The Philip DeFranco Show - The Missing Epstein Pages No One Can Explain

Starting point is 00:00:00 This episode is brought to you by FedEx. These days, the Power Move isn't having a big metallic credit card to drop on the check at a corporate lunch. The real Power Move is leveling up your business with FedEx intelligence, and accessing one of the biggest data networks powered by one of the biggest delivery networks. Level up your business with FedEx, the new Power Move. The DOJ said it released everything on Netflix. but by their own numbers, they're million short, and so now this new lawsuit could change everything.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Meanwhile, the German Chancellor just said that America's being humiliated by Iran and JD Vance reportedly doesn't believe the Pentagon's own war numbers. And why what we're about to see in Nebraska on Friday is expected to result in 5 to 10 million Americans losing their healthcare. But first step today, we've gotta talk about this.

Starting point is 00:00:48 The more we learn about this would-be assassin from the White House Correspondence dinner, the weirder this story gets. Starting with the fact that people have been digging through two accounts on X and Blue Sky that appear to belong to the shooter, Cole Allen. Or with many of the details appearing to match up and a senior DOJ official confirming to see

Starting point is 00:01:01 end that at the very least, the ex-account is definitely his. Now for a while, the accounts mostly just posted about video games and other innocuous things, but they started getting heavily political around the 2024 election. With them reposting a call to nullify the results, posts comparing Trump to Hitler and other posts speculating that the Butler assassination attempt was staged. Which ends up feeling kind of like peak irony since you're seeing so many people now thinking that this attempt was staged as well. But also in addition to that, you're the accounts posting a lot about Ukraine, expressing frustration that Trump betrayed an ally. They also criticize what they called the dumbass war in Iran and Trump's aggressive immigration policy.

Starting point is 00:01:31 then things get a little more surprising. Right, because you've got screenshots going around that appear to show them reposting criticisms of the far left and pro-Palestinian protesters by people like Noah Smith and Brianna Wu. And while the source of those screenshots appear to be a Hassan Piker fan account, it is basically consistent with a New York Times report, noting that Allen's apparent profiles tended to repost more moderate Democrats like Will Stancel and even the anti-Trump Republican Bill Crystal.

Starting point is 00:01:52 With all this ending up being notable because when news of the shooting broke out, you had Hassan being singled out as a proponent of supposedly violent rhetoric. Or with the likes of Trump ally Laura Lumer and the Daily Wires Michael Noel, pushing for him to be arrested, as well as some liberals condemning his past statements to which Hassan responded. This administration is a fascist administration. They make no distinction between your statements that are anti-Trump as well and my statements. If I'm going to the camps, you're going to be there by my side. I hope you understand that. Wherever Allen fully landed as apparent social media posts, they got more suggestive over time. Or they start talking about gun ownership, saying stuff like best time to buy a gun was

Starting point is 00:02:27 days ago. Second best time is today. In May of 2025, they accused the government of treason and added that that's not fixable with laws. In January, they appear to have written, I'm getting the impression that a lot of American politicians and staffers think this is all a game. And adding not really looking forward to the this is not a game portion of history that is 99% likely to be coming up.

Starting point is 00:02:44 Then last month they wrote, more important question is, when do the between zero and five inclusive adults in America realize that this is not tenable and sitting around waiting for someone else to do something about it is not working? Can't think of the last time I saw anyone on slash offline, take responsibility for fixing the problem. But also now both X and Blue Sky have taken down those

Starting point is 00:03:01 with the latter explaining that it prohibits posts that amplify misinformation or glorify violence or harm. Though those accounts are not the only thing people are trying to take down right now. Right, because connected to all this, you have the Trump administration trying to once again take down Jimmy Kimmel. And that's because a couple of days before the shooting, you had Kimmel doing his own parody correspondence dinner on his show. Right, in Stromb, he had a mentalist host the actual dinner instead of a comedian like they usually do, you had Kimmel deciding to roast the administration with his own jokes. But the Trump family, they did not like this one clip in particular. Our first lady, Melania is here. Look at, so beautiful.

Starting point is 00:03:30 Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow. So even though that was filmed and released before the shooting, after the shooting, you had Melania Trump, who of course is the wife of the famously peaceful speaker Donald Trump posting. Kimmel's hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn't comedy. His words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America. People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.

