WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.600 OK, let's unpack this. Welcome to the deep dive. 00:00:03.819 --> 00:00:08.019 Hello. Today we're diving deep into, well, a 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:10.259 really intense collection of sources. They give 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:14.580 us a raw snapshot of some major political and 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:16.879 legal conflicts happening right now. Yeah, quite 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.820 a mix. And our mission for you, our listener, 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:23.899 is to pull out the key insights, maybe some surprising 00:00:23.899 --> 00:00:25.940 facts, and just help you cut through all the 00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:28.219 noise to see what's really important. We've got 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:32.020 everything from a really shocking event to critical 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:35.950 legal rulings, high stakes politics. A lot to 00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:37.890 cover. And what's fascinating as we look through 00:00:37.890 --> 00:00:40.229 this stuff is how connected it all is, you know? 00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:42.810 These aren't isolated incidents. They reflect 00:00:42.810 --> 00:00:46.810 these broader, sometimes frankly troubling trends 00:00:46.810 --> 00:00:50.429 in American politics and the legal system. So 00:00:50.429 --> 00:00:52.310 we'll kick the dots for you. Exactly. Look at 00:00:52.310 --> 00:00:54.609 the implications. Consider the different viewpoints 00:00:54.609 --> 00:00:56.490 and the sources. It's a wide range political 00:00:56.490 --> 00:00:58.750 violence, election integrity challenges, executive 00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:01.429 power questions. Okay, prepare for some aha moments 00:01:01.429 --> 00:01:04.340 then. Let's start with something genuinely heartbreaking, 00:01:04.659 --> 00:01:07.159 really unsettling that happened yesterday. Conservative 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:10.319 activist Charlie Kirk. Yeah. Founder of Turning 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.280 Point USA, he was shot and killed at a rally. 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:16.299 Yeah. Utah Valley University, north of Provo. 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:19.650 Just 31 years old. leaves behind a wife, two 00:01:19.650 --> 00:01:22.629 young kids. He had a huge national profile, right? 00:01:23.109 --> 00:01:26.450 Campus debates, the talk show, big social media 00:01:26.450 --> 00:01:29.530 guy. And our sources really highlight his strong 00:01:29.530 --> 00:01:31.769 support for Donald Trump. He was running a major 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:34.450 get out the vote operation for him for 2024. 00:01:34.870 --> 00:01:37.430 A key figure, no doubt. What do we know about 00:01:37.430 --> 00:01:40.150 the investigation? Well, the police think he 00:01:40.150 --> 00:01:42.430 was shot from inside the Luce Center, which is, 00:01:42.510 --> 00:01:44.609 what, about 500 feet away from where he was speaking. 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:48.200 Wow. The suspect got away. So there's a manhunt 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:50.359 going on. They did arrest someone initially, 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:52.920 a person of interest. But the sources say pretty 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:55.939 bluntly it was the wrong guy. So the search continues. 00:01:56.180 --> 00:01:58.719 And the political reactions, well, they immediately 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:01.379 show just how divided things are starkly. It's 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:03.459 like an instant Rorschach test, isn't it? Where 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:05.920 do people stand? So you look at the Democratic 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.979 leadership response. A lot of it pivoted quickly 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:12.620 to gun control. Right. Angela Romero, Utah House 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:14.879 Minority Leader, said gun violence is horrible 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.620 and goes both ways, and she blamed Utah's lax 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.400 gun laws. Pointed out, loaded guns are allowed 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.840 on campus. While expressing horror, of course. 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:26.360 Of course. And Gabrielle Giffords, herself a 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.229 shooting survivor, She said she was horrified, 00:02:29.490 --> 00:02:31.409 stressed that political disagreements must never 00:02:31.409 --> 00:02:33.430 turn violent in America. And Governor Newsom 00:02:33.430 --> 00:02:36.289 in California. He was on X, formerly Twitter, 00:02:36.550 --> 00:02:40.469 saying the attack was disgusting, vile and reprehensible, 00:02:40.949 --> 00:02:43.270 called for rejecting political violence in every 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:46.250 form. Our sources noted that maybe felt a little 00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:48.800 oversold. compared to Romero and Giffords. Yeah, 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:50.840 that was the observation, a bit overselling it. 