The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump’s Clinton Problem Just Got Worse After Epstein Deposition Leaks Backfire

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

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10 people took a speedboat from Florida to try and bring down the Cuban government. Four of them were killed. At least one may have been an American citizen, and this is all happening as Cuba spirals deeper into a humanitarian crisis. The U.S. is ramping up pressure across the Caribbean, and we inch closer and closer to a potential war with Iran. Because there's a lot to break down, let's start with Cuba. Yesterday morning, Cuba's Interior Ministry said that it detected a Florida registered speedboat roughly one nautical mile off of the coast of its territorial waters.

And when troops went to investigate, the ministry said that the people on board opened fire, injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel. And then the confrontation that followed, you had four people on that speedboat being killed and six injured. Now, at first, it was unclear who these people were, but in a follow-up statement, you had the ministry claiming that the boat was carrying 10 armed individuals who, quote, intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes. With authorities saying they seized assault rifles, handguns, molotop cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflage uniforms.

And then he had the ministry identifying six of the detained and one of the dead, claiming that all were Cuban nationals living in the United States with most having prior criminal records. And they highlighted two in particular who were allegedly wanted for involvement in planning or executing, quote, terrorist acts in Cuba or abroad. Also, they say they arrested another man on the island who had been sent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration and said that person had confessed. Right, and all of that is, according to the Cuban government, there's also been outside reporting that adds to the picture. The boat's registration reportedly matches a 24-foot pro-line motorboat built in 1981, with a typical capacity of 8 to 10 people. One of the detained men appears to be the same person previously interviewed by a U.S.-based outlet that has long called her regime change in Cuba, described by the host as a legend and a former political prisoner who said he wanted to help Cubans achieve the freedom that is needed. And he also had the brother of one of those who were killed speaking to the Associated Press, saying his brother was a truck driver and an American citizen who had lived in the United States for more than 20 years, but had fallen into what he called an obsessive and diabolical quest for Cuba's freedom. With him saying that no one

knew of the plans and dadding, only as Cubans who have lived over there understand. They became so obsessed that they didn't think about the consequences nor their own lives. As far as the US response, the US Attorney's Office or the Southern District of Florida says that it will pursue answers through every legal and diplomatic channel available and noting that facts remain unclear and conflicting. Lorda's Attorney General has also ordered prosecutors to work with federal and state law enforcement writing, the Cuban government cannot be trusted,

and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable. Also, Republican Congressman Carlos Jimenez, called for an immediate investigation into what he described as a massacre saying that the authorities must determine whether any victims were U.S. citizens and establish exactly what happened. And then, of course, he also had Secretary of State Mark Rubio. He also is the son of Cuban immigrants saying that he wouldn't speculate

but confirm that the DHS and the Coast Guard are investigating independently. And his message was a simple one saying we're going to have our own information on this, we're going to figure out exactly what happened. Now, with all that said, right, this is bigger than just Cuba, right? This incident doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's happening less than two months after the United States helped take down Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. And since then, the U.S. military has been destroying small boats that it claims without

evidence were involved in drug trafficking in the region, killing at least 150 people in 44 strikes so far. And in fact, after the Venezuela operation, you had Trump saying that Cuba was also ready to fall. His administration has backed that up with action. Cutting off Venezuelan oil and money from flowing to Cuba, blocking other oil shipments, and signing the executive order is threatening tariffs in any country that sells or provides oil to the island. Now, you know, U.S. pressure on Cuba, it's not new. American sanctions have long been at least partly responsible for the country's economic struggles. These new measures, they've pushed the country to the brink of a major humanitarian crisis.

That's all while Cubans in the U.S., they're being swept up in Trump's mass deportation effort and sent back in record numbers. And understand, that's a significant shift because nearly a million Cubans have fled to the U.S. in recent years, and they've historically been treated as political refugees with a fast-track to residency. Now, with all that said, a piece of news that appeared good for Cuba, you had the Treasury Department saying that it would now allow American and some international companies to resell Venezuelan oil in Cuba, claiming the decision was made in solidarity with the Cuban people.

