uh Time magazine saying that DOJ has removed hundreds of news releases related to criminal prosecutions connected to the January 20 or January 6, 2021 attack on the US capital from its website, uh characterizing the records as quote partisan propaganda Uh the DOJ actually put out a statement saying that they're proud to reverse the DOJ's weaponization under the Biden administration They go on to say, "We'll do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes." I mean, this goes right this is right in line with the uh BS weaponization fund Glenn, your thoughts on all of this because I, you know, this this uh I I'm infuriated over this and I know it this this is an everyday occurrence, but this is outrageous Jim, this this is like adding insult to injury to injustice And I think it's a a real miscalculation on Todd Blanch's part because I see it as potentially feeding into a criminal conspiracy to commit theft of government property, our t tax dollars Now, first of all, as a career prosecutor, you know, when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail So, when you're a prosecutor, everything looks like it it needs a criminal investigation And this does, and I hope it will be investigated beginning on what, 12:01 p.m. January 20th, 2029, when the rule of law comes back into the light of day But here's the thing, Jim, what we know, this horrific slush fund, which is um illegal and unconstitutional and corrupt and immoral, right Donald Trump not only told these folks, the people who I assume will be applying for a payout from the slush fund, the insurrectionists, he not only told them to go attack the capital, fight like hell or you won't have a a country anymore Now go stop the certification, stop the steel, and they did Um, he pardoned them and now he wants to pay them So what's clear is that Donald Trump doesn't back the blue Donald Trump backs those who beat the blue first with pardons and now with payoffs I believe these the three court cases that are now pending will probably, you know, bring the slush fund to a screeching halt with first temporary injunctions and then uh first temporary restraining orders and then preliminary injunctions That's my hope But to go to go to your point, what has Todd Blanch done there was a um one place to go to easily see the evidence that supports the prosecutions of the January 6th insurrectionists And Jim, it's evidence that was collected and easily accessed on DOJ's website that would do what It would prove that the J6 insurrectionists should not get payouts from this 1.7 1.8 billion slush fund So what has Todd Blanch done? >> He is erased tried to erase evidence that would inform the public about the corruption And I see that as part and parcel of an ongoing conspiracy against rights, the rights of the American people, a conspiracy to commit theft of taxpayer money And Todd Blanch is, I think, creating incriminating evidence that will be used against who Todd Blanch in the future That's the way I re obviously they're trying to George Orwell this thing and turn the Department of Justice into the min Ministry of Truth and try to whitewash history Uh they can't whitewash history, Jim These records still exist in the federal court system, you know, but they're not easily accessed And you know, somebody can't just go on what's called Pacer, which will allow them to access all court records and begin to put this stuff together the way they could have seen it on DOJ's website So, I see Todd Blanch as corruptly facilitating slush money payments for people who don't deserve them. >> Interesting So, you see this is all connected uh going back to this corrupt uh government weaponization fund, the slush fund uh for couplers And I you know the other thing that's interesting about this uh Glenn, you were just mentioning a few moments ago It sounds as though that a case and and and just this is my characterization I'm I'm saying this on the fly, so feel free to correct me It sounds sounds as though you're saying is that a criminal case could potentially be made on the theft of government money of money from the Treasury to to create this government weaponization fund I also wonder if, and maybe this is outside of your purview, but feel free to weigh in, whether the case is being made for an impeachment and removal proceeding for the acting attorney general or for uh members of the administration, uh perhaps when the Democrats take control of the Congress as it relates to this fund It sounds as though there are multiple levels to this Uh >> yeah, I think there are And I think if Congress um is in the control of the Democrats after the midterms, I think we're going to see not only really rigorous, aggressive investigations, but probably articles of impeachment for any number of folks And that will be a good thing, you know, and and some people will jump right to the endgame and say, "Well, they'll never be convicted by the Senate and removed." To which I say, that doesn't matter What matters is you do the right thing every step of the way if the evidence supports it and you let the chips fall Imagine if I, as a career prosecutor, said, "Well, I don't know that a conviction is certain once we get to a jury trial, so I'm not going to investigate and indict people." That's not the way good law enforcement or good government works But I see all of this as connected