A (0:00)

Close your eyes. Focus. Listen to work getting done with Monday dot com. Relax as AI does the manual work while your teams are aligned on a single source of truth. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform. So flexible and intuitive, it feels like it was built just for you. Notice you're limitless. Now open your eyes. Go to Monday.comstart for free. And finally, breathe. Welcome to Ben on breaking news. I'm Ben Meiselas. This is breaking news. A lot of self incrimination and invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination taking place as the reverberations of the Epstein file. Partial release is being felt throughout this country, throughout the world. And the cabal is right there in the center of the Oval Office. Now we're learning that Donald Trump's name in the unredacted files, the millions that have still not been released, are on those files over 1 million times. Yep. The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, he was able to look at that other batch of documents that's not been produced because what has been produced are the redacted, unlawfully redacted documents. And, folks, a million references to Donald Trump's name. Not hyperbolic. A million references. Okay, so when we were talking about 38,000 references from the redacted files, 1 million. And I would give exemplars like that means with the 38,000 references, there's more references to Donald Trump in the Epstein files that have been released than to the word Harry in the seven Harry Potter books. More references to Donald Trump than references to Jesus in the Bible in the Epstein files. Then you had Howard Lutnick's testimony before the Senate, where now he's admitting, Yep, I had my children go to the Epstein island with me, but only once. I only did it once. So we went from Howard Lutnick saying that I've never ever spoken to Epstein since 2005. I bought the townhouse from him, and he invited me over. I was there with my wife and. And I was headed there and I saw a massage table in the center of a living room. And I said to him in 2005, what do you have that for? And he said to me, I like the good kind of massages, Howard. And I said to my wife, that man is disgusting. I knew he was up to something. And I never had any dealings with him again, again, professionally, family, anything, you understand? Remember? That's what he said. Okay. Well, now he admits he brought his children. It was in the files. There were eight meaningful interactions between Lutnick and Epstein that we are aware of that were in the partial release of the Epstein files that came out, you know, a few weeks back at this point. And he brought his children and the children of his friends to the island inhabited by and used for the purpose of child sex trafficking. What the hell are we even talking about here? Like we're not having, we're not having political discussions. Oh, well, you know, we should have this sort of tax policy and we should, perhaps our policy should be this versus what are we even talking about? I'm watching the Commerce Secretary at a Senate hearing nonchalantly saying, yeah, I lied about it and I brought my children to the island where children are sex trafficked, but I didn't notice anything untoward at the island. And I don't see anything wrong with what I did. You don't see anything wrong with what you did. The moral compass has not even been moved 360 degrees. The moral compass has been shattered. We are dealing with maga zombified brains who are so vested in their positions in the Epstein class that they think that this behavior. What's, what's, what's wrong with what I did? I didn't do anything wrong. The hell are you talking about? You know, in this, what, in the past week, you have Donald Trump attacking the Olympian athletes in the United States. You have Donald Trump photoshopping former President Obama and Michelle Obama onto images of apes. And then Donald Trump. I'm like, why would I apologize for photoshopping their faces on apes? What's wrong with that? He says, he says the video that I posted was very strong on election fraud. The hell are you talking about? He attacked Caitlin Collins from cnn. Why don't you smile more, lady? You're a young lady. You don't smile. Smile when you ask me questions about child sex traps. Smile more. I mean, just think about those stories that just poof, poof. We're supposed to just accept that these Epstein class predators, these psychopaths in the Oval Office. That's just how he is. Yeah. Yesterday he posts about that China is going to take over the Stanley cup from Canada and that he's going to shut down the bridge that Canada fully paid for between Ontario and Detroit despite there being agreements that Canada would pay for the full thing. And now he goes, china's going to take over the Stanley Cup. That's not, that's not even a story. Because it's just. Yeah, that's, that's the psychopath in the Oval Office as our Editor in chief, Ron Philipkowski Writes, can we talk about how batshit crazy it was for Trump to post the China was going to permanently cancel the Stanley cup if Canada signs a trade deal with them? Or do we just assume at this point that he's completely psychotic? It's a fair question to be asked, and I haven't even gotten into yet in this intro, the fact that Ghisain Maxwell, when she testified before the House Oversight Committee yesterday, invoked her Fifth amendment right against self incrimination