The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.18 Massive Leaker Exposed, Kristen Bell Disney Princess Problems, USA Gymnastics, & More

Episode Date: October 18, 2018

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Thursday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is with Halloween coming up, we have now started to see controversies and outrage popping up around costumes. And some of the first ones we've seen pop up are specifically about children. For example, we had one 12-year-old boy causing controversy after showing up to a Boulder City, Nevada event called Trunk or Treat dressed as Hitler. He's a minor, so we're blurring his face obviously, but the boy is dressed in black boots, brown pants, a brown leather jacket with a swastika armband

and a brushed mustache. And after photos of the boy were posted to Facebook, his mother was quickly identified as Janet Arsenian, who was a teacher at a local junior high school. And so we saw some commenting, "'Interesting to see a CCSD teacher "'pridefully dressing her 13 year old as Hitler. "'These Nazi sympathizers are supposed

"'to be educating our kids.' "'Some even went on to urge the school to fire her. Following this in a now-deleted post in a private Facebook group, the mother said, I'm the proud parent of the boy in the Hitler costume and my son didn't mean to upset anyone. He needed a last-minute costume and he put that together today. He went as Hitler, yes, a historical figure. No, we don't worship Hitler or agree with what he did. And she then reportedly went on to compare to dressing up as a fictional character like Michael Myers from Halloween

and said that he chose Hitler because of his haircut. And also adding, he did it all by himself and I'm proud of him. If you guys are so sensitive, maybe you should not leave your house. The boy's father also felt that the whole thing was being blown out of proportion, saying that his son was currently learning

about World War II and he just wanted to wear this costume. But really, no matter the reasoning behind the choice, many people still felt that it was inappropriate, including Boulder City resident, Helena Wiese, whose parents were Holocaust survivors. And she said, I know what my mom and dad went through. I know what I went through with them as a child. I know what their memories are.

I was born in Germany after the war and to see this was so offensive. I don't understand the mentality on the social media because some people are saying it shouldn't be a big deal, it's just a costume. No, for people that had family there and in concentration camps, this is a big deal. But at the same time, you also had people defending

this costume choice. You had people pointing out that it's not rare for someone to dress up as something evil, whether it be a witch or the devil. Also on the note of the mother's job, since people were calling for it, you had Clark County School District spokeswoman Kristen Sears saying that they are aware of the post,

but adding that they would not comment on the possibility of disciplinary action against the mother. And then a statement saying, "'We expect all of our employees to be sensitive "'to the varied cultural backgrounds "'of our students and community.'" And so with this story, I do wanna pass the question off to you,

what are your thoughts here? Do you think the kid's in the wrong for this costume? Or is the mother in the wrong for allowing him to put out that costume because he's a kid, he doesn't know any better? Or no, you don't think the mother or the son are in the wrong that it's Halloween, it's just a costume? Now wearing a costume doesn't mean you endorse it, or does that even matter? Any and all thoughts, I'd love to know. Then kind of along the same lines of parental decisions sparking outrage and conversation, we had Kristen Bell and Keira Knightley in the news. This because in separate interviews, they mentioned concerns regarding Disney princesses.

And with Kristen Bell, of course, this popped up more than it would with most anyone else, just because she is the voice of Anna from Frozen. Some of the specific quotes being pointed out, she's talking about Snow White and she says, "'Every time we close Snow White, "'I look at my girls and ask, "'don't you think it's weird that Snow White

"'didn't ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple, "'or where she got that apple? "'I say, I would never take food from a stranger, would you? And my kids are like, no. And I'm like, okay, I'm doing something right. Don't you think that it's weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission? Because you cannot kiss someone if they're sleeping. With Keira Knightley, she said her daughter's not allowed to watch Cinderella or The Little Mermaid. Regarding Cinderella, she says she just waits around for a rich guy to rescue her. Don't. Rescue yourself. Obviously. Regarding The Little Mermaid, she says, I mean the songs are great,

but do not give your voice up for a man.'" And adding, "'This is the one that I'm quite annoyed about "'because I really like the film. "'I love the Little Mermaid. "'That one's a little tricky, but I'm keeping to it.'" Then also adding that films like "'Finding Dory', Frozen, and Moana were fine.'" What I will say personally,

and I don't know if it's because I have boys and not daughters, I don't have a massive reaction to this. I will say I personally agree more with the Kristen Bell approach of actually consuming something and then talking about it. I don't really think anyone benefits if you just completely block or shield something and don't see it and then talk about it. And also that's not me saying that these things are evil. I will say I've personally enjoyed the not insane conversation that this has caused. Like people pointing out specific aspects of individual stories that they deem problematic or actually helpful.