But also when you look into it, Cuba needs about 100,000 barrels of oil a day, and what it might get from private companies here, it's expected to be far less than that. So this could definitely help, but the crisis isn't going anywhere. Now, as far as Reuio for his party argued that Cuba situation proves that its system is broken, saying that's a system that's in collapse, they need to make dramatic reforms to open the space for both economic and eventually political freedom for the people of Cuba. And notably, Rubio made those comments after arriving in the Caribbean for a meeting of regional leaders,

framing it as the administration prioritizing the Western Hemisphere after largely being ignored for a very long time. But that framing also gets complicated when you look at where the administration's military attention is actually going. Because right now, we are seeing the largest American military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iran. And you've got Trump reportedly considering multiple options for attacking Iran. Limited strikes, sustained in widespread strikes, starting a nuclear and missile facility, and efforts explicitly aimed at regime change. And with that, you've got House Democrats saying that they'll force a vote on a war powers resolution

requiring Trump to get congressional authorization before striking Iran. But one, that won't happen until next week, and two, it might not even get enough votes. And the last realistic chance to avoid a military conflict may have been in the talks that took place today, which ended with no deal, and reportedly, Trump administration negotiators,

Jared Kushner and Steve Whitkoff walking away very unhappy with Iran's proposals. And that as did Trump saying at a state of the union that he'd prefer a deal, but he also added, I will never allow the world's top sponsor of terror, have a nuclear weapon. As far as the administration's fullest of demands, it goes beyond nukes. Officials have said that Iran must end all nuclear enrichment, give up its existing stockpile of enriched uranium, limit its ballistic missile program, and cut support for proxy groups like

the Houthis and Hezbollah. The nuclear issues may be handled first with the rest addressed in follow-up talks. But you know, the core question is enrichment. And Iran has long maintained that it wouldn't build a nuclear weapon, and there's no recent evidence of an active weapons program. But it's also enriched uranium to levels that serve no civilian purpose. And after earlier talked to it, U.S. envoy Steve Whitkoff saying that Iran was willing to to limit enrichment to 3.67%. That's roughly the same level that was agreed to in 2015 during the Obama-era deal that Trump pulled out of

during his first term. But then, after backlash from Republican lawmakers, you had Whitkoff shifting, saying that we cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability. But you've got Iran saying, enrichment's a non-negotiable, right? Their foreign minister posted this week. Iran will, under no circumstances,

ever develop a nuclear weapon. Neither will we Iranians ever forego our right to harness the dividends of peaceful nuclear technology for our people. So you have a situation where both sides have drawn red lines that don't overlap. But I will say there may be movement. But as far as what Iran's willing to compromise on, some reports have suggested that Iran is offering to suspend its nuclear activity and uranium enrichment for several

level of enrichment as low as one and a half percent for medical and research purposes. And they're also reportedly offering to dilute several hundred kilograms of highly enriched uranium and allow UN inspectors full access to monitor compliance. With Iranian officials publicly saying that the proposal will include a pledge to buy American goods and lift a ban on U.S. companies investing in Iran's energy, oil, and gas, and mining sector. You know, whether that's enough is an open question, especially when there are reportedly people in the administration who believe that a strike would force Iran to accept everything that they want, or possibly including abandoning enrichment entirely. Though that also, as you have officials, warning that any strike would likely trigger a much stronger retaliation that Iran has shown in the past. Then also with that, there's the question of who's pushing hardest for a strike. And with that, there are reports that some in the administration are hoping that Israel will actually strike first,

believing that that would make U.S. involvement more palatable to the American public. And that's actually something that Tucker Carlson put a sharper point on, arguing that Israel is driving the push for war, but that shifting public opinion means that this is actually the last window. Everybody knows the only reason we're having this war is because Israel wants it. This is their last chance, they believe. This presidency is the last presidency where they're going to have unequivocal bipartisan support, period. What's so amazing is that Israel, which at least is acting in what it perceives to be, its own national interest, is joined by It's shills in the United States, of course.

But really, its only other ally in this is the American news media, whose job it is to tell you the truth and inform you as to what's happening, to tell you, hey, wake up, the world could be changing and it's gonna affect you and your family. That's their job. And instead, they've been lolling you to sleep with the same variety of transparent lies and propaganda.

Now, you can agree or you can disagree with Carlson's framing, but right, the underlying dynamic that he's describing that there are powerful voices pushing for military action while the public appetite for another Middle East conflict is low, that is something that's worth paying attention to. Because whether these Geneva talks produce a deal or they fall apart, the decision's being made right now.

