← The Jim Acosta Show
The Jim Acosta Show
Senator Adam Schiff rips Trump's corruption, Olivia Troye on why birthright citizenship case matters, and Michael Fanone has a suggestion for Speaker Mike Johnson.
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Jim Acosta
All right.
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Adam Schiff
Welcome, everybody, to the Jim Acosta Show. It is Thursday, and it is unraveling for Donald Trump. His trip to the Middle east has revealed itself as a presidential money grab, schmoozing with dictators to line his pockets. Most notably, of course, is his ridiculous scheme to accept a free $400 million plane from the Qataris to use as Air Force One. I'll talk to California Senator Adam Schiff in just a moment about Trump administration corruption and how it may be spreading to other officials in the administration. Surprise, surprise. In the meantime, Republicans are beginning to defy Donald Trump. Witness the House and Senate Republicans who are bolting on his big, beautiful spending bill, which is really nothing more than a tax giveaway to the rich and powerful in this country. And notice what happened today at the Supreme Court. This was very important today, folks. Justices he appointed to the high court. That's right. People like Brett Kavanaugh, people like Amy Coney Barrett, they are asking pointed questions of the Trump administration and specifically about Trump executive order to end birthright citizenship in this country. Remember, Donald Trump returned to the White House with a promise to lower inflation, to lower prices for you, the American people. He has promised to do that, but he has failed to keep that promise. I'm going to talk about that in just a few moments with Adam Schiff as well. Let's try to bring in the senator right now. I understand he is standing by, and we'll bring him into the discussion here and we'll see where the discussion goes. The senator very kind enough to give us some of his time today. I understand this is going to be his first substack live interview. So we've heard that a number of times from various members of Congress. We had Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, not too long ago, Pete Buttigieg, he did his first substack live here on the Jim Acosta Show. And now we're bringing in Senator Adam Schiff, who is obviously a very influential lawmaker up on Capitol Hill. He's going to be just connecting in just a few moments. We're letting the substack machine do its work. As I've talked about many times, it happens from time to time. You know, we have to get those hamsters spinning furiously in the wheel inside the substack machine. But once they do their job, we'll get the senator on the program. And the reason why I brought up Trump's promise to lower inflation for you, the American people, remember, that was why many people thought here in Washington, he was returned to the White House elected back to the White House as president of the United States. Of course, he has failed to keep that promise, which of course was never something he really cared about to begin with. He wanted to return to the White House, of course, to bring his brand of corrupt authoritarianism to America. And that work continues. But want to give you a headline from cnbc. This came out just a little while ago. Earlier today, price increases are coming soon to a Walmart near you. On Thursday, the Walmart cfo, that's of course, today. Earlier today, the Walmart cfo, John David Rainey warned investors that even the retail giant known for its discounts will have to raise prices of many items because of tariffs, despite a 90 day reprieve that lowered those tariffs on Chinese imports to 30%. Goods from other countries face just a 10% tariff at this point. This is what the CFO of Walmart said earlier today in a CNBC interview. We're trying to navigate this the best that we can, he said. But this is a little bit unprecedented in terms of the speed and magnitude in which the price increases are coming. That, that is something obviously I want to bring up with Senator Schiff. Let's see, hold on just a second here. We're going to just pause for a moment because sometimes, as we know, these things can just take a little extra time and want to make sure that we're all good, in good shape here. He's coming to us, I believe, from up on Capitol Hill today. And it's been very busy up there. We've been seeing lots of hearings and so on up there. The other thing I want to bring up, Senator Schiff has been on the case when it comes to public corruption, rooting out corruption inside the Trump administration. And of course, all of that flows right up to Donald Trump himself. But a publication that I don't cite enough on this show, that I want to cite more of on this show is ProPublica. And ProPublica has a very important story out earlier today. I think Senator Schiff is gonna weigh on, weigh in on this as well. It says this Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between 1 and $5 million worth of shares of Trump Media the same day that Trump unveiled his tariffs that caused the stock market to plummet. And there's Senator Schiff right there. Senator Schiff, great to see you on the show. Thanks for.
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Olivia Troy
Hey, Jim, how are you?
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Adam Schiff
I'm doing fine. Really appreciate the time. I understand this is your first substack, is that correct?
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Olivia Troy
It is in this form, certainly. And great to see you appreciate your work.
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Adam Schiff
Hey, I appreciate your work as well. Thanks so much. No, I was just laying out for the viewers at home there, and they're chiming in, they're giving their comments as well. This is a slightly different experience than your typical cable news interview. So we'll get some feedback from the viewers out there. But, I mean, I think we should just get right to it. I mean, Trump's trip to the Middle east has really put his, you know, his penchant for corrupt authoritarianism on display. And I was talking about the Air Force One gambit. He obviously wants to take this, this gift from the Qataris to the tune of $400 million. And I understand you're requesting that the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General launch an inquiry into all of this. What can you tell us about that?
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Olivia Troy
Well, they've already acknowledged that when they did their legal analysis, and of course, here we're relying on the incredibly independent, objective analysis of Pam Bondi. But they've even acknowledged that it would be unlawful, unconstitutional for them to accept this aircraft as $400 million gift from the Qataris if it went directly to the Trump Foundation. So they want to launder it through the Defense Department, which doesn't make it any more legal. It just pulls the Defense Department into this scheme to enrich the president. And so what I want to know from the Defense Department is a number of things. First of all, what is this going to cost taxpayers if they have to somehow retrofit this aircraft, if they've got to go through and extensively debug it, make sure that there's no electronic surveillance, if they've got to bring it up to the standards of an Air Force One and all the rest of that? What's it going to cost the taxpayer? How long is it going to take if this isn't going to be ready for a couple of years? It means that basically Trump is going to get this air craft on his way out the door. And it's really about just the private use of this plane by the President, but also what is the DoD doing to protect themselves from being a party willing or unwilling to this graft, this scheme? What does it mean also for our national security? Because the Qataris aren't stupid. They want something for their $400 million investment. If it were just a. A nice gesture, Jim, as the President likes to claim, they would have given you the plane, or maybe given, you know, someone off the street, the plane. No, they gave it to the president for a reason.