Starting point is 00:03:55 A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community? With then Donald Trump himself joining in saying wow Jimmy Kimmel who is in no way funny as attested by his terrible television ratings made a statement on his show that is really shocking. I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable call to violence and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said, but this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC. Then the official White House account were posting that and then press secretary Caroline Levitt jumping in as well. Much of the manifesto of the would-be assassin is indistinguishable from the words that we hear daily from so many.

Starting point is 00:04:39 For example, ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kemmel disgustingly called First Lady Melania Trump an expectant widow. Who in their right minds says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband? Right. And then, in response to all of this, you had Kimmel going on TV and saying this. Obviously was a joke about their age difference. and the look of joy we see on her face every time they're together.

Starting point is 00:05:03 It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that. I've been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it. But now with all this, you have semifle reporting that Trump's Federal Communications Commission, right, the FCC, they're likely going to pursue an early review of Disney ABC's broadcast TV licenses. Though technically it's unclear whether this is directly connected to Kimmel's joke or one of the two investigations already ongoing.

Starting point is 00:05:45 Because there's one, look at into the company's diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and another into Senate candidate James Taylor Rico's appearance on the view for allegedly violating the equal opportunity rule. But really either way, it wouldn't be the first time FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's threatened to pull a license, nor would it be the first time that Kimmel's been censored. You know, with all that said, there was at least one thing that Kimmel did agree with Trump on. I don't believe for one second that the reason he decided to build this ballroom is for security,

Starting point is 00:06:09 but this was a pretty good argument for building... I might be pro ballroom now, weirdly, after this. That way, if anything terrible ever happens, at least they can dance. And actually, speaking of the ballroom, Republicans are not giving this up. They are there grabbing onto it, and it is not a laughing matter to them.

Starting point is 00:06:25 For example, Senator Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Budget Committee, announcing. We're going to introduce legislation that would authorize $400 million to be spent to secure the, to build the presidential ballroom. I'm convinced if they had been a presidential ballroom adjacent to the White House, the guy would never gotten in. So no, we're going to build this facility and I would suggest to the next president. Don't go to the Hilton. Joining him, you just had this group of other lawmakers from Lauren Bowbert and Rand Paul to Eric Schmidt and Tim Sheehe.

Starting point is 00:06:59 And you had Sheehe saying it is an embarrassment to the strongest nation on earth that we cannot host gatherings in our nation's capital, including ones attended by our president without the threat of violence and attempted assassinations. Then on the other side, you had people like AOC saying the real embarrassment here is the state of Trump's America.

Starting point is 00:07:13 I don't believe that in an era where they are jacking up prices on the American people, when they are gutting everyone's healthcare, when people cannot afford to pay their rent and their mortgages, that we should be choosing choosing our precious treasure, little treasure that we have in this country, to build an ornate castle on a scale of which is quite unprecedented and unbelievable without any sort of accountability to those funds. Right, and then, you know, I have to say, well, this has understandably been dominating the headlines.

Starting point is 00:07:47 Something we've got to talk about that Trump's been trying very hard to keep out of those is Jeffrey Epstein. Especially because acting attorney General Todd Blanche, which is sued over what the suit calls a brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. And as far as specifics, you have this lawsuit being filed by Katie Fang, who's a political commentator and a journalist who used to be a lawyer and used to host a show on MSNBC. Right, and she now runs an independent show on YouTube, focused on politics and legal analysis with a heavy emphasis on Epstein, Galane Maxwell, and what she calls the Epstein Elite. And her arguments direct, right, the Epstein Files Transparency Act

Starting point is 00:08:16 mandated a release of the files. And she says that the DOJ failed to meet that standard, omitting documents and improperly redacting what was actually released. And because she relies on those documents to do her job, the DOJ's noncompliance has actively harmed her ability to report. I rely on compliance with the law for me to do my job. I rely on compliance with the law for me to be able to process, discern, research, and do further investigation and to report to you about what I have learned, discovered, read, seen, heard, you name it. But when there is active concealment going on by way of violation of a federal statute, I cannot do my job as a journalist. And so I'm suing.