They could determine whether this stays a diplomatic standoff or becomes something much, much bigger. Right, and then there's more we've gotta dive into in just a minute, but first let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, I love when companies announce a breach like it's a weather update, a little light identity theft moving in from the west. That's why I wanna remind you about incogny,

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Donald Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein. And at the same time, we've got the DOJ just admitting that it's reviewing whether files were improperly withheld. Files that reportedly include FBI interviews where a survivor accuses the president of sexually abusing her as a minor. So yeah, we got to dive into it. Starting with Hillary, right, she released her opening remarks on social media before the deposition even began today, and she didn't hold back. Hillary went directly a committee chairman James Comer calling the entire hearing partisan political theater and saying, let me be as clear as I can. I do not have information regarding the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Galane Maxwell. And you know, she said this before. She claims that she doesn't

recall ever meeting Epstein and says that she never visited any of his homes or properties. She also argued that it was unfair that she was compelled to appear in person when the majority of law enforcement official subpoenaed in this investigation were allowed to simply submit written statements. And Hillary actually submitted one herself but was still threatened with contempt charges. Right. And then in this, you had her turning her focus to Trump, saying this institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors. She also pointed out that the Trump administration has gutted resources for investigating trafficking crimes, calling that a tragedy and scandal worthy of its

own investigation. Right, and then you had Hillary laying out what she thinks a serious committee would actually be doing. That included getting to the bottom of reports that the DOJ withheld FBI interviews in which a survivor accused the president of the United States heinous crimes. As well as subpoenaing anyone who asked which night there would be the wildest party on Epstein's Island. Your sharpest line being, if this committee is serious about learning the truth, it would not rely on press gaggles to get answers from our current president on his involvement. It would ask him directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files. You know, that last point, it matters because it's not just rhetoric. Multiple reports now have alleged that the DOJ withheld records from FBI interviews where an unnamed woman accused Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a minor. Under the White House, they tried to minimize these reports, but yesterday you had the DOJ saying that it would review whether files were improperly withheld.

And that is significant. It is not a confirmation. It is not an admission, but an acknowledgement, but the question is serious enough to warn a review. Or, if we're being honest with the state of things, the theater of a review. Now, all that said, you had Comer pushing back on the partisanship accusations during a press conference this morning. The Democrats have just as many questions for the Clintons as the Republican. So this isn't a partisan witch hunt. This was a motion, a bipartisan motion supported by the Democrats to bring the Clintons in. So I don't think it's a, any type of being unfair in any way to the Clintons. He was also then pressed on whether the committee would extend that bipartisanship spirit to Trump's

Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnik, who also appears in the Epstein files. And while Comer said that it was very possible, he gave nothing concrete. And then on the allegations against Trump specifically, all he offered was that the committee was looking into them and then he quickly pivoted to accusing Democrats of misleading the public about the files. But with all this, the Democrats on the committee were not having it. My fear is we're here today as part of a political extradict part of a long-running fever dream where Republicans want to lock up Secretary Clinton.

At this very moment, the Department of Justice continues to lead a White House cover-up. And we're going to be demanding, even over these next few days, that the remaining files that have not been released get released to the public. And that includes new files that were just discovered in the last couple days of a survivor, that has made serious accusations and allegations against not just Jeffrey Epstein, but also against President Trump. I hope that Chairman Comer and the Republicans will join us in demanding

that the person who actually appears more times in the files than the former president, who we want to speak with, is President Donald Trump. And so let's get President Trump in front of our committee to answer the questions that are being asked,

across this country. And then also with this, because just we have ridiculous people in positions of power, and apparently nothing can ever go smoothly. With the deposition hitting a snag early on when you had conservative media personality, Benny Johnson, tweeting a leaked photo from inside the closed-door hearing

that was reportedly sent to him by Representative Lauren Bober. And since this is closed-door testimony, images aren't authorized. The deposition had to be paused over this leak. And so with that, you had Hillary reportedly saying that if things are leaking online anyway, the press should be let into the room. You had Bobert, defending Johnson,

