#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 12.18 RMU: House votes on impeachment; 300k voters purged in GA; Massive mortgage fraud in MD

Episode Date: December 22, 2019

12.18.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: House prepares impeachment votep against Trump; 300k voters purged in Georgia; Massive mortgage fraud in Prince George's County, Maryland. #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: 420 Real Estate, LLC To invest in 420 Real Estate’s legal Hemp-CBD Crowdfunding Campaign go to http://marijuanastock.org Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by Adopt, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time.

And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's Rolling Martin. Rolling with rolling now.

He's broke, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's rolling, Martel. Martel. Martel. We borrow it from our children. With humility, we pray that the history of this day will guide us to a better future for our nation. Now yield back. Gentleman from Georgia. Thank you, yield back. The Press Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Long. The Press The gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. The Press Thank you, Madam Speaker. And we have never ever in the history of this country seen a presidency like this one. Once the president was sworn in, 19 minutes later, the Washington Post said impeachment begins today.

A million women march the next day on Washington. Bank of America, Starbucks, both that supported Hillary Clinton had their windows broken out here in Washington because people were so upset that this man was elected president of the United States. He's had his head held underwater for almost three years now. Never coming up for a breath of air. Just keep pushing him down.

Lowest black unemployment ever. Lowest Hispanic unemployment ever. Highest stock market ever. Lowest Hispanic unemployment ever. Highest stock market ever. Very lowest unemployment in years. Gentlemen from California. Reserve the balance of my time. I yield back. Reserves?

Yes. Gentlemen from Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Fortenberry. Gentlemen, it's recognized for 30 seconds. Nebraska. Mr. Fortenberry. The Vice President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of

the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President

of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President of the United States, the President And now every future president, Democrat or Republican, will have to worry that the impeachment process will be driven as a blunt force political instrument.

It's been said that this day is sad. It's not sad. It's regrettable. But this day will end shortly. The House has had its cathartic moment. Tomorrow will begin a new day. Let's get back to work. I yield back.

Gentleman yields back. Gentleman. Of course, you're watching. Let's go back to it. That's the impeachment on the House floor where Republicans and Democrats have been speaking for the last several hours. Frankly, it's been lots of comedy on the side of the Republican Party. Y'all, they've literally had individuals comparing the impeachment of Donald Trump to Jesus being crucified and also to Pearl Harbor. If you want to talk about how crazy it is now, you just heard one of the one of the Republicans talk about how all these things are happening and how unemployment is so low.

That has nothing to do with a president lying and a president trying to, asking a foreign entity to investigate a political rival. Nothing, nothing. And so we're almost at the point of, well, this is over because normally what happens all day, it's Republican, a Democrat, Republican and Democrat. And so the last three individuals who have been talking were Republicans. They've given them 30 seconds. So clearly there's a time limit. You know what? Let's just go back. Let's hear some more of the comedy. Go right ahead. Voting no. Impeachment is not in the best interest of this country. And in fact, it has only deepened the partisan divide that truly plagues this country.

When the sun comes up tomorrow, I pray with all my heart that the anger and the division in this chamber will give way to an honorableness and a productivity and a time of working together. I yield back. Gentleman from California. Matter of secret, I reserve. All right. So, Speaker, I reserve. All right, so again, I think the Democrats are about to speak now, so let's go back. It looks like they went back to the Democratic side. Let's hear

who on the Democratic side is coming up. Gentleman's recognized for 30 seconds. Thank you. Madam Chair. That's one of the Republican speakers. All right, so earlier, uh, Nancy Pelosi got everything started. Speaker of the House, where she laid out exactly why Donald Trump, uh, is going to be impeached by the House only the third time in American history that has taken place.

President Andrew Johnson, uh, as well as President Bill Clinton. Here's what Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, had to say earlier today. My colleagues, this morning and every morning when we come together, members rise and, members of the military, officials and those civically engaged also pledge allegiance to the flag. Let us recall what that pledge says. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The Republic for which it stands is what we are here to talk about today. A Republic if we can keep it.

We gather today under the dome of this temple of democracy to exercise one of the most solemn powers that this body can take, the impeachment of the President of the United States. No member, regardless of party or politics, comes to Congress to impeach a president. But every one of us, as our first act as a member of Congress, stood on this historic House floor before our beautiful American flag and raised our hands in this sacred oath. I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. So help me God. For 230 years, members have taken that sacred oath which makes us custodians of the Constitution. When our founders declared independence and established a new nation, they crafted a system of government unlike one ever seen

before. A republic, starting with the sacred words, we the people. For centuries Americans have fought and died to defend democracy for the people. But very sadly now our founders vision of a republic is under threat from actions from the White House. That is why today as Speaker of the House I solemnly and sadly opened the debate on the impeachment of the President of the United States. If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the President's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice. What we are discussing today is the... All right, folks, now if y'all really want to laugh,

here is an interview that Wolf Blitzer did with Donald Trump where literally, literally, he talks about impeaching Bush for lying. The greatest liar who's ever been in the Oval Office actually said, impeach a Republican president for lying. Y'all watch this. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker. Well, you know, when she first got in and was named speaker, I met her,

and I'm very impressed by her. I think she's a very impressive person. I like her a lot. But I was surprised that she didn't do more in terms of Bush and going after Bush. It was almost, it just seemed like she was going to really look to impeach Bush and get him out of office, which personally I think would have been a wonderful thing. Impeaching him? Absolutely, for the war.

For the war. Because of the conduct of the war? Well, he lied. He got us into the war with lies. And, I mean, look at the trouble Bill Clinton got into with something that was totally unimportant. And they tried to impeach him, which was nonsense. And yet Bush got us into this horrible war with lies by lying,

by saying they had weapons of mass destruction, by saying all sorts of things that turned out not to be true. You got to love it. There's always a video or a tweet of this fool, Donald Trump, saying something. He said George W. Bush, Republican, should have been impeached for lying about the war.

Hmm. Ain't that grand. Here's some other video from earlier today of the sparring back and forth on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. Madam Speaker, I rise today feeling the full weight of my duty as a member of this August

body, reflecting upon our oath of office to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is my sincere belief that under the circumstances that bring us here today, there is only one path for us to take to fulfill that oath. Thomas Paine, in the first of a series of pamphlets entitled The American Crisis, published 243 years ago tomorrow, intoned that these are the times that drive men's souls. The summer soldiers and sunshine patriots will in this crisis

shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. These words were written at a time when our founders were rebelling against the tyrannical rule of the British monarchy. Today we have a president who seems to believe he is a king or above the law. Pan warned us that so unlimited a power can belong only to God Almighty. My faith leads me to take very seriously the final words of our oath to faithfully discharge the duties of the office, so help me God. Madam Speaker,

three days ago I joined with a bipartisan delegation of our colleagues celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. We laid wreaths at the memorials of Generals George Patton and Anthony McAuliffe. We visited foxholes that were occupied by some brave soldiers who fought in some of the worst winter weather ever visited upon a battlefield. visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery, the final resting place of thousands of them and General George Patton. They were not summer soldiers in their efforts 75 years ago to preserve the Republic and we must not be sunshine patriots today in our efforts to protect the Constitution upon which this great republic stands. While our fight is not in the trenches of battlefields, but in

the hallowed halls of this Congress, our duty is no less patriotic. George Washington in his farewell address to the nation counseled America that the Constitution is sacredly obligatory upon all. It is in that spirit that we proceed today. Donald Trump pressured a foreign government to target an American citizen for political gain and at the same time withheld without justification $391 million in military aid to a vulnerable Ukraine as part of a scheme to solicit foreign interference in an American election. That is unacceptable. That is unconscionable.

That is unconstitutional. There are some who cynically argue that the impeachment of this president will further divide an already fractured Union. But there is a difference between division and clarification. Slavery once divided the nation, but emancipators rose up to clarify that all men are created equally. Suffrage once divided the nation, but women rose up to clarify that all voices must be heard in our democracy. Jim Crow once divided the nation, but civil rights champions rose up to clarify that all are entitled to equal protection under the law. There is a difference between division and clarification.

We will hold this president accountable for his stunning abuse of power. We will hold this president accountable for undermining our national security. We will hold this president accountable for corrupting our democracy. We will impeach Donald John Trump. We will clarify that in America, no one is above the law. Madam Speaker, I rise today to protect our democracy. Today, we take a stand against corruption and abuses of power. What we are doing here today is not only patriotic, it is uniquely American.

