The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump's DOJ Hid Epstein Files Accusing Trump of Assault & Candace Owens vs Erica Kirk Just Got Worse

Starting point is 00:00:00 Trump's DOJ is withholding 50-plus pages and notes and interviews directly naming Trump as an alleged abuser. And NPR was the first major outlet to confirm that. What I think we also all kind of knew, right? Because as the Epstein scandals unfolded, with the release of files, the redaction issues, the fallout, the open secret here has been that even with all the information in the 3 million released pages, the Trump administration still wasn't telling us everything. And NPR's investigation found dozens of documents apparently cataloged in the DOJ database, but not released publicly. And in their analysis of three different sets of serial numbers on the files, NPR found

Starting point is 00:00:30 53 pages of interview documents and notes missing from the public Epstein database. And of course, in addition to that being Ethically very concerning, that is despite the Trump administration being required by law to release all the files. And you know, I'd give you three guesses into what NPR found in these unreleased documents, but you already know you're guessing it you're using the context clues A woman naming Trump as her sexual abuser when she was just a child And specifically the woman says that back in 1983 when she was just 13 years old Epstein introduced her to Trump who tried forcing her into sex before she fought back and bid him and saying in response Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out. And that woman was apparently interviewed by the FBI four times,

Starting point is 00:01:04 but NPR reports that only the first interview makes an appearance in the public database. And that one interview that was public, shocker, it was the one that doesn't mention Trump at all. And it only discusses her time with Epstein and specifically when she identified him and discussed the way that he abused her as a child. Also, there's another woman's allegations against Trump

Starting point is 00:01:18 that NPR noted was removed from the public files after the initial release and then republished a few weeks later. In that case, you had a woman saying that she was 13 years old when Epstein began abusing her. And at one point, she was taken to Trump's Mar-a-Lago They're saying that she was incredibly uncomfortable as both men laughed about her being a good one. Now, as you might imagine, Team Trump wasn't exactly receptive to NPR's questions about these omissions. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that Trump has, quote, done more for Epstein's victims than anyone before him.

Starting point is 00:01:43 Dating, just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein. But you had Democrats very quickly honing in on the fact that Trump's DOJ isn't releasing everything the way that they're supposed to. And in fact, Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he released a statement confirming NPR's reporting. And as a member of Congress, he's got access to the unredacted files, and so you had him saying in a statement, Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally with FBI interviews with this survivor

Starting point is 00:02:09 who accused President Trump of heinous crimes. Oversight Democrats will open a parallel investigation into this. Covering up direct evidence of a potential assault by the President of the United States is the most serious possible crime in this White House cover up. And while this is obviously a massive escalation on the Epstein fallout with the president, and we have to keep our eyes on this,

Starting point is 00:02:25 we should also talk about the other prominent figures at least here that are facing some heat. Right, and so there you're seeing things like celebrity doctor Peter Attia, stepping down from his position with CBS, admit the scrutiny about his email exchanges with Epstein, with the spokesperson saying he stepped back to ensure his involvement and become a distraction from the important work being done at CBS and saying he wishes the network and its leadership well

Starting point is 00:02:43 and has no further comment at this time. Then over in the UK, you have the former UK ambassador of the US being arrested on suspicion of misconduct and public office because of his connection with Epstein. And then back over in the States, you have Casey Wasserman who's been facing calls to resign from his position as chair of the 28 Los Angeles Olympics, his emails with Epstein and Galane Maxwell.

Starting point is 00:02:59 But still, with all that, there is this question of will there be any real accountability, whether it be someone like Casey Wasserman all the way up to Trump? Right, but also, as you have all this playing out, we then have to talk about another scandal involving Representative Tony Gonzalez. Or because a growing number of politicians

Starting point is 00:03:12 are calling for the Republican representative to resign over allegations he had an affair with a former staff member who died by suicide last year. And as far as specifics, that staff member is Regina Santos Avelis. According to text seen by several publications, Gonzalez sent sexually explicit messages to her,

Starting point is 00:03:25 asking for sexy images and what her favorite position is. Those messages also appeared to continue, even though she told him he was going too far. Also, at some point, she even questioned if Gonzalez had hired her just because he thought that she was hot. Other messages show that they agreed to meet up on multiple occasions and spent time together at a vacation cabin.

