be mingling with these folks who want to see them put out of business. But I think that even too, like, with the White House Correspondence association backing down on the comedian that they had hired for. Yes, exactly. It's just like, come on. Where people, like, need to grow a spine, like, but people are so worried about pissing off the Trump administration that they're just caving on all of these types of things, and it's ridiculous. It's. Exactly.
- [21:32]
Jim Acosta
What does that do to Trump when they cave? When people cave to Trump, what does it do in your experience?
- [21:36]
Sarah Matthews
Oh, it just emboldens him. I mean, like, you give him an inch and he'll take a mile. And so now, like, he sees what he can get away with and how far he can push, and then he'll continue to push further and further. And that just not just even with media. I think that's on a broader scale with everything that they're doing when it comes to the immigration, with deporting all these, you know, alleged gang members that they got rid of or what they're doing with law firms, what they're doing to Harvard, I mean, they are just pushing, like, and just seeing how much they can take and how much power they can get.
- [22:16]
Jim Acosta
Totally. No, you're absolutely right. And I. It's such a great point about the comedian. I brought that up as well. It's like, okay, we're all going to get together, we're going to have a dinner. We're going to toast the First Amendment. We're going to toast the free press and free speech and so on in America. But we can't have the comedian because the comedian told some jokes that the Trump White House didn't like. It's just absolutely hypocritical. Sarah, it's great to reconnect. Glad you were able to come on. This was a lot of fun. Really appreciate it.
- [22:42]
Sarah Matthews
Yeah, of course. Happy to come back anytime.
- [22:44]
Jim Acosta
All right, sounds good. We'll do it again soon. Thanks so much.
- [22:47]
Sarah Matthews
Thank you.
- [22:47]
Jim Acosta
All right. Good to see you. That was Sarah Matthews, former deputy press secretary during the first Trump administration. I'm going to bring in Michael Fanone because I'm sure Fanon has some thoughts on this situation. I mean, Cash Patel, announcing this morning, apparently deleted the Post, but it's been confirmed by news outlets that the FBI arrested a Wisconsin county judge in an immigration dispute. There's Mike Fanone right there. Mike, good to see you.
- [23:15]
Michael Fanone
Likewise, man. Good to see you.
- [23:17]
Jim Acosta
Hey, it was great to see at the baseball game, the Other night, too. That was a lot of fun.
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Michael Fanone
Well, it was fun for you. It wasn't fun for me. Watching those. The bed, another.
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Jim Acosta
They did get one yesterday or whatever it was, but.
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Michael Fanone
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been a. It's been a rough week for my Baltimore Orioles.
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Jim Acosta
Yeah, I know. I hear you. And the Nats, you know, it just isn't the same anymore. But they're starting to claw their way back to, I guess, mediocrity. We'll see how it goes. But, man, I gotta. I mean, because you come from the law enforcement world, I mean, what do you think? The FBI arresting a judge over immigration? What the hell's going on?
- [23:55]
Michael Fanone
Yeah, it was a pretty extraordinary step. I mean, my understanding of the case is that. That this judge, who had this particular defendant in her courtroom, simply directed the defendant and his attorney to. To use a door to exit her courtroom, the side door out of the courtroom. I mean, listen, it's an extraordinary step to have the FBI come in and arrest a judge, but it's not surprising in this administration's war on the American judiciary. Again, they see these judges as an impediment to doing the things that they want to do when they rule against them. And I think that, you know, I saw that Cash Patel had put out a tweet almost immediately after he arrested his judge. You know, it's an example of this administration using these incidents as a chilling effect to say, hey, listen, we're not above putting a judge in handcuffs over something trivial like this that probably could have been handled through an ethics investigation or some other means. But we're going to make an example, and we're going to show you judges that will put you in handcuffs and we'll put you in jail.
- [25:18]
Jim Acosta
That's exactly what they did. And it's sort of like these deportations, and we shouldn't even call them deportations. These disappearances. Yeah, these disappearances of alleged gang members down to a gulag. As Sarah Matthews was just saying a few moments ago, down in El Salvador, when you get. When you just say okay, you dispense with the idea of due process. Of course, that opens the door to doing all sorts of things, including arresting judges. And it seems to me, okay, the judge, you know, pulled a fast one on them, because whatever was going on in her head at the time, and I don't even know if that's exactly what she did. That's what it sounds like. According to the reporting. You. You know, the FBI can't put in a phone call. The director can't call the judge and have a terse conversation with the judge. You send in somebody to arrest the judge. Give me a break. I mean, that does not, I mean, that sounds like something that would happen in Russia.
- [26:18]
Michael Fanone
Yeah, no, I mean, it's, it's all done for, again, for the chilling effect. You know, the idea that the administration is willing to go to these extraordinary lengths to make a, or send a message to the American people and to the American judiciary that, you know, if you think that you're going to stand between us and what we want to accomplish, whether regard regardless of whether it's legal or not, you've got another thing coming.
- [26:50]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And the message is be afraid. I mean, in a nutshell, the message is be afraid. The message to Latino people in this country is be afraid.
