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DOJ Weighs Releasing Maxwell Transcript, Trump on Third Term, Titan Disaster Report: AM Update 8/6
00:16:29
The Justice Department is considering whether to release a transcript and audio from Ghislaine Maxwell’s closed-door interview with Deputy AG Todd Blanche. In a wide-ranging CNBC interview, President Trump floated names to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, detailed a potential trade deal with China, recounted being de-banked after leaving office, and reiterated he “probably” won’t run for a third term. The Coast Guard releases a scathing 335-page report on the Titan sub disaster, blaming CEO Stockton Rush’s negligence and catastrophic engineering failures for the fatal implosion. Riverbend Ranch: Visit https://riverbendranch.com/ | Use promo code MEGYN for $20 off your first order. All Family Pharmacy: Order now at https://allfamilypharmacy.com/MEGYN and save 10% with code MEGYN10
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- [00:01]
Donald Trump
When work gets crazy, I like to.
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Megyn Kelly
Stop by the bar after, have a few cold ones. I don't drink at all until 4 o'. Clock.
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Todd Blanche
We limit ourselves to one bottle of wine a night.
- [00:12]
James Cameron
Excessive drinking has a way of sneaking up on us. A few drinks, a few nights a week, it can add up and suddenly we're at greater risk for long term problems like heart disease, cancer and depression. Reason enough to rethink the drink. More more at rethink the drink.comnoha initiative.
- [00:33]
Megyn Kelly
Good morning everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, August 6, 2025 and this is your AM update. The DOJ weighs releasing a transcript of the Ghislaine Maxwell interview with Deputy AG Todd Blanche last month. Are you going to run again?
- [00:48]
Donald Trump
No, probably not.
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Megyn Kelly
President Trump once again addressing the possibility of running for a third term in office, saying he's probably not going to do it.
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Stockton Rush
Stockton Rush came from the wrong industry and he chose the wrong materials and the wrong approach.
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Megyn Kelly
The Coast Guard drops its report on the series of colossal failures leading up to the implosion of the Oceangate Titan sub, tragically killing five people, including the company's CEO. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update. I've been talking a lot about Riverbend Ranch steaks lately, and for good reason. The ranch is just a few miles from West Yellowstone, Montana, where we go in the wintertime, and their steaks are so flavorful and surprisingly tender. Even someone like me who does not know how to cook can make it taste delicious. It's thanks to the quality of the beef. A lot of our listeners have been writing in sharing similar feedback. Abigail Finan will not stop talking about Riverbend Ranch and I feel the same. So these guys raise Angus cattle, but they've taken it even further. For 35 years now, more than three decades, the owner has selectively bred Angus cattle with superior genetics for marbling and tenderness. It's all about the marbling and the tenderness, creating a herd that truly stands out. Their beef is born, raised and processed too entirely inside America without artificial growth hormones or antibiotics, and it is shipped directly from from the ranch to your door. Riverbend Ranch is not just another beef company. It's a legacy of quality care and craftsmanship that you can taste in every bite. Order from Riverbendranch.com use the promo code Megan for $20 off your first order and you'll be eating the same steak that my family and I eat at night and let me know what you think. Riverbendranch.com promo code Megan the Department of justice reportedly weighing whether to release a transcri of the Ghislaine Maxwell interview conducted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in late July. Three senior DOJ officials telling CNN the administration also has an audio recording of the two day meeting with Jeffrey Epstein's convicted associate. Some officials within the White House reportedly believe releasing the transcript could bring the Epstein story back into the spotlight at a time when many officials believe the public has largely moved on. Some sources saying any release of the audio or transcript would happen sooner rather than later. Another saying it could take weeks. Maxwell currently appealing a 20 year prison sentence for her role in both abusing and sex trafficking victims for Jeffrey Epstein. She was moved last week to a lower security prison camp in Texas, an apparent concession for her cooperation. President Trump weighing in Tuesday for the White House and did you personally approve the prison transfer for Ghislaine Maxwell that your Justice Department?
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Todd Blanche
I didn't know about it at all. No, I read about it just like you did.
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Megyn Kelly
And do you believe that she is.
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Todd Blanche
Not a very uncommon thing?
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Megyn Kelly
Do you believe that she's credible to be listening to? Your deputy attorney general sat down with her recently.
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Todd Blanche
Well, he's, let me tell you, he's a very talented man. His name is Todd Blanche. He's a very legitimate person, very high, just a very highly thought of person, respected by everybody. And I didn't talk to him about it, but I will tell you that whatever he asked would be totally appropriate and it's not an uncommon thing to do that. And I think he probably wants to make sure that, you know, people that should not be involved or aren't involved are not hurt by something that would be very, very unfortunate, very unfair to a lot of people.