Starting point is 00:03:40 Right and Regina also allegedly texted a colleague to say she, quote, had an affair with our boss. Now as far as the messages, some of those have been shared by her husband, Adrian, who's spoken out about this, both online and through his lawyer. But this lawyer also accusing Gonzalez of pressuring Regina into a relationship and coercing her to make requests of a sexual nature.

Starting point is 00:03:55 And while you have Gonzala is denying that he ever had an affair or did anything wrong here, this is notably going down as he's in the middle of a very heated primary. Reporters at the polls on March 3rd, and he's fighting to keep his seat to represent Texas's 23rd District. And his opponent's actually a political gun YouTuber by the name of Brendan Herrera. And in the last primary, Gonzalez only beat him by 400 votes. So, you know, there was already potential that this was going to be another very close race. And now you've got Herrera running ads about this reported affair with the narrator saying, An affair that puts Republicans at risk of losing the seat and handing control of Congress to the Democrats.

Starting point is 00:04:24 That's a risk we can't afford. With that, you have Gonzalez slamming Herrera saying, It's shameful that Brendan Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, and adding, I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans. Also, you've got Gonzalez accusing Regina's widower

Starting point is 00:04:43 and his lawyer a blackmail saying, it's disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death. He then also shared a screenshot of an alleged email, discussing a $300,000 settlement for an NDA. But then with that, you had the husband shooting back. We have never blacked. Milden. Anyone, what we've seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take

Starting point is 00:05:00 accountability, and outright lies to protect your image. Today, though, you still answer to the people you represent, people who deserve the truth, not more deception. And now one of the big things that you're seeing are several Congress members asking Gonzalez to answer to his people by stepping out of the election. Lauren Bobert saying that he should resign, Brandon Gill, saying America deserves better, Nancy Mace releasing a lengthy statement, saying these text messages are disgusting and inexcusable. A member of Congress, harassing his own staffer in the middle of the night, She is gone now. Her son is growing up without his mother, and Tony Gonzalez is campaigning like nothing happened. We have zero tolerance for those who have used their power over others. Zero.

Starting point is 00:05:31 It does not matter what party you are in. Texans deserve a congressman who does not prey on women. Now that's said, for his part, Speaker Mike Johnson has not called for resignation, but he addressed the issue saying, these are serious accusations and it must be taken seriously, and I've told him he's got to address that with his constituents, and he's in the process of doing that. With him also adding that investigations in both Texas and the Office of Congressional Conduct need to play out. But that, of course, many want immediate action and justice, considering the woman at the center of all this is gone. Though there, it does appear worth noting that while some have tied her suicide to the affair, we do not officially know that for sure. Her husband's lawyer did say that the affair and the consequences of it factored into her death, but also, according to NBC News,

Starting point is 00:06:06 Regina and her husband were actually estranged at the time of her death. You also had other local outlets reporting that she told first responders that her husband was romantically involved with her best friend. But none of that impacts the severity of the core allegations. And actually with that, the house has previously passed a measure forbidding representatives from engaging in sexual relations. relationships with their staff. But also with all this, one of the things you're seeing is the New York Times saying that this incident kind of puts to test the question of in Epstein era Politics can a sex scandal actually derail a major political campaign, especially when it deals with the Republican Party. That said, there's clearly pressure for resignation in this case, but one, Gonzalez actually resign and two, devoters actually respond by giving him the boot. And well, I guess, you know, one thing's for sure. We will know soon. And then there's more we're going to dive into in just a minute, but let me thank a sponsor real quick and say, you know, I don't want toast. I want toast that makes me feel like I should be wearing. linen and owning a cutting board that costs $200.

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Starting point is 00:08:03 about it. That is just one part of what ex-ice agent Ryan Schwank had to say about ICE in front of a Senate hearing yesterday. Right after years of working for ICE, Schwank said that he resigned because he just couldn't take what the agency had become anymore. I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution when I joined ICE on August 1st, 2021 as an assistant chief counsel. I followed that oath for four and a half years, working side by side with ICE officers. And I followed it when I resigned on February 13, 2006, a little over a week ago, so that I could speak to you today. I am here because I am duty-bound to report the legally required training program at the ICE Academy is deficient.

