Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Popok LIVE Full Episode 2/25/2025

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

Legal AF's Michael Popok provides urgent live briefing on late breaking events. Tonight, Popok examines MSNBC's firing of all of its diverse anchors, including Katie Phang and Joy Reid, to bend the knee to Trump; Federal Courts holding the line against Trump and Musk as an open MAGA rebellion has broken out internally against Musk; the hallowing out of American Values by Trump in his policies and laws, as Trump breaks the connection and breaches the social contract between US citizens and their government; an overview of the 92 cases and 34 injunctions and restraining orders against the Trump Administration as Plaintiffs groups like Attorneys General, public interest groups, and democratic lawyers, win at a 99% rate so far in courts, and so much more at the intersection of law and politics. Support Our Sponsors: Rubbish: For 35% off your order, head to https://RubbishHome.com and use code LEGALAF VIIA: Try VIIA Hemp! https://viia.co/legalaf and use code LEGALAF! Naked Wines: Join the Naked Wines community and head to https://NakedWines.com/legalaf for 6 bottles of wine for JUST $39.99 with shipping included MD Hearing: To get our $297 when you buy a PAIR offer, including a free charger, head to https://ShopMDHearing.com and use code LEGALAF. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're on PO-POK Live with a new Home Office Studio. I appreciate you being here. We've got a lot to talk about at that intersection of law and politics. Here's what I want to discuss with you tonight. I want to start with all things Elon Musk and Doge, not because I want to, but because I have to. As federal workers troll and hack the Trump administration,

cabinet members rebel against the yoke of being told what to do by Elon Musk. That means fighting MAGA and I'm there for it. As federal judges, one after another, in a series of lawsuits and injunctions and orders, look the Trump administration in the eye and its officials and say, with a unified voice, we don't believe a word that you say. We don't believe a word that you're telling us in these courtrooms and therefore we are issuing,

fill in the blank, temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and the rest. I want to talk about all of the cases. There are 92 of them, 92 cases. I want to talk about the 34 restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, or more against the Trump administration, and we're less than five weeks in. Then we're going to talk about how the Trump administration is hollowing out not only the federal government and destroying the link,

the necessary link between the American people and its government, breaching the social contract, making us unrecognizable to the world in terms of what are our American values and why are they completely absent from everything that Donald Trump is doing in a domestic or foreign policy way? He is a unifying force. He's unifying Europe against America. He's unifying Russia against America. He's unifying China against America as he instructed his ambassador to the United Nations to do the unthinkable, to vote along with North Korea and Russia against one of our allies.

I never thought I'd have to talk about a Russian sympathizer occupying the White House, but here we are. Gonna talk about Ukraine and the European reaction to all of it, because it matters to us, because our audience doesn't subscribe to the theory that we can pull in our oars and not have our economy impact the global economy,

not have our values impact the world values. And then I got to do mainstream media watch, right? Because MSNBC has decided to curry favor and pander to Donald Trump. I mean, on one hand, they're trying to fire up their programming to complement or match what we're doing on the Midas Touch Network. On the other hand, they're doing reverse DEI. They're firing everyone who is a person of color, including not only friend of the show, friend of me, Michael Popak, going back almost 15 years, Katie Fang, Jonathan Capehart, Joy Reid. Why are they no longer on the air at a critical moment when we need them?

And what is mainstream media doing? On one hand, you've got the CBSs of the world and the Associated Press and the Gannett or Gannett papers trying to do something to protect the freedom of the press and recent filings. But at the end, they just always seem to capitulate, stroke a check to Donald Trump personally and try to move on. We don't believe in that here in the Midas Touch network. And I think that's why people are flocking to this network in droves. I mean, when the brothers and I spoke about the network, the Midas Touch, it was a website

with a podcast attached to it five years ago. We said at one point, how are we going to continue to attract people if for instance the criminal cases for Donald Trump subside, or if people lose interest in the intersection of law and politics? Well, what we've shown in the last month or two and building on the last five years with our audience is that they need, they're thirsty for the independent commentary and analysis they're only finding here on the

Midas Touch Network, making it the number one YouTube channel, most watched YouTube channel, the number one podcast in the Midas Touch Brothers podcast, Legal AF, hanging right in there with its brother pod. We're in the top 10 depending upon which poll you look at. And that's all a reflection of the community that we've built here because we got to speak truth to each other before we can speak truth to power. Now, let me just do as I transition, let me talk about the cases because I think that's why people come to me in particular to talk about the intersection of law and politics, 35-year practicing lawyer in the federal courts that I talk about. There are an extraordinary number of cases already filed against this administration.

There's no other way to put it. We are five weeks into this administration. There are 92 cases, 92 cases in just about 37 days. You do the math, it's about three cases a day. And that's going to continue for the next four years. In the first Trump administration, over a thousand cases were filed and the batting average for wins against the Trump administration was between 80 and 90%. Now, we're looking at three or four times that because Donald Trump is acting three or four more times outrageous, that much more outrageous. And so we are averaging close to the 3,000. We're coming close to meeting my prediction of 3,000 lawsuits in a four-year period. And know that to answer the question that often comes up in the chat or in direct messaging

to me, no, that's not normal. We've never seen an out of control rogue president who created a phony fake mandate, a phony fake landslide, a phony fake set of facts in order to justify policies that nobody elected him on, that nobody wanted. Raise your hand in the chat. If you voted for Donald Trump, there's got to be a few people in there that voted for Donald Trump that are having misgivings, that are showing up at these town hall meetings that we've seen, right, excoriating the members of Congress and saying, this is not what we

voted for. Consumer confidence at an all time low in the last four weeks, plummeting 10 points below what it was with Joe Biden. Remember those good old days? Egg prices soaring, rent staying where it was, no day one price lowering, which Donald Trump promised you. Quite the opposite. Well, it's no surprise. He thought he was playing some sort of video game. Let's tariff our 50% trading partners. Let's tariff our allies to success. Let's cut taxes.