America is a story of ordinary people confronting abuses of power with the steadfast pursuit of justice. Throughout our history, the oppressed have been relegated to the margins by the powerful, and each time we have fought back, deliberate in our approach, clear-eyed. Each generation has fought for the preservation of our democracy, and that is what brings us to the House floor today, efficient and effective in the pursuit of our truth. Congress has done its due diligence. Today we send a clear message. We will not tolerate abuses of power from the President of the United States of America. The future of this nation rests in our hands.

It is with a heavy heart, but a resolved one. And because I believe our democracy is worth fighting for, I will vote to impeach Donald J. Trump, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. And still I rise, Madam Speaker. I rise because I love my country. And Madam Speaker, shall any man be beyond justice? This is the question posed in 1787 by George Mason at the Constitutional Convention. Shall any man be beyond justice? Madam Speaker, if this president is allowed to thwart the efforts of Congress with a legitimate impeachment inquiry, the president will not only be above the law,

he will be beyond justice. We cannot allow any person to be beyond justice in this country. In the name of democracy, on behalf of the Republic, and for the sake of the many who are suffering, I will vote to impeach, and I encourage my colleagues to do so as well. No one is beyond justice in this country. Throughout this process, the American people have learned of bungling foreign policy decisions.

But we have not heard evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of bribery or extortion. Allegations of these two crimes aren't even mentioned in the articles of impeachment being debated today. But today, we have seen a rushed process divide our country. Today accusations have been hurled at each other questioning one another's integrity. Today a dangerous precedent will be set. Impeachment becoming a weaponized political tool. We know how this partisan process will end this evening, but what happens tomorrow. Can this chamber put down our swords and get back to work for the American people? This institution has a fabled history of passing legislation that has not only changed our country, but has

inspired the world. This feat has been possible because this experiment we call America has one perpetual goal, make a more perfect union. We can contribute to this history if we recognize the simple fact that way more unites our country than divides us. Tomorrow can we start focusing on that? Madam Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart to support this resolution. When we came to Washington in 1961 to go on the Freedom Rise, we chose that day. When we came here on August 28, 1963, for the March on Washington, it was joyful. We met with a young president, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. When we came here on

August 6, 1965, for the signing of the Voting Rights Act, we were excited, hopeful. We met with President Lyndon Johnson but today this day we didn't ask for this this is a sad day it is not a day of joy our nation is founded on the principle that we do not have kings we have presidents and the Constitution is our compasses. When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something. Our children and their children will ask us, what did you do? What did you say? For some, this vote may be hard, but we have a mission and a mandate to be on the right side of history. Our course about 25 minutes ago, Auntie Maxine Waters, she spoke on the floor.

Most of everybody else who talked had a minute. They didn't give her a minute. Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, the rules of debate won't allow me to cite all of the reasons why this president should be impeached. There are many. However, Madam Speaker and members of this House, to quote the late Maya Angelou, when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. This day was not inevitable, but it was predictable because this president has shown himself time and time again to believe that he is above the law and he has no respect for our Constitution or our democracy. Based on

all that we know about Donald Trump, we could have predicted he would have abused the power of the president by corruptly soliciting the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian president Zelensky to publicly announce investigations into his political opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden. This impeachment resolution includes evidence that this president withheld $391 million of taxpayer funds that Congress appropriated for the purpose of providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose Russian aggression, another blatant abuse of power.

Our investigations revealed that this president advanced a discredited theory promoted by Russia, alleging that Ukraine, rather than Russia, interfered in the 2016 United States presidential election for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal political benefit. Never before in our history have we experienced a president who has so clearly conducted himself in a manner offensive to and subversive of the Constitution and directed his cabinet members, executive branch agencies, and other White House officials to defy lawful subpoenas from Congress. Was he attempting to hide wrongdoing?

It is without question that this president has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law because at every turn he has shown us who he is. It is no secret that this president could have been impeached a long time ago. Today we stand here with an irrefutable case and an indisputable set of facts that this president absolutely abused his power and obstructed Congress. Any other individual who would have been caught conducting themselves in the way this president

has would have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It is shameful that any members of this House are willing to disregard the Constitution, turn a blind eye to hard facts, and ignore a confession from the president himself. History will remember those who were willing to speak truth to power. Yes, I called for Trump's impeachment early. This is our country. Our foremothers and our forefathers shed their blood

to build and defend this democracy. I refuse to have it undermined. I wholeheartedly support this resolution. I'm proud that in the final analysis, justice will have been served in America and Donald Trump will have been impeached. The ladies' time has expired. Gentleman from Georgia.

Madam Speaker. All right, now. Congresswoman Maxine Waters there. The conversation continues, folks, on the floor of the House. Joining me right now on the panel, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, economist, president emeritus,

been in college. Also, Erica Savage-Wilson, a host of Savage Politics podcast, as well as Monique Presley, political analyst, crisis manager, and attorney. This is the day Donald Trump is dreading. He has fled D.C.

He's having some rally. Having one of his Lovefest rallies, uh, from his MAGA folks somewhere in Michigan, uh, trying to avoid this. Uh, he wants to change the channel, but the bottom line is, his ass about to get impeached. And every channel has this on. Every channel. So he can't change the channel.

That's the way it is. But you know, Roland, you were talking about the hijinks and the comedy. The biggest comedy, he compared himself to the Salem witch trials? Oh, that letter he wrote to Pelosi was hilarious. And if you want to talk about how some folks have sold out,

Hugh Hewitt, conservative, used to make some sense. So this morning, I was in Atlanta for a meeting today, and y'all, poor Hugh. Yeah, I bet. Oh, my God. He actually tweeted, Lord, let me find this thing, y'all. It was so funny. He actually tried to suggest

that the Trump letter is going to be, go down in history. Yeah. And people are going to be studying it as the way not to leak. Y'all, it was

so laughable. Even other conservatives were like, Hugh, bruh, stop it. Just stop it. I mean, what's amazing to me, Erica, is that here you have individuals, Hugh Hewitt, Mark Levin, Sarah Lindsey Graham,

all these folks spoke truthfully about Donald Trump before he got elected. They have sold their souls, Glenn Beck included, numerous folks on Fox News, have sold their souls to somebody who don't give a damn about them.

Somebody who will throw his own people under the bus and bag it up, roll over, bag it up, and roll over. Right. That, to me, that means these people have no principles, no morals, no values. Absolutely. The grand old party has died as we know it. And I think it's also important for people to see

the level of castration that these supposed leaders have allowed themselves, um, on public domains, uh, in-in, um, the name of power and other things that we don't yet know. And I think that this is also a reason why it is of the utmost importance for people to understand that we cannot afford for a repeat of 2016, that people that are talking about withholding their votes are body, as a collective of people, is over-index because it is absolutely possible for these people to be voted out of their seat because there is nothing that we are seeing publicly that they won't do to appease their Lord and Savior, Donald John Trump.

Monique, when you look at where these Republicans stand, and you listen to the arguments, that Adam Schiff, a few moments ago, said, they won't defend what he did. They won't defend his conduct. They only say the process wasn't fair. Right. Right. Now, and in the law, for all of the ones,

and they, for the first, I think, like, seemed like 16 or 17 people that the GOP put up, it was all of the lawyers in the bunch. I was trying to figure out what the rhyme or reason was to who was getting most time, less time, because they weren't going by seniority, whereas with the Democrats, it seemed like they started big, worked their way through some of the younger members and then got back up again. But when there's no substance, you argue process. I mean, that's what is done in the legal field.

That's what's done here in this congressional hall. Like my client guilty as hell. So let me... And see, but due process matters. And process in this case for Donald Trump matters. But they don't even have a strong process argument because they're arguing against rules that everybody agreed to.

Right, Absolutely. And the thing, but there's been some mastery in my opinion in terms of the Democrats. First when it was Nadler, then it transitioned to Schiff. They were ready. It was Schiff and Nadler. No, Nadler started the day. I'm sorry, today.

I'm sorry. The whole impeachment inquiry began with Schiff, the Intelligence Committee, then went to Judiciary. Right. But for today, when after all of the, I mean, they moved to, every one of these, they start with, let's go home and try again tomorrow. I mean, they do all of those. And then when they finally got into it and started having these, you get three hours, you get three hours, how are you going to use your three hours? And everybody's reserving and yielding and reserving. But what Nadler did, every time one of the GOP

members would say something, he had a 30-second response prepared. They weren't ready like that. They had to go ahead and catch up. But what he kept saying was, and now still, 10 people have gotten up and argued against process and not one has argued for the legitimacy of the actions of this president. And that's what I'm hoping the American people will get out of this. There is no argument because if these Republicans had one, I mean, they're sycophants. They bend over. They genuflect for him. They literally, you know, lick his behind. So if they had an argument that they could come up with, they would have given it by now.