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:52.639 But then you look at the Democratic rank and 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:55.240 file, especially online. A very different reaction. 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:57.699 Very different. Quite jarring, actually. A lot 00:02:57.699 --> 00:02:59.819 of people reposted that quote from Kirk back 00:02:59.819 --> 00:03:02.800 in 2023 after a school shooting. The one about 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:04.750 the cause of the Second Amendment. That's the 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:07.729 one. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, 00:03:07.889 --> 00:03:09.849 some gun deaths every single year so that we 00:03:09.849 --> 00:03:12.009 can have the Second Amendment. That is a prudent 00:03:12.009 --> 00:03:14.969 deal. And others pointed out his last reported 00:03:14.969 --> 00:03:18.389 words were attacking trans people and, implicitly, 00:03:18.810 --> 00:03:20.590 Mexican immigrants. What's the sentiment online 00:03:20.590 --> 00:03:23.750 was? Pretty harsh. A lot of, as ye sow, so shall 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:26.330 ye reap. Some people explicitly saying they were 00:03:26.330 --> 00:03:28.409 glad he was dead, that he got what he deserved. 00:03:28.909 --> 00:03:31.900 So one side calling for less violence. Focus 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:34.740 on guns. But then we look at the Republican side. 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.120 And it's a whole other picture, right? Very contrasting 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:40.500 reactions there, too. Oh, definitely. Republican 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:43.159 leadership, the focus was generally that this 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:45.719 kind of violence has to stop. Donald Trump put 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.460 out a video message. From the White House. Blaming 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.039 radical left rhetoric, comparing conservatives 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.979 to Nazis, saying that's directly responsible 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:56.879 for the terrorism we're seeing. But the source 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:58.620 material points out a contradiction there. A 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:02.199 big one. Just hours before Kirk died, Trump himself 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:04.639 posted on social media calling for the death 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.300 penalty for an animal killer. So the source asks. 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.379 Yeah, either Trump doesn't see how his own rhetoric 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:12.520 is part of the problem, or he just doesn't care. 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:15.300 That's the take. Speaker Mike Johnson also called 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:18.279 for it to stop. He did, but notably didn't mention 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.199 how Congress might act. Governor Spencer Cox 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.339 in Utah, he started with heartfelt words about 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:27.240 national soul -searching, asking, is this it? 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.680 But then... Then, as the source puts it, he saber 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:33.480 rattled, reminding everyone Utah has the death 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:36.379 penalty and plans to use it on the shooter, which, 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.959 you know, kind of undercut the introspection 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.240 message. And the Republican base reaction online. 00:04:42.410 --> 00:04:44.790 Described as soul -crushing, just immediate blame 00:04:44.790 --> 00:04:48.170 heaped on liberals, libtards, Democrats, Democrat 00:04:48.170 --> 00:04:51.389 fascists. Wow. Lots of calls for the Maggie Rankin 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:53.730 file to get ready for the war that is coming. 00:04:53.850 --> 00:04:56.670 The war. Yeah. And a really deep sense of loss. 00:04:56.970 --> 00:04:59.250 Fox News apparently prioritized Kirk's death 00:04:59.250 --> 00:05:01.649 over a school shooting in Colorado. Even in Congress 00:05:01.649 --> 00:05:04.870 itself. Things got heated. Oh, yeah. A moment 00:05:04.870 --> 00:05:06.810 of silence in the House was broken by Lauren 00:05:06.810 --> 00:05:10.180 Boebert demanding an out loud prayer. Then Annapalina 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:13.079 Luna shouted Democrats were responsible, led 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:16.360 to, quote, sniping from both sides for several 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:19.480 minutes. So the leaders call for calm, but the 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:22.439 rhetoric? The rhetoric from some seems to fuel 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:24.519 the fire, according to these sources. It's a 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:26.800 real contradiction. And you have to wonder if 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:29.579 that contradiction is even acknowledged within 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:33.250 their own circles or just ignored. The sources 00:05:33.250 --> 00:05:36.550 suggest it's largely overlooked or maybe strategically 00:05:36.550 --> 00:05:39.329 ignored. You know, the immediate impulses blame 00:05:39.329 --> 00:05:41.649 and rally the base, not really self -reflection 00:05:41.649 --> 00:05:44.230 on the rhetoric. It creates this dangerous feedback 00:05:44.230 --> 00:05:46.689 loop. Exactly. Even a tragedy like this gets 00:05:46.689 --> 00:05:48.709 instantly filtered through those partisan lenses. 