Starting point is 00:09:01 Now, the lawsuit names Todd Blanche is the sole defendant, though it notes that many of the allegations actually stem from when he was deputy AG under Pam Bondi. And the lawsuit calls out specific files that weren't released, including some that pertained to Trump. Specifically, it notes that in one document, a woman accused Trump of assaulting her when she was a minor. You were the FBI following through on this claim and four separate interviews. The DOJ apparently produced 15 documents related to this alleged victim. for Galane Maxwell's attorneys, but only seven of those documents were produced under the Epstein Act. And according to the lawsuit, contemporary reporting suggests that the withheld materials include 53 pages of interview documents and notes that remain unproduced.

Starting point is 00:09:35 So 53 pages of FBI interview material related to an alleged underage victim and an accusation against Trump handed over to Galane Maxwell's defense, but apparently not released to the public. Now, I want to be very clear about what is being said and what is not being said here. The lawsuit is not claiming that the underlying allegation has been proven. Rather, what the lawsuit is claiming is that the federal government appears to be withholding documents the law required them to release and that the documents being withheld happen to involve the sitting precedent. So with that, Fing is asking the court for a few specific things. First, she wants a declaration that Blanche failed to comply with the Epstein-Files Transparency Act.

Starting point is 00:10:04 Second, she wants the court to force him to remove unlawful redactions, thoroughly explain why any remaining redactions are necessary and produce unreleased or retracted materials. And third, and this is also the move with the most teeth, she wants the court to appoint a special master to oversee Blanche's compliance. The special master would not be in the DOJ. This special master would not work for the victims and survivors. This special master would work pretty much for the American people. Appointed by the court, the special master would say, I'm going to call the balls and strikes as I see fit.

Starting point is 00:10:34 A special master can also lay the groundwork for showing the noncompliance, which then results in contempt, enforcement, you name it, but at least it gets us to accountability people. Right, so a special master is essentially a court-appointed, independent overseer, someone outside of the DOJ, outside of the political chain of command, with the authority to look at what's being released

Starting point is 00:10:55 and decide what is actually compliant with the law. It is a very important kind of mechanism that is very hard to ignore once it's in place. So then with all this, unsurprisingly, you had Representative Rokana, who's been leading the congressional push on the Epstein files, praising the suit, calling it historic and adding,

Starting point is 00:11:08 this is one of the biggest cover-ups in the history of our nation. There must not be two tiers of justice. As far as Blanche, for his part, he's repeatedly defended the DOJ's handling of the files. Earlier this month on Fox News, for example, he said this. We have released everything. So listen, we reviewed, Six million pieces of paper.

Starting point is 00:11:23 What we released were anything associated with the Epstein file. So we are not sitting on a single piece of paper. Nothing. Nothing that should be released. Here's the obvious problem. Blanche himself said that the DOJ reviewed six million pages. And reports have repeatedly noted that only three and a half million pages were actually released. That is a two and a half million page gaps who either Blanche misspoke or the DOJ is, by his own numbers, sitting on a lot of paper.

Starting point is 00:11:46 And also a big thing here is that this lawsuit is not the only push for accountability that's happening right now. In fact, just this morning you had the Washington Post reporting that the Government Accountability Office or the GAO and Independent Congressional Watchdog, they're going to review the DOJ's handling of the files. In that review, came after a group of senators led by Jeff Merkley, asked the office to look into what they called the resulting failure of the department to follow the law, respond to Congress and protect victims. Since he had Berkeley announcing today that the GAO has officially opened the investigation saying, the Trump administration is cruelly denying equal justice under the law to all of Jeffrey Epstein's victims. And adding, this independent investigation is an important step in whole. holding this administration accountable for siding with the rich and powerful to help cover up the abuse of our most vulnerable.

Starting point is 00:12:25 And then on top of that, just last week, we had the DOJ's own Inspector General's office saying that it would audit the redactions process. See, you now have three separate pressure points, a federal lawsuit, a GAO investigation, and a DOJ Inspector General audit, all aimed at the same thing really. Whether the law is actually being followed and whether the documents are actually being released. But still, there is this underlying question of will any of it stick? Or the Epstein story, it's not dominating the news cycle like it was a few months ago. You've got Iran, Israel, people getting fired, the attempted shooting, the federal reserve fight, the things just go on and on. Attention shifted. But all these things are happening, they are real, and they're moving in parallel.

