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- [00:00]
Jim Acosta
Foreign welcome, everybody, to the Jim Acosta Show. Happy Memorial Day weekend. It is a good weekend to reflect on what is happening in this country as we are entering the summer months, on our way to vacations, camps for the kids and so on. But please make this weekend more than just a trip to the beach or the baseball game. Talk to your neighbors and your friends and your relatives about what we are up against right now in this moment. Joining me on this Memorial Day weekend is my pal, Olivia Troy. We're going to talk about our upcoming live town hall that is going to be taking place right here in Washington, D.C. and a little later on in the program, I'm going to talk to Watergate prosecutor Nick Ackerman about what Trump has been doing, basically thumbing his nose at the courts. He's been on a collision course with the judicial system in this country. And it's obviously, you know, pretty scary moment for democracy. Let's, let's talk about some of these issues now, though, with Olivia. Hey, Olivia, great to see you. Happy Memorial Day weekend. A lot to reflect on. And I mean, where do we start?
- [01:06]
Olivia Troy
My goodness, I don't even know. Do we start with the Harvard attack? Do we start with the crazy press conference on Africa? Because I covered Africa, by the way. And yeah, the images he was using that were naturally from South Africa, but that's a different story. Anyways, go ahead.
- [01:21]
Jim Acosta
No, I mean, I think we should start with Harvard because there is breaking news. NBC News reporting a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll and keep international students. The judge in the case granted the temporary restraining order after the Department of Homeland Security terminated the university's international student certification. This according to NBC News. The move barred the school from not only admitting international students, but also ordering current foreign born students to lose their legal status or transfer. I mean, this, under this order, Olivia, the international students can remain enrolled at the school. And there's going to be a hearing apparently next week. But I mean, you and I were talking about this earlier this morning offline. This is not just an attack on academia. It's not just an attack on Harvard or the Ivy League schools. This is basically an attack on students everywhere.
- [02:18]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. And it's about control. And I think what, what, what I think is, gets lost in the conversation is that this isn't just going to impact these international students. Granted, it will impact our research because they contribute a lot to the research of these universities. I knew that. I mean, they enriched the campus and community. When I was in college, I mean, that was part of the learning experience for me, coming from the southwest Texas corner where I wasn't exposed to different communities and cultures. I was a border town girl. And the other thing about it is that a lot of these international students, they pay full tuition for the most part, right? I mean, they're paying the full tuition that actually helps grants at schools. So I only bring that up to remind people that there are impacts that will trickle down based on Trump's vengeance and the administration and what they're doing, because they're trying to make an example out of Harvard. But the real world impacts is that someone like me, who was a truck driver's daughter, who wanted to go to college, who had to work my butt off, who couldn't afford to go, I went to Penn, I couldn't afford it. My family couldn't afford to send me to an school. I relied on grants. And those grants and financial aid and things like that are made possible because of full paying tuition, students, international students. And that's part of it that I also wanted to flag for people is that if you're that farmer's kid, that truck driver's kid someday that wants to go to an academic institution, it trickles down and it's going to impact all of us. And so I think that that's what gets lost in this. And I think again, the example being made out of Harvard is an example to create a chilling effect, as you and I know, across the board. So that when you take a stand against the Trump administration or the Trump regime, as I'm starting to refer to it, because that is how they're behaving, this is what happens. They come after you, they use every lever of the government. Kristine Ome is using, you know, her examples that she's using Chinese Communist Party, that's what she's using. Like on these visas, they're going to pull and pull, push and pull every lever that they can. And I think it's mostly to set an example for others and say, if you take a stand against us, we will bring the full power of the federal government in whatever way we can to hurt you.
- [04:35]
Jim Acosta
That's right. And I mean, the idea that Harvard can't admit students internationally, I mean, this is something that American colleges have been doing for decades, generations, I mean, almost centuries when you think about some of these schools and how old they are in this country. And I mean, is one of the things that America does really well, it educates people from around the world and then, you know, teaches them the example about constitutional democracy and then sends them on their way to these other parts of the world where hopefully they can bring those lessons home. So it is, I mean, it cuts a lot of different ways, Olivia. And you and I were talking about this earlier this morning. We should talk about this now. We one is, it is absolutely an attempt to put out a chilling effect on college campuses across the country. You know, for folks at home who are saying, well, this just affects those snooty people at Harvard. No, every university administrator from here to the west coast and onto Hawaii and so on around the world is saying, my goodness, if I mess with the Trump administration, if I don't abide by what they want to do, whether it's DEI or whether it's about, you know, kids on campus protesting and so on, who we, who we hire, who we put in our, you know, in our, you know, in our administrative positions and so on, that, you know, there could be a price that that might be paid and that these, that these universities might be made an example of as well. And I think that's a big part of this, too.