Let's get rid of revenue stream into the economy. Let's take the US out of the US economy and cut off all funding, foreign and domestic. Then let's see what happens. Only a madman would do that without thinking through the serious ramifications and consequences of his actions. Judge Ali Khan in DC trial court level today issued an order

in which she basically said, are you mad? You cut off $3 trillion worth of federal funding to not-for-profits in states, waited 24 hour notice, that is the very definition of arbitrary and capricious and not reasonable. You didn't think about the real world impacts because you didn't care about it.

When Donald Trump says, and his right-wing MAGA Federalists say, Heritage Foundation people say, we want to reshape the role and the relationship between American voters and their government. What they mean is they want to completely detach the American voter and Americans from their government and cut off the umbilical cord, cut off the life support, cut, right? Or as Judge Ali Khan said, kill the fuel to this large machinery without thinking of the repercussions.

We had before Trump a social contract, one with the other of our fellow neighbors, with us, with the government, that they would provide a social safety net of programs that matter to help Americans as they move through their life cycle, who may not be as accomplished as the billionaires who joined Donald Trump in the White House. And that's okay. They still have the beating hearts of Americans, American voters, and they deserve dignity, regardless of their educational background,

their accomplishments, how many businesses they started, how many businesses they failed. They deserve to live in the America of their dreams. Donald Trump is dashing those dreams in this failing administration. I mean, I'm not trying to throw dirt on the Trump administration, but I am. We are five weeks in, and I've never seen a worse start

to an administration other than Herbert Hoover that threw us into the Great Depression. All of these, you know, all of these crazy schemes that people around him have pressed him to do. Let's tariff Canada, China and Mexico and see what happens. Let's cut off foreign aid that used to be used for diplomacy purposes. And every foreign dollar has an American company

and American worker behind it. Let's cut that off. Let's see what happens when we turn off the trillion dollar spigot of money that supports not-for-profits and our states and the people that are underneath each of those things that need the support. How about we don't do that?

How about we don't do that and we say we did like we were children? This is a five-year-old. What happens if I push this button? That's who we want leading our government? And then if that wasn't enough, you got Elon Musk, who I defy anyone in the Trump administration, because they haven't been able to do it since even in courts. I defy the Trump administration to look the American people in the eye in a filing in a press conference to tell us what Elon Musk does. What he did, what are the five things he did last week that weren't illegal,

to paraphrase his own email out to federal workers? I'd like to have Trump tell me the five things he did that were not illegal last week as well. But first they say Elon Musk has no power, that Elon Musk is just a special advisor that Donald Trump enjoys. And then it's no, he runs Doge. And then it's he's sending out emails under an anonymous HR email. Nothing says I'm a coward more than an anonymous HR email trying to fire people. And the American people have had enough. They are, all of them as represented by special interest groups and labor unions are filing their suits. That's how we got to 92 of them. And no, it's not normal to have three lawsuits a day.

And seven, used to be five, seven preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders have been issued a week against this administration. Seven. They've had a couple of small wins. I know mainstream media was jumping up and down. Oh, there's a couple of wins for the Trump administration.

They are very minor. The fundamentals of his 50 or 60 executive orders are all inside courthouses with federal judges that we can trust to make the right decision. Now, you see that the Trump administration is already groaning and straining because they can't answer the question of what Elon Musk does for a living. And so instead, instead, they let him run around like an elephant who's not wearing

a diaper and they got to clean up behind him. Think of that imagery. They got to clean up behind him on a frequent basis. Let's use the, what did you do last week email as an example. Elon Musk with great fanfare and alleged support from Donald Trump sends out an email to all federal workers, there's like 2 million of them, and says, you have to justify your existence.

Tell me five things you did last week that helped the American taxpayer. And if you don't respond, you're fired. He did something like that at Twitter. He drove that company into the ground, by the way, into the ground, lost shareholder value like we've never seen before. So why we thought, Trump thought this was going to work at the federal level? None of these people know how the federal government operates.

It's not a business. It's not a for-profit. They don't know where the levers are. They don't know how to pull them or in what order to make the government hum for the American people. And instead, Elon Musk, that shouldn't be anywhere near the government. And if Judge Chutkin and a couple of other federal judges

have their way, he'll be bounced from the government. But in the meantime, he sends out the email. Donald Trump says, I think that's a good email. And then the lawsuits start. The AFL-CIO, remember them, the largest union representing federal workers, they filed a lawsuit in San Francisco and told the judge, the Office of Personnel Management

can't hire and fire people. They don't have that power. Each agency has to hire and fire on its own. We got an email from the HR department, Elon Musk at OPM telling us we're fired or we have to fill out a form to justify our existence. That is the biggest employment fraud in the history of American government. And they amended their lawsuit and now a federal judge is going to be calling Elon Musk onto the and they amended their lawsuit, and now a federal judge is going to be calling Elon Musk onto the pavement or the carpet, sorry, onto the carpet.

Now where they're getting themselves tied up in knots is they don't want to admit in the Trump administration how much power Elon Musk has. And so they'll say, Judge, Elon Musk is just a special advisor, doesn't even work for Doge. And judges like Chutkin are saying, really? I'll remind you not to lie to the court is one of her last orders. I can read and I can see what he's doing

and I can see the allegations against him. You may not think he has that formal power, but he has the de facto power. He has what we call, if it's not actual authority, he has implied authority, he has apparent authority, and the principle Trump is letting people, he has implied authority. He has apparent authority. And the principle Trump is letting people think he has that authority. It's classic apparent authority agency theory.

