The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Witnesses Unravel Under Cross Exam at Hearing

Episode Date: May 10, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Democratic Senators cross-examining top Trump officials like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel at public hearings. Helix: Go to https://Helixsleep.com/meidas and get 27% Off Sitewide + a Free Bedding Bundle with any Luxe or Elite Mattress Order! 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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please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Let's take a look at this cross-examination by Democratic senators of Donald Trump's cabinet and Donald Trump's administration. director, Kash Patel, about whether or not he intends to launch an investigation of reported violations of due process of several hundred individuals who were put in concentration camps in El Salvador. Let's watch it. It is your job to investigate crimes. Yes, I agree with the Fifth Amendment. I agree with the entire Constitution and the men and women at the FBI decide. So are you going to launch an investigation of the reported violation of the due process of several hundred individuals? Again, Senator, it's not for me to call the balls and strikes on it. The men and women at the FBI who are trained to open investigations will make those calls. So you have no influence over whether an investigation

is opened? I have influence over it, but you're asking me a constitutional question. I'm not a constitutional scholar. It's actually not a question. It's a question also of law. Your position is that every one of those individuals is by constitutional right afforded due process. I don't know the answer to that. I'm telling you. You haven't read the constitution? I've got it right here. But what you're saying is that every single one of the illegals that was sent down to El Salvador is supposed to be given due process pursuant. That's what the Constitution says. It doesn't say that it does say no person. repeatedly on the case of Miranda versus Arizona, held the right of all individuals, regardless of citizenship status, the Supreme Court in Reno versus Flores. I mean, but it's plain language of the Constitution. It concerns me that you're not familiar with the core concept

of due process applying to all persons as written in black and white in the Constitution. Next up, we have Democratic Senator Murray cross-examining FBI Director, cross-examining FBI Director Kash Patel about why he has not even produced what his FBI budget is going to be when coming before a Senate committee about that budget. You'll see Kash Patel looks like a little kid who hasn't done their homework. It's just so incompetent playing this clip. It was due last week by law. I understand. And your answer is you just understand you're not going to follow the law?

My answer is that I am following the law, and I'm working with my interagency partners to do this and get you the budget that you are required to have. And you have no timeline? No. No. Well, we also need a full budget request, not a single paragraph full of wild talking points that we saw with the skinny budget proposal.

We're now having a budget hearing without a budget request. So, Director Patel, where is the FY2026 budget request for the FBI? It's being worked on, ma'am. Have you reviewed it? Have you approved it? Not yet. When will we get it? As soon as I can get it from my interagency partners and get it approved.

Six months from now? I don't know, ma'am. Well, how do we as Congress do our budget and our work without that request and without the spend plan? Well, ma'am, I'm here. I'm doing the best I can. I can't make up answers. I'm going to commit to you to work on getting you the information you need. That is insufficient and deeply disturbing. No response? I've given my response.

And then, of course, Kash Patel gets way too emotional these trump maga guys can't control their emotions at all so cash patel got angry that he didn't do his homework and didn't even submit the basic budget documents so here he gets mad at senator murray and says he's not going to tolerate her here play this clip placed on leave, FBI employees responsible for the investigation of January 6th. That sounds political to me. I have not placed anyone on leave who has not violated their ethical obligation or their oath to the Constitution. So if they were investigating January 6th, you believe they were violating an ethic obligation?