- [05:57]
Olivia Troy
Yeah, I think it's, you know, the, the obeying in advance in compliance that's probably happening across the country with. We don't even know. Right. We don't know the extent of it already. And it's probably already being done or we are sure of it. We know a few stories between you and I of things that have happened. And so I think that is the issue and that is why they're doing it. Right. They've intimidated the law firms, they've gone after them, they go after the media, they're going after academia, all of these areas that for the most part in the past, especially a private institution like Harvard, they're private. Right. And so I think that is all part of the control effect. And this is what authoritarian like figures do, is they take every pillar and they try to take control of it and manipulate it.
- [06:44]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And what's worrisome is that, you know, we've had these judges come forward and say to the administration, you can't do X, Y and z on a whole host of topics. Trump has been going after these judges in many cases. And, you know, yesterday he was going after judges, he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. You know, this is obviously, I mean, it's, it's, it's a joke that it's called Truth Social. But he, he went after the federal judge who ruled against the administration and a deportation case earlier this week, and he's going after Judge Brian Murphy in Boston. This is about sending migrants to South Sudan, even migrants who aren't even from there. And, you know, Trump is saying, quote, the judges are absolutely out of control. They're hurting our country. They know nothing about particular situations or what they are doing. This must change immediately. If this is not worked out quickly and the world is watching, our country will be under siege again, with hundreds of thousands of hardened criminals breaking down the walls. I mean, first of all, he just always invents this invasion crap, you know, to. To juice the base. But, I mean, this is pretty. I mean, superheated rhetoric aimed at judges. And I'll talk about this with Nick Ackerman, the Watergate prosecutor, in just a moment. But, I mean, your thoughts on this, Olivia, because this goes back to what you were saying about Trump bringing his brand of corrupt authoritarianism to this country, and it is setting in. I mean, this is what I want people to think about over this Memorial Day weekend and talk about it with friends and neighbors and relatives. Like, we need to talk about this, because, I mean, what is happening, it's happening right in front of our eyes. It's happening in real time.
- [08:18]
Olivia Troy
He's undermining the rule of law every single day through the bullying, through the intimidation, through these messages, through the arrest of that judge. You know, it's happening at every layer, I would say. And so I think we do need to talk about it, because I know that it's. It's hard, right? There's so much stuff happening every single day. It's exhausting. It's draining to keep up with what thing that they do today. What China did they break? What agency did they break? What. What. What community did they. Did they undermine? And whatever they did, everyone's worried about Medicaid right now with what's happening on the Hill. I mean, there's so much going on, but that's the point of it, too. They're throwing everything at once because they don't want us to keep up with it.
- [09:00]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, it's the old Steve Bannon, flood the zone with shit, you know, and in this case, they're flooding the zone with fear.
- [09:08]
Olivia Troy
Yes. And it's. It's working. Yeah, that's the issue. And that's why we can't let them bully us. We can't let them continue down this path. And all we can do is keep taking the stand. And I, you know, I commend Harvard, and I commend these judges. You know, a lot of these judges are conservative judges. A Lot of these are conservative. Some of them have been Trump appointed. Some of them have been Reagan appointed. These are conservative judges who are upholding the rule of law. That is all they're doing. They're looking at the law and they're making decisions based on it. And the Trump administration and the Trump team knows it, that they don't care because they're going to manufacture whatever. Ms. And disinformation. They're going to pedal through their propaganda machine. And it's reaching people. Right, because it's get. It gets repeated by writing ring media influencers. And the next thing you know, you have a bunch of Americans walking around saying, no, no, judges are corrupt. Well, that is actually how democracies fail, because that is what you see in failing democracies.
- [10:03]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, absolutely. You're absolutely right. And I, you know, we should talk. You mentioned South Africa. We should talk about that, too. I mean, that scene in the Oval Office, which was very reminiscent of his confrontation with Zelensky earlier this year, I mean, the way he has cheapened the Oval Office, cheapened the office of the presidency, it is. It's got to be something that folks have to talk about this weekend. But it goes right back to what you're just saying a few moments ago about the way he. I mean, he. For all the talk of fake news and calling me fake news and calling news organizations fake news, he was going after my friend Peter Alexander the other day, saying it was a rude and terrible reporter and so on. I mean, he's the rude person. He's the terrible person. Not. Not Peter Alexander. But, you know, he is. He is the king of fake news. I mean, is there anybody who peddles more fake news than Donald Trump? I, you know, can. Can somebody point that out to me? Maybe, you know, maybe Steve Bannon, I don't know, but I don't. I think Steve Bannon is a little bit more attached to reality than Donald Trump is, honestly. I mean, I. It's astounding. And the way he will just swallow any racist conspiracy theory, which is what he was peddling the other day in the Oval Office, it's just limitless. His ability to spew this stuff out, and it is exhausting. I mean, it goes to what you were saying a few moments ago, Olivia. It's exhausting.