The other thing that I I I haven't seen a lot of people put these data points together, but Jim, there are three motions to dismiss pending in federal court right now, one for Steve Bannon, but the other two are for the Oathkeepers and the Proud Boys for their sedicious conspiracy convictions, which are over Those cases are over and done There's really nothing to dismiss But Janine Piro filed motions saying it we are moving to dismiss these convictions in the interests of justice First of all, that's laughable Nothing could be further from the truth But okay, you know what I'm doing If I'm the three trial court judges who now have these motions before them, Judge Amit Ma in the Oathkeepers case and then two Trump appointees, Judge Carl Nichols in the Bannon case and Judge Tim Kelly in the Proud Boys case, I would say, "Fine, Janine I am ordering you to come into my courtroom, take the stand, take the oath, and you're going to present evidence to me You're going to prove to me that this is in the interests of justice as you wrote in your motion to dismiss And guess what, Jim She'll fall flat on her face She can't prove it up And then, as the judge, I would say, motion denied We will not dismiss these convictions You want to appeal me, appeal me But here is what they're doing They're trying to use the court to be sort of tacitly complicit because if the judges sign those motions to dismiss in the interest of justice, the Oathkeepers, the Proud Boys and Bannon will hold them up and say, "Look, I got a I got a court ruling here that dismissed my prosecution in the interest of justice So now I need a payout from the slush fund This is all connected It's all dirty It's all nefarious And it's all immoral And much of it I believe is illegal. >> Yeah And talk about the Todd Blanch aspect of this a bit more, Glenn I mean, Todd Blanch is is the architect of this He has made himself he has exposed himself It seems to me uh to a great degree And every time he goes out there and and talks about it, he's exposed even more Uh he's sounding like Donald Trump's personal attorney on a on a daily basis and you know to to create this kind of slush run and put his name all over it It just says to me, you know, um he's going to have to he's going to he's going to have to be hauled in to testify at hearings when the dem if and when the Democrats take control, I assume of the House and perhaps the Senate come next year. >> And even more importantly from this old prosecutor's perspective, he'll need to be criminally investigated beginning in January of 2029 I mean, the minute I heard him say, "If Donald Trump fired me," I would say, "Thank you, sir I love you." You can't make that up And why would any self-respecting government official say that Um, and then when I saw him bring the completely baseless 8647 case, the great Comey sea shell caper, when I saw him authorize that prosecution, Jim, that is absolute insanity because James Comey committed no crime And it will be dismissed on the motion it won't make it to a jury trial But that showed me he was willing to do anything and everything to try to keep his job because it looks like maybe Pam Bondi wasn't aggressive enough in abusing the rule of law and the constitutional rights of targets of Donald Trump's wrath So he ratcheted it up But let me just add um I I am less concerned with the the numbers 8647 and I'm really focused on the numbers 48 and 30 these days You know, when when Richard Nixon had his government uh officials and his executive branch officials, his criminal associates committing crimes with him and for his benefit, I'll bet they all felt untouchable I'll bet bet they felt like yes, >> no way the rule of law is coming for us And what happened? 48 of them were criminally convicted and 30 of them went to prison That is what awaits, I believe, Todd Blanch and the rest of Trump's cabinet So, we'll put 8647 aside and we'll focus on 4830 because that is the accountability to come. >> And what about because I can just hear the comments from from subscribers and viewers and so on What about Trump pardoning all these folks What about Trump giving Todd Blanch a pardon and so on? >> Yeah, I I hate to sound like Elizabeth Warren, but I could sound like, you know, people a lot worse I think there's a plan for that I think there's a plan for that So yes, the Supreme Court has tried to, you know, shower all kinds of immunity against prosecution on Donald Trump Um, but I think what we have to do is we have to challenge in court every corruptly delivered pardon Can you imagine if Donald Trump told his DOJ officials or his military members, um, I'm going to need you to back the truck up to Fort Knox, I'm going to need you to unload all of the United States wealth and I'm going to need you to deliver it to me and my friends and my family and then I will pardon all of you That is sort of a variation on what Donald Trump has been doing and perhaps intends to do if he delivers these pardons to the people who have been doing his criminal bidding, his dirty work We have to take those to court and challenge them Win, lose, or draw Let federal judges start to say, "Yes, this is what the Constitution envisioned This is what the framers of the Constitution aspired our federal government to be and a chief executive to be They wanted him to have this kind of power to steal everything from