WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. We are really 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.660 digging into a remarkable stack of source material 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:08.619 today. It brings together these high stakes political 00:00:08.619 --> 00:00:11.400 moves, some serious institutional pushback, and, 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:15.179 well, the strange overlap of media, family, and 00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:17.460 who actually gets ahead. Yeah, it's quite a mix. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.859 Our goal here is to give you some clarity in 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:23.170 what feels like, frankly, chaos. We want to go 00:00:23.170 --> 00:00:26.329 past the headlines and explain how exactly did 00:00:26.329 --> 00:00:29.449 the Senate manage to sidestep a major Washington 00:00:29.449 --> 00:00:31.910 bottleneck while the House was out. Right. And 00:00:31.910 --> 00:00:33.969 what lines are the courts drawing for federal 00:00:33.969 --> 00:00:37.250 agents? When does force cross the line? Exactly. 00:00:37.789 --> 00:00:40.170 And maybe most importantly, what's going on when 00:00:40.170 --> 00:00:43.310 the institutions that are supposed to enforce 00:00:43.310 --> 00:00:45.670 the law and report the news seem to be crumbling 00:00:45.670 --> 00:00:48.119 from the inside? It is a lot to unpack, but it's 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:49.780 really insightful stuff. By the time we wrap 00:00:49.780 --> 00:00:51.539 this up, you should have a much clearer picture 00:00:51.539 --> 00:00:53.380 of these structural cracks showing up across 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:55.200 the board. Let's start with the biggest one right 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.840 now. The federal government shutdown, dragging 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:02.140 into week six. Still a steal, mate. The Senate 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:05.640 just voted for the 13th time on that House stopgap 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:07.340 funding bill. The kick the can bill, as everyone 00:01:07.340 --> 00:01:09.079 calls it. And it failed again. Failed again. 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:11.959 Failed five votes short this time. Needed 60 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:14.510 to move forward. Just remind us, that 60 vote 00:01:14.510 --> 00:01:16.530 threshold, that's for cloture, right? To stop 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:18.930 a filibuster. That's exactly it. Cloture ends 00:01:18.930 --> 00:01:21.969 the debate. Without 60 votes, any senator can 00:01:21.969 --> 00:01:24.090 basically keep talking and block a final vote. 00:01:24.209 --> 00:01:26.349 So yeah, it's stuck. And what's interesting, 00:01:26.569 --> 00:01:28.469 looking at the reports, it wasn't a straight 00:01:28.469 --> 00:01:31.409 party line thing. You had a few key non -Republicans 00:01:31.409 --> 00:01:33.670 voting with the GOP. Correct. Senators Catherine 00:01:33.670 --> 00:01:36.269 Cortez Masto from Nevada, John Fetterman from 00:01:36.269 --> 00:01:38.709 Pennsylvania, and Angus King, the independent 00:01:38.709 --> 00:01:41.340 from Maine. Decided with the Republicans on this 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:44.219 one and all the pressure from say the big government 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:47.560 employee unions like the AFGE That didn't move 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:49.840 the needle apparently not at least not visibly 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:52.159 their votes didn't change. So with the main funding 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:55.319 bill stalled The game shifts to, well, optics 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:57.280 and leverage, right? Especially around food aid. 00:01:57.700 --> 00:02:00.379 This idea came up to force a vote specifically 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:03.879 on SNAP funding. That's right. And it immediately 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:06.260 led to these dueling bills. You've got the Republican 00:02:06.260 --> 00:02:08.860 version, Senator Hawley's bill, which would only 00:02:08.860 --> 00:02:11.560 fund SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:13.659 Program, during the shutdown. OK, just SNAP. 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:16.419 But then the Democratic bill from Senator Ben 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:20.740 Ray Lujan aims to fund both SNAP and WIC, the 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:23.389 Women, Infants and Children Program. So if the 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:26.289 idea is feeding people in need, why the split? 00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:29.710 Why draw a line between SNAP and WIC? Is it just 00:02:29.710 --> 00:02:32.310 policy difference or something more strategic? 00:02:32.650 --> 00:02:34.409 Well, analysts are pointing to the politics. 