Waltz Grilled at UN Hearing, Cornell Civil Rights Complaint, NBC's Autopen Scoop: AM Update 7/16

Summary

The Megyn Kelly Show – Detailed Summary
Episode: Waltz Grilled at UN Hearing, Cornell Civil Rights Complaint, NBC's Autopen Scoop: AM Update 7/16
Release Date: July 16, 2025

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1. Introduction

Megyn Kelly opens the episode with her standard morning update, setting the stage for the day's key topics. She outlines three main stories:

• Mike Walsh's Confirmation Hearing: Former National Security Adviser Mike Walsh is undergoing a Senate confirmation hearing to become President Trump's UN Ambassador. The hearing is particularly contentious due to the recent "Signalgate" controversy.

• Cornell University's Civil Rights Complaint: The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has filed a civil rights complaint against Cornell University, accusing the institution of discriminatory hiring practices aimed at excluding white applicants.

• NBC News' Autopen Investigation: NBC News has published a report alleging that Congressman James Comer used a digital signature (autopen) for official documents related to his investigation into President Biden's use of an autopen for pardons, sparking widespread ridicule on social media.

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2. Mike Walsh's UN Ambassador Confirmation Hearing

2.1 Background

Mike Walsh was nominated in May to replace his predecessor as National Security Adviser after a series of controversies led to his departure. His nomination for the UN Ambassador position has been met with intense scrutiny, especially regarding the handling of classified information and his voting record.

2.2 Senate Hearing Highlights

During the hearing, Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Chris Coons aggressively questioned Walsh about the "Signalgate" incident, where Walsh inadvertently added The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat discussing airstrike plans against the Houthis. The administration maintains that no classified information was compromised.

Key Exchange:

• Senator Cory Booker [03:00]:

  "Controversy at a moment where our national security was clearly compromised, you denied, you deflected and then you demeaned and degraded those people who objectively told the truth and criticized your actions."

• Mike Walsh [03:43]:

  "I think where we have a fundamental disagreement is there was no classified information on that chat."

2.3 Defense and Criticism

Walsh's supporters, including prominent Republicans like Senator Rand Paul, have come to his defense, highlighting his military accolades, including four Bronze Stars earned as a Green Beret. However, some Republicans have also questioned his hawkish voting record as a congressman.

Senator Cory Booker's Further Questions [04:02]:

"In the summer of 2020 there was much discussion of President Trump that he intended to draw down troops in Afghanistan. You were serving on the Armed Services Committee at that time..."

Walsh defended his position, aligning himself closely with President Trump's "diplomacy first" approach and emphasizing his commitment to preventing unnecessary wars.

2.4 Vision for the UN

Walsh outlined his strategy for the United Nations, focusing on countering Chinese influence and implementing reforms to streamline and make the UN more effective.

Senator Cory Booker [06:24]:

"If confirmed, I'll work with Secretary Rubio to challenge this influence. The US pays more than 183 countries combined. Meanwhile, 28 countries contribute just $37,000 and $5,000 to peacekeeping."

Walsh emphasized the need for transparency and efficiency within the UN, advocating for significant staff reductions and consolidating overlapping agencies.

Megyn Kelly [07:22]:

"Mr. Walls is likely to be confirmed, though the vote is not yet scheduled."

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3. America First Policy Institute’s Civil Rights Complaint Against Cornell University

3.1 The Complaint

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has lodged a civil rights complaint alleging that Cornell University engaged in discriminatory hiring practices that intentionally excluded white male applicants. The accusation centers around an internal email from December 2020, obtained by AFPI, which suggests that Cornell bypassed its standard hiring processes to select candidates based on diversity criteria.

Colin Wright [00:54]:

"And if we look at these emails, it is clear there's discriminatory process in Cornell's hiring."

3.2 Testimony from Witnesses

Jessica Hart Steinman, AFPI Executive General Counsel [09:38]:

"While I was in grad school I was probably published more than any grad student that I knew of... I never got the opportunity to even apply, to even enter the pool of applicants to compete for this job."

Colin Wright [10:50]:

"And if we look at these emails it is clear there's discriminatory process in Cornell's hiring...they're pre picked certain diversity candidates."

3.3 Cornell University's Response

Cornell publicly denied the allegations, stating that "thousands of hiring decisions in hundreds of departments and units, misunderstandings of policies can occur," and that the university "does not tolerate unlawful discrimination in hiring."