the United States Treasury and then pardon everybody so they would get away with it Jim, Supreme Court president changes over time >> and usually it takes a long time and it usually changes for the better, right That arc of the moral universe typically bends toward justice But they've tried to reverse the arc the Supreme Court, the six, you know, what I call the six compromised Supreme Court justice majority So, we have to challenge those pardons, win, lose or draw I happen to believe the public outcry will be so severe against these corruptly delivered pardons Not that the judiciary is supposed to respond to public pressure, but they do They listen to it I think there's a chance we can actually cut back on presidential immunity and the pardon power I don't think that's polyiana It's a fight we have to take on. >> I think you're absolutely right And I I think that what we're seeing right now is uh is corruption on a massive scale that we've never seen before in this country And the weaponization fund, I think, has has I think surprised people inside the Trump administration and Donald Trump himself maybe because it has crystallized and made it so clear to people how corrupt this government is right now And and and you're right, I think people are going to be clamoring public is going to be clamoring for accountability uh when this is all said and done But the the question to me, Glenn, is how much damage has been done to the institution over at the Justice Department You and I have had lots of conversations about this, but there's a New York Times story just out today about how the Justice Department is having trouble with grand juries and and and judges And it it says here that uh under Donald Trump, the Justice Department has had serious difficulties presenting cases to grand juries, running into problems that would have seemed unthinkable a year ago In the past several months, prosecutors have repeatedly failed to persuade grand juries that the cases they have brought uh warrant criminal charges And if it were not unusual enough, they have also been admonished at least three times since last November by federal judges who have accused them of misconduct And so it sounds as though they they've written off so many people at the DOJ that they've they've got a lot of people in there who shouldn't be trying cases and the judges and the grand juries are just not buying what they're bringing into court. >> Yeah Whether it's a product of incompetence by these new lawyers that that are willing to compromise their ethics and go to Todd Blanches and Donald Trump's Department of Justice, whether it's incompetence or nefariousness or some combination thereof Um, I want to first give a shout out to the grand jurors uh in in in in courts from coast to coast They are, first of all, they're just regular folk They're not government officials They're not government employ They're just regular people who happen to get a summon from the court saying, "Congratulations, come on down You've been selected to do grand jury duty." and Jim, they're sitting as the conscience of the community and they're a bull work against executive branch abuse and overreach in a way I wish Congress would be But God bless the grand jurors who are standing up and saying no So much for that old saying, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich if the prosecutors tell them to No These grand juries are standing up and demanding good, reliable evidence if they are going to convict And they're saying no Thank goodness for the grand jurors and the trial jurors who are reaching not guilty verdicts based on these, you know, pathetic cases that Janine Piro, at least in DC, has presented to them But to answer your first question, yeah, DOJ is in dire straits It's in dire straits Now, I believe we can rebuild and I believe we must rebuild I'm talking to my fellow former career feds who are now retired every day I I'm gonna go back to government in 2029 to be part of the cleanup and accountability mission. >> I think we can rebuild and unlike, you know, Trump, I don't think we go in on day one and just clear house from anybody who was hired during the Trump years I think, you know, we assess on a case-by case basis whether people have been up to the job of enforcing the law apolitically and competently and then they can continue on I think we'll be able to rebuild we'll be able to attract quality ethical candidates I think winning back the public's perception of the legitimacy of the Department of Justice and winning back the respectability of the court So, the presumption of regularity, which just means that judges believe federal prosecutors when they make a representation in court That's going to take some time to win back But at its core, Jim, we have to go on the accountability mission We have to We blew it in 74 with Nixon We blew it in 2021 with Trump I believe if we blow the accountability mission again in 2029, we probably lose our republic and I don't know that we deserve to keep it. >> I I I agree with you wholeheartedly I mean, I'll just say this until I'm blue in the face and you know, I know there are folks who don't want to beat up on Merrick Garland I'm not one of them Um, I I think that that was it was just a major miscalculation, a historic blunder in 2021 to sit on those January 6 cases for as long as that that we saw