Starting point is 00:08:49 Defective and broken. According to Schweig, his experiences included blatant and secret instructions from superiors to train lower ranking agents to defy the law on the Constitution. Five months ago, I was asked to teach the law to new cadets at the ICE Academy in Glenco, Georgia, where ICE is training its new, inexperienced recruits.

Starting point is 00:09:07 On my first day, I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant. We've seen and continue to see these kinds of constitutional violence, play out as the Trump administration has continued to expand ice presence across the country. And actually you had Schwanks speaking next to Tiana Gibson Brown, whose husband Garrison Gibson, was arrested after armed ice agents beat down their door with a battering ram last month.

Starting point is 00:09:30 With Garrison's wife speaking about the experience that led up to that point at the hearing, mentioning that the agents ignored Gibson's request to see a warrant. He asked them if they had a warrant. The officers at the door told Garrison that they did have in warrant, and it was signed by a judge. Garrison asked to see the warrant, the officer simply ignored his request. We knew no one could just barge into our homes without a warrant. And four days after Gibson's arrest, a judge ordered his release, ruling that, surprise, surprise, agents violated Gibson's Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.

Starting point is 00:10:04 And this is just one of the many accounts across the country where immigrants are fearing that even staying behind closed doors can't keep them safe from ice. And Schwank even testified that refusing to perpetrate these types of violations would have cost him his job. On my first day at the academy, I was instructed to read and return a memo in my supervisor's presence, which claimed ICE officers could enter homes without a judicial warrant. Never in my career had I ever received such a blatantly unlawful order, nor one conveyed in such a troubling manner. Incredibly, I was being shown this memo in secret by my supervisor who made sure

Starting point is 00:10:39 that I understood that disobedience could cost me my job. Now, Gibson and Schwank, they're mostly addressing Fourth Amendment violations here, But ICE, they reportedly slashed through a litany of constitutional rights, which has left the public wondering if ICE agents are even bound to the Constitution or even laws at all. Free speech and the right to protest, it seems like more suggestions than rights to the ICE agents as we've seen them dealing with demonstrators across the country. Also, a free press, I mean, that's definitely under scrutiny, as you have journalists already being arrested for ICE-related reporting. And that doesn't even get into ICE's more general legal violations like racial profiling, observer harassment, and excessive use of force. And according to Schwink, these issues are due to DHS gutting ICE's training, including classes that, you know, seem almost fundamental to being a law enforcement officer of any level.

Starting point is 00:11:17 For the last five months, I watched ICE dismantle the training program, cutting 240 hours of vital classes from a 584-hour program. Classes that teach the Constitution, our legal system, firearms training, the use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention, and the limits of officers' authority. So this could be part of the answer as to why we continue to see footage of ICE, openly breaking protocol and often exacerbating existing challenges in their role. But also, why would ICE, who's allegedly meant to save us from dangerous immigrants, and I will say allegedly is doing a lot of work here, want to risk the liability of having

Starting point is 00:11:56 untrained agents? Well, Schweng, he addressed that as well. Yet in the name of churning out an endless stream of officers, DHS leadership has dismantled the academic and practical tests that we need to know if cadets can safely and lawfully perform their job, all to satisfy an administration demanding they train thousands of new officers before the end of the year. We've seen this influx of officers because the administration cannot stop talking about it. At the beginning of this year, you had Homeland Security reporting a historic 120% manpower increase. They claim to have doubled the number of officers from 10,000 to 22,000

Starting point is 00:12:31 after receiving more than 220,000 applications within the last year. But also, as that number is increased, we've seen more evidence of the lack of training that Schweng testified to. But in the face of of everything we're all seeing, DHS has made a statement denying many of the claims that Schwank made in his testimony. They claim that ICE officers, quote, get the best of the best training to arrest and remove murderers, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members from our communities, and saying, despite false claims from the media and sanctuary politicians, no training hours have been cut. But then also later in that same statement, they say, DHS has streamlined training to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements without

Starting point is 00:13:05 sacrificing basic subject matter content. Which, you know, I'm going to go out on a limb here. I'm going to say something crazy. You're wild for this one, they'll say. I think a decent chunk of the common sense American public would generally not want anything cut down or streamlined in training from an agency that can already break down your doors when they see fit. And while Schwank, he seems to have the same concerns.