Starting point is 00:12:59 So one of the questions, in addition to does the public have the attention span here is whether any of them have enough teeth to actually force some sort of release. Right, lawsuits, they can be slow, GAO investigations, they can produce reports that get filed and forgotten. Inspector General audits, they can recommend changes that never get implemented. But the combination of all this, along with other people making sure that there is still a spotlight here, the most concentrated accountability push on the Epstein files since the law was passed. So we're gonna have to see how this plays out, but one thing is clear,

Starting point is 00:13:25 and that is that the people that are pushing for accountability, they're not back and down. And then there's more we've gotta dive into in just a minute, but really quick, two things. One, a little bit of self-promo, I would absolutely love to see you in person, and right now my crashing out tour is on sale. 12 dates, 12 cities,

Starting point is 00:13:39 and you can get tickets right now at crashing outtour.com. It's gonna be a great time, a great show. We can crash out together. There's even tickets for meet and greets if you want, that sort of thing. Then also two, we have a quick word from today's fantastic sponsor.

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Starting point is 00:14:49 But then diving right back into the news, Iran is in a state of collapse. The UAE is leaving OPEC, and actually that first thing that I said might be total bullshit. Because it's just something that you had Trump posting on social media today. Writing Iran has just informed us that they are in a state of collapse. And adding, they want us to open the Hormuz straight as soon as possible as they try to figure out their leadership situation, which I believe they will be able to do. But Trump also has previously claimed that Iran has been defeated, that it's undergone regime change, that this new regime has agreed to most or even all of his demands, which apparently none of that is true. And already, you had a spokesperson for Iran's defense ministry seemingly contradicting Trump's latest claim.

Starting point is 00:15:22 Instead saying the Trump administration must abandon its illegal and irrational demands and adding. The United States is no longer in a position to dictate its policy to independent nations. At least as of recording, it's not clear whether the White House has responded to Iran's latest proposal, which would have both countries immediately lift their blockades in the straight-arm moves while postponing talks regarding Iran's nuclear program. But it is expected that the administration will decline, especially since Trump's repeatedly claimed that, keeping Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon is one of, if not the primary objective of this war. Though also, according to the New York Times, Iran's proposal has apparently been subject to vigorous debate inside the administration. With some believing it'll only take another couple of months of the US blockade to cause enough long-term damage to Iran's energy industry that the regime will want to make a deal.

Starting point is 00:16:00 Though you then have others noting that Iran's positions have only hardened as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has solidified its hold on power. And actually with that, the US has reportedly assessed that neither the supreme leader nor the IRGC have actually given the negotiating team permission to make concessions on the nuclear So that's led to some in the Trump administration to believe that only resuming military action can get the regime to change its tune. And with this, you have Axios reporting that Trump himself is also torn between launching new military strikes or waiting to see whether his maximum pressure economic campaign ultimately pays off. Though there is a chance that he's leaning toward the military option with him reportedly telling one advisor recently that all Iran's leaders understand his bombs. Even with that it's not clear that starting the war back up is gonna work either. And there, you have places like the Atlantic reporting that even Vice President J.D. Vance has repeatedly questioned the Pentagon's portrayal of the war in Iran. And that's reportedly including the accuracy of information that it's provided about the American military's remaining missile reserves and the Iranian military's remaining capabilities.

Starting point is 00:16:49 Right, because Trump, he's echoed Defense Secretary Pete Heggseth when claiming that American stockpiles are virtually unlimited and that the Iranian military is wholly defeated. But those claims, they might not be supported by the actual facts. Where the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for example, they've estimated that the US may have gone through more than half of its pre-war supply of four key munitions. The officials and outside advisors reportedly telling the Atlantic that the use of key weapons over the past couple of months, it's produced a serious shortage that erodes America's ability to fight future wars. And that's as intelligence assessments reportedly say that Iran retains two-thirds of its air force, the bulk of its missile launching capability, and most of its small, fast votes that can lay mines and harass traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. And then also, in the meantime, while we're going to have to wait to see if we're going back to an active military confrontation,

Starting point is 00:17:28 the U.S. and Iran have actually clashed at the United Nations in New York. And the background there is that the UN's begun a review of the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it's done every five years since the treaty took effect in 1970. And under that deal, the five original nuclear powers, the U.S., China, Russia, the UK, and, France, they agreed to negotiate toward eliminating the nuclear arsenals someday. But you've also had UN Secretary General Antonio Gutera's noting that despite the stated aim of the treaty, the number of nuclear warheads around the world, is increasing for the first time in decades.