I learned it in, I almost said first grade, in the first year of law school. And so you got the five day, Trump all excited, Milan must doubling down on this novel way to fire people or have them fire themselves. And then we had the Magh war because all the cabinet level people think they're the leaders. And so each one of them, Marco Rubio at State, Scott Bissett at Treasury, Tulsi Gabbard at National Intelligence. I can't even believe I'm putting these words together on a kitchen magnet thing. Tulsi Gabbard, head of National Intelligence. Cash Patel, FBI. All of

them told their employees, ignore Elon Musk. See that guy over there? He was acting like he's in charge. Just ignore him. He's like that weird uncle at Thanksgiving. You gotta listen to him to be polite, but you don't have to do a darn thing he says. And if he asks you to go in the bedroom with him, don't. So we got that going on. And then because that looked like an embarrassment, the Trump administration made it official and officially told employees

they can ignore the Musk email. But that doesn't stop the lawsuit because it's obviously a craven attempt and a callous attempt to try to get out from under a future preliminary injunction and also to stop Elon Musk from being embarrassed. Elon Musk, by the way, is continuing to make money with the government, the government that he advises,

and he's up for a series of other new contracts, new military procurement contracts and the like, which I'm sure will be awarded to him. What a shock and what a surprise. And then we've got the resistance of the federal worker. Oh, hell hath no scorn like that of a federal worker. First, you got a group of Doge employees, 20 of them, who said, we are technologists who were hired to help the American people and we can't do it working for that guy, Elon Musk, you know, the guy that the government and Trump says isn't in

charge of Doge. Well, 20 people just said he is in charge of Doge and just tendered their resignation and said, we're outie. We can't, we're not going to be the pawns. We're not going to be the technologist instruments for the destruction of America, its privacy, its confidential information, or all of it. We're out. Right? So that happened. Then, on top of all of that, you've got my one of my favorite stories today, which is that at least one federal agency decided to troll the Trump administration

and Elon Musk particularly. And when its workers came back to work today, because Elon Musk ordered everybody back to work, no more remote locations, they were greeted to giant screens bolted to the ceiling, playing on a loop, an artificial intelligence deep fake, I think it was a deep fake, of a Trump, it's a video, a Trump sucking the toes of Elon Musk under the caption,

"'Along live the real king'." Over and over and over again. I set up my hot take on this that when regimes fall and collapse, you know, from a value standpoint or from a military coup, while the regime change is going on, state-run television often runs out of loop. Things like, you know, the pick a ballet, you know, Swan Lake, or classical music, a song from classical music over and over and over again. That's how the

people know there's been a regime change. Oop, is Swan Lake still on? Okay, it's not over yet. So that's how I interpret the federal workers firing back with this loop, right, which it took a long time to get down. It was also a signal of support to the other federal workers. Like we're with you, you know, pardon me. We're with you on this. Don't worry. We got your back. You're not alone.

You're not alone. We're not alone. That's why we joined together all over the place on Midas Touch. Tuesday nights here on Pope Oc Live, Wednesday and Saturdays on Legal AF. We join together. You're helping me build a new pro-democracy channel called Legal AF, the YouTube channel, Legal AF MTN.

And it's that resistance that takes many forms that's important in this particular moment in time. As Judge Kofordor said when he wrote his preliminary injunction on birthright citizenship and during the hearing, we don't want history to look back and say, where were the judges and where were the lawyers when this was going on? And I'll add one more to that.

Where was the YouTube Midas Touch community in all of this? Because we are the new press. We are the new independent-minded commentators in providing analysis to you. Let me talk for a minute before our first break. Let me talk for a minute about what just happened at MSNBC because I'm livid. Our brothers are livid because we know a lot of these people. They've been on the show. I'm personal friends with Katie Fang. I knew her when she was a up and coming young lawyer and partner in Miami. When I was a little bit older lawyer in Miami,

I was a mentor to her. She was an amazing mentee. I wanted to see her become a judge. She had bigger things that she wanted to do nationally and became working her way up an amazing legal correspondent and the host of the Katie Fang Show. But since they've decided the way to Curry and Pander, Curry favor with and Pander the Trump administration

from an MSNBC standpoint, from a Comcast standpoint, the cable company that owns all these channels is that they were gonna get rid of DEI hires. And they're not even DEI hires. What I mean by that is not that they were hired because of DEI, they just got rid of, in a perverse response to Donald Trump's attack on DEI, they just got rid of everybody that was diverse.

So they got rid of the two black journalists and the one Asian journalist and the one Hispanic journalist. Now I get they looked at their demographics and I was actually surprised by this. The average age on MSNBC, the average of its viewership, guess, put it in my comments right now. I'll wait a second.

It's 70, seven zero. It's the aging of an audience. Nothing wrong with that. Our audience tends to be somewhere in the 50, 60 range on average, but, and I get what they're trying to do. They're trying to recalibrate and reload, taking a page out of independent media like ours, free independent media like ours,

without outside advisors, without a public company to worry about. And they're saying, huh, we got to go into opposition and resistance against the Trump administration. Yeah, no shit. What do you think we've been doing for the last five years? Welcome. Welcome to the party. You're a little bit late. But I don't understand why Joy Reid, Jonathan Capehart, and Katie Fang aren't part of that resistance. I invite all of them to come on our network, to come on my show, to come on any Midas Touch show. You know, I'd love to get Katie Fang to join the Legal AF channel or the Midas Touch

channel or both in a heartbeat. But you have that going on, which appears to be clear pandering and the bending of the knee by mainstream media that has to worry about Donald Trump and their FCC licenses and everything else. While CBS tries to put up a fight even though they got their own FCC problems led by a Trump-er, led by an election denier in Brandon Carr, who runs the Federal Communications Commission, they all got to get their licenses. They all got to get their regulatory approvals for mergers and acquisitions. CBS gets sued for $20 billion by Donald Trump personally because they had the temerity to edit out certain aspects of Kamala Harris's interview. I mean, to paraphrase a new lawsuit or a new motion paper filed today in Iowa by the Des Moines Register and by the Gannett

Papers, Donald Trump's a sore winner. He won that election. What's the damage? What's the issue? You didn't like that they cut, they didn't play her entire five-minute answer. They only played a minute of her answer. That's called editorial discretion. You know, if you don't want editorial discretion as a viewer,

you know where to go, it's called C-SPAN. You want, they just play the whole darn thing and they don't tell you what's important. And you'd have to sit there through four hours gavel to gavel coverage. That's a different business model I would suggest. So Gannett and CBS fire back in their briefs in which Donald Trump sued Ann Selzer, one

of the leading Iowa pollsters who created the Iowa poll because he didn't like that he won within the margin of error, but didn't like that he was on the wrong side of the margin of error in the last reporting. He's therefore claiming some sort of consumer fraud. It's just a press release. It's just a political screed masquerading as a lawsuit. So CBS fired back there. They also said, hey, you said it impacted you.