saying that he did nothing wrong in the... the deposition eventually resumed. And also with that, it's unclear why she shared the photo in the first place or whether anything further will come from it. But then you know, as far as what's next, uh, the deposition, it's being videotaped, but it's not gonna be released until later. You also have Bill Clinton testifying privately tomorrow

and by all accounts, his session will be more consequential. Or Bill has more concrete ties to Epstein and will likely be questioned about photos and files depicting him with redacted individuals. You also have Comer promising both depositions will be very long, especially bills. And so really, we're in this waiting game. We'll get initial readouts from representatives

as they step out of the room and then eventually the footage itself. And see, you know, the real question at that point will be whether what different members say happened matches what we actually see, or whether both sides or one side end up spinning from the moment they walk out the door. And then, of course, we get to do the whole thing again tomorrow with Bill. Right, as all that plays out, the Trump administration just cut $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota, and over half a million kids are about to lose their health care because of it.

And as far as the stated reason, it's fraud, but the close to you look at who's being targeted and why, the harder it gets to take that explanation at face value. Right, so yesterday, Vice President J.D. Vans and CMS administrator, Dr. Oz, announced the funding freeze. to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people's tax money. And certain amounts meaning $259 million. Right. Minnesota's Medicaid and Minnesota care programs, they serve nearly 1.3 million people, roughly one in four Minnesotans. And about two-thirds of those enrollees are parents, children, and pregnant women.

And this also comes as there's a six-month national moratorium on federal funding for durable medical equipment, including prosthetics and orthotics. So this isn't like a surgical strike at fraud. This is a sledgehammer to health care access for an entire state. Now with all this, is there a fraud problem in Minnesota? Yes. That part is real, and it is serious enough that it contributed to Governor Walsh dropping his campaign for re-election. Walls himself even acknowledged it, saying that the state had made systemic changes to the way we do business and that the government can't effectively deliver programs without earning public trust. And the fraud typically looks like individuals or businesses billing state agencies for social services.

think, childcare, nutrition programs, housing, without ever actually providing them. Far too many people have gotten rich by taking what is the best of the American spirit and getting rich off of it instead of providing services to kids who need it. That is stopping today. And there is a legitimate structural issue. Federal dollars were flowing into Minnesota-run programs with little verification that services were being delivered. You have people who are billing the government millions, tens of millions, billions of dollars

saying that they're providing a service, but there's no. actual confirmation, there's no follow-up to ensure that they're actually providing those services. We want to see that follow-up from Minnesota. And with all this, you had Dr. Oz saying they sent a letter to Governor Walls back on December 7,000 for a corrective action plan and found his response inadequate, with fans also laying out what they want going forward. So that's the official framing, but here's where it starts to unravel. Because this conversation, it blew up a few months ago when conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video questioning daycare workers in Minnesota. Where are the children at? Do you know where the

children are at? Where are the children at in these daycare centers? I don't care. Are the children here today? No. No children. Yes. That video goes viral. You have Vance and Cash Patel amplifying it. You have Trump claiming that he sent ICE to the state to investigate a fraud issue with DHS calling Minnesota ground zero for the war on fraud. And from the start, the Trump administration pointed fingers at Minnesota's Somali community. Members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the America taxpayer. We have all the information. And in actuality, the number is much higher than that.

So that number ends up actually being wildly inflated. What reports actually show is that officials found roughly half of the $18 billion in federal funds supporting 14 Minnesota programs starting in 2018 may have been stolen. And even if every dollar of that were attributed to Somali Americans, which it shouldn't be, half of $18 billion is not $19 billion. And of the 92 defendants across the child nutrition, housing, and autism program fraud cases, 82 were Somali Americans. Right.

So that is the real number, that is not a disproportionate number, but 82 people, not an entire community. Yet this, it's how the president talks about it. Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars and they contribute nothing. I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with Minnesota has at least 80,000 Somali residents, the vast majority of which are U.S.-born or naturalized citizens. And reports show that the fraud cases have damaged the community's reputation and created new riffs, layering suspicion onto an entire population that was building real economic and political standing. And among them, you have leaders like Ilhan Omar. Right, and with all this, Dr. Oz's own language during the announcement, it didn't exactly help.

