The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.10 HUGE Accusations Against Saudi Arabia, Hurricane Michael, & Child Immigration Troubles...

Episode Date: October 10, 2018

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Wednesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're going to talk about today is the mysterious and troubling situation around Jamal Khashoggi. Jamal is a Saudi writer and journalist. He's worked with a number of news outlets in Saudi Arabia since the 1980s. He's covered topics including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the rise of Osama Bin Laden, the Gulf War in Kuwait. He also served as an advisor to Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief in the mid-2000s. Khashoggi has also been featured in international news outlets as a voice on Saudi affairs. But in 2017, he ended up leaving Saudi Arabia for Washington, DC in self-imposed exile,

splitting from Saudi Arabia's ruling elite. And around this, he said he feared arrest and discussed the leader of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman's crackdown on dissent, even comparing Mohammed bin Salman to Vladimir Putin. So you could definitely say his views on the Saudi government had soured. Now with that said, we fast forward to October 2nd of this year. And the reason for this is on October 2nd,

Khashoggi went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey to get official documents. As far as the reason for this, he was at the consulate in Turkey specifically to get a document certifying he was divorcing his wife in Saudi Arabia. And he was doing this so he could marry his Turkish fiance who lives in Istanbul.

His fiance also accompanied him to the consulate, waiting outside for him after he went in. And while there is CCTV footage showing fiance also accompanied him to the consulate, waiting outside for him after he went in. And while there is CCTV footage showing Khashoggi entering the consulate, there is no footage of him ever coming back out. Reportedly, his fiance waited until after midnight that day before leaving. She then returned the next morning to wait for him.

Also it appears Khashoggi feared something might happen because reportedly he told his fiance that if he didn't return to contact an advisor to Turkish president Erdogan. And so by Wednesday, this became an international incident. Saudi government saying Khashoggi did leave the consulate, but the Turkish government claiming he was still inside. And so since Wednesday,

there's been this international back and forth with Turkish officials making increasingly grim accusations. According to Turkish security forces that guard the Saudi consulate, their security footage does not show Khashoggi leaving on foot, though they do say that diplomatic cars have been moving in and out since Tuesday.

But on the other side of this, you had Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, telling Bloomberg that Khashoggi left the consulate after a few minutes or one hour. And then the accusations on the Turkish side escalate. Turkish officials have come out saying that Khashoggi was not only killed at the consulate,

they say that his body was removed after he was murdered inside the consulate. And according to Turkish officials that spoke with the New York Times, investigators also believe that Khashoggi was dismembered. And Turkish officials are honing in on two key points right now. Using CCTV footage, they're reportedly trying to track down a black van that left the consulate about two hours after Khashoggi arrived. That van then reportedly arriving at a high-ranking diplomat's home just near the consulate.

Turkish officials are also looking at a team of 15 Saudi officials that may have taken part in the alleged murder. You also have Turkish media using CCTV footage to back this story up, too. Also, according to a Turkish news source that has domestic intelligence sources, they are looking at the movement of two Saudi planes that arrived in Turkey. One early October 2nd and one later in the afternoon that day. And the passenger list of the two planes

reportedly show two groups of Saudi officials, including intelligence officers and an autopsy expert. And reportedly these sources claim that the men who arrived in these Saudi planes checked into hotels in Istanbul that day and then departed later in the evening. Turkish media has also published the identities of 15 Saudis possibly involved

in Khashoggi's alleged murder. And that report identifies at least one of the officials as a forensic expert and others as military officials. But on the other side of this, Saudi officials have completely denied all of these accusations. And as far as any movement to get any actual concrete evidence,

the leader of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, said that he welcomed a search of the consulate. But in response to that, Turkey had reportedly been requesting that search last week. But with that said, as of Tuesday morning this week, we learned that Saudi Arabia had consented to a search of the consulate. But in response to that, Turkey had reportedly been requesting that search last week. But with that said, as of Tuesday morning this week, we learned that Saudi Arabia had consented to a search of its consulate.

Although there's been really no word as far as how extensive that search would be. Also, as far as reactions and official statements, on Thursday, we had the Washington Post, where Khashoggi is a frequent contributor. They ran an article with no text in his byline in protest of his disappearance. You had Turkish President Erdogan

talking about this disappearance, saying, consulate officials cannot save themselves by saying that he left the building. If he left, you have to prove it with footage. Also this past Monday, we saw Khalid bin Salman, ambassador of the United States, issuing a statement to journalists writing, We have seen over the last few days various malicious leaks and grim rumors flying around about Jamal's whereabouts and fate. The reports that suggest that Jamal Khashoggi went missing in the consulate in Istanbul, or that the kingdom's authorities have detained him or killed him are absolutely false and baseless. And adding, the first reports out of Turkey were that he exited the consulate and then disappeared.