Starting point is 00:17:54 And countries like the U.S. and Russia, they've even considered resuming live nuclear testing. And then also, notably, Israel, along with India, Pakistan, and North Korea, they all possess or believe to possess nuclear weapons despite not being part of the treaty. In the meantime, nations without nuclear weapons, including Iran, they're supposed to be able to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in exchange for their promise to not develop weapons. And with that, Iran's argued that this gives them the right to enrich uranium, but the treaty also doesn't explicitly say that. The treaty does, however, require that Iran and other nations

Starting point is 00:18:21 cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, but the regimes also refuse to give the agencies inspectors access to its main nuclear sites since they were bombed by the US last June. So because of that, as well as Iran's broader history of compliance issues with the NPT, you've had the US taking issue with its selection as one of 34 vice presidents of this conference. Or with the The US Assistant Secretary of State from arms control and nonproliferation arguing that Iran has shown contempt for its commitments under the treaty and saying, rather than choosing to use this review conference to defend the integrity of the NPT and call Iran to account, we instead elect Iran a vice president, and saying it is beyond shameful and an embarrassment to the credibility of this conference. Though on the other side, you had Iran's ambassador to the UN and Vienna blasting the allegations from the U.S. as baseless and politically motivated and opposing the election of the U.S. as a vice president.

Starting point is 00:19:02 And there, noting that the U.S. is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war and also accusing the U.S. its nuclear arsenal in violation of the treaty and obstructing progress toward a nuclear weapons-free Middle East by supporting Israel. Notably, besides Iran, the U.S. is now increasingly facing criticism from its allies. Or with maybe the biggest example of that, coming in the form of recent comments from German Chancellor Friedrich Meritz, who said about the U.S. this week, an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by the so-called Revolutionary Guards. So I hope that this ends as quickly as possible. The Iranians are clearly stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the

Starting point is 00:19:34 negotiations either. And in the meantime, you're seeing fallout continuing to grow with. For example, the United Arab Emirates announcing that it's no longer going to be a member of OPEC as of May 1st. With OPEC being the organization of the petroleum exporting countries and its other members include major oil-producing nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. That said, you know, this decision, it has been rumored as a possibility for a while now, partly because of tense relations with Saudi Arabia, but also because of the UAE's desire to produce and sell more oil without being limited by quotas. And the impact over the long term, it could be significant since it's one of the group's biggest producers and one of the few with the ability to quickly increase production.

Starting point is 00:20:06 So you have experts saying that its withdrawal will make it more difficult for the organization to calibrate supply and stabilize prices. Though in the meantime, the straight being locked down, it means this probably won't have an immediate effect on the market, as continued uncertainties kept the price of a barrel well over $100. You've got US gas prices now heading their highest levels since the start of the war. And then connected to that, you have the Climate Group 350.org, publishing an analysis that it says shows the fallout from the war may cost the world more than $1 trillion. That's not even counting knock-on effects of inflation, higher fertilizer, food costs, lower economic activity, and rising employment. And then of course, on the flip side, oil companies have been making money hand over fist.

Starting point is 00:20:38 You would BP reporting today that its profits for the first quarter of the year had more than doubled, and you had the head of 350 saying in a statement, over the next few days, oil majors will report astronomical first quarter profits, much of it earned on the back of a war that has already killed thousands and impoverished millions. Even if the straight-ahor moves reopens tomorrow, an obscene amount of money will continue to flow to oil coffers at the expense of ordinary people already struggling to afford fuel, electricity, and food. And then also, speaking of a kind of shifting gears, but also still connected to all this, you now have Ukraine Zelensky accusing Israel of purchasing grain that was stolen from territory occupied by

Starting point is 00:21:09 Russia, saying the Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country's ports and what cargo they are carrying. And Ukraine actually summoned to Israel's ambassador in Kiev and handed him what was described as a note of protests. You also had Israel's foreign minister, claiming that Ukraine hadn't provided any evidence for its claims, and adding, Israel is a state that abides by the rule of law. A statement that also comes as Israeli troops are occupying parts of southern Lebanon and destroying homes that they describe as infrastructure belong to Hezbollah. And you with the Israeli military today ordering residents of another 16 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately. But with that, you also had the foreign minister claiming