Let's take a look at your financials. Let's get your personal financials. Donald Trump, I don't think he's gonna like that much. At the same time, Associated Press finally decided maybe they should fight back and not be barred and banned from Air Force One and the Oval Office from doing reporting. But on balance, mainstream media, which is owned by public companies, which is owned by billionaire oligarchs, are scared of Donald Trump and they're scared of the chilling effect of being attacked by his Federal Communications Commission, being

attacked by his FBI, being attacked by his Department of Justice when they're trying to return shareholder value. We are not concerned with those things here on the MyStreetDutch.com network or on LegalAF or on POPOC Live. When I come back, we're going to talk about the hollowing out of American values and how it's playing out around the world as Europe unites behind a right-wing German leader. Is this 1942? Who's doing the uniting? It's Donald Trump uniting the world against us with his crazy tariffs and his attack on democracy led by our allies.

And then I wanna talk briefly about some updates and some of the preliminary injunctions of why it matters to our way of life that the last firewall appears to be federal courts. But first, let's take our first break here on POPOC Live. It was great seeing my mother-in-law from abroad over the holidays and have her visit with our baby daughter. But it also reminded me that she's getting older and that she doesn't have access to affordable hearing aids in her own country. Millions of adults every year over the age of 65

start to lose their hearing. If you or your parent are one of them, you are not alone. This podcast is sponsored by MD Hearing. MD Hearing makes high quality, easy to use, rechargeable hearing aids with exceptional sound quality that are personalized to your hearing profile and cost a fraction of what typical hearing aids cost. MD Hearing's Neo model cost over 90% less than clinic hearing aids. The Neo fits inside your ear, so no one will even know it's there. Plus, MD Hearing just launched the Neo XS, MD Hearing's smallest hearing aid ever. MD Hearing recently cut their price in half. That means you can get high quality, rechargeable digital hearing aids for only $297 a pair.

Since we gave my mother-in-law MD Hearing aids on her last visit, her life is so much brighter and better, and now she can actually hear my baby daughter's first cooing and almost words, which are coming close to Babishka. MD Hearing was founded by an ENT surgeon who saw how many of his patients needed hearing aids but couldn't afford them. He made it his mission to develop a quality hearing aid that anyone could afford. MD Hearing has sold over 2 million hearing aids and they offer a 45-day risk-free trial with 100% money back guarantee. So you can buy with confidence.

Still on the fence about MD Hearing? They were just selected to be the hearing aid supplier for top Medicare Advantage plans, so they are a brand you can trust. Get the high quality, affordable hearing aids you deserve with MD Hearing. Go to shopmdhearing.com and use promo code LegalAF to get a pair of hearing aids for just $297. Plus they're adding a free extra charging case, a hundred dollar value just for listeners of LegalAF. That shopmdhearing.com and use our promo code LegalAF and get a pair of hearing aids for just $297.

Wanna be the most interesting person at the party? With our next partner, Naked Wines, you can bring the best, most interesting wine from an independent winemaker with a truly unique story. Like I recently had a meet with a potential client with a reputation for being, well, difficult. But then I went to my Naked Wines box, pulled out a Napa Valley cab

that she had never had her heard of before, and that icebreaker did the trick. This podcast is sponsored by Naked Wines. It's 2025. Do you still shop for wine like it's 2005? Naked Wines is a service that directly connects you to the world's finest independent wine makers. So you can get award-winning wine

delivered straight to your door. Use our code LEGALAF for the code and password at NakedWines.com and get their incredible deal of six bottles for just $39.99. I recently enjoyed Naked Wine's bottle of W. Donaldson, Sonoma Blanc de Blanc from their most recent shipment. I love cracking open a bottle of wine, putting away technology,

and just being present in the moment with family and friends. How do they do it? Naked Wines connects winemakers and wine drinkers directly, allowing for vineyard to your door delivery at up to 60% off what you would pay in store. By cutting out the traditional retail middlemen, costs and markups, winemakers can pass those savings onto you

without skimping on quality. Plain and simple, the wine from Naked Wines is amazing. I've been rating the wine after I get it and each shipment to me gets better and better. Naked Wines has been around for over 15 years and funds over 90 independent winemakers around the world. With no commitment or membership fees, you can enjoy Naked Wines hassle-free. And don't forget you can pause or cancel

at any time. So just because you got a trip coming up doesn't mean you can't enjoy Naked Wines. Now is the time to join the Naked Wines community. Head to nakedwines.com slash legal AF, click enter voucher and put in my code legal AF for both the code and password for six bottles of wine for just $39.99 with shipping included. That's $100 off your first six bottles at nakedwines.com slash legal AF and use the code and password legalAF for six bottles of wine for $39.99.

Welcome back to PO-POC Live. Let's talk about American values because nobody's really talking about that, neither in the Trump administration or in mainstream media. Values for me matter. There has to be a meaning, an essence, Mainstream media, values for me matter. There has to be a meaning, an essence, something in the fiber of our being as Americans that

distinguish us from other countries. What does it mean to be an American? If we were a company, I guess this would be some sort of tabletop exercise where we go around what's our corporate ethos? What distinguishes us from all the other companies? But this is bigger. This is greater. Who are we as Americans? Is what Donald Trump is doing, does that represent who we are as a people or who we want the world to see us as? What does it mean to be the leader? Why were we called the leader of the free world? And what does that mean? What are the values that we're supposed to be upholding? That has been lost in the equation of the velocity at which Donald Trump is trying to

destroy the relationship between the government and its people. He's not trying to reshape it. He's trying to destroy it and implement policies and values that are far out of step with the average American person. There is nobody I can assure you that believes that from a foreign policy standpoint, pissing off and alienating and sticking a stick in the eye of our allies is helpful. To what end? The American economy was doing just fine before Donald Trump got in office. The American economy is complex. It hums

on its own frequency, but you have to have a role for monetary and fiscal policy, a role for the US government in the treasury notes and bonds arena, and a role of the US government in funding foreign and domestic aid. That is a major part of what makes our American economy hum. We are not a pure capitalist market. Nobody, frankly, on this network, or if you can hear my voice, would wanna live in a purely capitalist society where only those who have the ability to make lots of money will succeed,

and everybody else lives in poverty and on the street. That you don't wanna do. To ameliorate that, we have, nor, by the way, nor are we living in a pure democracy. We're not, We don't vote. It's not majority vote. We're not in Greece. It's not ancient Greece.

