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- [00:02]
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Host
The House Intelligence Committee fighting back an incredible explosive hearing yesterday where Democratic members were not taking the BS peddled by the Trump regime officials who were testifying. Let me show you what went down. The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressmember Himes, said the following to Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence let's.
- [01:47]
Congressmember Jim Himes
Play it you on March 15 as DNI retweeted a post from Ian Miles Chong, who is listed on rt that's Russia Today's website as quote, a political and cultural commentator who has contributed content to RT since at least 2022. Director Gabard, do you think that it's responsible for you as head of the intelligence community and the principal's Presidential Intelligence adviser to retweet posts from individuals affiliated with Russian state media.
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Host
That retweet came from my personal account.
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Congressmember Jim Himes
And I would have to go back to look at the substance of the tweet. Can I just a lack just so that we don't have a lack of confusion amongst our allies and enemies and us. Can I act perhaps that you not think that you should be saying one thing on your personal account. Then you say officially I maintain my First Amendment rights to be able to.
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Host
Express my own personal views on different issues.
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Congressmember Jim Himes
Thank you. I yield back what the Director of.
- [02:50]
Host
National Intelligence saying that she has that she wants to use her First Amendment rights to Repost Russian propaganda. Great questioning there by Congressman Himes. Then you had Democratic Congressmember Castro here say the following. Let's play it.
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Congressmember Joaquin Castro
Thank you, Chairman Tulsa, you and I came into the Congress together in 2013 and cash, you and I. I was serving on the Intelligence Committee when you worked on the Intelligence Committee. And John, you and I are both from Texas and we both serve together on the Intelligence Committee. Y'all, the idea that this information, if it was presented to our committee, would not be classified, y'all know is a lie. That's ridiculous. I've seen things much less sensitive be presented to us with high classification. And to say that it isn't is a lie to the country.
- [03:43]
Host
Then Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy. Let's play it.
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Congressmember Raja Krishnamoorthy
Terrorist is at his known location, so should be on time. Also, strike drones, launch MQ9s. MQ9s is a weapon system, Correct?
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DOD Official
They are.
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Congressmember Raja Krishnamoorthy
Okay. I think applying the executive order as well as the DoD manual to this fact pattern, we clearly have weapon systems that have been identified. That is classified information. Now, the reason why important that this information not be disclosed is that we don't want the adversaries to know what's about to happen. Right, sir.
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DOD Official
Well, I would draw a small distinction there. You referenced and asked if that platform, those two platforms are weapon systems. They are, but those terms are used all across the globe in a lot of contexts. So it's really about how they're used in the context of this particular document. I just want to clarify that the.
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Congressmember Raja Krishnamoorthy
Use of those, I understand in this situation, those are operators operational details.
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DOD Official
They are operational details. But again, as you quoted the DoD instruction, it's about operations. So as you further go down into what are the operational details, I think as we had a discussion yesterday, the important aspect I think all of us.
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Congressmember Raja Krishnamoorthy
Are very familiar with this is classified information. This is classified information. It's a weapon system. As well as sequence of strikes, as well as details about the operations.
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Host
Let's bring in Congressmember Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. I guess first off, it is classified information. Correct. As the ranking member, this was classified information that was leaked.
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Congressmember Jim Himes
Well, it absolutely should have been classified information. Right? I mean, there's no doubt about that. Whether it was actually classified. I suppose it's something that they would like to argue about. By the way, if it wasn't classified, that's a whole other scandal because the timing and nature of an attack on a foreign country, you know, not a hard one, as Raja so ably pointed out.
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Host
Where are we at with this right now? I mean, you. You led for the Democrats as the ranking member. The Democrats in the House Intelligence. Where are we at? Where do we go from here? What's going on?
- [06:03]
Congressmember Jim Himes
Yeah, I think, you know, there's a couple of pieces that have to be satisfied here. Number one, we need to get a complete inventory. Whatever was on this crazy signal chat. Right. That it's not provided to us by Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic. Right. So step one, you gotta. You gotta produce the entire signal chain, everything that was on it. Secondly, there needs to be an investigation over precisely how it happened for two reasons. Number one, it can never happen again. We're getting all twisted up in the underwear here. Over, you know, is it classified or not classified or, you know, is it a violation of the Rappers Act? This can never happen again. If, and I know my Republican friends want to convince you that, well, they didn't precisely name the target. Guess what? If the Houthis knew that we were coming on any given day, that could have resulted in dead pilots or it could have resulted in them sinking a naval ship. Right? So anyway, we need to know exactly what happened. We need the investigation to cough up how it happened, and then, of course, we need a commitment that it never happens again and that we learn from it and whatever accountability this unaccountable administration thinks is wise to. To impose on the people who were involved.
- [07:12]
Host
But, Congressman, this couldn't possibly just be the only one. Like the way they name the chat Houthi Small group, the way everyone seemed to conduct what was taking place as business as usual. At least it tells me that this is what they're doing all the time, every day with other plans, other attacks. We don't know that yet for a fact. It seemed, as a lawyer, it seemed pattern and practice, like, so what's being done to determine if this is rampant, if this is how they do it all of the time? And do you think this is how they've been conducting business all of the time? Like this, on signal chats with very sensitive information?