the entire deposition when she was asked questions. So are you aware of Donald Trump with underage girls? I have to invoke my Fifth Amendment against self incrimination. Or is Donald Trump part of your enterprise? I have to invoke my fifth amendment right against self incrimination. So that's going to incriminate you? To answer that question, Wait, you were willing to speak to Donald Trump's former criminal defense attorney who's now the number two at the Department of Justice, Todd Blanche. You spoke with him, but now you can't answer these basic questions from the House Oversight Committee. Who are the other co conspirators? I must invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence. Okay. Did Donald Trump promise you a pardon for your silence? I must invoke my Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. That question would incriminate you, and you're already incriminated. You were found guilty of child sex trafficking by a federal jury and sentenced to over 20 years in prison. I understand you were moved to Club Fed and now get VIP treatment by the Bureau of Prisons because the Trump regime anoints the child sex traffickers to VIP status because you're part of the Epstein class. The Epstein class, everybody. The Epstein class. But you lost your appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. You lost your appeal to the United States Supreme Court. Three strikes. You're at. You're out, Madame Delaine. You're out. You're out of appeals. So you can say, well, I have a habeas petition pending. Every individual who's in prison has the right to a habeas petition. That just is saying that you believe you're unlawfully detained. That's not an appeal. That's invoking habeas corpus, which is under the Constitution, or we believed it was under the Constitution before Donald Trump ripped that right away for most people who are here in this country. But that's what you're invoking in order to invoke the Fifth amendment against your self incrimination. You think we're that stupid? By the way, your appeal was still pending before the United States Supreme Court, which has now been rejected. When you spoke with Todd Blanche. So it wasn't an imperative for you to invoke the Fifth with Trump's guy, but now before the House Oversight Committee. I must invoke the Fifth. I cannot. But if Donald Trump. This is what she said. This is what she said at the depot. But if I am granted clemency by. By Donald Trump, I will exonerate him publicly. If I'm granted clemency. If you're granted clemency for what? For being a child sex trafficker. You want to be granted clemency? If anything, what's been released in the files shows that you got off lightly. You should be in jail for 20 life sentences. You're lucky you were only sentenced to 20 years clemency. And I go back to what I was talking about with Howard Lutnick. The moral compass has been so utterly shattered that you have MAGA Republicans being asked questions if they think she should get clemency and their answer isn't no, like James Comer and MAGA Mike Johnson. Well, that's not really for me to decide. We're going to have to see if Donald ultimately makes that call for clemency for a child sex trip trafficker. What are you pedo protectors talking about? It. It blows my mind as I watch this and I try to process this information and data, like, what the hell? And it's explainable. These MAGA zombified Epstein class humans are predators. It's like if you see a zombie movie and you can't tell the zombie, why are you behaving like a zombie? They're zombies. This is who they are. They're the Epstein class. They're evil. They're predators. They hate you. They want to hurt you. They want to prey on you. They want to steal your children to prey on that. They're sick. They're sick, sick, sick, sick people. That's who they are. I can try to give you intellectual analysis and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And put on my Professor Ben. These are. These are sick freaking people. And they're covering up for other sick freaking people. That's what they're doing. I mean, in other areas, too. You see this in lots of other areas. And they're. And they're going after the kids constantly. Did you see the ProPublica report from the Dilley Detention center in Texas where all of these kids were writing these letters? They've been kidnapped by ICE and Border patrol Gestapo, and they're writing Letters, how the water is getting them sick and they're scared and they're penning these letters and ProPublica got their hands and they're drawing these photos. I mean it looks like the types of letters you would see in the Holocaust Museum. And it's being written by these young 3 to 5 year olds who are talking about the water's making me sick and I want to see my family again. And I've been here for days and I don't know what's going on and am I ever going to get out of here. And now the Trump regime, they're buying out like Amazon style warehouses in multiple areas. In Hagerstown, Maryland for 102. This is where our taxpayer dollars are going. Epstein class. $102 million in Maryland to 70 million in Surprise, Arizona. $87 million in Hamburg, 120 million in Tremendous. 