April 15, 2026 • 36 mins
Hour 1 of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show delivers a wide-ranging and politically charged discussion centered on conservative news analysis, law and order, Supreme Court speculation, economic optimism, and escalating culture wars, highlighted by an extended interview with FBI Director Kash Patel. Clay and Buck open the hour reacting to Tax Day frustrations and government spending waste, using New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for a taxpayer-funded grocery store as a case study in what they argue are the failures of socialism, government inefficiency, and price controls. The hosts explain grocery store profit margins, competition, and loss leaders to argue that a government-run grocery store in New York City would likely become a costly failure and a “slow-motion train wreck” for taxpayers.
A major political theme in Hour 1 is speculation about a possible upcoming Supreme Court vacancy. Clay and Buck discuss reporting and prediction market data suggesting Justice Samuel Alito—or potentially Justice Clarence Thomas—could voluntarily retire while President Donald Trump and Republicans control the Senate. They analyze the strategic timing of such a move, debate whether post–Roe v. Wade America would calm Supreme Court confirmation battles, and argue that Democrats will continue to politicize judicial nominations over issues like abortion, birthright citizenship, and transgender rights. The hosts also discuss the likelihood of personal attacks on any conservative judicial nominee, referencing the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation fight as a warning.
The conversation then turns to potential Supreme Court nominees, with Clay Travis making a high-profile case for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as a long-term, intellectually serious nominee who could serve for decades. Mike Lee is also mentioned, and both hosts debate the merits of appointing political figures versus Federalist Society–backed judges. The discussion frames Supreme Court appointments as one of the most lasting legacies of a presidency.
Later in Hour 1, Clay and Buck shift to the economy and markets, celebrating that the S&P 500 has reached an all-time high. They argue this reflects economic confidence under President Trump, encourage long-term investing strategies like “buy and hold,” and contrast market gains with ongoing geopolitical concerns involving Iran.
The centerpiece of Hour 1 is a lengthy interview with FBI Director Kash Patel, who outlines the Trump administration’s nationwide crime crackdown. Patel cites dramatic drops in violent crime, including homicide reductions of 40–60% in cities such as Washington, D.C., and Memphis, crediting federal-state task force cooperation, aggressive gang prosecutions, and strong support for law enforcement. He explains how FBI agents work alongside local police, state prosecutors, and the Department of Justice to dismantle gang networks, combat fentanyl trafficking, and lower overdose deaths nationwide.
Patel also addresses large-scale government fraud investigations, confirming that Medicare, Medicaid, and other public-benefit fraud schemes are a top FBI priority. He details major busts in Minnesota and California involving hundreds of millions of dollars and emphasizes that the bureau is aggressively targeting those who steal taxpayer funds. The discussion ties fraud enforcement to broader concerns about fairness on Tax Day and accountability within government.
The tone lightens briefly as Patel discusses Olympic security, patriotism surrounding Team USA hockey, FBI fitness standards, and leadership by example, including workouts and law enforcement training partnerships with organizations like the UFC. The hour closes with Clay and Buck pivoting back to cultural commentary, criticizing what they describe as ongoing progressive excesses—such as media outrage over a Texas Rangers statue—and warning that Democrats’ cultural agenda remains unchanged despite being out of power.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome it, everybody to the Wednesday edition of the Clay
Travis and Buck Sexton Show. And we are stacked, my friends,
not just with great news stories, very interesting and important
things to discuss there. We've also got some guests to
(00:21):
speak with all of you about, including at the bottom
of this hour, we will have the director of the FBI,
Cash Pattel, joining us talking about crime fighting. Clay, you
ask for miracles, I give you the FBI director.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So he will be with us, and gonna need new
FBI guys.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I think they're probably hired in some new FBI guys,
getting some good people on that team. So a lot
going on there. We're gonna have some fun with this.
It's not gonna be fun for the people that end
up shopping there. But Zoran Mamdani is setting up a
government run grocery store in New York. Will take clear.
Are you already up on the stats here? By the way,
(01:03):
did you already see this one gonna?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Because I'm fired up because today's tax day and wasted money.