- [07:56]
Congressmember Jim Himes
Okay, broadly, let's start with a slightly even broader question, which is, is this an administration that is operating with prudent guidelines, following rules, doing things with competence? No, this is the administration that apart setting up a signal chat, decided to fire the people who maintain and look after our nuclear weapons. Oops. Well, that was a mistake. I mean, there is absolutely no reason to believe that this signal chat about a pending attack is anything other than indicative of the way they do business. And so you raise exactly the right questions. But for Jeffrey Goldberg, we would never know about this in all likelihood, right? So you raise a critical question, which is where else are they screwing this kind of stuff up, right? Is there a Facebook page that Elon Musk set up where there's a whole bunch of Social Security numbers or, you know, medical records? The oversight task is enormous. And then let me say this, too. I know what was happening here. You know, you just have to read Pete Hegg says, typed in text about F18s launching accompanied by MQ9s. Weather good? You know, CENTCOM says go. This is Pete Hegseth playing soldier, right? It's just the testosterone upwelling he gets when he gets to type MQ9 en route is his life right now. You know, he's a guy who is, you know, not even closely qualified to the position he has. And so when he gets to get on a signal, chat with his buddies and say, we're a go, Centcom says all in F18s, it just makes him feel really, really good. Sadly, of course, it puts our people at risk.
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Host
Now, your Republican colleagues, who I think once upon a time would labels like national security, hawk and this and that, their response has either been, this is normal, this is cool, oopsies, mistakes happen, or, yeah, I'm concerned about it, it's a mistake. I think the strongest statement we got was somewhere between oopsie and it's a mistake. Maybe on the Senate, slightly stronger. So what could you do, though, as the ranking member? That means you're the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, but you still don't control the committee. You don't have subpoena power. They get to control the course of. What can you do in that reality?
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Congressmember Jim Himes
Yeah, it's a great question. And it's a question that when you're in the minority, like I am, like the Democratic Party is, always has a somewhat unsatisfying answer. You know, in the Senate, the Democratic senators have a few more tools at their disposal on the House side where the House majority rules and where the speaker of the House is a wholly owned subsidiary of Donald J. Trump, and where, with maybe one or two exceptions, I'm thinking Don Bacon and a few others, people are absolutely terrified by the political end that they will encounter if they get in the way of this president. There's just not a lot of things that you could do to even wake up the Republicans, who, if this had been done under the Biden administration, they'd have war paint on and be burning the buildings down. In fact, I pointed this out Yesterday in closed session, which is. Okay, folks, let's stop the pearl clutching and the arguments about whether, you know, F18 is a precise war plan. You know that if Barack Obama's administration or Joe Biden's administration had done that, we would have to deploy the National Guard to calm you guys down.
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Host
Want to get your take on Elise Stefanik being announced that her nomination is being pulled for the ambassador to the United Nations? This follows. I think Republicans are getting worried about the electoral map that they're seeing. They saw what happened in a Pennsylvania state race that never went Democrat since 1889, and a Democrat won in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I think they're seeing kind of what's happening in Florida right now in these specials. People are saying that's behind it. But Elise Stefanik, she morphed from moderate to ultra maga. Ultra maga. And now Hegseth gets to be Secretary of Defense, and Stefanik does not get to be ambassador to the United Nations. Some might call it karma, some might use other words. What's your response to all of this?
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Congressmember Jim Himes
Yeah, well, it certainly is interesting politically. And I don't know, we'll see in this race in Florida that apparently is in a Republican plus 30 district, and I gosh, the Democrat is five points behind. Mind, we'll see what's happening out there. I don't think they really think that that very red district is at risk. But I do think inside this building, I do think that there are a whole lot of Republicans who have realized that the time has run out on the idea that you can cut $880 billion out of Medicaid through waste, fraud, and abuse. A lot of people got very sober wake ups this week when they realized, oh, my God, I gotta go back to my constituents and tell them that we're about to destroy Medicaid. So I think they start to see the unanimity fray. You know, from Elise's standpoint, I know Elise really well. We served on the Intelligence Committee together. It's almost. You said karma, it's almost Shakespearean. Right? I mean, Elise was a classic Bob Dole Republican when she got here, you know, did what she needed to do to become a MAGA darling. And now, just as high office is right there, you know, the Shakespearean gods have pulled that out, pulled the rug out from under her. So it's a karma, Shakespearean, whatever you.
- [13:23]
Host
Want to call it, Congressman, as we start hearing more about the framework of the budget, as we start hearing about what they're doing, as we reach the debt ceiling, we'd love for you to come back and talk about that, but any other thoughts where things start to head on that front this week, next week as some of those details start to emerge?
- [13:43]
Congressmember Jim Himes
Sure. I mean, look for the people who are sane enough not to immerse themselves in this stuff. What's about to happen, and this is part of what's happening with Elise Stefanik, is that the speaker has told his most ferocious budget hawks that we're gonna absolutely obliterate the budget. He got their votes. And then he told the moderates, don't worry, we're not gonna obliterate the budget. We're gonna keep Medicaid safe. He's told people completely irreconcilable things, and those chickens are coming home to roost right now. And so I think we're in for a pretty wild and woolly next couple of weeks as Republicans realize the canyon that they've backed themselves into.
- [14:26]
Host
Well, we hope to have you back soon to walk us through that canyon, take us through the trail, and hopefully get us out of Magaland, back into the world of normalcy. Congressmember, thanks for joining us.
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Congressmember Jim Himes
Thank you so much. Take care.
- [14:38]
Host
Congressman Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. Thank you for joining us. Hit subscribe let's get to 5 million subscribers. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas plus substack for ad Free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Phillips and more. Sign up for free now@midasplus.com.