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Christiane Amanpour
I'm Christiane Amanpour and I've been on the front lines and interviewing world leaders for more than 30 years.
Jamie Rubin
And I'm Jamie Rubin, a former advisor to both Presidents Clinton and Biden.
Christiane Amanpour
We were married for 20 years and divorced for seven. Now we've joined forces on the X Files to make sense of how we ended up with no world order. Listen to Christiana Manpour presents the X files on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jamie Rubin
Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. And Senator, it's nice to talk about a really important issue tonight that many Americans have become much more concerned about. That's flying. You fly a lot, I fly a lot. And you have introduced new legislation that's going to deal with what happened with that helicopter crash into the airplane right there at Reagan. Your wife was flying in that night. I remember that night. Well, in six months to the day, you've introduced this.
Ben Ferguson
Well, that's exactly right. You and I are sitting here. It is Tuesday night, six months ago to the day on January 29th, is when the horrific accident occurred over Ronald Reagan National Airport. 67 souls were killed in that accident. And this week, today, actually, I introduced legislation to dramatically improve air safety to protect the flying public. We're going to talk about that. Talk about the need to avoid any accident like that going forward. We're also going to talk about stunning evidence that's come forward that the FBI was complicit in the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. The FBI knew what they were doing and they played an active role. We're going to lay out what the head of the CIA laid out this week, all of that on today's verdict.
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Ben Ferguson
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Because the good people at Crockett Coffee also pledge to never forget. Now, let me just save you some money so you can try it and you'll understand why I love it. Go online to crocketcoffee.com use my name, Ben, and you're gonna get 20% off your first order. That's crocketcoffee.com my name, Ben. As your promo code, you'll get 20% off. And you're going to get to experience premium small batch coffee the way coffee was meant to be roasted. And it's just awesome. Done right here in the heartland as well. Crockettcoffee.com My name Ben. Is your promo code 20% off? All right, so Senator, let's go back six months in time and remind people. I remember that night. It was a night where we had that helicopter that went right into that plane that was coming down at Reagan national. And it killed so many people. It also, I think, really shook a lot of travelers to their core. And the question that was asked was like, how does this even happen? How is this possible? And now there's real legislation to keep our families safe as they fly. You fly a lot, your family flies a lot. It's something that's on a lot of people's minds.
Ben Ferguson
Well, this happened on January 29th. It was the 9th day of the Trump presidency and actually the night it Happened. I was having dinner with Mike Waltz. Mike Waltz was, at the time, President Trump's national security adviser. The two of us were talking about the national security threats to the country. We were having a great dinner. And then at the very end of the dinner, we were wrapping up and he got a text over his phone. He's like, oh, crap. He said, there was just a major crash over Reagan Airport. And so Mike rushed off to the Situation Room to deal with it from the White House. As I got up that night, it so happened. Heidi was flying into D.C. and she was landing at Reagan. And I will say, my body man came up to me and Trent, and you know, Trent is a great guy. Yeah, Trent came up to me and he said, heidi's okay, but there was a plane crash at Reagan. I gotta say, Trent did a very good job, starting with Heidi's okay, because I get, you know, when your wife's in the air like that, if you reverse those statements, that causes you to freak out. So I was very grateful. Heidi's plane was scheduled to land about a half hour after the crash. So they diverted her to BWI Airport, which is, you know, about an hour away. Heidi got home that night to our apartment. We normally live in Houston, but she was coming up that night to be with me. I gotta tell you, I just held her. I mean, you know, your wife is on a plane. It could as easily been her plane as the plane that crashed. And it was a plane, an American Airlines plane that was flying From Wichita to D.C. as it was landing at DCA Reagan Airport, an Army Black Hawk helicopter came across the landing path and collided. And there were three soldiers on the army helicopter. There were 64 people, 61 passengers and three crew member on the plane. And in an instant, they were incinerated. It was a horrific accident, I will tell you. In the wake of the accident, I went to the NTSB site where they'd pulled all the wreckage out. And the wreckage, the damage, here's the good news. I asked, I said, look, did anyone drown? Because the plane and the