Jessica Hart Steinman [11:53]:

"We can see definitively in this email it was not a mere misunderstanding. This was a detailed process."

3.4 Legal Implications and Future Actions

AFPI has filed the complaint with four federal agencies: the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Education, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Given Cornell's significant federal funding—$784 million in research funding and over $400 million from the NIH alone—the implications of these practices could be severe.

Colin Wright [14:29]:

"So Cornell is receiving millions if not billions of federal funding and then turning around and using that funding in discriminatory practices that the American taxpayers are not going to agree with and rightly are unconstitutional."

Jessica Hart Steinman [15:39]:

"I hope that my suit... will be forced to pay damages to the people that these policies are inflicting on people."

3.5 Current Status

The EEOC has confirmed that it is collecting evidence related to the discrimination charge. AFPI is considering further legal actions to enforce reforms within Cornell and higher education institutions broadly.

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4. NBC News' Autopen Scoop and Congressman James Comer's Investigation

4.1 The NBC Report

NBC News published an article claiming that Congressman James Comer used a digital signature, or autopen, for official documents related to his investigation into President Biden's use of autopen-signed pardons. The report suggests potential criminal misconduct if a president's mental state led to unauthorized use of signing tools.

Megyn Kelly [16:36]:

"NBC News widely mocked on Tuesday... documents show that some of the letters and subpoena notices Mr. Comer has sent out... have been signed using a digital signature not written by the congressman himself."

4.2 Public and Political Reactions

The report was met with widespread ridicule on social media, with critics arguing that using a digital signature for standard correspondence is routine and not indicative of misconduct.

Shawn Davis, Co-founder of the Federalist [18:02]:

"Imagine being so stupid and corrupt as to write this article and think it's even remotely analogous to a cabal of White House staffers taking advantage of a president with dementia..."

Senator Cory Booker [18:02]:

"The auto pin just like I use an auto pin or Jim Jordan or anyone else in Congress just to sign correspondence... But no one uses an auto pin for legal documents. I can't use an auto pin to sign subpoenas."

4.3 Visual Evidence and Mockery

NBC included a photograph purportedly showing an inked signature from Congressman Comer on a subpoena. In response, Congressman Comer publicly mocked journalist Ryan Nobles by sharing an edited photo of him with clown makeup, suggesting the report was baseless.

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5. Conclusion

Megyn Kelly wraps up the episode by summarizing the key developments:

• Mike Walsh's Confirmation: Despite intense scrutiny and bipartisan criticism, Walsh is poised for confirmation as UN Ambassador, backed by President Trump's administration.

• Cornell University's Legal Battles: The AFPI's civil rights complaint against Cornell highlights ongoing tensions over diversity initiatives and affirmative action in higher education, with significant legal and financial repercussions looming.

• NBC's Autopen Controversy: The NBC report on Congressman Comer has backfired, leading to widespread mockery and reinforcing the routine nature of digital signatures in official capacities.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, promotional content, and non-essential segments to focus solely on the substantive discussions and analyses presented in the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Senator Cory Booker]

If you could hear love, what would it sound like? Son, can we talk about your drinking? Yeah, Dad, I think we should. Helping those closest to you think about their excessive drinking. Maybe that's what love sounds like. [e-mail] an OHA initiative.

[Megyn Kelly]

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, July 16, 2025, and this is your AM update.

[Senator Cory Booker]

It's absurd that the world's second largest economy is treated as a developing nation.

[Megyn Kelly]

Former national Security Adviser Mike Walz battles with Senate Democrats in a confirmation hearing to be Trump's UN Ambassador while getting grilled over Signalgate and more.

[Colin Wright]

And if we look at these emails, it is clear there's discriminatory process in Cornell's hiring.