- [27:00]
Michael Fanone
No, I think that, you know, and here we are either vastly approaching or we've hit the 100 day mark in this administration. I think that that's the overwhelming message that the Trump administration wants to send to the American people, which is be afraid.
- [27:16]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, yeah. And Mike, one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you, and obviously we wanted to talk about the breaking news first, but I saw you posting about this last night. This, this guy from Iowa who was apparently sent to prison for assaulting you, if I'm not mistaken, on January 6, later, pardoned by Trump, was invited to speak to a Des Moines area Republican group in a meeting that was closed to reporters. This is according to the Des Moines Register. Kyle Young was scheduled to address the Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee was last night. And he was one of 10 Iowans charged in the January 6th attack. This according to the Des Moines Register. All 10 were pardoned by Trump, obviously. And is this the guy that assaulted you?
- [28:07]
Michael Fanone
Yeah, he's one of the individuals that assaulted me. Mr. Young is also well known for having brought his 16 year old son to the Capitol on January 6th. He was charged with, amongst other things, assaulting me and other officers as well. He ultimately pled guilty to assaulting me and was sentenced to, I believe, 86 months in prison until he was pardoned by Donald Trump. But I want to talk about specifically what it was that Mr. Young did to be charged with the assault, which was while I was being beaten, while I was being restrained, and while I was being struck in the neck with a Taser device, Mr. Young lunged at me and tried to remove my firearm from its holster, you know, during the January 6th insurrection. And so that's pretty egregious act. You know, that's not getting caught up in the, in the mob and being swept up in the moment and maybe, you know, throwing a punch or two. That's deliberate. And this is taking place, mind you, while people in the crowd are saying, get his gun and kill him with his gun. That's who Kyle Young is. And during the plea agreement process now at sentencing, he expressed some degree of remorse. I think he said something to the effect of, I feel I didn't behave honorably that day, which, no shit, doesn't strike me as much of an apology, but that's between him and his God. That being said, during the plea process, his lawyer actually suggested that while he was lunging at me, what he was actually trying to do was protect me and protect my firearm. So that, you know, again, it goes to, you know, and I unfortunately have more experience, I think, than most in sitting through these, you know, sentencing hearings and giving a victim impact statement and listening to these guys profess remorse. But then in reality, they're not remorseful. They're just looking for some sympathy from the judge and hopefully a lesser sentence. But, you know, now we have a situation where the Iowa GOP and they've expressed ignorance to what it was that, you know, Mr. Young did. Well, listen, come on, like, of all the January 6th defendants, I'm pretty sure that those were that were charged with assaulting me are probably the well best known defendants that are out there. And not only that, wouldn't it behoove you to look into who the fuck it is that's addressing your, you know, and I again, like another reason it's.
- [31:01]
Jim Acosta
Called Google, for Christ's sake.
- [31:03]
Michael Fanone
Right. Why I call BS on this gym is it's closed to the media. Yeah, we're not going to allow reporters into a political gathering, you know, GOP hosted event in Iowa. We're not going to allow any journalists. None whatsoever. While this guy addresses us.
- [31:23]
Jim Acosta
Bingo. And you know, listen, if you're so proud of having January 6 criminals address your political gathering, open it up to the press. I mean, it sounds like something you're proud of. It sounds like something you really, really want to do. Why not share that with the public? Let us all see what you're doing inside. What do you think's going on there? What is happening inside some of the circles of the Republican Party where they've wrapped their arms around these January 6th criminals and thugs?
- [31:54]
Michael Fanone
I mean, I think it goes to rewriting the narrative when it comes to January 6th. I mean, it doesn't bode well for Republicans, regardless of whether you're some hardcore MAGA Republican like Marjorie Taylor Greene, or you're just a Republican who by simple association has to appeal to these people because they're part of your constituency. You know, at the end of the day, nobody wants to be associated with January 6th in the sense that it was an insurrection, that it was, you know, Trump supporters who were incited by Trump and his sick offense to attack the Capitol, to try to obstruct Congress from certifying a free and fair election and from assaulting American law enforcement officers. And so this is their way of, behind closed doors, changing the entire storyline, the entire narrative for January 6th. And again, appealing to this violent anti government base that they have invited into the new Republican Party.
- [33:16]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, yeah. I mean, and you and I, Mike and others like Harry. And so we're not going to allow these to rewrite the history of January 6th. It's just not going to happen. Attention. You are not going to rewrite the history of January 6th. Please understand that. Period, full stop, end of story. That being said, as you said, inside certain segments of the Republican Party, they're going to try to do this anyway and they're all sort of just brainwashing one another, which is, it's pretty fucked up when you think about it.
- [33:53]
Michael Fanone
I mean, it's fucked up, but it's also incredibly dangerous because what we've done in turning these people into heroes and patriots, at least in some circles, is emboldened them and also to normalize political violence as a means to accomplishing and ends. And so you now have a segment of American society who feel as though committing acts of violence at Trump's behest or at the, you know, MAGA behest is acceptable behavior. And that they will, they will not suffer any type of criminal accountability. In fact, they may receive adulation.
