The David Pakman Show - 12/12/24: Ted Cruz confronted on CNN, Republicans defending Matt Gaetz

Episode Date: December 12, 2024

-- On the Show: -- Brittany Page, host of The Page Perspective, fills in for David. Check out her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@brittanyepage -- Texas Senator Ted Cruz gets called out on his contradictions during a CNN interview with Kaitlan Collins -- Outgoing Senate leader Mitch McConnell gives a tepid response to Trump returning to power -- Anti-Trump strategist Sarah Longwell dunks on former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the DealBook Summit -- Florida State Representative Susan Valdes changes her party registration from Democrat to Republican, growing the GOP's supermajority -- Congresswoman Nancy Mace claims she was “physically accosted” by a transgender youth advocate who shook her hand -- During Trump's first term, the Justice Department obtained records of media figures and elected officials who opposed them -- Representative Sean Casten, a Democrat, calls out Republicans for protecting Matt Gaetz and blocking the ethics report from getting released -- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is expected to become the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, signaling a new generation of Democratic leadership -- Daniel Penny, who was found not guilty of manslaughter this week for his involvement in the death of Jordan Neely, says to Fox News's Jeanine Pirro he has no regrets -- On the Bonus Show: Jesse Dollemore joins Brittany Page to discuss RFK Jr.'s agenda in the Trump administration, prominent Democrats acquiescing to Trump, and much more... 🌱 Ounce of Hope: Get 20% off with code PAKMAN at https://ounceofhope.com 🤪 Doomlings: Use code PAKMAN for 15% OFF at https://doomlings.com/pakman 💻 Get Private Internet Access for 83% OFF + 4 months free at https://www.piavpn.com/David 🪒 Henson Shaving: Use code DAVIDP for free shave cream at https://hensonshaving.com/davidp ✉️ StartMail: Get 50% OFF a year subscription at https://startmail.com/pakman 🖼️ Aura Frames: Use code PAKMAN for $35 OFF & free shipping at https://auraframes.com/pakman -- Become a Member: https://davidpakman.com/membership -- Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/davidpakmanshow -- TDPS Subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/thedavidpakmanshow -- Pakman Discord: https://davidpakman.com/discord -- David on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/davidpakmanshow -- Leave a Voicemail: (219)-2DAVIDP

Welcome to the David Pakman show. My name is Brittany Page from the Page Perspective right here on YouTube. I am the very lucky guest host for David today. I think this is maybe my, I don't know, fourth or fifth time at this point guest hosting. and I am so grateful to David and his team for welcoming me back. We'll save the thanks with tears in my eyes for later in the show when things get a little more sentimental toward the end, because right now we need to talk about the Republicans making the rounds to defend Donald Trump's heinous cabinet picks. We already know that the number one prerequisite appears to be allegations of severe misconduct, preferably, apparently, crimes against women, if you want to be nominated for a cabinet position. We also already know that Republicans have shown little interest in being a

check on Donald Trump's horrendous picks. Yes, Matt Gaetz failed, but we still have people like Pete Hegseth. And we should start with him because Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, who just won re-election, was on CNN's Caitlin Collins to discuss his process for reviewing Donald Trump's cabinet picks. And we're going to talk about two clips here. The first is Ted Cruz responding to news that Pete Hegseth is undergoing an FBI background check. This after Donald Trump's team initially wanted to bypass the FBI background checks for cabinet members and whether he will review that background check. Watch this. Other part of this, obviously, he's faced a sexual assault allegation, which he's denied.

He's had Pete Hegseth's attorney on to talk about that. He's also faced allegations of mismanagement running former veterans organizations. I've also seen people who worked with him defend him in that situation. He's undergoing an FBI background check right now. Will you personally review that FBI background check before now. Will you personally review that FBI background check before you vote? Yes, I'm confident that I will. And look, I think the FBI background checks are important. I think they're a process. I have reviewed hundreds of FBI background checks in my time in the Senate. It's an important process. So I think everyone. And I think given the the allegations directed against Pete Hegseth, his FBI background check is naturally

going to be more important. People are going to look at it and say, all right, they're allegations. Allegations don't mean guilt. So how credible are the allegation? What's the evidence? And I think I think the background check and Pete, what he said to me is he's eager to have that process go forward. And I think there's given you your view to me. Do you think there's anything in it that could change your view of how you're going to vote on him? Well, sure. I mean, you know, I mean, a question like that. Yeah. If he, you know, killed someone and dragged their body into the woods, I'd vote no. I don't believe that's going to be the answer. But that's not your standard for confirming a defense. Of course not. I picked an absurd example. But but yes, of course, with any nominee, if if if something comes out about

them that nobody knows that is is deeply concerning, everyone will. That's why you have advice and consent, because you discover things about people's backgrounds. Did you hear that? If something comes out that is deeply concerning that nobody knows, everyone will. And then he just kind of trails off and interrupts himself because he doesn't want to admit that, apparently, deeply concerning things like sexual assault allegations and allegations of severe substance use disorders don't actually move the needle for folks like Ted Cruz. Everyone will apparently not respond to deeply concerning things, Ted, you included. He even gives us an example of something that could come up in a background check that would

cause him to no longer support someone and goes to murder when we have an allegation of another type of crime that he, I guess, doesn't view as serious. Sexual assault doesn't rate for Ted, I guess. But then the interview turns to this question of whether the president is entitled to his nominees. We keep hearing the Republicans say this, right? And this moment is great between Ted and Caitlyn because she directly calls out his hypocrisy. The advice and consent is part of the Constitution. It's an important role. But at the end of the day, and by the way, when Joe Biden was president, that that that's the same way Democrats approached it, which is they were they voted to confirm whoever he put up.