00:05:49.029 --> 00:05:51.089 It cements the division, doesn't challenge it. 00:05:51.269 --> 00:05:52.870 So the bottom line from the sources is pretty 00:05:52.870 --> 00:05:55.750 bleak. It is. Despite all the emotion, the outcry, 00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:57.509 they basically say nothing is going to change. 00:05:57.709 --> 00:06:01.529 No new gun loss. Nope. And the rhetoric, probably 00:06:01.529 --> 00:06:04.600 not getting better. Might even get worse. Grim. 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:09.319 OK, let's pivot from that immediate raw fallout. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:11.899 We need to talk about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:15.720 which just keeps developing. Right. The shadow 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.019 lingers. Donald Trump called the birthday letter 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:20.879 a dead issue, wants everyone to move on. But 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:24.819 more details are leaking about this. World's 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:28.089 most famous birthday book. as our sources call 00:06:28.089 --> 00:06:30.449 it. Yeah, and it's not like a photo album, it's 00:06:30.449 --> 00:06:34.329 this leather -bound thing, three volumes, 238 00:06:34.329 --> 00:06:36.529 pages. Sections for different people. Friends, 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:38.730 girlfriends, business. Ghislaine Maxwell apparently 00:06:38.730 --> 00:06:41.170 put it together. And the contents? Disturbing, 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:43.430 that's the word the sources use. Loaded with 00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:46.709 sexually explicit language and images. Some showing 00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:49.610 almost naked young girls, others hinting at violence. 00:06:49.970 --> 00:06:52.029 Even though Maxwell claimed the intent was just 00:06:52.029 --> 00:06:54.029 nostalgic. Right, her introduction said it was 00:06:54.029 --> 00:06:56.269 just to gather stories and old photographs to 00:06:56.269 --> 00:06:58.790 j - But then you read the quotes, like, we picked 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:01.170 up girls on the beach. I tell them with knife 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:04.110 in my hand to take suits off. Another one. You 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:06.350 began to realize that you could get away with 00:07:06.350 --> 00:07:09.230 shush. That chicks and people in general were 00:07:09.230 --> 00:07:13.509 schmucks. There's even a poem. A poem. Blonde, 00:07:13.550 --> 00:07:16.470 red, or brunette spread out geographically with 00:07:16.470 --> 00:07:19.550 this net of fish. Jeff's now the old man in the 00:07:19.550 --> 00:07:22.629 sea. That's... Bizarrely specific. And creepy. 00:07:23.189 --> 00:07:26.329 There's one letter with a picture from 83, a 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:29.069 guy giving balloons to little girls, then another 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:31.110 picture of him getting massages from topless 00:07:31.110 --> 00:07:34.610 women. So how does Trump fit into this, specifically 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:37.009 the letter with his signature? What's his response 00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:39.610 been? He's flatly denied the letters from him, 00:07:40.209 --> 00:07:42.449 sued the Wall Street Journal for defamation over 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:44.529 it. But the signature? Our sources note that 00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:47.149 if it isn't his, whoever forged it did an excellent 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:49.660 job. Trump also claimed he doesn't draw pictures, 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.240 but sources say he often does drawings for charity 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:54.939 auctions. And a handwriting expert weighed in? 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:57.740 Yes, Thomas Vastrik, president of SQDE, that's 00:07:57.740 --> 00:08:01.040 a questioned document examiner society. He said 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.560 the signature is very consistent in letter design, 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:06.060 slant and letter height ratios, he added. For 00:08:06.060 --> 00:08:08.160 someone to say it's not his handwriting, I don't 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:10.100 know where they're coming from. Pretty definitive 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:12.180 take from an expert. He's like it. And how are 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:14.480 Republicans in Congress handling this? Mostly 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.449 dodging. The common line is haven't seen it, 00:08:17.449 --> 00:08:19.610 even though it's been widely published. Any exception. 00:08:19.910 --> 00:08:22.389 Well, Tim Birchett claimed it was an auto pin 00:08:22.389 --> 00:08:24.970 forgery. There are other mentions of Trump, too, 00:08:24.970 --> 00:08:27.930 like an image of Epstein holding a joke check 00:08:27.930 --> 00:08:30.790 signed D .J. Trump for a fully depreciated woman. 