- [34:42]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, well, and he likes it. I mean, he's kind of behaving like the thug in chief right now, is what he's doing. And his pardoning of all these January 6th criminals and thugs, you know, he wants his people out there on the streets in case the shit hits the fan and he has to call upon some of these creeps to take up arms, I guess, or something. I mean, it's just so sick. It's just sick. And it's, it's sad and it's pathetic.
- [35:12]
Michael Fanone
Stand back and stand by.
- [35:14]
Jim Acosta
Stand back and stand by. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, I, I, I kind of wonder whether, and I'm not starting trying to start any trouble or anything, but I kind of wonder whether you and I should find a class at the University of Iowa or Iowa State or, you know, downtown. Would go somewhere in downtown Des Moines or something and just say, listen, you know, Mike and I are gonna show up and we're gonna talk about what took place on January 6th. You have people in your state who are trying to whitewash what took place on January 6th. As I used to say, whitewashing the white nationalism. And, you know, listen, you wanna hear what actually happened? You wanna hear the truth? I mean, I don't know, I don't mean to spring this on you as an idea, but it just seems to me like this is an educational opportunity.
- [36:03]
Michael Fanone
Yeah, no, anytime, anywhere. I will be there. And listen, you don't even have to take my word for it. The American people, the whole world has the benefit of viewing my body worn camera footage and seeing exactly what it is that Carl Young did. Every behavior that I described, every behavior that Carl Young pled guilty to or was charged with, he was charged with those things because it was clearly visible on video whether it was my body worn camera footage or whether it was some other ass clown in the crowd who filmed, you know, other Trump supporters committing crimes. This is a guy who, in addition to assaulting me, threw a loudspeaker into the lower West Terrace Tunnel at law enforcement officers. Yeah, he was charged with assaulting multiple police. This is a violent, violent criminal. A convicted felon until Donald Trump intervened and gave him a full pardon.
- [37:11]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, well, I mean, you know, this is the message to the Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee, which, you know, Jesus. You know, guys, I am calling upon them to issue a full apology to Michael Fanone. And if they don't do that, we're going to come to Iowa. We're going to go to Iowa. I'll buy the ticket. I'll buy the ticket. Mike, good to see you, man.
- [37:40]
Michael Fanone
Likewise.
- [37:40]
Jim Acosta
All right, thanks, Mike. Appreciate it very much. All right.
- [37:44]
Michael Fanone
Thank you.
- [37:45]
Jim Acosta
All right, you take care. Listen, folks, I mean, I'm not trying to start any shit, but. And I know this is it Friday, as I. As I've called it in the past, but I draw the. I draw the line. And I ask you to draw the line when it comes to whitewashing the thuggery, the criminality, the violence that took place on January 6th. And if these dipshits at the Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee are so brave as to invite a January 6th criminal to speak at their organization and then keep the cameras out, I call upon them to let Mike and I come out there and speak to their members. And if they won't do that, then Mike and I should just go to Iowa and figure out a venue. Figure out a place where we can just talk about, this is what happened on January 6th. And we're not trying to start any trouble or let's go rumble or brass knuckles or any of those. I'm not talking about that. Talking about words, talking about an exchange of ideas. I'm talking about trying to get people's attention. And please, for the love of God, stop surrendering yourself to the lies. Stop giving in to the lies. And this is the message to. What is it? The Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee, which sounds. I mean, I don't know, do they speak German there? Honestly? What are the. Do the meetings? Are they held in German? Is that why they're behind closed doors and you don't have the cameras on? Give me a break. Inviting a January 6th thug. Give me a break. Get a life. So listen, I've always felt you have to stand up to the bully. I've always felt you have to call this stuff out. And I'm calling it out. I'm calling it out right now. I saw this last night when Mike posted it, and it made my blood boil. Because this has to stop. This whitewashing of the thuggery of January 6th has to stop. It has to be confronted peacefully, respectfully, politely. Maybe not always politely, but as politely as possible. To say, this is. We're just. We, the American people, are not going to allow this to stand. You can't. Donald Trump has the pardon power. He can pardon these jerks. He can do that, sure. Absolutely. He has that power. But we have the power of the people. We have the power of our voices. And we can say, listen, this is, you know, this happened. There's video, as Mike was saying, you can. You can watch his body cam video. What are their names? The Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee will translate the German, will translate the English into German, if that helps it go down easier for you, if that's the language you prefer. The Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee. And we're going to make sure you hear the truth, and we're going to make sure the people of Iowa hear the truth. Enough is enough. And that's my message. Enough is enough. And that's why I wrote the piece about, you know, listen, why are we having a correspondence dinner when the President of the United States wants to shut down the press in this country? Why are we having a White House correspondence dinner when they're arresting judges. I want to thank Sarah Matthews for coming on today. I want to thank Mike Fanone and I hope folks out there, especially the Dallas County Republican Party Central Committee. I hope you think deeply about what you've done, the people of that committee. I hope you think deeply. I, I've been out to Iowa, lots of time. Lots of nice churchgoing folks there. Sounds like something you should ponder, perhaps in the pews on this Sunday. All right. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Have a good weekend.