Obama-Era Intel Plot Exposed, DOJ Seeks Epstein Transcripts, Dems Mourn Colbert: AM Update 7/21

Summary

Summary of "Obama-Era Intel Plot Exposed, DOJ Seeks Epstein Transcripts, Dems Mourn Colbert: AM Update 7/21"

The Megyn Kelly Show episode released on July 21, 2025, delves deep into three pivotal issues: the exposure of an alleged Obama-era intelligence plot against President Trump, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) move to release grand jury transcripts related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, and the controversial cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented during the 100th episode of the AM Update.

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1. Obama-Era Intelligence Plot Exposed

Tulsi Gabbard's Bombshell Report

The episode begins with a significant revelation by Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, who released newly declassified documents alleging a covert plot within the Obama White House aimed at undermining President Trump's presidency. According to Gabbard, these documents expose efforts to manipulate intelligence assessments to facilitate a "years-long coup" against Trump.

Key Points:

• Initial Intelligence Assessment: In the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community concluded there was no evidence that Russia intended to influence the election outcome in favor of any candidate. (Megyn Kelly, 00:52)

• Change in Assessment Post-Election: On December 8, 2016, a month after Trump's victory, the intelligence community began preparing an assessment for the President's Daily Brief. This report suggested that while Russia engaged in malicious cyber activities, these actions were unlikely to alter the election results. However, the FBI, under Director Comey, withdrew participation from the report, and the document was subsequently killed by a senior official. (Megyn Kelly, 03:53)

• Shift in Government Stance: The following day, high-level officials including James Clapper, John Brennan, and Susan Rice convened at the White House. Post-meeting notes indicated a shift towards portraying Russia as actively supporting Trump. An email from Clapper's assistant revealed preparations for an assessment linking Russian actions directly to Trump's election. (Megyn Kelly, 04:37)

• Steele Dossier's Influence: Director Gabbard highlights that the Steele dossier, largely discredited, was incorporated into the intelligence assessment despite lacking credible evidence. This dossier alleged connections between Trump and Russian operatives, fueling widespread media scrutiny and the eventual Mueller investigation. (Megyn Kelly, 06:15)

Notable Quotes:

• Tulsi Gabbard: "There's no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment that President Obama ordered be published was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama's objective of undermining President Trump's presidency." (09:37)

• Unnamed Speaker 3: "Russia hacked the election to tilt it to Mr. Trump." (08:14)

• Megyn Kelly: "Russia did hack the election. No doubt the Russians hacked the election." (08:19)

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2. DOJ Seeks Release of Epstein Transcripts

Attorney General Pam Bondi's Motion

Shifting focus, the episode covers Attorney General Pam Bondi's recent motion requesting a federal judge to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases. Epstein, who died in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, has been a figure of intense public and political scrutiny.

Key Points:

• Background: Epstein's death in 2019 halted his trial, but questions about the circumstances persist. Bondi's motion aims to release grand jury transcripts with redactions to protect victims' identities.

• Public and Political Reactions:

  • MAGA Supporters: Expressed outrage, demanding full disclosure of all materials related to the case.
  • Democrats: Leveraged the situation to criticize the DOJ and attempt to link Epstein to President Trump, despite the Biden administration showing little interest in reopening the investigation.

• Judicial Considerations: Grand jury transcripts are typically sealed to protect innocent parties, and the judge's decision will balance public interest against privacy concerns.

Notable Quotes:

• President Trump: "Even if the court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more." (11:46)

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3. Cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

CBS's Decision and Fallout

The cancellation of Stephen Colbert's late-night show by CBS has sparked significant controversy. Citing financial losses, CBS announced the show's termination, leading to backlash from politicians, media personalities, and the public.

Key Points:

• Financial Rationale: CBS reported that The Late Show costs over $100 million annually to produce and loses more than $40 million, with a substantial portion of losses attributed to Colbert's high salary.

• Public and Political Reactions:

  • Democratic Lawmakers: Viewed the cancellation as an attack on free speech, suggesting external pressures, potentially from the Trump administration, influenced CBS's decision.
  • Individuals like Senator Chris Murphy: Asserted that the move signifies a dangerous trend towards censorship, alleging that Trump's influence coerced media outlets to silence his critics.