We're not in majority vote. Doesn't make policy. Every major decision gets done by a majority vote of your neighbors. We don't live in a pure democracy. We live in, at best, a constitutional republic that has democratic features. We're so not pure democratic or democrat, by the way, democratic system, that on the scale of freedom of the press in the world, we're number 45. That goes back to my

That goes back to my horror and my shock to wake up under a Trump administration that is soulless and valueless. The fact that we are not in the top five of freedom of the press protections for a country founded on freedom of the press is embarrassing and disgusting and depraved. This is what happens when even for a short time we elect somebody like Donald Trump who has taken the beating heart of American brand of democracy and freedom, the shining light on a hill,

and shoved it into a black garbage bag where it remains until we reclaim our country at the midterms. There is no better or worse reflection of the disassociation of American values from policy than what just took place at the United Nations a day or so ago, where they had a vote like they do every year for the last three and a half years or more of the Russia attack on Ukraine, killing millions of innocent civilians and taking land that didn't belong to them,

violating their sovereignty of a democratic country in the heart of Europe, in the Balkans, right? And every year in some way, shape or form, the United Nations votes to condemn Ukraine's aggression, especially now when there's supposedly a peace deal being negotiated without Ukraine between Donald Trump and his lover, there's no other way to call it, he was a Russian sympathizer of Vladimir Putin. Putin dictating the terms of his peace against Ukraine, which fought valiantly with lots of our money over the last almost four years

and fought Russia, which is I think four times larger than it to a standstill. Sure, there's a lot of rubble in Ukraine, but Kiev remains standing. Zelensky is more popular than he was before. He's not an undemocratic dictator, as Donald Trump calls him. Just the fact that Donald Trump reaches out to attack our allies on a consistent basis,

whether it's JD Vance, remember him by the way, where is he? Where is he these days? Whether it's Vice President JD Vance addressing a group in Munich of allies, democratic allies, and excoriating them and chastising them in a very undignified, undiplomatic way because they don't practice the Trumpian brand of democracy. What is that?

That's democracy wrapped in fascism is what it is. It's a phony populism being used to anesthetize the American people into believing that he is for them, although there's already signs that it's not working. The anesthesia is wearing off and the American people are waking up groggy and in pain. They just had four root canals at the same time courtesy of Dr. Trump. Yeah. So because look at consumer confidence is in the trash. And that's a leading indicator. And then we're going to see the Fed have to step in. Then we're going to see slowdown in production.

Then we're going to see less dollars being spent. More federal workers are going to get fired under Donald Trump. So there goes those paychecks as consumers. We're going to have less ability to export. There goes that. We got rid of foreign aid and every American worker behind it. There goes that. And you see where this is going.

Donald Trump is the destroyer of worlds. He's not the maker of worlds. And he is the destroyer of the American brand of democracy. And so to hear that there was a UN vote where the three countries that joined together, I'll spot you the first two, Russia and North Korea. Name the third, the United States of America. That Donald Trump authorized Elise Stefanik, his UN ambassador, who's also morally bankrupt, to vote nay with North Korea, there's only three countries, and Russia against the resolution to admonish Russia for attacking Ukraine because it's inconsistent with Donald Trump's fake news,

fake facts that Ukraine is the dictator, Zelensky is the dictator, and he asked for it. Here we go, the victim asked for it. What does that sound like? Only somebody that would be a judge to be a sex offender would come up with that approach to foreign policy to attack one of our allies. Zelensky asked for it. Why, because he wanted to be part of NATO? You know who's freaking out right now?

Poland. Poland's like, this is how the United States protects Ukraine as soon as they change administrations? Poland's in NATO, but Donald Trump doesn't believe in NATO. And so NATO is starting not to believe in the United States. So with the elections in Germany, which is a direct result of Donald Trump and not in a good way, we have our far right, center right, new premier prime minister in Germany

who's trying to unite Europe against the United States. What is this? The Axis powers again? The ally powers? He's going to start rolling through Europe. So you got Macron and the new German guy, Pats or Spats, whatever his name is, who are fighting for the leadership of Europe, telling all of the other European countries

in emergency meetings, we can't rely on the United States anymore. Not on funding, not on national intelligence, not on security, not on intelligence, not on the economy, not on monetary policy, not on intelligence, not on the economy, not on monetary policy, not on trade, not on anything. See if we go America first, then every country goes their country first. And then where are we?

Then the spigots turn off of free trade. See I'm a free trade person. We turn off the spigots and therefore the entire world economy closes its you know what, it's in the back and we don't have an economy any longer. That's what happened during COVID when everything shut down at the same time and banks decided they weren't going to lend either, which required what? The US government under Joe Biden to step in, put $3 trillion and jumpstart the heart of the American economy because it's that beating heart of the American economy and democracy that makes the rest of the globe spin. I'm going to mean that

in a disparaging way against, you know, we have 138 countries that watch Might-It-Stutch Network at Legal AF and I love and respect every one of them. I can't tell you how many emails and direct messages I get from them. However, they will even acknowledge, and they have acknowledged to me the obvious, which is America is needed. It's sort of like one of those DC comic movies, imagining the world without Superman. And we don't have a Superman right now because we got Donald Trump running the White House. That is where we as an American people need to send a message at the midterm elections. It's right around the corner. They'll be here sooner than you think. We have to vote the bastards out, run them out on a rail, and put Democrats back into power to balance this unequal, no-balance government because you see what Donald Trump is doing while he has

all the cards. Got to rip the cards away from him. Otherwise, we can't even use the impeachment and conviction method within the Congress, which is what our founding fathers wanted us to use to stop a rogue criminal president. We don't have that when the rogue criminal president has completely co-opted the other two branches of government, right? Or at least two chambers of one branch of government. It's up to the federal courts now. When I come back from my next break, we're going to talk about the federal courts and what they're currently doing. I'll use as an example

a couple of recent decisions related to the federal courts. But we got some amazing, we say pro-democracy, I think that has a meaning. If you think pro-democracy has a meaning, leave me a comment. I think it does. It's a shorthand for what we're trying to do here. It's fair-minded people. It's free-thinking people.