But nobody, nobody has one. And I also saw today an interview, Wolf Blitzer played an interview with the president before he was president in 2008. Man, the decade has not been kind to that man's mental state. I mean, Donald Trump. Duh. There has been significant decline.

You talked about body checking somebody. Louie Gohmert, that nut from Texas, was speaking, and this is how Congressman Nadler responded immediately to Gohmert. I am deeply concerned that any member of the House would spout Russian propaganda on the floor of the House. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from New York, Mr. Higgins. The gentleman from New York is recognized for... The House will

come to order. The gentleman from New York is recognized for one minute. Thank you. The House will come to order. The House will come to order. The gentleman from New York is recognized. I am deeply concerned. I mean, he stood there and said Ukraine. I mean, that has been refuted. The intelligence agencies have refuted it. But these fools go on television,

Ted Cruz, Senator John Kennedy, go all these people because it is by design they want to lie on purpose because they know many of their followers are dumb

and will believe anything that they say. Well, you know, this is simple obfuscation. Just basically muddying the borders so that people are not really, you know... The Republican rule of law is if you repeat a lie 2,000 times, then it becomes a fact. And so we have the president who has given up

15,000 lies, 15,000 lies, and this is how they roll. One of the biggest fallacies in their argument... Hold tight one second. Congresswoman Yvette Clark is speaking. I'm gonna go to the floor right now, please. Supporting my vote for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. Without objection.

Madam Speaker, I recognize the gentlelady from California, Ms. Napolitano, for unanimous consent request. Gentlelady is recognized. Go ahead, Julianne. 45 had the opportunity to testify himself. He declined that opportunity. There were many opportunities that he declined.

And so now they talk about process, but they didn't take advantage of the process. They want to simply nullify the fact that there is an impeachment. Hold tight. One second. Another black woman speaking. Go back. Enter into the record my remarks supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

That objection is so ordered. Speaker, I recognize the gentlelady from Virginia, Ms. Wexton, for unanimous consent request. Gentlelady is recognized. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record my remarks supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump. That objection is so ordered. Madam Speaker, I'm now proud to recognize the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Pasquarelle, for one minute. Gentleman's recognized for one minute. Madam Speaker, we're here today because of the failure of so many to cast... Julianne, go ahead and finish...

Julianne, go ahead and finish your point there. Well, the point was just that 45 has had many opportunities to refute the case, to testify, even to bring his own witnesses forward. But he does not want witnesses. He wants us to be a joke. And they're treating it like a joke. It is not a joke.

As many have said, Maxine Waters, many others, they are basically making jokes and fools out of us by basically shredding the Constitution. That's what's being done here. Although I must say, some of the patriotic comments about, I don't pledge a flag, so when people say they pledge a flag, you know, one nation, indivisible, it's divisible, all right. We see it not only in terms of partisan stuff,

but also in terms of race and so many other things. So I don't have... I don't wave flags and have patriotism, but I do believe in the Constitution. Look, to say it was unfair, I couldn't participate when you refused to do so. Exactly. To say it was wrong, and then to say I can't cross-examine witnesses

when the process doesn't allow it to happen. I mean, and then to write that unbelievably crazy letter suggesting that, oh, this is unconstitutional, it's in the Constitution. I mean, these people literally believe, okay, hold on one second. There's always y'all Comedy when Jim Jordan talks so this fool is talking right now. He put a coat on He put a coat on. Yeah go. Oh my serious today

Can witnesses during the depositions Republicans were prevented from getting all their questions answered, but Democrats got every one of their questions. The witness responded to every one of theirs, but not Republicans. The chairman wouldn't let him. And of course, the whistleblower, the anonymous whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge, biased against the president who worked for Joe Biden, was never compelled to testify. The guy who started it all. This is really about the president's been driving these guys crazy because he's getting things done. He's doing what he said he was going to do. He's having results. Taxes have been cut.

Regulations reduced. Unemployment at its lowest level in 50 years. The economy growing. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh on the court. Out of the Iran deal. Embassy in Jerusalem. Hostages home from North Korea. And a new NAFTA agreement coming tomorrow.

But guess what? When you drain the swamp, the swamp fights back. And they started attacking the president before the election even. July 31st, 2016, they opened the Russia investigation. The FBI spied on four Americans. On the eve of the election, Republicans were planning impeachment of Hillary Clinton. Yep.

Right. Sit your ass down. I mean, that... That actually hadn't even happened yet. They were literally planning to impeach Hillary Clinton. Absolutely. And there is an entire report

published on public domain for anybody to pull up, a Senate intelligence report around how Russia attacked our elections. So they're speaking against themselves. And again, I just have to say that I don't believe now for those people that follow and drink the juice of Donald John Trump,

that is their decision. But the larger electorate, I believe, is smart enough to be able to segregate to understand that this process has definitely been fair. It is not one that I think that anyone has entered into lightly, but he is guilty. And for us to maintain any type of democracy, a shroud of what we still see and view and hold value as a democracy, that there has to be checks and balances and that these members that voluntarily stand before as electeds and repeat lie after lie after lie, that again, this is an alarm of why folks have to be engaged in the process once a year, twice a year, every four years. But the thing that you're seeing, though,

is that, and I think it's gonna continue, there are folks who don't give a damn. Yeah. Mm-hmm. There are a significant number of people... Yeah. ...who come next year. They gonna say, I don't give a damn about them kids on the border.

I don't care if this man lies. I don't care if he makes stuff up. I don't care if this man lies. I don't care if he makes stuff up. I don't care that he's handed over the Department of Interior and the EPA to the oil and gas industry. I don't care if he gave a tax cut that benefited the wealthy. I don't care if this man

uses insults against women. I don't care if people of color don't support this man. There are white people in America who are absolutely afraid

of this train that is coming. And it is a black and brown train. Donald Trump is their great white hope. Donald Trump represents, in fact, Rudy Giuliani said before the election that Trump was our last hope. We knew exactly what he was talking about.

Ron Brownstein actually sent a tweet out and I shared it. And this is what he said that I thought was extremely interesting when you look at

all these images in terms of these Republicans who are coming out there. I'm going to pull this tweet up in a second because I think it's important to understand really what's going on here. Let's see. Here we go. Go to my iPad, henry ron brownstein whatever you consider the merits of impeachment the image of an endless procession of angry white and preponderantly male republican male Republican legislators railing bitterly

against a diverse Democratic caucus offers a chilling preview of how our politics may evolve as U.S. grows more diverse. Now, Donald Trump... As a matter of fact, I can't say Donald Trump has appointed these judges. It's really been the Federalist Society and Mitch McConnell.

88% of the 173 judges, and they're gonna move 13 this week, of the 173 judges, and they're going to move 13 this week. Of the 173 judges, 88% are white men. They haven't even been able to find a token African American. Not one. What does that tell you? It tells you that white fear is driving the Trump presidency. White people, not all white people,

but white voters, he presses their buttons on illegal immigration. He presses their buttons on race. When he calls sons of bitches players who protested, he knew exactly who he was talking about. And that's what we're dealing with here. They know what's coming.

Doesn't matter if you got three white candidates at the top on Democratic side. They know what's coming. Fox News the other day put up the conservative squad. Y'all saw that? Yes, I saw that.

Okay. Oh, my God, it was hilarious. Their white mirror. Four white women. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You got Presley, black. Tlaib, Muslim.

Ilhan Omar, Muslim. Ocasio-Cortez, Latina. They said, we need our own squad for white women. That's all you need to understand with what's going on in the protection of Donald Trump. Well, if you look at the hearings that we saw today, I mean, it's a visible contrast between the people

who are speaking for Trump, basically white men, and the people who are speaking against him, a really diverse group of people. So this is literally white America's last gasp. And again, we're not talking about all white people. We're talking about the white people who want to maintain a predatory capitalist system, the white people who are, as you say, frightened of black and brown people and want to keep their little bit of power. It's not a little.