Nope. I think the common theme here is you putting words in my mouth, and I'm not going to tolerate it, nor will the men and women of the FBI. Well, you did place on leave an analyst responsible for investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. Is that politicization? Is that retribution? No, not if she broke the law or the ethical guidelines. I don't know which case you're talking about, but that's the standard. And we will hold ourselves inwardly accountable and we will not be strayed from our mission because people think we are politicizing the Bureau. If you want to talk about someone who was attacked by a weaponized Bureau, you're looking at him. And now he's the

director of the FBI and he's cleaning it up. Yeah. That's what we call a sociopath right there. They all have that Trump sociopath, malignant narcissism right there. And you just see how triggered he gets, how angry he gets so quickly. Next up, you have Democratic Senator Murphy. Here he's cross-examining Donald Trump's Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, about, have you even read the Supreme Court decision where you're a defendant? Here, play this clip. Have you read the, I assume you have read the Supreme Court decision in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia? Yes. That court decision requires the administration to facilitate

Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release from El Salvador. Can you describe the steps that you have taken to facilitate this release? And specifically, can you answer as to whether you have reached out to your counterpart in El Salvador to facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia's release? Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and should never have been in this country and will not be coming back to this country. There is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again. If he were to come back, we would immediately deport him again because he is a terrorist. He's a human smuggler and he is a wife beater. You've read the Supreme Court decision.

Does the Supreme Court decision not require you to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia? The Trump administration is complying with all court orders and judges' orders. Does the Supreme Court order require you to facilitate the return of Mr. Obrego-Garcia? Is a citizen of El Salvador, it is up to the president of El Salvador to make the decision on if he is coming back. It's been a big topic of conversation between all of us, between the country. When the president visited the United States of America, it was discussed and talked about there. The president has been very clear on this issue as the secretary of state. And I have as well.

Abrego Garcia is not a citizen of this country and is a dangerous individual who does not belong. I will not ask another question. If we were back in this country, we would immediately. But the discussion ends when the Supreme Court rules 9-0 that you have to facilitate his release. And the fact that you can't even acknowledge the wording of the order, which commands you to facilitate his release, and you advertise to this committee that you are going to willfully ignore the ruling. And that is incredibly chilling for the balance of powers in a democracy that relies on the executive branch to honor decisions made by the highest court of the land. Yeah, no, Senator Murphy is very good at this. Here he is again. Let's play this clip.

Do you believe that you have the right to detain or deport a legal permanent resident for expressing their political opinion? I don't make decisions on legal status here in the United States. The Department of State does that. And I would say that as they've gone through an evaluation of who gets a visa, who gets legal status, green cards, they've been evaluating and discussing how that applies. Well, I acknowledge that you don't, I acknowledge you don't make, but if someone is a legal permanent resident of the United States, I'm not talking about an H-1B or a student visa holder,

I'm talking about a legal permanent resident. If you are a legal permanent resident, do you have the right to detain or deport that person simply for expressing their political opinion? The Department of State makes those decisions. No, no, no, they don't. You make that decision about who you have the right to detain or deport. So do you, you are involved in that. Do you believe the United States, do you believe the law allows? The Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration

is enforcing the law following the constitutional rights of folks who are here as citizens, those who are here legally, and those who are here illegally. So a legal permanent resident is by definition here legally. Do you believe, I mean, I think this is really troubling if you can't answer this simple question. Do you believe that the U.S. government can detain and deport a legal permanent resident for expressing a political opinion that the administration disagrees with. The determination you're asking for is based on things that you are determining that the Secretary of State has considered and evaluated.

We don't evaluate that, the administration, along with a partnership with the Department of State, on what is political speech and what's an affiliation with a foreign terrorist organization. Do you believe that you can detain and deport a legal permanent resident for expressing a political opinion? We have not detained or we have not deported anybody who's a legal permanent resident or a citizen of the United States. Okay, then say you don't have the ability to do that. Clarify that for the millions of... That is exactly what I'm doing, is that we have followed exactly what the law is, and that we have not detained or deported anybody who's a citizen

or has legal status in this country. We are focused on the worst of the worst dangerous criminals. You do not believe you have the ability to do that. We have not done that at all. And the Trump administration has no plans to do that. Well, just because you haven't done it doesn't mean that you won't do it in the future. Do you believe you have the ability to do that or not? I think you were going to, I think. The exact appropriate thing in partnership with the Department of State and in partnership with the Trump administration. All right. I'm just going to say it. I didn't