Yeah, well, and I know, you know, with that, when we hear some Republicans saying, you know, the president's entitled to his nominees, I've heard some people push back and say, well, we've seen Republicans vote against all of Biden's picks. You know, you voted for against everyone except Lloyd Austin. Yeah. But look, I mean, a lot of Biden's picks, I think, were extreme. You look at someone like Merrick Garland. I think Merrick Garland has been the most partisan and political attorney general the country's ever seen. You look at someone like Alejandro Mayorkas, who opened up the border and caused an invasion at our southern border. It actually, I was surprised Biden did not nominate more moderate candidates. You look at Trump. Trump's nominated several people who were Democrats until like 12 minutes ago.

Tulsa Gabbard. Tulsa Gabbard, RFK. So the president is entitled to his nominees is only a defense when Republicans want to defend themselves from accusations of cowering to Trump and mindlessly supporting his nominees because, of course, people like Ted Cruz voted against nearly every single one of Biden's nominees. And I'm sorry, but Merrick Garland is a radical. Merrick Garland is the most partisan and political attorney general Ted Cruz has ever seen. The same Merrick Garland who fumbled the opportunity to hold Donald Trump accountable. I'm not sure what world Ted Cruz

is living in. And then of course, we have the part about Trump nominating several people who were Democrats like 12 minutes ago, he says. Even when Tulsi was identifying herself as a Democrat, many on the left correctly pegged her as an opportunist. She is not principled. Same with RFK Jr. Do you remember when it was reported that RFK Jr. had reached out to the Harris campaign for a role in the administration in exchange for an endorsement? That after meeting with the Trump team to discuss a role in the administration in exchange for an endorsement. Harris didn't meet with him. Trump did. We see how that ended up. Is RFK a Democrat or an opportunist who allies with power wherever it might be? I think the latter. As he continues to try to get his cabinet confirmed, Trump has,

of course, signaled that he could bypass the Senate and use recess appointments to get his cabinet confirmed. Trump has, of course, signaled that he could bypass the Senate and use recess appointments to build his cabinet. This week, Republican Senator Rick Scott went on CNBC to confirm that Republicans would be open to recess appointments. To get all of his appointees confirmed. And I couldn't tell whether he was sort of foreshadowing some recess appointments or not. How do you see that playing out? Who gets in? Will there be any more that? I mean, I think, you know, Matt Gaetz pretty well. But what else happens in your view? Well, first, first off, we're going to get Trump's nominees confirmed, right? And, you know, if we have to do recess appointments, I think we'll figure out how to do that.

But I think, look at his nominees. I mean, Marco Rubio, Pam Bondi from Florida, Mike Waltz, who doesn't have to be confirmed, is going to be National Security Advisor. Susie Wiles from Florida, who's the Chief of Staff. Wonderful people. You look at Pete Hedgeseth. Here's a guy that's a combat veteran. He knows the risk of sending troops into battle. He's led troops in battle. He knows people that have lost him. He knew people that lost their lives.

He knows people have been injured. That's the type of person we want to run the Department of Defense. Rick, Pete also reportedly has a serious substance use problem. Is that relevant at all? Is that an important consideration for the defense secretary? Donald Trump could just nominate people who are, I don't know, not accused of serious misconduct. He could nominate people for reasons other than them being a blood relative or having married into the family or nearly married into the family, he could nominate people for reasons other than their ability to benefit him personally or their loyalty to him. That could be one way to do it.

Or you could just bypass the Senate and do recess appointments. I guess the Republicans really are ready to give Donald Trump their all. I'd love to know what you think. Please tell me in the comments. The new Mitch McConnell interview is a wild one. It's like he's trying to join the Trump resistance, but not. Mostly just cosplaying Trump resistance, maybe. And yes, that Mitch McConnell. Yes, it's December 2024. Yes, it's very late in the game to be pretending to be a Trump critic. And no, we are not dreaming. We're seeing a new warning from Mitch McConnell about a second isolationist Trump presidency in his interview with the Financial Times. Let's look at this headline.

We're in a very, very dangerous world right now. The Republican senator on his plans to spend the last two years of his term fighting back against an increasingly isolationist GOP. I'm sorry, what? I mean, we're going to get into the interview, but what? Where has Mitch been? Is this like a facing the end of life identity crisis, wondering what it all means and questioning what you've dedicated your life to only to find

yourself filled with regret? Or, I mean, this is the same Mitch McConnell who once blamed Donald Trump for the quote-unquote disgraceful January 6th attack on the Capitol, who called Trump stupid as well as being ill-tempered, a quote, despicable human being and a narcissist. With those comments, you'd expect that he would be out here warning everyone about the dangers of Donald Trump joining the resistance, but no, because like so many other Republicans, he fell in line. He refused to vote to convict Donald Trump in his impeachment trial. And he, of course, endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 election, despite the fact that the two hadn't been speaking. They haven't spoken since 2020 when Mitch McConnell said that Joe Biden won the election. Ill-tempered indeed.

So after a lifetime of bending over backwards to ensure Republicans gain more power and control over our government, Mitch McConnell has the audacity to come out here warning of the dangers of Trump. Let's read a few passages here from the Financial Times article. Quote, with Trump preparing to return to the White House next month, the veteran lawmaker issues a warning from America's past.

Quote, we're in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before World War II, he says. Even the slogan is the same, America first. That was what they said in the 30s. McConnell has been a Kentucky senator since 1985. Having committed to serving the final two years of his term, he intends to spend the time pushing back against the increasingly isolationist elements of today's GOP.

Quote, the cost of deterrence is considerably less than the cost of war, he says, reeling off the figures to prove it. In the Second World War, the U.S. spent 37% of GDP on the fight. Last year, that figure was about 2.7%. His words are targeted directly at Trump and Vice President Elect J.D. Vance, who have argued that the U.S. should not be spending any more money on Ukraine. And let's pause here because this ties back to my original point, which is Mitch McConnell knew Donald Trump's views before endorsing him. And by the way, voting for him, as this article confirms.