Starting point is 00:21:39 Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon and adding, our presence in the areas by our northern border, serves one purpose, protecting our citizens. And with that, well, Hasbila has kept up its drone and rocket attacks against Israeli troops in Lebanon and northern Israel, killing several people, Israeli air defenses have been largely effective and Lebanese citizens have been killed at a much higher With Israel reportedly killing dozens since the ceasefire began and recently bring the total death toll in Lebanon since March 2nd to 2,521, with that including women, children, journalists, and medical workers. And it's also as Israeli strikes have kept up in Gaza with some of the latest reportedly killing five, including a nine-year-old boy. So now the total direct death toll there has almost reached 73,000, according to Gaza's health ministry. And that's as many are struggling to survive, even to just get their most basic needs met.

Starting point is 00:22:20 Or with doctors without borders accusing Israel of using water as a weapon by destroying and obstructing civilian water infrastructure as part of a campaign of what they said was. collective punishment against Palestinians. But the situation there, it's largely been overshadowed by the broader conflict between the US and Iran. And then there's even more that we've got to dive into in just a minute, but first let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, my brain, it has two modes. Locked in and getting things done

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Starting point is 00:24:54 right now. We're running out of time and we still don't know the rules. Don't miss what the movie blog calls something you need to watch. Saving those children is how we all go home. From binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Diving right back into the news, starting Friday, Nebraska becomes the test case for Medicaid work requirements in America. So if you're between 19 and 64 and you've got coverage to Medicaid expansion, you got

Starting point is 00:25:17 a clock 80 hours a month of work, school, or community service, or you lose your health care. So this is essentially the test of what Trump's big, beautiful bill is going to roll out nation. nationwide and eight months. A move that his researchers projecting that between five and 10 million people are going to lose their Medicaid because of it. Right in Nebraska specifically you had governor Jim Pillett announcing back in December that his state would be the test case. And his framing was that he wanted to make sure that every able-bodied Nebraska is part of their community. We have over 100,000 job openings, jobs that can't be filled because we don't have enough people. So there's incredible opportunities for every person who is wanting Medicaid that is able-bodied to work,

Starting point is 00:25:57 most importantly, for our kids. It's really important for our kids to see people in their household working, fulfilling the American dream. Now really quick, I do wanna flag something before we go further. Nebraska doesn't actually have a problem getting people to work. They actually have one of the lowest unemployment rates

Starting point is 00:26:13 in the country. In February, it was 3.1%. This is in a state where huge numbers of able-bodied people are just sitting home, avoid, avoid, and so the able-bodied framing, it's doing a lot of the heavy lifting in this kind of political rhetoric. This is a... hand up, not a hand out. I think it's also important for all of us how rewarding work is. It's a key

Starting point is 00:26:34 piece of giving the discipline for our families to be successful. It's a key piece of self-worth. It's a key piece of mental health and stability. And so that I think it sounds nice to a lot of people, but also work requirements, they've been studied repeatedly and the data, it's consistent. They do not actually increase employment. They just kick people off of Medicaid. And as far as how the system works, here's the mechanics. Nebraska first is to verify that the roughly 70,000 people already enrolled through expansion are still eligible. With about 20 to 28,000 of them having to provide more documentation to keep their coverage, and then another 3 to 4,000 of new enrollees each month, they're going to need to do the same. And while right now, people only have to prove that

Starting point is 00:27:10 they met the work requirement for at least one month out of the last year. By 2027, they'll have to maintain that for at least six months to keep their benefits. Though there's also some flexibility, right? People can show proof of making at least $580 a month instead of logging 80 hours. So that'll help people who work for themselves, like freelancers or hairdressers. But also, here's one of the issues. We have to wonder about whether that flexibility applies to specific situations because the rules just aren't clear yet. And that's just one of the problem. Right, states only got 18 months to roll this out and you have healthcare officials warning at the speed alone, that's a problem. Where you have health policy experts saying, the speed at which we are choosing to implement