00:02:34.830 --> 00:02:37.349 SNAP users are pretty spread out. Red states, 00:02:37.449 --> 00:02:40.110 blue states. New Mexico's high at 21%, but West 00:02:40.110 --> 00:02:42.969 Virginia's up there, too, 16%. OK, so broad impact. 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:47.610 Right. But WIC, that program specifically helps 00:02:47.610 --> 00:02:50.280 low -income women and kids. And it tends to be 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:52.580 more concentrated in urban areas, often serving 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:55.000 more people of color. So the thinking is, this 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.379 split is really about which program helps which 00:02:57.379 --> 00:03:00.400 parties base more during a crisis. That really 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:02.659 lays bare the political calculation behind the 00:03:02.659 --> 00:03:05.159 aid itself. Meanwhile, you've got the court stepping 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:07.539 in on a related shutdown issue, federal jobs. 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:10.419 Yeah, that order from U .S. District Judge Susan 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:13.099 Ilston, she extended the ruling that stops the 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:15.719 administration from firing federal workers during 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.080 the shutdown. And that makes another legislative 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:21.590 idea. basically pointless, right? Exactly. Senator 00:03:21.590 --> 00:03:24.030 Ron Johnson had floated this plan to pay federal 00:03:24.030 --> 00:03:27.509 workers. But, and this is the key part now, it 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:29.889 would also protect the administration's supposed 00:03:29.889 --> 00:03:32.949 right to fire them during the shutdown. Judge 00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:34.930 Ilson's ruling just takes that firing power off 00:03:34.930 --> 00:03:37.169 the table for now. Makes it much simpler. Just 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:39.750 pay them. Pretty much. It removes a big sticking 00:03:39.750 --> 00:03:42.360 point for the opposition. And while all this 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:44.960 is going on, reports suggest there's some serious 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:46.960 grumbling within the Republican Party itself 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:49.900 about the House being out. Oh, definitely. Speaker 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:52.439 Mike Johnson's keeping the House in recess, but 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:54.539 several prominent Republicans are going public 00:03:54.539 --> 00:03:56.939 saying, hey, we should be here working. Folks 00:03:56.939 --> 00:04:00.439 like Don Bacon, Dan Crenshaw, Kevin Kiley. They're 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:03.020 clearly losing patience with just staying away. 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:06.520 That internal tension maybe gave the Senate an 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:08.479 opening, because while the House was dark, the 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.900 Senate did something pretty bold on trade policy. 00:04:11.069 --> 00:04:13.030 This was fascinating. A real example of using 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:16.769 the rules. The Senate voted 52 to 48 to basically 00:04:16.769 --> 00:04:19.269 claw back the president's authority to put tariffs 00:04:19.269 --> 00:04:22.250 on Brazil. These were tariffs imposed under that 00:04:22.250 --> 00:04:24.490 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 00:04:24.790 --> 00:04:27.870 OK, 52 -48. In this Senate, that's notable. But 00:04:27.870 --> 00:04:30.029 how did they pass something potentially controversial 00:04:30.029 --> 00:04:32.509 like that without needing 60 votes to beat a 00:04:32.509 --> 00:04:35.529 filibuster? Ah, this is the key part. The procedural 00:04:35.529 --> 00:04:39.329 aha moment. They used what's called the privileged 00:04:39.329 --> 00:04:41.629 motion. The Senate Parliamentarian agreed it 00:04:41.629 --> 00:04:43.990 was urgent enough to qualify. And here's the 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:47.250 kicker. Privilege motions cannot be filibustered. 00:04:47.430 --> 00:04:49.730 Wow. So they just needed a simple majority. Simple 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:52.870 majority. They used a specific rule to completely 00:04:52.870 --> 00:04:55.689 bypass the gridlock mechanism that stalls almost 00:04:55.689 --> 00:04:58.329 everything else. That's some serious legislative 00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:00.449 maneuvering. Who were the Republicans who crossed 00:05:00.449 --> 00:05:02.870 the aisle on this one? It was a significant group. 