helicopter went down in the Potomac. And I suppose the good news is they said nobody drowned. They said the helicopter rotor struck the wing. The wing is filled with, with jet fuel, and it immediately exploded and it is essentially incinerated. Everyone. So. So they died instantly, which I've got to say, if you're gonna die in a plane crash, you'd rather die instantly than, than slowly and painfully. So I suppose there's, there's a blessing in that. But I will say standing at the NTSB site with the wreckage of the plane, the wreckage of the helicopter, and you see just charge seats, you see just pieces of the plane and helicopter. And you also saw, you know, children's backpacks and toys and luggage and all of the wreckage of 67 people who died instantly. And it was horrific. It was shocking. And look, what was frustrating is it should not have happened. It was avoidable. And so in the six months that have followed, I've chaired multiple hearings, I've had multiple roundtable discussions with ntsb, the National Traffic Safety Board, with the faa, with the Department of Transportation to say what went wrong. And there are multiple pieces of what went wrong that that should never have happened. One of the things that went wrong is the army helicopter did not have functioning ADS B out. Now, what does that mean? ADS B Out and ADS B in is advanced technology to locate where a plane is, where a helicopter is, and ADS B out broadcast to everyone. So you can get a precise, the air traffic controllers can get a precise image and other aircraft can get a precise image of exactly where that aircraft is. ADS B in is the ability to receive the signals from all the other aircrafts. So ideally, you need both. You need ADS B out so you're broadcasting the whole world and you need ADS B in where you can see the images of the other aircraft. Now, for 20 years, 20, the NTSB, the National Traffic Safety Board, has been recommending that every aircraft have ADS B in and ADS B out. That is not the law. And the Army Blackhawk helicopter did not have ADS B out that was functioning that night. So that meant the American Airlines plane could not see it until the two collided and everyone died. This week I introduced legislation, I called it the ROTOR Act. And it mandates that every aircraft, a jet helicopter, any other aircraft that is in commercial airspace, that is in the airspace where planes are flying, where the flying public is, must have both ADS B out and ADS B in. I think this is common sense legislation. I think we're going to get it passed. And I think when we get it passed, it is going to make the flying public significantly safer.
Jamie Rubin
Why did it take so long? I mean, I know there was a lot of people that said, well, it was just a cost issue. And it was a cost add on to the price of a plane. It was cost out onto small, you know, planes and different things. And that people were frustrated. They were like, this is another one of those regulations is it was as simple as that. And that's the reason why it was always basically not made a law.
Ben Ferguson
So there are different pieces of it. The FAA required ADS B out, so it required aircraft to broadcast their location so the air traffic controllers could get it and other aircraft that had ADSB and could get it. However, there was an mou, a memorandum of understanding with the army that exempted a lot of army flights. This was a training flight. This was not a vital national security flight. This was not like they were transporting nuclear secrets. This was a training flight. But they did not have functioning ADS be out on in a way that any anyone could see. I think that exemption makes no sense. And so part of the ROTOR act is ending that exemption and saying, look, if you're flying in commercial airspace, you need to have ADS B out on. That was one component. The second component is ADS B in, which is the ability to see the other signals. Now, it varies. Many, many large airline flights typically have ADS B in, but a lot of other flights do not. And, and, and the impediment, as you noted, was cost that 20 years ago it was fairly expensive to put this on. It's not that expensive anymore. And one of the things I've done over the last six months is that I've met with a lot of the stakeholders. I've met with the airlines, I've met with general aviation. I've met with a lot of the folks that are flying. And you can actually get ADS B in with an iPad and fairly inexpensive technology. So it's not. You're not talking like $100,000 upgrade on a plane. You're talking for. For relatively low cost, maybe a couple hundred, a couple thousand dollars. You can have an iPad and the technology to have ADSB in. So it doesn't cost a lot, but it makes the flying public a lot safer. And I want you to listen right now. I want you to listen first of all to what I had said about the ROTOR Act. And then I want you to listen to Secretary Duffy, the Transportation Secretary. So start with what I said at the press conference today. Well, good morning. Today is an auspicious day for aviation safety, a day marked, I hope, by a revived spirit of hope and a shared determination act in the face of an unforgettable