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:33.830 But that signature isn't his. The source clarifies 00:08:33.830 --> 00:08:38.409 that specific signature isn't Trump's. No. So 00:08:38.409 --> 00:08:40.850 beyond the book itself, what's happening legally 00:08:40.850 --> 00:08:43.669 or legislatively, is there a movement towards 00:08:43.669 --> 00:08:46.149 transparency? Yeah, there's definitely a push. 00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:48.610 Thomas Massey in the House is close to getting 00:08:48.610 --> 00:08:51.149 enough signatures on a discharge petition. Remind 00:08:51.149 --> 00:08:53.690 us what that does. It basically forces a bill 00:08:53.690 --> 00:08:56.610 out of committee for a full House vote. In this 00:08:56.610 --> 00:08:59.169 case, a bill to release all the DJ's Epstein 00:08:59.169 --> 00:09:01.990 files. Will it pass the Senate? Probably not. 00:09:02.169 --> 00:09:04.570 Even with Paul Hawley and all the Democrats saying 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:08.029 yes. But the vote itself will be, quote, embarrassing 00:09:08.029 --> 00:09:11.590 for some who vote no. And other efforts. Epstein's 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:14.389 victims are making their own client list. Senator 00:09:14.389 --> 00:09:17.889 Ron Wyden is pushing to investigate large, mysterious 00:09:17.889 --> 00:09:20.870 money transfers into Epstein's accounts, says 00:09:20.870 --> 00:09:23.649 Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is blocking him. 00:09:23.970 --> 00:09:26.669 Besant again? Yep. And Senator Chuck Schumer 00:09:26.669 --> 00:09:28.950 tried to attach an amendment to the defense bill, 00:09:29.129 --> 00:09:32.909 must release all Epstein files in 30 days. Republicans 00:09:32.909 --> 00:09:35.860 voted to table it, so... The fight for answers 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:39.220 continues. A relentless push. OK, let's pivot 00:09:39.220 --> 00:09:42.139 again. We're looking now at a whole series of 00:09:42.139 --> 00:09:44.580 legal and political fights testing the boundaries 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:48.100 of power, the rule of law across different parts 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:50.200 of government. Yeah, really testing the guardrails. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.320 First up, a judge blocked an attempt to fire 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:55.690 a Fed governor, Lisa Cook. Right. This is a big 00:09:55.690 --> 00:09:57.450 deal for the independence of the Federal Reserve. 00:09:57.830 --> 00:09:59.990 Trump tried to fire her based on allegations 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:02.190 about mortgage applications she made before joining 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:04.730 the Fed board. Claiming two primary residences? 00:10:04.870 --> 00:10:07.070 Something like that. But the law is clear. Fed 00:10:07.070 --> 00:10:09.830 governors can only be removed for cause, meaning 00:10:09.830 --> 00:10:12.470 serious misconduct while in office. And the judge. 00:10:12.850 --> 00:10:16.470 Judge Giacob, a Biden appointee, ruled Trump's 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:18.669 reason wasn't legally valid because it was about 00:10:18.669 --> 00:10:21.830 pre -service stuff. She ordered Cook reinstated 00:10:21.830 --> 00:10:25.360 pending appeals. So the reasoning was? Cobb specifically 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:28.120 noted Trump didn't claim any misconduct during 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:32.080 her term or incompetence. The law stops a president 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:34.919 from just firing a Fed governor to put their 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:37.779 own pick in. And the implication if this ruling 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:40.820 gets overturned? Huge. It could mean any federal 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:43.500 board member, any agency head could be fired 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:47.080 over any unproven past allegation. That would 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.559 basically gut the independence of agencies like 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:52.100 the Fed, which need to be separate from politics 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:54.639 to manage the economy. That's a fundamental change. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:57.220 Absolutely. And the administration has already 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.740 appealed. So this isn't settled. OK. Another 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:02.200 perennial flashpoint. A potential government 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.940 shutdown. Funding runs out September 30th. Yep. 