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Adam Schiff
Right. And, you know, to me. I mean, I. The question I wanted to ask today is, what is this, Oprah? You get a plane. You get a plane. I mean, apparently Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, wants her own new plane as well. That's been coming out in the headlines today. And you mentioned Pam Bondi, the Attorney general, signing off on this. I know that you have chimed in with a tweet about a story that was in ProPublica in the last 24 hours talking about how she sold between a million and $5 million worth of shares of Trump Media the same day that Trump unveiled his terrorists. I mean, the larger picture here, and I've been talking about this on my show, is that they're just doing this in plain sight, just. Just acts of blatant corruption. And the question has to be asked, what can be done about this? I know Democrats are in the minority in the Senate over in the House, difficult to hold hearings, but is there any way to shame these Republicans into holding some hearings here?
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Olivia Troy
I think there is. You know, in the near term, probably not to the extent of holding a whole hearing on it, but nevertheless, confronting our colleagues here in Congress with the. Just the blatant graft and the danger that it poses, forcing them not to look away, can be really impactful. And to give you one illustration, I put a hold on Ed Martin's nomination for U.S. attorney in D.C. this was someone with no prosecutorial experience, someone who was a Stop the Steal lawyer, someone who said we should go easier on people who beat cops, someone who was promoting avowed Nazi admirers. This is a partial list. And the longer we held his nomination, the more that we brought out to the public about his unfitness for office, the bigger a burden it became to the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, to the point where his nomination went down. They knew that wouldn't pass, and so they moved on. So it can have an impact. That kind of oversight is important, but I think it's even more important vis a vis the public. And because the numbers are so big with the Trump graft, it's hard for people to wrap their head around it because it's out in the open. It's hard for the country to wrap its head around it. And in fact, the Trump administration is quite aware of this. The defenders say, well, it's all out in the open. It's transparent. As if transparent corruption makes it any less corrupt. But to give you one other quick illustration, the Trump meme coin, right? And this gala dinner they're inviting people to with a promise of Access to the president on a White House tour. That meme coin, whether it goes up in value or down in value, the transaction fees all go into the pocket of Donald Trump. It's the most clear graft. But because this is out in the open in a way, it's really hard for people to understand just how crooked a deal this is. And I think people think, well, how is this gala different than a campaign fundraising gala? The difference is this money is not going to some campaign. This money is going right into Donald Trump's pocket. And I think we need to spell that out for folks.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah. I mean, there was a time when we thought, gosh, when folks were doing obnoxious things for campaign donations, that that was pretty bad stuff. And here he's just. He's just putting the money in his pockets. I mean, I've been describing it as sort of like those game shows where people run through the supermarket with a shopping cart and just try to pile as many goodies into the shopping cart as possible. That seems to be what he's doing with the White House and with the presidency. And it seems to me what you need is. You know, I've been thinking about. Because, you know, lawmakers always come up with clever names for bills. You know, is there a way we can come up with a scam act, Stop Corruption and Mischief act, and limit the president to just what he's supposed to get paid in office? I don't know. I'm just. I'm spitballing here, Senator, but it just seems to me this is nuts, and it's almost whack a mole everywhere you look. He's trying to scam the public.
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Olivia Troy
That's exactly right. And by the way, I like that idea for the title of the bill. I will look at asterisk and give you credit for that. But the other thing is. And your comment about Kristi Noem and the aircraft is perfect in the sense that they're all trying to get in on the act. Now everybody's trying to cash in. We have this. The real Secretary of State, Witkoff, not Marco Rubio, he's got a very limited profile. But Witkoff is the real Secretary of State. His son is cashing in with the Trump sons with a stablecoin, another crypto venture that just got a $2 billion infusion from the Gulf. And everybody's cashing in. Pam Bundy's cashing in. Kristi Noem wants to cash in. And you know who we have largely to thank for this? A guy named John Roberts, who just happens to be Chief justice of the Supreme Court, who gave Donald Trump immunity. You give a convicted felon like Donald Trump immunity, and you make him President of the United States, and he's gonna act like a crook with immunity, which is what he's doing. And the people around him, they know they're getting a pardon on the way out the door, so they're acting just as crooked as he is.
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Adam Schiff
He's absolutely emboldened in all of this. And I covered him during the first administration. I think he's far more dangerous this time around. There's no question about it. You know that all too well, Senator. And I was having a conversation about some of this with Ruth Ben Guillot yesterday. And while it is kind of funny to laugh at some of stuff because it's just so outlandish, there is a danger to it in that as this. This oligarchy that Trump seems to be surrounding himself with, as they enrich themselves, it almost seems as though the circle can get bigger and more people can get sucked in and pulled in and enticed to join in on the corruption. And that might make all of these characters a little bit more difficult to dislodge from power. I mean, as they accumulate this and amass this kind of wealth, one has to think it makes them harder to beat at the ballot box. I wonder what your thoughts are on that.
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Olivia Troy
Well, I certainly agree, and I think probably the case in point is Elon Musk. Here's Elon Musk, in addition to doing the Tesla showroom on the White House grounds, because the stock in his company has been in a nosedive, I think even worse, perhaps far worse, is as Trump has imposed tariffs on these other countries. They're coming to Trump to try to get out from under the tariffs, but they're also coming to Elon. And Elon is pitching them on his Starlink satellite system. And they recognize, because we see it in leaked cables, they recognize that one way to ingratiate themselves with the administration is to buy Elon's product. And so Elon has the most patent conflicts of interest. And, you know, they fire the head of the Office of Government Ethics, who would be policing this stuff.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah, but.
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Olivia Troy
But you're right. And then Elon takes the money he makes from the sales of these satellite systems and plows it into the Trump political operation. After that Tesla showroom on the White House grounds, he put another 100 million into the Trump political operation. So if you're seeing ads, I mean, I'm seeing ads promoting Donald Trump, he's not even running for anything.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah.
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Olivia Troy
This is, you know, the oligarchs propping up this corrupt president whose numbers are sinking, and they want to prop him up as long as they can because the gravy train is running and they want to get that gravy.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah. It's almost like an SNL skit of a home shopping network, except it's all of Trump's corrupt schemes and scams that he wants to pull over on the American people. You mentioned the Chief justice of the Supreme Court. Senator, I have to ask you about this very important case in front of the high court today about birthright citizenship. It fits right in with all of these other, you know, sketchy, unconstitutional things, dangerous things that he's been trying to do with respect to migrants in this country. Wanted to get your thoughts on that, and whether or not the notion of birthright citizenship could be in danger right now, which, I mean, that opens up a huge Pandora's box in terms of what can be done to migrant families, mixed status families. These are the kinds of issues that I've been focusing in on on this program. A lot of people in your state in fear of this right now.