tragedy. American skies must be as safe as possible, and our duty as lawmakers is to ensure that they are. I would like to start by thanking the individuals who are joining me for the introduction of the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform, or the ROTOR Act. Secretary Duffy, Chairwoman Homendy, Tim and Sherry Lilly, Doug Lane, and my colleagues have all worked hard to make the American Skies safer. Tim, Sherry, Doug, thank you for your courage and your advocacy. Your presence reminds us of what is at stake. You've turned your grief into purpose. We are here today because of your efforts and the memory of Tim and Sherry. Your son, Doug, your son, Doug. Your wife and son, and all of the loved ones that were lost over the Potomac. The ROTOR act represents a common sense step forward in aviation safety reform. One of the most important parts of this bill is the requirement that all aircraft, military and civilian, use both ADS B out and ADS B in. ADS B is critical for aviation safety. This technology allows aircraft to broadcast their positions and to receive positions of others in real time, faster than other technology in use today. It gives pilots and air traffic control a clear view of what is happening in the skies. The NTSB first recommended ADS B in nearly 20 years ago. We are going to make that happen this year. Make no mistake, there cannot be a double standard in aviation safety. We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights operating in congested airspace. No matter the circumstances, any aircraft flying near commercial traffic must fully adhere to safety standards. Given the communications breakdown that led to the accident, it is also important to address helicopter routes in congested commercial airspace. We cannot have commercial airplanes and helicopters on a collision course ever again. This bill is based on two core principles, technological transparency and institutional responsibility. While American Skies are among the safest globally, this safety is not always assured. I want to be clear, the Senate will lead this effort. We will not wait for another accident to happen before we act decisively to protect the American Skies. We have made it abundantly clear that when American lives are at risk, excuses are not acceptable. However, this is about more than policy. It's about people. The families standing here, they didn't ask to be a part of this story. However, they stand with the courage to ensure that it has a better ending for others. This is the kind of legacy we should all aspire to build. Thank you. And I now recognize the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to give his remarks.
Jamie Rubin
Sean, you know that the night that this plane crash happened was the night he was actually sworn in. And that was the first day on the job for him.
Ben Ferguson
I know how on the job?
Jamie Rubin
Yeah, I mean, that evening I remember seeing his family heading into where his office was going to be. And then apparently he's there and then immediately has to deal with this. And obviously that impact him in a major way. You know him well? I know Sean well. I can't imagine your first sign of the job. This is what you were dealing with. This type of tragedy. And it seems to be a real focus point for him.
Ben Ferguson
Sean is a really good man. He's become a good friend. He's doing a great job as President Trump's Secretary of Transportation. But this was baptism by fire. He had not been on the job 24 hours when this accident occurred, and he dove right in the middle of it. And he's been dealing with the aftermath. And I want you to listen to him now. At the press conference today about our legislation, here's Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
Sean Duffy
This is not partisan. Safety is not partisan. It is Democrats and Republicans, House, Senate, dot, faa, the President's administration, all of us, want to make sure we're safe. And so, Senator, I commend you for this bold effort in rallying the forces in this body to make sure we lead and make sure our skies continue to be the safest in the world. And this is one giant leap that's going to help make that happen. And I look forward to working with you and your colleagues to advance this cause. So thank you for driving again. 22 years ago, the NTSB recommended this. By the way, sometimes people get concerned about cost, and I don't think we should be concerned about cost when it comes to safety. But I was talking to the administrator of the faa. The cost to deploy this technology is not that great for commercial aircraft or for the military. We can drive safety way higher and also at a very affordable cost. That's the benefit of the advancement of technology over the course of the last 22 years. And so this is doable. And I think the American people expect this from this body, this administration, to keep them safe.
Jamie Rubin
Yeah. I mean, you wrap this up and you talk about the family members that were there for this. They want to make sure this tragedy never, ever happens to another family again. That seems to be clear, Sean. So the big question becomes, is this going to be a bipartisan thing and can you get it done?