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:07.419 Here we go again. Needs seven Democratic votes 00:11:07.419 --> 00:11:09.320 in the Senate because of the filibuster. And 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:11.220 the strategy from Democratic leadership seems 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:13.139 to be. Our sources say they look like they're 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:16.429 pre -caving. Basically agreeing to Republican 00:11:16.429 --> 00:11:18.330 funding levels in exchange for a nine -month 00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:20.590 extension of health insurance subsidies. How's 00:11:20.590 --> 00:11:22.909 that going down within the party? Not well with 00:11:22.909 --> 00:11:25.830 many rank -and -file House Democrats. They feel 00:11:25.830 --> 00:11:28.330 voters won't reward just maintaining the status 00:11:28.330 --> 00:11:31.309 quo. They're angry, their constituents want them 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:34.009 to stand up and fight the Republicans, and that's 00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:36.690 being ignored. They feel like nobody will even 00:11:36.690 --> 00:11:39.289 notice this small win. And the Freedom Caucus. 00:11:39.350 --> 00:11:41.909 They hate the subsidy extension, want to abolish 00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:44.879 them entirely. So the likely outcome? Probably 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:47.320 what usually happens, kicking the can down the 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:50.220 road. A continuing resolution, temporary funding, 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:52.539 solves nothing long term, sets up the same fight 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:55.259 later. The cycle continues. Alright, let's talk 00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:58.100 elections and maps. Lots of legal fights over 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:00.899 redistricting. So many. And the theme our sources 00:12:00.899 --> 00:12:03.940 point out is often Republican legislatures trying 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:06.519 to disenfranchise people they don't like. And 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.059 yeah, these are likely headed to the Supreme 00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:11.299 Court. Give us some examples. Okay, Texas. Lawsuits 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:14.700 over redrawing House districts mid -cycle. LUAC 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:17.860 says the new maps wreck Latino districts. them 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:20.399 electing who they want. If SCOTUS takes this, 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.620 sources worry it could destroy the rest of the 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:25.259 VRA. The Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:29.360 Act. Louisiana. Black leaders say with one third 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.460 of the state black, they deserve two majority 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:34.379 black house seats, not just one out of six. SCOTUS 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.720 actually ordered a new map with two, but then 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:39.289 white voters sued. New hearing is set. And then 00:12:39.289 --> 00:12:41.350 elsewhere. North Dakota and Mississippi. Similar 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:46.190 cases. Native Americans in ND, NAACP and MS suing 00:12:46.190 --> 00:12:49.490 over discriminatory state maps. A lower court 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:52.090 ordered a new map in ND, but then an appeals 00:12:52.090 --> 00:12:54.889 court said something huge. That private citizens 00:12:54.889 --> 00:12:57.649 can't sue to enforce the VRA, only the Department 00:12:57.649 --> 00:12:59.570 of Justice can. Wow, that's major. It really 00:12:59.570 --> 00:13:01.789 is. It could determine who can enforce the VRA. 00:13:02.190 --> 00:13:04.250 If the DOJ isn't interested, groups might have 00:13:04.250 --> 00:13:06.549 no way to challenge discriminatory maps. And 00:13:06.549 --> 00:13:08.850 you don't. Voters there passed an initiative 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:11.230 back in 2018 for an independent commission to 00:13:11.230 --> 00:13:13.809 draw maps. The legislature just repealed it. 00:13:13.950 --> 00:13:15.899 Courts said they couldn't do that. Now it's before 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:18.200 the Utah Supreme Court. It's all about who draws 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:20.200 the lines, who gets represented. The fight over 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:23.059 who gets to vote and if it counts fairly is clearly 00:13:23.059 --> 00:13:25.600 central. OK, moving from mass to voter rolls. 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:27.559 Concerns about the federal government checking 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:30.669 list for non -citizens. Yes. The administration's 00:13:30.669 --> 00:13:33.269 been pushing states for their voter rolls. Now 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:36.149 it seems they're using the software called SAVE, 00:13:36.669 --> 00:13:39.169 called Magic Software by some sources. And it 00:13:39.169 --> 00:13:42.009 claims to do what? Claims it can spot non -citizens 00:13:42.009 --> 00:13:45.330 using just name, last four SSN digits, and date 00:13:45.330 --> 00:13:48.490 of birth. Maybe partisan registration, too. That's 00:13:48.490 --> 00:13:50.649 unclear. But the government isn't explaining 00:13:50.649 --> 00:13:54.009 how. No explanation of where the software or 00:13:54.009 --> 00:13:57.210 its database came from. No outside experts allowed 00:13:57.210 --> 00:14:00.590 to check or test it. Very opaque. And the problems 00:14:00.590 --> 00:14:03.580 with this approach? Huge potential flaws. First, 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:05.539 you don't need to be a citizen to get a social 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:07.559 security number. Lots of legal residents have 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.440 them. So massive errors are likely, especially 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:14.120 with common names. Think John Smith 1234. The 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.139 system might find a deceased John Smith with 00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:18.259 those last four digits, but that doesn't mean 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:20.360 the living voter John Smith with the same details 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:22.480 should be purged. There can be multiple people. 