• Colbert's Response: Criticized CBS for agreeing to a $16 million settlement with Trump over edits to a 60 Minutes interview, labeling it a "big fat bribe."

• Industry Dynamics: Comparisons were drawn between the high production costs of traditional late-night shows and the more cost-effective, high-revenue models of alternative media platforms like Fox News' Greg Gutfeld Live.

Notable Quotes:

• Chris Murphy: "We are on the precipice of entering a censorship state in which Donald Trump is using the powers of the federal government in order to erase criticism from the airwaves." (15:33)

• Unnamed Speaker 1: "CBS only fired Colbert because he criticizes Trump and they just settled a $16 million lawsuit." (17:05)

• Megyn Kelly: "It's bone chilling." (16:31)

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Conclusion

The 100th episode of The Megyn Kelly Show offers a comprehensive exploration of significant political and legal developments. From the alleged manipulation of intelligence during the Obama administration to the DOJ's renewed focus on the Epstein case, and the contentious cancellation of a major late-night show, the episode underscores ongoing tensions within American political and media landscapes. Megyn Kelly effectively weaves together these narratives, providing listeners with a detailed analysis of events that continue to shape national discourse.

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Notable Sections Skipped:

• Advertisements for Riverbend Ranch Steaks, Brickhouse Nutrition supplements, and Uncrustables were omitted to maintain focus on the episode's primary content.

Upcoming Episodes: Megyn Kelly announced that future episodes will feature guests such as Rahm Emanuel, promising continued in-depth discussions on pressing national issues.

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For listeners seeking a thorough understanding of these complex topics, this episode serves as a crucial resource, presenting both factual reporting and critical analysis.

Transcript

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

When work gets crazy, I like to stop by the bar after, have a few cold ones.

[Megyn Kelly]

I don't drink at all until 4 o'. Clock.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

We limit ourselves to one bottle of wine a night.

[Unnamed Speaker 3]

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 [e-mail] Noha Initiative.

[Megyn Kelly]

Good morning everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Monday, July 21st, and this is the 100th episode of your AM Update.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

Accountability Action Prosecution indictments for those who are responsible for trying to steal our democracy. To make sure that this never happens to our country again.

[Megyn Kelly]

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard releasing a bombshell report containing newly declassified documents exposing what she calls a plot within the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the impending Trump presidency. Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting a federal judge release grand jury testimony relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

[Unnamed Speaker 4]

What's happening at CBS right now is.

[Megyn Kelly]

Bone chilling and Democrat lawmakers mourn the cancellation of their very favorite late night cheerleader, as if democracy itself has ended. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

[Unnamed Speaker 5]

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[Megyn Kelly]

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[Unnamed Speaker 5]

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[Megyn Kelly]

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[Unnamed Speaker 5]

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[Megyn Kelly]

On Friday evening, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassifying a trove of documents from the final months of the Obama administration relating to intelligence on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Director Gabbard saying these documents reveal a plot within the highest levels of the government to manufacture and politicize intelligence, laying the groundwork for a quote, years long coup against President Trump. Director Gabbard Sunday morning on Fox News.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

The months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community agreed that there was no intelligence that reflected the that Russia was trying to hack the election in favor of either candidate. The evidence showed the intelligence showed that again Russia did not have either the intent nor the capability to be able to impact the outcome of the United States election.

[Megyn Kelly]