82 million in San Antonio, 123 million in El Paso. We don't know what the price is in Social Circle, Georgia. And then a lot of the Republican senators, like, we don't want these in our town. Put them in other towns. And then the one in Texas, they've already put a government contract for $1.2 billion to house in a concentration camp. Like 3,000 human beings who are not hardened criminals, just kids in their family who have been ripped off. The workers. Children who are now in these Amazon style warehouse concentration camps and we're the taxpayers. You're telling me when I have to look at my tax bill in April and I write that check to Uncle Sam, it's funding this versus health care versus affordable housing versus versus education versus mental health programs versus lunches for kids. No, we're, we're torturing the kids. The Epstein class, they're torturing the kids. That's where our taxpayer dollars are going. It's her. It's, it's, it's horrific. And I'm sick and tired of corporate media and everybody normalizing this. These sick, evil predator perverts. Sick. It is sick behavior. I'll share this with you. The split screen right here. Home of the Brave did a good job in getting this and just putting these side by side. We were the ones who unearthed the Epstein deposition back in 2010 that you're probably familiar with. And they did a side by side at home of the Brave of Epstein and Ghislaine. Let me show you what went down. Tell me if you see the similarities here. Here, play this clip. Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18. Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today I'm going to have to assert my 5th, 6th and 14th amendment right. Are you aware of Donald Trump ever engaging in sexual activity with an individual introduced to him by you or Jeffrey Epstein? I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence. How about when Donald Trump was being civilly prosecuted for fraud, what did he do? Did he answer the questions or. Here, play the clip. So, Ms. Trump, I take it you are are not going to answer any questions about your preparation today with your counsel, Is that correct? Then should I say this or should I respond to that? Just read that. For all of the reasons provided in my answer, which is incorporated herein in its entirety, I decline to answer any question. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool. Now, I do recall Donald Trump, when he was campaigning in 2016, saying something interesting about the Fifth Amendment. Let's play this clip. Here's people taking the Fifth Amendment. Four people, plus the guy who illegally did the server. You know, he put it in the illegal server. So they have five people taking the Fifth Amendment. Like you see on the mob, right? You see, the mob takes event. If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment? I don't know. Tell me, Donald. What do I know? What do I know? Now maybe that's just how the Epstein class does it. What do I know? It's the Epstein. Different rules for the Epstein class, Right? Different rules. While y' all are on islands and New Mexico ranches where you don't have to register a sex offenders the way Epstein didn't in New Mexico and your own islands, your townhouses that you sell to each other, your massage tables in your living room while you brag about the annexation of Crimea by Putin, say there's a lot of opportunity. There is. What Epstein was talking about in the files as you talk about propping up right wing thugs like Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, the way Epstein and Bannon were talking about. Right. The way all of that was going down in the. I guess that's. That's what the Epstein class does, everybody. Speaking of the Epstein class, Howard Lutnick testified earlier today and he testified in the United States Senate. Here's when Senator Van Hollen said, did you in fact make the visit to Epstein's private island? Again, we all know that Lutnick said that he had before. He never had any interaction, professional or otherwise with Epstein instead of one meeting in 2005. That's what Lutnick said. Because he was so repulsed, so grossed out by Epstein in 2005, he wouldn't even think about ever seeing this guy again. So you brought your kids, you brought your little children to the island where children get raped. That's. That's what you did. And we the people are supposed to be like, yeah, that's Lutnick. That's Lutnick, everybody. Okay, I guess we need to move on first. Play this Lutna clip, and then I'm gonna show you MAGA Mike Johnson's response. Let's play. But, Nick, I think you understand the root of concern here. It's the way you described very emphatically your first encounter with him in his apartment. Said you were disgusted, would never have any contact with him again. Did you, in fact, make the visit to Jeffrey Epstein's private island? I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple with. They were there as well, with their children. And we had lunch on the island. That is true. For an hour. And we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife all together. We were on family vacation. We were not apart to suggest there was anything untoward about that in 2012. I don't. I don't recall why we did it, but, Mr. Secretary, again, I. As I said there, by the way, I'm glad that Democratic Senator Van Hollen was asking him those questions, like I am, but, like, why are we being nice to this guy? Like, where's the outrage, though, too? And I think Van Holland does a lot of really good things, so I'm not, like, upset that he asked the question, but, like, why are we tiptoeing around? Like, why wouldn't you just say so? You see no problem that you brought your little