I also respect why some people might look at this story and pull a muscle from rolling their eyes so hard. Because with a story like this, it would be very easy to be extra. You could be like, oh man, Kristen Bell? I can't believe she victim-blamed Snow White for accepting food from a stranger. She was supposed to assume that it was poison. How about instead of telling every little girl not to accept apples from strangers, we teach strangers not to give poison apples to girls. But joking aside, I am interested to know what you think about this, so let me know in those comments down below. And then let's talk about how another arrest

has been made in connection to Larry Nassar. Larry Nassar, of course, the ex-USA gymnastics disgraced monster who's convicted on multiple accounts of sexual assault and child pornography. And understand, when I say multiple, the monster that is Larry Nassar was accused of molesting at least 250 athletes. And while the reason we're talking about this today is there's been a continuing conversation of it's not just Nassar. He was able to do this for so long to so many girls, there had to be

other people involved in some capacity. And so on that note, Steve Perry, the former head of USA Gymnastics has been arrested. And this is for allegedly tampering with evidence in the Larry Nassar case. And if convicted, he faces a punishment of two to 10 years in prison along with a fine. And according to the press release, the indictment alleges that Penny ordered the removal of documents from the Karolyi Ranch in Walker County, Texas that were related to the activities of Nassar at the ranch. The indictment further alleges that the removal

of the documents was done for the purpose of impairing the ongoing investigation by destroying or hiding the documents. And reportedly several sources said that Penny did this after learning that the investigation was underway. And adding, to date, those records have not been recovered and the location of the records is unknown. As of recording this video, you have Penny in Tennessee

awaiting extradition to Texas. And so with this part of the story, we're going to have to wait to see what other information comes out, how this progresses. But also in connection to this, while Penny did resign from USA Gymnastics back in 2017, there's this whole question of what the hell is happening with USA Gymnastics right now. After Penny resigned, you had Carrie Perry taking over, but then she resigned.

Then very recently, you had Mary Bono take over as interim CEO and president. But she ended up only existing in that role for less than one Scaramucci. Which, if you're not familiar with that measurement of time, how dare you? She essentially only lasted four days. And her resignation, interestingly enough, didn't start because of the Nassar situation, but it started because of a Nike tweet. The tweet was a response to Nike featuring Colin Kaepernick

in an ad campaign back in September. Her tweet included this picture with the caption, "'Playing in a charity golf tournament, "'raising money for our nation's special forces operators "'and their families. "'Unfortunately, I had these shoes in my bag. "'Luckily, I had a marker in my bag too.'" And this tweet from Bono ended up being called out

by a number of people, including Olympic champion Simone Biles, who also happens to be heavily sponsored by Nike, with Biles tweeting, Mouth drop. Don't worry, it's not like we needed a smarter USA Gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything. Following the call out we saw Bono tweet, I regret the post and respect everyone's views and fundamental right to express them. This doesn't reflect how I will approach my position at USA Gymnastics. I will do everything I can to help build with the community an open, safe, and positive environment.

And then that egg. Hey all, I know the tweet will live on, but I've taken it down to move the focus to all I hope to accomplish on behalf of a great sport and those who are dedicated to it. But for Bono, this unfortunately kept snowballing and then included the Nassar situation. And you had Olympian Ali Rezman tweet.

My teammates and I reported Nassar's abuse to USA Gymnastics in 2015. We now know US Olympic Committee and lawyers at Fager Baker Daniels, Mary Bono's firm, were also told then. Yet Nassar continued to abuse children for 13 months. Why hire someone associated with the firm that helped cover up our abuse? And adding, clearly this is not a new USA Gymnastics. Same corrupt decisions. Perhaps it's because true accountability is less likely if authority is placed in the hands of someone similarly motivated to avoid it."

What soon followed was Bono releasing a statement where she resigned. And in that statement she references when she was a young gymnast herself, witnessing an assault, and adding, "...I would have brought a fire in the belly to ensure that no one as taken with gymnastics as I was at that age should have to choose between abuse and ambition, or between properly speaking out and promoting personal success." Then going on to defend her work at Fager Baker Daniels. Regarding Kaepernick, she said he was expressing his right to the First Amendment and she did as well. Also trying to provide context

for why she put out that post. But ultimately, main point, she resigned. And so that's where we are right now. The controversy around USA Gymnastics just really isn't going away. And it'll be interesting to see who, if anyone, can fit into this position to change the image. And then let's talk about the situation

with Treasury Department leaks connected to the Robert Mueller investigation. And this story revolves around Natalie Mayflower Sowers Edwards, who is a senior advisor at the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, who this week was questioned and then arrested and released on Wednesday on a $100,000 bond.

