UNBIASED Politics with Jordan Berman

Episode Date: October 16, 2025
Main Theme:
This episode covers several significant U.S. political and legal stories: the mass media refusal to sign a new Department of Defense press policy, State Department visa revocations following inflammatory commentary about Charlie Kirk, a complex Supreme Court case centered on the Voting Rights Act and redistricting in Louisiana, the fallout from leaked offensive group messages among Young Republican leaders (and their political ramifications), plus a series of "quick hitters" on hot national topics. The host, lawyer Jordan Berman, provides fact-based, impartial explanations, emphasizing legal frameworks and the practical impact of each story.

Pentagon Press Policy Showdown

[00:49 – 20:44]

Key Points

• Major media outlets (CNN, Fox News, NPR, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS, AP, and more) have refused to sign the Pentagon’s new press policy and surrendered their press passes.
• Policy Summary:
  • Initial policy: Required all information (classified or unclassified) about the Department of Defense to be cleared before publication.
  • Revised version: Slightly softened language—journalists aren’t barred from reporting, but the Pentagon can deem any information a “security or safety risk” and withhold it.
  • Journalists can only reliably report on what the Pentagon approves for public release.
• Controversial Clause: If journalists solicit Defense Department personnel to disclose unauthorized information, this could be considered a safety or security risk and grounds for denial or consequences. Journalism routinely seeks information from insiders, making the provision especially problematic for reporting.

Legal Nuances

• Disclosing classified or specially protected information is a crime.
• Disclosing unclassified, non-protected information may violate agency policy but is not a crime.
• “Is asking for unauthorized information protected by the First Amendment?”
  • Asking = protected.
  • Actively encouraging/recruiting the leak of classified info = not protected.

Memorable Quotes

• “In effect, reporters can only report on information that the Pentagon approves. So in practice, the revised version actually isn't much different from the original version of the policy. It’s just worded slightly differently.”
  —Jordan Berman [03:58]
• Joint statement from NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, and Fox News:
  • “Today we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon's new requirements which would restrict journalists' ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues. The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections…”
    [14:35]
• Hegseth (DOD official) on X:
  • “Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right. … Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts. Done. Pentagon now has the same rules as every US Military installation.”
    [16:20]

Outlook

• Only One America News has agreed to the policy and retained Pentagon access.
• Expectation is that media organizations will pursue a legal challenge based on First Amendment concerns.

State Dept. Revokes Visas Over Charlie Kirk Commentary

[21:10 – 29:43]

Key Points

• The State Department revoked visas of at least six foreign nationals who posted online celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
• The Department’s post:
  • “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans ... identifying visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
    [21:32]
• Provided examples (with explicit language) included individuals from Argentina and South Africa making derogatory, even hateful posts about Kirk and Americans.
• Out of six cited cases, three included screenshots, while the rest were summarized by the Dept.

Legal Context

• Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State has broad discretion to revoke visas “at any time and in his discretion.”
• Historically, legal precedent (notably a 1999 Supreme Court case) strongly favors the Executive’s authority in visa decisions, especially concerning political expression.
• Although there are older cases protecting immigrants’ free speech, more recent rulings create limited grounds for legal challenge.

Notable Quote

• “While these individuals could try to challenge their visa revocations, it's very likely the courts would just defer to the State Department and decline to intervene at all, because that's what precedent tells us.”
  —Jordan Berman [29:23]

Supreme Court Weighs Voting Rights Act: Louisiana Redistricting

[29:46 – 50:10]

Case Background

• Origin:
  • 2022: Louisiana’s congressional map included just one majority-Black district out of six, despite the state being one-third Black.
  • Black voters sued under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), arguing diluted minority voting power. They won, and a new map created a second Black-majority district.
• Challenge Shifts:
  • A group of “non African American” residents then sued, claiming the new map sorted voters by race, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
  • They won, and the use of the new map was blocked for future elections.

Supreme Court Proceedings

• The Supreme Court allowed the new map to stand temporarily and scheduled oral arguments.
• Louisiana’s position changed:
  • Defended the new (two-Black-district) map at first, acknowledging it also favored Republicans through partisan gerrymandering (which is legal).
  • Recently, Louisiana now argues that any requirement to use race in redistricting (as Section 2 can demand) is itself unconstitutional.