children to the island of child rape and you were there and you lied about, like. You see no issue with that? Is that accurate? You don't, Mr. Lutnick? You don't see any problem in that? Is that what your. Your judgment suggests? Should other families have brought their children? Was it. Was it a pleasant day? Was it a pleasant day? And when Maga Mike was asked about what went down? Watch Maga Mike's response. Let's play it. Mr. Speaker. Howard Lutnick had said that he had cut off ties with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005. And the documents that came out contradict that. Democrats and Thomas Massie say he should resign. Do you think that Howard Lutnick should resign? Of course not. It's absurd. Howard Lutz Lutnick is a. Is a great Commerce Secretary. He's done an extraordinary job for the country. And Thomas Massey should stop playing. Do you have any concerns about Ludnick's ties with. I don't know anything about that. I know Howard as an individual and I, I trust his word on it. I mean, I don't know the timing and all that. I'm not sure. You have to ask others. I don't know the timing of all of that. Going to the rape island and everything. You're going to have to ask some others. But of course he shouldn't have to resign. He's a really good guy who brings his children to the child rape island and then starts exchanging nannies with Jeffrey Epstein, and then Epstein gives him gifts for awards that he's receiving, and then they go into business together. But of course, that, that shows really good judgment right there. And let's also ignore the fact that Howard, you know, Lutnick's children are now running Canter Fitzgerald and they're profiting off of a lot of the horrors that are taking place in this regime. And we could ignore those conflicts of interest as well. And I just think that Lutnick is a great. He's a great guy. I mean, that's the moral rot in the United States right now, at least. At least when you look in other countries, if you look at what's happening in the UK if you look at what's happening in Poland, if you look at what's happening in Norway, if you look at what's happening in other areas, there is at least an understanding that even secondhand associations with Epstein could be and should be disqualifying. You know, even remember the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon. Like, if you're two degrees away from Epstein, that in many countries is disqualifying alone. Right? Peter Mandelson, the ambassador to the United States from the UK had the direct relationship with Epstein, appeared far less than Trump does in the files, but not going to argue which is more grotesque than the others. Obviously, he needs to go. And he gets removed and banished from the Labor Party. Okay. But then the guy who recommended him, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Starmer, needs to go. He resigns. And then lots of people were putting pressure on Starmer to go. I think one of the issues is, is that Labour Party still controls Parliament at least through 2020. 9. Not exactly like the Tories or the Reform Party, you know, I mean, like the Reform Party, you've got Nigel Farage who was coordinating with Bannon, and we know Bannon's role. So you don't let them off, you know, and that's a major issue because they were behind a lot of the kind of right wing takeovers that we've seen across the world. And then the Tories don't deserve a pass. But my point is, at least you're like, that's bad. Affiliations with this guy bad. And then here in the United States, of course not. Of course not. Any event, we're going to take our first quick break of the show. We will be right back. I will see you shortly. You know, every new year we say that we're finally going to launch that thing we've been dreaming about. The idea that's been sitting in our notes app, the skill everyone keeps telling us to turn into a business. But the truth is taking action is what changes everything. January is short. Don't let February show up with the same old story. If 2026 is the year that you rewrite your future, the most powerful move that you can make is to start your business with Shopify. 2026 is the year that you launch your business. The year you transform into an entrepreneur, founder, boss. One powerful move puts your future firmly in your hands. Starting a business with Shopify. Maybe you've got an idea that you can't shake. A CR Craft. Everyone tells you to sell a store you've already designed in your head. Well, with Shopify, 2026 is when you finally make it happen. Shopify gives you everything you need to sell online and in person. Millions of entrepreneurs have already made this leap from household names to first time business owners just getting started. Shopify gives you all the tools to easily build your dream store. Choose from hundreds of beautiful templates that you can customize to match your brand. Setup is fast with Shopify's built in AI tools that write product descriptions and headlines and help you edit product photos. Marketing is built in to create email and social campaigns that reach customers wherever they scroll. And as you grow, Shopify grows with you. Handle more orders, expand to new markets and do it all from the Same dashboard in 2026, stop waiting and start selling with Shopify. Shopify Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com Midas go to shopify.com Midas that's shopify.com Midas M E I D A S Hear your first