- [11:30]
Olivia Troy
Yeah, well. And the reason that I can't let go of what happened in that Oval Office meeting with the president of South Africa is because it was all lies. And I was watching it, and I covered Africa during the first Trump administration for Mike Pence in that office, that was part of my portfolio. And a lot of the tension was that he started actually subscribing to these conspiracies during the first term. And Wilton was there, I was there. We had to deal with whatever he was saying that was happening on these forums. It wasn't true. The intelligence community did assessments. I can tell you that, because I was in those meetings, we were discussing this, and it would pop up and then the senior Director for Africa and I would look at each other and it'd be a game of whack, a mole, of how are we going to put this back in the box? Because it's not true, it's not based on facts, it's not based on intelligence. And so during that meeting, I was watching it and I kept thinking, where is the intelligence assessment, Trump? Did you run this by the National Security Council for whatever professional intelligence officer remains there, I'm not sure who is still there, but did you run that by the community? Did Tulsi Gabbard run an assessment? Did she request an assessment? Did she run her own assessment, get the assessment and realize that it wasn't what she wanted, and then had to figure out how to pivot? These are all the things that I was concerned about when she got appointed to be the dni. Right. I mean, so these are all the things that we're going through in mind. And also just the embarrassment, the embarrassment before the world of how he was treating that head of state with the rest of the world watching and with the entire continent of Africa watching as well.
- [13:03]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. I mean, you know, Tulsi Gabbard is there because she is a conspiracy theorist. She also chases the same rabbits down various rabbit holes in the way that he does. And that is why, I mean, look at the way he. He stacked his cabinet. Look at the way he stacked these top administration positions. People like RFK Jr. People like Cash Patel, they're all from, you know, cuckoo bird land. I mean it honestly. And he put these people in these positions because of the very thing that you just mentioned, Olivia, during the first administration, he learned if he puts people who are reality based in these very important roles, they'll push back on him. But if he puts, you know, whack jobs and kooks in these very important jobs, they won't. And they'll adopt his ridiculous conspiracy theories as their own. And that is the mess that we're up against right now. And Caroline Levitt goes into the briefing room. My God. And she spews the same nonsense to the press, in. In briefings that go out to the entire world. And you're absolutely right. The way he treated the South African president, it was seen all over the world. And what the rest of the world sees is a. An unhinged dictator wannabe who is increasingly detached from. From the real world. And all of our neighbors and friends and relatives who we are going to gather with this weekend, they must recognize that. They have to recognize that.
- [14:28]
Olivia Troy
They have to. I mean, we are not a serious country right now based on the leader that's sitting in the Oval Office. And the entire time that I was watching that press conference, I couldn't help myself. I had to watch it because I care about the issue. I was thinking about, you know, refugees. And they were using that.
- [14:44]
Jim Acosta
Yes.
- [14:44]
Olivia Troy
Back their refugee claims for the white South Africans that they brought here. Right. Meanwhile, there are 600,000 refugees that remain in the pipeline that are actually playing countries that are in need. Meanwhile, there are African translators that were in limbo. Right. I mean, so what's happening to them? And so that's all I kept thinking.
- [15:02]
Jim Acosta
Was just like, no, it's such a good point. The, the fact that they are bringing in white South Africans into this country right now, giving them refugee status based on a cuckoo conspiracy theory that has been debunked by politifactive. Folks want to look it up, you know, go on the Google. You can Google, you know, the South African genocide conspiracy theory, and you'll find PolitiFact and other reputable news organizations have debunked this. Arm yourself with that information. When you go to the barbecue this weekend and when your. Your crazy Uncle Jesse starts talking about this crap because all he watches is Fox News, you say, listen, I brought a folder with me. It's in the car. The folder has a bunch of articles in it that I want you to read. I mean, we need folks to go out there and do the work this weekend, this Memorial Day weekend. We need you to be out there on the front lines, you know, bringing the facts to crazy Uncle Jesse and crazy Aunt Edna. You know, they can't just read the shit on Facebook and then pretend that it's in the real world. It's not the real world. And the thing that disgusts me, you know, just about more than anything right now, is that they're okay, they're willing to bring in white South African refugees, but they're going to take people from Cuba, which is where my dad is from, and other places, and send them off to South Sudan, send them to places they're not even from. What are we doing?
- [16:28]
Olivia Troy
We are showing the world who Donald Trump and this circle of people is truly.