And this for reportedly unauthorized disclosures of SARS and conspiracy. She's been ordered to appear in court next month, and both of these charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison Also, just so there's no confusion when I talk about SARS. I'm not talking about the disease I'm not talking about the South African Revenue Service. What I'm talking about are suspicious activity reports They're these things issued by financial institutions to flag potentially illegal transactions And according to the DOJ Edwards leaked SARS that were connected to the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. And in particular, these SARs related

to several key figures being investigated, this including the accused Russian spy Marina Butina, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Manafort's longtime business partner Rick Gates. And Edwards had allegedly been leaking these documents since October 2017 and actually continued until her questioning by the FBI on Tuesday. As far as how she would do it, according to the DOJ,

Edwards would save copies of SARs onto a flash drive and would use an encrypted app to send photos of the FBI on Tuesday. As far as how she would do it, according to the DOJ, Edwards would save copies of SARS onto a flash drive and would use an encrypted app to send photos of the documents to reporters. According to the complaint, the majority of the files were saved to a folder on the flash drive entitled Debacle Operation CF and subfolders bearing names such as Debacle Emails Asshat and adding, Edwards is not known to be involved

in any official project or task bearing these file titles or code names. And reportedly her flash drive also has files that appear to contain thousands of SARs. Not only that, but also highly sensitive material relating to Russia, Iran, and the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. And with this, you had the US attorney in Manhattan,

Jeffrey Berman, saying that Edwards had betrayed her position of trust by repeatedly disclosing highly sensitive information. Adding, we hope today's charges remind those in positions of trust within government agencies that the unlawful sharing of sensitive documents will not be tolerated and will be met with swift justice by this office. Also, even though the reporter who received the information isn't being named, only being called Reporter 1, the complaint has context clues about what news organization received this info and it appears to be BuzzFeed News.

You see a timeline of events, date that articles were published, as well as exact quotes, and based on all of that it appears the complaint references articles put out by Buzzfeed News that use SARS as their main pieces of evidence. And they put out 12, total with the most recent one being Monday titled, "'Here's How a Major Western Bank "'Enabled a Suspected Russian Money Laundering.'" And reportedly at this time, Buzzfeed has refused

to release a comment about the situation. Now as far as how we got to today, reportedly when she was first questioned by the FBI, Edwards denied any wrongdoing. However, Edwards reportedly then changed her account and admitted that on numerous occasions she had accessed SARS on her computer, photographed them, and then sent those photographs to Reporter One. And as far as her However, Edwards reportedly then changed her account and admitted that on numerous occasions she had accessed SARS on her computer, photographed them, and then sent those photographs

to Reporter One. And as far as her defense, Edwards then claimed that she was being a whistleblower. Although the complaint points out that she did file a whistleblower complaint related to her work, but never in relation to SARS disclosures. And so she was allegedly taking these files and leaking them for, quote, safekeeping.

Now on the note of does she qualify for whistleblower protections, there has been a conversation, but more are leaning to probably not. Whistleblowing is allowed under certain circumstances to reveal wrongdoings by an employer, including the federal government. But if you work for the government

and the leaked information is deemed undisclosable or classified, then the process to whistleblow involves going through government channels, such as the agency's inspector general, in order to protect the sensitive information. And regarding this specifically, in 2010 the Treasury Department changed SARs to be more restricted than before and be more confidential,

meaning that if Edwards wanted to whistleblow, she needed to go through government channels to legally whistleblow and be protected from reprisals. Also, there's the point of it's unclear what wrongdoing by the Treasury Department she was whistleblowing about. The information she took was already being successfully used by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to target and prosecute people. Now, also a thing to note here is Edwards is really just the latest in a string of arrests and accusations against leakers by the DOJ. Jeff Sessions, of course, since taking over, has spearheaded an effort to crack down on leakers. That has reportedly translated into an 800% increase in investigations against leakers. And in fact, just earlier this week, you had James Wolfe.

He's a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer. He pled guilty to lying to the FBI about using an encrypted app to tell a reporter about the subpoena issued by the committee. And so it appears the crackdown is real, and really, you shouldn't be surprised if you see more names and faces pop up in connection to leaks.

And that's where I'm going to end today's show. And of course, remember, I wanna hear from you. 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 liked today's show, you like these daily dives into the news, hit that like button.

If you're new here and you want more, hit that subscribe button. Also, if you missed yesterday's show, you wanna catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch that. Or wanna watch today's brand new bonus video, you can click right there. But that said, of Also, if you missed yesterday's show, you want to catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch that. Or if you want to watch today's brand new bonus video, you can click right there. But that said, of course, as always, my name is Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.