this new year with Shopify by your side. Support our sponsors, appreciate them. Our pro democracy sponsors are great. They make this show possible. The discount codes are of course in the description below. I'll show you more of Lutnick in in a moment, but I also want to share with you, you know Donald Trump's post attacking Canada again, over and over again. And it's just like Trump's view on Ukraine. It's just like Trump's view on the 2020 election. I think Canada realizes, as Ukraine realizes Trump is not is and Greenland has to realize and Europe has to realize in the rest of the world, he's a demented, sociopathic, malignant, narcissistic animal and he's never gonna stop. He's never gonna stop. So with Ukraine, all he's trying to figure out is how he gets Ukraine to fully surrender. And so there aren't really peace talks happening. That's what's really happening is Trump trying to work with Putin to simply figure out how you apply the pressure on Zelensky in order for Trump to do the economic deal he wants to do with Russia, which we've now learned more details about because Zelensky smoked it out in the United Arab Emirates. It's a fake 12 trillion dollar deal when the entire Russian GDP is 2 trillion dollars. And so Donald Trump is now telling Ukraine there's never going to be a ceasefire between Russia doesn't want a ceasefire, but you need to do a referendum where Zelensky has to run for election again and we do this election in May and there's got to be a referendum to Ukrainians about giving up most of eastern Ukraine to Russia. That's. And you need to do this in May. Zelensky's point actually is, even though we think that's not prudent, we'll do it if we can have like a 30 to 45 day ceasefire so we can at least create the circumstances to make people, people feel comfortable to show up on an election to do a referendum. But we need a ceasefire first. Russia says no ceasefire. How are you supposed to negotiate with that? You can't. So what Donald Trump is doing behind the scenes is the PAC3 missiles that go into the Patriot missile system that Ukraine has. All of a sudden the US says there's a shortage, there's a PAC 3 shortage, sorry. So we're not able to get those anti air, anti air, anti drone missiles, the anti ballistic missile systems to you in time. What we've seen is a 33 to 40% increase in Ukrainian civilian deaths since Donald Trump has been in office. Think about that. For all of the I'm strong and Putin wouldn't do this. A 33 to 40% increase in civilian deaths in Ukraine since Trump's been in office. And in terms of the Shahid drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missile strikes, those have increased dramatically as well. I mean, at that same or more percentage, significantly more. And then when it comes to Canada, it's every, you know, Trump cycles through it and then every 30 days or 20 days he comes up with a new one. And now a billionaire American family that owns the other private, the only, it's a private bridge that exists right now called the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit to Ontario. And the moron family, or the moron family owns a private bridge. They make a ton of money. Just think, it's a weird thing to think about that the main bridge between the United States and Canada from Detroit to Ontario is owned privately by this oligarch family called the Morones. And the kid, I think his name is Michael or something, he owns it now. And he's been always working behind the scenes with Trump in order to kill a bridge project that began many, many years ago to build another bridge that could actually be owned by both Canada and Michigan for the well being of Canada and Michigan, not a billionaire family. Okay, so this new bridge, the Gordie Howe Bridge, just set to be open soon, which has actually employed lots of people from Michigan, it's constructed, was fully funded by Canada. I just want you to know what the facts are about this because sometimes we move past these stories quickly. It was fully funded by Canada because America wouldn't fund it, but wanted it. Then it was going to be recouped. The costs were going to be recouped by Canada through the fares. And also it would be jointly owned by Michigan and by Canada through Ontario. That was for the benefit of both. And then Trump makes a post saying, ah, well, China's going to take it over and China's going to steal your ice hockey and China this and China that. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. So Prime Minister Carney is asked about this today. And let me show you Prime Minister Carney's response when he was asked about, well, what do you make of Donald Trump's latest threats? And watch how, just watch the difference between Carney and the difference between Trump. Let me show you Prime Minister Carney. Pardon me. So the first thing to say is there's a big game today and the President and I discussed the Canada U.S. game and, and of course we're all behind our team. Secondly, we discussed a number of issues, international issues. Thirdly, we discussed the bridge, explained that Canada was paid for the construction of the bridge over $4 billion. That the ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and the government of Canada. And that in the construction of the bridge, obviously there's Canadian steel, Canadian workers, but also U.S. steel, U.S. workers that are involved. This is a great example of cooperation between our