- [16:34]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [16:34]
Olivia Troy
And keep looking at the Republicans in Congress. I keep looking at Mark Rubio, Marco Rubio. You know, I mean, unbelievable. Like, really. The guy who was, like, the champion for Cuba, Venezuela. What. What the heck happened to you, Marco?
- [16:51]
Jim Acosta
Where are you, Secretary Rubio, where are you. Where are you in all of this?
- [16:55]
Olivia Troy
Because he knows better.
- [16:57]
Jim Acosta
He knows better.
- [16:58]
Olivia Troy
He told us when he was a senator how he really felt about this.
- [17:01]
Jim Acosta
That's right.
- [17:02]
Olivia Troy
So we know where he is on this issue.
- [17:04]
Jim Acosta
He's. He's feathering his nest for 2028. He wants to inherit the. The MAGA mantle from. From Donald Trump. And, you know, Trump is going to dangle that. And I mean, Secretary Rubio, you have to understand, Marco, you have to understand, he is going to dangle this in front of you like catnip for the next year or two, however long you can handle being Secretary of State and stomach all this stuff, because we know you're from the real world. I think it was Secretary Cortez Masto who said this in a hearing the other day. Marco Rubio, you know better. Or maybe it was Jackie Rosen. I can't remember which one it was. And, you know, he just has to understand that Trump is playing him. He's playing him to think that Donald Trump is going to hand the keys to the MAGA base to Marco Rubio, a son of Cuban migrants, is not dealing with the real world. He is going to give this to JD Vance or his son, more likely his son. Or he's going to try to run for a third term. And I know folks are saying, oh, Jim, you know, he's not going to run for a third term. He, he. Please, just, just hold that out as a possibility, folks. He is absolutely going to try to run for a third term. And Secretary Rubio is deluding himself if he's thinking that if he just goes along with us and plays along, he's going to be okay and he's going to get all of the. He's going to get the keys to the castle in the long run.
- [18:20]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. Let me give you a prime example. Marco Rubio. Mike Pence.
- [18:25]
Jim Acosta
Thank you. Your former boss.
- [18:29]
Olivia Troy
There you go.
- [18:30]
Jim Acosta
Mike Pence. Mike Pence thought if I just, you know, when the, when they go around the table and they do the Dear Leader thing, if I just say nice things and, and shower him with praise and slobber all over the place and.
- [18:42]
Olivia Troy
Try to control the Crazy behind closed.
- [18:44]
Jim Acosta
Doors, try to con. I know he tried to do that behind closed doors. He absolutely did. That's 100 true. But look what happened in the end. Look what happened in the end. And this has always been the case. I've covered Trump for 10 years now. And the loyalty only runs one way. It's a one way street.
- [19:02]
Olivia Troy
Yeah. And it's only a matter of time before he turns on you.
- [19:04]
Jim Acosta
I mean, that is only a matter of time before he turns on you. Olivia, it's a Memorial Day weekend, so we can't talk too long because folks have to go off to their barbecues and baseball games and they have to go talk to their crazy Aunt Edna and their crazy Uncle Jesse. But you and I, in a week from Monday, are going to be doing a live town hall from the Lincoln Theater named after the guy. I think that's over your shoulder right now. And we're going to be taking on these issues and this is going to be a really exciting event. We're. This is all evolving behind the scenes as we speak right now. But we have some cool stuff lined up. I don't want to give it all away right now, but I at least want to talk about.
- [19:41]
Olivia Troy
It's a surprise.
- [19:42]
Jim Acosta
Yes, it's a surprise in part because it's not 100% ready yet. But we're working on it.
- [19:46]
Olivia Troy
We are. I can promise that there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes right now, but there are some really cool surprises planned.
- [19:54]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [19:54]
Olivia Troy
And I think that are meaningful, that are meaningful, that are heartfelt, and we hope that. I think we're doing our best to make this a unique event and also just kind of bring together a community of voices and people and we can talk about these in person.
- [20:10]
Jim Acosta
Absolutely. Monday, June 2, Lincoln Theater in Washington, D.C. right on U Street. Right, right on historic U Street. You can go get a Ben's Chili Bowl. Chili dog. Come on over and see us. And maybe on some chili dogs, too. Chili dog sounds pretty damn good right now, actually next door.
- [20:27]
Olivia Troy
You know, do we need to do that?
- [20:28]
Jim Acosta
Oh, man.
- [20:29]
Olivia Troy
Or maybe we just do a little parade down to Ben's Chili bowl afterwards or something. I don't know.