And when I saw that, Mom, Donnie is gonna waste
you hit us with the numbers. But to try to
get one grocery store government run he's gonna spend thirty
million dollars, Yeah, and three years to build a grocery
store that he has already scaled back the promise of
(01:27):
it's not everything will be cheaper, because he might have
had somebody who knows something about the grocery business to
explain to him, you're operating with a one to two
percent profit margin. It's just scale that makes this a business.
But you are razor thin on the margins. It's not
you know, your if you were think about it. People
(01:48):
who understand capitalism, I e.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
All of you. If one grocery store.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Was selling a can of Goya beans for three dollars
and another grocery store was selling them for two dollars,
people would go to the other one, right, I mean this,
there's competition. This is why grocery stores have to do
things Like a lost leader. You might say, Buck, why
is it that I could go in and get London
broyle at a nice, nice cut of meat London broil
(02:14):
at my local grocery store at this great price, Because
they're actually losing money on that to get you into
the store so that they can get you to get
some other things that they might make some money back on, right,
So we'll get into some more clay, because it's really
the key thing about it, though, is everyone knows this
will be a disaster. Everyone knows that Mam Donnie's project
(02:37):
is going to be a cautionary tale. But he is
a kamie and so he can't stop real government grocery
stores have never been tried. That's where we're going on
this one. That is where this is heading. It is
a slow motion financial train wreck for the City of
New York. I'm already too excited about it. We will
come back to this story, I promise you. I wanted
(02:57):
to start clay because obviously we got to get to
the crime situation with the FBI Director Cash Betel, Director
Patel at the bottom here. But Trump has had two
things that I know are high on your radar. Aaran,
which will give you the latest update on But I
actually want to start with this Clay because I'm hearing
stuff you're here and stuff. Friends, we might be faced
(03:21):
with a Supreme Court vacancy here, a voluntary vacancy meaning
you know, no, we're all wishing for the good health
of all of the Supreme Court members. This is just
someone saying, look, I'm old, I'm stepping down. The speculation
is it will be Alito or perhaps Thomas. I think
Alito is more likely personally. Trump was asked about this
(03:41):
by Fox News's Maria Bartiromo. This has cut one hit it.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
It's probably not easy to give up for people, you know,
they reach a certain age. Hinsburg could not do it,
and she really hurt herself within the Democrat Party. People
are very angry at her because I got to appoint
people instead of Biden. So you don't know if you're
going to be naming putting another nomination forward.
Speaker 6 (04:05):
Okay, you've got a biggest possible, you know in theory.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
In theory it's two or three. They tell me if
you just read statistics, and could be two, could be three,
could be one. I don't know. Uh, I'm prepared to
do it. But when you mentioned Alito, he is a
great justice Clay.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
The team player move here from Alito, who I think
is seventy six, that's right, The team player move is wild.
Trump is the president and while we have the Senate,
he would get nothing but applause for me. You and
I'm sure this audience step aside. Now let someone else
(04:42):
take the reins.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
What say you, We've been ahead of the story on this,
and I give credit. This is where the prediction markets
polymarket in particular really got my attention as I'm running
through to see that Alito is favored to step down,
and if he's going to step down, we got big
decisions coming in June, which will be the end of
(05:03):
this Supreme Court term, and then you have a little
bit of a dead period, and it would be make
a lot of sense while Republicans control the Senate and
the Presidency, to get a new Supreme Court justice in
before the October term. So you have nine justices ready
to go. And look, I hope Republicans retain the Senate
(05:25):
for two years thereafter, for the final two years of
Trump's two point zero term, but it's not guaranteed. And
so if you want to guarantee that, for instance, you
could be replaced by potentially Buck, a actual one of
your clerks, which again is something that a lot of
(05:47):
Supreme Court justices love to do. You know the person
that is going to replace you, you feel good about
their judicial philosophy, and you go through the confirmation process
with that new individual. I do wonder Buck, whether now
that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, will there be
a calmer Supreme Court justice process? I know Democrats are
(06:10):
going to score their political points and they're going to
lose their minds, but will it be calmer than it
has been in past years? Because we were all told
if Roe v. Waighte ever gets overturned, the seas will
be boiling right like things will fall apart, And it's
actually not happened at all.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It's really not even a top ten political issue in
the country anymore for what determines certainly national elections, because
it's now up to the states, which is what it
should have been. It really should have been all along.