because of what took place I mean, yes, maybe it would have expedited going to the Supreme Court and getting that immunity decision sooner, but we don't know that And I just think that um I think you're absolutely dead on uh Glenn that that if the accountability does not come this third time around, it may be three strikes and you're out. >> And Jim, can I add real quickly the Merrick Garland piece and maybe we would have had to have gotten an immunity ruling sooner People should remember that the classified documents case does not involve presidential immunity because he committed those crimes down in Florida after he left the presidency So that case should be rebroad It was dismissed without prejudice It was in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals It would have been reversed and sent back to the trial court for trial Has to be rebroad come January 2029 And then the DC case, which you know, they were in the process of litigating, Judge Tanya Chutkin was whether the four felony charges that Donald Trump stood indicted on >> survived the presidential immunity decision and they did because he wasn't acting, you know, in his core constitutional function or his official governmental duties He was acting as a candidate trying to steal an election So, we have to rebrut 2029 and move forward, win, lose or draw. >> I agree Now, the one final thing though, Glenn, before we go, is that that the judicial system is also being stocked with people I mean, it's not just the Justice Department The judicial system is being stocked with people who are not reliable defenders of the republic We're seeing Trump judicial nominees going before confirmation hearings and not being able to answer the question whether Joe Biden won the 2020 election That does scare me a little bit, Glenn That scares me because >> that's what impeachment is for and that is what >> investigating people if they made false statements to Congress under oath in their zeal to be confirmed as judges, you investigate them And if they lied, well then you prosecute them, you impeach them, you remove them from office We have to take both gloves off and we have to take on these righteous fights even though they're going to be hard But don't forget just today, Jim, two Trump appointees in the Alabama case ruled against obviously what Trump would have wanted the outcome to be So all is not lost when it comes to Trump appointees, but I share your concern. >> Yeah All right, Glenn Great to see you, my man Thank you so much Glad we jumped on and did this. >> Great seeing you, Jim. >> All right Good to see you Thanks so much And today, Donald Trump uh went to Walter Reed for yet another uh physical exam, some sort of doctor's exam That's what they're telling We have no idea that we all we know is what they tell the public And so, we can't say fact he's okay because get this, he went to Walter Reed today for another physical exam They say maybe a dental exam, too Um, and Trump put out a social media post saying, uh, that he just finished his six- month physical and that quote, "Everything checked out perfectly Um, thank you to the great doctors and staff heading back to the White House." President DJT Um, we have no idea uh whether any of this is true, whether his his exam worked out perfectly because they don't share this information with the American people We just have to rely on the true social post from the deer leader to see how uh the deer leader is doing But I will tell you, I mean, and and not to uh, you know, I guess go over again something that we did a few days ago, but Trump likes to brag about these cognitive tests He brags about how he takes them all the time and how he can figure out what's a squirrel and what's a horse and so on And we did this the other day where I took the cognitive test This is not something to brag about And if Donald Trump continues to brag about it, it seems to me um, he should do a cognitive test in person And so I just want to make sure before I let this this story go and if you have not seen me taking the cognitive test, you can watch it on Substack You can watch it on YouTube A lot of people watched it over the weekend and I'm grateful for that But I I I you know, I think it the challenge needs to be issued to Donald Trump You keep going up to Walter Reed for these examinations and claiming that it's a medical test and a dental exam and all this other stuff We need to know what the facts are We need to know whether or not you had the cognitive test yet again And you know, and we don't need to hear what the results are from a truth social post I think the challenge needs to be issued directly to Donald Trump Donald Trump, you need to take the cognitive test live like I did with a doctor on camera with the cameras rolling live and in person Not this They drove me up to Walter Reed and I did some stuff behind the scenes that nobody knows about and then I put out a post that says everything is perfect We don't believe you And the reason why we don't believe you is because you you continue to do crazy to the nation's capital And I just the latest case and point is and we have images of this that people need to understand this is happening This is not this is not AI This is not from from the realm of the makebelieve They are setting up a UFC and Ultimate Fighting Championship set in the backyard in the south