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Olivia Troy
You know, it's difficult to extrapolate sometimes from the justice's arguments and whether they're playing devil's advocate or whether they're really the devil. But what I'm taking away from the coverage I've seen so far is a recognition that birthright citizenship is very clear from the Constitution. The Trump administration is not going to win on the merits. And so they're shifting to a different objective in that case. And the different objective is to try to strike down the use of nationwide injunctions. And, of course, what that refers to is when something unconstitutional like an attack on birthright citizenship takes place and you go to a court for relief, that court has the power to issue an injunction against deporting, for example, people born in the United States because they're citizens and have that injunction apply nationwide. And what the Trump administration wants to do is they want to stop judges from being able to issue injunctions nationwide, even though they were thrilled to do it when Biden was president.
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Adam Schiff
Right. Shopping that they would do and so on. Yeah.
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Olivia Troy
Oh, exactly. Exactly. So now they want to limit what has been a really important tool to protect the American people against these unconstitutional acts. And it seems like a lot of the argument today by the Trump solicitor and a lot of the receptivity on the bench have less to do with birthright and more to do with limiting this really important tool if they take that action, which I wouldn't be surprised to see the conservative justices try to do it.
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Adam Schiff
Try to carve out a win for Trump in some fashion that might please him. Exactly.
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Olivia Troy
Yeah, exactly.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah. That's worrisome. And I did wonder. There's also a story in the New York Times today. DHS has requested more than 20,000 National Guard members to help with the immigration crackdown. Of course, we know that the National Guard has been used down on the border before for beefing up security along the border and so on. But a Defense Department official said if the request were approved, it would be the first time National Guard troops were used to help enforce the immigration crackdown in the United States. And so it sort of ties in with what we were talking about earlier. There are so many different things happening on this front, it's hard to keep track of them all. But to use the National Guard in this fashion would be unprecedented and I think would cause a lot of fear in a lot of communities. If you're seeing armored. Armored carriers and people in, you know, their military fatigues conducting operations with ICE and so on, I mean, that. That does not sound like America to me. No.
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Olivia Troy
And I think there are additional problems as well. And that is, it's going to inevitably create a conflict between the president and the governors about how these guards are used. It is going to cause the public to have a different perception of the National Guard and what their role and responsibilities are. I think it will affect military readiness and cohesion. If they're diverted to these other missions, it'll mean that they're less mission capable in terms of the national security mission that they're really designed for. So lots of adverse impacts. Part of this, I think, is just the continuation of the Trump administration effort at shock and awe. The muzzle velocity Steve Bannon was promoting, they want to do more and more extreme things. Arrest judges, call out the National Guard, send people to maximum security prisons outside the country, violate court orders. I still takes my breath away that the Supreme Court of the United States, this right wing court, essentially orders the president to facilitate the return of someone who it was clear violation of the law to deport or render. The president is meeting with the president of El Salvador. He could ask for the return. He refuses to do so. He acknowledges he could just pick up the phone. He's openly contemptuous of both the Supreme Court and the lower court. That is really unprecedented. And for people who might be tempted to think, well, you know, I'm not a suspected gang member, why Should I care about that? If they can grab anyone off the street and give them a label or violate a court order and send you overseas, or make the argument that as long as they send you overseas before the court can intervene, there's nothing the courts can do, then really, no one is safe.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah, that is scary. And when you have Stephen Miller going out in front of the White House and saying, well, we might suspend habeas corpus, the ability to challenge unlawful detention in this country, that is also a scary thought. And taking away people's birthright citizenship, using the National Guard in this fashion, I mean, it really sounds like a militarized campaign of fear that they're trying to spread throughout the migrant communities in this country. And. And a lot of these folks just don't know what to do. I mean, Sonia Sotomayor at the Supreme Court today was talking about the possibility if you take away birthright citizenship of stateless kids. I mean, just. It's astonishing what we've seen take place just in the last hundred days or so, but to see Stephen Miller have the gumption to say that out in front of the White House. I can't imagine a Biden administration official going out in front of the White House and saying, we might get rid of habeas corpus. And what the reaction might be to that over on Fox or on the Republican side of things.
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Olivia Troy
It's astonishing. I met with a group of young people today who are the children of visa holders. So their parents came to the country, many of them worked in the tech sector. And so they're the children of people who came here legally. They have been applying for citizenship, but because the process takes so long, they've turned 21, they've aged out of it. So they've aged out of their legal status. And so they had status, they came here lawfully, and then through no fault of their own, they've aged out of status, and now they have to worry about being deported. And in a prior administration, you wouldn't have to worry that we would deport folks in that circumstance. But they do have to worry about it. Just over the weekend. I don't know if you saw this footage from Worcester, Mass.
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Adam Schiff
Oh, yes.
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Olivia Troy
Someone being grabbed by these hooded DHS figures. Her daughter screaming. Imagine that's your mother that's being grabbed off the street. The horror and the heartbreak of it. And it is, of course, designed to frighten people. And the astounding thing to me is just how quickly they've created this climate of fear, not just in the immigrant community, but at universities, in law firms throughout society, people worried that a social media post could cost them their job. For a administration that once claimed it was against censorship, we're seeing so much censorship now, and it's awful. And there's only one response to this, and it is that we have to stick together and push back and show courage.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah.
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Olivia Troy
When Harvard stepped up against this administration, it inspired other universities to do the same. Of course, when law firms capitulated, it inspired other law firms to capitulate, too. So the best remedy here is the contagion of courage.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah. And, Senator, I mean, you've stood up to Trump for years, and I'm sure it must be a big shock to you to see major institutions in this country, the media, law firms, universities, basically bend the knee. And you know Donald Trump all too well. I mean, to me, it is the exact wrong thing to do, because it just. It's just like that Supreme Court immunity decision. Any opening he sees, he will take it. He will feel emboldened by those sorts of things. And he. He. He preys on weakness. Any signs of weakness, that's. He. That's like showing red in front of a bull. Red flag in front of a bull.
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Olivia Troy
That is so true. And, you know, very, you know, close to home for you, I'm sure. Must be this case involving CBS.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah.