The new information revealing on December 8, 2016, one month after President Trump's election victory, the intel community was preparing this assessment for the President's daily Brief. Quote, we assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure. The report highlighting some nefarious activity by Russian government affiliated actors, for example compromising a voter registration database in Illinois along with other unsuccessful attempts to do the same in other states. However, the report going on to conclude quote, election monitoring and the type of systems targeted infrastructure not used to cast or count votes make it highly unlikely it would have resulted in altering any state's official vote result. Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes. Later that day the FBI under Director Comey withdrew FBI participation from the report, notifying other intel community officials the FBI would be drafting a dissent. The reasoning behind the sudden change in FBI participation is not yet clear, but after the FBI withdrawal a senior official killed the report entirely, quote based on some new guidance. The report based on months of work from career intelligence officials concluding Russia did not hack the election was never published. The following day, December 9, 2016, President Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Deputy Director of The FBI Andrew McCabe and other high level officials met at the White House. Director Gabbard releasing post meeting notes that reveal a complete change in the intel community's attitude toward Russian interference in the 2016 election. Then DNI Clapper's assistant sending an email reading in part quote the IC is prepared to produce an assessment per the President's request that pulls together the information we have on the tools Moscow used and the actions it took to influence the 2016 election and explanation of why Moscow directed these activities and how Moscow's approach has changed over time. Within hours of that meeting, the Washington Post ran a report on leaked information headlined Secret assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House. Major media outlets like the Guardian and Reuters publishing their own articles based on the Washington Post piece. Director Gabbard noting in this new report, quote, at this point there is no official intelligence community assessment that contains that conclusion. With just six weeks on the clock before Inauguration Day, intel officials got to work grinding through the holidays to comply with President Obama's directive. On January 6, 2017, the Obama administration releasing a 25 page unclassified intel community assessment stating quote, we assess with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. We further assess Putin and the Russian government developed a clear preference for President Elect Trump. The ICA noting quote, further information has come to light since election day that when combined with Russian behavior since early November 2016 increases our confidence in our assessment of Russian motivations and goals. Director Gabbard's report stating the further information was later confirmed to be the Steele dossier. The Clinton campaign funded and now totally discredited opposition research containing salacious allegations involving activities between Donald Trump and Russian prostitutes in Moscow and more. Earlier this month, current CIA Director John Ratcliffe releasing a report concluding then CIA Director Brennan advocated for the inclusion of that Steele dossier into the Obama ordered assessment, knowing it did not meet, quote, even the most basic tradecraft standards. This assessment becoming the basis for frenzied reporting throughout the remainder of the first Trump presidency, kicking off the Mueller report and endless media chatter.

[Unnamed Speaker 3]

Russia hacked the election to tilt it to Mr. Trump.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

The Russians definitively hacked the election.

[Megyn Kelly]

Russia did hack the election. No doubt the Russians hacked the election. Yes, Russia hacked the election. Fact Russia hacked the election.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

President elect Donald Trump still not sounding convinced that Russia hacked the election. The President does not want to come to terms with the fact that the Russians hacked the election.

[Megyn Kelly]

This latest report from DNI Gabbard receiving scant media attention this weekend. The New York Times reporting, quote gabbard claims Obama administration tried to undermine Trump in 2016. The sub headline reading quote, democrats denounced a report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as politically motivated and error ridden. The report does not highlight specific errors in Director Gabbard's report. Investigative journalist Matt Taibbi arriving at a very different conclusion. Posting on X the new documents released by Tulsi Gabbard leave no doubt, none, that the Barack Obama White House invented a phony espionage scandal to hang on the incoming Trump administration. The sole question is why? What idiot thought this would work, that it was a good idea? The findings of this latest report referred to the DOJ for further investigation. Director Gabbard Sunday on Fox promising accountability, including potential prosecutions and teasing more releases to come.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

There's no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment that President Obama ordered be published, it was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama and his team's objective, which was undermining President Trump's presidency and subverting the will of the American people. So yes, next week we will be releasing more detailed information about how exactly this took place and the extent to which this information was sought to be hidden from the American people, hidden from officials who would be in a position to do something about it. Accountability, action, prosecution, indictments for those who are responsible for trying to steal our democracy is essential for us to make sure that this never happens to our country again.

[Megyn Kelly]

Coming up, the Trump DOJ requesting a federal judge release the grand jury transcripts relating to the Epstein case. And leftist lawmakers mourn the impending loss of their very favorite late night show with Stephen Colbert.

[Unnamed Speaker 5]

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[Megyn Kelly]