Starting point is 00:27:41 work requirements hasn't left a lot of space for really meaningful communication. And so you have real questions piling up. Like, do apprenticeships count as work? If someone regularly goes to the hospital for care, how far does the travel have to be for a medical exemption and who checks? You got people confused and once you're asked to provide more information, you only have 30 days to comply. So then if you can't navigate the bureaucracy fast enough, you just lose your coverage entirely. And the administrative side doesn't look ready either. Medicaid employees are about to review tens of thousands of accounts under a new mandate that they didn't have time to prepare for. They do not appear to actually have the capacity to answer all of these questions in real time. And

Starting point is 00:28:12 all of this is something that researchers have called administrative burden. And the data there is brutally consistent. Researchers say that the higher the administrative burden, the more likely people are found non-compliant and disenroll. Or to put it in plain English, when you stress the system, a lot of people, they don't fail the work requirement. They fail the paperwork, right? They miss a deadline. They can't get a question answered. They don't realize they needed to upload a document and they slip through the cracks. They lose their coverage, not because they don't qualify, but because the system was designed in a way that they couldn't navigate. And in fact, we are already starting to see the consequences. You're seeing reports that are describing young parents who are going against

Starting point is 00:28:42 advice from their own doctors to work, or because they can't afford to lose their coverage. And so you have people compromising their health to keep the very thing that's supposed to protect their health. And then there are also cases where Nebraska is using digital records to determine who keeps coverage, which means that doctors' notes or other personal documents that might not be in the digital system can result in people losing their coverage for completely unjust reasons. So Nebraska, they're supposed to get feedback from the federal government in June to help fix some of the issues. But then that just leaves a month where people's healthcare is hanging in the bounds with no clear answers. And again, this goes further than Nebraska because whatever guidance Nebraska gets, it's going to be the template for other states and what they adopt when this rolls out.

Starting point is 00:29:14 So if this isn't surprisingly figured out, if the issues aren't ironed out, this becomes a national problem affecting tens of millions of people. But with all this, you have many arguing that this is exactly what Trump wanted. Where you have an administration cutting social programs, finding ways to cut the most vulnerable Americans for programs like Medicaid, while also spending massive amounts of money on the Iran war and on tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest household. And understand with this specifically, the people who lose, they're the ones with the least margin to absorb loss. Right? Single parents managing chronic conditions, people in unstable jobs, people who can't easily prove they qualify for an exempt people without things like reliable internet access to upload digital records. And this will have real physical consequences, untreated diabetes,

Starting point is 00:29:52 miscancer screenings, mental health treatment just gets dropped. People not filling their subscriptions. There is a real downstream cost here, both human and financial. So this is something that we're going to be watching closely because Friday is the start. But again, remember, eight months from now, it goes national. But then also, and this is one of the last things we've got to talk about today, Medicaid's not the only program that's on the chopping block. Or you've got the Trump administration now gearing up to cut support for hundreds of thousands of disabled Americans

Starting point is 00:30:13 for the crime of living with their own families. Because you see the program in question here is supplemental security income, SSI. It supports about 7.5 million Americans who can earn a living because of severe disabilities or destitution in old age. These are people who in many cases literally cannot work. SSI is like what stands between them

Starting point is 00:30:28 and just complete poverty. And according to ProPublica, multiple officials, internal emails, and a federal regulatory listing, the administration is preparing to cut benefits for some of the lowest income SSI recipients by up to a third. In some cases, it'll end their support entirely. And ProPublica's analysis estimates

Starting point is 00:30:42 that the number of people impacted is going to be close to 400,000. And as far as how exactly they're cutting, the proposed rule change deducts the value of a disabled adult's bedroom from their SSI allotment. So they're treating the bedroom that you sleep in at your family's home as effectively a benefit that you're receiving from your family

Starting point is 00:30:56 and thus reducing your federal disability support to match. And then the paperwork to even maintain the reduced benefits, it's huge. According to ProPublica, disabled adults or extremely elderly recipients will have to file extensive monthly reports including whether the property is leased or owned, the names of anyone who lives with them,

Starting point is 00:31:11 whether any of those people have new income or assets, documentation of all household bills and expenses, how much they do or don't personally contribute to those bills, bank statements, and any paystops. Right and then, in-person meetings will be required any time a caregiver's wages or hours change, anytime bills get split differently, or any time someone tries to help cover an expense. So you know, if your sister moves in temporarily, if your dad picks up an extra shift of a relative pays a utility bill, this disabled person has to file paperwork or lose benefits. And again, all of that, just to keep their benefits at a reduced level. You know, with all this, I think it's important to remember the real people that's impact. Because this isn't some hypothetical or abstract thing.