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Olivia Troy
Where Trump sues CBS over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. A clearly frivolous case. There is no way in the world, if that case went to trial, he would ever win that case.
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Adam Schiff
Exactly.
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Olivia Troy
But of course, CBS is part of Paramount. Paramount wants to merge with Skydance, and Donald Trump can leverage that merger to extract money from cbs. And you just can't give in to that. You just can't give into that. But we saw ABC capitulate and settle a similar and meritless lawsuit by Trump.
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Adam Schiff
Exactly.
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Olivia Troy
And when those cases are settled, that money doesn't go to the Treasury.
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Adam Schiff
No.
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Olivia Troy
That money goes into Donald Trump's pocket. Right into his pocket. In the category of getting in on the scheme, you've got Melania Trump is being paid $40 million by Amazon.
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Adam Schiff
It's unreal.
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Olivia Troy
For licensing a documentary about Melania Trump.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah. I think it makes the case for strong public media in this country. You know, PBS and npr, they're one of the favorite punching bags of the right. And, you know, they're going after it again. I just wonder, you know, in this big, beautiful bill that Trump's been talking about, which Republicans appear to be balking at as well, not only because of the cost but because it's going to go after Medicaid. And it sounds like when it comes to the Senate, comes out of the Senate, it's going to be a very different piece of legislation. But if there's any way to protect public broadcasting, it seems to mean it's now more than ever.
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Olivia Troy
I think that's exactly right. I met with some folks from NPR earlier today who are deeply worried about the continuation of public broadcasting at a time when, as you say, it's just more important than ever. But because their reporting is objective, their reporting is fact based, because they're not willing to carry a party line by any party, they're a threat, they're considered a threat to the administration. And so they're a target. Yeah, it's the same reason they're going after these universities. They think these universities are a hotbed of ideas that they don't like. And so they want to cripple them by taking away their funding. And in the process, they're defunding the golden goose of innovation. I mean, this partnership between research universities and the federal government has brought about such dramatic advances in science and in medicine. What they're doing is just such a boon to China and even Europe and its universities.
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Adam Schiff
Researchers are going overseas. They're saying, forget about this. I don't want to deal with this. I'll go to France or Germany. Yeah, absolutely incredible. Just incredible.
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Olivia Troy
Well, and I want to say I really admire your courage as a journalist.
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Adam Schiff
Oh, thank you.
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Olivia Troy
You put up with hell during the first administration and you stood tall. There's never been a more challenging time, I think, to be a member of the press. And so I have great respect for what you do, what you did. And hats off to you.
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Adam Schiff
Well, I appreciate that. And what you said earlier about not giving in, that's been my message here is. And you know, we either stand up to the bully or we're all in a bunch of trouble. And to me, it's all about not giving into the lies, not giving into the fear. So. And I know that you've been doing that during your time in Congress and I really appreciate the time you've given us. A lot of time this afternoon. Hope we can do it again soon.
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Olivia Troy
Look forward to it. It's great to see you again.
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Adam Schiff
All right, good. Good to see you, too. Hope that wasn't too excruciating. I appreciate the time. Thanks a lot, Senator. All right. Good to see you. That's Senator Adam Schiff of California. And I want to bring in Olivia Troy very quickly because she And I were texting each other earlier today about this Supreme Court case. And, you know, there's. There's a lot to unpack with the Supreme Court case. I mean, obviously what some of the Supreme Court justices were saying was, Was hugely important. And Senator Schiff is absolutely right. You have to be careful about extrapolating too much from Supreme Court arguments because, you know, sometimes these justices just, you know, they want to play the contrarian to draw out, you know, what the arguments are from the participants in the case. But. Hey, Olivia, how you doing?
- [29:45]
Mike Fanone
Well, how are you?
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Adam Schiff
Good to see you. Good to see you. And, you know, I was just talking to Senator Schiff about the birthright citizenship case and a bunch of other stuff. And I know you were closely watching the Supreme Court, these arguments that were being heard before the High Court today. What was your takeaway? I mean, to me, the chilling thing that was said. And Sonia Sotomayor is kind of becoming. I know people got really mad at Ruth Bader Ginsburg because of what happened, and she stayed too long and so on. But. But Sonia Sotomayor just finds a way every. In all of these high profile cases to just sort of clarify things so well. And when she talked about the prospect of stateless kids. It's true. You could end up with a situation like that. It's just unreal.
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Mike Fanone
Yeah, it's absolutely true. I think. I actually think she's doing an amazing job on just getting right to the brass tacks of what this really is, which is an assault on our Constitution, let's be honest. I mean, that's what is going on here by the Trump administration. And I listened to the entire thing today. I couldn't get away from it. You know that I was already texting you this morning being like the Kermit the Frog gif, like, you know, frantically. That was me. And typing. Because for me, it was the culmination of having worked with Stephen Miller and thinking about the fact that today was probably his, like, the one dream he's always wanted. This is it.
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Adam Schiff
And this is a Super Bowl.
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Mike Fanone
This is it. And it makes me sick to my stomach to actually think about the fact that this is actually being pushed and that this could potentially be decided in a way that paves the road for what's going to happen here going forward. And, you know, I know people online and social media. I was reading the comments and like, well, this is about injunctions. I'm like, no, it is about the greater picture. Let's be honest. It really is.
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Adam Schiff
Yeah. Senator shit was making that point that if, I mean, nationwide injunctions are scrapped or set aside as a result of this, I mean, that is a scary prospect during a Trump administration. If a federal judge can't put a national injunction in place based on this policy or that policy. I mean, can you imagine, you know, if habeas corpus gets to the high court and something were like, that were to happen, that would be unreal. But you're absolutely right. This is the bigger picture. If you can just strip citizenship from people in this country, who decides that? How does that work? I think that's what a couple of the justices were asking. How would that work?