On Friday, the DOJ requesting a federal judge unseal grand jury testimony from the cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019 when he died in his prison cell. Attorney General Pam Bondi facing intense public backlash following her many teases promising more information about Epstein only to then leak a DOJ memo to left wing media on a holiday weekend declaring there will be no further releases and no further indictments along with a conclusion that oh, Epstein really did kill himself. Many MAGA supporters expressing outrage over the handling of this story, demanding all materials relating to the case be released to the public. Democrats also glomming onto the story in order to criticize the Trump administration and try to tie Epstein to Trump himself. Despite showing zero interest in the Epstein story under the Biden administration. AG Bondi on Friday filing the motion in the Southern District of New York requesting the transcripts be released with redactions of victim related and other personal identifying information in both the Epstein and Maxwell grand jury proceedings. Typically, grand jury transcripts are kept secret to protect innocent individuals who may not ultimately be indicted. The decision will be up to the judge AG Bondi in the request, highlighting the intense public interest surrounding the case as justification for the release. President Trump, who has repeatedly expressed the desire to move on from this story, posting on Saturday to Truth Social quote, even if the court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more. MAGA Democrat politicians spending the weekend in mourning over the announced cancellation of C CBS's the Late show with Stephen Colbert CBS announcing last week the show will be pulled from the air next year citing financial reasons. Puck News's Matthew Bellamy reporting the Late show costs more than $100 million a year to produce and loses more than 40 million per year, 15 million of which pads Colbert's pockets each year. For a show that has lost 50% of its ad revenue and in just the last six years, Colbert's ratings in overall households watching were at number one, barely for network late night shows, but in the advertiser friendly demo of 18 to 49 year olds, he was losing to Jimmy Kimmel. In addition, Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon and all late night hosts are getting crushed by Fox News Greg Gutfeld whose channel customers must pay to get. Unlike the networks which are free, Gutfeld logging nearly a million more viewers in the overall numbers and besting all nets in the key advertiser friendly demo too, for a fraction of the production costs. CBS maintains the decision to end Colbert's show was entirely driven by financial concerns, despite the obvious math supporting CBS's decision. Leftists across America lamenting the firing as an ominous result of a sinister force, AKA the Trump administration, critics of the decision pointing to an ongoing merger between CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance Media and the ultimate need for approval from the Trump administration. Accusing the network of caving to President Trump. Colbert himself criticizing his employer, cbs, just days before his show's cancellation for agreeing to a $16 million settlement with President Trump over edits to a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, calling the settlement, quote, a big fat bribe. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, always thirsty for social media attention, posted the following on Saturday.

[Unnamed Speaker 4]

I want to tell you why the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show matters so much. We are on the precipice of entering a censorship state in which Donald Trump is using the powers of the federal government in order to erase criticism from the airwaves. What's happening at CBS right now is bone chilling. They have now canceled Stephen Colbert's show knowing that Stephen Colbert was a knightly thorn in the side of Donald Trump. This is a really, really dangerous moment. Stephen Colbert didn't get thrown off the air because he wasn't doing well. He was the highest rated show on TV in late night. He was canceled, very likely because Paramount and its owners are trying to get rich off of this merger. And Donald Trump has made it clear to them and everybody else in the media space that if you want any favors from me, then you have to silence my critics on your platforms.

[Megyn Kelly]

It's bone chilling. I say. Failed vice presidential candidate Tim Walls posting on X quote, stephen Colbert is the best in the business. He always told truth to power and pulled no punches. Posting a picture of him laughing with Colbert over a cup of coffee. Where were those punches? Washington Free Beacon editor Peter Hassan posting on X quote, it's so telling that these eulogies of Colbert's comedy show never include the line he was funny. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Saturday posting this reaction to social media.

[Unnamed Speaker 1]

Me, I'm seeing like Bernie Sanders, comrade Sanders, Olivis, Warren, all being like, we need an investigation. This is bribery. This is blackmail. CBS only fired Colbert because he criticizes Trump and they just settled a $16 million lawsuit. And then Colbert went on the air and said he doesn't trust CBS. Buddy, you're losing $40 million a year. You have 200 people creating one show. We have 200 people at Barstool content creators creating like 30 shows. In some of them, the bigger ones draw a bigger audience than Colbert. And then you compound that with Colbert openly going on air being like, I don't trust CBS. If one of my employees, who I was paying $16 million a year while losing $40 million a year went on their show and was like, I don't like Dave. I don't trust Dave. You know what I would do? Like, welcome to the real fucking world. What did you think was gonna happen? Of course they'd fire. I'd fire you in a fucking heartbeat. That's not politics. That's just being ungrateful. And see you later.

[Megyn Kelly]

Colbert and his defenders of democracy in the press and Congress will have plenty of time to keep complaining. The show is set to stay on the air until next May. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the Megyn Kelly Show Live at 6, SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east on YouTube.com MeganKelly and on all podcast platforms. Today, we'll have Rahm Emanuel on the show.

[Unnamed Speaker 2]

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[Unnamed Speaker 1]

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[Unnamed Speaker 2]

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