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Megyn Kelly
Separately, the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday morning officially issuing subpoenas for 10 individuals, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, and former attorneys general from both sides of the aisle Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzalez, Jeff Sessions, Loretta lynch and Eric Holder. The subpoenas compelling each individual to appear before the committee for depositions across a range of dates from mid August to mid October. It is unclear if these witnesses will appear before the committee or challenge the subpoenas through legal proceedings or whether they might invoke their Fifth Amendment right not to testify. The Oversight Committee also issuing a subpoena to Trump's DOJ compelling the release of key Epstein files to Congress as part of the ongoing investigation into Epstein, Maxwell and the DOJ's handling of their cases. Those files are due to the committee by August 19th. President Trump on Tuesday morning dialing into CNBC for fun, resulting in a freewheeling interview covering a wide range of subjects. Mr. Trump offering hints on the shortlist to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Powell has indicated he will serve through the remainder of his term, which expires in May of 2026, despite the President's repeated calls to either lower interest rates or step aside. Mr. Trump saying he is considering four possible replacements. Former Fed overseer Kevin Warsh, director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett and two more candidates not on the list, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.
- [06:11]
Donald Trump
Well, I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is. I will, I'll take him off because I asked him just last night, is this something you want? Nope, I want to stay where I am. He actually said, I want to work with you. It's such an honor. I said, that's very nice. I appreciate that. But no, Scott wants to do what he said and he's doing a great job and he wants to do what he's doing. So I just take him off. He, he does not want it.
- [06:33]
Megyn Kelly
President Trump also discussing the possibility of meeting Chinese President Xi jinping as the August 12 deadline to strike a trade deal looms.
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Donald Trump
We have a very good relationship, but I didn't call for the meeting. He called for the meeting. So the fake news announced Donald Trump wants a meeting with China. No, I don't want it. No, he asked for a meeting and I'll end up having a meeting before the end of the year, most likely, if we make a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'm not going to have a meeting. I mean, you know, what's the purpose of meeting if we're not going to make a deal? But we're getting very close to a deal. China is very reliant on the United States. My relationship with him is very good. I think we'll make a good deal. It's, it's not imperative, but I think we're going to make a good deal. But no, they had a thing that Donald Trump really wanted to go there. No, I don't. It's an eight, it's a 19 hour flight. It's a long flight. But at some point in the not too distant future, I will. And just to end this conversation, in China, I have a very good relationship with President Xi. Always had.
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Megyn Kelly
In recent years, many conservative activists reporting they've been debanked after speaking out politically. The administration reportedly crafting an executive order aimed at protecting consumers. Mr. Trump saying he was a victim himself of debanking after leaving office in.
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Donald Trump
2021, that I had JP Morgan Chase. I was loaded up with cash and they told me, I'm sorry, sir, we can't have you. You have 20 days to get out. I said, you got to be kidding. I've been with you for 3540 years, and it's not like, gee, you defaulted on a loan. You know, Jesus, if I could understand that. That's different. I ended up going to small banks all over the place. I mean, I was putting 10 million here, 10 million there, 5 million, 10 million, 12 million. The banks discriminated against me very badly, but they discriminated against many conservatives. And I believe what they did is they went to the regulators. You know, banks are not afraid of anything but a regulator. They're regulators and their wives. The high IQ people that are radical left, I believe they told the Banking Commission, do everything you can to destroy Trump. And that's what they did. And guess what? I'm president. How did that happen?
- [08:47]
Megyn Kelly
No word yet on when that order will be announced. President Trump saying despite his polling, he probably won't run again.
- [08:56]
Donald Trump
I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, a record that they say won't be beaten unless I run again.
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Megyn Kelly
Are you going to run again? The Constitution?
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Donald Trump
Probably not. Okay, probably not. And you're not going to. And you're not going to fire Jay Powell. We'll talk about all the stuff that. Hey, Becky, I'd like to run. I have the best poll numbers I've ever had.