- [32:09]
Mike Fanone
Well, it's basically weird. It's going to define like, who is an American. That's what this is. Right. And I think that is what is so nauseating to think about because. And also one of the arguments that was said that I thought was just very clear to lay out to someone when they ask the questions on this is like, so let me get this straight. If a person's a U.S. citizen in one state and in this situation, they cross the state line, are they no longer a citizen then? Once they cross that line and they're in a different state, what happens then? Yeah, and I'm just seeing this sort of like rabbit hole that is going to Pandora's box being opened. And I think, you know, it was the first executive, one of the first. It was on the first day of his administration that Trump issued this executive order on president citizenship. And I think they are going to do try everything to see if it can stick. And so, you know, I also, I also thought there was a good moment there where Justice Amy Coney Barrett actually defended her colleague, the conservative, like she defended the liberal Justice Keegan and said, you know, actually she was addressing the Trump team and saying, like, you just completely dismissed her questions. And that was, you know, kind of showing, like, show some respect here. So I thought that that was, that's important that they're sort of kind of banding together on this because I think I'm hoping that they're all realizing this is a complete, this is about the Constitution. At the end of the day, that's where this is going. So.
- [33:39]
Adam Schiff
Right. Yeah.
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Mike Fanone
Roberts, maybe Coney Barrett, even Brett Kavanaugh.
- [33:45]
Adam Schiff
Sounded highly skeptical of this. And so do you end up with a situation where it's just the two maga, you know, big time maga Justices Alito.
- [33:56]
Mike Fanone
That's what they are.
- [33:57]
Adam Schiff
Yeah, that's what they are. That's what they are. They might as well come in with red, red hats and robes. But the other thing, Olivia, I wanted to ask you about because, you know, this comes out of your wheelhouse and national security is this idea and I saw report in the New York Times, obviously somebody is putting this in the New York Times, leaking it from the administration. They want to float this out there, this idea that they're going to use 20,000 National Guard members to help with the immigration crackdown. And this does not sound like border enhancement things that have been done in the past during both Republican and Democratic administrations. This sounds like sending the National Guard into neighborhoods to grab people. Yeah, that's scary.
- [34:38]
Mike Fanone
And this is quite frankly, something that I think they wanted to do during the first term. It kind of came up in these, some of these discussions and we're seeing the fruition of how Stephen Miller is actually now has all the power and is in charge. There's actually a great article, by the way.
- [34:53]
Adam Schiff
Yes.
- [34:54]
Mike Fanone
Out where it talks about the power that he has amassed and all of the things that he's doing across a number of things, not just immigration, which is frightening. But I think, you know, I worry about what this looks like when there's a first incident where these untrained people are going to go into these communities. And I think we're going to see lives put at risk significantly. I mean, we're kind of all seeing, we're already seeing kind of aggression from agents. So now you're going to put in the National Guard. And also, I just think it puts them in a horrible position because that's not their job.
- [35:29]
Adam Schiff
That's not what they signed up for. Somebody was just making the comment earlier. This is not what the National Guard signed up.
- [35:34]
Mike Fanone
It's not what they do. And also, you know what? We don't have a head of FEMA anymore because they just fired the head of fema. And Kristine Noem is trying to abolish fema and they don't seem to care about the fact that the red states are going to get likely hit with hurricanes this season. So we need the National Guard to come in and things like that. I mean, if we need them as backup, like, let's focus on things where there is detriment to the American lives right now. And so I just think that this is a distraction and, and a misuse of what the National Guard does and their capabilities.
- [36:03]
Adam Schiff
Yeah, I mean, I covered Hurricane Katrina back in the day. I'm dating myself. Yes, I'm that old. But we ran out of food while we were covering that. We were in biloxi Mississippi. And it was so bad there, we eventually, like, started to run out of food. All the food we put in our news vehicle and everything. And it was a couple of National Guard guys who gave us MREs. I was like, you guys need some food? We were like, yes, thank you. We ate because of that, that, that evening, and then we had some more supplies come in. But, yeah, you're absolutely right. The National Guard is a critical part of emergency response in this country. You know, without those guys, you're in big trouble. The other thing I have to ask you about, Olivia, and this might make you chuckle because you saw some of this the first time around. Apparently they want to have a military parade in Washington on Trump's birthday to the tune of. That's right, base palm. 25 to $45 million. This is the latest in the Washington Post. 25 to $45 billion is the estimated price tag. Will involve dozens of warplanes, hundreds of army vehicles, thousands of soldiers from across the country potentially sleeping in downtown government office buildings. I don't. Is this what's happening here? Is this an investigation?
- [37:19]
Mike Fanone
No, it's disgusting. It's disgusting. And also, the military has jobs to do. They have jobs to do rather than lauding, oh, the great leader. And, yes, this is something that Trump wanted to do and now, I mean, I think he's going to get away with it and it's going to cost us millions of dollars in the Doge era, which doesn't really kind of add up. Right. And the other thing, what happened there. Yeah, exactly. And the other thing I would be questioning right now is, so we're going to spend millions of dollars on these shenanigans and this pomp and circumstances, theatrics. Right. Misuse of the military because he thinks he's.
- [37:54]
Adam Schiff
Exactly.
- [37:55]
Mike Fanone
And yet we're going to gut Medicaid. That's the direction this is all going in. We are getting resources across the federal government.
- [38:04]
Adam Schiff
You name it.
- [38:06]
Mike Fanone
Yeah. Research on cancer research. I mean, but let's do a parade. That seems like a great use of resources and funds like that is what's so invariant about this.
- [38:17]
Adam Schiff
Yeah, I mean, it's, It's. There's a couple of things. One is, I mean, apparently there's some talk that, well, if they, if they roll the tanks in, they could, you know, destroy the streets in Washington. It'll be a giant fiasco for them. I remember the last time they tried to do this, they had to. They had to put, like, platforms down or something like that on the National Mall, so they could park tanks or armored vehicles and that sort of thing down there. So I was like, don't tell them that they might do this because it'll be even more embarrassing for them. But the other thing too is like, it goes back to, he's such a needy person. There's something just sad and wrong about him that you need this. Like, why do you need this? It's like the $400 million plane from the Qataris, you know, why do you. Why palace in the sky.
- [39:02]
Olivia Troy
Aren't you secure?
- [39:03]
Mike Fanone
Mar? A lago in the sky? Is that what he's call it?
- [39:06]
Adam Schiff
Exactly. Mar A lago Catar Lago, I think is what some people think calling this. But no, I mean, he's just. There's something that's just deeply wrong with him, full stop.
- [39:17]
Mike Fanone
It's the narcissist in him and the control freak. Right? And I mean, that's how we're going to end up with this, whatever aircraft this is going to be that like Senator Schiff said, I was listening in. She's absolutely right. We're going to have to debug and figure out what else. I mean, I just can't even. I can't even process the situation, the fact that this is actually a really legit thing that they're going to actually consider and do.
