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UNBIASED Politics
UNBIASED Politics (7/25/25): Deputy AG Meets with Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump Admin Accuses Obama Admin of "Treasonous Behavior," MLK Jr. Assassination Documents Released, and More.
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Host
Okay, so I've debated whether I should tell you this because I feel like you're going to think I'm crazy, but whatever. I've never really cared what people thought about me, so why am I gonna start now? Whenever I go on vacation, I bring my Cozy Earth bamboo sheet to sleep with. And I'm not just saying that because they're a sponsor of the show. I truly love my cozy earth sheets. I have them on my bed at home. Whenever I leave home, I bring the top sheet with me. And there's kind of a few reasons why I do this. One, the sheets are just so comfortable. Two. Two, I feel like I'm sleeping in my own bed when I bring the sheet. And three, because the sheets are temperature regulating, so it improves my sleep quality and I don't really sleep well when I'm not in my own bed. I need all the help I can get. So this sheet really comes to the rescue. Did you know that cooler temperatures facilitate the body's natural drop in core temperature at night, which then promotes the release of melatonin and leads to faster sleep onset as well as improved sleep quality. How cool. So I love that about the temperature regulating sheets. I love upgrade your summer. Go to cozyearth.com and use code UNBIASED for 40% off. Best selling temperature regulating sheets, apparel and more. That's 40% off by going to cozyearth.com and using code Unbiased at checkout. Trust me, you'll feel the difference the very first night. Sleep cooler lounge lighter. Stay cozy. Welcome back to Unbiased, your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis. Welcome back to Unbiased Politics. Today is Friday, July 25th. Let's talk about some news. Sorry for the delay, by the way. I tried my best to get the episode out last night, but with my travel day on Wednesday and I'm feeling a bit under the weather, I just couldn't make it happen. Let's not delay any longer though. Let's get started with the first story of the day, which is really kind of five stories in one. So over the last week or so, there have been a lot of Epstein saga updates. So what I'm going to do is I'm just going to break it down by update. The first update is that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Ghislaine Maxwell first. What I want to do is I want to go over who Ghislaine Maxwell is and why she's relevant in this situation and then I'll get into what we know about the meeting and, you know, what Blanche has said and what Maxwell's attorney has said and all of that. So Ghislaine Maxwell was Epstein's girlfriend and co conspirator. She was often the one that would help Epstein recruit girls for his sex trafficking ring. And she was found to be involved in in a lot of his crimes and in 2022, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Based on the information that we know from her trial, we know that she worked with Epstein for at least 10 years and that she, like I briefly mentioned, helped Epstein recruit, groom, and ultimately sexually abuse girls. Sex, some under the age of 18. Maxwell, though, actually denies abusing anyone. She claims instead that she has become a scapegoat since Epstein's death in 2019. Now, ever since the DOJ and FBI released that joint Epstein memo earlier this month, basically saying there was nothing left to disclose in the case and that the Epstein files would not be made public, the spotlight has kind of turned back to Maxwell because unlike Epstein, Maxwell is still very much alive. And given how much involvement she had with Epstein, the thought is that if anyone knows the answers to the unanswered questions that people have, it's likely her. So Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch, under the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, initiated contact with Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team to arrange this meeting. And we know that that meeting happened yesterday. As far as why Blanche sought the meeting, he said, quote, president Trump has told us to release all credible evidence if Ghislaine Maxwell has any information about anyone who has committed crime victims, the FBI and DOJ will hear what she has to say, end quote. Blanche also wrote on X, quote, justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask, what do you know at Attorney General Bondi's discretion or direction? I've contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law and no lead is off limits, end quote. For following the meeting yesterday, Blanche wrote on X quote, today I met with Giselle Maxwell and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow. The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time, end quote. Speaking to reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Maxwell's attorney said Maxwell and Blanche had a, quote, very productive day, end quote. He said that, quote, blanche took a full day and asked a lot of questions and that, quote, Ms. Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped, she never invoked a privilege, she never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability, end quote. We know that Maxwell is reportedly working on compiling new evidence related to alleged government misconduct stemming from her 2021 trial, and she's wanting to hand that evidence over to the DOJ for them to take a closer look. So, at least from what it seems, there will be some sort of mutual benefit here, but we don't know too much about what that potential mutual benefit looks like at this point. The next update that we need to talk about is the House Oversight Committee voting to subpoena both Ghislaine Maxwell and the doj. Representative Ted Burchett, who led the committee's vote in subpoenaing Maxwell, said in a press release, quote, Ms. Maxwell is widely known for her role in facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation. Her sworn deposition will help shed light on the extent of Epstein's criminal network efforts to conceal his crimes and the COVID up that followed. The subpoena is a critical step towards transparency and accountability for victims of abuse and for the American people, end quote. Burchette also told reporters, quote, she's the last one standing. There's nobody else alive that can tell us anything. I, I'd like to get her there before she's allowed to commit suicide as well. I'm just tired of it, end quote. Now, typically when we see the, the House issue these subpoenas, the individuals that receive the subpoenas have to sit before the committee and answer questions. This typically happens on Capitol Hill. In Maxwell's case, though, things will probably look a little bit different because she's currently sitting in jail. Right. So instead of bringing Maxwell to D.C. to testify before the committee, it'll probably look more like a deposition at either her place of incarceration in Tallahassee or, or the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, which is where her meeting with the Deputy Attorney General took place yesterday. And for those unfamiliar with depositions, first of all, consider yourself lucky because they are one of the least fun things to sit through. But second, a deposition is a sworn out of court testimony, so you're still under oath. You're just not sitting in a courtroom or in front of Congress. In other words, you have to tell the truth to the questions asked of you, otherwise you risk perjuring yourself. Burchette and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer did acknowledge the complicated nature of her subpoena, but said they will still make it happen. They said, quote, she's in jail, which makes it complicated. It's going to require a lot of communication back and forth between attorneys. But the bottom line is we're going to be aggressive and try to get her to talk as quickly as possible, end quote. As of now, that deposition is scheduled to take place on August 11th at 10:00am Eastern Time. As for the DOJ's subpoena, this is something the House Oversight Committee voted on on Wednesday. It passed in an 8 to 2 vote with three Republicans joining all Democrats on the committee. Basically, what this means is the DOJ will have to give Congress the Epstein files that they have in their possession with the victim's names redacted. Once those are turned over, the files will then be reviewed by the committee. But it's unlikely they would be made public after that review. Now, where things could potentially get a little dicey is if the DOJ refuses to hand over the documents. Because, you know, in that case, Congress could hold the DOJ in contempt. But in order to enforce a contempt finding, Congress would have to refer to the case, refer the case to the DOJ itself, and most likely the DOJ isn't going to prosecute itself. Right. In other words, the remedies for noncompliance here are a bit limited, but that's kind of putting the cart before the horse. So we'll hold off on that discussion for now and, and we'll wait to see whether the DOJ hands over the files in compliance with this subpoena. Now, the third update we have to cover is Trump, or I should say the Trump administration, asking federal judges to unseal grand jury testimony from Epstein's cases and Maxwell's case. Last Friday, the DOJ filed requests with three different judges, two in New York, one in Florida, to unseal grand jury trans transcripts from past investigations involving Epstein and Maxwell. Keep in mind, the reason these records are currently under seal is because grand jury testimony and documents, they have special protections in place to protect the victims and witnesses involved. Because of this, judges rarely agree to grant public access. Judges do have the authority to release grand jury transcripts, but only in special circumstances for special exceptions. Generally, the exception is if there's a compelling and specific need that outweighs the public interest in secrecy. So, as an example, a historian as well as the National Security Archive once petitioned a court to unseal President Nixon's grand jury testimony from 1975. The judge ultimately agreed to unseal the testimony and noted that the historical significance and public interest in the Watergate scandal and outweighed the interest of secrecy. So if the Trump administration can show that there's some compelling and specific interest or need that outweighs the public interest in secrecy, perhaps one of the judges agrees to unseal the transcripts. On Tuesday, both judges in New York ordered the administration to file their legal arguments laying out the special circumstances that would justify disclosing the materials. The administration has until July 29th to do that. From there, the courts will determine whether the grand jury transcripts can be made public. Victims as well as Maxwell's legal team have until August 5th to raise objections. Notably, the judge in Florida already denied the administration's request to unseal the testimony and has since closed the