countries. Look forward to it opening. And what is particularly, particularly important of course is the commerce and the tourism and the voyages of Canadians and Americans that will go across that bridge. So the conversation turned to a series of issues that we will raise and we're going to follow up on. I'm not going to go into detail on those issues. These would be specific issues in parallel to the Kuzma negotiations. Final point is the president asked appropriately that his ambassador, who's from Michigan of course play a role in, in smoothing the conversation in and around the bridge. So it was a positive conversation. It's a big game today. Yeah, I mean that's just coming with facts, a fact based approach. Going to read this and Jeremy, I'm going to send this to you right now. Here's some breaking news out of Hungary. The lead candidate to win Hungary's upcoming election against Viktor Orban. Remember Orban, Trump, Putin, all connected. Peter Magyar says that tomorrow a sex tape of him with his then girlfriend is going to be released, hinting at a Russian style active measurement by Viktor Orban's embattled government. Yes, I'm a 45 year old man. I have a sex life with an adult partner. Maggie writes, I have three minor children whom this vile family friendly regime obviously does not give a damn about. Dear frightened Fidesz supporters, go ahead, release everything you have. Fabricate whatever you like. I will not yield to blackmail or threats. And so you see what's going on there. And it should be noted as well that in Hungary one of Orban's big platforms, similar to the one of the Trump platforms, which is we're going to get rid of the pedos and that there's a deep state of pedos out there and you need Orban to get rid of them. Then it turns out that Orban's government, through their juvenile prison system in Budapest was involved in a massive sex trafficking operation of underage children through their juvenile prison system. Just want you to think about that. And they were covering that up. It's an interesting parallel to think about. The script, the playbook of right Wing authoritarians and how they're able to win elections infect the minds of populations. And I think what's important to note is that Trump is not unique in this. He is a vessel of a broader right wing authoritarian playbook that uses hate and hyper nationalistic language, anti immigrant language, Deep State Woke, all of that is actually an intern, is an international playbook that's been adopted by Trump. I'm going to show you how that's connected to the Epstein files in a moment as well. Part of that is they weaponize the reality that there are all these pedos among us and they say we know who they are and we're going to stop them. And that's how Trump and Maga weaponized the Epstein files. That's how Orban weaponized it in his ascent, you know, to. To power. And we see that play out over and over again. And within the files, Epstein is actually a central player in the spread of right wing authoritarianism. Because part of the playbook is that when you cause mass disruption, that creates financial opportunity for the oligarchs. Now, the oligarchs were using child sex trafficking as their currency to blackmail each other, to interact with each other as the entry fee. It's sick and disgusting to think about it like that, but that was part of it. But then they also were using a playbook and exchanging tips. And Epstein in the messages is a middleman in exchanging the tips. I mean, when you see the messages between him and Bannon, you have Epstein saying to Bannon, man, I don't like that. Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. So like, I think in 2018 or 2017, was saying all these negative things about you, you know, make Bannon great again. He should be wearing a make Bannon great again hat. And Bannon's like, my power stems from the fact that nobody knows what I'm doing behind the scenes. And so I get my power by people thinking I don't have the power, the deep state, right? And then they project that concept onto everybody else, that which they are doing. So when you read the files and when I talk about an Epstein class, this is what I'm referring to play out. And all of this stuff is connected not in a conspiratorial lens, but in. In the reality. So let's go back to the hearing from earlier today with Lutnick. Van Hollen asks another question. So why do the Epstein files show you coordinating meetings with Epstein in 2012? Let's watch what Howard Lutnick says in response to this. Let's play it. Secretary Lutnick, as I said in my opening statement, you led people to believe that you had cut off all contact with Jeffrey EPSTEIN after the 2005 encounter you and your wife had in his apartment. But as I'm sure you know, the Epstein files show a very different record of interaction. Why did the Epstein file show you coordinating a meeting and planning a visit with Jeffrey Epstein on his private island in December 2012? Thank you for the question. I'm glad to be here to make it clear that I met Jeffrey Epstein when he moved. When I moved to a house next door to him in New York. And I met him then over the next 14 years, I met him two other times that I can recall. Two times. And that is none for six years. So six years later I met him and then a year and a half after that I met him and never again. Probably the total. And you've seen all of these documents. Of these millions and millions of documents, There may be 10 emails connecting me with him, probably about 10 emails connecting me with him over a 14 year period. I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person. Okay, Secretary Lutnick, I want to next share with you another hearing taking place and this other hearing is with Todd Lyons, the acting head of ice. So if you want to see what this predator class, this Epstein class looks like in theory as well, you had Lutnick in the Senate and then you had Todd Lyons testifying before the House. So Todd Lyons was cross examined by Democratic Congressmember Dan Goldman. Do you realize that when you're requiring proof of citizenship, what other types of countries did that? Here, play this clip. Now you are aware of course, and there's well documented, numerous well documented instances of people, American citizens being asked to show and prove their citizenship. Do you know what other regimes in the 20th century century required similar proof of citizenship? Yes, sir. What so there's very various nefarious regimes that did that. Is Nazi Germany one? Yes, but I. Is the Soviet Union. I honestly, sir, I'm asking the questions is the Soviet Union one? Yes, sir, but I, I totally, I totally. This is the wrong type of question. No, what's. I'll tell you what the wrong type, but actually claiming my time independence. If you want reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, not the men and women of ICE that are out there doing it every day. So to say it to men and women of Isaac, Mr. Chairman, I'm reclaiming my time. I would like my time back, please, please give me another 15 seconds. Because he was unnecessarily speaking. You said in your own. I'll show you another clip right here where Lyons claims that they don't request citizenship anyway. So what are we even talking about here? Let's play this other clip of lions. Five minutes of questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Lyons, what guidance have you given to your agents about asking people walking on the streets of America to show proof of citizenship? Sir, as I stated earlier, the men and women of Vice, deportation officer, special agents, we conduct target intelligence driven operation. We don't walk around on the streets asking people about their American citizenship. Really? So all of those individual American citizens who have been randomly asked are lying? Is that what you're saying? Sir, if the men and women of ICE are conducting an investigation, whether it be for Title 8 immigration enforcement or Title 18 criminal enforcement, they'll ask someone their nationality. Right? But that's not targeted because they're asking all sorts of American citizens, including off duty law enforcement. Now, have you directed. Next, you have Congressmember Swalwell cross examining Lyons about how many ICE agents have done. How many ICE agents have been fired for their conduct under your leadership? Sir, I can get you that data. I'll get that back to you. Is it more than one? I'm not going to speak about personnel actions, but I'll get you that data. Can you tell us if at least, God, I hope at least one person has been fired for their conduct since these operations have begun? Are you telling us you can't even say one person's been fired? Sir, I'm not going to talk about personnel actions, but we will get back to you. But two people have been killed so far. Is that right? A nurse named Pretty and a mom named Good. Two people have been killed so far? Yes, sir. Next, he's asked by Congressmember Kennedy if he would commit to unmasking the agents. Let's play this clip. Will you commit yes or no to immediately unmasking every agent conducting immigration enforcement and requiring them to. To wear standard uniforms with identifiable badges? No. Well, that's a sad response. Your answer is completely unacceptable. People who are proud of what they do aren't hiding their identity. We're a nation of laws. And you, your boss, Secretary Noem and Donald Trump are not above the law. And now let me show you finally, the tactic of fascism, the projection accuse the other of that which you are covering up and or involved in. So today's big theme with the MAGA Republicans is to say, we're out here to get the pedophiles the rapists and the murderers. So here's MAGA Republican Congressmember Tom Emmer saying that. Let's play it. Pedophiles, Rapists, Murderers. And drug traffickers. These are just a few of the criminal illegal aliens that the brave men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have taken off the streets of Minneapolis in the recent months and weeks. Okay, let's take a look at what Congresswoman McClain said. Let's play her clip. We got Congresswoman McClain. And then let's also show you what Caroline Levitt had to say. Let's play the Caroline Levitt clip. Why aren't more people outraged? I don't get it. I gotta share with you. I don't get it. These folks are monsters. They're criminals. They murder, they sexually assault young women, minors and. And you know what the Democrats want to do? Let's release them in your communities and let's celebrate the criminals. Let's villainize the ICE agents and celebrate the people who are raping your children. That is crazy. It is not. And let me correct the record. Number one, the Trump administration has been clear from day one that any illegal alien present in this country is subject to deportation. However, the priority of course is going after