- [39:42]
Adam Schiff
You would have to, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, because you come from this realm, the national security intel realm, you would have to literally tear the plane apart.
- [39:49]
Mike Fanone
Absolutely.
- [39:50]
Adam Schiff
I mean, you'd have to check everything.
- [39:51]
Mike Fanone
Down to the entire thing. Actually, that would probably be the safest bet. So what's the point? I mean, just what, to keep the gold rails inside and the gold seats and the gold toilet. Is that what we're doing here? So if that's the case, you know what, just paint the toilet. Can we get a staffer to just go in with toilet? You know what, if I were still there, I would maybe volunteer to do that. Here I was like, let me save the American people tax dollars because they need money for other things. And I'll just paint the damn toilet and see if he notices they've got.
- [40:17]
Adam Schiff
The crappy gold leafing behind him on the, on the fireplace. I'm sure you've seen that. And had to like, had to like, swallow your vomit. But like, it's so tacky and it's. You know, maybe Senator Schiff was talking about them parking the Teslas on the south lawn of the White House. Maybe, you know, maybe Trump is onto something. Maybe we just, you know, we just put models of a gold plated Air Force One on the South Lawn and a. A gold plated beast on the South Lawn and just. It's like a little amusement park for the geriatric potus who's just, you know, kind of losing it day by day. And, and, and just say, come on, Grandpa. You know, instead of him going out and doing a press conference or signing, just have him like, get on the little fake plane, get into the little fake car.
- [40:59]
Mike Fanone
Isn't that how he got drawn into it? Wasn't it?
- [41:02]
Adam Schiff
That's true.
- [41:02]
Mike Fanone
Was it? I mean, that's, that's what attracted to him to begin with. Right? Didn't he tour it or something? And then he fell in love with the plane and the. They were like, hey, this is a great opportunity to bribe him. Let's just dangle it. It's classic manipulation for intel officers to run an asset that way and be like, oh, you like this? And then you coincidentally just show up and dangle the golden light plane in front of him and you're like, oh, here you go. Enjoy. It's just a gift.
- [41:25]
Adam Schiff
No stranger.
- [41:26]
Mike Fanone
Don't worry about it.
- [41:27]
Adam Schiff
Oh, my God. You know, I just, it's just a little scary and sad, you know, the extent that they're taking this. But, you know, when Kristi Noem wants a plane and Pam Bondi selling stock, I. And it's true. We were talking about with Adam Schiff earlier. I mean, it's kind of nuts the way that they're doing this out in the open to the extent that Mike Johnson, apparently the speaker has said, well, they're doing it out in the open, or this is all happening out in the open. What's the big deal? I mean, banks get robbed in broad daylight. I mean, what's the big deal?
- [41:56]
Mike Fanone
So lawlessness all around. I mean, that doesn't make it okay. Right, but apparently it does. I mean, I guess if that's Mike Johnson's reaction, then there's no accountability in that branch either for the Republicans. So it's a free for all. I mean, we should be digging on what the members of Congress are doing on the Republican side.
- [42:13]
Adam Schiff
My goodness.
- [42:14]
Mike Fanone
I mean, they should. They're probably in on the grift, I'm.
- [42:16]
Adam Schiff
Sure, but it feels very Oprah. You get a plane. Potish. You get a plane. Christy Noem, you get a plane. Look under your seat. Look under your seat. See if there's a golden ticket under there. I, you know, yes. Marco Rubio. You get a golden plane. Too. It's, you know, we'll have the UAE build it or something.
- [42:34]
Mike Fanone
It's just ridiculous.
- [42:36]
Adam Schiff
You can't make this stuff up. All right, well, great to see you, Olivia. Thanks for stopping by. And we'll continue to plot other things and there's lots of stuff. There's. There's stuff of brewing. I'm not going to say it out loud just yet, but there's stuff of brewing. But great to see you, Olivia. Thanks a lot.
- [42:50]
Mike Fanone
Take care.
- [42:50]
Jim Acosta
All right, bye.
- [42:51]
Adam Schiff
You too. Bye. All right, let's. Let's bring in my man Mike Fanone. He's got some stuff to say. He's ready to go. He's got some thoughts on his mind and we need to bring Mike into this because, you know, sometimes I feel like I kind of, you know, because it's my old days as a reporter, I kind of tiptoe around and I just beat around the bush and I don't get right to it. Mike, we don't worry about that with Mike Funnel. Mike, where are you? Are you at the tattoo parlor?
- [43:22]
Jim Acosta
I'm at the tattoo parlor. I'm get giving a little segue into tomorrow's 5 to 6pm BYOB with Mike Fanone. I'll be here, okay. Live. Getting tattooed and drinking alcohol, which is not. Not something that I would recommend anyone do.
- [43:43]
Adam Schiff
That's okay. Which part you don't recommend? The drinking, the alcohol or the tattooing? It's both at the same time.
- [43:49]
Jim Acosta
It's the combination of the two at the same time. It's not recommended because it's necessary for the segment.
- [43:55]
Adam Schiff
So, I mean, can you choose one or the other or it's just, you know, screw it, we're just going to do this thing.
- [44:02]
Jim Acosta
No, man, I promised my, my viewers that, you know, BYOB means that Mike Fanon is drinking. And I also, I promised him I'd get tattooed. So both are happening simultaneously.
- [44:17]
Adam Schiff
I love this. And then we've got some. We've got some good looking ink behind you there. Some nice samples. When I see Mike, When I see you though, when we went to the Nats and the O's the other night, you're pretty inked up as it is, but there are some places where I guess we could go, I suppose, without revealing too much.
- [44:36]
Jim Acosta
There's always room for more. Yeah, I mean, there is like a no fly zone, so to speak.
- [44:44]
Adam Schiff
Yeah, no kidding. I wouldn't be able to take one of those damn tattoos, especially you talk about that. I mean, hell no. I'm going out the same way I came in. Well, good to see you, man. And you and I were talking about some of this earlier today via text. It's a good thing that the viewer at home cannot read what you and I send back and forth or what.
- [45:06]
Jim Acosta
I send back and forth.