This is not about the money by itself. This is about people's lives and our culture, our shared values that have allowed these beautiful programs, Medicare and Medicaid, to survive brilliantly for 60 years. You had many saying that was just one of many dog whistle saying it. It's hard to see how culture and shared values are apparently relevant to a healthcare funding dispute, unless that is the dispute's really not about funding. And so that's the tension running through this entire story. There is a fraud problem.

Again, I'll repeat that. there is a fraud problem. But this administration, it has a track record of using real problems as cover for other agendas. Trump's personally pardoned or commuted sentences for people who have committed actual fraud. Julian Todd Chrisley, Michelle Fiore, Michael Grimm. So a deep personal commitment to fighting fraud,

that doesn't track. Meanwhile, ICE operations in Minnesota have led to what many community members have described as unjust attacks on the Somali population. We reject the lies against the Somali communities and the attacks on our families. And we demand not only ICE out, but the state repair the damage that has been done.

You've had Governor Wall as being very vocal, posting that Trump is weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota, saying these cuts will be devastating for veterans, families with young kids, folks with disabilities, and working people across our state. And in case you're wondering why this matters, right, right now over a million Minnesotans, they're wondering how they're going to receive health care.

You've got Dr. Oz giving Walls 60 days to submit another corrective action plan. And if the response isn't satisfactory, the state could face even deeper withholdings. The fraud is real. It should be addressed, but stripping healthcare from hundreds of thousands of kids, parents, and disabled Minnesotans, it's not fraud prevention. It is collective punishment. When you have a president who is on record saying that he doesn't want Somali Americans in the country, it is very fair to ask whether

cleaning up Medicaid is actually the goal or it's just the excuse. But then going from that to how we're going to close out today's show, let's do it with two announcements slash plugs and a final piece of news we need to talk about. The first announcement, I'm very excited about this. I actually just got the clear to push this out today. But a lot of people asking for this. And on May 1st, I'm doing my first ever live show. Has it been a decade? It's happening at May 1st, at 7.30 in New York City, specifically, the main stage of City Winery at NYC.

And it's going to be crashing out live with myself and Alex Perlman. You can get tickets right now. I'm going to include the link in the top of the description of this video. You know, it's going to be a great night. I think that the venue is kind of the perfect size for this, uh, this. I don't want to give away too much. Yeah, we'd love to have you. And then the other push actually also connected to the podcast is we just did a mini dropover at

beautifulbastion.com. We can snag something for yourself, whether it's kind of our more sleek, angry lines. Or if you go loud, proud, and silly, the almost crashed out until I remembered the Dow is over 50,000 gear. Oh, Pam Bondi, some people say you're a useless piece of shit who's protecting a lot of just horrible people, but at least you helped inspire merch, so there's that. And again, links to either of those things in the description. But then as far as the final thing today, we've got to talk about how FBI director Cash Patel just fired at least 10 employees who worked on the Trump classified documents case hours after publicly revealing that investigators had

subpoenaed his own phone records. But also, that's not even the wild this part, a new whistleblower alleges that Patel's personal use of FBI jets delayed the Bureau's response to both the Brown University mass shooting and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. But starting with the firings, multiple sources say that the terminations are part of a broader internal investigation that Patel ordered into the actions that employees took during the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe, notably the one that resulted in criminal charges against Trump. And according to CNN, Patel launched that investigation after discovering that the FBI had subpoenaed his phone records as well as those of current White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, during the probe in

2022 and 2023 when both were private citizens. And the records in question are toll records, right? They show the timing and recipients of calls but contain no recordings or content. Right, and these kind of subpoenas, they're standard in major criminal investigations to establish communication patterns and they don't indicate wrongdoing just on their own. But here's the timing that matters. The firings reportedly came just hours after Patel himself went to Reuters to reveal the subpoenaed records. And he would Patel telling them that he didn't know why the FBI sees them and Reuters can determine whether Patel or Wiles was actually under investigation. But also a big thing here is like none of this is really new information.