But he wants to come out now with his concerns after playing a key role in propping Donald Trump up and ensuring that he won the election so he can do the things that Mitch claims he doesn't think he should do. And let's give, let's not give Mitch too much credit. Not that we're, you know, giving him any credit because look at this line, quote, Trump has also said that enemies within the US are more dangerous than Russia and China. Quote, I don't agree with that, says Mitch McConnell. Oh boy, what a forceful rebuke. You can really feel that fiery dissent. He's really going all in on Trump and Trumpism, you guys. Can you feel it? Can you feel the heat? And then of course there's this, quote, today Mitch McConnell

acknowledged for the first time that he voted for Trump last month, although he can't bring himself to mention his name. Quote, I supported the ticket, he says. Asked if he wishes he had done more to prevent Trump from becoming president again. McConnell says, quote, the election's over and we're moving on. Sure. What a cop out. Mitch did nothing to prevent Donald Trump from retaking office. And now he wants to sit back with his vague disapproval like it's going to save his legacy.

It won't. We know who Mitch is. We remember what side he was on. He only cares about Republicans gaining more power and control. That's it. If he was serious about being a check on Donald Trump, he would have done it before today. And something else to consider here is that Mitch McConnell is a childhood polio survivor. He helped elect Donald Trump, who has nominated an anti-vaccine activist to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. Is Mitch concerned about that? Concerned at all about the impact on childhood vaccination rates with an anti-vaxxer at the helm? I think we have two options here when it comes to this interview.

We view this as a weak attempt at McConnell trying to repair his image, knowing that he's at the end of his career and close to the end of his life. Or we view this as a simple display of personal animus toward Donald Trump, because interspersed with the weak criticism for Trump is Mitch beaming with pride over his role in helping to radically shift the makeup of the Supreme Court. How different from Trump is he really? How different are his goals really when he still highlights these destructive Republican wins as what he takes most pride in? I think not different at all. I'd love to know what you think about this and would invite you to tell me in the comments below. We're getting a glimpse into the very lively election panel held on December 4th in New York City at the Dealbook Summit. There were 10 people on the panel, including Trump sycophants and Trump critics

and reporters. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman was the moderator, and some of the participants included Kevin McCarthy, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jason Miller, a senior advisor to Trump, and Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, who is a Republican but a Trump critic. And I'm naming these three people specifically because they're going to be featured players in this clip that I'm going to play for you. And truly, this was a moment that brought me joy. And we don't get very many of those moments, especially when you are covering politics daily. But there are some moments when these hypocrites and liars

get called out for being hypocrites and liars, and you feel like there is some justice. And there is, you know, this is one of those moments. Sarah Longwell in this clip says to Kevin McCarthy's face, what so many people have been unwilling to say to him. Kevin McCarthy is, of course, another one of these Republicans who directly after January 6th said that he wanted Donald Trump to resign, only to go on and cower and endorse him for reelection in 2024 and even say that he would serve in his cabinet.

So Kevin is back and pretending like the real threat is Joe Biden, citing public support for Donald Trump. And Sarah Longwell does not let this moment pass her by. Right. Even if you go to the poll and not Republican or Democrat, I think it was maybe three months ago, independents believe the greatest threat to democracy was Joe Biden getting reelected.

And that was independents, not Republican or Democrat. So what you say, you can believe but that's not what the American public believes. There's a difference between what the American people think and what's true. So the idea, I don't know why I don't know what we are, the defense of Merrick Garland, sure. Donald Trump lied about an election being stolen and then sicked a mob on the Capitol. And it's funny that you roll your eyes at this, Kevin, because you're the one who went down and resurrected him. You want to know

what happened just now in the 2024 election is we elected the most dangerous criminal uh human being corrupt human being that america has ever elected and kevin you helped him you're the one who went and got him after you're after you're welcome yeah sure thank you okay um and and in doing so and in doing so uh you enabled this and so joe biden the idea that Joe Biden's Justice Department is the problem here, as opposed to Donald Trump and the fact that he Stop. I do. How smug he is. And really, what are his other options, I guess, when he knows he's wrong? He knows he's a sellout. He knows he traded his principles for proximity to power. He has no choice but to sit there and be smug.

The other choice would be to be honest. And we know he's not going to do that. But I loved what Sarah said at the top of the clip, that there's a difference between what the American people think and what's true. Did you see Kellyanne Conway scoff at that, by the way? Miss alternative facts over there, wasn't sure how to process that line. And then at the end of the clip, we had Jason Miller confirming Sarah believes that Trump won the popular vote, as though that is evidence that Donald Trump should be treated as some sort of god king and given free reign to do whatever he sees fit. I love that quote from Christopher Hitchens, that is, don't take refuge in the false security of

consensus. You may be able to find many people who agree with you, but that doesn't make you right. If what you believe is at odds with the facts, we know the popular vote was very close. And there are millions of Americans who didn't vote at all. And then, of course there are the facts and it shouldn't matter what people think about the facts. We shouldn't consider how many people agree with a fact before we consider it a fact. So good for Sarah Longwell for calling this out, for calling out Kevin McCarthy right to his face. I hope we see more journalists, more elected officials, anyone who is in close proximity to a liar or a hypocrite, desperately in need of being checked, I hope that they get checked.

My name is Brittany Page from The Page Perspective on YouTube, and I am so looking forward to going through the day's headlines with you. And I'd love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel, where I talk a lot about public policy, politics, and social justice. Please sound off in the comments and let me know what you think about the stories I'm covering today. This holiday season, there's nothing that spreads cheer like premium THC products. Our longtime sponsor, Ounce of Hope, offers an impressive wide variety of top quality psychoactive Thank you sos, flour. Ounce of Hope has something for everyone on your list. All products are federally legal across the U.S.

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The link is in the podcast notes. I am the guest host for you today. I have my own channel here on YouTube where I host my own show called The Page Perspective, and I would love it if you would join me over there. Now, we may be weeks out from the election, but Florida, the Florida legislature, has gained another Republican, and it's because of a flip-flop. And this isn't the first time that this has happened either. Former Democrat and now Republican,

Florida Representative Susan Valdez has switched her party registration after issuing a statement on the social media platform that Elon Musk ruined. And before I read Susan Valdez's statement, I want to refresh your memory on another case of a Democrat betraying their constituents by changing their party affiliation shortly after an election. Do you remember Tricia Cottom? It's useful to talk about the case of Tricia Cottom because we don't know a lot about what motivated Susan Valdez to switch her party registration yet. The reporting hasn't dug up the truth like it has with Trisha in North Carolina. But Trisha's case may be a preview of what's to come as far as Susan's true motivations for switching parties.

So as a brief refresher, last year, Trisha Cottom ran for North Carolina House of Representatives and won as a Democrat. But three months after winning her election, she switched her party affiliation to Republican. This was a massive blow because it gave Republicans a super majority. And I'm going to read some reporting from the New York Times because we now know what was happening behind the scenes with Trisha in North Carolina, and it may give us a glimpse of what's to come with Susan in Florida. Quote, when Trricia Cottom, a former Democratic lawmaker, was considering another run for the North Carolina House of Representatives, she turned to a powerful party leader for advice.

Then when she jumped into the Democratic primary, she was encouraged by other formidable allies. What was unusual and not publicly known at the time was that the influential people who had privately encouraged Ms. Cottom to run were Republicans, not Democrats. One was Tim Moore, the Republican Speaker of the State House. Another was John Bell, the Republican Majority Leader. Three months after Ms. Cottom took office in January, she delivered a mortal shock to Democrats and to abortion rights supporters. She switched parties and then cast a decisive vote on May 3rd to override a veto by the state's Democratic governor and enact a 12-week limit on most abortions. North Carolina's most restrictive abortion policy in 50 years. And this was a woman who campaigned as a progressive on social issues.

She co-sponsored a bill to codify Roe v. Wade, performed as though she was supportive of abortion rights, and then three months after her election, cast a vote to limit abortion rights, giving Republicans a win. Now, this is very similar to Susan Valdez in Florida, who also has a history of supporting abortion rights. She was outspoken against Florida's six-week abortion ban, for example, as you can see in this tweet. But like Trisha, she is suddenly reversing course and joining the party that wants to restrict bodily autonomy. Reading from part of her statement here, quote,

I will not waste my final two years in the Florida legislature being ignored in a caucus whose leadership expects me to ignore the needs of my community. Effective immediately, I will change my registration from a Democrat to Republican and will join the Republican conference in the Florida House of Representatives. Our speaker, Representative Daniel Perez, has laid out a vision for the House that focuses on empowering House members to work on real problems facing our communities. That's what I want to be part of. I want to roll up my sleeves and work. I want to be part of solving problems for West Tampa. I'm tired of being the party of protesting when I got into politics to be the party of progress. I know I won't agree with my fellow Republican House members on every issue, but I know that in their caucus, I will be welcomed and I will be treated with respect. I love my community and I will continue to fight every day to benefit the people of West Tampa, Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. And in my heart, I know the best way to do that is to stand with Speaker Perez and join the Republican supermajority in the Florida House of Representatives.

There are several things that jump out to me here, and I'd be curious to know what you think about this, so be sure to let me know in the comments, but it seems very self-involved. It's vague, that is certainly obvious, but there are no direct calls to specific action. There's no highlighting specific hurdles put in her way as far as policies go. In fact, there's no mention of policy at all. What exactly is it that will make you more effective with the Republican supermajority? Especially when, as she represented to her constituents, they don't have shared values and policy positions. There's a focus on being welcomed and treated with respect as though there is some personal

drama that occurred that made her switch teams. But that doesn't sound right when we're talking about values, principles, policies to improve people's lives. Your view of those things shouldn't change based on who is welcoming to you. Maybe it does for Susan, though, because if you look at her Twitter page, it is filled with retweets from Republicans welcoming her, including Governor Ron DeSantis, who posted, quote, Welcome to the GOP, Rep. Valdez. Congrats to Speaker Daniel Perez on the biggest Republican majority in the history of the Florida House.

Imagine voting for this woman and then learning that she's switching sides and Ron DeSantis is tweeting praise for her. I mean, it's truly horrifying stuff. The juxtaposition, if you juxtapose her statement there with this op-ed that she wrote just last year, where she said, quote, It is as if the leaders of the state have picked up an autocracy playbook and slowly but surely are implementing dangerous proposals, using their power to serve themselves and their cronies, but not the rest of us. Divide and conquer is a familiar tactic in autocratic governments,

creating manufactured crises that arouse resentments and prejudices between groups, while leaders make decisions in the dark, leaving people deprived of daily needs and fundamental freedoms. Did I mention the open attacks on Black and LGBTQ plus communities that have been Susan, what is happening here? I mean, this is stuff that causes people to lose faith in politics, in government, in the very process that we need people to have faith in in order to facilitate the change that we need to see. So how long is it before we get the truth here? What is happening behind the scenes? Was Susan working with Republicans planning this switch? And for how long?

Let me know what you think in the comments. Well, it looks like South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace is walking around with a wrist brace and a sling after claiming that she was assaulted. And a story that causes us to ask, who do you believe? Nancy Mace has been all over social media, obsessively attacking trans people. She introduced legislation to ban transgender lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. She meant it as a direct attack on incoming representative from Delaware, Sarah McBride, the first out trans lawmaker elected to Congress. All of this, of course, after she called herself, quote, pro-transgender rights in 2023. Nancy is someone who loves attention,

always looking for ways to get as much attention as possible. And evidently she wasn't getting enough attention as a Republican supporting trans rights. So she's out here daily attacking trans people. Now she's claiming that she was accosted by a pro-trans man in a post on Twitter, while all of the witnesses that have been interviewed by various outlets are contradicting her story. Here's what Nancy Mace wrote, quote, I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-trans man. One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it'll heal just fine. The Capitol police arrested the guy. Your trans violence and threats on my life will only make me double down. F-A-F-O, hashtag hold the line. This story, however, gets more complicated as you read about it.

Reading from the Rolling Stone, quote, Mace spent much of Tuesday afternoon portraying the incident as a vicious assault by a pro-trans advocate. But individuals who reportedly witnessed her interaction with the alleged assailant are telling a very different story. According to individuals who spoke to The Imprint, a nonprofit news outlet focused on child welfare, juvenile justice, and other issues affecting American youth, attendees at an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Foster Care Independence Act were shocked over the arrest of James McIntyre, an award-winning foster youth advocate, shortly after he left the Rayburn House office building near the Capitol.

Three attendees told the imprint that McIntyre, 33, had done nothing more than shake Mace's hand and exchange a few words. Mace is a co-chair of the bipartisan Foster Care Caucus, and she spoke at the event. Elliot Hinkle, a youth LGBTQ plus rights advocate, told the imprint that McIntyre shook Mace's hand and made a comment that many transgender youth in foster care need your support. So three attendees who witnessed the interaction say

there was no assault and that this man shook Nancy Mace's hand and told her that transgender youth and foster care need her support. shake, and interaction that I would expect any legislator to expect from anyone as a constituent, Hinkle said, adding that an aide to Mace later tracked McIntyre down and asked for his name and to repeat his comments to the representative. Two other witnesses corroborated his description of events. The Washington Post also reported on the interaction, quote, what we witnessed was a handshake, a passionate shake, but it didn't look like an assault or intended aggression, Hinkle told the outlet. Okay, so we have Washington Post corroborating this report, but the man was arrested and charged with assaulting a government official. He pleaded not guilty today. And for the sake of everyone

involved, I hope there are cameras. I hope there's a recording of this. I'm sure we're going to learn more in the coming days. Nancy Mace responded to this dispute from witnesses saying, quote, with an ongoing investigation, we are limited in what we can share. However, this incident underscores the alarming lengths to which the left will go to silence women who dare to stand up against the trans takeover. And of course, Donald Trump called to check on her. There's another part of this reporting that stood out to me, though, and it was this part of the Rolling Stone article. Quote, Lisa Dixon, a longtime foster youth advocate who also attended the event, wrote on Facebook that she felt deep disappointment

in that Mace came to a national foster youth event, told participating youth that it was a safe space, and then literally had one of them arrested by Capitol Police for simply shaking her hand and asking about trans rights. In a separate post, Dixon wrote that the event, quote, was not the day or the time for a self-serving publicity stunt, especially not a

politician lashing out at a vulnerable young person who just took her word that when helping foster youth, quote, all suggestions are welcome. Well, we can certainly see a world in which Nancy Mace is unhappy to be given even friendly criticism, even a friendly reminder that she is failing to do what's right. So we're left kind of weighing the evidence that we have right now, right? But before we summarize the evidence, we actually now have a copy of the police report. So here is how Nancy Mace describes her injury from the handshake. And this reporting is from The Hill. Quote, the victim, Mace, offered their right hand to the individual to shake hands. And upon their hands coming together, the individual placed their other hand on top of the victim's hand in a clasping manner so that the victim's hand was between both of the subject's

hands. The victim stated that the subject began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion. The effect of the motion was described as her arm flailing for about three to five seconds, the police report said, of Mace's accounting of the interaction. Quote, the victim stated that she attempted to pull her hand away from the subject, but was held in place by the subject, the report continued. Quote, during the shaking motion, the victim advised that the subject stated, trans youth deserve advocacy. Mace told police she was experiencing pain in her wrists, arm, and armpit slash shoulder after the incident, according to the police report. Okay. hand was aggressively and in an exaggerated manner, shaking her arm up and down to the point

where she is now injured with pain in her wrists, arm and armpit and shoulder, but maybe not. So this is where we stand at this moment. We have multiple witnesses saying that Nancy Mace is lying and we have Nancy Mace who is known for being dishonest and not holding to her principles and doing what is politically expedient for attention and power. I mean, that's pretty much where we are. So this is definitely one to follow. I'm sure that in the coming days, we will learn more. As Nancy says, the investigation continues. Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments. internet activity is not being logged. Their software is fully open source, so you can see that traffic isn't being logged. Their systems are also independently audited by the big four

accounting firm Deloitte to confirm nothing is being logged. And they've demonstrated multiple times in court they have no record of user activity. Everyone should use a VPN when they connect to the internet, hides your IP address so governments and big tech can't track you. And you can access Netflix and Hulu content not normally available in your home country. Private Internet access has servers in 91 different countries and all 50 U.S. states. You can protect all of your devices with just a single account. And private Internet access is giving my audience 83 percent off comes out to just two or three a month plus four extra months for free. Go to PIA VPN dot com slash David. The link is in the podcast notes.

There are two big problems with the cheap plastic disposable razors. Two thirds of people have skin irritation and then over two billion plastic razors enter our landfills in the United States alone. Now, our sponsor, Henson Shaving, solves both problems with the plastic disposable razors. You have unstable blades wobbling around as you shave, which causes the irritation. It's like if you were cutting something with scissors or a knife and the blade is wiggling, that's what's happening to your face with the cheap razors. So here's the solution. Razors produced by Henson have a blade that extends only point zero zero one three inches

past the shave plane. And that means no blade movement, more comfort before and after shaving. This is something only Henson can offer because of their precision manufacturing shop that also makes aerospace parts. Plus, the only part that you replace is the blade itself. The razor will last you a lifetime. Better for your wallet, much better for the planet. It's time to say no to subscriptions and yes to a razor that will last to the David Pakman show. My name is Brittany Page from The Page Perspective on YouTube. And I just want to take a moment to say, David, sir, with tears in my eyes, thank you for allowing me to guest host for you today. I'm so happy to be here with all of you and would love it if you would subscribe to my YouTube channel, which you can find linked below. You know when you hear a story and you think, well, it would have been nice if this

came out before the election. I mean, ultimately, if it wouldn't have changed the election outcome, I still wish this story would have come out before the election. A new watchdog report released shows that Donald Trump's Justice Department secretly obtained records, including text and phone logs for members of the media, staffers, and lawmakers. According to reporting from NBC News, quote, seeking to investigate leaks of classified information, the Trump Justice Department in 2017 and 2018 secretly obtained phone and text message logs of 43 congressional staffers and two members of Congress in a far broader probe than previously known, according to a new report by the department's internal watchdog. The report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that the DOJ didn't act with

political motives, but failed to take sufficient account of constitutional separation of powers by seizing communication records of staffers and lawmakers and making them subjects of a criminal investigation only because they had lawful access to state secrets through their jobs. Prosecutors obtained the records using subpoenas and other legal processes to third-party providers, including Apple, and attached gag orders to And you may notice that these excerpts that I just read didn't mention the media figures, but they are mentioned in this reporting. They just note that the seizure of the records from media figures had already been previously reported. The reporters were from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN. That's who was targeted.

Two prominent Trump critics, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, have also said that they were targeted. Although the text and phone records don't show the content of the messages, they do show who people were communicating with. Reading again from NBC it, quote, risks chilling Congress's ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, described the revelations in the report as, quote, beyond disturbing. Quote, as these abuses demonstrate, there are few guardrails preventing a lone prosecutor or the attorney general, the Department of Justice, or even state or local law enforcement from spying on Congress and threatening our constitutional system of checks

and balances, Wyden said in a statement, quote, it is particularly concerning that the Department of Justice hoodwinked a judge into signing off on secret surveillance on both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. And so with Trump's return to power and his nominating of yes men left and right for his cabinet, including the very dangerous Kash Patel for FBI director, we have to wonder what else is in store. Donald Trump has made it clear that he does not care to follow the rule of law. And in fact, his life experience tells him that he can bend and break the rules while getting nothing but preferential treatment as he continuously evades and escapes consequences.

And we know also that Kash Patel has specifically said he wants to go after reporters. So all of this brings to the forefront many of the fears that we had during the campaign, many of the fears that we had should Donald Trump win reelection, and many of the fears we are still sitting with as we prepare for him to take office again, which makes it all the more important for Democrats to not obey in advance and to continue to treat Donald Trump like the threat that he is, throwing up roadblock after roadblock to prevent his worst impulses from becoming our reality. So there was part of me that was looking forward to never hearing about Matt Gaetz again after he

resigned from Congress and his nomination for attorney general failed. But then I started thinking about how he's escaping accountability and how Republicans are protecting him from allegations of sexual misconduct, including with a minor. And even though we don't want to talk about, think about, or hear about Matt Gaetz, it's important to stay on top of this, and we have a great clip to play for you from a Democrat who is leading the charge. House Republicans continue to interfere with Democratic efforts to compel the House Ethics Committee to release the report they have on Gates. Republicans keep telling us that because Matt Gates resigned from Congress, that it all ends there, that there should be no report released

to the public. But Democrats have other ideas. Inter-democratic Representative Sean Kasten of Illinois, who used his time on the floor to call attention to a handful of other cases where elected officials were under investigation by the Ethics Committee, where it continued its work and released the reports. He accused Republicans of setting a new precedent and telling the country that the rules do not apply to them. Watch this. Last week, the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader said that the report into serious allegations of misconduct by former Representative Matt Gaetz was, quote, moot because he had resigned from Congress. I rise today to remind my colleagues of four names and four years. 1987, Bill Boner. 1990, Don Lukens. 2006, Mark Foley. 2011, Eric Massa. Those are four members of Congress spanning each of the last four decades. Two Democrats, two Republicans. All four of them resigned from their seats while under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Allegations against these members included acceptance of bribes, sharing inappropriate sexually explicit images, and sex with a minor child. In all of those cases, the work of the Ethics Committee continued even after their resignation. In three of the four cases, the report of the Ethics Committee was released to the public. In none of those cases did anyone have the gall to declare those reports to be moot. Okay, I want to pause here because we need to highlight this point. He's referencing four cases that are very similar to Gates, four elected officials who resigned while under ethics investigations,

and he says that in three of four of those cases, the reports were released to the public. So there's a clear precedent here for it to be released. For Republicans to hide and pretend that it would be unheard of to release the report to the public is disingenuous and dishonest. And I know it was getting good there, so let's pick up where we left off in the clip. And so now, in 2024, another representative has resigned while he was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations including acceptance of bribes, sharing of inappropriate sexually explicit images, and sex with a minor child.

Mr. Gates is also alleged to have engaged in illicit drug use. We all understand that even the allegation of such activities being committed by one of us cheapens this whole institution. We also all respect the traditions of this house. While they may sometimes need reform, we tread carefully before setting any new precedents. And so here we find ourselves with a tradition going back at least four decades that members of the house who are under investigation by the ethics committee for these sorts of allegations cannot prevent that information from becoming public simply by

resigning from their seats. And yet that is exactly the precedent that the majority voted to upend last week when they voted to kill the resolution to compel the release of the ethics committee report on Mr. Gates. And why would they do that? I mean, think about it. Think about the allegations against Matt Gaetz and set aside much of what was said there about tradition and preserving the integrity of the institution. What about just protecting people? What about protecting girls and women

from predatory behavior? And I know what you're thinking, Brittany, this is the Republican party that you're talking about. Look at who they just elected president. Look at the numerous accused predators he's nominating for cabinet positions that most Republicans are supporting. And yeah, you totally have a point. So in an ideal world, Republicans would care about these things. And Representative Sean Kasten actually makes a good point about why they should care. Every member of this body now needs to ask themselves if they believe that the president of this house,

holding itself and its members to a higher ethical standard, is one worth keeping. They need to ask themselves if they believe that even if you resign from this body, future employers, whether in the public or private sector, should know if you can be trusted to represent their institutions with dignity and honor, can be trusted with their financial resources, can be trusted around underage children. Because make no mistake, everyone who voted against the release of the report last week was saying that, no, the time has come for a new precedent where the rules no longer apply to us, where from this day forth, the Republican majority shall loudly proclaim

what happens in D.C. stays in D.C. As our friend and former colleague Elijah Cummings would have reminded us, we are better than this. Upholding precedence and maintaining the integrity of this house is not moot. I yield back. Those are important questions, particularly the question about whether it's important for a future employer to know whether Matt Gaetz can be trusted around minor children. Shouldn't Republicans care about that? Shouldn't everyone care about that? Why are they protecting this man?

Stop protecting this man. Release the report. Call your elected officials, demand that they stop with this nonsense, and let's get this report out in the open. And don't forget to tell me what you think in the comments below. She has the support. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has the support to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. She was competing with Representative Connolly, who, as an aside, is 74 years old. You know what? It's not an aside. It's actually an essential piece of this story because we are continuously talking about the age of Congress,

the age of people with the most power, and how there needs to be room for a younger generation to step into power in Congress. And this story proves that it's finally happening. First, I want to say that I admire AOC. I think she's fantastic, intelligent, quick on her feet, and so, so capable of creating the changes that we want to see as progressives. She's focused on building power, not just critiquing power.

And that's what we need. We need people who want to and know how to build power. Reading from Politico, quote, According to interviews with a dozen members and staffers, Ocasio-Cortez has earned the support of the majority of Democrats on the panel, though it's the steering and policy committee and the full caucus who ultimately decide. The oversight panel is stacked with younger, more progressive members who tend to align more with her than Connolly. Separately, two top Democrats on other House panels have withdrawn to make room for younger leaders,

and 79-year-old Representative David Scott of Georgia is on the verge of being pushed aside from a top spot on House agriculture. It's an unexpected climb for the New York progressive, a former bartender who rose to power six years ago as an outsider willing to topple the party's old guard, in that case, former Representative Joseph Crowley. So this is good news. And like I said, I fully support AOC having more power in the party. She's the voice that we need. I'm not someone who idolizes politicians and puts them on a pedestal, but I do recognize talent and AOC's ability to build coalitions and speak truth to power is very inspiring. She has also proven herself to be a continued sharp critic of Donald Trump, where some of the establishment Democrats, some of the older Democrats have shown that they

are not capable of rising to the challenge of fighting the incoming Trump administration. Reading again from Politico, quote, most current Democrats on the oversight committee, which is stacked with some of the most liberal, outspoken members of the caucus, are expected to back Ocasio-Cortez, according to the dozen members and staffers, though she'll need to be approved by the Steering and Policy Committee in the full caucus. She was appointed the vice-ranking member of this Congress by Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, her mentor and close ally on the panel, and has won plaudits, I don't know that word, from other Democrats for her tough questioning

of witnesses and skilled use of social media. Some of those who are supporting Connolly openly chalked it up to seniority. I don't find that compelling. I don't care at all about seniority. Who cares about that? I want someone who can get the job done. And they highlighted AOC's use of social media as an asset. Do you follow her on social media? If you don't, you're missing out. She often does live sessions on Instagram where she answers questions from her audience. She goes in depth on policy, truly educating people, trying to win people over to the progressive side. She's doing the work in so many ways, and I truly hope that she can gain the support of the steering and policy committee and the full caucus because she's a tremendous asset and we need her. My name is Brittany Page from The Page Perspective on YouTube, and I am so

grateful to David and his team for welcoming me back to guest host. Please let me know what you think of the stories that I'm covering today in the comments below. If you're still using a free email service, your emails are often being scanned and tracked even after you delete them. Companies use the data to know everything about you and show you ads, even your most personal communications. Thank you, David. email and start mail, it has gone forever. Keeping your information private. Start mail allows you to create unlimited email aliases, protecting your identity and reducing spam. This lets you use different email addresses for different purposes like newsletters or shopping. Plus start mail lets you encrypt every email. Even if the recipient doesn't use encryption, switching is easy. You can migrate all your existing emails and contacts with just a few clicks. the to get 50% off your first year. That's about $2 a month for a personal plan or about $3 a month

for a business plan. Plus get 25% off additional accounts for team members. That's S T A R T mail.com slash Pacman for 50% off. The link is in the podcast notes. Sometimes the people we are closest to are the toughest to shop for. Luckily, there's a gift everyone on your list will love. It is the aura digital picture frame. I gave one to my mom, preloaded it with pictures of the baby and some of me. Right. I mean, please, you hook it up and it's already got pictures on it. You can select pictures from your phone and upload them remotely to any picture frame named number one by wire cutter or a frames.