[Megyn Kelly]

America First Policy Institute filing a civil rights complaint against Cornell University, who it accuses of not wanting to hire whites. And NBC News's big scoop about the head of the House investigation into the Biden White House's use of the auto pen is widely mocked. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update. As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, Senator Durbin has a new plan, a government takeover of your credit card. Today, Americans have thousands of choices in credit cards, but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less competition and less security, which, which means more risk for your credit and your identity. You can learn more for [e-mail] and you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government takeover of your credit card before it's too late. Lawmakers grilling former National Security Advisor Mike Walsh on Tuesday in a Senate confirmation hearing for Ambassador to the union. Mr. Walz nominated for the position in May following a string of controversies leading to his exit as the national security advisor. As NSA Mr. Walts inadvertently adding Editor in chief of the Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal Group chat discussing airstrike plans against the Houthis. Many on the left demanding accountability, accusing Mr. Walz of mishandling classified information and demonstrating incompetence. The administration insisting no classified information was shared in that chat. Ultimately, the president standing by Mr. Walz but opting to replace him as NSA, nominating Walsh to be UN ambassador instead. Democrat Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chris Coons of Delaware tearing into Mr. Walz in regard to the Signalgate.

[Senator Cory Booker]

Controversy at a moment where our national security was clearly compromised, you denied, you deflected and then you demeaned and degraded those people who objectively told the truth and criticized your actions. Smearing people, attacking folks, singling them out just furthers compounds what I think is disqualifying about you for this position. It also to me just shows profound cowardice. I was hoping to hear from you that you had some sense of regret over sharing what was very sensitive, timely information about a military strike on a commercially available app. That's not, as we both know, the appropriate way to share such critical information. Senator, I think where we have a fundamental disagreement is there was no classified information on that chat.

[Megyn Kelly]

Walz's defenders on social media pushing back on Senator Booker's comments highlighting the four Bronze Stars earned by Mr. Walz during his service as a Green Beret. Walz facing some friendly fire too from fellow Republicans. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky asking about Walz hawkish voting record as a congressman.

[Senator Cory Booker]

In the summer of 2020 there was much discussion of President Trump that he intended to draw down troops in Afghanistan. You were serving on the Armed Services Committee at that time and Liz Cheney and Jason Crow put forward an amendment and with that amendment they attempted to circumscribe his power to assign troops and you supported that amendment. I guess it just worries me that you come more from the Liz Cheney wing of the party than the Donald Trump wing of the party. Senator, I am squarely with the President, have been with him in single election I participated in and him with me in terms of the limits on hard power. I can tell you for certain that people who hate war the most are the people that have to go fight them and die from them. I have many of them with me and I never want to attend another funeral. And I certainly support the President's diplomacy first, as I know you do approach as we just saw in the Middle east, his commercial diplomacy that we're seeing around the world and will do everything I can if confirmed as ambassador of the United nations to keep us out of wars and to end conflicts.

[Megyn Kelly]

Mr. Wall is also weighing in on how he would confront anti Semitism at the un, condemn anti Israel bias and lay the blame on Hamas for perpetuating the current conflict in Gaza.

[Senator Cory Booker]

If I could probably spend the rest of this hearing sadly highlighting the anti Semitic activities, one aspect of which is known as Article 7 in the Human Rights Council that Israel is the only nation with a standing mandate to highlight its quote, human rights abuses every single meeting and it's been going on for decades. I mentioned the number of resolutions just this year we're on track for that same type of disparity in 2025 and I think we have to take a step back and address and work with both Israel and work with our allies on why this continues to happen. I understand the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but I will say over and over again if Hamas would lay down their arms, if they would surrender, if they would stop sacrificing their own people, the fighting would stop today. And I am confident in working with Israel in that regard.

[Megyn Kelly]

Mr. Walls laying out his vision for the role on Tuesday, pledging to counter Chinese influence and usher in Doge style reforms to the un.

[Senator Cory Booker]

If confirmed, we must press the Security Council on length, cost, clear end states and focusing on peacekeeping, not nation building. Countering China is critical. It's absurd that the world's second largest economy is treated as a developing nation. In most UN agencies that gives China favorable status. America must have a strong voice and if confirmed, I'll work with Secretary Rubio to challenge this influence. The US pays more than 183 countries combined. Meanwhile, 28 countries contribute just $37,000 and $5,000 to peacekeeping. The UN has ballooned to over 80 agencies with overlapping missions that waste resources. And if confirmed, I'll push for transparency like what we're seeing in the Secretary General's UN 80 reform plan calling for a 20% staff cut. It's worth remembering that despite the cuts, the US is by far the most generous nation in the world.

