🛫 1. Aviation Safety and the Rotor Act
- Incident Overview: The discussion begins with a tragic aviation accident that occurred on January 29, involving a collision between an Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane over Ronald Reagan National Airport, resulting in 67 fatalities.
- Personal Connection: Senator Cruz recounts how his wife was scheduled to land at Reagan that night and was diverted, adding a personal dimension to the tragedy.
- Legislative Response: Cruz introduces the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, which mandates that all aircraft operating in commercial airspace—military and civilian—must be equipped with both ADSB OUT and ADSB IN technology. These systems enhance aircraft visibility to air traffic control and other aircraft, potentially preventing such collisions.
- Bipartisan Appeal: While the bill was initially introduced without Democratic co-sponsors, Cruz emphasizes its nonpartisan nature and expresses hope for bipartisan support.
- Support and Testimonies: The episode includes remarks from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, affected family members, and Cruz himself, all advocating for the legislation as a necessary step to improve aviation safety.
🕵️♂️ 2. FBI and the Russia Investigation
- New Revelations: The second half of the podcast shifts to recent intelligence suggesting that the FBI played a complicit role in the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, allegedly driven by the Clinton campaign.
- Declassified Intel: Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe is expected to release classified documents that reportedly show the FBI’s involvement was predicted with “alarming specificity.”
- Calls for Accountability: Cruz and Ferguson discuss the need for legal consequences, particularly for figures like Andrew McCabe, whose alleged misconduct may still fall within the statute of limitations.
- Tone and Style: The segment includes a mix of serious political commentary and light-hearted banter, including jokes about podcast bloopers and a humorous aside about watching Happy Gilmore 2.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome in as Vertical Center. Ted Cruz Ben Ferguson with
you and Senator, It's nice to talk about a really
important issue tonight that many Americans have become much more
concerned about. That's flying. You fly a lot, I fly
a lot, and you have introduced new legislation that's going
to deal with what happened with that helicopter crash into
(00:21):
the airplane right there at Reagan. Your wife was flying
in that night. I remember that night. Well, in six
months to the day, you've introduced this.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, that's exactly right. You and I are sitting here.
It is Tuesday night, six months ago to the day,
on January twenty ninth, is when the horrific accident occurred
over Ronald Reagan National Airport. Sixty seven souls were killed
in that accident. And this week today, actually I introduced
(00:51):
legislation to dramatically improve air safety to protect the flying public.
We're going to talk about that, talk about the need
to avoid any accident like that going forward. We're also
going to talk about stunning evidence that's come forward that
the FBI was complicit in the Russia Russia Russia hoax.
(01:13):
The FBI knew what they were doing, and they played
an active role. We're gonna lay out with the head
of the CIA laid out this week all of that.
On today's Verdict, I.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
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percent off. All right, So center, let's go back six
months in time. And remind people. I remember that night.
It was a night where we had that helicopter that
went right into that plane that was coming down at
(03:22):
Reagan National and it killed so many people. It also,
I think, really shook a lot of travelers to their core.
And the question that was asked was like, how does
this even happen? How is this possible? And now there's
real legislation to keep our family safe. As a fly,
you fly a lot, your family flies a lot. It's
something that's on a lot of people's minds.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Well, this happened on January twenty ninth. It was the
ninth day of the Trump presidency. And actually the night
had happened, I was having dinner with Mike Waltz. Mike
Waltz was at the time President Trump's national security advisor.
The two of us were talking about the national security
threats of the country, having a great dinner, and then
at the very end of the dinner, we were wrapping
up and he got a text over his phone. He's like,
(04:06):
oh crap. He said, there was just a major crash
over Reagan Airport, And so Mike rushed off to the
situation room to deal with it. From the White House,
as I got up that night, it so happened. Heidie
was flying into DC and she was landing at Reagan,
and I will say, my body man came up to
me and Trent, and you know Trent is a great guy. Yeah,
(04:28):
Trent came up to me and he said, Heidie's okay,
but there was a plane crash at Reagan. I got
to say, Trent did a very good job starting with
Heidie's okay, because I get you know, when your wife's
in the air like that, if you reverse those statements
that that causes you to freak out. So I was
very grateful. Heidie's plane was scheduled to land about a
half hour after the crash, so they diverted her to
(04:51):
BWI Airport, which is, you know, about an hour away.
Heidie got home that night to our apartment. We normally
live in Houston, but she was coming up that night
to be with me. I got to tell you, I
just held her. I mean, you know, your wife is
on a plane. It could as easily been her plane
as the plane that crashed. And it was a plane,
an American Airlines plane that was flying from Wichita to
(05:15):
d C. As it was landing at DCA Reagan Airport.
An Army Blackhawk helicopter came across the landing path and
collided and there were three soldiers on the Army helicopter.
There were sixty four people, sixty one passengers and three
(05:36):
crew member on the plane, and in an instant they
were incinerated. It was a horrific accident, I will tell you.
In the wake of the accident, I went to the
NTSB site where they'd pulled all the wreckage out and
the wreckage, the damage. Here's the good news, I asked.