case. That judge said that the Justice Department failed to provide sufficient arguments that would justify unsealing the records and that this situation does not constitute an exception to the very strict secrecy laws in Florida. Florida. Now, what I want to be very clear about is that these grand jury transcripts would have been included in the Epstein files that the DOJ and FBI has already reviewed. So if these transcripts are made public, number one, this information won't be new to the government. And you know, the reason the administration is trying to unseal them is because the administration can't release them unless the court says it's okay. The second thing is we know after their, quote, unquote extensive review, the DOJ and FBI said that these files in did not reveal an incriminating client list and that there is no new information to disclose. So it's unclear why the administration is trying to unseal the grand jury testimony if there's seemingly nothing there. The fourth update to discuss is the House putting off an Epstein vote ahead of their month and a half long recess. The House left for its five week August recess a day early this year despite rising tensions over efforts within the House to force the release of the Epstein files. Speaker Johnson's decision to end the legislative session a day early was widely interpreted as an effort to avoid forcing members to vote on an issue that could very well divide the Republican caucus. Johnson has expressed that he wants to give the administration space to make decisions about releasing the files on their own and that he doesn't believe there is a point where congressional action is necessary or appropriate. He also said that Republicans were done being lectured about transparency and that he would not allow Democrats to, quote, continue with their nonsense this week, end quote. To be clear, what was going on here is prior to the recess, Democrats had planned what are known as force votes. Basically, these are procedural moves that try to bring an issue to a vote even if leadership isn't on board. It's a way to get members on the record, especially when the topic is politically sensitive or. Or something party leaders would rather avoid. These are typically used to pressure lawmakers into taking a public stance on controversial topics or to highlight the political divide on a particular issue. In this case, Democrats wanted to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files, which is, of course, an issue that's become more complex for Republicans. However, because Speaker Johnson decided to end the session a day early, Democrats weren't able to force the vote. And this will instead be something that'll likely be voted on when they come back from their research recess in early September, should the Democrats still be interested in forcing a vote. Now, the fifth and final update we have to talk about is this new Wall Street Journal report claiming that Attorney General Bondi informed President Trump back in May that his name was in the Epstein files. Here's what we know. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that in a briefing between Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Trump back in May, Bondi told Trump that his name appeared in the files. The briefing was meant to cover the DOJ's findings more broadly, which is typical for a routine briefing like this one. Remember, Trump had ordered the DOJ to review the Epstein files and then come back to him with their findings. So that's what this briefing was about. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump's name being in the Epstein files was allegedly not the focus of the briefing and did not imply wrongdoing at that same meeting. Bondi also raised the names of several high profile figures who were similarly mentioned in those files. The Trump administration has responded to the Wall Street Journal's report saying, quote, this is another fake news story, just like the previous story by the Wall Street Journal, end quote. And that comment was referencing the Wall Street Journal's recent report that Trump had sent Epstein a birthday letter with the sketch of a naked woman. Keep in mind, by the way, we've known that Trump's name is in the documents, right? Trump and Epstein were friends for years. Trump had chartered Epstein's plane on various occasions and Epstein attended Trump's first wedding. We've known that they were connected. His name being in those files is nothing new. What we don't know is in what context Trump's name is in the files and whether Trump was briefed on those contacts by Bondi. Okay, so those were the five updates that we needed to cover. We will return to an Epstein related story in the Rumor has It segment because some of you wanted to know whether Trump's name was scrubbed from the files, so. So stay tuned for that. That'll be towards the end of this episode. Let's take our first quick break here. When we come back, we'll talk about the release of the MLK files, these new claims against the Obama administration, and more. The season to enjoy and do all the things that we've been waiting for is finally here. So we need to make an effort to do less of the things that we don't want to do. You know, like spending time at the grocery store. Now is the time to make your summer both enjoyable and delicious by getting the number one meal kit as voted by USA Today's readers. HelloFresh HelloFresh delivers fresh ingredients straight to your door along with recipe cards. So it really just takes all of the hard work out of cooking and the directions are super easy to follow. 