[Megyn Kelly]

Mr. Walsh is likely to be confirmed, though the vote is not yet scheduled. Coming up, America First Policy Institute filing a civil rights complaint against Cornell University accusing it of refusing to hire white people and NBC News mocked over a report attempting to paint a lead auto pen investigator as a hypocrite. Celebrate Independence Day with an epic July 4th sale. Stock up on supplements from brickhouse nutrition.com and save big 25 off everything with code fireworks25 you can get lean, their number one weight loss supplement packed with natural studied ingredients. No injections, just real results they say can help you slim down in time for summer. Or try Field of Greens, the superfood drink so powerful they guarantee your doctor will notice your boosted health or they will give you your money back. Collagen peptides are another favorite for glowing skin and hair. Beauty experts say collagen can be the fountain of youth for skin and hair. From weight loss to wellness, Brickhouse Nutrition has it all. This sale is huge, but it's only here for a few days and products will sell out. Don't wait head to brickhouse nutrition.com use fireworks 25 for 25% off go big this Fourth of July. Brickhouse nutrition.com stock up now. Cornell University facing a civil rights complaint and possibly a lawsuit over what whistleblowers say was an illegal hiring scheme designed to exclude white men from applying for an open teaching position. An internal email from December 2020 obtained by the America First Policy Institute revealing the school bypassed its own open cert process in favor of quietly reaching out to a hand picked list of so called diversity candidates to fill a faculty position. Evolutionary biologist Colin Wright says he never had the chance to apply for the job not because he was unqualified, but because he was disqualified simply for being a white male. Wright tells us he had strong credentials for the position with a superior publication record better than the candidate who ultimately got the job. But because the search was kept hidden, he never had the chance to even apply.

[Jessica Hart Steinman]

And so while I was in grad school I was probably published more than any grad student that I knew of. I had about 25 peer reviewed publications by the time I graduated. I pursued two different PhD topics side by side in case one didn't work out, but they ended up both working out pretty well. The median number of papers like an average graduate student has while they're in academia is actually zero. The person who ended up getting the job, our CVs, mine's on a pure publication by publication basis. Mine exceeded her cv so there's no saying if I would have definitely got an interview. But I never got the opportunity to even apply, to even enter the pool of applicants to compete for this job. And that's the main gist of my complaint where I would have loved to have actually competed based on merit for the position.

[Megyn Kelly]

In late June, AFPI filing a civil rights complaint alleging systemic discrimination in hiring, scholarship and faculty policies, all driven by what it argues are illegal diversity, equity and inclusion mandates. We spoke to executive general counsel for afpi, Jessica Hart Steinman who says Cornell did not just violate basic fairness, it violated federal law.

[Colin Wright]

And if we look at these emails it is clear there's discriminatory process in Cornell's hiring. The first email from 2020 talks about and it really outlines how they pre Cornell pre selected their candidates not by competition and merit but pre picked certain diversity candidates here they even say they're quote hoped for diversity higher and quote this process is quote a little out of the ordinary. And again they explicitly talk about in their email how they're going to invite just one person and, and they don't want to use the typical search process that gets them, you know, competition.

[Megyn Kelly]

Cornell publicly responding to the complaint in a statement reading in part, in thousands of hiring decisions in hundreds of departments and units, misunderstandings of policies can occur. The university does not tolerate unlawful discrimination in hiring or any other aspect of any university program or practice. Steinman rejects that claim.

[Colin Wright]

We can see definitively in this email it was not a mere misunderstanding. This was a detailed process. It steps out line by line, step by step how they should hire somebody by going around the normal process just to get their hand picked. Diversity candidates. You can see from the emails this was a step by step process that was carefully met on by it talks about here specifically the Associate Dean for Diversity inclusion method, the Associate Vice Provost, another vice Provost in the Office of Faculty Department and diversity. So again, this was all run under the provost's office there. And it's clear in here there were multiple emails from this, there were meetings from this, there were calls from this. So this is very in sharp congruence to what Cornell had said, that this was a mere misunderstanding of a policy.

[Megyn Kelly]

Steinman says Cornell's discriminatory policies go beyond the hiring policy for this one position, pointing to another email from two years later showing Cornell requiring diversity statements from applicants, using those responses to filter out candidates who don't align with Cornell's ideology.