(05:58):
I said, look, did anyone drown because the plane in
the helicopter went down in the Potomac. And I suppose
the good news is they said nobody drowned. That They said,
the helicopter rotor struck the wing. The wing is filled
with jet fuel and it immediately exploded and it is
essentially incinerated everyone. So they died instantly, which I've got
(06:21):
to say, if you're going to die in a plane crash,
you'd rather die instantly than slowly and painfully. So I
suppose there's a blessing in that. But I will say,
standing at the NTSB site with the wreckage of the plane,
the wreckage of the helicopter and you see just charge
sheet seats, you see just pieces of the plane and helicopter,
(06:43):
and you also saw you know, children's backpacks and toys
and luggage and and all of the all of the
wreckage of sixty seven people who died instantly, and it
was horrific. It was show and look what was frustrating
is it should not have happened. It was avoidable. And
(07:06):
so in the six months that have followed, I've shared
multiple hearings. I've had multiple roundtable discussions with the NTSB,
the National Traffic Safety Board, with the FAA, with the
Department Transportation to say what went wrong and there are
multiple pieces of what went wrong that that should never
have happened. One of the things that went wrong is
(07:29):
the Army helicopter did not have functioning adsb out. Now
what does that mean? Adsb out An adsb IN is
advanced technology to locate where a plane is, where a
helicopter is, and adsb out broadcast to everyone so you
can get it precise. The air traffic controllers can get
(07:50):
a precise image, and other aircraft can get a precise
image of exactly where.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
That aircraft is.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Adsb IN is the ability to receive the signals from
all the other aircrafts. So ideally you need both. You
need adsb out so you're broadcasting the whole world, and
you need ADSB in where you can see the images
of the other aircraft. Now, for twenty years twenty the NTSB,
(08:19):
the National Traffic Safety Board, has been recommending that every
aircraft have ADSBN and adsb out. That is not the law,
and the Army Blackhawk helicopter did not have adsb OUT
that was functioning that night, so that meant the American
Airlines plane could not see it until the two collided
(08:40):
and everyone died. This week I introduced legislation. I called
it the Roador Act, and it mandates that every aircraft,
a jet, a helicopter, or any other aircraft that is
in commercial airspace, that is in the airspace where planes
are flying, where the flying public is must have both
adsb out and ADSB in. I think this is common
(09:04):
sense legislation. I think we're going to get it passed,
and I think when we get it passed, it is
going to make the flying public significantly safer.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Why did it take so long? I mean, I know
there was a lot of people that said, well, it
was just a cost issue, and it was a cost
add on to the price of a plane. It was
cost out onto small planes and different things, and that
people were frustrated. They're like, this is another one of
those regulations. Is it was as simple as that, and
that's the reason why it was always basically not made
a all.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
So they're different pieces of it. The FAA required adsb
out so it required aircraft to broadcast their location so
the air traffic controllers could get it and other aircraft
that had ADSBN could get it. However, there was an
MoU a memoranda of understanding with the army that exempted
a lot of army flights. This was a training flight.
(09:55):
This was not a vital national security flight. This was
not like they were transporting nuclear secrets. This was a
training flight. But they did not have functioning adsb out
on in a way that anyone could see. I think
that exemption makes no sense, and so part of the
Rotor Act is ending that exemption and saying, look, if
(10:16):
you're flying commercial airspace, you need to have adsb out on.
That was one component. The second component is adsb in,
which is the ability to see the other signals. Now
it varies many Many large airline flights typically have adsb in,
but a lot of other flights do not. And the impediment,
(10:39):
as you noted, it was cost that twenty years ago,
it was fairly expensive to put this on. It's not
that expensive anymore. And one of the things I've done
over the last six months is that I've met with
a lot of the stakeholders. I've met with the airlines,
I've met with general Aviation, I've met with a lot
of the folks that are flying, and you can actually
get adsb in with an eyepad and fairly inexpensive technology.
(11:02):
So it's not you're not talking like one hundred thousand
dollars upgrade on a plane. You're talking for relatively low cost,
maybe a couple hundred or couple thousand dollars. You can
have an iPad and the technology to have ADSPN, so
it doesn't cost a lot, but it makes the flying
public a lot safer. And I want you to listen
right now. I want you to listen first of all,
(11:24):
to what I had said about the roator Act, and
that I want you to listen to Secretary Duffy, the
Transportation Secretary so start with what I said at the
press conference today.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Well, good morning.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Today is an auspicious day for aviation safety, a day marked,
I hope, by a revived spirit of hope and a
shared determination act in the face of an unforgettable tragedy.
American skies must be as safe as possible, and our
duty as lawmakers is to ensure that they are. I
(11:57):
would like to start by thanking the individuals who are
joining me for the introduction of the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency
and Oversight Reform or the rot Act. Secretary Duffy, Chairwoman Hammandy,
Tim and Sherry, Lily, Doug Lane, and my colleagues have
(12:17):
all worked hard to make the American skies safer. Tim, Sherry, Doug,
thank you for your courage and your advocacy. Your presence
reminds us of what is at stake. You've turned your
grief into purpose. We are here today because of your
(12:39):
efforts and the memory of Tim and Sherry, your son, Doug,
your son, Doug, your wife and son, and all of
the loved ones that were lost.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Over the Potomac.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
The Rotor Act represents a common sense step forward in
aviation safety reform. Most important parts of this bill is
the requirement that all aircraft, military and civilian use both
ADSB OUT and ADSB in.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
ADSB is critical for aviation safety.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
This technology allows aircraft to broadcast their positions and to
receive positions of others in real time, faster than other
technology in use today. It gives pilots and air traffic
control a clear view of what is happening in the skies.
The NTSB first recommended ADSB in nearly twenty years ago.
(13:40):
We are going to make that happen this year. Make
no mistake, there cannot be a double standard in aviation safety.
We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights
operating in congested airspace. No matter the circumstances, any aircraft
(14:01):
flying near commercial traffic must fully adhere to safety standards.
Given the communications breakdown that led to the accident, it
is also important to address helicopter routes in congested commercial airspace.
We cannot have commercial airplanes and helicopters on a collision
(14:25):
course ever. Again, this bill is based on two core principles,
technological transparency.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
And institutional responsibility.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
While American skies are among the safest globally, this safety
is not always assured.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
I want to be clear. The Senate will lead this effort.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
We will not wait for another accident to happen before
we act decisively.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
To protect the American skies.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
We have made it abundantly clear that when American lives
are at risk, excuses are not acceptable. However, this is
about more than policy.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
It's about people.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
The family standing here. They didn't ask to be a
part of the story. However they stand with the courage
to ensure that it has a better ending for others.
This is the kind of legacy we should all aspire
to build. Thank you, and I now recognize the Secretary
of Transportation Sean Duffy to give his remarks.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Sean, you know that the night that this plane crash
happened was the night he was actually sworn in, and
that was the first day on the job for him.
First I know the job. Yeah, I mean that evening.
I remember seeing his family heading into where his office
was going to be and then apparently he's there and
then immediately has to deal with this, and obviously that
impact him in a major way. You know him well,
(15:52):
I know Sean, well. I can't imagine your first time
in the job this is what you were dealing with,
this type of tragedy, and it seems to be a
realis point for him.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Sewn is a really good man. He's become a good friend.