The accusations changed to the outrageous claim that he was murdered in the consulate during business hours and with dozens of staff and visitors in the building. We've also seen President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo chiming in on this issue. Trump saying, I am concerned about it, I don't like hearing about it, hopefully that will sort itself out.

Right now, nobody knows anything about it. Pompeo calling for a thorough investigation and for the government of Saudi Arabia to be transparent. We've also seen UN experts issuing a statement demanding a probe into Khashoggi's disappearance, saying, we reiterate our repeated calls on the Saudi authorities to open the space for the exercise of fundamental rights,

including the right to life and of expression and dissent. We also saw Khashoggi's fiancee writing an article in the Washington Post seeking help from the president and Melania Trump saying he Entered the consulate and there's no proof that he came out. At this time I implore President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to help shed light on Jamal's disappearance I also urge Saudi Arabia, especially King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to show the same level of sensitivity and release CCTV footage from the consulate. Although this incident could potentially fuel a political crisis between the two nations

Let us not lose sight of the human aspect of what happened. Jamal is a valuable person, an exemplary thinker, and a courageous man who has been fighting for his principles. I don't know how I can keep living if he was abducted or killed in Turkey. Also today we learned that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton,

and Jared Kushner were in communication with Mohammed bin Salman about Khashoggi's disappearance. Also according to Bob Corker, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate will also take some action. And in fact, telling reporters that the Turkish government's assessment of the situation is relatively reliable,

saying, we need to take some type of action and there are some things we can do congressionally. And also adding, we plan to take some actions ourselves on this, something we can do without passing legislation. So that's where we are with this story as of right now. It's incredibly concerning. We're waiting to see if more information comes out.

But with that said, I do to pass the question off to you What is your takeaway from this? Is there another answer other than he was kidnapped or killed? Because really it seems like the only other Possibility and it seems like this is what Saudi Arabia is kind of pointing to is that this is some sort of false flag move Yeah with that said I'd love to know what you think. Then we need to talk about Hurricane Michael What started as a tropical storm in the Gulf on Sunday has been steadily increasing in power as it approaches Florida. It is now, as of recording this video, a category four, and Hurricane Michael is expected to be one of the worst storms the Florida Panhandle

has seen in a century. According to the National Hurricane Center, on the forecast track, the core of Michael is expected to move ashore along the Florida Panhandle early this afternoon, move northeastward across the southeastern United States tonight and Thursday, and then move off the mid-Atlantic coast away from the United States on Friday.

Officials have issued mandatory evacuations in 22 counties on the Florida Gulf Coast that covers around 375,000 people. Also outside of those evacuations, you have 3.8 million people currently under hurricane warnings, 15.9 people under tropical storm warnings. And that's not just for the people on the Panhandle.

Those numbers include residents in Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, other neighboring states. Also, according to the American Red Cross, last night approximately 4,000 people entered nearly 70 evacuation centers across the Panhand, other neighboring states. Also, according to the American Red Cross, last night approximately 4,000 people entered nearly 70 evacuation centers across the Panhandle in southern Alabama. We've also seen President Trump approving a state of emergency in Florida.

And as far as the details about Michael, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Michael has maximum sustained winds around 155 miles per hour with higher gusts. And you have some experts saying that it's comparable to a long-lasting severe tornado along with the threat of actual embedded tornadoes along the path of the hurricane.

And not only are the wind speeds high, but it is also far reaching according to the National Hurricane Center. They've said hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds up to 175 miles. Also there are concerns about flash flooding due to the heavy rain, storm surges up to 14 feet high

and devastating winds. It's also expected that power will be out in some areas for weeks and FEMA administrator Brock Long saying that this storm will cause massive damage and loss of life. And his actual quotes include, unfortunately this has become a hurricane of the worst kind. We're going to see a lot of wind damage. Be prepared to have no power for multiple weeks. And in fact just one electric company, Duke Energy Florida, projects 100,000 to 200,000 power outages in the northern part of its service area of the Florida Panhandle But and it's only kind of a little bit of good news when the storm passes over the Carolinas, which are still recovering from Florence It's not expected to stall so any flooding there should be short-lived also