00:05:03.189 --> 00:05:07.279 Rand Paul. Susan Collins Lisa Murkowski Tom Tillis 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:10.519 and maybe most notably the minority leader himself 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.779 Mitch McConnell McConnell to okay Yeah, now look 00:05:13.779 --> 00:05:15.939 analysts are saying this bill probably dies in 00:05:15.939 --> 00:05:18.019 the house or gets vetoed if he'd even gets that 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:22.060 far, but the act itself It's a pretty big signal 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:24.899 Congress or at least the Senate showing it can 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:27.639 push back on these really aggressive protectionist 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:30.230 trade policies So the bigger picture message 00:05:30.230 --> 00:05:32.649 here is that even in a shutdown, Congress isn't 00:05:32.649 --> 00:05:35.769 totally powerless. It has tools, if it chooses 00:05:35.769 --> 00:05:38.550 to use them, to check the executive branch. Absolutely. 00:05:38.649 --> 00:05:40.990 And that theme, checks and balances, brings us 00:05:40.990 --> 00:05:43.069 right to the next situation. The court's getting 00:05:43.069 --> 00:05:45.490 really hands -on. with federal law enforcement 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:47.670 actions. Let's talk about this case involving 00:05:47.670 --> 00:05:50.490 Agent Greg Bovino. He's the chief patrol agent 00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:54.509 for CBP's El Centro sector. But his agent's actions 00:05:54.509 --> 00:05:57.410 up in Chicago drew a ton of heat and immediate 00:05:57.410 --> 00:05:59.910 judicial action. Yeah, the reports from Chicago 00:05:59.910 --> 00:06:02.129 were pretty shocking. Bovino's agents were accused 00:06:02.129 --> 00:06:04.569 of instigating violence using tear gas, shooting 00:06:04.569 --> 00:06:07.189 pepper bullets at close range, and the targets. 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:09.470 Families getting ready for a Halloween parade, 00:06:09.569 --> 00:06:11.709 a 70 -year -old man who just asked an agent what 00:06:11.709 --> 00:06:13.579 he was doing there. So the court had to step 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:17.660 in fast. Very fast. U .S. District Judge Sarah 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.259 Ellis issued a temporary restraining order, a 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:23.300 TRO. It's really specific. Agents had to wear 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:26.500 and turn on body cams, display visible ID, and 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.879 crucially stop harming peaceful protesters, bystanders, 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:32.519 journalists, clergy. But the order was violated 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:34.740 almost right away. That's what came out in court. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:38.279 Agent Bovino himself testified. He admitted he 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:40.959 violated the TRO. He wasn't wearing a body cam 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:43.470 when he threw tear gas. Why would he admit that 00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:46.029 in court? Did he have a reason? He tried to justify 00:06:46.029 --> 00:06:48.589 it. He claimed he'd been hit by a rock, implying 00:06:48.589 --> 00:06:50.670 the situation was too dangerous to follow the 00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:53.689 order precisely. But the problem was video evidence 00:06:53.689 --> 00:06:56.149 apparently showed him tossing the canister pretty 00:06:56.149 --> 00:06:58.649 casually. Didn't back up the under attack claim. 00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:01.310 And Judge Ellis pointed out if he had been wearing 00:07:01.310 --> 00:07:03.250 the body cam as ordered, he'd have proof if he 00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:05.509 really was hit. Oof. So the judge didn't buy 00:07:05.509 --> 00:07:07.550 it. And she imposed some serious consequences 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:10.800 on Bovino personally, right? Oh, yeah. very direct, 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:12.720 almost like sending into the principal's office. 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:16.180 First, Bovino has to report to Judge Ellis in 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:19.500 person every single weekday at 6 p .m. until 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:22.220 the next hearing. He has to explain exactly what 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:24.680 he and his agents did that day. Every day, wow. 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:28.360 Every weekday. Second, he has to provide a detailed 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:31.480 written report on every non -immigration arrest 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:33.839 his team has made since early September, names, 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:36.180 dates, charges, what happened with the case. 