He's doing a great job as President Trump's Secretary of Transportation.
But this was baptism by fire. He had not been
on the job twenty four hours when this accident occurred,
and he doped right in the middle of it. And
he's been dealing with the aftermath. And I want you
to listen to him now at the press conference today
about our legislation. Here's Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
This is not partisan. Safety is not partisan. It is
Democrats and Republicans, House, Senate, dot FAA, the President's administration,
all of us want to make sure we're safe and
so Center, I commend you for this bold effort and
rallying the forces in this body to make sure we
(16:47):
lead and make sure our s guys continue to be
the safest in the world. And this is one giant leap.
This is going to help make that happen, and I
look forward to working with you and your colleagues to
advance this cause. So thank you for for driving again
twenty two years ago, the NTSP recommended this. By the way,
(17:08):
sometimes people get concerned about cost, and I don't think
we should be concerned about costs when it comes to safety.
But I was talking to the administrator of the FAA.
The cost to deploy this technology is not that great
for commercial aircraft or for the military. We can drive
safety way higher and also at a very affordable cost.
(17:31):
That's the benefit of the advancement of technology over the
course of the last twenty two years. And so this
is doable. And I think the American people expect this
from this body, this administration to keep them safe.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah. I mean, you wrap this up and you talk
about the family members that we're there for this. They
want to make sure this trategy never ever happens to
another family again, that seems to be clear, Sean. So
the big question becomes, is this going to be a
bipartisan thinking can you get it done? So?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I believe we will. And listen, they're sixty seven families
who lost a loved one that night, and those families
are grieving that they're in agony, and yet they're using
their agony to be advocates, and they're trying to use
that horrific tragedy to change the law to protect the
flying public so that there's not another family, so it's
(18:22):
not your family or my family that sometime in the
future loses a loved one on an air flight. And
I want you to listen right now to Tim Lily.
Tim is the father of the American Eagle co pilot
Sam Lily, and he was flying the American plane that
crashed in to the black Hawk helicopter. And actually Tim
(18:44):
himself was a black Hawk pilot, so he had flown
those exact roots right along Reagan Airport, so we had
a lot of experience with it, and yet tragically he
and his wife lost their son that night. Give a
listen to Tim Lily.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
This is not gonna be Sam's legacy to die in
Vain sixty seven. Really great people lost their lives that night,
and there's no reason for that. What we have here
is legislation, if it's past, is going to close some
very important safety loopholes so that this never has to
(19:19):
happen again.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
It's simple, right, We're going to close these loopholes.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, and and look to see the families standing together.
So I actually this evening, I had drinks with the
Secretary of the Army. And the Secretary of the Army
met today with the families of those whose lives were lost,
and he said it was a rough meeting. Look there,
they're pissed off. If your if your family was killed
(19:47):
that night, you'd be pissed off. You'd be pissed off
at the Army flight that crashed into the plane. You'd
be angry, you'd be saying what to change, and it
was apparently. Look, it was not an easy meeting. And
I respect the Secretary for going and listening and hearing
their pain. I respect the families for channeling that pain
(20:08):
into something productive.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
It's easy to just if you lose.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
A loved one, to mourn, to get angry, to be
angry at God, to be angry at the world. I mean,
that's a perfectly natural reaction. And yet I really admire
these families that they are. They feeling those sentiments, of course,
but they've made the conscious decision I'm going to channel
that anger into trying to make a difference and change
(20:35):
the laws. Now, now you asked, is this going to happen?
It needs to be bipartisan. Now, the bill I introduced
today is not bipartisan. No Democrats had joined it, and
I will say the Democrats, they filed their own legislation
that is partisan legislation that they decided they wanted to
tee off on President Trump and doze and have a
bunch of elements in the bill that have nothing to
(20:57):
do with safety but have everything to do with scoring
partisans and points. I think that's not very productive. This
bill is designed to be bipartisan, and it is one
of the advantages of chairing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation. I'm going to see up this bill. We
are going to mark up this spill. Every member of
(21:19):
the Commerce Committee is going to vote on this bill.
I think we're going to get overwhelming bipartisan support for
this bill. It needs to be bipartisan. There's nothing in
this bill that from a Republican side, is partisan. There's
nothing that I put that is a crazy right wing priority.
This is designed to keep the flying public safer. This
is a common sense provision. So I believe we will
(21:42):
get bipartisan support. I believe it will be passed into law,
and my prediction, Ben this will be signed into law
this year and it will make everyone who flies safer.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
I want to move to the other topic that we
mentioned earlier, and that deals with the FBI right now
and new intel that's coming out, and I got to
say a lot of people are going to be shocked
by it. I'm not surprised at all by this. And
I want to get your take on now what we're
learning about the FBI with the Russia Russia Russia hoax
(22:14):
and the controversial Trump Russia actions predicted with alarming accuracy
by foreign actors. I mean, you look at this coming
out now, and it's just a joke. How incredible this
whole I call it a play. It was a movie.
It's a script, and everybody was playing on the script
that they knew was a lie.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
That's right. But I want to take a minute and
sort of pull the curtain back for our listeners. So
we do this podcast, and we do this podcast sometimes
late at night, so it is twelve to fifty five am.
So look, men is half asleep. To be honest, he's
been asleep for two hours and we woke him to
do this. So the headline of this story says that
(22:54):
it was predicted with alarming specificity. Yes, that's true, And
I want sheld to Doe. We recorded this, and this
is one of the advantages doing a podcast. When you
record it and screw it up, you can just stop
and rewind and do it again. We recorded it, and
twice Benjamin was unable to say the words specificity.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
He tried a tough one specific I can't say it now, see.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
And I will confess I kept making it harder because
I kept saying fescipicity and.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
I can say that word, no problem, right, That one's easy.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
So finally, after after twice crashing and burning on saying specificity,
he just said with alarming accuracy. By the way, the
quote is not accuracy, it's specificity.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
But I didn't say quote unquote. See, I covered myself there.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
You didn't say the word quote. But I just wanted
our listeners to know that that that like the specificity.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
With real at one am, that is accurate, not one am.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
It's twelve fifty seven. You got three minutes till one am.