Ben Ferguson
So I believe we will. And Listen, there are 67 families who lost a loved one that night. And those families are grieving, they're in agony, and yet they're using their agony to be advocates. And they're trying to use that horrific tragedy to change the law to protect the flying public so that there's not another family. So it's not your family or my family that sometime in the future loses a loved one on an air flight. And I want you to listen right now to Tim Lilly. Tim is the father of the American Eagle co pilot Sam Lilly, and he was flying the American plane that crashed into the Black Hawk helicopter. And actually, Tim himself was a Black Hawk pilot, so he had flown those exact routes right along Reagan Airport. So he had a lot of experience with it. And yet, tragically, he and his wife lost their son that night. Give a listen to Tim Lilly. This is not going to be Sam's legacy to die in vain. 67 really great people lost their lives that night, and there's no reason for that. What we have here is legislation, if it's passed, is going to close some very important safety loopholes so that this never has to happen again.
Jamie Rubin
It's simple, right? We're going to close these loopholes.
Ben Ferguson
Yeah. And look to see the families standing together. So, actually, this evening, I had drinks with the Secretary of the army. And the Secretary of the army met today with the families of those whose lives were lost. And he said it was a rough meeting. Look, they're pissed off. If your family was killed that night, you'd be pissed off. You'd be pissed off at the army flight that crashed into the plane. You'd be angry. You'd be saying what to change. And it was apparently, look, it was not an easy meeting. And I respect the secretary for going and listening and hearing their pain. I respect the families for channeling that pain into something productive. It's easy to just, if you lose a loved one, to mourn, to get angry, to be angry at God, to be angry at the world. I mean, that's a perfectly natural reaction. And yet I really admire these families, that they, are they feeling those sentiments? Of course. But they made the conscious decision, I'm going to channel that anger into trying to make a difference and change the laws. Now, you asked, is this going to happen? It needs to be bipartisan. Now, the bill I introduced today is not bipartisan. No Democrats have joined it. And I will say the Democrats, they filed their own legislation that is partisan legislation that they decided they wanted to tee off on President Trump and Doge and have a bunch of elements in the bill that have nothing to do with safety but have everything to do with scoring partisan points. I think that's not very productive. This bill is designed to be bipartisan, and it is one of the advantages of chairing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. I'm going to tee up this bill. We are going to mark up this bill. Every member of the Commerce Committee is going to vote on this bill. I think we're going to get overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill. It needs to be bipartisan. There's nothing in this bill that from a Republican side is partisan. There's nothing that I put that is a crazy right wing priority. This is designed to keep the flying public safer. This is a common sense provision. So I believe we will get bipartisan support. I believe it will be passed into law. And my prediction, Ben, this will be signed into law this year and it will make everyone who flies safer.
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Christiane Amanpour
Amanpour and I've been on the front lines and interviewing world leaders for more than 30 years.
Jamie Rubin
And I'm Jamie Rubin, a former advisor to both Presidents Clinton and Biden.
Christiane Amanpour
We were married for 20 years and divorced for seven. Now we've joined forces on the X Files to make sense of how we ended up with no world order. Listen to Christiana Manpour presents the X Files of the on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jamie Rubin
I want to move to the other topic that we mentioned earlier and that deals with the FBI right now and new intel that's coming out. And I, I, I. I gotta say, a lot of people are going to be shocked by it. I'm not surprised at all by this. And I want to get your take on now what we're learning about the FBI with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax and the controversial Trump Russia actions predicted with alarming accuracy by foreign actors. I mean, you look at this coming out now and it's just a joke. How incredible. This whole, I call it a play. It was a movie, it's a script. And everyone was playing with the script that they knew was a lie.
Ben Ferguson
That's right. But I want to take a minute and sort of pull the curtain back for our listeners. So we do this podcast and we do this podcast sometimes late at night. So it is 12:55am so look, Ben is half asleep. To be honest, he's been asleep for two hours and we woke him to do this. So the headline of this story says that it was predicted with alarming specificity.
Jamie Rubin
Yes, that's true.
Ben Ferguson
And I want you all to know we recorded this. And this is one of the advantages of doing a podcast. When you record it and screw it up. You can just stop and rewind and do it again. We recorded it and twice. Benjamin was unable to say the word specificity.
Jamie Rubin
He tried tough one. Specific. I can't say it now.
Ben Ferguson
See? And. And I will confess, I kept making it harder because I kept saying fecipicity. And yes, he did. He did.
Jamie Rubin
I can say that word no problem. Right? That one's easy.
Ben Ferguson
So finally, after. After twice crashing and burning on saying specificity, he just said with alarming accuracy. By the way, the quote is not accuracy, it's specificity. But.