They want to keep their power by whatever means necessary. So all this integrity, all this one nation individual, that goes out the window when they're afraid that they're going to lose something. Monique, go to my iPad, please. CNN's poll. Trump's approval. I was just about to refer to that.

Now, now, now, remember, he got 53% of white female vote. Approval number is down to 42%. Now, I said Donald Trump cannot have

even a 5% drop among white women to win. He needs those numbers. White men, 54%. Again, I need y'all to understand. What did I tell y'all? I told you in the last election, 71% of the electorate was white. This election will likely be the first time in American history

where less than 70% of the electorate will be white, which is why black men, black women, Hispanics, Asians must maximize their numbers to offset whites having almost 70% of all votes cast. But look at this approval rating. White women, 42%. White men, 54%. Hispanic women, 42%. White men, 54%. Hispanic women, 23%.

Hispanic men, 37%. Black women, 3%. I don't know who they are. Black men, 15%. Who the hell are they? No, I can tell you. I'm telling you. You know my theory on who they are.

No, no. Which is what I was going to talk about for the rest of the show if somebody would let me. It's the hidden apathy. You're talking about the people who don't care, and you went through those. I don't cares. I don't cares. I don't cares. Black educated men with money are having the apathetic streak that led them in numbers that were five times my sister's

in voting for that man in the first place and still are five times now as much in approval of this heinous, ridiculous man right now. It is a question of if he added something to the wallet or if he did not take something from the wallet or if he did not take something from the wallet or if he provided a job people are not just he doesn't just separate and parse white and everybody else he splits up in between the everybody else till all you are in is your little silo where what you're looking at is your particular house and if your house is good then you don't care. Ado's got their issues right and so they seem right now fine if Donald Trump

gets elected again because nobody else is offering a specific agenda which means a check which means reparation. So now we got to write them off then Then, you know, the Hispanic people on that poll, I'm like, do they even see the border? Do they know that the babies that are in the cages are their babies? And they're approving because in the Hispanic community, there's a large subset Cuban that relates as white. Right. And support this. Listen, you gotta see through. It's a military brown, but it's not brown. But you also,

but you cannot overlook the fact that among Latinos, you cannot overlook the sway of the Catholic Church in the issue of abortion. You can't. You can't overlook that. But let me unpack the black male number.

It's not just educated black men with money. That's not it. In 2012, there was a nine-point gap between black men and black women in Obama versus Romney. There was a 13-point gap between black men and black women. Hillary, Trump.

Yeah. The White House... They want women. Right. They've known about that 15% for nine months. The White House, I need y'all to hear me, I'm not pontificating. I'm telling you what I know. Absolutely understand, yes, I do talk to the White House.

They believe they can get that 20%. Mm-hmm. Because you have black men, a lot of them high school degrees, not college degrees, who feel as if the Democratic Party doesn't speak to them. That's one.

But here's the other thing that... Giving away their jobs, care more about everybody else. Here's the other thing that we have to also deal with. Men, including black men, respond to strength.

Perceived strength. And you don't... No, no, no, hold on. Let me unpack this. Okay, because all the women wrote... No, no, no, no. We all come out and we rose up. No, I know.

I need you to understand. Yeah. When I... The amount of times I spent... I've covered the amount of times I spent I've covered the nations of Islam I was like I don't understand

why do black men respond to Farrakhan this way versus these preachers I said strength black men it's a strength thing 2004

I remember the Associated Press did a story the black barbershop Philadelphia I believe and they said these black barbers they were talking and the brother said I'm going gonna vote for Bush

because Bush will kick your ass and he gonna mean it. Now you're like, er? I remember hearing the exact same thing in 2016. The quote was, he's full of it,

but he means what he says. It doesn't... It doesn't track for Trump, though, the way means what he says. It doesn't... Now, when you hear that... It doesn't track for Trump, though, the way it did with Bush. No, no, no. Trump is a whining... No, but he may be whining, but he talks a lot of spit.

Just one second. He talks a lot of spit. So what happens is, you got somebody sitting there, and, oh, man, he talking tough. It's that John Wayne thing. Mm-hmm. And I'm sitting there going, yo, y'all can sit here and hear all of that,

but here's how all the reasons why this man is screwing you while you praising him because he tough. The problem is not just condemning, like, what the hell y'all thinking, but you gotta create a narrative where a person goes, oh, damn, I ain't realize all that.

Because all they're responding to is the strength. Well, there's another piece of the... Go ahead, y'all, go ahead. The other piece of it is patriarchy. I mean, black men, white men, men are into patriarchy. I mean, men first, women second. So when Trump says he's going to grab them by the... There are men who are tickled by that or like it

or they want to grab somebody by the... But I don't want you to over... I'm telling you, I'm telling you... I think those go hand in hand, though. I don't want... Because strength is perceived as male. I don't want you to overlook the strength part. But that's what you're asking.

Because I'm saying this because in order to understand why I said 15, I now got to understand how I got to counter-program. So black men, and the White House is doing it, which is why I say it right here. It was dangerous, the public pronunciations of Van Jones. And I say, I love my brother, but I said why it was dangerous.

So when the White House, First Step Act, you have these black men who are responding to that, and I'm going, yeah, yeah. But the same White House has told U.S. attorneys, prosecute to the maximum. Absolutely.

The same White House has said, get rid of consent decrees. So symbolism... So I got to factor why they're responding to know how to counter it. But it's symbolism, Roland. When you have the First Step Act and, you know, he's pardoned a handful of people who had drug offenses. That's symbolism.

And the substance piece is, as you say, the consent degrees being nullified and all of that. And again, I think it goes back to the patriarchy issue and the extent to which all men are patriarchs. Hold tight one second. Congressman Val Demas is speaking. ...interference in two U.S. elections. But then the day after the special counsel testified before Congress, the president, feeling undeterred and emboldened, said, called President Zelensky

and pressured him to help him rig the elections and chose to hold much-needed military aid over our allies head until the president's demands were met. Now I served 12 years on the hostage negotiations team and I know that pressure and demands come in many forms and in this scheme we had both. I've enforced the laws, and now I write the laws. But the laws mean nothing if the accused can destroy evidence, stop witnesses from testifying, and blatantly refuse to cooperate. I ask you to name somebody in your community or your family who can do that. I know the president said that he can get away with anything he wants to. I come today to tell you that no he cannot because no one is above the law and he shall be held accountable.

Gentleman from Georgia. Thank You Madam Speaker at this, I yield for a unanimous... The reason I'm pushing back on the patriarchy is because you had two men who were running in 2012. Obama-Romney. Will explains the nine points. See, I only... I'm not... I'm not just looking at Hillary Clinton.

White people are still patriarchy. White people are still in charge. No, no, no, but what I'm saying is... And Obama, Romney, Romney white men. Obama black men. Yeah. So, you know, unfortunately, we do not respect ourselves often as black people.

Black women are more critical than other black women when they're running for public office. Sisters are the ones who basically throw the shade. So if you look at a Romney-Obama, you're looking at the black people who think the white man's ice is colder. Again, what I'm looking at is something that... I've had this conversation with Tom Perez.

He has said to me, they are aware this is a problem. They have been trying to counter that. But I'm telling you, Democrats had better be extremely scared of that 15%.

Because if that 15% goes to 17% or 18%, in many ways, what it does is it counters an increase in black female voter turnout. And so what Donald Trump is looking at, they're looking at margins. They ain't trying to win by 100,000 votes. He only won by 78,000 votes.

But that's why he's being impeached, because they figured out a long time ago that the only real issue would be Biden, because Biden is the counterpuncher. He's the other person who will have strength. He's the other person that stands for the old guard. He's the other person that you really can't tell what's going to come out of his mouth. And if you say something, he's going to say something back to you. And for those who are interested in that, he presents that. And they saw him as a threat early on,

and he's getting a nice hand to him because of it. I remember LaTosha Brown with Black Voters Matter a few months ago. She said, damn it, I just learned that, I think she said her daddy and her uncle, both engineers in Mississippi, voted for Trump. Yeah, right. She was like, y'all need to pray.

She said, let me just go ahead and just start praying right now. Right, and I think that's why this is going to be a community vote, and I keep stressing over indexing because I don't have faith that this is something that the DNC is going to tackle. I think that this is...