We saw Florida governor Rick Scott tweet the time for evacuating along the coast has come and gone first responders will not be able to Come out in the middle of the storm if you chose to stay in an evacuation zone You must seek refuge immediately. Michael is upon us. It is time to seek refuge. Once you are sheltered, stay put. Do not try to leave until the storm has passed. Multiple state and federal resources are staged and ready to respond as soon as it is safe." And on that note, adding that that includes more than 1,000 search and rescue personnel and 3,500 Florida Guard troops. And ultimately that is where we are right now. We can hope for the best, but I mean a lot of this looks really scary. For kind of everyone, if you would like to donate to the Florida Disaster Fund, I'll link to that down below. Also, if you'd like to volunteer,

I'll link down below for that. And then also, it can be for anyone, but especially those in the path of the hurricane, I'll link down below where you can download the FEMA app. And so you can have that as another resource to get up-to-date information. But from that, as kind of a brief small escape from the general horrible of the world, I want to talk about some stuff I love today and today in awesome brought to you by SeatGeek. And SeatGeek is of course the fantastic ticket app that takes confusion out of buying tickets for live events,

whether it be concerts, comedy shows, sports, whatever. They put all the tickets in one place, give them zero to 100 scores so you know if you're getting a good deal or not. It's great both for something last minute or something down the road you're looking forward to. And it's a great time to check it out. We're getting closer and closer to the World Series.

Of course it's football season. There are tons of great concerts out there. And it's a great time to check it out. We're getting closer and closer to the World Series. Of course, it's football season. There are tons of great concerts out there. And best of all, if you download the app, which you can get over at SeatGeekPhil.com, or you can just click the link in the description, make sure you enter in promo code Phil and you'll get $20 off your first ticket purchase. And the first bit of awesome today

is we had the fantastic Vsauce3 dropping his brand new YouTube original. And it's Could You Survive the Movies Mad Max? And just wow the production behind this the main video itself Which is a 30-minute piece it is fantastic in its own right, but the behind-the-scenes videos that he has also released with it It's just wow I do want to say while I am a fan of the kind of non-regular Youtuber sort of YouTube originals like Cobra Kai which was fantastic even more so I love seeing YouTube back

Fantastic creators like Vsauce3 and I really do wish this video success because I'd love to see more and more like this. Then, and awesome for anyone that's like, I love Christmas movies and I love Santa Claus, but there's no movies that have Kurt Russell as Santa Claus. Well, rejoice people who have very specific desires in movies. We got a teaser for the Christmas Chronicles and you're getting Kurt Russell as Santa. Then we got the Honest Trailer for Doctor Who, and specifically the modern Doctor Who which by the way David Tennant

Will always be my doctor. The others were great though in their own different ways Then we got a trailer for a movie based on an author that loves scary things and Maine. If you know what that is in Reference to that's a Stephen King and also the the new movie where we got a trailer is Pet Sematary Which fun fact the previous version is one of two movies that helped form and scar me as a child with the other being the Original Chucky which side note don't worry I'm not gonna do a full story time video. Part of the reason that movie scared me helped form and scar me as a child with the other being the original Chucky, which side note, don't worry, I'm not gonna do a full story time video. Part of the reason that movie scared me so much,

other than me being a small child watching a scary movie about a doll that comes to life and kills people. When I was a kid, one of the toys my parents bought me was a My Buddy doll. I watched Chucky, immediately associated it with my My Buddy doll. I was like, I do not want this thing.

It is horrifying. So my dad tells me, okay, don't worry about it. Not only am I gonna get rid of it, I'm going to bury it. But of course he's not actually going to bury it. He spent money on it and he's going to resell it. And so instead of burying the doll, like a responsible father, the main point, long story short,

one night in the middle of the night where I'm still freaked out about this movie, I'm just walking around the house. I open a closet door and I see my My Buddy doll and my small child minds like he's back and he's here to kill me horrifying in the moment Now looking back it's kind of just a fun trauma if you want to see the full versions of everything I just shared the secret link of the day really anything at all links as always are in the description down below

And then let's talk about this really concerning report coming from the Associated Press yesterday The AP put out a long investigative piece on parents were deported from the United States and their children and that report saying the parents who were deported from the United States and their children. And that report saying that parents who were deported from the United States are vulnerable to losing their children to adoption. And so the question that pops up of course is, well why? Well it appears to be because the federal government, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement handle immigration and asylum. But individual states handle adoption and foster care. So it appears this is a result of just two systems not really being on the same page. The report also says that state court judges often grant custody of migrant children to foster parents without even notifying blood parents.