lawn of the White House right now And there it is It looks like Thunderdome from a Mad Max movie They're building that right now And I I just bring this up and people will say, "Oh, you know, the people on Fox and the MAGA people, oh, you're poo pooing UFC because you're cultural elite and all this shit." I grew up watching the World Wrestling Federation I grew up watching Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant growing up I don't look down my nose at any of this If people want to watch this stuff, have at it That's fine The problem that I have is that Donald Trump continues to make this nation's capital look like a goddamn three- ring circus And this is the latest example of that What is that that they're building on the south lawn of the White House It looks like, is it some sort of time machine If it is a time machine, can I go into it and go to a different time Maybe transport myself to another dimension But I digress This is on top of the ballroom he wants to build This is on top of the arch that he's trying to build This is on top of painting the reflecting pool blue This is on top of the crazy creepy statues that they just put on Pennsylvania Avenue the other day And I'm going to go over and take pictures of that tomorrow That's that's going to be on tomorrow's show I'm just going to let you know that's tomorrow's show He puts his name on the Kennedy Center He puts his name on the US Institute of Peace There is a reason why we do not believe that Donald Trump is acing cognitive tests There is a reason why we don't believe when he says everything is perfect about his health exam And that is because he keeps doing crazy to the nation's capital And I don't know, am I am I taking crazy pills I I is anybody uh going to raise this issue um with with the ability whatsoever that that can stop this from happening Because it seems to me um and I heard somebody else make the point, you know, if they can just build this set in the in the in the south lawn of the White House for this ultimate fighting championship thing that they want to do on Trump's birthday, then they do We need a goddamn ballroom It it seems to me they don't need a ballroom if they could just build this whenever they need it But um that is why personally I would like to see Donald Trump take a cognitive test live like I did Well, I wasn't live, but it was on camera with a doctor uh in front of the American people He needs to do that or the questions are not going to go away He needs to do that or we're not ever going to believe that everything is in tip-top shape Um, and uh, so I I just wanted to make mention of that that yes, the the madness in Washington continues The continued defiling of the nation's capital continues um, here in Washington DC with Trump building more and more crazy just about every day uh, that ends in Y uh, here in the nation's capital But in the meantime, want to thank uh, Glenn Kushner for coming on today Always appreciate having Glenn on Want to thank David Jolly Some of you may be scoffing at me for saying that David Jolly has no chance of becoming governor of Florida I say let's wait until November to find out So, good to hear from David Jolly And of course, um an excellent conversation with Senator Andy Kim Um really appreciate him joining us And you know, folks, they're they're pepper spraying United States senators Is anybody going to do anything about that David, I you know, David Jolly down in Florida says if if and when he comes into office and alligator Alcatraz is still running, he's going to shut that down Uh state officials in New Jersey, and I guess Mikey Sher's the governor there, it' be a good question to ask her What is being done about ICE pepper- spraying a United States senator Seems to me they assaulted a United States senator They knew full well that Andy Kim is a United States senator and they sprayed pepper spray in his direction Anyway, if that had happened to, I don't know, Senator Cotton or Senator Graham or any of these other Republican senators, Ted Cruz, wouldn't somebody be raising hell if these senators on the Republican side have been pepper-sprayed and Andy Kim is pepper-sprayed, somebody should go to jail for that I you know I think ICE the ICE officer who fired that pepper spray you're going to jail You fired pepper spray at a United States senator in the olden days you would go to jail And I don't understand why that's again it you know maybe it's because I was off for a few days and I'm a bit charged up but um we need to get back to um the real world here in America where accountability matters And I think this would be a great way to start Uh, let's let's put the ICE officer who pepper- sprrayed a United States senator in the slammer Put him in the goddamn ICE detention facility Let's see how these these guys like it um after it's done to them But I want to thank all of our guests today Really appreciate it Thanks to all of you for watching Always appreciate you uh all of you out there who subscribe to this program If you do it on Substack, you do it on YouTube Uh make sure you subscribe, make sure you share, make sure you like All of those things matter Support independent media It makes a world of difference Um, and it means the world to me as well But in the meantime, still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acasta I'll see you next time.