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:38.990 And she tripled the amount of time he has to 00:07:38.990 --> 00:07:42.029 sit for a deposition. It's a judge saying, I'm 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:45.160 watching you very closely. That is remarkable 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:47.699 judicial oversight. But while one judge is trying 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:50.040 to hold an individual accountable, the bigger 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.740 picture for ICE, the agency itself, looks like 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:54.740 it's being deliberately weakened from the top 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:57.180 down. That's this broader crisis within ICE. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:59.560 Reports say this is the third time the White 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:01.720 House, specifically Stephen Miller's operation, 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.339 has carried out a sort of purge of ICE leadership. 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:06.939 They're targeting senior officers who, yes, believe 00:08:06.939 --> 00:08:08.439 in the mission, but also believe in following 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:10.899 the rule of law, maybe not pushing the absolute 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:13.019 extremes. And who got pushed out this time? Five 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:16.439 field office directors. Denver, LA, Philadelphia, 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.079 Phoenix, San Diego, all reassigned. And the strategy 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:22.839 behind replacing them. The idea seems to be to 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:24.699 bring in offices from the border, from the southwest 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:26.680 border, under the assumption that they'll be, 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.699 quote, rougher enforcers. Less worried about 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:32.100 procedure, more focused on raw enforcement numbers. 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.080 But can they even find enough people? There was 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:39.580 that huge push to hire 10 ,000 new ICE agents. 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:42.419 How's that going? It's been a massive failure, 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:45.980 frankly. They initially trumpeted 150 ,000 applications. 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:49.159 But sources indicate that number was way inflated, 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:51.320 lots of double and triple counting. The real 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:53.379 number of actual applicants was closer to 50 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:55.860 ,000. Still sounds like a lot. It does. But even 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:57.480 with drastically lowered standards, they got 00:08:57.480 --> 00:08:59.820 rid of the maximum age limit, made the physical 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:02.559 fitness test way easier. The projection is they'll 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:04.740 only manage to hire about 1 ,000 new officers. 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:07.879 Maybe. Only 1 ,000 out of a 10 ,000 goal. Right. 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.889 And when you factor in low morale, people resigning 00:09:10.889 --> 00:09:13.350 or retiring, analysts think the agency might 00:09:13.350 --> 00:09:15.509 barely break even on staffing, or maybe even 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:17.769 shrink. The big expansion just isn't happening. 00:09:18.149 --> 00:09:19.889 So you have an enforcement agency struggling 00:09:19.889 --> 00:09:23.149 internally, facing purges and recruitment problems. 00:09:23.909 --> 00:09:25.809 Then you look at the institution supposed to 00:09:25.809 --> 00:09:29.169 report on all the media and see similar signs 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:31.870 of trouble, maybe sacrificing standards for survival. 00:09:32.090 --> 00:09:34.169 That brings us squarely to the Washington Post, 00:09:34.289 --> 00:09:37.730 an institution that's clearly in severe financial 00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:41.090 distress and seems to be making some really noticeable 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:43.450 shifts in its editorial voice. The numbers are 00:09:43.450 --> 00:09:46.309 stark. Losing close to $200 million over two 00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:48.750 years, lost over half a million subscribers just 00:09:48.750 --> 00:09:51.049 this year, that's serious financial pressure. 