[Colin Wright]

The second email we've sent in is an email that talks about how they have pre filtered to find the diversity candidate. So here they ask everyone applying the descendant and D and I statement from those, they will use that to filter out who they don't want, filter out who does not meet their identity politics. Here they again go through the whole email and they say they've dropped just one candidate out of the 74. That quote, the D and I statement was so seriously and unambiguously weak. And again here what they're doing is that they're using a statement to pick out someone that doesn't agree with their politics. They would not be able to get federal funding if they asked somebody's specific political views. And so they're not just coming out and saying, you know, how did you vote in the election? Or you know, do you believe in this? You know, X, Y and Z. They're, you know, having it under this cloud of deception because they're not coming out and just blatantly asking somebody, you know, are you a Democrat, are you a Republican? They instead are putting it and trying to be able to read between the lines and then, but using that as again like that Litmus test.

[Megyn Kelly]

AFPI filing a civil rights complaint with four federal agencies, the doj, the Department of Education, HHS and the eeoc. The Trump administration making it clear discriminatory policies will not be tolerated and federal funding is on the line. More here from Steinman.

[Colin Wright]

Cornell University in 2024 received $784 million in federal research funding. On top of that, their medical school has received over $400 million in grant funding from NIH alone. So again, Cornell is receiving millions if not billions of federal funding and then turning around and using that funding in discriminatory practices that the American taxpayers are not going to agree with and rightly are unconstitutional. Cornell is no exception to the rule. So we know the federal government is going to look into these and that's why we sent our complaint in. The Trump been explicit that we will not stand up for discrimination in our higher education facilities, especially those that receive federal funding like Cornell.

[Megyn Kelly]

This week, the EEOC confirming that evidence is being collected relating to the charge of discrimination. Steinman saying her group AFPI is considering legal options on behalf of Colin Wright. Wright believes outside pressure is necessary to force reforms within higher education.

[Jessica Hart Steinman]

I think branches of Cornell who are setting these types of policies, I don't think they would reform from within. I think it is probably going to take court cases like the one I'm hoping to bring against them where they will specifically not engage in these types of practices because they're racially discriminatory and they are unconstitutional and they will be forced to pay damages to the people that these policies are inflicting on people. I hope that my suit, I hope other people would join in these types of suits as well in order just to draw a firm line saying that this is an unacceptable behavior. If you just flip the races around, everyone on the left would suddenly see how terrible this is and there's just no reason why just changing the skin color changes the moral calculus at all in this type of thing. And I think hopefully we can get to people across the political spectrum to see how bad these things are and hopefully academia will perform with this sort of outside pressure that I think it needs.

[Megyn Kelly]

NBC News widely mocked on Tuesday, Tuesday for running a piece headlined, quote, lead investigator into Biden's use of an auto pen, signed letters with a digital signature. Chairman of the Oversight Committee, Congressman James Comer, investigating the controversial and widespread use of the auto pen within the Biden White House, probing whether it was part of a potentially criminal cover up of Mr. Biden's mental decline. Just this week the New York Times reporting President Biden did not personally sign off on every name granted clemency in the waning days of his administration. NBC reporting, quote, documents show that some of the letters and subpoena notices Mr. Comer has sent out in connection to his investigation have been signed using a digital signature not written by the congressman himself. Many on social media quick to mock this scoop as a desperate attempt to equate a routine digital signature with the use of an auto pen for potentially unauthorized presidential pardons. Co founder of the Federalist, Shawn Davis posting on X quote, imagine being so stupid and corrupt as to write this article and think it's even remotely analogous to a cabal of White House staffers taking advantage of a president with dementia and using his mental infirmity as an excuse to commandeer the powers of the presidency. The report, including this quote from the congressman last month on Newsmax, presidents use.

[Senator Cory Booker]

The auto pin just like I use an auto pin or Jim Jordan or anyone else in Congress just to sign correspondence to the massive amounts of messages that you get. But no one uses an auto pin for legal documents. I can't use an auto pin to sign subpoenas. That's my legal document subpoenas. I have to fly back to Washington, D.C. just to sign one piece of paper.

[Megyn Kelly]

The article also containing a link to a photograph of one subpoena sent in connection to the investigation, appearing to show an inked signature from Congressman Comer. Gotcha there. Congressman Comer posting a photo of NBC reporter Ryan Nobles edited with clown makeup with the caption quote, there's still time to delete this, Ryan. Yes, Ryan, save yourself. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the Megyn Kelly show live at Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111 at nuneast on YouTube.com Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.