Jamie Rubin
But I didn't say quote unquote. See, I covered myself there.
Ben Ferguson
You didn't say the word quote. But I just wanted our listeners to know that. That like the specificity with which we.
Jamie Rubin
Real at 1am that is accurate.
Ben Ferguson
Not 1am It's 12:57. You got three minutes till 1am all right, so let's cover the. But. But this is the important stuff to understand. Look, these. These are real human beings. I'm in my D.C. apartment. You're in a hotel room, I think. Is that right?
Jamie Rubin
No, I'm. I'm in a. I'm in a house in. In Pinehurst, North Carolina. So that's where the world championships is.
Ben Ferguson
Look, that, that, that. That's pretty fancy. And she. And you got to be up at like 6:30 is tea time. Is that right?
Jamie Rubin
It's 6. It's like 6:18 or something absurd.
Ben Ferguson
6:18. All right, Benjamin, while you're at tea time, I will be fast asleep.
Jamie Rubin
I believe you. I believe. And you'll be dreaming about the alarming specificity, the word. I can't.
Ben Ferguson
You still can't say it. Come on. Specificity. Just say it once.
Jamie Rubin
Specificity. There we go.
Ben Ferguson
There we go. Look at that. By the way, you know what I did Monday on the. On the flight to dc?
Jamie Rubin
Say that again.
Ben Ferguson
Do you know what I did Monday on the flight to DC?
Jamie Rubin
What did you do?
Ben Ferguson
I watched Happy Gilmore 2. Have you seen that?
Jamie Rubin
It's so good. It is so good. I love when they don't screw. When they don't screw up. A sequel like Top Gun, Maverick, they killed it, right? Happy Gilmore. It's phenomenal.
Ben Ferguson
Happy Gilmore may be better than Happy Gilmore.
Jamie Rubin
Like, I agree.
Ben Ferguson
Really good.
Jamie Rubin
And. And by the way, did you see it coming? Because I did not. When? Hold on. Spoiler alert. If you haven't watched it yet, turn it down for five seconds. When. When he killed his wife with a golf ball. I did not see that coming. Did you?
Ben Ferguson
I did not see that coming. Either. I will say, by the way, as. As a complete aside, I've gotten to know Adam Sandler's producer. You know, he's a big hoops player. I gotta tell you, I'm told that Sandler. I. I've invited him. Come play hoops with. With me, and he said yes. So. Hadn't happened yet. But I'm actually really psyched because Sandler and I are almost exactly the same age, and he's a serious ball player. And. And as you know, I play hoops twice a week. I may have.
Jamie Rubin
By the way.
Ben Ferguson
Really?
Jamie Rubin
Do I say count me in for that game? I'd like to be there for that game.
Ben Ferguson
Okay. Don't injure Adam Sandler. Like, he is a national comedic treasure. And I will say, I played hoops with you. The last time I played hoops with you, you broke your finger. You're a large.
Jamie Rubin
I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about me.
Ben Ferguson
And you throw your body around pretty physically, which I admire. Like, I'm like, screw it. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. But I'm just saying, don't end your Adam Sandler.
Jamie Rubin
There you go. That'd be one heck of a headline, right?
Ben Ferguson
All right, let's get back. We actually had a story to do, but I just had to. I had to call you out because you, like, magically edited out. You're screwing up the word and.
Jamie Rubin
Yeah.
Ben Ferguson
So I just had to, like, bring our listeners in and say, you know, sometimes the magic of podcast is not exactly what you think. All right.
Jamie Rubin
Yeah, you know, I'm right. Go for it. I'm ready.
Ben Ferguson
Go ahead, say what you're going to say.
Jamie Rubin
No, no, I was gonna say. So this is the part that laugh when you. When you do radio, like, I did three. Three hours a day. My producer Diaz, who does this show as well, when that would happen. The worst part is he's just laughing at me through the glass on the other side of the wall because it's live, and there's nothing he can do to fix it. And so he just laughs in my face. So now this is, like, my weird revenge, because for how many years have we worked here, Diaz? 12, 13, 14. I don't even know how many it is. He just used to just laugh at me, and now he actually has to go back and fix it. So I'm like, the joke's on you, buddy. The joke's on you. So, yeah, when it's live, there's nothing you can do about it. So with all that specificity, the word I can't say is still denied for some reason. Let's get back to the FBI story.