It's people who want to get the facts and analysis from a person, here in this case, Popak Live, that they can trust, that they've learned to trust over the last five years of my commentary and my being there for them in that trustworthy way. So, one of the things that I want to do is to do a shout out to our sponsors, because without them, we can't do this without them.

There's no other way to put it. And they know what our commentary, nobody tells me what to say, but they know in general what Midas Touch stands for, what Legal AF, the seal of Legal AF stands for, what the seal of PO-POC stands for. And they're there for it. We have more advertisers now than we ever did before,

and many more since the election. When we were worried, like, uh-oh, what's gonna happen? You know what happened? You stepped forward, they stepped forward. We're stepping forward to build a network together, and we do it in that one way. Another way to support us is we got a Legal AF Patreon, patreon.com slash Legal AF.

Another way to support us is, of course, hit the subscribe button on Legal AF Patreon, patreon.com slash Legal AF. Another way to support us is of course, hit the subscribe button on Legal AF, the YouTube channel. And then as most people have heard, I have a new law firm that I founded in this moment and for this moment called the Popak Firm. And you can find it at the website just like that. And I'm focused on catastrophic injury cases where you need help. I'm representing currently from our Legal AF community a family whose daughter died during one of the plane crashes,

the American Airlines one of the Potomac. I have another family that we represent in Oregon, in Oregon related to a tractor trailer accident. I have another family that we represent in Oregon, in Oregon related to a tractor trailer accident. I'm focused on the catastrophic injuries that turn your life upside down and for which you need help. And I'm working with an amazing group of plaintiffs' lawyers around the country for that.

So go to www.thepopacfirm.com and also we have 1-800-Number-877-POPAC-AF. Let's take our next break. As a busy new parent and podcaster, I don't need to run out to the store just to get garbage bags. I got enough going on. This podcast is sponsored by Rubbish.

You take out the trash 8,000 times in your life. Rubbish makes the best garbage bags on the planet. They make trash day way better. What makes rubbish garbage bags so great? They got a funny new saying on the bags in every box. So trash day is less painful and more enjoyable. There's a reminder at the end of each roll so you know it's time to get more garbage bags

before it's too late. And they're compostable, non-toxic and PFAS free. And they donate 10% of their bags to charity. And I almost forgot, the bags are strong so they can handle whatever you throw in them. I've been using Rubbish garbage bags in my house and I gotta say, they're truly awesome. They got that smooth

premium feel that I love. Rubbish was founded with the goal of solving all of your garbage related problems. They noticed the big guys were just churning out boring white garbage bags so they decided to make something better. I like getting my garbage bags delivered directly to me so I don't have to go to the store and buy like 10 things I don't actually need. So you can either pay 20 bucks a month for a streaming service you don't watch

or way less than 20 a month for hilarious jokes on garbage bags. When you think about it like that, the choice is pretty easy. You deserve the best garbage bags money can buy. So Rubbish created them. Rubbish is running a 30% off sale, but you can get an extra 5% off

by going to rubbishhome.com and using code LegalAF. That's an extra 5% off for a total of 35% off your order. If you go to rubbishhome.com and use our code LEGALAF. Let's be real, 2025 has been all about change. Whether it's work, the world, personal stuff, or just the daily grind, it can be hard to keep up. But here's the deal. When things get hectic, we don't have to go through it alone.

Embrace the power of nature and elevate your everyday with VIA, trusted by over half a million happy customers. VIA is the Swiss Army Knife of Wellness, dedicated to harnessing the natural benefits of hemp to create high quality wellness products. Whether you're looking to improve your sleep, focus, recovery, or add a little pep to your step, VIA has

something for you. With products ranging from 0 to 100 milligrams of THC, VIA gives you the power to blaze your own trail. VIA is well renowned for their award-winning THC and THC-free gummies and vapes, THCA flower-soothing topicals and calming drops, All crafted with the highest quality hemp, sourced from trusted, independently owned American farms. And the best part, VIA legally ships to nearly all states in the US in discrete packaging, directly to your door,

with a worry-free guarantee. No medical card required, so if you're 21 years or older, check out our link to Viya's website, link in our description and use code LegalAF for 15% off. And if you're new to Viya, get a free gift of your choice. Look for me, with my sleep compromised by my media career and my family commitments, I need to get the most out of every bit of my pillow

and brain turnoff time. That's where Viya's dreams, sleep gummies to get the most out of every bit of my pillow and brain turnoff time. That's where Vaya's dreams, Sleep Gummies with 10mg THC came in handy. I was able to enjoy peaceful sleep, but with the peace of mind that I was doing it with all natural products and ingredients, formulated to promote sleep and calm the mind as well. And with no grogginess when it was finally time to get up. Unlock the power of nature with Vaya's Organic and Vegan Hemp Extracts, perfect for relaxation and rejuvenation. Vaya is the only lifestyle hemp brand. They use compounds found in hemp along with active plant extracts to create products,

each with a specific effect in mind. Vaya is well known for their premium THCA flour, grown indoors in state of the art facilities and harvested at peak THCA levels to emphasize a natural aroma and flavor. The THCA flour strains are grown with care and rigorously tested to ensure the highest quality, free from harsh pesticides or nasty chemicals. VIA's premium products fit your budget

and their customer service experience is, well, a dream. If you're 21 years or older, check out the link to VIA in our description and use the code LegalAF to receive 15% off. And if you're new to VIA, get a free gift of your choice. After you purchase, they ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. And hence your every day with Viya.