All right, so let's cover the under But but this
is the important stuff to understand. Look, these these are
real human beings. I'm in my DC apartment, you're in
a hotel room. I think, is that right now?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
I'm in I'm in a house in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
So that's where the World Championships is.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Look that that that that's pretty fancy and sheishi And
you've got to be up at like six thirty is
tea time?
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (24:26):
It's it's a six eighteen or something absurd.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Six eighteen all right, Benjamin. While you're at tea time,
I will be fast asleep.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
I believe you. I believe, and you'll be dreaming about
the alarming specifificity the word I can you still can't
say it. Come on specificity, Just say it once specificity.
There we go, there we go.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Look at that. By the way, you know what I
did Monday on the on the flight to DC.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Wait, say that again?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Do you know what I did Monday in the flight
to DC?
Speaker 1 (24:56):
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I watched Happy Gilmore two have you?
Speaker 1 (25:01):
It's so good? It is. I love when they don't
screw when they don't screw up a sequel like Top
Gun Maverick. They killed it right, Happy Gilmore. It's been
not happy.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Maybe better than Happy Gilmore, like you know, a really.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Good and and by the way, did you see it coming?
Because I did not whin hold on spoiler word if
you haven't been watched it yet, turned down for five seconds.
When that when he killed his wife with the golf ball?
Did I did not see that coming? Did you?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I did not see that coming either. I. I will say,
by the way, as a complete aside, I've gotten to
know Adam Sandler's producer. You know, he's a big hoops player.
I gotta tell you, I'm told that Sandler. I've invited
him come play hoops with with me and he said yes,
so hadn't happened yet. But I'm actually really psyched because
(25:48):
Sandler and I are almost exactly the same age, and
he's a serious ballplayer. And as you know, I play
hoops twice a week.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Do I say, count me in for that game. I'd
like to be there for that game.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Okay, don't injure Adam Sandler like he is a national
comedic treasure. And I will say, I played hoops with you.
The last time I played hoops with you broke your finger.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
You're a large I'm not worried about him, worried about me.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And you throw your body around pretty physically, which I admire.
Like I'm like, screw it. If you can't take the heat,
get out of the kitchen. But I'm just saying, don't
injure Adam Sandler.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
There you go. That'd be one heck of a headline, right, all.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Right, let's get back. We actually had a story to do,
but I just had to I had to call you
out because you like magically edited out. You're screwing up
the word and yeah, so I just had to like
bring our listeners in and say, you know, sometimes the
magic of podcast is not exactly what you think.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
All right, yeah, you know, I'm ready go for it.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
I'm ready, good, go ahead, say what you're gonna say.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
No, no, I was gonna say. So this is the
part that laugh when you when you do radio like
I did three three hours a day. My producer Diaz,
who does this show as well, when that would happen.
The worst part is he's just laughing at me through
the glass on the other side of the wall because
it's live and there's nothing you can do to fix it,
and so he just laughs in my face. So now
this is like my weird revenge because for how many
(27:10):
years we worked here Diez twelve, thirteen, fourteen, I don't
even know how many it is. He just used to
just laugh at me, and now he actually has to
go back and fix it. So I'm like, the joke's
on you, buddy, the joke's on you. So yeah, when
it's live, there's nothing you can do about it. So
with all that specificity, the word I can't say is
still the night for some reason. Let's get back to
the event.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I still reported on this story with alarming fesipicity. And
let me read from the Fox News story quote. US
intelligence has credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would
play a role in spreading the salacious Trump Russia collusion
narrative before the bureau ever launched it's controversial crossfire Hurricane probe,
(27:52):
sources familiar with the intel told Fox News Digital see
I director John Ratcliffe is expected to decline classify the
underlying intelligence, including a classified annex related to former Special
Counsel John Durham's investigation into the origins of the Trump
Russia probe. A source familiar with the contents of the
(28:13):
classified annex told Fox News Digital that while it may
not have been exactly clear in the moment what the
intelligent collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted
the FBI's move with alarming specificity, and it goes on to.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Say, there's your quote, there you go quote.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Ultimately, the release of the classified annex will lend more
credibility to the assertion that there was a coordinated plan
inside the US government to help the Clinton campaign stir
up controversy connecting Trump to Russia. The source who was
granted anonymity to discussed the sense of intelligence matters that
have not yet been made public, told Fox News Digital, quote,
(28:56):
mere days after this intelligence was collected, the FBI launched
Crossfire Hurricane. The source said, quote, it is really hard
to see how Brennan, Clapper and Comy are going to
be able to explain this away.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
You put that in perspective, and I think it's fair
to say at this point, everything we were hearing during
the back of the day on this it was all
just straight up government propaganda and the media was one
hundred percent in on it.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Well, it was not just government propaganda. It was driven
by the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was opposition research that
they paid for and then they gave to the Obama
administration to launder it. They laundered it through the FBI,
They laundered it through the Department of Justice, and in
it was the federal government attacking Donald Trump because they
did not want Donald Donald Trump to be president. And
(29:52):
the degree to which the government was complicit in partisan politics,
but not just partisan politics, partisan politics. That was false.
That was a lie. This was made up. The Russia
hoax was a hoax. It was concocted through the Hillary
Clinton campaign. It was laundered through the FBI and the
(30:14):
Department of Justice, and it was a lie. That was
a political attack job. And I want to commend John Ratcliffe,
the head of the CIA, a good friend of mine,
for making this public, for drawing accountability and truth to
what occurred.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
What do you think is going to come from this
because there's so many I think just gruntled and frustrated
Americans that hear those things and like, all right, we're
now getting more and more confirmation this happened. Will there
be any real accountability? And does this move us closer
to that? So?
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I hope so that there needs to be accountability. And
I will say, you have Telsey Gabbard who released her
bombshell information about the degree of the complicity of the administration,
and if you didn't hear our podcast last week on this.
You should listen to the podcast on Tulsi Gabbert's bombshell information.