Ben Ferguson
I've reported on this story with alarming fecipicity. And let me read from the Fox News story. Quote, US Intelligence has credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump Russia collusion narrative before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe. Sources familiar with the intel told Fox News Digital CIA Director John Ratcliffe is expected to declassify the underlying intelligence, including a classified annex related to former special counsel John Durham's investigation into the origins of the Trump Russia probe. A source familiar with the contents of the classified annex told Fox News Digital that while it may not have been exactly clear in the moment what the intelligence collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted the FBI's move with alarming specificity. And it goes on to say, bingo, there's your quote. There you go. Quote, Ultimately, the release of the classified annex will lend more credibility to the assertion that there was a coordinated plan inside the US Government to help the Clinton campaign stir up controversy connecting Trump to Russia. The source, who was granted anonymity, discussed the sensitive intelligence matters that have not yet been made public, told Fox News Digital, quote, mere days after this intelligence was collected, the FBI launched Crossfire Hurricane. The source said, quote, it is really hard to see how Brennan Clapper and Comey are going to be able to explain this away.
Jamie Rubin
You put that in perspective, and I think it's fair to say at this point, everything we were hearing during the back of the day on this, it was all just straight up government propaganda. And the media was 100% in on it.
Ben Ferguson
Well, it was not just government propaganda. It was driven by the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was opposition research that they paid for and then they gave to the Obama administration to launder it. They laundered it through the FBI, they laundered it through the Department of Justice. And in it was the federal government attacking Donald Trump because they did not want Donald Trump to be president. And the degree to which the government was complicit in partisan politics, but not just partisan politics. Partisan politics. That was false. That was a lie. This was made up. The Russia hoax was a hoax. It was concocted through the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was laundered through the FBI and the Department of Justice, and it was a lie. That was a political attack job. And I want to commend John Ratcliffe, the head of the CIA, a good friend of mine, for making this public for drawing accountability and truth to what occurred.
Jamie Rubin
What do you think is going to come from this? Because there's so many, I think, disgruntled and frustrated Americans that hear those things like, all right, we're now getting more and more confirmation this happened. Will there be any real accountability? And does this move us closer to that?
Ben Ferguson
So I hope so. There needs to be accountability. And I will say you have Tulsi Gabbard who released her bombshell information about the degree of the complicity of the administration. And if you didn't hear our podcast last week on this, you should listen to the podcast on Tulsi Gabbard's bombshell information. I hope there is accountability. I call on the Department of Justice. I also had, when I was having drinks with the Army Secretary, I also had drinks with the deputy Attorney General of the United States. And so I was urging doj, follow the facts and prosecute anyone who is complicit. There are challenges because some of the people who were involved in this, their criminal conduct was before the statute of limitations expired. And so it is harder to prosecute someone who committed criminal conduct after the statute of limitations has expired. Andrew McCabe, who was the deputy director of the FBI, he testified before Congress, he testified falsely. And the statute of limitations has not yet expired on his testimony. So if I were to predict the single most likely person in the Obama administration to face prosecution, it would be Andrew McCabe because there's still a window where he lied to Congress and it's within the statute of limitations.
Jamie Rubin
Really incredible. We're going to keep you updated on all this. Don't forget to hit that subscribe or auto download button. Share this podcast and please write us a five star review. It helps us reach more people out there on the charts. And the Senator and I will see you back here in a couple of days.
Ryan Seacrest
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Ben Ferguson
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Christiane Amanpour
I'm Christiana Manpour and I've been on the front lines and interviewing world leaders for more than 30 years.
Jamie Rubin
And I'm Jamie Rubin, a former advisor to both Presidents Clinton and Biden.
Christiane Amanpour
We were married for 20 years and divorced for seven. Now we've joined forces on the X Files to make sense of how we ended up with no world order. Listen to Christiane Amanpour presents the X files on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Ted Cruz
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Verdict with Ted Cruz: Episode Summary
Podcast Information:
Episode: Major Legislation to Protect the Flying Public, plus New Evidence FBI Complicit in Russia Hoax
Release Date: July 30, 2025
The episode opens with Ben Ferguson recounting the tragic helicopter crash over Ronald Reagan National Airport that occurred six months prior to the airing. On January 29th, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight during landing, resulting in the instantaneous deaths of 67 individuals, including passengers and crew.