- [20:33]
Jim Acosta
We'll have to think of something. We're going to think of something. But it's Monday, June 2nd. Doors open at 6:30, and we're gonna have a lot of fun, a lot of surprises, a lot of cool stuff planned. Olivia will be there. Our buddy Mike Fanone there, who, you know, maybe he'll get a tattoo live can we get that maybe that going? I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't do that.
- [20:49]
Olivia Troy
I already told you, I'm not participating in the tattoos. I will not be getting a tattoo that night.
- [20:54]
Jim Acosta
A Lincoln tattoo or something like that. That'd be kind of cool.
- [20:57]
Olivia Troy
Maybe. I mean, I don't know. I'm already getting inquiries on this scream here pillow. And I was like, I will reveal that that night. Or my goat. Maybe I'll bring the stream and go.
- [21:06]
Jim Acosta
There you go. I love it.
- [21:08]
Olivia Troy
Every day. This is all of us. Maybe we'll scream that night together because.
- [21:10]
Jim Acosta
You know, we just all let out one loud screaming goat screen. I think. I think that's what we should do.
- [21:18]
Olivia Troy
The White House. That would be perfect.
- [21:21]
Jim Acosta
Absolutely. All right, well, great to see you, Olivia. Thanks so much. I'll let you get on with your weekend. I know you were scrambling to do this. I was scrambling to do this. But please, this weekend, arm yourself with the facts, because your relatives who only watch Fox News are coming to the barbecue and they're going to spew stupid shit, and you've got to help them. We're here to help. We're here to. This is a cause to do. Good.
- [21:44]
Olivia Troy
Yes.
- [21:46]
Jim Acosta
But, Olivia, great to see you. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. Really appreciate it.
- [21:50]
Olivia Troy
Good Memorial Day weekend.
- [21:51]
Jim Acosta
You as well. Happy Memorial Day weekend. Have a good one, and I'll talk to you soon. Olivia is now going to go Fast and Furious and help plan this thing so it doesn't lay a big egg. I want to turn very quickly if I can, because there's a ton of stuff happening in the legal world right now to Nick Ackerman, Nick Watergate, ERA attorney and prosecutor. And, Nick, it's great to see you. I used to see on my old show from time to time. It's good to be back with you.
- [22:19]
Nick Ackerman
Right? Yep. Good to be here.
- [22:21]
Jim Acosta
Absolutely. No, and I was just talking with Olivia about this. You know, there's. I mean, there's so many different cases and so many different courthouses right now involving federal judges and state judges that are pushing back against many of the illegal things that the Trump administration is trying to do, unconstitutional things that they're trying to do. For example, deporting people to a country that they're not from undocumented migrants. Federal judges recently slammed the brakes on that. Trump is lashing back on Truth Social in very threatening ways. And he is so effective at tearing aside the guardrails and tossing aside the norms that presidents typically don't go after. Federal judges first of all, I mean, that is something that's highly unusual. But, Nick, if you can walk us through, you know, what, what the federal courts and what the judiciary can do in the long run. Because if he thumbs his nose at the courts, a lot of people are wondering, you know, what are the alternatives? What's the recourse at that point?
- [23:26]
Nick Ackerman
Well, I think what's happening is you're seeing a number of these cases coming to fruition now. Even today, as you mentioned, there was a temporary restraining order that was issued in Boston against Trump with what he's doing with Harvard. And I think all of these cases are starting to percolate up towards the Supreme Court. And at some point, the Supreme Court is going to have to rule on what is properly in the executive's purview, what's properly in the legislative purview, what Trump is doing that he has absolutely no fucking right to do, as they say in the law. And you've got a bunch of these moving up, and it's important that the proper records be set out below. I mean, for example, you've got this whole issue about people, the Venezuelans who were sent off to the hellhole in El Salvador, right? And what that was was all based on one big lie, the lie that somehow this criminal gang from Venezuela was being directed by Maduro and the Venezuelan government. Well, the fact of the matter is, we now know, because of an FOIA request, a Freedom of Information act request, believe it or not, we know that that was a big lie because the intelligence community almost unanimously said that there was no connection between Maduro, Venezuela, and this gang that was in the US So you've got one judge that was out in Pennsylvania who wound up saying, well, I can't really decide the issue on whether or not this alien act applies, because I have to defer to the executive, who has a lot more basically classified information that I do have or should have. And the fact of the matter is, we now know that there was classified information that she should have had and should have been able to look at before she made that decision. So something like that has to be out there so that when the Supreme Court ultimately decides whether or not that Alien Addition act is constitutional or not, or being properly brought up under these circumstances, whether or not that's justified. And certainly that consensus of the intelligence community puts the entire lie to that whole point that Trump is making here, where he's actually keeping two people that were sent there by mistake to El Salvador without acknowledging it was a mistake and keeping them in that Hellhole. I mean, that in itself, as they say in the law, is a fucking outrage.