the convicted criminals, the worst of the worst, the murderers, the pedophiles, the rapists in this country, interestingly, in the c. Now I just show you that. So you understand the tactics. So you understand that they do that, right? Then they have their state regime media, Fox, cbs, corporate news, boom, flood the zone with that local news, Sinclair and all of those, you know, local networks which are owned by right wing oligarchs. And so when people get their local news, they get all of that pushed to them. And they don't necessarily hear all of this stuff now they do because of the scale and scope of the Midas touch network and our growth. But that's their game plan, that's how they coordinate this and that's how they push it out. And then they go, ah, what this is really about is we're going after the pedos. It's right and connected to what I said before. It's right out of a broader international. It's international, international Epstein class playbook that pushes this. And so the question is, is that how do you fight against an international Epstein class of Trumps and Orban's and Le Pens and Farages and Jair Bolsonaros and Bukele and people like that? How do you push back against it? Well, first, you're very People would be very naive to wrecking to not recognize it's on the scale and scope of that I'm describing. The moment you buy in to the gamified politics of who's up this day, who's up that day and the kind of day to day drama, which is okay, but unless you recognize the broader game that's being played internationally, then you are not going to be able to rebut it or to fight it. But you see, you're never going to be able to defeat the international Epstein class and the broader movement of authoritarian and fascism with the Putins, the Trumps, the Orbans, all of those people that I'm mentioning. And by the way, the MAGA maple movement that was trying to form and still exist in Canada, the MAGA movement that was trying to form in Australia and these other areas that were pushed back last year during elections there. But the way you have to stop it though is also at a macro level than at a surgical level. The macro level is big ideas are going to beat these big bad ideas. And that's why I talk about love and empathy and you know, and community and inclusiveness and that diversity is a good thing because if you're fractured on the big macro picture of the direction of the world, you're going to be bulldozed over by these broader bad forces that are pushing down people. So the only way to fight it is to, is to recognize that love and empathy and democracy and broader values need to unite internationally to stop. If it's not an internationally arm locked movement, you're not going to stop. It's impossible. It's impossible to stop it. It's one of the things that the Epstein files revealed is what's actually at play. The real deep state internationally working behind the scenes. Epstein was a middleman in that with lots of other individuals brokering right wing authoritarianism. Disruption equals money to them. Trump as a vessel for that. Do you see what's happening here? Sex trafficking, the currency for these despicable evil predators. So we have to push back on it with love and empathy and truth and honesty and integrity and all of these things and push back in that direction. Now on the surgical level, we still have to go through our reps every day. I got to wake up at 4am in the morning, I got to do my videos, got to do my 5:30, my 7, my 8:30. I got to write my substack post in midasplus.com. i got to build out other YouTube channels. I got to continue the growth, right? I got to help other independent media creators, right? You have to still do the blocking and tackling every day that we're going to do here. That's never going to stop. But if you don't recognize those broader forces, then you don't really know what's going on. That's what's happening. And we need to, we need to stop it. It's existential and we have to reflect on what it is. Part of not being able to stop it was not being able to diagnose what this thing even was. That's why to me, one of the biggest commitments here is international expansion right now. Right? And that's, that's vital because this is an international tsunami of fascism and Epstein and we have to tsunami him back just the day to day, you know, the day to day, you know, media is not gonna, it's not gonna do it right. So anyway, that's my final reflection right now that I'll. That I'll leave you with right here. We're on our way to 6 million subscribers. So double check that you're actually subscribed and help us get to 6 million. You may think you're subscribed, but you may not actually be subscribed. So double check. Also go join our substack midasplus.com the Intersection with Michael Popak is on tonight at 5pm 5pm Pacific, 8 Eastern. Watch. I love that. I love Popo show the Intersection. Check that out. Subscribe to the Legal AF YouTube channel. Subscribe to Katie Fang's YouTube channel. Aaron Parnas's YouTube channel. Tennessee Brando's YouTube channel. Subscribe to the Midas universe of YouTube channels. And that's all I got for you. It's been on breaking news. I'm Ben. This has been your breaking news. Shout out breaking newsers. Come up with something better and shout out Midas Mighty. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack@midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only available@midasplus.com.