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Welcome back. On Monday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of thousands of files related to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As we know, back in January, President Trump signed an executive order that was titled Declassification of Records concerning the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now, this order directed the Director of National Intelligence, the Attorney General and the Assistant to the President for National Security affairs to review the documents related to these assassinations and present a plan plan to the President for their release. This release was coordinated across several federal agencies, including the doj, FBI, CIA and the National Archives, with the goal of, quote, promoting government transparency, end quote. Now, to fully understand the significance of these newly released files, it's important to discuss the full context of King's assassination. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As I'm sure many of you know, was a famous civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1960. He was shot while he was standing on the balcony of his hotel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, who was a career criminal, was later arrested for King's murder following an investigation and an international manhunt. Following Ray's indictment, he was extradited to Memphis where he pled guilty to the murder of King and was subsequently sentenced to 99 years in prison. However, just three days after his confession, Ray renounced his pleasure plea and maintained his innocence for the next 28 years until he died. In fact, at one point he claimed that he had been framed by another individual. Questions about MLK jr's assassination have persisted for decades, fueling conspiracy theories about additional co conspirators and government involvement. Specifically, in the years after his assassination, we learned that King had actually been targeted by the FBI and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. And, and this disclosure resulted in, like I said, questions about potential government involvement in King's assassination. On top of just that co conspirator theory, now it was more so about government involvement. As it turned out, King was surveilled under the FBI's COINTELPRO program which ran from 1956 to 1971. The program was initially created to disrupt activities of the Communist Party in the United States, but it was later expanded to include a number of other domestic groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the Socialist Workers Party and the Black Panther Party. Notably, a court imposed order that was issued back in 1977 required that documents related to this program remain under seal for 50 years. So those particular documents are set to be released on January 31, 2027. They are still under seal. They were not included in the recent release, but because they are protected by that court order. Since King's assassination, the government has revisited his death several times. And these investigations really only fueled the theories of government involvement and I'll talk about why. So the original investigation, which was conducted by the FBI in 1968, found that James Earl Wright acted alone. But then eight years later in 1976, Congress launched its own investigation by establishing the House Select Committee on Assassination. And. And the committee's final report suggested that Ray may have had co conspirators, but still concluded that there was no convincing evidence of government involvement. Well then in 1999, the King family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a man named Lloyd Jowers. Jowers had claimed that he had been paid $100,000 by a local produce merchant with alleged Mafia ties to organize King's assassination. He said that James Earl Ray did not shoot King and and instead identified Memphis Police Lt. Earl Clark as the actual shooter. Now the family ended up winning that lawsuit because the jury found within an hour that King had been killed via a conspiracy involving Jowers and government agencies. Following that verdict, the DOJ investigated Jowers's allegations. But in 2000 they found that his accounts were inconsistent and contradictory, included unreliable evidence and, and that there was no credible proof of a conspiracy involving government officials or organized crime. The DOJ reaffirmed James Earl Ray as the lone assassin. Still, these federal investigations, combined with the fact that the family won that 1999 wrongful death suit, just kind of further fueled these theories surrounding King's assassination. Particularly that the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover facilitated King's assassination, framed Ray, and that there was Mafia and military involvement. So that's some background for you. In total, this week's release contained around 230,000 pages of documents, according to a press release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Quote, the documents include details about the FBI's investigation into the assassination of MLK, including the discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, and documents related to James Earl Ray's former cellmate, who said he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot. Additionally, as James Earl Ray fled the country following the assassination, the release includes unique foreign evidence from a Canadian police department and never before seen CIA records that outline overseas intelligence on the international hunt for