Notable Quote:
"67 souls were killed in that accident." — Ben Ferguson [01:05]
In response to the preventable nature of the crash, Senator Ted Cruz introduced the ROTOR Act (Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform). This legislation mandates that all aircraft operating in commercial airspace, including military helicopters, must be equipped with both ADS-B Out and ADS-B In technologies to enhance situational awareness and prevent future collisions.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"The ROTOR Act represents a common sense step forward in aviation safety reform." — Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation [10:16]
Over the past six months, Cruz has engaged with various stakeholders, including airlines, general aviation authorities, and technological experts, to advocate for the ROTOR Act. Advances in technology have made the implementation of ADS-B systems more affordable, debunking previous cost-related objections.
Notable Quote:
"The cost to deploy this technology is not that great for commercial aircraft or for the military. We can drive safety way higher and also at a very affordable cost." — Sean Duffy [17:30]
The episode highlights personal testimonies from those affected by the crash, including Tim Lilly, the father of the American Eagle co-pilot, Sam Lilly, who perished in the accident. Tim Lilly emphasizes the necessity of the ROTOR Act to ensure such a tragedy never repeats.
Notable Quote:
"What we have here is legislation, if it's passed, is going to close some very important safety loopholes so that this never has to happen again." — Ben Ferguson [19:06]
Senator Cruz expresses optimism about garnering bipartisan support for the ROTOR Act, emphasizing its non-partisan nature focused solely on enhancing aviation safety. He criticizes opposing efforts as being politicized and stresses the importance of cooperation across the aisle.
Notable Quote:
"I believe we will get overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill. It needs to be bipartisan. There's nothing in this bill from a Republican side that is partisan." — Ben Ferguson [20:30]
The conversation shifts to emerging evidence suggesting that the FBI played a behind-the-scenes role in orchestrating the Russia collusion narrative during the Trump administration. Sources indicate that the FBI had premeditated plans to link Trump to Russia even before launching the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Notable Quote:
"US Intelligence has credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump Russia collusion narrative before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe." — Fox News Digital Report [27:35]
Ben Ferguson delves into the implications of this evidence, highlighting the role of the Hillary Clinton campaign in funding opposition research that was subsequently funneled through the FBI and Department of Justice to undermine Trump's presidency. He underscores the lack of accountability and the politicization of federal agencies.
Notable Quote:
"The Russia hoax was a hoax. It was concocted through the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was laundered through the FBI and the Department of Justice, and it was a lie." — Ben Ferguson [34:53]
The discussion turns to the potential for holding individuals accountable, particularly focusing on Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, who may face legal repercussions for false testimony before Congress related to the investigation.
Notable Quote:
"If I were to predict the single most likely person in the Obama administration to face prosecution, it would be Andrew McCabe because there's still a window where he lied to Congress and it's within the statute of limitations." — Ben Ferguson [35:08]
Ferguson calls on the Department of Justice to pursue accountability vigorously, emphasizing the importance of prosecuting those complicit in the orchestrated political attacks against Trump. He references Tulsi Gabbard's revelations as further evidence of systemic corruption.
Notable Quote:
"I call on the Department of Justice. I also had, when I was having drinks with the Army Secretary, I also had drinks with the deputy Attorney General of the United States. And so I was urging DOJ, follow the facts and prosecute anyone who is complicit." — Ben Ferguson [35:08]
The episode wraps up with a commitment to continue monitoring these critical issues, urging listeners to stay informed and engaged. Senator Cruz remains hopeful that both the ROTOR Act and the accountability for the Russia hoax will progress successfully, enhancing safety and integrity in both aviation and federal investigations.
Notable Quote:
"This bill is designed to be bipartisan, and it is one of the advantages of chairing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. I'm going to tee up this bill. We are going to mark up this bill. Every member of the Commerce Committee is going to vote on this bill. I think we're going to get overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill. It needs to be bipartisan." — Ben Ferguson [20:30]
Additional Notes: