The MeidasTouch Podcast - GOP Cross-Exam of Witnesses Utterly Backfires at Hearing

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Republican Congressman and Senators screwing up their cross-exams of witnesses on live tv at important hearings. Jolie: Head to https://JolieSkinCo.com/MEIDAS to try it yourself with FREE shipping. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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who tried to cross-examine these witnesses, and the witnesses got the upper hand on them and humiliated the MAGA Republican Congress members and senators. And I want you to watch this one is great. You have the MAGA Republican Congress member Ralph Norman trying to cross examine Democratic Congresswoman Velasquez and just watch how she turns the tables on him and makes him look like a fool. Play this clip. It's obviously extending the burden on our middle class, on our working families and

on our small businesses. A lot of the illegals that we've encountered, they've got a document. The Biden administration issued driver's license, issued fake social security numbers. So if they'll lie on that, if they'll lie with that, what else will they lie on? Ms. Fidelenko, do you want to answer any of that? Where is the evidence, sir? Where is the evidence?

Show me the proof. You just can't come here and make up things up without presenting evidence. And the administrator, for six months that has been in office, has not come before the committee to answer questions and to share with us what is her opinion on the different proposals. It doesn't work that way. It does not work that way.

I can see that. It does not work that way. It does not work that way. I can see that. It does not work that way. And when you talk about the billions of dollars that have gone to ineligible small businesses, yes, you're right. It happened under the first Trump administration when we implemented the PPP and he loosened up the guardrails on the PPP. They're not being enforced under the Biden administration. Just like the border's not in it. Sir, you're totally wrong.

All right, now in this next clip, you have lawyer v lawyer, although Josh Hawley, the Magna Republican Senator from Missouri, sure don't act like a lawyer a lot of times. That's putting it lightly. So here you have Senator Josh Hawley, MAGA Republican, is speaking to Professor Kate Shaw. Also, she's a great podcast host as well. And he's saying, look at all of these leftist radical judges who are issuing all of these injunctions. Look at my chart." And then Professor Kate Shaw is like, you know, the other explanation is that Donald

Trump's engaged in so many crimes that it ain't just Democratic judge issuing injunctions against Donald Trump. It's Republican judges who are issuing injunctions. Trump judges, George W. Bush judges, Reagan judges, are the ones issuing the injunctions. In addition to Democratic appointed judges here, watch this. Really only once Trump came into office for the first time. You don't think this is a little bit anomalous?

You don't think that's a little bit strange? A very plausible explanation, Senator, you have to consider is that he is engaged in much more lawless activity than other presidents, right? You don't think this was never used before the 1960s and suddenly Democrat judges decide We love the nationwide injunction and then when Biden comes office now, it's Republican appointees as well senator And the 1960s is where some scholars begin in sort of locate the beginning Melissa Pony who's another scholar of universal injunction suggests 1913 is actually the first

of others in the 20s. The republic endured for 150 years before the nationwide injunction. Well, the federal government was doing a lot less until 100 years ago. So I'm you know, there's many things that have changed in the last hundred or the last 50 years. So long as it is a democrat president office, then we should have no nationwide injunctions. If it's a Republican president, then this is absolutely fine warranted and called for.

How can our system of law survive on those principles, Professor? I think a system in which there are no people constraints on the president is a very dangerous system. That's not what you thought when Joe Biden, that is not what you thought when Joe Biden was president. I think every president is constrained and must be. You said that is not what you said. You said it was a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law.

You also said when Joe Biden was president. The Supreme Court said you agreed with me on that case. Wait a minute, wait a minute. You also said when Joe Biden was president, you said the idea that anyone would foreign shop to get a judge who would issue a nationwide injunction was just politicians, just judges looking like politicians in robes.

Again, it threatened the underlying legal system. People just trying to get the result they wanted. It was a travesty for the rule of law. But you're fine with all of that if it's getting the result that you want. Sir, the Supreme Court agreed unanimously with me in that case, right? There was no standing.

The case should never have been allowed to proceed. Wait, wait, wait. And the combination of parties without standing and the single-judge division... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no And then you just have the MAGA Republican senators just straight up running away from the cameras. Like here you have MAGA Republican Senator Joni Ernst, the senator from Iowa, who said, We're all going to die. So who cares if the GOP's disastrous budget bill kills you? You're going to die anyway. And then she made that follow-up video at a cemetery. But now she's not answering the questions. Here, play this clip.

Roll the camera. Can you clarify your comments on the call last week, Senator? She says that to record strings. I'm very compassionate, and you need to listen to the entire conversation. Do you have any regrets about that? Can you display your architect the most vulnerable? Okay, okay.

Now going back to Professor Kate Shaw right here. I want you to take a listen as she and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff expose the lawlessness in this Trump regime. Play this clip. But this comes in the context of the administration also going after law firms. It seems very much a part of a concerted effort to attack the rule of law and using the law to defend people's rights. Tell us a little bit about the broader context. I do think that attacks on judges and attacks on law firms are of a piece. They seem designed to seek to neutralize sources of

countervailing authority and opposition to this administration. And if law firms can't take on unpopular causes because they are scared to run afoul of the president, and if judges are scared to rule against the president, then we really have lost any meaningful check on a president. And as I said in my opening remarks, I think if the Constitution is committed to a single principle, it is limits on power, right? No absolute power. And I worry that we are on a path toward few,

if any, meaningful limits on the president. And here, Professor Shaw also talks about the threats from the Trump regime, from the Trumpers that they take from the Trump regime and how they're going about attacking judges with this pizza threat that they do where they order pizza to the judges home to show that they know where the judges live. You're playing this clip. Tell us a little bit about this phenomenon now of people sending pizzas to judges and

the implicit threat in that? Well, I mean, I think it's also something that I don't think we've seen before, right? There is clearly some kind of coordinated effort to seek to intimidate federal judges and their families by sending pizzas, communicating the message that their residence, their addresses are known, and some of the pizzas bear the name of the murdered son of district judge Esther Salas from New Jersey. And the message there, I think, is a very clear one of very serious threat. And I think judges are taking that threat and the marshals are as well from the reporting that we've seen very seriously. You know, I've been the recipient of that threat a ton of times where people send pizzas

to my home. They don't even pay for the pizza. It's they'll eat the pizza. They paid for it. But it's like, it's a serious matter and they do it to threaten and intimidate you. And it's happened unfortunately a lot of times to me. I can't even begin to imagine all of the money that I've spent on skincare and beauty products over the years to battle issues like acne

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McMahon and he's trying to lead Linda McMahon to the answer, but she doesn't understand what he's trying to do. And she like screws up his little silly game here, play this clip. What was we ranked in reading and math in 1979? I'm sorry, what? What was we ranked nationally in math and reading in 1979? We were very, very low on the totem pole. We were number one in 1979. Today...

Oh, in 1979, I'm sorry. Okay. Because these mega Republicans ain't used to actually debating and using logic. What they're used to doing is just praising their dear leader, Donald Trump. Like you have the State Department Press Secretary, former Fox host, correspondent Tammy Bruce. And she just, this is like just straight out of Kim Jong-un land. And she's like, we just, all that matters is what Donald Trump says. Donald Trump says that's all that Americans care about. What? Here, play this clip.

Well, you did see the President Trump tweet, didn't you? Yes, but that, I didn't think that that would completely negate the reporting. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. I think that's the biggest guffaw I've had here. The thing that matters when it comes to American policy and what's happening is what President Trump thinks and says. This is the Trump administration. Now, can I show you what a cross exam is supposed

to look like and how you intelligibly engage with these witnesses? Democratic Senator Dick Durbin cross examining Linda McMahon, Education Secretary, play this clip. Why would you hollow out the resources there and the people that are enforcing the Borough Defense Rule when we have these terrible numbers of exploitation of students? Well, and my point is that we shouldn't just focus on those schools. I do know that I totally agree with you. There are some some scam universities out there.

Why would you hollow out the people who are supposed to enforce it? Because I think we're putting other measures in place with the scam. Give me an idea what you're putting in place that's better than the borrower defense rule. Well, we just talked a little bit about FAFSA. And it's the education upfront. idea what you're putting in place that's better than the borrower defense rule. Well, we just talked a little bit about FAFSA. And it's the education upfront. So that's... I'm talking about the victims, the ones who are already victims.

They're in debt by tens of thousands of dollars. They're living in their parents' basement. They have no place to turn. And you're telling me the FAFSA form application is going to help them? How can it help them? And that's not in place yet, but I think that's going to be very, very helpful. Here's the other thing. Where are our guidance counselors in high schools? Who are they talking to? Good question. I think we're finding, when it comes to these counselors... I think that they need to be thoroughly informed and I

think they need to look at the cost of education. You're cutting the number of counselors in these schools at the same time. Well, the counselors that are doing their jobs can provide information to these students. There aren't enough of them. That's the point I'm making. And the situation is terrible for these students. First generation students are being exploited by these schools. They need your protection. They need our protection.

They deserve it. They're doing the right thing. And unfortunately, you're reducing the number of people to enforce the law. Just in general, yesterday in particular, these MAGA Republican Congress members and senators were in total disarray. You had MAGA Mike Johnson feeling like, I'll do a whole other video on this, betrayed by Elon Musk. Musk says the budget bill's a disaster.

And then MAGA Mike Johnson's like, but you're my friend. He's my friend. My friends aren't supposed to do this're my friend. He's my friend. My friends aren't supposed to do this to each other. You're watching this clip. Let me say this. It's very disappointing. Okay.

I've come to consider Elon a good friend. He's obviously a very intelligent person and he's done a lot of great work. With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big beautiful bill. And then you have Russell Vogt, the author of Project 2025,

who's now the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and he's asked a pretty simple freaking question of, can you explain why you aren't codifying or turning all these doge cuts into law? And he's like, because we wanna make sure they pass, and we don't think that they will pass if we send them all to Congress.

Well, if you don't think they can pass Congress, hey Russell, are you admitting that they're illegal? Here play this clip. Can you explain why to people who may say and not understand why you're not sending all of the Doge cuts up to Capitol Hill? Yeah, I've been pretty clear about it. I want to make sure that they pass. Why do you send all of them and get all of them to pass? Because I want to make sure that they you take the first tranche and see if it passes. The wider

you do in terms of a package, the harder it is to pass. And if it doesn't pass, this is the real world and we will lose flexibility that we have to use executive tools to find other ways to make the Doge Cuts permanent. How many are you expecting? Explain that directly to Elon Musk. I mean, have you made this case to Elon directly? I'm explaining it to everyone. How many resistance packages do you expect?

We will send up more if the president is on board with that as we see evidence of Congress passing them. This is a first step in it. I think it'll be on the floor next week according to what the speaker told me yesterday. And then from there, we'll see where we are in the Senate. But again, we wanna see it pass. I think it will pass and then we'll go from there. Well, there you have it folks.

I love to highlight good cross exam when I see the art of cross exam, but what the MAGA Republicans was doing was atrocious. And shout out to Democratic Congresswoman Velazquez, who just pointed the truth out, ready for it, ready to fight back. And she totally schooled MAGA Republican Congress member Ralph Norman right there. Anyway, tell me what you think, hit subscribe, let's get to 5 million subscribers. Bust.com