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Welcome back to the David Pacman show. My name is in the podcast notes. please subscribe to my channel. I am so close to 100,000 subscribers, and I would love it if you would help me make my goal. It's always a battle out here against the YouTube algorithm, but I'm so appreciative to David for giving me the opportunity to be here with all of you. Now, Daniel Penny was recently acquitted in New York. He was on trial for killing a homeless man on a train in New York City. That man was named Jordan Neely. This happened last year. Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide. This after a jury was previously deadlocked on another charge, a more serious charge of second degree manslaughter. This case has exposed a political divide with penny supporters appearing outside the courthouse, carrying signs, calling him a hero.

But it wasn't just supporters outside the courtroom. It's also Fox News. Fox News hosts are calling him a hero. Fox News hosts are also using this as an opportunity to go on their usual racist tirades, like Laura Ingraham did, for example. Conservatives are calling Daniel Penny a hero for choking a homeless man to death on a train after that man, Jordan Neely, was acting erratic and crying out that he was hungry and thirsty and willing to die or go to jail. It's sickening and tragic. While conservatives praise Daniel Penny as a hero, many on the left recognize the systemic failures that contributed to Jordan Neely's life of poverty and mental

distress and feel that he should have been helped rather than choked. And you can count me among the group that takes that position as I most certainly do not believe that Daniel Penny is a hero. Now that he's a free man, Daniel Penny actually sat down for an interview with Judge Jeanine from Fox. And I'm going to play a clip for you from that because it says a lot about where we are as a society, on how we view homeless people, how we view people living in poverty. It says a lot about the lives that we deem valuable and not. The lives that we view as worthy of protection and not. So here's a clip of the interview with Daniel Penny and Judge Janine Pirro.

Will you take the subway again? Yeah, and I have been. I believe in New York. I love New York. Knowing what you know now, Danny, if you faced the same situation again, would you do it again? Yeah, totally. I would not be able to live with myself if I didn't do anything in that situation and someone got hurt. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. Daniel or Danny, as Janine calls them, I guess they're best pals. Someone did get hurt. Someone is dead. His name is Jordan Neely. You say you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if someone got hurt, but someone is dead. Is he listening to himself? I don't, let's see where he goes after that. I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. And I think I'm in a position, and all people, if they're in a position to help, should always help. I think that's the New York thing to do. It's the American

thing to do. And yeah, I would. I mean, listen, what is he going to do? Is he going to come on the show and say that he's filled with regret? He did the wrong thing. He shouldn't have done it. Even if he did believe that, which I don't think he does, he wouldn't say that because he just got acquitted. So he says it is everyone's duty to help, right? I guess I would just ask, what does it mean to help? And listen, so much of this is filtered through our own biases, just like anything else. Our own experiences color our beliefs about a situation. But even if you believe Jordan Neely was a danger to others, and you take that step of getting him in a chokehold, do you need to choke him for six minutes?

I hope we all know that it takes only seconds to lose consciousness when being choked. Six minutes? Well, that's going to kill someone. I fear the consequences of this ruling. I really do. I fear what it tells people about how they should comport themselves in the face of a person who is acting erratically, who needs actual help, who's being failed by the system that refuses to help those in poverty in this country. And did you know that a key witness testified in the trial that he lied about the threat that Neely posed to his physical safety because he was afraid and trying to protect himself from a murder charge? This evidence doesn't seem to matter to a lot of people who comment on the case, and it certainly doesn't seem to matter to Judge Jeanine or her fellow

hosts. And let's hear some commentary from them after playing this segment of the interview, specifically from Steve Ducey, and how safe he would feel on the subway with Daniel Penny at his side. Think about it. If Danny Penny sat down next to you on a subway, I'd love that. Hey, sit next to me on the subway. But a lot of people here in New York, he's a bad guy, even though he has been fully exonerated by a jury of his peers. And that's why I said, let me make clear what AOC said. AOC said the subways are less safe because of people like Jordan.

What a stupid comment. What a dumb, dumb comment. And as for someone who grew up in New York, you should know better. The female host there got the names mixed up, but no one cared enough before they all agreed that AOC is stupid. Shocking. I would not feel safer with Daniel Penny sitting next to me. I wouldn't. I recognize part of that is because I'm a licensed therapist who every Friday works in an inpatient psychiatric hospital with people who have been court ordered to be there. And it isn't my first hospital that I've worked in. I, you know, have more experience than the average person being around people in the throes of psychiatric crises. But part of it is that I also live in a city and I take the metro and I would not feel safe if I witnessed a man choking another man who was crying out for food and water, even if that man was acting erratic and saying he was willing to die or go to jail. Our society is failing people like Jordan Neely, casting those who live in poverty in the streets aside and forcing them to fend for themselves, sometimes as they struggle with severe

psychiatric distress. And rather than actually helping, rather than actually caring, our society does little to nothing to address systemic issues like this. And many don't even seem to view his life as valuable. And that's dangerous, especially when the affordability crisis in this country means that many of us live in financial precarity and could be in a bad place through no fault of our own. I'm disgusted by conservative media propping Daniel Penny up as a hero for choking a man to death on the subway in New York. Jordan Neely deserved better. He deserved more. Tell me what you think in the comments. My name is Brittany Page from the Page Perspective on YouTube. I want to thank David again for inviting me back to guest host. I want to thank all of you for taking time to join me today and for caring about the world that we live in and

the issues that impact us every day. It's been difficult in these days post-election knowing that Trump will soon retake the White House, but I'm inspired by all of the people who continue to care, who continue to fight, and continue to show up. If you have enjoyed me as guest host today, I am so close to 100,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel, and I'd appreciate it so much if you would join me over there. If you did not enjoy me as guest host today, and you somehow made it to the end of the show right now, I also accept hateful comments given that they feed the algorithm. So do what you got to do. Okay. Thanks again. Take care. And I'll see you next time or

on my channel.