the prime suspect in the assassination, end quote. As I mentioned earlier, the release did not include tapes or Transcripts of the FBI's Wiretapping and Surveillance during that COINTEL program because those will remain under court seal until 2027. Now, despite the amount of documents released, the files don't appear to include any major revelations. The majority of the files contain details that have been known publicly for years. However, the documents do confirm FBI surveillance of King and a more detailed account of the FBI's investigation into King's assassination and his anti poverty and anti war campaign. So that's really the extent of what we learned from those files. But like I said, the majority of information in those files had already been publicly known for the most part. Moving on, let's talk about these intelligence claims by the Trump administration against the Obama administration. Last Friday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a report that she said implicated members of the Obama administration for, quote, unquote, treasonous behavior during the 2016 election. Gabbard's initial release declassified emails between Obama aides and argued that the officials had suppressed findings that there was no Russian interference in the 2016 election and instead confirmed that there was Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since that initial release last Friday, Gabbard released more information that she says supports, supports the administration's claims. But what I want to talk about the first release first and then we'll talk about the second release. So the first release consisted of those declassified emails between Obama aides Gabbard essentially claims that the Obama administration manipulated intelligence findings to fit their narrative and smear Trump post 2016 election. The claim stems from the following. Prior to the 2016 election, intelligence reports concluded that Russia was not interfering with the election. But then after the November 2016 election, after Trump had won, the intelligence community released a new report under Obama's direction that found Russia had influenced the election to sway public opinion away from Clinton and in favor of Trump. So, in the simplest of terms, before the election, intelligence reports showed no Russian interference. After the election, intelligence reports found Russian interference. Gabbard is using this newly released information to claim that the Obama administration suppressed and manipulated internal assessments to support the narrative that Russia was intervening in the 2016 election to help Trump. It's important to note, though, that multiple reports since the Obama administration, including a bipartisan report and independent reports during the Trump administration, confirmed that Russia was interfering in the 2016 election. And Gabbard, at least so far, is not denying that in instead, she's taking issue with the timing of it all and with how the information was presented by the Obama administration specifically. Gabbard's press release reads, quote, on Friday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed overwhelming evidence that demonstrates how after President Trump won the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, President Obama and his National Security Cabinet members manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years long coup against President Trump. End quote goes on to say the report significantly finds the following, that before the 2016 election, intelligence agencies assessed that Russia was likely not using cyber means to influence the outcome. In December 2016, the Director of National Intelligence said foreign cyber attacks did not alter the election. In December 2016, just a couple days later, Obama requested a new assessment detailing Russia's election activities. Obama officials allegedly leaked false statements to media outlets that Russia interfered via cyber means. And in January 2017, a new joint assessment was released that contradicted earlier intelligence reports stating Russia now did try to influence the election. So following that initial release by Gabbard, Gabbard told Fox News in part, quote, there is no rational or logical explanation for why they failed in regards to why Obama officials had never been found to have participated in conspiracy. The only logical conclusion that I can draw is this, is that there was direct intent to cover up the truth about what occurred and who is responsible and the broad network of how this sedatious conspiracy was concocted and who exactly was responsible for carrying it out, end quote. All right, so I know this is kind of an odd place for our second and final quick break, but we got to fit it in. So when we come back, we'll talk about the most recent release from Gabbard, which was on Wednesday, and and how that release ties into everything we've already talked about. And then we'll finish the episode with some quick hitters, rumor has it, and critical thinking.
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Tulsi Gabbard
You say you'll never join the Navy, never climb Mount Fuji on a port visit, or break the sound barrier. Joining the Navy sounds crazy. Saying never actually is. Learn why@navy.com America's Navy forged by the Sea Support for this podcast and the following message comes from America's Navy the Navy offers new graduates hands on training and experience in careers like computer science, aviation and medicine, plus education. And sign on bonuses Parents help your grads start their career today@navy.com welcome back.