- [45:06]
Adam Schiff
Olivia. Maybe the NSA can, but that's another thing. But, you know, you wanted to talk about how today is National Peace Officers Day, I believe. Police Officers Day. It's police week in D.C. and I mean, this is. I mean, we got to get right to this because this is. This is pissing me off. This was in the Washington Post. A man convicted of beating police officers during the January 6th cap Capitol attack now sells $50 January 6th hostages t shirts and is launching a 22 stop nationwide freedom tour. I don't know who the hell is going to show up for that. Another guy who calls himself the Jan Jan 6 former felon on X is soliciting donations for a personal freedom fund. And just the list goes on and on. I mean, I guess they learned from the master. You know, he's getting a $400 million plane from the Qataris. Why not get on the grift too, if you're a January six criminal?
- [46:00]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, I mean, listen, like, it is a grift. It's, it's sad, it's, it's disgusting, it's disgraceful. It's a slap in the face to the police officers that fought to defend the Capitol on January 6, 2021. But I also have a different viewpoint. You know, like, I always think back to, to the movie Inglorious Bastards. And there's a scene in there where, where Aldo Rain says, you know, we like our Nazis in uniform. And so I like my maggots in uniform. So if you guys want to wear your stupid swag, that's great because at least I know who the enemy is and I know who I'm dealing with when I'm out there on the street. So keep it up, man. Buy your stupid red hatch and buy your, you know, maga, whatever swag. I'm all for it.
- [46:52]
Adam Schiff
Yeah. And I guess part of it is maybe they. Nobody will hire them, so they've got to do something. But my God, you know, go be a barista at Starbucks. I mean, there's, there's, you know, you can. There's lots of jobs out there, you know, have some self respect.
- [47:05]
Jim Acosta
I mean, I will say this. You know, there's a cover photo in that article in which a guy co opted the POW MIA symbol from, you know, the Vietnam era honoring our POWs and our missing in action and used it as a Jan6 Patriots, fugitive or patriot, whatever, incarcerated people's. I just wonder how our Vietnam vets and all of our veterans feel about somebody co opting that emblem and using it to profit for those that stormed the Capitol on January 6th. I mean, I can imagine what they think. It's probably they want to punch the guy in the face.
- [47:47]
Adam Schiff
Yeah, well, a lot of these guys, they're watching too much crazy conservative media. They're on, they're online, they're looking at crazy shit on, on X, on all these different platforms and they just feed off of one another. And this is how they got into this damn mess in the first place and got, you know, brainwashed by Donald Trump to the point where they went and stormed the Capitol on January 6th. And the sad thing about all this, Mike, is that it just continues. The lies continue. It's perpetuating the lies and the whitewashing of what happened that day. That's the sick part of it to me.
- [48:22]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, and this is why I say like, you know, my job at this point, and I think our job as a freedom loving, you know, Americans is to defeat these people. I'm not here trying to change hearts and minds and I'm not looking to convince them that what they did was wrong. I'm here to defeat them and make sure that they don't have a voice in our political system.
- [48:48]
Adam Schiff
Yeah, no, they have to be stopped politically. And the other thing we need to talk about is whatever happened to the January 6 plaque? There was supposed to be at least a plaque, right? A small symbol of what took place that day. They still haven't installed this up at the Capitol, is that right? Is that the deal?
- [49:08]
Jim Acosta
As my understanding. So when Democrats, why didn't they get.
- [49:11]
Adam Schiff
That shit done when Biden was president, when they were. I am sorry. But anyway, go ahead.
- [49:16]
Jim Acosta
I mean, there was, there's a, listen, there's a whole long list of reasons why there was a delay. I mean, there was a delay from Democrats who, you know, wanted to make sure that each and every one of their constituents was, was listed and named and turned it into a participation trophy. But ultimately it was, you know, it was written into law. It was supposed to have been placed inside the Capitol, I think two years ago.
- [49:45]
Adam Schiff
Right.
- [49:45]
Jim Acosta
And up until now, Speaker Johnson or Mike Johnson has refused. He dodges the questions every time he's asked. I think it's sitting somewhere in a storage room, most likely never to be placed anywhere inside The Capitol. And it's, you know, again, it's, it's another example of, and I, I wrote a substack op ed that everybody should check out if you guys get a chance. It's called, you know, from One Cop to Another. And it talks about this political pandering and the politicization of law enforcement. You know, this being National Peace Officers Memorial Day, I thought it was, you know, a good time to, to remind cops of, you know, the, the idea that they're being pandered to by, by MAGA Republicans. Because, you know, again, these are the same Republicans that refuse to honor the cops that protected them and protected the Capitol on January 6th from Trump supporters. And they do it because it's not politically convenient for them.
- [50:51]
Adam Schiff
Yeah.
- [50:52]
Jim Acosta
And so, and you and I have.
- [50:54]
Adam Schiff
Talked about this a little bit before, Mike. The way Trump panders to cops is pretty grotesque. You know, he thinks the way to pander to cops, to talk to cops, is to say, hey, if you put me in office, if you put my people in power, you get to go out there and beat the shit out of anybody you want. Because that's what cops want to do. That's what. In his sick mind. Yes.
- [51:15]
Jim Acosta
But I mean, unfortunately, it does appeal to some cops. That being said, it, you know, you also have, you know, you've got a situation where police officers in this country. Yeah. You know, I just lost my whole train of thought. But it's, I mean, some of them want to do.
- [51:41]
Adam Schiff
I mean, I, I've known a lot of cops over the years.
- [51:43]
Olivia Troy
I've.
- [51:43]
Adam Schiff
I know you. That's, that's, it's a gross mischaracterization. It's a, it's a, it's a caricature of police work.
- [51:53]
Jim Acosta
Yeah. And I'll tell you, this is what I remember what I was going to say.
- [51:56]
Adam Schiff
Yeah.
- [51:57]
Jim Acosta
And I talk about it again in my substack piece. But this idea that these Republicans support law enforcement and going back to the January 6th insurrection. And how can you claim to be the party of law and order when you discredited the hundreds of police officers that not only defended the Capitol on January 6, but also the hundreds of police officers that testified reliving the horrors of that day, the injuries that they sustained in court, in these court cases, coming face to face with their attackers, and then having these individuals found guilty, then having them be sentenced according to the law, and then Donald Trump goes and pardons all of them. As a police officer, how can you look at that and see your fellow police officers, men and women who did this, who testified, who experienced what they did, and then still call yourself a supporter of Trump and the Trump administration. To me, there's just, you know, there's police officers who adhere to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and then there's maga.