(31:10):
I hope there is accountability I call on on the
Department of Justice. I also had when I was having
drinks with the Army Secretary, I also had drinks with
the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and so
I was urging DOJ follow the facts and prosecute anyone
who is complicit. There are challenges because some of the
people who were involved in this, their criminal conduct was
(31:33):
before the statute of limitations expired, and so it is
harder to prosecute someone who committed criminal conduct after the
statute limitations has expired. Andrew McCabe, who was the deputy
director of the FBI, he testified before Congress. He testified falsely,
and the statute of limitations has not yet expired on
his testimony. So if I were to predict the single
(31:55):
most likely person in the Obama administration of face prosecution,
it would be Andrew mc because there's still a window
where he lied to Congress and it's within the statute limitations.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Really incredible. We're gonna keep you updated on all this.
Don't forget to hit that subscribe or auto Dawa buttons.
Share this podcast, and please rune us a five star review.
It helps us reach more people out there on the
charts and this cent and I will see you back
here in a couple of days
Welcome in as Vertical Center. Ted Cruz Ben Ferguson with
you and Senator, It's nice to talk about a really
important issue tonight that many Americans have become much more
concerned about. That's flying. You fly a lot, I fly
a lot, and you have introduced new legislation that's going
to deal with what happened with that helicopter crash into
(00:21):
the airplane right there at Reagan. Your wife was flying
in that night. I remember that night. Well, in six
months to the day, you've introduced this.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, that's exactly right. You and I are sitting here.
It is Tuesday night, six months ago to the day,
on January twenty ninth, is when the horrific accident occurred
over Ronald Reagan National Airport. Sixty seven souls were killed
in that accident. And this week today, actually I introduced
(00:51):
legislation to dramatically improve air safety to protect the flying public.
We're going to talk about that, talk about the need
to avoid any accident like that going forward. We're also
going to talk about stunning evidence that's come forward that
the FBI was complicit in the Russia Russia Russia hoax.
(01:13):
The FBI knew what they were doing, and they played
an active role. We're gonna lay out with the head
of the CIA laid out this week all of that.
On today's Verdict, I.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
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Speaker 3 (01:34):
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Speaker 1 (01:34):
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percent off. All right, So center, let's go back six
months in time. And remind people. I remember that night.
It was a night where we had that helicopter that
went right into that plane that was coming down at
(03:22):
Reagan National and it killed so many people. It also,
I think, really shook a lot of travelers to their core.
And the question that was asked was like, how does
this even happen? How is this possible? And now there's
real legislation to keep our family safe. As a fly,
you fly a lot, your family flies a lot. It's
something that's on a lot of people's minds.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Well, this happened on January twenty ninth. It was the
ninth day of the Trump presidency. And actually the night
had happened, I was having dinner with Mike Waltz. Mike
Waltz was at the time President Trump's national security advisor.
The two of us were talking about the national security
threats of the country, having a great dinner, and then
at the very end of the dinner, we were wrapping
up and he got a text over his phone. He's like,
(04:06):
oh crap. He said, there was just a major crash
over Reagan Airport, And so Mike rushed off to the
situation room to deal with it. From the White House,
as I got up that night, it so happened. Heidie
was flying into DC and she was landing at Reagan,
and I will say, my body man came up to
me and Trent, and you know Trent is a great guy. Yeah,
(04:28):
Trent came up to me and he said, Heidie's okay,
but there was a plane crash at Reagan. I got
to say, Trent did a very good job starting with
Heidie's okay, because I get you know, when your wife's
in the air like that, if you reverse those statements
that that causes you to freak out. So I was
very grateful. Heidie's plane was scheduled to land about a
half hour after the crash, so they diverted her to
(04:51):
BWI Airport, which is, you know, about an hour away.
Heidie got home that night to our apartment. We normally
live in Houston, but she was coming up that night
to be with me. I got to tell you, I
just held her. I mean, you know, your wife is
on a plane. It could as easily been her plane
as the plane that crashed. And it was a plane,
an American Airlines plane that was flying from Wichita to
(05:15):
d C. As it was landing at DCA Reagan Airport.
An Army Blackhawk helicopter came across the landing path and
collided and there were three soldiers on the Army helicopter.
There were sixty four people, sixty one passengers and three
(05:36):
crew member on the plane, and in an instant they
were incinerated. It was a horrific accident, I will tell you.
In the wake of the accident, I went to the
NTSB site where they'd pulled all the wreckage out and
the wreckage, the damage. Here's the good news, I asked.
(05:58):
I said, look, did anyone drown because the plane in
the helicopter went down in the Potomac. And I suppose
the good news is they said nobody drowned. That They said,
the helicopter rotor struck the wing. The wing is filled
with jet fuel and it immediately exploded and it is
essentially incinerated everyone. So they died instantly, which I've got
(06:21):
to say, if you're going to die in a plane crash,
you'd rather die instantly than slowly and painfully. So I
suppose there's a blessing in that. But I will say,
standing at the NTSB site with the wreckage of the plane,
the wreckage of the helicopter and you see just charge
sheet seats, you see just pieces of the plane and helicopter,
(06:43):
and you also saw you know, children's backpacks and toys
and luggage and and all of the all of the
wreckage of sixty seven people who died instantly, and it
was horrific. It was show and look what was frustrating
is it should not have happened. It was avoidable. And
(07:06):
so in the six months that have followed, I've shared
multiple hearings. I've had multiple roundtable discussions with the NTSB,
the National Traffic Safety Board, with the FAA, with the
Department Transportation to say what went wrong and there are
multiple pieces of what went wrong that that should never
have happened. One of the things that went wrong is
(07:29):
the Army helicopter did not have functioning adsb out. Now
what does that mean? Adsb out An adsb IN is
advanced technology to locate where a plane is, where a
helicopter is, and adsb out broadcast to everyone so you
can get it precise. The air traffic controllers can get
(07:50):
a precise image, and other aircraft can get a precise
image of exactly where.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
That aircraft is.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Adsb IN is the ability to receive the signals from
all the other aircrafts. So ideally you need both. You
need adsb out so you're broadcasting the whole world, and
you need ADSB in where you can see the images
of the other aircraft. Now, for twenty years twenty the NTSB,
(08:19):
the National Traffic Safety Board, has been recommending that every
aircraft have ADSBN and adsb out. That is not the law,
and the Army Blackhawk helicopter did not have adsb OUT
that was functioning that night, so that meant the American
Airlines plane could not see it until the two collided
(08:40):
and everyone died. This week I introduced legislation. I called
it the Roador Act, and it mandates that every aircraft,
a jet, a helicopter, or any other aircraft that is
in commercial airspace, that is in the airspace where planes
are flying, where the flying public is must have both
adsb out and ADSB in. I think this is common
(09:04):
sense legislation. I think we're going to get it passed,
and I think when we get it passed, it is
going to make the flying public significantly safer.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Why did it take so long? I mean, I know
there was a lot of people that said, well, it
was just a cost issue, and it was a cost
add on to the price of a plane. It was
cost out onto small planes and different things, and that
people were frustrated. They're like, this is another one of
those regulations. Is it was as simple as that, and
that's the reason why it was always basically not made
a all.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
So they're different pieces of it. The FAA required adsb
out so it required aircraft to broadcast their location so
the air traffic controllers could get it and other aircraft
that had ADSBN could get it. However, there was an
MoU a memoranda of understanding with the army that exempted
a lot of army flights. This was a training flight.