- [26:10]
Jim Acosta
It is a fucking outrage. And I've often said that my Friday shows are fuck it, Friday. So I'm glad you're, you're bringing the heat here, Nick. But, you know, here's my question, is that Trump is basically saying you to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court has essentially said that he must, that the administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego. And, and they have not done that. And, and so my question is, is, you know, what can be done at that point? And I want to get your thoughts on that. And I have a pretty critical follow up to that. So your thoughts.
- [26:42]
Nick Ackerman
I think there's a lot that can be done. I mean, basically, the judge in Maryland is giving the plaintiff there, the American Civil Liberties Union, the right to question people in depositions, take testimony under oath, put their feet to the fire as to who spoke to whom, who did what, who was responsible for those planes leaving Texas or Louisiana and going to El Salvador, who knew what, when. And once she has that information, either it's their stonewalling it and it's going to make them look bad, or she has the information and she starts putting people under contempt and actually has the right to go out and appoint somebody, a private lawyer to prosecute those contempt cases. Once that happens, the heat is going to start to rise. Donald Trump may have immunity from a lot of this stuff because he's going to claim it's all official acts under the Supreme Court.
- [27:35]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. He's going to say, well, the Supreme Court, you know, you may tell me I can, I have to do something, but you also told me that I'm above the law, so.
- [27:43]
Nick Ackerman
Yeah, except the people that work for him are not above the law. And a lot of those people are going to wind up in a super jam here because they're going to be held in contempt and you're going to have those people going to jail or you're going to have those people on top of it being disbarred and going the route of Rudy Giuliani, which is not a good luck either. So there are real consequences to be paid here, even though Trump himself cannot be held criminally liable for any of this, although he certainly should have been. And if it wasn't for the Supreme Court case, he would be. And that's why everything he does, if you notice this, Jim, what he does is he closed everything in an official act. He goes after law.
- [28:23]
Jim Acosta
Exactly.
- [28:23]
Nick Ackerman
Using an executive order. Ooh. Official act. He goes after the colleges and universities doing an investigation by the EEOC because, oh, my God, they're discriminating against people because they have DEI policies when there's no proof whatsoever of any discrimination, but yet it's an official act. So this is kind of the game that he's playing, and people are purposely advising him to do all of these actions he's taking against his enemies list to make them all look like they're somehow official acts. Back in the day, when I was prosecuting and investigating the Watergate case, these were the kind of cases I was looking at. The problem back then was I didn't have the proof on this enemies list material. We had information about Larry o' Brien, who had been John F. Kennedy's campaign manager and also the head of the Democratic Party at one point, but we didn't have the proof showing the motive and intent for a lot of this work. O' Brien was. Was tax audited for years on end. We didn't have the actual proof tying this together. The problem now with the Supreme Court is Justice Roberts says you can't even go into the president's motives with respect to official acts, so there's no way you can show motive, intent and intent. Criminal intent is absolutely critical to being able to obtain a conviction.
- [29:50]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, I mean, he's played the. The judicial system like a fiddle. There's just no question about it. He got a green light. He got a blank check from the Supreme Court from Chief Justice John Roberts. I believe that that decision, that immunity decision, will haunt his legacy for generations. Generations of Americans will read their history books, if we have any left, and they will read that. Chief Justice John Roberts essentially gave Donald Trump carte blanche to do whatever he wants as President of the United States. It is a historically awful decision that is that. That makes a Bush v. Gore look like, you know, child. Child's play, you know, just an absolute joke. And. But here's my question, Nick, and that is this. We do have a resolution in the Constitution. It's called impeachment. And for folks who say, well, we don't know what to do if the President defies the courts or defies the Supreme Court, in theory, and we know that the Republicans are coward. Cowards in this regard, they could conceivably, or a new Congress come January of 2027, could conceivably begin impeachment proceedings. Based on what you have seen so far from Trump's behavior, the outlandish things that he's done, and probably unconstitutional things that he's done. Do we already have grounds for impeachment? And I'm not saying that in a hyperbolic or. Or any kind of a way like that. I'm just talking about the law and what. What the impeachment proceedings suggest. High crimes and misdemeanors. It seems to me that we already have the potential for a case.
- [31:23]
Nick Ackerman
Oh, you got a list. Okay. You got a whole bunch of stuff here. Okay. You can start off with. With just what he's doing with Harvard. I mean, that in itself is. Is a high crime and misdemeanor, even though you can't prosecute it as a crime because he's got immunity, but it doesn't give him immunity from impeachment. You've got what he's done does not.
- [31:40]
Jim Acosta
Have immunity from impeachment.