- [53:11]
Adam Schiff
Yeah.
- [53:13]
Jim Acosta
And there's just. No, you can't be a supporter of both.
- [53:20]
Adam Schiff
Exactly.
- [53:21]
Jim Acosta
And then. But. But I do want to take an opportunity, but I know you got to go soon when it comes to the plaque. You know, there's been a lot of talk about this plaque, and I think there's a lot of officers that probably do want to see this plaque placed in the Capitol, you know, according to the law. And I understand, you know, the Republican Party has a very difficult time adhering to the law. You know, they are being led by a convicted felon who incited an insurrection against this country. But I have a message for. For Mike Johnson as to where they should place the plaque. And I think that it would be a perfect presentation if the plaque was shoved up his ass.
- [54:10]
Adam Schiff
Well, you know, I'm not. You might need some help on that one. I don't know if it'll completely go up there. It's. It seems like it's wound up pretty tight, but, you know, to me, it ought to be hung somewhere. And for the fact that it's sitting in some closet or in some storage room somewhere is pretty sick. I mean, that's pretty sick stuff. That's a pretty. That's a pretty bold betrayal of law enforcement.
- [54:38]
Jim Acosta
I agree with you. But listen, the cops that I talked to, the cops that I was in the lower west tunnel with, the cops that fought for hour after hour after hour against this relentless, brutal assault by Trump's supporters, they're tired of it. They're sick of fearing about it. They know how this country feels about them. They know how Republican lawmakers feel about them. They're tired of being pandered to. They're not going to beg for some award. They're certainly not going to beg Mike Johnson to put this plaque up. And so, you know, me telling him to shove it up his ass. That's coming from a hell of a whole lot of cops that fought their asses off on January 6th.
- [55:19]
Adam Schiff
Yeah. I mean, honestly, he needs to pull whatever stick is up his ass about this and honor you guys and do the right thing, and he knows that this is the right thing to do. They're just all living in fear.
- [55:35]
Jim Acosta
They're living in fear. But they're also saying, listen, I think he's a petty bitch. And I think most Republican leaders are petty bitches, just like their dear leader, Donald Trump is a petty bitch. And so this is. I think it's a way for them to get back at Democrats who are, you know, they're trolling.
- [55:55]
Adam Schiff
They're trolling.
- [55:56]
Jim Acosta
Yeah, yeah, it's a troll.
- [55:58]
Adam Schiff
You know, this is, this is how they act. You know, they may look like grown men. They may have gray hair poking out of the sides of their, their head and stuff like that. And they may wear glasses like Mike Johnson does and try to look like a grown up. Maybe he wears the glasses to look older, I don't know. But if you're a grown man, you, Honor, police officers who were attacked, like Mike Frennell. I'm just. That's. That's what I'm gonna say.
- [56:22]
Jim Acosta
Quick call to action. Call Mike Johnson, tell him to shove the plaque of his ass.
- [56:29]
Adam Schiff
All right, Mike, you're not breaking character there. Good luck with the tats. I won't say go o's because I'm a Nats fan, but always great to talk to you. Good to see you, man. Thanks a lot. I'll keep you posted on whether that actually happens up on Capital. I wouldn't hold your breath. All right, see you, man.
- [56:45]
Jim Acosta
Take care.
- [56:46]
Adam Schiff
All right. Mike Fanon not giving out. He's. Don't say it once, don't say it twice, say it three times that that plaque should go up his ass. Okay, well, we've made a little history here on the Jim Acosta show. Mike Fanon once again leaving us with something that I can't really top. So I will say I will echo the sentiment behind Mike Fanon and what he suggested there and say that he, the Republicans in Congress who were refusing to do this really should be ashamed of themselves. And I know in this day and age, shamelessness is a superpower inside MAGA. They're okay with Trump taking a 400. $400 million plane from the Qataris. They're okay with him launching some meme coin that he's making millions of dollars off of because Mike Johnson says he's doing it in plain sight. Because he's doing it in plain sight. It's okay with Mike Johnson. But I think the speaker needs to, if there is a soul in there somewhere, search that soul. Search that soul. It's police week here in Washington, D.C. maybe you don't care. Maybe you don't give a rat's ass that people like Mike Fanon were almost beaten to death up on Capitol Hill. Maybe you don't care about that. Maybe it doesn't matter to you. Maybe it matters more to you that some of them have supported Democratic candidates because Donald Trump betrayed this country and incited an insurrection on January 6th. And so it's all about scoring points and trolling. And that's why you won't put that plaque up on the walls of the Capitol. But it belongs there. These police officers who put their lives on the line that day. Some died in the days that followed. Let's not forget officers like Brian Sicknick. They deserve more than this. They deserve more than this. A betrayal of the police officers, not just who were responding to the call on January 6, but all across this country, police officers that Donald Trump thinks he can just pander to by saying, well, if you follow me, you can just beat the crap out of any suspect that you want. That's not what police work is all about. Police work is about what took place on January 6th. These officers who put their lives on the line, who. Who were outnumbered by these insurrectionists, by these thugs, by these criminals, and all these police officers want is a plaque. I mean, they probably want a lot more than that. They probably like to see justice for Donald Trump. But at the very least, you could give them a goddamn plaque and hang that plaque somewhere inside the walls of the Capitol. If that plaque is hanging around in some closet, just sitting in some closet collecting dust. I mean, this has given me an idea. Where the hell is this plaque? I'm going to get. This is giving me an idea for a story. I'm going to ask my producer, Matt. Matt and I are going to go up to Capitol Hill in search of the plaque. We're going to find out where this. This goddamn plaque is. And if they won't hang it on the walls of the Capitol, at the very least, I'd like to go take a picture of it. I'd like to at least get some video of it, and we'll put it up on. On our social media accounts, and I'll talk about it with Mike the next time I see him. But he's absolutely right what he's saying. I mean, this is the epitome of the nastiness and the cruelty that is being shown to people like Mike Fanon in this country. What are we doing? Why are we treating our fellow Americans in this fashion? It's a plaque. Grow the fuck up. Hang the plaque up on the walls of the Capitol and be a man. Stand up to Donald Trump. All. All these guys do is kowtow to him. All they do is kowtow to him. It's a plaque. Man the fuck up. All right. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Good night.