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of El Salvador. I ask a simple question. We have a limited amount of time. I just asked you, Madam Secretary, whether or not you or the Department of Homeland Security are taking any action to facilitate the nine to nothing Supreme Court decision to facilitate his return. This is a very simple question. Are you taking any action to facilitate his return or are you not? This administration is following and complying with all federal court orders to make sure that we- So you are, because the court order that you facilitate is returned. So you are facilitating its return. Sir, Senator, thank you for the question. But what I would tell you is that we are following court orders. Here he is again asking cosplay dog killer Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem another very basic question. Let's

play this clip. I'm asking questions of law. No, you're just, you're just spewing rhetoric. I truly believe this. I truly believe this as an American. Let me ask you this. Do you agree, do you agree with Justice Scalia in the Supreme Court opinion in Reno v. Flores that I'm quoting, it is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings. End of quote. Sir, we are utilizing every due process tool that this Congress has afforded us. Congress decides what process is appropriate for every situation. Expedited removal is a due process that you have afforded us that we are utilizing. The alien enemies. I'm going to replay my time, Madam Secretary. So we are giving due process

and giving using the tools. Madam Secretary, this is really, you know, I'm asking sort of simple questions of law and simple questions like, are you complying with the nine to nothing Supreme Court decision? And you seem to think that's some kind of trick question. And then yesterday, the MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives were spending their day passing legislation to rename the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America. So here, Democratic Congress member Steny Hoyer mocks that. Let's play this clip. Is this infantile bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico really this house's top priority?

I heard the gentle lady say it's going to solve all the problems, of course, if we name it the Gulf of America. Golly day, why didn't we think of that? The economy is shrinking for the first time since COVID-19. Costs are going up. I think Saturday Night Live just called me. They want me on. Costs are going up. Small businesses are going under.

American families are worried they won't be able to keep the lights on, keep food on the table and keep the roof on their head. They're happy about course golf of America. That'll do it. Millions of Americans risk losing their health insurance if Republicans' Medicaid cuts go through. Yet Republicans think this juvenile legislation is the best use of this House's time. This is the only thing we're doing today, folks. What a sick joke this is. Here's a Democratic Congress member,

Huffman, after Congress member Hoyer mocked it. Here's Democratic Congress member Huffman mocking it. Let's play this clip. Solve problems, defend democracy. And yes, this bill has been called a joke more than once in committee. I even offered an amendment to rename the entire planet Trump just to underscore the absurdity of their sycophantic bootlicking. But now, after seeing this bill advance not only through committee, but all the way through to the House floor for a final vote, it's getting a little bit harder to laugh. And finally, here we have Democratic Congress member Hakeem Jeffries laying down the law. Let's play this clip right here. Higher costs thanks to Donald Trump's reckless tariffs. And instead of pushing back the president and Congress asserting our constitutional authority as it relates to tariffs and trade in the best interest of the American people, no, Republicans have a different approach.

Here's this gem from Representative Anna Paulina Luna of the great state of Florida. She's got legislation to arrange for the carving of the figure of President Donald J. Trump on Mount Rushmore. Are we living in the times of King Nebuchadnezzar? What are we doing, folks? There are serious issues that the American people want us to confront. Well, that was going on. You have the MAGA Republicans, like Congress member Ogles, MAGA Republican Congress member Ogles, basically saying, you know, at this point, why are we even doing trade with Europe and our traditional allies? We should be rewarding El Salvador for its concentration camps. Here, let's play this clip. And so to go down there,

to strengthen those relationships, and then also just to say thank you. And look, as we looked at decouple from China, we've got to look to South America, to Central America, to India for other trading partners and manufacturing capabilities. So I think there's a world of opportunity ahead of us. And that's where we're going to go down and have this conversation. Well, there you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Some good cross-exam there by the Democratic senators. We'll keep you posted with more, but wanted to share that with you. You see how the Trump people just don't even answer the basic questions. It's like basic competence. Just answer the question.

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