Come on, political jargon. I do not believe... What does over-indexing mean? Over-indexing means everybody has to show up for the collard greens. Everybody has to show up. That means everybody of voting age has to show up and vote. And I do believe that the Gen Z generation,

there's a lot of kind of focus on the millennials, which you have millennials that'll be turning 39, entering into their 40th year of life as young as mid-20s. We've got to start focusing on those that are 17, 18, and in their early 20s. But then also seeing that number of 15% black men, that does not shock me, But that's where we have as a community, particularly black men who do have platforms, who do have some type of check where they can go to go in and talk to these brothers to say, well, listen, though the appeal is to strong men, because that's just not something that we see in the United States, right? That's something that we're seeing across the

geopolitical spectrum. We have folks over in the United States, right? That's something that we're seeing across the geopolitical spectrum. We have folks over in the continent that do respond to Trump positively because he does show up as a strong man. Strong man, not necessarily intelligent, but strong. So that's where, again, we have got to have people that do have arm in the community, that do have a level of political knowledge to say that, listen, this is not on the backs and on the laps and on the arms and the shoulders of black women. This is also on us as well. And let me say to you that while there is an appeal to strength, this is how it is killing you, your children, your auntie, your mama, your cousin,

your boo... Like, all of those people as well. And also, but let me read this here, so I don't know who this dude, Elijah James on YouTube. This is hilarious. Let me remind you, none of these presidents give two shits about you. That includes your boy Obama. Trump ain't no different.

No reparations, no vote. Simple. So here's the Elijah. Republicans control the Senate. And Trump is president. Please show me where Donald Trump has said he support reparations. Please. Please show me where any member

of the Republican Party, any member, to Donald Trump, take your pick. Elijah, take your pick. Give me one. Now, I can make the argument for reparations. But what I'm

actually making right now is the logical one sitting in front of me. Donald Trump is president. Ain't no way in hell you gonna get reparations

with Donald Trump in the White House. There ain't no way in hell, Elijah, you gonna get reparations with Mitch McConnell running the United States Senate. Let me further unpack it.

No, when Mitch McConnell rolled into the Obama was our reparations. Wait, let me further unpack it. Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell has appointed one-fifth, that's 20% of all federal judges. If Donald Trump wins, they will likely, at the end of the next four years, will have appointed half of all federal judges in America. Elijah, let me just school your ass.

They are purposely picking judges 35 to 40. They are purposely going to judges 70 and older saying, why don't you go ahead and retire? Now, let me really help you out, Elijah. Today, while we are discussing impeachment, Now, let me really help you out, Elijah. Today, while we are discussing impeachment, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Affordable Care Act. Elijah, you might say, what does that have to do, reparations?

Because, Elijah, if Congress passes a reparations bill, and if it somehow got signed into law, somebody going to sue, who do you think is going to rule on that? Federal judges. Who appoints federal judges? The president. Who confirms or denies federal judges? The Senate. Who controls the Senate? Republicans. Obama's last two years, he was a Democratic president. Mitch McConnell controlled the Senate. What did Mitch McConnell do? Not fill

100 vacancies to allow a Republican to do it. So when your dumb ass say no vote, what you're actually doing is guaranteeing you will never have a shot at getting what you say your ass want. Elijah, that's called common sense

and facts. Julianne, go ahead. Well, the other thing, Roland, when you look at the reparations issue, what I said to someone today is, who do you think that a majority white Congress, even the Congress, mostly Democratic, is going to sign legislation for you to get

reparations? Not at all. So these ADAS people, quite frankly, they are the least thoughtful people that many of us have ever encountered. Because for any black person to say, no reparations, no vote, well, you won't be voting then. And you will basically have whatever this man has in store for you

shoved down your throat. It's just thoughtless to say that. But we, you know, our younger people, there are lots of folks who basically have been turned off from the political system. And you're right, Erica, it's our job to turn them back on. And that's really challenging, especially when you talk to some of the younger people.

You know, what have politicians done for me lately? What, you know... I mean, y'all talk about people who voted for... My brother voted for Trump. Now, he had to eat Thanksgiving dinner on the porch. You ain't lying. I'm like, no, no, brother. But he...

Because he's an entrepreneur. And many black men, if you remember when Michael Steele ran for lieutenant governor in Maryland, he got about 25% of the black male vote. Why? These entrepreneurial folks are following tax cuts. That benefits them. They're following folks who do subsidies for businesses.

Including guys with no college degrees but who run cash businesses like barbers. I mean, people... See, look, I've sat down... I sat down with a brother who said, look, I got a business doing $5 million a year. That tax cut, I got half a million back. You have to, and that's why I keep telling people, stop just getting mad at a stat and ask what's behind the stat. And then

how do I now counter what a person is voting for? That's the piece. I mean, I know, I forgot, a sister used to be on Fox News got mad at me because I cracked on her mama. Her mama's a business owner who said she was voting for Trump

in 2016. She's like, I run a business. That's what you're dealing with. Yeah. And so, again, there are 2.6 million

black-owned businesses in America. Seven years ago, there were 1.9 million. Now, we have 1.9 million that were doing average revenue of $110,000.

Today, average revenue, $54,000. So you got more than half of the revenue. But you still got folks with a business. Monique. And to me, the strategy in terms of how to counter it really means

we have to turn on our head. For me, I've been going and knocking on doors and talking to voters maybe Ann Richards. So what would I have been? 10. And what we were taught is you're always asking people to vote their interests, right?

I mean, that's part of the standard training for when you get your signs and you go out in the field and you're knocking on doors and you want the candidate who's going to be looking out for you and you want the candidate who's going to be looking out for you, you want the candidate who's going to be looking out for your interests. See, the thing was, though, in the civil rights era, even the African-Americans who were affluent and had a certain amount of education

were being denied fundamental rights. So the candidate really did represent everyone's interests, even though I may not have an education, you may. You may be a homeowner. You may be renting. The next person may be on WIC. It wouldn't have mattered because a single candidate would represent our interests. But now when I say to the black man entrepreneur who's running a successful trucking business, vote your interests, I am telling him to vote for Donald Trump. What I have to now say is, vote your community's interests. Vote your country's interests. Vote decency. Vote for the world. Vote against your interests.

The same way the billionaires and the billionaires of conscience have to vote against their particular economic interests because it's just like President Obama kept saying over and over again, the things we're saying billionaires of conscience have to vote against their particular economic interests because it's just like President Obama kept saying over and over again, the things we're saying are a problem are things that would help me but will kill you. We have to be able to explain that in a way that a brother man will care. Brother man, you're getting a tax break, but your brother, I mean, your literal brother is going to go in front of a judge

and be sentenced and go to jail on a minor distribution charge because an uneducated judge that was put in, I mean, these judges, we have to win three

consecutive presidencies and a first term of a fourth to get these judgeships back. These people are going to die. I mean, there is no way to balance this unless we win from here until the time I am 90. Those are the stakes. When you talk about vote your interest, we also have to expand what interests are the stakes. When you talk about vulture interest, we also have to expand what interests are.

I own a business. My brother owns a business. My sister's husband owns a business. So that's three black men who own a business. I can't make a decision solely based upon

well, I got the hookup. Because if you go back to the 1890 Constitutional Convention in Mississippi, for those of y'all who don't read, the white folks in Mississippi

got sick and tired of Negroes being elected to the Senate, to the House, to the legislature in Mississippi. Black people were being elected all across Mississippi. 1890, they have a constitutional convention. One black man was allowed to be a delegate. That one black man had economic interests. He voted with the white folks

to deny the right to vote to African Americans, to look after himself. Now, here's the deal. He voted in his own interest, but his vote sold out his people because since 1890, there hasn't been a single African American elected statewide in Mississippi.

Now, that one brother could not have stopped those racist white folks and what they were doing. But he voted his interests, and his people still got sold sold out and that's why we have to have a much broader conversation that's why i go back to talking about a community conversation and not leaving this up to people who really don't have a broad and really um a coarse understanding of everything that's at stake and and to me this kind of lends itself to this whole secure the bad kind of like methodology, like, listen, we all want to make sure that we have a level of wealth. But if it's at the detriment, as you pointed out of in your example of a brother who and it could even be that brother himself that would stand before a judge and not receive five years, but 25, 35 years, all the way up to corporate, to have a really good understanding

of what their vote means, and not just your interest, what it means to be a community, what it means for all of us to thrive, what it actually means when we don't participate, because what people are operating off of now and have been for some time, now more it means what somebody else said, what

Brumman down the street said, something they heard someone else say. It's not in sound facts. It's not the type of conversation that we're having. So leaving this in the hands of people who have some level of platform but they're not providing all information, who don't understand the courts, who don't understand what it means to ask someone for a vote, who are not civically engaged, um, is-is malpractice. But that's why you have to...