Oral Arguments and Justice Positions

• Three Sides:
  • Louisiana now argues Section 2 is unconstitutional if it mandates race-based drawing of districts.
  • Black plaintiffs defend the map as politically (not racially) motivated.
  • “Non African American” plaintiffs argue the map is still improperly sorted by race.
• Justices:
  • Conservative justices (Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch) seemed open to limiting or eliminating Section 2.
  • Kavanaugh and Barrett took a more cautious tone, questioning how long race can play a role and under what thresholds.
  • Roberts appeared open to distinguishing this case from 2023’s Milligan decision, which allowed race-based redistricting as a remedy.
  • Liberal justices (Kagan, Jackson, Sotomayor) defended the necessity of race-conscious remedies for true violations.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Justice Kagan pushed back on Louisiana's oral arguments, saying Louisiana was simply just recycling arguments that the Court had already rejected in Milligan.”
  —Jordan Berman [47:00]
• “Justice Barrett questioned whether Louisiana ever truly believed that it violated Section 2... suggesting that might weaken its justification for using race in drawing its new map.”
  —Jordan Berman [47:40]

Potential Outcomes

• Major ruling: Section 2 is unconstitutional if it mandates race-based districting. Would gut much of the VRA; considered unlikely but possible.
• Middle ground: Section 2 remains but is restricted—race only used after a final finding of discrimination.
• Narrow ruling: Court finds Louisiana’s new map went too far, but doesn’t alter Section 2's scope.
• Uphold status quo: Court upholds the map and Section 2, reaffirming Milligan.

Anticipated Timeline:

• Decision likely in June 2026.

Leaked Text Messages Rock the Young Republicans (and the Democrats)

[52:00 – 01:14:01]

Young Republicans’ Group Chat Scandal

• Politico leak: Nearly 3,000 pages of group messages (January-August 2025) among Young Republicans leaders in states like New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont.
• Offensive content examples:
  • Holocaust references (“everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber”) [54:58]
  • Jokes about violence (“I'm ready to watch people burn now.”) [55:35]
  • Racist and misogynistic slurs
  • E.g., “I'd go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball” [56:28], “Great, I love Hitler.” [56:50]
• Responses:
  • National and state Board condemned the chats, calling for immediate resignation of implicated individuals.
  • Some leaders issued apologies; others denied, blamed extortion, or refused comment.

Quote from Peter Gwenta, implicated NY leader:

• “These logs were sourced by way of extortion and provided to Politico by the very same people conspiring against me. … While I take complete responsibility, I have no way of verifying their accuracy. And I'm deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored.”
  [57:54]

Democratic Candidate’s Leaked Messages

• Jay Jones, Democratic attorney general candidate in Virginia:
  • Wished for death upon a political opponent and his child (“Gilbert gets two bullets to the head... I wished Gilbert's wife could watch her own child die in her arms…”) [01:02:01]
  • Admitted, apologized, reached out directly to the family.

Quote from Jones:

• “I want to issue my deepest apology to Speaker Gilbert and his family. Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I'm embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry.”
  [01:03:12]

Vice President Vance’s Reaction

• Compared severity:
  • “A person who is very politically powerful… seriously wishing for political violence and political assassination is 1,000 times worse than what a bunch of young people, a bunch of kids say in a group chat, however offensive it might be.”
    —Vance, Charlie Kirk Show [01:06:18]
  • On young people: “Kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes. And I really don't want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke ... is cause to ruin their lives.” [01:07:25]

Quick Hitters

[01:14:10 – 01:20:45]

• CIA Action in Venezuela
  • Trump confirmed authorizing secret CIA actions amid reports of anti-narcotic and possible anti-regime activities.
  • On suspected assassination targets (Maduro), Trump refused to comment directly.
• Federal Layoffs Halted During Shutdown
  • Judge issues temporary restraining order stopping federal layoffs at agencies represented by plaintiff unions, citing likely legal violations.
• John Bolton Under Investigation
  • DOJ expected to seek indictment for mishandling national defense information; Bolton denies wrongdoing.
• Trump-Putin Upcoming Meeting
  • Trump announces planned high-level U.S. and Russian advisor meetings, leading to an in-person meeting in Budapest to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Critical Thinking Segment

[01:20:47 – End]

• Reflective Questions:
  • Given nearly $1 trillion in annual Pentagon funding from taxpayers, what level of transparency should Americans expect?
  • Where should the line be drawn between public right to know and national security? Who should draw it—government, press, or public?

Quote from Berman:
“The question becomes, how much transparency do taxpayers deserve from this institution that they are funding? ... Where would you draw that line? And who should draw that line in the real world?”
[01:21:27]

Resources & Further Reading

• For a deeper legal analysis of the Pentagon press policy (including past Supreme Court precedents): see the host’s September 23, 2025, episode.
• The Politico article referenced for the group chat leak is linked in the sources section of the episode (available at unbiasednetwork.com).

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