(09:55):
This was not a vital national security flight. This was
not like they were transporting nuclear secrets. This was a
training flight. But they did not have functioning adsb out
on in a way that anyone could see. I think
that exemption makes no sense, and so part of the
Rotor Act is ending that exemption and saying, look, if
(10:16):
you're flying commercial airspace, you need to have adsb out on.
That was one component. The second component is adsb in,
which is the ability to see the other signals. Now
it varies many Many large airline flights typically have adsb in,
but a lot of other flights do not. And the impediment,
(10:39):
as you noted, it was cost that twenty years ago,
it was fairly expensive to put this on. It's not
that expensive anymore. And one of the things I've done
over the last six months is that I've met with
a lot of the stakeholders. I've met with the airlines,
I've met with general Aviation, I've met with a lot
of the folks that are flying, and you can actually
get adsb in with an eyepad and fairly inexpensive technology.
(11:02):
So it's not you're not talking like one hundred thousand
dollars upgrade on a plane. You're talking for relatively low cost,
maybe a couple hundred or couple thousand dollars. You can
have an iPad and the technology to have ADSPN, so
it doesn't cost a lot, but it makes the flying
public a lot safer. And I want you to listen
right now. I want you to listen first of all,
(11:24):
to what I had said about the roator Act, and
that I want you to listen to Secretary Duffy, the
Transportation Secretary so start with what I said at the
press conference today.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Well, good morning.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Today is an auspicious day for aviation safety, a day marked,
I hope, by a revived spirit of hope and a
shared determination act in the face of an unforgettable tragedy.
American skies must be as safe as possible, and our
duty as lawmakers is to ensure that they are. I
(11:57):
would like to start by thanking the individuals who are
joining me for the introduction of the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency
and Oversight Reform or the rot Act. Secretary Duffy, Chairwoman Hammandy,
Tim and Sherry, Lily, Doug Lane, and my colleagues have
(12:17):
all worked hard to make the American skies safer. Tim, Sherry, Doug,
thank you for your courage and your advocacy. Your presence
reminds us of what is at stake. You've turned your
grief into purpose. We are here today because of your
(12:39):
efforts and the memory of Tim and Sherry, your son, Doug,
your son, Doug, your wife and son, and all of
the loved ones that were lost.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Over the Potomac.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
The Rotor Act represents a common sense step forward in
aviation safety reform. Most important parts of this bill is
the requirement that all aircraft, military and civilian use both
ADSB OUT and ADSB in.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
ADSB is critical for aviation safety.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
This technology allows aircraft to broadcast their positions and to
receive positions of others in real time, faster than other
technology in use today. It gives pilots and air traffic
control a clear view of what is happening in the skies.
The NTSB first recommended ADSB in nearly twenty years ago.
(13:40):
We are going to make that happen this year. Make
no mistake, there cannot be a double standard in aviation safety.
We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights
operating in congested airspace. No matter the circumstances, any aircraft
(14:01):
flying near commercial traffic must fully adhere to safety standards.
Given the communications breakdown that led to the accident, it
is also important to address helicopter routes in congested commercial airspace.
We cannot have commercial airplanes and helicopters on a collision
(14:25):
course ever. Again, this bill is based on two core principles,
technological transparency.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
And institutional responsibility.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
While American skies are among the safest globally, this safety
is not always assured.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
I want to be clear. The Senate will lead this effort.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
We will not wait for another accident to happen before
we act decisively.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
To protect the American skies.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
We have made it abundantly clear that when American lives
are at risk, excuses are not acceptable. However, this is
about more than policy.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
It's about people.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
The family standing here. They didn't ask to be a
part of the story. However they stand with the courage
to ensure that it has a better ending for others.
This is the kind of legacy we should all aspire
to build. Thank you, and I now recognize the Secretary
of Transportation Sean Duffy to give his remarks.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Sean, you know that the night that this plane crash
happened was the night he was actually sworn in, and
that was the first day on the job for him.
First I know the job. Yeah, I mean that evening.
I remember seeing his family heading into where his office
was going to be and then apparently he's there and
then immediately has to deal with this, and obviously that
impact him in a major way. You know him well,
(15:52):
I know Sean, well. I can't imagine your first time
in the job this is what you were dealing with,
this type of tragedy, and it seems to be a
realis point for him.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Sewn is a really good man. He's become a good friend.
He's doing a great job as President Trump's Secretary of Transportation.
But this was baptism by fire. He had not been
on the job twenty four hours when this accident occurred,
and he doped right in the middle of it. And
he's been dealing with the aftermath. And I want you
to listen to him now at the press conference today
about our legislation. Here's Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
This is not partisan. Safety is not partisan. It is
Democrats and Republicans, House, Senate, dot FAA, the President's administration,
all of us want to make sure we're safe and
so Center, I commend you for this bold effort and
rallying the forces in this body to make sure we
(16:47):
lead and make sure our s guys continue to be
the safest in the world. And this is one giant leap.
This is going to help make that happen, and I
look forward to working with you and your colleagues to
advance this cause. So thank you for for driving again
twenty two years ago, the NTSP recommended this. By the way,
(17:08):
sometimes people get concerned about cost, and I don't think
we should be concerned about costs when it comes to safety.