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Host
Before we took a break, we talked about Gabbard's initial release last Friday, which included emails from various Obama administration officials that seemingly showed Obama ordered a new intelligence assessment post post2016 election that would ultimately show Russian interference. More recently, on Wednesday, Gabbard went ahead and released a 44 page report drafted by the Republican led House intelligence committee in 2017. This report had not been released previously and it it basically opposes the joint intelligence finding of Russian interference allegedly ordered by Obama. So basically he Gabbard released this House report to add further proof that the allegations of Russian interference were manufactured by the Obama administration. The House report said the CIA, quote, did not adhere to the tenants, end quote of analytical standards and said the conclusion that Putin took actions to benefit Trump was based on, quote, one scant, unclear and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports, end quote. The House report argued that while most of the Judgments of the 2016 intelligence agencies were sound, the work was rushed and did not follow professional criteria as a result of Obama's aim to investigate the election before leaving office. The House report appears to show that Obama sought a complete review of possible Russian interference in the election before he left office and directed agencies to work quickly. None of the evidence in the newly released documents though necessarily points to criminal behavior. Critics of Gabbard's claim argue a couple of things. So first they say that the earlier intelligence assessments that said there was no Russian interference didn't actually contradict later findings that found Russian interference. Instead, they say the findings evolved as more information became available. Critics also point to bipartisan 2017 and 2020 investigations which which were both completed while Trump was in office and confirmed Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. Specifically, the 2017 joint assessment, which involved the DHS, CIA, FBI, NSA, and ODNI, found Russian interference. That is the assessment Gabbard is claiming was ordered by President Obama. Then the Senate Intel Committee, which consists of Republican and Democratic senators, found Russian interference in 2020. And the Mueller report in 2020, which was done by the DOJ, also found illegal Russian interference. Gabbard has said she'll, quote, be referring all of the documents that we have uncovered to the Department of Justice and the FBI for a criminal referral. She also said, quote, in my view, we have the evidence to be able to move forward and bring about justice. Yes, to prosecute and indict those responsible, end quote. In a press conference on July 22, Trump praised Gabbard for her findings and said that Gabbard's report, quote, caught President Obama absolutely cold and there should be severe consequences for that, end quote. Trump also said, quote, after what they did to me and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people. Obama's been caught directly. Look, he's guilty. This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election, end quote. Obama's team has since responded to the situation, saying, quote, out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response, but these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election, but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee led by then Chairman Marco Rubio, end quote. And just to touch on that quickly before we jump off to the next story. Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on that bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee that found Russian involvement in 2020. So the Russian involvement was determined in 2020. Obviously, the Russian involvement happened in 2016, per that report. At the time of that report's release in 2020, Rubio said, quote, over the last three years, the Senate Intelligence Committee conducted a bipartisan and thorough investigation and into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and undermine our democracy. We interviewed over 200 witnesses and reviewed over 1 million pages of documents. No probe into this matter has been more exhaustive. We can say without any hesitation that the committee found absolutely no evidence that then candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election. What the committee did find, however, is very troubling, which we found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling, end quote. All right, let's move on to some quick hitters, starting with the Department of Education opening civil rights investigations into five universities, those being the University of Louisville, University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan and Western Michigan. These investigations are over scholarships exclusively available to DACA students. The investigations stem from complaints filed by the conservative Legal Insurrection Foundation's Equal Protection Project alleging that such scholarships constitute unlawful national origin discrimination. Education Secretary Linda McMahon emphasized that American citizens should not be disadvantaged in scholarship eligibility. According to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Tick Tock now faces a September 17th deadline to be sold to a US approved buyer or it will be forced to shut down operations in the United States. This is pending China's approval of a deal. Lutnick said TikTok will quote, unquote go dark for approximately 170 million American users if ByteDance and Beijing don't agree to U.S. control, especially over the app's algorithm and technology. Lutnick emphasized that while ByteDance might retain a minority stake, full U.S. control would be non negotiable. And a Pentagon Inspector General investigation has found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's signal messages detailing planned U.S. airstrikes in Yemen originated from a classified email. This evidence, if true, directly contradicts the administration's claim that no classified information was shared over the signal app. Columbia University has agreed to pay approximately $200 million over the next three years, plus $21 million to resolve EEOC investigations in order to settle multiple federal probes initiated by the Trump administration concerning campus anti Semitism and civil rights compliance. In Exchange, more than $400 million in previously frozen federal research funding has been