Starting point is 00:31:46 These are people like a young couple struggling to sport not just their kids, but also a parent with Alzheimer's. You have a woman who's 18-year-old son with Down syndrome lives at home while he tries to become a chef. Or you know, people like Shaitira Burton, who was diagnosed with a whole list of developmental and intellectual disabilities that left her with an IQ below 70. And despite her graduating high school and even taking classes at a community college, she wasn't able to get hired anywhere. So she lives with her dad and uses her monthly $994 SSI check to help pay the bills. But if and when this new policy takes effect, her SSI check could be cut by three. $330 a month. And these cuts, they're going to be felt even more so by families who are already on programs like SNAP. Because longstanding federal policy held that if a family already qualified for assistance like SNAP, then they were officially deemed financially unable to support a disabled loved one.

Starting point is 00:32:26 And the thinking year was pretty straightforward. If your family is poor enough to need food assistance themselves, they can't be supporting you. So your SSI check stays the full amount so you can support yourself. That rule, it changed under Trump. And so now it doesn't matter if the family's already on SNAP, already on Medicaid, already on the edge of poverty themselves. anyone living at home after they turn 18 without paying full rent will be treated as if they have a benefactor. And again, the value of their bedroom, plus any income and assets that their family has gets calculated and recalculated and deducted from their SSI check. And so that poor family that takes in a disabled adult child, they get penalized. A family that's already getting food assistance because they can't afford groceries themselves. Now sees their disabled family members' income reduced because the federal government's decided that the family must be a benefactor. It ends up punishing the families that are doing the most for their disabled relatives, the one who can't afford. the ones who keep their loved ones out of institutions, the ones that are picking up the slack for a system that already underserved disabled Americans.

Starting point is 00:33:17 And what's crazy is that this isn't surprising. This isn't even the first time that the Trump administration has gone after disability programs. Right, rather than fixing the actual inefficiencies in SSI, DOGE in the White House pushed out about 7,000 Social Security employees. And that includes people who were specifically working on SSI reforms and clearing backlogs. And then they undid the Biden administration's improvements to the program's efficiency. This latest cut, it follows the lead of conservative think tanks that, have argued that paying low-income SSI recipients less, it could save the federal government $20 billion

Starting point is 00:33:45 over the next decade. So just to do some math for you here, 20 billion in projected savings over 10 years, paid for by cutting checks to 400,000 of the most disabled people in America, that is being proposed, that will happen. Meanwhile, the Iran war cost over $11 billion in just the first six days alone.

Starting point is 00:34:01 Trump's big, beautiful bill, it's delivering $50,000 plus a year in tax savings for the top 1% in the country. The moves in the math just don't fucking make sense. But with all that said, right, As far as where things stand now, you have ProPublica reporting of the rule change is being reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Starting point is 00:34:16 So there is still editing happening. We're gonna have to see what happens there. But then after that, it goes back to the Social Security Administration for publication, which would then trigger a public comment period. And depending on how much opposition that rule faces, it could be maybe next year before this is actually implemented. And as far as the OMB, you had its communications director

Starting point is 00:34:32 calling ProPublicas reporting, quote, false because it speculates about policies that have not yet been decided. With them then going a step further and calling the story, quote, trash. Again, like with all things, Trump and his administration, words or words, actions or actions. And so this is something we're going to have to keep our eyes on and see how it plays out. Especially because with this one, there is a time when people who oppose it can put their objections on the federal record. But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Tuesday, Philip DeFranco show.

Starting point is 00:34:55 And as I close out today's show and, you know, you're hitting that like button. Maybe you're subscribing for the daily videos if you're new here. And you're jumping into those comments to let me know what you're thinking. Let me just say, thank you for watching. I love yo faces. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow for another dive into the crazy world of Daily News. days.

The Philip DeFranco Show - The Missing Epstein Pages No One Can Explain

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