But I was talking to the administrator of the FAA.
The cost to deploy this technology is not that great
for commercial aircraft or for the military. We can drive
safety way higher and also at a very affordable cost.
(17:31):
That's the benefit of the advancement of technology over the
course of the last twenty two years. And so this
is doable. And I think the American people expect this
from this body, this administration to keep them safe.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah. I mean, you wrap this up and you talk
about the family members that we're there for this. They
want to make sure this trategy never ever happens to
another family again, that seems to be clear, Sean. So
the big question becomes, is this going to be a
bipartisan thinking can you get it done? So?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I believe we will. And listen, they're sixty seven families
who lost a loved one that night, and those families
are grieving that they're in agony, and yet they're using
their agony to be advocates, and they're trying to use
that horrific tragedy to change the law to protect the
flying public so that there's not another family, so it's
(18:22):
not your family or my family that sometime in the
future loses a loved one on an air flight. And
I want you to listen right now to Tim Lily.
Tim is the father of the American Eagle co pilot
Sam Lily, and he was flying the American plane that
crashed in to the black Hawk helicopter. And actually Tim
(18:44):
himself was a black Hawk pilot, so he had flown
those exact roots right along Reagan Airport, so we had
a lot of experience with it, and yet tragically he
and his wife lost their son that night. Give a
listen to Tim Lily.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
This is not gonna be Sam's legacy to die in
Vain sixty seven. Really great people lost their lives that night,
and there's no reason for that. What we have here
is legislation, if it's past, is going to close some
very important safety loopholes so that this never has to
(19:19):
happen again.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
It's simple, right, We're going to close these loopholes.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, and and look to see the families standing together.
So I actually this evening, I had drinks with the
Secretary of the Army. And the Secretary of the Army
met today with the families of those whose lives were lost,
and he said it was a rough meeting. Look there,
they're pissed off. If your if your family was killed
(19:47):
that night, you'd be pissed off. You'd be pissed off
at the Army flight that crashed into the plane. You'd
be angry, you'd be saying what to change, and it
was apparently. Look, it was not an easy meeting. And
I respect the Secretary for going and listening and hearing
their pain. I respect the families for channeling that pain
(20:08):
into something productive.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
It's easy to just if you lose.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
A loved one, to mourn, to get angry, to be
angry at God, to be angry at the world. I mean,
that's a perfectly natural reaction. And yet I really admire
these families that they are. They feeling those sentiments, of course,
but they've made the conscious decision I'm going to channel
that anger into trying to make a difference and change
(20:35):
the laws. Now, now you asked, is this going to happen?
It needs to be bipartisan. Now, the bill I introduced
today is not bipartisan. No Democrats had joined it, and
I will say the Democrats, they filed their own legislation
that is partisan legislation that they decided they wanted to
tee off on President Trump and doze and have a
bunch of elements in the bill that have nothing to
(20:57):
do with safety but have everything to do with scoring
partisans and points. I think that's not very productive. This
bill is designed to be bipartisan, and it is one
of the advantages of chairing the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation. I'm going to see up this bill. We
are going to mark up this spill. Every member of
(21:19):
the Commerce Committee is going to vote on this bill.
I think we're going to get overwhelming bipartisan support for
this bill. It needs to be bipartisan. There's nothing in
this bill that from a Republican side, is partisan. There's
nothing that I put that is a crazy right wing priority.
This is designed to keep the flying public safer. This
is a common sense provision. So I believe we will
(21:42):
get bipartisan support. I believe it will be passed into law,
and my prediction, Ben this will be signed into law
this year and it will make everyone who flies safer.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
I want to move to the other topic that we
mentioned earlier, and that deals with the FBI right now
and new intel that's coming out, and I got to
say a lot of people are going to be shocked
by it. I'm not surprised at all by this. And
I want to get your take on now what we're
learning about the FBI with the Russia Russia Russia hoax
(22:14):
and the controversial Trump Russia actions predicted with alarming accuracy
by foreign actors. I mean, you look at this coming
out now, and it's just a joke. How incredible this
whole I call it a play. It was a movie.
It's a script, and everybody was playing on the script
that they knew was a lie.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
That's right. But I want to take a minute and
sort of pull the curtain back for our listeners. So
we do this podcast, and we do this podcast sometimes
late at night, so it is twelve to fifty five am.
So look, men is half asleep. To be honest, he's
been asleep for two hours and we woke him to
do this. So the headline of this story says that
(22:54):
it was predicted with alarming specificity. Yes, that's true, And
I want sheld to Doe. We recorded this, and this
is one of the advantages doing a podcast. When you
record it and screw it up, you can just stop
and rewind and do it again. We recorded it, and
twice Benjamin was unable to say the words specificity.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
He tried a tough one specific I can't say it now, see.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
And I will confess I kept making it harder because
I kept saying fescipicity and.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
I can say that word, no problem, right, That one's easy.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
So finally, after after twice crashing and burning on saying specificity,
he just said with alarming accuracy. By the way, the
quote is not accuracy, it's specificity.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
But I didn't say quote unquote. See, I covered myself there.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
You didn't say the word quote. But I just wanted
our listeners to know that that that like the specificity.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
With real at one am, that is accurate, not one am.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
It's twelve fifty seven. You got three minutes till one am.
All right, so let's cover the under But but this
is the important stuff to understand. Look, these these are
real human beings. I'm in my DC apartment, you're in
a hotel room. I think, is that right now?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
I'm in I'm in a house in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
So that's where the World Championships is.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Look that that that that's pretty fancy and sheishi And
you've got to be up at like six thirty is
tea time?
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (24:26):
It's it's a six eighteen or something absurd.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Six eighteen all right, Benjamin. While you're at tea time,
I will be fast asleep.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
I believe you. I believe, and you'll be dreaming about
the alarming specifificity the word I can you still can't
say it. Come on specificity, Just say it once specificity.
There we go, there we go.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Look at that. By the way, you know what I
did Monday on the on the flight to DC.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Wait, say that again?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Do you know what I did Monday in the flight
to DC?
Speaker 1 (24:56):
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I watched Happy Gilmore two have you?