- [31:42]
Nick Ackerman
No, not at all. In fact, what he's done with the law firms going after them, making up this bullshit about dei and trying to find little areas where law firms have taken a position against him, what he's really done is he's trying to keep the law firms from providing pro bono lawyers to individuals who can't afford lawyers that are being persecuted by the Trump administration. So you've got that. You've got two of his former officials from his first administration, Taylor and the other Krebs, who he's.
- [32:19]
Jim Acosta
Miles Taylor. Yeah, yeah.
- [32:21]
Nick Ackerman
He's directed his attorney general to investigate them and go after them. I mean, what was their crime?
- [32:27]
Jim Acosta
Outrageous. Totally.
- [32:28]
Nick Ackerman
Totally outrageous. I mean, Taylor, what did he do? He wrote that anonymous editorial in the New York Times, Krebs, what he did was report the truth about the 2020 election, that it was all fair and square and was the freest election of all time. So that's. All of those things are high crimes and misdemeanors. They're all the same. I would have been investigating him back in 1974, but nobody can investigate him now because you can't get behind him. You can't get behind the motive. And that's what the problem is with that stupid Supreme Court opinion. It's just outrageous. Now having grounds.
- [33:03]
Jim Acosta
You think that, politically speaking, in the Congress, there could be potentially grounds for impeachment based on what he's just done.
- [33:10]
Nick Ackerman
So far, factually and politically? Absolutely lots of grounds. Look what he's even doing in New York, for God's sakes, interfering in the Merrill election. He basically goes in and gets dismisses the indictment against Eric Adams, a very serious indictment, lots of evidence. And he's doing it because he wants to. Essentially wanted to have his claws into Adams so that he could control immigration in the city of New York.
- [33:38]
Jim Acosta
Right.
- [33:38]
Nick Ackerman
And then what happened? I, I represented common cause on that matter in amicus. The judge, in accordance with our request, didn't dismiss it with prejudice. He dismissed it with prejudice as opposed to without prejudice. Without prejudice allowed Trump to be able to dangle that over him. The threat of re indicting him to keep going on, you know, path of immigration. Then what does he do after that? Gets dismissed with prejudice. He's now going after Eric Adams, chief rival in the Merrill election, Cuomo, by trying to trump up an investigation. Just put on words, I guess. But Trump up an investigation into Cuomo doing the same thing that he tried to do with Zelensky, with Joe Biden and with Hunter Biden. The quid pro quo investigation in place, that is completely meaningless and is going nowhere.
- [34:31]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, I, to me, you know, the red line should be if the administration attempts to suspend habeas corpus. If the administration attempts to suspend habeas corpus, it seems to me, whether you're Republican or Democrat, there, there should be grounds for impeachment and removal. At that point, the President of the United States. We're not in a time of war. An immigration roundup is not a wartime act. That's all horseshit. He should not be able to suspend habeas corpus willy nilly. And if the courts say no and he does it anyway or tries to do it anyway, I think, I think that is right there. Grounds for impeachment. And that should be a red line for the Congress and for the judiciary, in my view.
- [35:15]
Nick Ackerman
I totally agree. Of course, if you have Kristi Noem in charge, she thinks habeas corpus actually gives him the ability to deport people.
- [35:23]
Jim Acosta
Yeah.
- [35:23]
Nick Ackerman
From her standpoint, if she got elected to Congress or to the Senate, she'd use that to acquit him of any kind of impeachment or anybody who follows Kristi Noeman, her definition of habeas corpus. But you're right. I mean, the problem is, of course, that we're likely to get a Democratic Congress come the midterms, but you're not going to have 2/3 of a vote in the Senate.
- [35:46]
Jim Acosta
In the Senate, I know be able.
- [35:47]
Nick Ackerman
To convict and remove him from office. And if you can't remember him from office, I don't know how much good this does us.
- [35:54]
Jim Acosta
I mean, yeah, from a practical standpoint, it's difficult. And that's why people have to buckle up. There's just no question about it. Well, Nick, great to talk to you, great to reconnect. Thanks so much for doing it. Thanks for the expertise.
- [36:04]
Nick Ackerman
Yep. Thank you. It was great being here.