Starting point is 00:13:23 Law enforcement is a deadly serious business. It is not a place for shortcuts. And overall, it seems like the push for more ICE officers has left the agency struggling to keep up with training, yes, but also accountability. And as more whistleblowers like Schwang come out, it does make me wonder, what is this all gonna look like when the dust settles?

Starting point is 00:13:39 I mean, Republicans like Steve Bannon have already sounded off about their concerns. If we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included. Also, following Alex Preddy's murder, we saw a seemingly tense moment between Christine Noam and Greg Bevino. The two seemed to start pointing fingers as soon as the blowback from the shooting started, and Bull seemed to rest on the fact that they had simply been following orders from the president in their respective positions, though, of course, Babino has now been relieved. Though also, I have to note, famously, there was another group of law enforcement officers who were, quote, just following orders and that didn't pan out so well for them.

Starting point is 00:14:10 And so you know, with ex-ice whistleblowers winning fingers, weak training standards, volatile agents with seemingly few legal limits and Republican leadership that won't make the appropriate changes, it seems like there's definitely legal questions to consider here. And while the president himself may have skirted the law so far, we've also seen real-time examples over the last few years

Starting point is 00:14:24 that he's gonna look out for number one. So that luck, it may not go for everyone else. Right, Trump, he looks out for Trump, but hey, time will tell. And then there's even more we've got to dive into, but first, let me have a minute and thank a sponsor to say, you know, it is wild how one random thought turns into, hold on, would my family actually be okay if something happened to me?

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Starting point is 00:15:39 Because Candace just released a trailer for a new series that she's releasing, that could just further blow up the MAGA base. It's called The Bride of Charlie and at least based on what she shared, it is incredibly critical of Erica's response to Charlie's death. It even appears to suggest that she may have had some level of involvement in his murder. Where the trailer includes clips of Erica alongside commentary, questioning her. Erica Kirk has been named the new CEO of Turning Point USA. My husband's dead.

Starting point is 00:16:00 Like, I'm not trying to be morbid, but he's dead. It's weird to say excited. Describes her husband's funeral as the The event of the century merch hats. We have 50,000 plus hat orders. Nobody knows why she's out there in a glittering pantsuit in a recreated tent that her husband tragically was murdered in. Looking around, this pissed off a ton of people, especially conservatives. People saying things like, there is something deeply broken in someone who would attack a grieving widow for profit.

Starting point is 00:16:29 We are called to defend widows. Scripture is clear on that and Charlie would have stood for it. Megan McCain calling Candace pure unadulterated fucking evil, saying who in God, would put a woman whose husband was brutally assassinated in front of this entire world through this. Ben Shapiro even putting out a video going after the series saying, This is the stuff that Candace Owens has been doing. Because Candice Owens is a true vampire. When it comes to conservatism and the conservative movement, she finds prominent people, and then she grift off of them, and then she does more grifting off of them,

Starting point is 00:16:58 and then she grifting them until she's done grifting them, then she moves on to the next thing she can grift off of. And yes, Erica Kirk absolutely should sue the living hell out of Candice Owens for this sort of stuff. She is making money off the murder of Charlie Kirk by literally implicating his widow and everyone else at TPUSA in that murder. Now for some context here in case you're stumbling across this video, Candace is an incredibly popular conservative podcaster and she's been discussing Charlie's murder and talking about conspiracies with it for months. Right. In those theories, they've caused major riffs and they're one of the many divisions at the center of the so-called Magus Civil War. And so understand, even though there is backlash, people who have been following Candice along who land on her side of these right-wing media battles, they are pumped for this series. I mean, just take one look through our comments section.