They also allege that this possibility has grown. And as of right now, US officials say that about 200 migrant children are not eligible for either reunification or release, making them vulnerable to this pattern. Now before moving forward, I think it's important to note that this is not just a Trump-only issue. Granted, this is something that's happening under President Trump, but it is also something that happened under President Obama as well. Although granted, Trump's zero tolerance policy has resulted in more children being vulnerable to this. According to reports just this year,

300 parents were deported to Central America without their children. Also during this investigation, the Associated Press asked the State Department how or if they were trying to contact deported parents or find their children in the United States. And to that, the Department of Homeland Security said, DHS is not aware of anyone contacting embassy

or consulate in a foreign country to be reunified with a child. And then also adding, this is unsurprising given the fact that these parents made a knowing decision to leave their child in a foreign country. The report also drew on tons of documents including hundreds of court records, immigration records, and interviews. And while states typically seal child custody cases from the public, and the federal government doesn't track how often state judges grant adoption, the AP ended up finding it was sometimes possible to find specific children's cases by having a name, birth date, and assignment to a specific district or court. For example, there was one case in Missouri

where an American couple permanently adopted a baby whose mother was arrested in an immigration raid. With this, there was a seven year legal battle that terminated the mother's parental rights in 2014. Also, there was a case in Nebraska where a Guatemalan mother was reunified with her children, but that was after five years and more than a million dollars in donated legal work.

But the main story the AP chose to highlight was the story of a mother and her young girl. Aracely Ramos and her daughter Alexa, who was two years old when they traveled to the United States seeking asylum. Reportedly in 2015, Ramos gathered around $6,000 to pay a smuggler to travel to the United States. That trip reportedly lasted about a month.

They eventually arrived in the United States, crossing the Rio Grande into Texas, and that is where they were arrested by Customs and Border Protection. And Ramos was applying for asylum because of domestic violence, which at that time was considered grounds to receive asylum. Ramos saying that her former partner became abusive to the point that she was afraid that he would kill her and in the past she'd applied for a US visa but saw no results. Ramos saying of her abuser,

The worst time was when he kicked me so hard it left a bruise and it never went away. However, during that time where she was trying to separate from this abuser, he filed a number of false police reports against Ramos. And although it took a while, eventually she was able to clear her name through her former partner's mother's testimony. Here's the problem though, when a border agent was looking through Ramos' information, they found that she was a criminal

according to those records. So she was immediately separated from her child, Alexa. And so Alexa was then labeled as an unaccompanied minor. And so this 28 month old child, Alexa, was issued a notice to appear on a date to be set at a time to be set to show why you should not be removed from the United States. And soon after she was placed with a foster family

in San Antonio, Texas, while her mother was moved to a facility in Louisiana. And there she demonstrated a credible reason for asylum in an interview, but it seemed like she would not receive asylum because of the particular court she was assigned to and that she lacked a lawyer. So she was soon ordered to be deported. And a crucial part of all of this is that during the process

Ramos says that she was forced into signing a waiver to leave Alexa in the United States. The official policy here is that migrants are to be deported. And a crucial part of all of this is that during the process, Ramos says that she was forced into signing a waiver to leave Alexa in the United States. The official policy here is that migrants are to be offered a chance to take their children with them. And as far as Alexa, after a few months, she was transferred to Bethany Christian Services, an adoption agency that helps provide unaccompanied children to foster homes.

Alexa wound up with a family in Michigan. Sherry and Cory Barr took her in, and they already had three daughters and fostered two Salvadoran sisters in 2013. And as Alexa acclimated, the bars engaged a play therapist for Alexa, and during that time they became suspicious that she had been exposed to abuse. And so they began to limit phone contact with her mother. Through a complaint, an investigation was opened at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,

but there wasn't enough evidence for anything to be done. By August 2016, you had the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights looking into whether Alexa could be reunited with her mother. And this involved an evaluator visiting Ramos in El Salvador, interviewing her family, her coworkers. In turn, Salvadoran diplomatic officials began to visit Alexa at her home with the bar. And those officials were advocating for her release, but the bars, who were still convinced that Alexa had been exposed to abuse, began to make it more difficult for Alexa to leave. However, Alexa's immigration attorney, the Department of Homeland Security, and even U.S. immigration courts all agreed that Alexa should be reunited with her mother.