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Megyn Kelly
Later on Tuesday, President Trump predicting to reporters a dream team of Vice President J.D. vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will carry on the MAGA movement. Coming up, the Coast Guard dropping a damning report on the Oceangate Titan sub outlining several points of failure and negligence leading up to the fatal implosion. You know the feeling someone in your family gets sick and then you're stuck waiting for a doctor's appointment or the pharmacy's out of stock, or you're left wondering why something so basic must be so hard. Too many American families face this reality, and that's why many are turning to All Family Pharmacy. They're doing what Big Pharma won't, which is putting families back in control and making it possible to be proactive, not reactive with your health. This is not just some online pharmacy. All Family Pharmacy is based in Florida and family owned. You can order Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, antibiotics, daily maintenance meds, emergency kits, everything you'd want to have on hand before you need it. Order online and they will work with licensed doctors to provide the prescription for you. Then your medications get shipped right to your door. Visit AllFamilyPharmacy.com Megan. Okay AllFamilyPharmacy.com, megan use the code Megan10 to get 10% off today. Again, go to AllFamilyPharmacy.com megan remember to use my code Megan10 to get 10% OFF today. Be prepared. Be in control. This is healthcare that works for you. The Coast Guard releasing a blistering 335 page report on the 2023 Ocean Gate Titan submersible disaster that led to the deaths of all five on board. Those who lost their lives were the Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush, Titanic expert Paul Henri Nargele, British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19 year old son Suleiman Dawood. On June 18, 2023, the explorers embarking on a deep sea mission to explore the wreckage of the titanic resting approximately 12,500ft beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. At approximately 10:47am the Titan Communications and tracking team monitoring from a ship on the surface heard a bang. For days the nation watched and prayed as it remained not entirely clear whether the vessel had imploded or simply malfunctioned and lost contact. On June 22, debris found on the ocean floor confirming the loss of the sub and the lives of all on board. The Coast Guard determining the cause of the incident quote, was the loss of structural integrity of the Titan's carbon fiber hull. This loss caused the sudden catastrophic implosion of the hull, the word failure appearing 99 times in the report painting a devastating picture of what led to the tragedy, a quote, toxic workplace environment, critical engineering failures and and a series of ignored safety warnings. According to the report, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was negligent in the events leading up to the disaster, noting that Rush's dual role, CEO of the company and master of the Titan, carried a heightened legal responsibility to ensure the safety and seaworthiness of the vessel and its occupants. Had he survived, criminal charges may have followed the report also finding that before the fatal trip in 2023, OceanGate had continued using the Titan sub even after a series of incidents that compromised the integrity of the hull. Director of the epic film Titanic and deep sea submersible expert James Cameron last year on 60 Minutes Australia explaining the Titan's construction was a recipe for disaster from the very start, you have a.
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Stockton Rush
Particular individual, a Stockton Rush. He was enamored of the sort of the glamour and the exoticism, and he was attracted to it. But he came from the wrong industry. He came from the air, you know, from aeronautics. And aeronautical engineering is fundamentally different. And he chose the wrong materials on the wrong approach because of the carbon fiber. And there's another issue, which is mating dissimilar materials together at a high pressure mating surface. When you put titanium up against carbon fiber, they have what's. They have a differential bulk modulus. I don't want to get too technical here, but it means they contract and expand at different rates, which causes slippage and stress and strain at that. At that interface, which, under that pressure. Talking about a lot of pressure, and you're talking about certain rules you can't break. And those rules were broken.
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Megyn Kelly
Despite long standing concerns about the safety of carbon fiber under deep sea pressure, a new Netflix documentary, the Ocean Gate Submersible Disaster, explores why Rush remained fixated on using it. He believed it could revolutionize the industry and by slashing costs and expanding access.
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Tony Nissen
When I looked at the cost of operating a sub, it's the ship, the two things that drive the cost of submersible operations, it's not the replenishing the oxygen or the carbon dioxide. That's nothing. It's all about the ship. And the next most important thing is mobilization. How do you get the stuff from one location to another? That's 90% of your cost.
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Stockton Rush
If you can realize that dream of a carbon fiber submersible, you can drop the price.
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Unnamed Expert
You can suddenly have fleets of these submersibles operating around the world.
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Megyn Kelly
The Coast Guard report also found, quote, Oceangate's safety culture and operational practices were critically flawed. And at the core of these failures were glaring disparities between their written safety protocols and their actual practices. One example of that breakdown relayed by former Oceangate Director of Engineering Tony Nissen, who worked for the company from 2016 to. Until he was fired in 2019. Nissen testifying in September 2024 to the coast Guard's Marine Board of investigation about a 2018 lightning strike to the vessel.
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Unnamed Expert
I believe it got compromised by that event. That's very difficult to detect. I mean, it took a lightning strike and it went through all the testing.
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James Cameron
So at that point. And at that point. Did you cancel the 2018 Titanic expedition?
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Unnamed Expert
Had to, yeah, because we gutted it, changed all the electronics in it. We weren't going to be able to do the deep diving that we needed. In time. There was no path to get there. It would have had to leave. I think it had to leave the Bahamas to go to Newfoundland sometime in May, I think it was. Yeah. And we couldn't get there at that time.
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James Cameron
Did you believe that the lightning strike affected the actual carbon fiber hull?
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Unnamed Expert
Yeah. I told Stockton and said that there's probably a good chance that that hull's compromised for sure.
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James Cameron
And what did he say?
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Unnamed Expert
It'll be okay.
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James Cameron
So nothing was done to the hall itself from that point? You didn't make a new haul.
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Megyn Kelly
It wasn't the new report also finding Rush was able to push the Titan project forward by capitalizing on the company's favorable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny. Quote, by strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion and oversight challenges, Oceangate was ultimately able to operate Titan completely outside of the established deep sea protocols. Oceangate suspended operations in July 2023. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the Megyn Kelly show live on Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east on YouTube.com Megyn Kelly and on all podcast platforms. Are you ready to get spicy?
- [17:01]
Unnamed Expert
These Doritos Golden Sriracha aren't that spicy.
- [17:05]
Megyn Kelly
Maybe it's time to turn up the heat.
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Unnamed Expert
Or turn it down. It's time for something that's not too spicy. Try Doritos Golden Sriracha Spicy but not too spicy.