Tettle was compelled to testify before a grand jury in the case. It's already public that investigators obtained some of Wiles' phone records. Both of them, they were extremely close to Trump during the investigation, so scrutiny of their communications, that's predictable. But you got Patel framing it as a targeted political attack on Trump and his allies, and he's accusing FBI officials of trying to hide the subpoenas. And with all this, you had a source telling the New York Times that some, if not all, of the fired employees, were involved in obtaining those toll records, though the Times

also noted that it's unclear if Patel had actually accused any of them of specific wrongdoing. And that's a significant gap because the FBI's failed to articulate any wrongdoing in previous firings as well, leading to allegations that these terminations, they violate rules that are designed to protect agents from politically motivated retaliation. And so among the reactions, you had the FBI agents association slamming the firings as illegal, saying that they violate the due process rights of those who risked their lives to protect our country and warning that the purge is going to weaken the agency, saying that will ultimately be putting the nation at greater risk.

And you know, another big thing with this is that it's probably not over. You have sources saying to expect more firings, especially because this is far from the first time that the Bureau's purged employees connected to the Trump investigation. Right, and then all of that, it's happening as Patel's facing a completely separate scandal over his personal use of FBI aircraft. You probably remember the Milan Olympic situation, Patel chugging beer, celebrating in the locker room after the U.S. men's hockey gold medal game. Also happened to be the same weekend that an armed intruder attempted to breach Mar-a-Lago. You know, despite all the public dude browing, he insisted that he was actually there on official business and he was just taking a quick break. But now, you're also seeing much more serious allegations.

You had Senator Dick Durbin, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, releasing a letter detailing whistleblower claims about how Patel personal flights have actively interfered with FBI operations. And specifically, how they delayed deployments of the Bureau's elite evidence response teams. These are the specialized units based at Quantico with expertise in crime scene mapping and forensic evidence collection. They're the ones sent to the biggest, most complex crime scenes in the country. And after Charlie Kirk's assassination, the FBI shooting reconstruction team was passed to fly to Utah to assisting the investigation. And according to the whistleblower, their deployment was actually delayed at least a full day because of a plane and pilot shortage caused by Patel's personal travel. There, you had an FBI spokesperson denying this specific claim, saying that Patel was in D.C.

The day that Kirk was killed, and in New York the next day for 9-11 ceremonies and saying that it wasn't personal trouble. But then even if you take their word for it, the Brown University allegation, it is much harder to explain a way. Because according to the whistleblower, the shooting reconstruction team was ready to deploy immediately after the mass shooting in December. But then, they couldn't fly out of Virginia because Patel was using one of the FBI's two available planes for a personal trip, with sources saying that he was visiting his parents in South Florida. Right, and the second plane should have been available, but Patel had given an unusual order to hold the aircraft for the hostage rescue team, which is a unit that normally wouldn't respond to a scene like this, especially with an FBI SWAT team or a station to the nearby Boston Field

office. And even then, you had the whistleblower saying that the standby order was never actually communicated to the hostage rescue team in the first place. And so the shooting reconstruction team had to drive from Virginia to Rhode Island overnight during a winter storm and didn't arrive until the following morning. And so with this case, you had an FBI spokesperson appearing to confirm that Patel was visiting his parents during the Brown shooting, but he pushed back on the idea that the top forensic team was needed. Instead saying that the Boston field office team arrived two hours after the shooting and that the case was initially state-led with the FBI as an assisting role. And then he also claimed that Patel, quote, always offers the plane if needed when he's traveling, but that it wasn't needed. Which I don't know about you.

That seems like a lot of qualifiers for something that should have probably been a simple answer. But also, like, here's the thing that puts a bow on the whole situation. Patel himself has repeatedly hammered his predecessor, Christopher Ray, for using FBI jets during his tenure. In 2023, Patel publicly said that the FBI should ground-raise jet that he pays for with taxpayer dollars to hop around the country. And well, now you have Durbin's investigation into Patel's travel being triggered by allegations that Patel took multiple flights to visit his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins. So you have the situation where a guy who built part of his public brand on calling out FBI jet abuse, he's now facing whistleblower allegations at his own jet use delayed the response to a mass shooting and an assassination. That's just not a good look no matter how you spin it. But that, my friends, is the end of your Thursday, Philip DeFranco Show dive into the news.

But also, there's more that you can watch just to click away. You've got the brand new podcast I just did with Alex Perlman, of course, crashing out. Or maybe you missed last night's Philip DeFranco's show. You can definitely check that out. But whatever you do, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love your faces. And make a promise to me,

stay safe out there and try to stay sane out there.