But nonetheless Clay and that was always the Scalia position
on this. It's funny you asked that question, and I'm like, yes,
(06:50):
of course, in a rational act or environment, the Supreme
Court temperature should be turned down post Row.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
But no, I don't think so. They'll find some they'll
find some way to make this.
Speaker 7 (07:06):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
The other big issue that comes to mind is the
birthright citizenship, and that that's some of my Democrats are
clearly deranged about. But I think trans rights is another
thing that gets them about as not quite as.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Animated as abortion.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
But the far left fringe wants a Supreme Court that
will create a special carve out for trans rights. There's
no question about that. And so they will fight tooth
and nail on it for that. I think so so
the answers. I think they will not be able to
get the same mobilization. But there will be plenty of
(07:40):
crazies who treat the Supreme Court like it's there. It's
the end of the world if they don't get some
communist maniac in robes.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, and look, I also would point out, I mean,
we're dealing with this with Swallwell, which has brought back
the echo of Kavanaugh. They're gonna fight any guide that
they find. We're kind of in this era now where
it feels to me Buck, unless you are well, it
doesn't even matter. I was gonna say, unless you have
only slept with one person in your entire life and
(08:09):
only kissed one woman in your entire life, that you're
almost going to get attacked. And somebody's going to say, oh,
so and so, if you're a guy and you're getting
you're up for a big job. So and so is
a sexual abuse or a rapist. He dated women who
were too young, and I was thinking, well, maybe if
you only married one woman you were a virgin when together,
(08:29):
they'll just make it up anyway, right, Like we're kind
of in Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh hadn't led some some playboy lifestyle
at all.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yes, he was. He was a boy scout. It was
a boy scout of the first order. And I mean that,
you know, in a good way as a boy scout.
And yet they they still tried to they completely fabricated
things about him. But Clay, who is your I mean,
we could do this right now.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Look, we're getting a little ahead of this. There's still
some rumors coming out. Obviously Trump is being asked about it,
so it is now in the news cycle. But I
have heard from people who have heard from people who
have heard from people that there is going to be
a vacancy soon and everyone is I think pretty confident
it would be Aldo, but who knows, could be Thomas
(09:13):
if that happens.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Who is our pick? Who is the move for Supreme Court?
I got it.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Look, there's a lot of judges that might be phenomenal
that I don't have at my fingertips right now. I'd
have to see what the Federalist Society puts forward. If
you're asking me, off the top of my head, though,
Mike Lee would be really good. Mike Lee would be great.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
I'll give you one that I don't know if it's
going to get any attention, but I think it would
be a home run Ron DeSantis.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I don't know that one hundred percent he would do it.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I don't know that Ron wants it. I think that's
I think Ron wants to run stuff. I don't think
he wants to be a judge personally, That's just my sense.
I think he might like being a judge really is.
And I say this in a favorable way for him.
Him he is a law nerd. And I'll tell you
a story. I don't know if I've told this story
on the air before, but a few years ago, there
(10:07):
was a Sunshine Summit that was put on by Florida.
I spoke at the event, and I was sitting at
the table with James Utmeyer, who is now the very
accomplished Attorney General of the State of Florida doing a
really good job. He was the chief of staff for
Ron DeSantis at the time. Marco Rubio is there Byron
Donald's a lot of the guys that are friends of
ours and have been on the program a lot over
(10:29):
the years. And I sat down, I said, where is DeSantis?
And Utemeyer told me he's in a back room reading
all of the latest court opinions coming down in the
state of Florida, from cover to cover, so that he
is completely prepared for them.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
So everybody else is this is one hundred percent true.
Everybody else is walking Yes, everybody else is walking around
like kissing babies, posing for photos. And Santis, who was
the keynote as the governor of Florida, as you would anticipate,
is in the back reading opinions.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Again.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
I do think Ron DeSantis would make a very good senator.
He's obviously been an excellent governor. He would make a
great cabinet member. A part of me thinks that he
might be open to the idea of being a Supreme
Court justice. And so if you asked me someone who
is in the political realm who would be a great
Supreme Court justice, you mentioned Mike Lee. I don't disagree
(11:29):
with that. I think he likes being in the Senate.