or will be restored and the University will retain access to billions of dollars in current and future grants. The settlement includes requirements for major reforms including eliminating race based outcomes in DEI programming, revising Middle Eastern studies curriculum, enhancing Jewish student support, tightening protest rules and instituting oversight by an independent monitor. Columbia did not admit wrongdoing but acknowledged the need for reform. And finally, the FCC officially approved an approximately $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media following a months long review process. The merger includes transfer of broadcast licenses for 28 CBS owned stations and is expected to finalize within weeks. FCC approval is conditional upon Skydance eliminating CBS's DEI programs and establishing an independent monitor to address editorial bias concerns. Notably, Paramount recently settled its $16 million lawsuit filed by President Trump over the alleged manipulative editing of Kamala Harris's 60 Minutes interview. So this FCC approval follows that settlement agreement. And now it's time for My Rumor has a segment where I either confirm, dispel and or add context to recent rumors submitted by all of you. Starting with Rumor has it that the Trump administration is burning and destroying 500 tons of food. This is true, but let's add some context. The food in question is about 500 tons of US aid emergency food that is currently being stored in the Middle east, specifically in Dubai. The specific type of food is a high energy, nutrient dense biscuit. 500 tons is reportedly enough to feed about 27,000 people for a month. According to the administration. These biscuits are expiring next month and that is why they're being destroyed. In a press briefing last week, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce defended the decision to destroy the food, telling reporters, quote, if something is expired, we will destroy it. It's a matter of whether or not it's safe to distribute, end quote. She noted that the 500 metric tons represents less than 1% of the food aid that the US distributes annually and that the stores in question had been stockpiled in the event of an emergency and were never used. Last week, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News that the food had been purchased under the Biden admin and purchased as a contingency for needs beyond projections, which resulted in the inability to deplete the food before its expiration date. The spokesperson added, quote, usaid has had to destroy commodities under previous administrations with similar circumstances. This is not unique. High energy biscuits are specifically meant for populations that are moving from one place to another, such as in the wake of a natural disaster or fleeing from conflict. We currently have high energy biscuits in warehouses around the world for those most in need, end quote. As far as the destruction of commodities under previous administration administrations, which is what the spokesperson referenced, we do not have publicly documented across administration data sets that would quantify how many metric tons of US Aid food is destroyed each year. So I unfortunately don't have hard numbers to give you to compare. And rumor has it that President Trump's name was scrubbed from the Epstein files. This is seemingly false, but let's add context first. There is no evidence to suggest that the Trump administration ordered the scrubbing complete removal or redaction of Trump's name from the Epstein files. However, there is some evidence to suggest the FBI may have been directed to flag documents containing Trump's name. Here's what we know. In a July 18 letter from Democratic Senator Dick Durbin to FBI Director Cash Patel, Durbin wrote in part, quote, according to information my office received, Attorney General Bondi pressured the FBI to put approximately 1,000 personnel in its Information Management Division, including the Record Information Dissemination section, which handles all requests submitted by the public under the Freedom of Information act and Privacy act, on 24 hour shifts to review approximately 100,000 Epstein related records in order to produce more documents that could then be released on an arbitrary short deadline. The letter then said, my office was told that these personnel were instructed to flag and any records in which President Trump was mentioned, end quote. And that is the extent of the evidence that letter from Senator Dick Durbin. It's not clear from the letter from what source the Senator's office may have been informed about this directive. It's also not clear whether other congressional offices receive similar information. The letter asked Patel to respond with additional information by August 1st. Patel has not publicly issued a response yet. And now it's time to finish the episode with some critical thinking. The critical thinking segment is not meant to be too complex. It is not meant to stump you. It is just meant to get you thinking deeper about a particular story or issue. So for today, let's revisit the Trump administration versus Obama administration, quote, unquote treasonous behavior story. My first question for you is this. If intelligence assessments evolve over time, as more data is collected and new analysis emerges, how do we differentiate between a genuine update and political manipulation? Should agencies be more transparent about how and why their conclusions shift? Or is there some other remedy? My second question is do you think the timing of Obama's post election intelligence assessment undermines its credibility? Or was it reasonable for the Obama administration to reevaluate Russia's involvement once the full scope of the interference became more clear? And then finally, if you believe that one party use intelligence to discredit an incoming administration, would you apply the same scrutiny if the roles were reversed? In other words, how do we protect the integrity of our intelligence agencies regardless of who's in power? That's what I have for you today. Thank you so much for being here. As always. Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter if you're not subscribed already. That's always a great thing to do. I always have the link in the show notes. Have a great weekend and I will hopefully, if all goes well, talk to you on Monday. Like I said, I'm feeling a little bit under the weather, but I'm hoping it's just kind of like a post travel day fluke. So I'll plan to talk to you on Monday.
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