You have to offer a counter-narrative for that person to understand. So, if-if-if-if a black, independent male, a black male who voted for Trump was sitting in front of me and they said, I voted for Trump because of the tax cut, I would say, you're being pulled by the cops because you're black? That's right.

And if he likely says yes, I'm like, you do know the same person who you voted for doesn't want to hold cops accountable. You don't know the same person who you voted for doesn't want to hold cops accountable. Right. You do know the same person you voted for literally told police chiefs, let's get rid of progressive DAs. I would say, what do you think about these black DAs

who are throwing out marijuana convictions? Oh, man, I agree with that. You do know the person who you voted for is against that. See, that isn't what's happening. And so from a Democratic presidential standpoint, Democratic National Committee standpoint, from a DCCC standpoint, and a DSCC standpoint, if you don't know how to counter,

and you go with somebody die, no, that ain't gonna work. I gotta go with, how you feel about that? You know he's the opposite of that. What, you like, this is how I do it. You cool with the environment of racism? You cool with your air choking your kids to death?

No, well, you know he cool with that. See, I got to hit that person in a way where they stop thinking about their pocketbook. But you know, Roland, I mean, I think the points that both Monique and Erica have brought up really talk about the frailty of the black community as a community. Because really, I mean, you have this... You have a range of incomes,

a range of class levels, a range of education, and basically, we very rarely really come together. I mean, we do have the rhetoric of black... And we rarely also ever vote for black candidates. There you go. Or contribute to them. No, no, no, I'm just being... First, again, trying to help black people out.

1972, Shirley Chisholm, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, she got 28 delegates. 1984, many black people said, man, I ain't sitting there voting for Jesse. Mondale, Mondale got wiped out by Ronald Reagan. 1988, Reverend Jackson was the last man, second to last man standing behind Michael Dukakis,

a lot of black folks didn't support him. Year 2000, Douglas Wilder, then Governor of Virginia, was in the race for a hot second. Many prominent African Americans were against him. He dropped out. 2004, Senator

Carol Mosley Braun, Reverend Al Sharpton, and people, I remember a guy, Keith Klinskell, used to be a Vanguard media, he bet me, he said, Sharpton's going to South Carolina. I'm like, no, he's not. But the deal is, I see y'all,

he ain't got a shot, but we ignored a black woman who was a senator from Illinois. Obama is the only, and look, the support for Obama only flipped after he won Iowa. So the power of white supremacy essentially causes black people, and this is the power white supremacy where black people are literally saying I'm not going to make this move until I check and see what white folks gonna do yep mm-hmm yep and so essentially, what black people are doing collectively

is that we are allowing white folks to validate black folks, and then we accept it. So now I can take that to why black folks will say, when you going to get you a real show? But I got one, but it's not real because it's not on a white network. It's how we look at so many of these issues. And so when I talk about this reprogramming of black people,

we have to understand that as we go up and as we begin to look at black candidates who are not running in black districts. See, that's easy. That's easy if it's a black city council district or county or state rep. But black people are going, to your point earlier, are going, if we are going to accept mediocre white people, don't have a holier-than-thou standard for the black candidates running. And that, to me, I think is something

that we have to deal with and confront and be honest about. Absolutely. I mean, there are so many challenges because we believe that the white man's ice is colder, because we basically have been brainwashed. As you say, people going to get permission from white folks, uh, in order to do something

for our community. Uh, even if you look at Kamala withdrawing from the race. Now, she didn't have a lot of support from our community, but one might ask why. A lot of people say, well, she can't win. Well, that's... she can't win if you don't help her. That's right. You know? So, I mean, there was a negative spiral.

I did not understand. I get Biden's appeal. But, you know, so many people saying, well, I prefer Biden. Like, Hamla, hmm? But again, we needed permission for some white folks to say she's okay. And white folks didn't say that. I mean, we often... we always seem to need

white people's permission for us to be able to just be unapologetically black. Unapologetically black. And to claim that. Look, I-I-I told the story when I ran Chicago Defender. Uh, I changed the masthead. I changed the typeface and everything. Uh, somebody's like, why you changed it?

I'm like, "' because y'all selling the Defender as if Robert Abbott was still here. That was 1905. I'm like, this is 100 years later. And this is exactly what I changed to honest, balanced, truthful, unapologetically black.

Black millionaires who bought that paper, that company, said, we don't know what they're going to say when we go see white advertisers. And they see unapologetically black. I said, they already know you are black paper. I don't think they're probably going to get offended. I've had black people tell me,

personally and on social media, they're uncomfortable when they hear me say unapologetically black. And so what we're dealing with, I think, when we look at this election and how we look at candidates, and I'll say this, I believe without a doubt that the reason Vice President Joe Biden has such high numbers is because since the night after Trump won the electoral college, not popular vote.

All we got fed from Morning Joe and MSNBC and Fox News and CNN and the broadcast networks was, what do the white folks in the Midwest think? What do they think? Just the other day, Chuck Todd,

they wanted to go hear from some voters outside of the Beltway. So they went to an all-white enclave in Michigan and a panel of all Republicans in Michigan as if there are no black people in the Midwest. As if there are no black people

in Michigan or no black people in St. Louis or no black people in Chicago or Evanston or Springfield. As if there are no black... Right. And so in Chicago. Hell, or Evanston, or Springfield. Right.

And so, we have been programmed all we're hearing, what do white folks think? And so that, I believe, is driving a lot of our people as to why they're supporting. Oh, you know what?

It's gonna take a white man who can talk to the white working class to beat Trump. And, you know, that is such a... The DNC is very wrongheaded when they talk about looking for these working class white men. What about working class black folks? The fact that African-American women in particular are the backbone of that party.

We need to be looking at what black women are thinking and saying, not, you know, you want some working-class white people. Working-class people have very many similar interests. This is pandering to white folks at the detriment of black folks. Yeah, and back to Chuck Todd's underperformance per usual. Another thing I think is pulling viewership

because there are certain programs that I don't watch because they do not reflect us. And so that they would have a program where they profile folks that are a part of an elite circle, which includes people that work with the Chamber of Commerce. And then again, continue to say that this is what America needs to pay the most attention to as a collective, as people who absolutely, as you said, Dr. Malvo, we are the base. We are the ones who, for me, I believe that we are, in fact, the bellwethers. We have to be able to reject that. We have to be able to push back and not give that the level of viewership that then taints our thinking. And again, it really does go back to us doing the community work. Because listen, I don't go back to us doing the community work.

Because listen, I don't believe that these organizations are invested. I don't believe that it's in their interest to go and do the work that we're discussing here on Roland Martin and Filter. They don't have any real reason to do that, but we do. We feel the urgency.

You feel the urgency, which is why you created this platform. So I don't believe that we, and I'm not saying that we, but I don't believe that it is for us to leave this in the hand of people that don't have our interests because they continue to run stories, they continue to have pundits and commentators

that don't reflect the entire American populace. But also, let me deal with this right here because it's really getting on my nerves. I am so sick and tired of you foolish black people who say there hasn't been a black agenda.

I'm sick of that nonsense. That is a lie. The NAACP is made up of 2,000 branches across America. These are not bougie black people. These are regular, ordinaryie black people. These are regular, ordinary, grassroots black people. They lay out an agenda. Urban League lays out an agenda. Black Lives Matter groups laid out an agenda.

Numerous African Americans lay out an agenda. So stop with the lie that there's not been a black agenda. Roland, as long as we've been here... The Chicago Defender used to put the top ten most important issues to black America at the top of their paper on the editorial page. As they would achieve a success against Jim Crow,

they would take one down. It might get replaced. Black people have always had an agenda. The agenda for Black people since 1619 has been freedom. My, my, my. You could walk through our history and see agenda, agenda, agenda, agenda, agenda. Douglas, Barnett, Booker T, W.E.B. Dubois, Walter White, Paul Ropeson, Fan Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, King, Whitney Young, Roy Wilkins, Agenda,

Jackie Robinson, Agenda, read his book, I Never Had It Made, Coleman Young, Hatcher, Maynard Jackson, Mary and Barry, Agenda, Go Through the 80s, Kurt Schmoke, Rice, numerous other black mayors, Agendas. What the hell are y'all talking about that we've never had a black agenda? I'm sick of that. I'm sick of black people who are also saying the CBC ain't done nothing.