And so just before Christmas in 2016, a judge orders for her to be placed with her mother in El Salvador. With this, the Bars were supposed to have Alexa packed and ready to go whenever they got the call. But this is where the story involves the state courts and becomes a bit more complicated. Despite everything else, the Bars were still convinced

that Alexa shouldn't return with her mother. And so they hired a lawyer and went to court for custody. And there, reportedly, Cory Barr emotionally begged the judge to help him keep Alexa in Michigan. Here they reportedly used those false police reports we mentioned earlier that the DOJ later called outdated and unsubstantiated. The judge, Mark Fann, even admitted he wasn't too familiar

with the federal agencies involved in this case, saying, this is kind of hard to pin down exactly who the interested parties are. And ultimately, what we saw is the judge granted temporary custody. And this seemed to be at least partly because the Barr's lawyer said that he had a loose understanding that Alexa's mother's parental rights had previously been suspended.

Although he said he wasn't sure where the document proving that it existed was. The judge then told the lawyer to bring back full proof, they scheduled a full guardianship hearing for later, and then several days later, a federal immigration judge granted an emergency motion to stay Alexa's departure. Also, reportedly during this whole process, neither Alexa's immigration lawyer nor her mother were informed that any of this was going on. Also, a part of the story is that Bethany Christian Services say they tell foster parents that they aren't allowed to adopt migrant children. The bar is even reportedly having signed a form promising they wouldn't try to see custody of Alexa,

this since the Office of Refugee Resettlement was responsible for her. But despite all of that, Bethany Christian Services has acknowledged that since the 1980s, nine of the 500 migrant children in their program have been adopted. And as far as their reasoning there, they say it was deemed that it wasn't safe or possible

to return them to their family. For example, one of the nine asked to be adopted, the other was a trafficking victim. We also saw the CEO of Bethany, Chris Pileski, saying, "'We never want families to be separated. "'That's what we're about is bringing families together.'" But on the other hand, you had John Sandweg, the head of ICE under Obama, saying of the process,

"'We have the kids in the US "'and the parents down in Central America, "'and now they'll bring all these child welfare agencies "'into play. "'It's just a recipe for disaster. Now as far as what happened with Ramos when she did eventually find out what was actually happening, she reportedly became distraught and then pled for her child's return on videos that went viral on Facebook. One of the videos even attracting 2.5 million views in the attention of Salvadoran officials. And through all of this, officials at the Chicago Consular Office became involved, applying pressure on the case,

and eventually the DOJ had to intervene with With the US prosecutor arguing, the bars obtained their temporary guardianship order in violation of federal law. Also, the US prosecutor wrote that the bars' attorney and the Michigan judge violated federal law because they were seeking and granting guardianship in the first place. And also specifically pointing out that they failed

to inform Ramos or Alexa's lawyers about the proceedings that directly involved them. And by the end of this process, Alexa was deported and arrived in El Salvador with her mother in February of 2017. Although even there, that situation involved them. And by the end of this process, Alexa was deported and arrived in El Salvador with her mother in February of 2017. Although even there, that situation was heartbreaking. Alexa, who was two years old when this started, had been away from her mother for 15 months by this time.

Reportedly, she had almost entirely lost her Spanish, only speaking English. She reportedly didn't recognize her mother the same way and asked when she could be able to return to Michigan with Mama Foster and Papa Foster. And regarding this, it's been noted that there's scientific research indicating that children who are traumatically removed

from their parents may suffer from memory problems. But it has also been reported that eventually Alexa did relearn Spanish. She began to remember her mother, rebond with her. Also after Alexa returned to El Salvador, her mother held up contact with the Bars. However, on that note, Ramos reportedly only began to allow that after she learned that Sherry Barr was ill.

Ramos saying, I do not feel resentment for them because they also love her and because the family is going through a bad time. We all deserve an opportunity. And as far as the Bars, they say they worry about Alexa's safety and Ramos' well-being, but Sherry Bar saying,

no one wins in this one. And as far as that last quote, I agree with that 100% because I did not even deal with it. And just talking about this situation, I am emotionally exhausted. I can't help but sympathize with the pain someone has to be going through with losing their child, but at the same time if the bars legitimately thought that Alexa had been abused, they want to protect her, they care for her. In the middle of these people doing

what they think is the right thing is this system that is just all over the place. With that said, of course, like with every story we talk about, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. And that's where I'm going to end today's show, but of course remember, I also want this to be a conversation. So whether it be the last story, the first one, anything in between, let me know what you're thinking in those comments down below. Also, while you're at it, if you like these daily dives into the news, hit that like button. If you're new here, hit that subscribe button. Also, if you missed yesterday's Philip DeFranco show, you want to catch up, you can click or tap right there. Or if you want today's brand new bonus video, you can click or tap right there. But that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.