- [36:06]
Jim Acosta
All right, good to see you. We'll do it again soon. Thanks so much for your time. All right, good to see you. Appreciate it. Yeah, I mean, I, I get it. I, I, and I can just hear the folks out there saying there's no way they'll vote to convict in the Senate and so on. I get it. But I'm just trying to make the point that when people say, oh, there's no, there's nothing to be done. If Trump thumbs his nose at the courts, the Constitution lays out the President of the United States can be impeached and removed from office. And if he suspends habeas corpus and says, we can now start rounding people up in the United States without due process, without the ability to challenge unlawful detention, I believe the president has crossed a very serious red line in this country. And at that point, impeachment proceedings should begin. I mean, that's just my view on this. I want to wrap up finally just by saying that Apparently Vice President J.D. vance was at the Naval Academy today, and there were some protests that he, I guess, was up against. And this is from the Baltimore Banner. And, and my friend Bethany was out there covering this. She's got some pictures to, to share with our viewers. But it says this in the Baltimore Banner, one of the independent news outlets out there, by the way, as midshipmen filed into Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Friday, prepared to toss their covers to signify their grand graduation, several groups advocating for racial justice and LB LGBTQ plus rights rallied across the streets on the grounds of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. What's interesting about all of this, Vance was giving the address at the Naval Academy graduation. Congrats to all the people out there at the Naval Academy on a job well done. It's interesting that in his, his remarks, this is according to the Baltimore Banner. The vice President stayed away from the Trump administration's effort. This according to, to that, to the Banner, from their effort to purge the military of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. He made no mention of some of the policies that hit close to the home at the service academy in Annapolis. And apparently he did not get into these books. I hope folks have been following this. These books that have been banned, they were removed from the academy's library following an executive order by Trump. Nearly 400 books exploring themes of white supremacy, race and racism in America, gender identity, sexuality, diversity, were removed from the academy's library following that executive order by Trump, who was set out to purge the military of dei. Most, however, have since been returned to the library shelves. I only bring this up because what is going on in this country as we're heading into Memorial Day weekend and we're thinking about those who have fallen making the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of this country, on, on behalf of freedom for Americans in this country. What are we doing when we are banning books in the Library of the U.S. naval Academy, ladies and gentlemen? And if they're so proud of that cockamamie policy, why didn't the vice President bring it up in his remarks to the graduates in, in at the Naval Academy today? Why didn't he bring that up if they're so proud of this? Surely that is something you would think he would say. Well, here's a policy that we carried out that directly affected the people at the Naval Academy. Well, apparently, according to the Baltimore Banner, he didn't bring it up. He talked about foreign policy issues and so on. And so I, I make this point at the end of this program because as we're heading into the Memorial Day weekend and I talked about how folks may be gathering around the barbecue with crazy Uncle Jesse and crazy Aunt Edna who get all their news from Fox and Facebook and we want to arm them with facts. Ask them that question. Ask them that question. Should we be banning books at the U.S. naval Academy? Is that what we're all about as a country? Is that what the men and women in our military fought and died for, buried in places like Arlington National Cemetery, where my grandparents are buried? Is that what these generations of heroes fought and died for? I mean, that's the purpose of Memorial Day weekend. That's the purpose of Memorial Day, is to remember the fallen, remember those sacrifices. And so kudos to those protesters who showed up in Annapolis today to send the message to the Vice President that the American people are not going to take this lying down, that this is not the road this country wants to go down, that this is not the road that Americans want to, to follow. And J.D. vance, we talked about Marco Rubio earlier. I mean, these, these top level officials, they may, may be willing to sell their souls in the hopes that Donald Trump will dangle the keys to the candy store, keys to the castle in 2028 and hand over the Maga base. But think about what you're doing in the long run. Think about what you're giving up to think that the U.S. naval Academy would have its library purged of books that are deemed inappropriate by a bunch of hacks in Washington that is un American. That is contrary to the values that our parents, that our fathers, our grandfathers, our mothers and our grandmothers fought for in all of these wars that brought us to this point today. The sacrifices, the ultimate sacrifices that they made to get us to this point today, they didn't do that. They didn't put their lives on the line in places like Normandy so we could ban books at the U.S. naval Academy. And so I find it a little peculiar that the vice president did not take a few moments to mention that, since that is a policy that they laid out and imposed on the US Naval Academy. As we talked about with Olivia at the top of this program, this war on academia, this war on. On the ability to think for oneself, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, those are the things that are forefathers. The people have come before us, what they fought for, what they sacrificed for. And it should mean something to all of us on this Memorial Day weekend. So when you're gathering around the barbecue, please keep that in mind as well. My thanks to Olivia, to Nick, and just one more reminder. Our live town hall is coming up on Monday, June 6th, 2nd at the Lincoln Theater. Make sure you get your tickets. You can go to the Lincoln Theater website. There's a link right there where you can go get your tickets, and we can't wait to see you. In the meantime, please have a very good Memorial Day weekend. Stay safe out there. A lot of folks get themselves in trouble by overdoing it on this kind of weekend. Please don't do that. Please think before you go a little too far with your activities. Stay safe. And in the meantime, still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Have a good Memorial Day weekend. Thanks so much for watching. Take care. Bye. Bye.