00:09:51.230 --> 00:09:53.549 And you can arguably see that pressure reflected 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:55.769 on the opinion page. They ran this editorial, 00:09:55.889 --> 00:09:57.870 kind of controversially, that essentially gave 00:09:57.870 --> 00:10:00.789 a thumbs up to the administration's huge gold 00:10:00.789 --> 00:10:03.889 -plated White House expansion project. Yes, they 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:06.110 offered some mild criticism of the funding process, 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:08.909 but the overall tone was approval. And critics 00:10:08.909 --> 00:10:10.710 are linking that directly to the owner, Jeff 00:10:10.710 --> 00:10:14.500 Bezos. They are. arguing that Bezos's influence 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:17.000 is leading to a softening of criticism towards 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:20.259 the administration. You see fewer sharp critiques, 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:22.860 more columnists like Mark Thiessen, who actually 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.460 brag about the opinion page becoming more conservative. 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:28.000 But is that strategy even working? It sounds 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:30.980 like this move towards, I don't know, Fox Light 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:34.379 might be alienating the very readers they had. 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:37.539 And forcing cuts. Seems plausible. They've made 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:40.200 operational cuts, like getting rid of copy editors 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.580 in the opinion section, which is risky, you know, 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:44.299 increases the chance of factual errors getting 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:46.519 through. Yeah. And they've cut back on local 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:49.179 news coverage, too. It really feels like an institution 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:51.559 flailing financially. And the irony is thick 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:53.980 when you put this institutional shift next to 00:10:53.980 --> 00:10:56.279 the political rhetoric about merit and standards. 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:58.039 Oh, absolutely. You have some like Katie Miller, 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:00.960 former White House aide, publicly slamming Corrine 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.299 Jean -Pierre, the former press secretary, calling 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:06.000 her incompetent. saying she's proof that DEI 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:08.320 doesn't work, that you should just hire the best 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:10.399 people regardless of background. OK, so that's 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:13.559 the rhetoric. Pure merit. Right. And then in 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:15.360 the same news cycle, we learned that the first 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.500 granddaughter, Kai Trump Donald Jr.'s daughter, 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.779 just got a sponsor's exemption to play in a professional 00:11:20.779 --> 00:11:23.200 LPGA golf tournament. An LPGA tournament. How 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:25.059 good is she? What's her ranking? Well, objectively, 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.700 she's ranked. Hashtag 461 among American junior 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:32.139 girls golfers. The actual LPGA tour has about 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:37.129 222 players total. worldwide. So you know 461st 00:11:37.129 --> 00:11:40.409 is not typically LPGA level. So why the exemption? 00:11:40.470 --> 00:11:43.289 They usually go to really promising young players. 00:11:43.690 --> 00:11:45.210 Exactly. But reports are pretty clear. She got 00:11:45.210 --> 00:11:47.710 it because she's an influencer. Millions of social 00:11:47.710 --> 00:11:50.029 media followers. It's about her tracking eyeballs, 00:11:50.210 --> 00:11:52.690 leveraging the family name and brand. Not really 00:11:52.690 --> 00:11:54.429 about her current standing in competitive golf. 00:11:54.529 --> 00:11:56.769 It just starkly contrasts with that hire the 00:11:56.769 --> 00:11:58.970 best rhetoric. It really does. OK, shifting gears 00:11:58.970 --> 00:12:00.950 quickly to the international front. The ceasefire 00:12:00.950 --> 00:12:03.909 in Gaza seems to have completely collapsed. Yeah, 00:12:03.909 --> 00:12:06.509 it broke down quite dramatically. Israel cited 00:12:06.509 --> 00:12:08.809 several specific violations by the other side. 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:12.299 One, refusing to return the bodies of 13 remaining 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:16.159 hostages. Two, firing on an Israeli soldier who 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:18.980 crossed into an off -limits area. And three, 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:22.080 apparently staging a fake discovery of a missing 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:24.820 hostage when the Red Cross showed up. International 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:27.159 media actually verified that part. And the Israeli 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:29.919 response? Immediate and forceful. Prime Minister 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:32.659 Netanyahu ordered immediate, powerful strikes. 