First, if you even understood what a member of Congress does, you would get it. Future Act, it was Congresswoman Alma Adams and the CBC and HBCU presidents who were kicking Senator Lamar Alexander's ass for upholding that

in the United States Senate. Who the hell is that benefit? When you talk about SNAP funding. Who the hell is that benefit? When you talk about SNAP funding, who the hell is that benefit? When you talk about anyone on CBC opposed Obama and got $4 billion in the financial services reform bill, who the hell got that? When you talk about, I mean, I can go down the line.

When Howard University last year, when the pipes burst underneath the ground and they had to delay classes, they had to go to Congress to get appropriation to pay for it. Who the hell do you think they went to? So this notion that there's no

black agenda is BS. The problem is that after election day, what we don't do is now recalibrate. We don't shift from our mobilization and organization in the election to now how do we hold city, county, state, federal politicians accountable

for the agenda they talked about? That's where we collectively have made a mistake, and that's what happened, Julian, under Obama. I said it. The tapes are there. Black organizations waited five years to hold a black agenda meeting. And black people, and y'all all can be fronting out there,

but I got the damn receipts. Go to my Facebook page. 2010, December. Black folks, don't extend them damn Bush tax cuts. Obama comes out. News conference. We're gonna extend the Bush tax cuts.

180 degree flip. I saw it on the page. It was black people. See, so we gotta stop playing this game as if Obama didn't do nothing. Did you ask? We didn't make it. Did you demand?

See, that... And so... But I'm tired of this because what we're doing, Julian, is we, with all of this, are feeding into a machine that the Russians are saying, oh, we gonna churn that thing up, which is what they did in 2016.

Absolutely. We get the largest Black Lives Matter group on Facebook was a Russian troll farm. Yep. Mm-hmm. You know, Roland, to the agenda, we have, as you said, from 1619, certainly David Walker's appeal, you can go through history, we have had agendas.

We have had agenda meetings. You know, we had the National Black Political Convention in 1972, where people sat around all day long, all several days long, and talked about a black agenda. And if you went back and looked at all those collective black agendas, what are we talking about? We're talking about education, we're talking about jobs,

we're talking about freedom, we're talking about voting. This is not new stuff. So when people say, gee, we don't have an agenda, it means they don't want an agenda. Beyond that, when people criticize a congressional black caucus, I remember something that Jim Clyburn said to me once. He said, it's not what we do,

it's what we prevent from being done. Right. And oftentimes, you know, you get some legislation that's ridiculous and they're the ones who stand in the gap and say, though this hasn't happened. But somehow we want all the bells and whistles and no one's going to beat on their chest and say, I just did this because

they're not going to be able to do it again. Our people are far more powerful and effective than we give them credit for, and that, again, is about self-hate. It's about asking a white man for permission. You don't have to do that. We have people like Maxine Waters in Congress, you know, people like

Karen Bass, Alma Adams, who's always there for HBCUs. We've got some powerful people in Congress and, Alma Adams, who are always there for HBCUs. We've got some powerful people in Congress and state legislatures, but we don't give them the props that they need. Instead, we run around whining and complaining. What a support.

I want to go to the floor of the United States House. Congressman Sidney Hoyer was the number two leader in the House majority leader. He's not speaking. From the evidence of evil that is to me so clear and compelling. My colleagues, that congressman's name was Larry Hogan, Sr. He represented the 5th District of Maryland, which I now represent. His son is presently the second-term Republican governor of our state. When Larry Hogan Sr. died in 2017, every obituary led with praise for his act of political courage.

Who among us? many years from now, will receive such praise as a man or woman of courage? Who will regret not having earned it. We've talked a lot about partisan differences. There is one person who has spoken today who is neither a member of the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party. His name is Justin Amash, who represents a Republican district. He left the Republican Party, and in doing so, he admonished his colleagues that, quote, this president will only be in power for a short time, but excusing his behavior will forever tarnish your name. He spoke on this floor in support of the two articles that we will consider this evening.

Neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Representative Amash, of course, is the only member of this House who has no allegiance to either party but to his country. He is supporting, as I've said, both articles. We need not ask who will be the first to show courage by standing up to President Trump. The question we must now ask is, who will be the last to find it? The pages of our history are filled with Americans who have the courage to choose country over party or personality. But as President Kennedy wrote, the stories of past courage can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration, but they cannot supply courage itself.

For this, President Kennedy said, each man, each woman must look into their own soul. I urge my fellow colleagues in the House and, yes, in the Senate, to look into your soul. Summons the courage to vote for our Constitution and our democracy. I understand we will all not see the same conclusion, but to do less betrays our oath and that of our founders, who pledged their lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor. Let us neither turn away from the evidence, which to me seems so clear, nor from our good conscience which compels us to do what in our hearts we know to be right. Let us not allow the rule of law to end or for tyranny to find its toehold.

With our votes today, we can bear true faith and allegiance to the vision of our founders. And we can show future generation what it truly means to be Americans first. Vote yes. Gentleman yields back. Gentleman from Georgia. Thank you. Madam Speaker, a few weeks ago, just off of this floor, I said that a dark cloud was descending upon this body.

And today, because of the clock and the calendar, it is closing. It is amazing to me what I just heard from the Majority Leader, that Mr. Schiff and Mr. Nadler presented a compelling case for impeachment. If this is a compelling case for impeachment, I'm not sure why we're here right now. It is not anywhere close to compelling. But you know what is interesting is what I have heard today. The Majority Leader just spoke and said that if the president was given every opportunity to come prove his innocence — I tell you what, Madam Speaker, let me have just a few minutes, stop the clock, and let me go around to the press corps and to everybody here,

and I'm going to accuse you of something. You did it. You did it. You did it. You did it. Now prove it's wrong. You did it. You did it. You did it. Now prove it's wrong. You did it. Guess what? You don't want to because deep down you know that that's turning the entire jurisprudence of this country upside down. You are guilty. You're not guilty until you're proven. You're

innocent. And today from this floor, we have heard the majority leader say this president is guilty and not the other way around. He is innocent and these come nowhere close to proving it. But what is left of this body? Let's have an honest conversation, Madam Speaker. What we have found over the past few weeks is it is okay for the majority to tear down a foreign leader because they can't make their case. They've called him a liar or weak or worse, or as it was called in the committee, even looked like a battered wife. It is below the dignity of this body and this majority

to tear down a flooring leader because they can't make their case against this one. We have broken rules in this House. Even to this moment, Chairman Schiff and the others have broken House Resolution 660 by not turning over the things that they should be turning over. I still have not got a transcript. We still don't know what we got.

And the White House still has not got their stuff. I guess minority hearing rule days don't matter either. You see, there is a problem here, because we're going to vote this tonight while breaking the rules. What a shameful incident. But we also found in creative interpretation of minority rights, we saw the rise of partisanship because of things that have been done even further. And we've even seen members smeared in reports by drive-by political hacks when they match numbers of the majority or the ranking member and the

members of the press. That ought to concern every one of you as much as it concerns every one of us. Nothing but a drive-by hit. But you know something? This majority leader also just said, wherever law ends, tyranny begins. But I will say this, in this house, wherever the rules are disregarded, chaos and mob rule actually begin, and the majority has taken that to a new level. It has been said today, where is bravery? I'll tell you where bravery is found and courage is found.

It's found in this minority who has lived through the last year of nothing but rules being broken, people being put down, questions not being answered. And this majority say, be damned with anything else. We're going to impeach and do whatever we want to do. Why? Because we won an election. I guarantee you, one day you'll be back in the minority and it ain't going to be that fun. Because when you look at it, when you actually trash the rules of this house, you want to really look at what did you gain at the end by trashing the institution you claim to love. That's the things we found out so

far. But you know, they're really careful saying, oh, you want to deal in process and process. As I said last night in the rules committee where they didn't want to listen, I'll win on process and I will win on facts because we have the truth on our side. Let me remind you that here's what the process actually says. There was no pressure. Look at the call, President Zelensky, President Trump, no pressure. There was no conditionality. There was nothing done to get the aid, and the aid actually came. There were five meetings. But when you look at it right now, none of which matter, because right now the dark cloud is descending upon this House. And I am fearful, Madam Speaker. When I look out in that abyss, I don't know what I see, but I tell you what I do see. I see coming up a president who will put his head down even through this sham impeachment,

and he will do his job. He will put the American people first. He will tell them that I care about you. He will still put the economy first, and he will make sure this country stands strong. That's what I see in this abyss. That's where we're going. And, Madam Speaker, it is with that hope in the future that I

recognize right now that I yield one minute to the Republican leader of this House, the Republican from California, Mr. McCarthy. The Vice President- Gentleman is recognized. The Vice President- Madam Speaker, I must warn you, I'm about to say something my Democratic colleagues hate to hear. Donald J. Trump is President of the United States. He is president today, he'll be president tomorrow, and he will be president when this impeachment is over.