Starting point is 00:17:37 Top comments quoting Charlie Kirk saying, you better keep asking questions because it's the only thing that keeps us free. People saying this episode's gonna be heard around the world like a battle cry. But again, that's as you have people pushing back against Candace and the excitement around this series. And among those, pushing back, you had conservative podcaster Alex Clark, who has ties to CPUSA writing. I've never been more certain of anything in my life than this. Anyone refusing to call out Candace while claiming to be close with Charlie

Starting point is 00:18:00 is one of the biggest frauds in the movement and probably has the most dirt to hide. They let Erica suffer to protect them. themselves, God will deal with all of them. But as far as what happens next, the series debuts tomorrow. So very soon, we'll see what kind of traction it gets and how much backlash it gets from the turning point faction of the right. But then, finally today, we need to talk about Trump and AI. Nearly six and ten Americans do not trust AI. Eight and ten, they're concerned that it could pose a threat to humanity and 80% say that the government should have rules for AI safety even if it slows development. And that includes 79% of Republicans. But Trump has gone

Starting point is 00:18:29 balls to the walls all in on AI, speeding up development and reversing Biden's regulations. Though also, maybe that's not surprising given the president's dealings and tech companies spending a record $109 million lobbying last year. Meta alone launched a $65 million election push to boost AI-friendly candidates. Now with all that, as far as some of the specific concerns, there's definitely a lot of concern around jobs. Where you've got polling showing that two-thirds of Americans think AI is going to steal jobs. When you look at the economy, more Americans think that AI's impact's going to be negative there. And then beyond that, there are increasing concerns about energy, land use, and environmental impact with the resource-intentive data centers that are necessary to power AI. And that opposition's actually turned into real tangible things. But according to data center watch,

Starting point is 00:19:06 $162 billion in data center projects have been blocked or delayed since 2023. And then of course, there's a lot of worrying around the kids. Right, one firm, they looked at data from women 50 and older, which is a very high turnout voter group that's going to probably mean a lot in the midterms. And they found that 90% of them are concerned about the lack of national AI standards to protect kids. But then, as far as the kids themselves, that's a whole different situation. Numerous polls there have showed that there are major generational gaps for AI support and trust. Right, younger Americans, they're much more likely to use and support these products or have more optimistic outlooks as to how they're going to impact the future. In fact, a Pew study that was released just today. It showed that more than half of all US teens use AI chatbots, including nearly a third who use them daily. Just as a side note, that is a that is a topic. I want to do a deep dive on.

Starting point is 00:19:46 We'll do that somewhat soon. You know, one wonders with all this, will we see some legislation for a regulation? Because it turns out while there is an age gap, this is actually a surprisingly bipartisan issue. When it comes to the belief that the government should have rules for AI safety and data security, 88% of Democrats favor those policies, but so do 79% of Republicans and independents. And at least at the state level, it seems like politicians are listening. Numerous states have proposed or enacted a variety of different laws attempting to regulate various aspects of AI. In fact, reportedly at the Governors Association's recent annual meeting, you had leaders across the political spectrum saying that their voters are very worried about AI.

Starting point is 00:20:17 But again, despite the widespread bipartisan concerns, Trump has gone all in. We're repeatedly touting the technology and making enormous investments in the products. Despite the polling showing that Americans want to slow down and be safe, Trump's done the exact opposite. Taking numerous steps to speed up development while also pushing mass deregulation and reversing the limited checks of the Biden administration put in place. And all the while you have all this tech money, all this pro AI money getting thrown into politics. As far as if this is gonna be like a top three mover regarding which way people vote or people go out to vote, we'll see in the midterms. For me, and this is more of a feels like me trying to judge society and people Despite how big of an impact all of this is going to have on our futures and abilities and prospects, I don't think that enough people are going to move on this situation until it's too late. You know, whether you think I'm being a cynic there or a realist there, or this is actually just an overblown situation,

Starting point is 00:21:06 I'd love to hear your thoughts there in those comments down below. But then, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of today's show, but you may not be done with me yet, because not only are you, yes, a click away from watching last night's Philip DeFranco show if you missed it. Tonight, starting at 8.30 p.m. Eastern, I'll be streaming, Trump State of the Union. So you know, you can grab yourself a drink, a bite, do some stretches to make sure you don't pull something rolling your eyes. We'll get through it and break it down together. I love your faces and I'll see you then or tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - Trump's DOJ Hid Epstein Files Accusing Trump of Assault & Candace Owens vs Erica Kirk Just Got Worse

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