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:35.519 Reports indicate at least 20 Palestinians were 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:37.600 killed shortly after, including several women 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:40.809 and children. So any sense that maybe outside 00:12:40.809 --> 00:12:43.330 political pressure, like the administration perhaps 00:12:43.330 --> 00:12:45.269 wanting a Nobel Prize before the season ended, 00:12:45.529 --> 00:12:48.070 was keeping things calmer? That seems gone now. 00:12:48.269 --> 00:12:50.389 That influence, whatever it was, seems to have 00:12:50.389 --> 00:12:53.090 evaporated, yes. The violence resumed very quickly. 00:12:53.409 --> 00:12:55.809 Okay, finally let's end on this. Frankly bizarre 00:12:55.809 --> 00:12:58.389 domestic item. Another strange directive for 00:12:58.389 --> 00:13:01.149 the FBI. It is weird. You might remember not 00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:03.350 long ago, the FBI was ordered to suddenly find 00:13:03.350 --> 00:13:05.809 documents on Amelia Earhart's disappearance from, 00:13:05.809 --> 00:13:08.330 what, 88 years ago? Right, the Earhart files. 00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:10.750 Did that solve anything? No, not surprisingly. 00:13:11.149 --> 00:13:13.710 But now, despite the government shutdown, despite 00:13:13.710 --> 00:13:15.610 everything else going on, there's a new order. 00:13:15.850 --> 00:13:17.549 What is it this time? The president has ordered 00:13:17.549 --> 00:13:21.889 the FBI, again, drop everything, find all documents 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:24.129 related to the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. 00:13:24.269 --> 00:13:26.710 Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters boss who vanished 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:30.750 in 1975. That's the one. Find everything. Deadline 00:13:30.750 --> 00:13:34.590 Monday. Again. Okay. Why? I mean, Hoffa. Now, 00:13:35.230 --> 00:13:37.370 is it just because it was on TV, like an Unsolved 00:13:37.370 --> 00:13:39.009 Mysteries thing, or is there something else going 00:13:39.009 --> 00:13:41.149 on? Those are the two main theories floating 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:43.129 around. One, yeah, maybe it's just driven by 00:13:43.129 --> 00:13:45.190 whatever's on TV or capturing attention randomly. 00:13:45.509 --> 00:13:48.049 Two, maybe it's more calculated. A way to pressure 00:13:48.049 --> 00:13:50.929 the FBI during the shutdown to reveal exactly 00:13:50.929 --> 00:13:53.830 what information they hold on these old... sensitive 00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:56.730 cases, kind of probing the agency's files and 00:13:56.730 --> 00:13:59.149 priorities under duress. Prioritizing cold cases 00:13:59.149 --> 00:14:01.610 and institutional probing over, say, running 00:14:01.610 --> 00:14:03.610 the government. It's something. It definitely 00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:05.529 is. So let's try to pull this together for you. 00:14:05.889 --> 00:14:09.330 What we've seen today is, well, the Senate finding 00:14:09.330 --> 00:14:12.370 a way around gridlock using obscure rules. We've 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:15.330 seen a judge draw really clear lines in the sand 00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:19.210 for federal agents. And we see these core institutions. 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:21.940 the press, federal enforcement, showing real 00:14:21.940 --> 00:14:24.539 signs of stress, maybe compromising standards 00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:26.820 under financial or political pressure. Which 00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:28.899 leaves us with a pretty big question for you 00:14:28.899 --> 00:14:31.860 to think about. When these systems that are supposed 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:34.740 to provide checks and balances, Congress, the 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:36.600 media, law enforcement, when they all start showing 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:40.700 these deep structural cracks, you know, gridlock, 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:43.700 money problems, staffing failures, what does 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:46.159 that mean for accountability? for the rule of 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:47.980 law in the long run. That really is the question 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:50.019 hanging over all of this. That's all the time 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:51.639 we have for this deep dive. Thanks for joining 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:52.740 us. We'll see you next time.