Speaker 1 (25:01):
It's so good? It is. I love when they don't
screw when they don't screw up a sequel like Top
Gun Maverick. They killed it right, Happy Gilmore. It's been
not happy.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
Maybe better than Happy Gilmore, like you know, a really.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
Good and and by the way, did you see it coming?
Because I did not whin hold on spoiler word if
you haven't been watched it yet, turned down for five seconds.
When that when he killed his wife with the golf ball?
Did I did not see that coming? Did you?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
I did not see that coming either. I. I will say,
by the way, as a complete aside, I've gotten to
know Adam Sandler's producer. You know, he's a big hoops player.
I gotta tell you, I'm told that Sandler. I've invited
him come play hoops with with me and he said yes,
so hadn't happened yet. But I'm actually really psyched because
(25:48):
Sandler and I are almost exactly the same age, and
he's a serious ballplayer. And as you know, I play
hoops twice a week.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Do I say, count me in for that game. I'd
like to be there for that game.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Okay, don't injure Adam Sandler like he is a national
comedic treasure. And I will say, I played hoops with you.
The last time I played hoops with you broke your finger.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
You're a large I'm not worried about him, worried about me.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And you throw your body around pretty physically, which I admire.
Like I'm like, screw it. If you can't take the heat,
get out of the kitchen. But I'm just saying, don't
injure Adam Sandler.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
There you go. That'd be one heck of a headline, right, all.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Right, let's get back. We actually had a story to do,
but I just had to I had to call you
out because you like magically edited out. You're screwing up
the word and yeah, so I just had to like
bring our listeners in and say, you know, sometimes the
magic of podcast is not exactly what you think.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
All right, yeah, you know, I'm ready go for it.
Speaker 4 (26:45):
I'm ready, good, go ahead, say what you're gonna say.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
No, no, I was gonna say. So this is the
part that laugh when you when you do radio like
I did three three hours a day. My producer Diaz,
who does this show as well, when that would happen.
The worst part is he's just laughing at me through
the glass on the other side of the wall because
it's live and there's nothing you can do to fix it,
and so he just laughs in my face. So now
this is like my weird revenge because for how many
(27:10):
years we worked here Diez twelve, thirteen, fourteen, I don't
even know how many it is. He just used to
just laugh at me, and now he actually has to
go back and fix it. So I'm like, the joke's
on you, buddy, the joke's on you. So yeah, when
it's live, there's nothing you can do about it. So
with all that specificity, the word I can't say is
still the night for some reason. Let's get back to
the event.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I still reported on this story with alarming fesipicity. And
let me read from the Fox News story quote. US
intelligence has credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would
play a role in spreading the salacious Trump Russia collusion
narrative before the bureau ever launched it's controversial crossfire Hurricane probe,
(27:52):
sources familiar with the intel told Fox News Digital see
I director John Ratcliffe is expected to decline classify the
underlying intelligence, including a classified annex related to former Special
Counsel John Durham's investigation into the origins of the Trump
Russia probe. A source familiar with the contents of the
(28:13):
classified annex told Fox News Digital that while it may
not have been exactly clear in the moment what the
intelligent collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted
the FBI's move with alarming specificity, and it goes on to.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Say, there's your quote, there you go quote.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Ultimately, the release of the classified annex will lend more
credibility to the assertion that there was a coordinated plan
inside the US government to help the Clinton campaign stir
up controversy connecting Trump to Russia. The source who was
granted anonymity to discussed the sense of intelligence matters that
have not yet been made public, told Fox News Digital, quote,
(28:56):
mere days after this intelligence was collected, the FBI launched
Crossfire Hurricane. The source said, quote, it is really hard
to see how Brennan, Clapper and Comy are going to
be able to explain this away.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
You put that in perspective, and I think it's fair
to say at this point, everything we were hearing during
the back of the day on this it was all
just straight up government propaganda and the media was one
hundred percent in on it.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Well, it was not just government propaganda. It was driven
by the Hillary Clinton campaign. It was opposition research that
they paid for and then they gave to the Obama
administration to launder it. They laundered it through the FBI,
They laundered it through the Department of Justice, and in
it was the federal government attacking Donald Trump because they
did not want Donald Donald Trump to be president. And
(29:52):
the degree to which the government was complicit in partisan politics,
but not just partisan politics, partisan politics. That was false.
That was a lie. This was made up. The Russia
hoax was a hoax. It was concocted through the Hillary
Clinton campaign. It was laundered through the FBI and the
(30:14):
Department of Justice, and it was a lie. That was
a political attack job. And I want to commend John Ratcliffe,
the head of the CIA, a good friend of mine,
for making this public, for drawing accountability and truth to
what occurred.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
What do you think is going to come from this
because there's so many I think just gruntled and frustrated
Americans that hear those things and like, all right, we're
now getting more and more confirmation this happened. Will there
be any real accountability? And does this move us closer
to that? So?
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I hope so that there needs to be accountability. And
I will say, you have Telsey Gabbard who released her
bombshell information about the degree of the complicity of the administration,
and if you didn't hear our podcast last week on this.
You should listen to the podcast on Tulsi Gabbert's bombshell information.
(31:10):
I hope there is accountability I call on on the
Department of Justice. I also had when I was having
drinks with the Army Secretary, I also had drinks with
the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and so
I was urging DOJ follow the facts and prosecute anyone
who is complicit. There are challenges because some of the
people who were involved in this, their criminal conduct was
(31:33):
before the statute of limitations expired, and so it is
harder to prosecute someone who committed criminal conduct after the
statute limitations has expired. Andrew McCabe, who was the deputy
director of the FBI, he testified before Congress. He testified falsely,
and the statute of limitations has not yet expired on
his testimony. So if I were to predict the single
(31:55):
most likely person in the Obama administration of face prosecution,
it would be Andrew mc because there's still a window
where he lied to Congress and it's within the statute limitations.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Really incredible. We're gonna keep you updated on all this.
Don't forget to hit that subscribe or auto Dawa buttons.
Share this podcast, and please rune us a five star review.
It helps us reach more people out there on the
charts and this cent and I will see you back
here in a couple of days
Host
Ben Ferguson
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