All right, welcome back. We're in the home stretch. Let's pick up with these 92 cases and our 34 or so injunctions and temporary restraining orders. We have a new one that just came in, a few that have just came in in the last couple of days. One just today. Judge Ali Khan, a Biden appointee, just issued her memorandum and opinion against the Trump

administration, against the Office of Management and Budget, against Ross Voigt, who is the self-proclaimed father of the Project 2025, because she doesn't believe anything that the Trump administration has to say in her courtroom about funding. Remember, in the beginning of February, Donald Trump thought it would be fun to shut off $3 trillion worth of funding to not-for-profits that rely on federal grants. They've applied for them. The Congress has awarded them and they should be getting them. But the executive branch under Russ Fawt thinks that the way to control an out-of-control administrative state is to shut off its funding, to impound its funds, which the president is not allowed to do. He's allowed to execute. He's allowed to choose

the means and methods to accomplish the goals of Congress, but he can't cut off funding already allocated. So they thought it'd be fun to do that. Not-for-profits and state programs that rely on federal funding cut it all off with no notice, no time for anybody, just like they cut off the $60 billion worth of aid through USAID. Let's find out. Let's see what happens when I push this button. Two federal judges have stepped in. One I'll talk about now.

The other one was Judge McConnell up in Rhode Island and put a stop to it. Now in a new memorandum opinion, let me read to you what the judge said today about the arbitrary and capricious, the opposite of reasonable decision-making, if you can call it that, of the Trump administration. This is on page 29. The arbitrary and capricious review at this stage of the litigation remains largely unchanged from the court's earlier opinion. The touchstone of this inquiry is rationality, and defendants' actions flunk the test. Defendants still cannot provide a reasonable explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance in less than a day to safeguard valuable taxpayer resources. Evaluating funding priorities can be done

without needing to starve citizens or deny critical health services. The potential three trillion in financial assistance implicated by the freeze is a breathtakingly large sum of money to suspend practically overnight, Judge Ali Khan said. And rather than taking a measured approach to identify purportedly wasteful spending,

defendants cut the fuel supply to a vast, complicated, nation-wide machine, seemingly without consideration for the consequences of that decision. Doesn't that sum up all of what we're watching with the Trump administration? It's as if he never served as president before. He just cut the fuel supply to the plane while it's flying. I mean, I hate to use a plane analogies at this moment in time, considering there's been five major crashes while he's been president.

Planes are falling out of the sky, which is an indication of a failing administration. But the judges like Judge Ali Khan have had enough. They're this close to finding somebody in contempt of court. She already said in the same order, that she doesn't believe a word that Donald Trump and his administration says. It appears to her that they're trying very hard to do an end run around federal judge orders in order to act like they're in compliance when they really aren't.

That is pissing the shit out of her. That's a legal term. Federal judges are starting quickly to realize, some many of which are the same Jan six judges that handled all those Jan six convictions, that the Trump administration, its Department of Justice, and those lawyers that appear for it can't be trusted. And that means once you lose your credibility in a courtroom, you've lost everything.

I don't have anything but my credibility. When I look a judge in the eye in a courtroom and I tell them that a body of law stands for a certain proposition or a case stands for a certain proposition, I'm right and they can trust me and they know they can trust me. They may not agree with my ultimate analysis, but they know if I tell them there's a case on point, that there's a fact on point, they know I am not dissembling, I am not lying, I am being candid to the tribunal, I am being honest with my advocacy, and that's to my client's advantage. So the lawyers that are coming in there for the plaintiffs, the public interest groups, the states,

the attorneys general, the groups like Democracy Forward, they all have wind at their sails because they are trusted by the federal judges, especially in sharp contrast to the lawyers for the Department of Justice that are taking unreasonable, not rational, irrational positions in front of the judges, telling them not to believe, you know, it's like the old country song, you're going to believe me or your lying eyes, judge? The judges are going, yeah, we're going to believe my lying eyes. This is one of the reasons we already have the success rate that we have. In the 92 cases, I can't believe the number, in the 92 cases in the last five weeks in which there's 34 injunctions, in total? The winners are 34 and the Trump administration

in terms of winning is four. So they're 34 and four. Those are hall of fame numbers, son. 34 and four winning percentage, that's even better than the first time around. Now there was a lot of fear the first, I remember getting together with people even on the Legal AF YouTube channel that I curate. Some of my friends on court accountability and court of accountability action, they were saying, I don't know, with all these

federal judges that Biden, sorry, that Trump appointed and Biden not being able to get everything appointed before he left office, I'm worried that we're not going to be as successful in the second term as we were in the first term in pitting back Donald Trump and tying him down. At the time I said, I don't see it that way. I think there's plenty of Biden, Clinton, Obama appointed judges in all the places that matter to our cases, like up and down the original 13 colonies. Well, not all the 13, like up and down the original 13 colonies. Well, not all the 13. The top six or seven from New England sort of down above the Mason-Dixon line. Then California, Oregon, and Washington, Illinois maybe, Maryland, and DC. I'm not shouting out states. If you live not in one of those states and you're fair-minded and progressive, moderate, independent, all of that,

welcome. I'm not criticizing your state. I'm just saying these are where the judges live that matter to the things that matter to you by being here on PO-POK Live. So that's why we're filing in Massachusetts, in Rhode Island, in New Hampshire, in Maryland, in Virginia, in DC, in Oregon, in Washington, in California. That's why we're staying away from the rest of the country. We're not filing in Louisiana. We're not filing in Texas. Nothing to see here, move along.

We're not filing in Florida. Because they're untrustworthy from a standpoint that we can't trust the judges there to do the right thing. And we certainly can't trust the courts of appeal that sit over those places. The 11th circuit over Florida and Georgia. The fifth circuit over Louisiana and Texas. Yeah, we gotta stay away from them.

There's a reason the MAGA Republicans and Trump flood the zone and they only go to those states. You know, we go to the other ones. Now there's nothing that MAGA can do about it, the fact that we're filing first through all these places. There's no second filing. Nobody on the other side can go and ask. I mean, I guess they can go to Texas and somebody can ask for a declaration that everything

Donald Trump is doing is lawful and constitutional, but that's really not how ripe controversies, live controversies work. You got to have standing because you're being damaged. You're being injured by the policy, which means you're automatically not on the Trump side. And what I'm seeing, to give a summary, what I'm seeing with the tremendous success rate is that Donald Trump is, because he's gone so rogue, because he's gone so far away from American values, to bring this Bopak Live to a completion.

Because he's gone so far away from the anchors of our American values. Because his executive orders are so attenuated from the branch of government that he occupies and where he's trying to do a turf war with Congress. And Congress looks like they're trying to give him the turf that he wants. I mean, Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, said, don't give this out of control president this Leviathan of a president.

Don't give him unfettered control. Don't give him, don't cede territory and turf that's ours. We have a job to do. We have a branch that we occupy. We are the Article 1 of the Constitution is Congress. Article 2, the president. Article 3, the federal judges. We have an anniversary to celebrate here on PO-POK Live too. Yesterday was the anniversary of the 1807 case, or sorry, 1805 case of Marbury versus Madison written by the great John Marshall,

the first United States Supreme Court Chief Justice, who without Marbury versus Madison, which I spent three weeks studying in law school with the late great Walter Dellinger, former Solicitor General of the United States, Duke Law professor, father of Hampton Dellinger, who's in a fight right now with the Trump administration to continue to be the head of the Office of Special Council.

He was thrown out a week into a five-year term by Donald Trump, whatever it was. Without Marbury versus Madison, without John Marshall, there'd be no United States Supreme Court as a third co-equal branch of government. That case basically put the Supreme Court in business. Even though the Constitution established a Supreme Court, it didn't really set the agenda for it and what it would do and how it would be the final arbiter of law. Until that moment, executive branch people like Andrew Jackson would think, well, I have an equal interpretation of the law.

That sounds like Donald Trump, right, with his executive orders. Only I can give the executive branch opinion about what law means. No, there's no executive branch opinion about what law means. You can take positions in court. You can interpret law and regulations, but the ultimate arbiter of that is the judiciary branch, the judicial branch, only because of Marbury versus Madison, only because of John Marshall. There's a reason, if you're lucky enough, to go to Washington, take a tour, and go to the United States Supreme Court. You will see a giant statue of John Marshall right in the center of the rotunda of the Supreme

Court, right near where you actually go in to see the court itself. There's another statue of him, a smaller bust, but this is like gigantic. It really demonstrates how much influence he had. We wouldn't be talking about the United States Supreme Court. It would just be a lackey of the executive branch, which is what he's been trying to do

if we didn't have John Marshall. So a celebration, because even though we don't agree with the current Supreme Court, if we didn't have at least a Supreme Court, we would have deeper, deeper problems than we have even now. We got to count on federal courts at the appellate level to make our rules. Ninety-nine percent of case law is made by the appellate courts below the United States Supreme Court. Sure, they take 60 cases a year, but there are thousands and thousands of other cases. Remember what I said, there's going to be 4,000 cases against the Trump administration. Only about 250 of those of those 4,000 are

going to make it to the United States Supreme Court in four years. That's it. And the rest are going to rise and fall at the trial court level and at the appellate court level. And we're here for it. And you're here for me and I appreciate you. This is about our 12th or 15th episode of the PO-POC Live, a new podcast. We're going to roll it out in audio version in about a month or two. You're helping us build another pro-democracy channel. I'm so honored to be here with you. Take a moment, hit the free subscribe button for Midas Touch. Come on over, Legal AF MTN, help us get to half a million in the next week or two. If you are the one that rolls the odometer to 500,000, I'll arrange a personal phone call with

you. We'll figure out who that was. Somebody can go look and tell me you're the 500,000, and I'll figure out a way to have a direct conversation with you. How's that? That's my promise. So until my next PO-POK Live next Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time, until my next Legal AF podcast Wednesdays and Saturdays right here on the Midas Touch Network, or my next reporting and curating on Legal AF, the YouTube channel. I'm Michael Popak, signing off. I'm Michael Popak, and I got some big news for our audience. Most of you know me as the co-founder of Midas Touch's Legal AF and the Legal AF YouTube channel, or as a 35-year national trial lawyer. Now building on what we started together on Legal AF, I've launched a new law firm,

the Popak F firm, dedicated to obtaining justice through compassionate and zealous legal representation. At the Popok firm, we are focused on obtaining justice for those who have been injured or damaged by a life-altering event by securing the highest dollar recoveries. I've been tirelessly fighting for justice for the last 35 years, so my own law firm organically building on my legal AF work just feels right. And I've handpicked a team of top tier trial fighters

and settlement experts throughout all 50 states known as Big Auto Injury Attorneys who have the know-how to beat heartless insurance companies, corporations, government entities, and their attorneys. Big Auto's attorneys working with my firm are rock stars in their respective states and collectively responsible for billions of dollars in recoveries. So if you or a loved one have been on the wrong side of a catastrophic auto, motor vehicle, rideshare, or truck accident,

suffered a personal injury, or been the victim of medical malpractice, employment harassment, or discrimination, or suffered a violation of your civil and constitutional rights, then contact the Popak Firm today at 1-877-POPAK-AF, or by visiting my website at www.thepopakfirm.com and fill out a free case evaluation form. And if we determine that you have a case and you signed with us, we don't get paid unless you do.

The Popak Firm, fighting for your justice every step of the way. Get ready for Las Vegas style action at Bet MGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for. When you play classics like MGM Grand Millions, or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette, with our ever-growing library of digital slot games, a large selection of online table games, and signature Bet MGM service, there is no better way to bring the excitement and ambience of Las Vegas home to you than with Bet MGM Casino. Download the Bet MGM Casino app today.

Bet MGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BED-MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.