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.340 A statistical certainty, really. Exactly. And 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:28.379 there's a real potential for racial bias. Black 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:31.419 populations tend to have a smaller pool of common 00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:34.929 last names compared to white populations. Statistically, 00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:37.490 this increases their chances of being wrongly 00:14:37.490 --> 00:14:39.470 matched with someone deceased who shares the 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:41.990 same common identifiers. Leading to disproportionate 00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:44.490 purges. That's the concern. Compared to white 00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:47.590 voters with a wider range of names where accidental 00:14:47.590 --> 00:14:50.710 matches are less likely, it's a flawed system 00:14:50.710 --> 00:14:53.389 with potentially discriminatory outcomes. Deeply 00:14:53.389 --> 00:14:56.450 worrying. OK, shifting from election mechanics 00:14:56.450 --> 00:14:59.230 to internal power plays, Republicans apparently 00:14:59.230 --> 00:15:02.090 whining about a guy named Bill Pult. Bill Pult. 00:15:03.009 --> 00:15:06.529 Wealthy, Trumpy, real estate guy. He's also a 00:15:06.529 --> 00:15:08.570 minor federal regulator director of the Federal 00:15:08.570 --> 00:15:10.750 Housing Finance Agency. Which gives him access 00:15:10.750 --> 00:15:13.370 to most US mortgages. And he's apparently been 00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:15.629 feeding Trump names of people who claimed two 00:15:15.629 --> 00:15:18.029 primary residences on mortgage applications. 00:15:18.629 --> 00:15:20.870 Which, again, isn't automatically illegal unless 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:23.029 there's intent to defraud. But he's also active 00:15:23.029 --> 00:15:25.929 online. Became a vicious attack dog on social 00:15:25.929 --> 00:15:27.850 media is how the sources put it. And this led 00:15:27.850 --> 00:15:30.769 to some drama. Oh yeah, a public confrontation. 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:34.580 At a fancy private dinner, Treasury Secretary 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:37.259 Scott Besson apparently went up to Pulte and 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:39.539 threatened him. Threatened him how? Said something 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:41.679 like, why the funk are you talking to the president 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:43.980 about me? Fluck you. I'm going to punch you in 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:46.840 your fucking face. Then offered to fucking beat 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:49.820 your ass outside. Whoa. Were there witnesses? 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:53.200 Five eyewitnesses reported it. Quite the scene 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.779 at the dinner party. How did Republicans react 00:15:55.779 --> 00:15:58.960 to that? Divided. Some in Congress, like Andy 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:01.840 Barr and French Hill, sided with Besant. Thought 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.399 Pulte was getting a little too big for his britches. 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:06.539 Some apparently even said they'd have done the 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:09.700 same thing. But others supported Pulte. Yeah. 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.200 Freedom Caucus members like Andy Ogles and Byron 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:14.600 Donalds, they say Pulte's doing a great job exposing 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.539 mortgage stuff. Besant, by the way, is seen by 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:19.860 some as the adult in the room. He's the one who 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:21.840 challenged Elon Musk before. So even internal 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.120 GOP fights get pretty direct. Apparently so. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.720 OK, finally, let's look at a really surprising 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:30.779 legal outcome out of Michigan. The fake electors 00:16:30.779 --> 00:16:33.600 case. Yeah, this one is pretty stunning. Quick 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:36.820 background. After the 2020 election, people in 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:39.639 Michigan signed fake certificates saying Trump 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:42.059 won the state, even though Biden won. Right. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:43.799 Biden won by about one hundred and fifty five 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:47.139 thousand votes. Not close. State AG Dana Nestle 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:50.740 charged them forgery, conspiracy, faced serious 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:53.500 time by 14 years. Big charges. But the outcome. 00:16:53.799 --> 00:16:56.639 On Tuesday, Judge Kristen Simmons, appointed 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.000 by Dem Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2019, just 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.740 threw the whole case out. Meaning they won't 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:03.759 even stand trial. Exactly. And the reasoning 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:06.700 is kind of wild. It really is. According to our 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:09.400 sources, Judge Simmons said the fake electors 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.720 genuinely believed Trump had won the state so 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.390 they had every right to do it. Wait. Jen, your 00:17:14.390 --> 00:17:16.690 belief makes forgery okay. That seems to be the 00:17:16.690 --> 00:17:19.690 implication. The judge literally said their statements 00:17:19.690 --> 00:17:21.509 make it very clear that they believe that they 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:23.529 could seek redress from their state senators. 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:27.190 So forging documents is a new way to ask state 00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:29.890 senators for help. That's the source's sarcastic 00:17:29.890 --> 00:17:31.809 take. That sounds like a completely new legal 00:17:31.809 --> 00:17:35.069 standard. Our sources say it breaks new ground, 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:39.250 allowing law breaking based on sincere belief. 00:17:39.789 --> 00:17:42.509 They draw parallels to things like honor killings 00:17:42.509 --> 00:17:45.710 or tax evasion based on belief. It's a dangerous 00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:48.150 precedent. And the implications go beyond Michigan. 00:17:48.309 --> 00:17:50.589 For sure. There are similar cases against fake 00:17:50.589 --> 00:17:53.589 electors in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Georgia. 00:17:54.329 --> 00:17:57.029 This Michigan ruling isn't binding, but judges 00:17:57.029 --> 00:17:59.950 elsewhere could look to Simmons' ruling for guidance. 00:18:00.150 --> 00:18:02.529 So the fear is? The source puts it starkly. The 00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:04.930 legal system simply doesn't work anymore if you 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:07.329 can just delay cases until you find a sympathetic 00:18:07.329 --> 00:18:09.750 judge who accepts sincere belief as a defense 00:18:09.750 --> 00:18:12.990 for breaking the law. Wow, okay. We have covered 00:18:12.990 --> 00:18:15.410 a lot of ground today. We really have. So what 00:18:15.410 --> 00:18:17.730 does this all mean for you listening? We tried 00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:19.809 to cut through the noise, pull out the crucial 00:18:19.809 --> 00:18:22.609 stuff, maybe the surprising bits from these really 00:18:22.609 --> 00:18:25.130 intense stories. Yeah. From the awful event in 00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:28.250 Utah, the Epstein stuff, these big fights over 00:18:28.250 --> 00:18:31.829 federal power, election integrity. It shows how 00:18:31.829 --> 00:18:33.930 interconnected it all is, right? How it's shaping 00:18:33.930 --> 00:18:36.069 our society. Definitely makes you think about 00:18:36.069 --> 00:18:40.170 the impact of rhetoric, legal precedence on our 00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:42.910 shared reality. It really does. And maybe it 00:18:42.910 --> 00:18:44.650 raises the final question for you to think about. 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:48.400 After hearing all this the heated rhetoric, the 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:50.519 election challenges, the dangers our sources 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:54.119 point to about future conflict. What does it 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.460 say about the state of our democracy, the norms 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:59.220 we thought we all shared? Our sources offer this 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:01.660 really stark observation, a chilling thought 00:19:01.660 --> 00:19:04.640 about social cohesion. If and when the assassin 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.940 is found, let us hope that he is a straight, 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:10.029 white, Christian man. If the assassin turns out 00:19:10.029 --> 00:19:13.109 to be gay or trans or black or a democratic socialist 00:19:13.109 --> 00:19:15.529 or just a Democrat or an immigrant or Mexican, 00:19:15.910 --> 00:19:18.369 then God help us all. God help us all. Yeah. 00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:21.569 That perspective gives you a lot to consider 00:19:21.569 --> 00:19:24.630 about how fragile things might be, the path we're 00:19:24.630 --> 00:19:26.890 on. It certainly does. A truly thought -provoking 00:19:26.890 --> 00:19:29.049 place to end our deep dive. Thank you for joining 00:19:29.049 --> 00:19:31.029 us today as we navigated all this. We hope we 00:19:31.029 --> 00:19:33.069 gave you some clarity and plenty to reflect on. 00:19:33.269 --> 00:19:34.769 Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.