Madam Speaker, when they accept that, maybe this House can get back to work for the American people. Now tonight I rise not as the leader of the opposition to this impeachment or as the elected representative from the Central Valley of California. I rise as Kevin McCarthy, citizen, no better, no worse than the 435 representatives that are in this chamber, or the 330 million Americans watching this institution, make what I believe to be one of the worst decisions we have ever made.

It doesn't matter whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, whether you're liberal or you're conservative, whether you're the first generation or the tenth, at our core, we are all American. All of us. We choose our future. We choose what kind of nation we want to be. Here is our choice tonight. Will we let impeachment become an exercise of raw political power, regardless if it damages our country? Or will we protect the proper grounds and process for impeachment now and in the future? For months, Democrats and many in the media have attempted to normalize the impeachment process that would remove a duly elected president from office. After three years of breathless and baseless outrage, this is their last attempt to stop the Trump presidency. Madam Speaker, Speaker Pelosi even recently admitted that Democrats have been working

on this impeachment for two and a half years. Those were her words, they were not mine. Because they lost to him in 2016, they'll do anything or say anything to stop him in 2020. That's not America. That's not how democratic republics behave. Elections matter. Voters matter. And in 11 months, the people's voice will be heard again.

Impeachment is the most consequential decision Congress can make other than sending our men and women into war. Yet 85 days ago, Speaker Pelosi chose to impeach the President of the United States. She wrote the script and created an artificial timeline to make the details fit. Why else are we doing this just hours before Christmas? If that's all it was, a rush to judgment,

she could be forgiven. But before the speaker saw one word or one shred of evidence... Just a little fact check. Clinton was impeached before Christmas. Go back to him. ...from all of us from the start. But not only did she move to impeach before she gave this House and the hundreds of millions of people we represent a say in whether to pursue an impeachment inquiry, she threw out the bipartisan standards

this House gave President Nixon and Clinton. That is why I immediately sent Speaker Pelosi a letter asking her to follow the rules of history, of tradition, and follow those standards that have served America well. What did she say? She rejected it. She rejected it because Democrats knew a fair process would crumble their case. A fair process would have exposed to the American public what many already knew. Democrats have wanted to impeach President Trump since the day he was elected.

And nothing was going to get in their way, certainly not the truth. Madam Speaker, Chairman Schiff said he had evidence more than circumstantial of collusion. That was false. In January, where we all stood in this body, we stood up, we raised our hands, we swore that we'd uphold the Constitution. And a few mere hours after that, Congresswoman Tlaib said she was going to impeach the mother effer. Those are not my words. A year before taking the majority, Chairman Nadler campaigned to the Democrats that he wanted to be chairman of the Judiciary Committee where impeachment is. New York Times writes

Madam Speaker because he is the strongest member to lead a potential impeachment. And Congressman Raskin, a leading Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, one that the Democrats had represented in the Rules Committee for these articles just yesterday, told a crowd he would impeach President Trump two days before he was ever sworn into office. What we've seen is a rigged process that has led to the most partisan and least credible impeachment in the history of America. That is this legacy. Any prosecutor in this country would be disbarred for such blatant bias, especially if that prosecutor was the fact witness, the judge, and the jury.

Madam Speaker, Democrats haven't just failed on process, they've also failed on evidence. I've heard a lot of debate on this floor today, but I haven't heard one member of this body dispute this simple fact. President Trump provided lethal aid to Ukraine. It came before the call, it came after the call, and it continues to this day. President Trump provided Ukraine tank-busting bombs. The previous administration, they gave blankets. This is the truth. Meanwhile, the Democrats' case is based on secondhand opinions and hearsay.

Simply put, there are no grounds for impeachment. As constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, and I would challenge to say he's probably the most respected, and we all know it. A Democrat who did not vote for the president said under oath there was no bribery, there was no extortion, no obstruction of justice, and no abuse of power. Based on the facts, based on the truth, based on the lack of evidence, Turley called this the fastest, thinnest, and weakest impeachment in the U.S. history.

Such a definitive answer should be the end of all of this. But Speaker Pelosi is still moving forward with this impeachment without evidence of facts or truth or public support. The Speaker says it is out of allegiance to our founders. On this, I agree. I agree with the Speaker we should listen to the founders. And if one does, it's very clear that this impeachment is unfounded and improper.

In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton wrote, there will always, there would always be the greatest danger that impeachment would be driven by partisan animosity instead of real demonstrations of innocent or guilt. That impeachment would be driven by partisan animosity instead of real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. James Madison, another author of the Federalist Papers, wrote, The danger of legislative abuse must lead to the same tyranny as is threatened by executive abuse. The founders did not want impeachment to be used for political or partisan battles. If my colleagues do not want to follow the constitutional high standards for undoing a national election, perhaps you could have followed Speaker Pelosi's standard, at least the one she promised to follow back in March. It was a very sensible standard.

She says impeachment is so divisive that the evidence must be overwhelming, compelling, and bipartisan. Not one of those criteria has been met today. Based on the facts, based on the evidence, based on the truth, this impeachment even fails that Pelosi test. Those now who say removing President Trump would protect the integrity of our democracy have it backwards. By removing a duly elected president on empty articles of impeachment...

All right, folks, that's Kevin McCarthy. We're going to end the show hearing from Justin Amash, of course, a former Republican from Michigan, now independent, who's really going to be the only Republican, if you will, who's going to vote for impeachment. These are his remarks earlier today on the U.S. House

floor. Impeachment. I come to this floor not as a Democrat, not as a Republican, but as an American who cares deeply about the Constitution, the rule of law, and the rights of the people. Under our system of government, impeachment is not about policy disagreements or ineffective governance, nor is it about criminality based on statutes that did not exist at the time our Constitution was written.

Impeachment is about maintaining the integrity of the office of the presidency and ensuring that executive power is directed toward proper ends in accordance with the law. The Constitution grants the House the sole power of impeachment and the Senate the sole power to try all impeachments. We in the House are empowered to charge impeachable conduct. The Constitution describes such conduct as high crimes and misdemeanors because it pertains to high office and relates to the misuse of that office. We need not rely on any other branch or body to endorse our determinations. We have the sole power of impeachment. In Federalist No. 65, Alexander Hamilton wrote that high crimes and misdemeanors, quote, are those offenses which proceed for the misconduct

of public men, or in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may, with peculiar propriety, be denominated political as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself." President Donald J. Trump has abused and violated the public trust by using his high office to solicit the aid of a foreign power, not for the benefit of the United States of America, but instead for his personal and political gain. His actions reflect precisely the type of conduct the framers of the Constitution intended

to remedy through the power of impeachment, and it is our duty to impeach him. I yield back. So that was Congressman Justin Amash laying out his take. Bottom line is, after McCarthy speaks, they're going to start to vote. Trump's going to get impeached. Final comment.

I think that, again, it's very important that we lift this, that it really is time for community engagement. And so, not only do we have a big election in front of us, but we also have local, statewide, um, elections as well. And so, um, for people that watch this show, um, there are... there's information that you're getting here

that you're not getting anywhere else. So I would implore people to get good information to take back out into the community and not information that's really just uh, back and forth. Julia? I think that what we saw is democracy in action, although it's very, very

flawed. We heard from the Democrats, we heard from the Republicans, and what we know is that Trump will be impeached. And that's what he deserves. He's very blessed that Nancy Pelosi was so considered. Because they could have had 50 articles of impeachment, quite frankly, with all the things that he's done. But, you know, having said that,

we know that he probably will not be convicted. And we know that, as Erica says, we've got a rough road to hoe in the next 11 months. He's not going to be removed from office, but after tonight, after this vote, he will be in the history books. He will go down in history.

He will forever be known as the third United States president to ever be impeached. That is a fact. I'll see you guys tomorrow right here on Roll About Unfiltered. Right. That is a fact. I'll see you guys tomorrow right here on Roll About Unfiltered. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott.

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that

in a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's Dadication. Find out more at

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