But I do think Ron DeSantis, remember his term is
up in November, so the timing of it could be
pretty perfect. Right, So you've got his term as governor
coming to an end, and again I'm not sure that
Trump is going to go to a political figure. It's
(11:50):
somewhat of a rarity and there will be a lot
of as you just mentioned Buck Federalist Society recommendations, guys
and gals who have been former Alito clerks that he
would be very excited I think to have succeed him.
But if you wanted me to go with a political name,
I think Ron DeSantis would be a outstanding, outstanding Supreme
(12:13):
Court justice. Remember he's also only forty six or forty seven,
so you would get him for thirty years.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I think he would be phenomenal.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Quite honestly, he's certainly because this is where IQ you know,
is Ron the funniest guy?
Speaker 7 (12:27):
No?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And also our sense of comedians and comedy and politics
now because of Trump is forever the bar has been
said very high on what makes a politician funny. No
one since Reagan has had anything approaching Trump's timing and
comedic ability. I'm just saying, in terms of the charisma factor,
you don't care about a Supreme Court justice having super
high charisma. You want super high intellect, understanding and honestly wisdom,
(12:53):
and Ron hits all of those notes very well. I
just think that he still thinks maybe one day he's
going to run for the big job, which I don't
think you can do if you're Supreme Court.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
No, no, no, it's it's true. I would say this. It
also would be an easy vetting, like whatever you think
about Ron DeSantis. When you run for president, they go
through your past with a fine tooth comb, like there,
what are you going to say about him? I mean,
he's already I just think it would be he would
be outstanding at it.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
You know, you'd have.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Him for thirty years. He's run for president. He may
be looking at it and saying, look, JD. Vance is
the guy in twenty eight it's gonna be hard to
be JD. Marco Rubio is out there. He may look
at that. Look, he's still relatively young, forty six or
forty seven. I mean, you know we elect presidents over seventy,
so twenty five years from now, I mean, he's still
got a long career. But I think he's a legal nerd,
and I think he would be a phenomenal pick for
(13:43):
the next thirty years to serve on the Supreme Court.
And I look, the Supreme Court justice is the ultimate
legacy that every president gets, but president gets eight years. Again,
I'm just saying, Ron DeSantis, somebody of his age could
be on the Supreme Court for thirty or even remember
John Paul Stevens State, Sorry, suitor, I think stayed on
(14:05):
until he was ninety, right, So I mean he could
be on for forty five years. So again, if he's healthy,
it's an appointment. That is I think the most important
thing in many ways that presidents do. We're just talking
about how in a post Row world the Supreme Court
feels different. Democrats were saying forever that the world would end.
(14:28):
Didn't end, but unfortunately abortion didn't end either. It's still
happening all across the country in states with very liberal
abortion law, so babies are losing their lives at very
similar levels to what was happening before Roe versus Way
was overturned. This is why I think it's so important
to do what you can to act on your pro
(14:49):
life principles and save tiny babies in the womb right now,
not next year, not the next Supreme Court term, whatever
it may be, save babies now. So Preborn clinics allow
you to do that because if you support these preborn clinics,
you are helping moms who come into the clinics and
just need compassion and truth. And what happens is they
(15:11):
have this ultrasound process and the baby is shown to
mom via ultrasound, and then there's a discussion about all
the support that these preborn clinics are going to give
that mom for the tiny life growing inside per womb.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Over eighty percent of the time when Preborn has a
mom see the baby on ultrasound, the choice is for life.
And so many of these mothers, I've met them, So
many of these mothers have been pushed to abortion elsewhere,
told that's their only choice. Step in and save babies. Today,
Preborn is attempting to welcome more than ten thousand women
into their clinics nationwide this month in April alone. So
(15:48):
here is my ask. I know you're busy, and I
know prices are high, and I know times are tied
for a lot of people, But if you can consider
saying yes to a gift of just twenty eight dollars,
that twenty eight dollars. There's a reason for that number.
It's because that's how much an ultrasound costs. So if
you can give twenty eight dollars, you will be helping
a mom get that ultrasound and helping a life be
(16:10):
saved via preborn clinics. And if you can do one
hundred and forty dollars, that would help five moms make
that decision for life in a preborn clinic. Twenty eight dollars,
one hundred and forty dollars. Whatever you can spare to donate,
use your cell phone dial pound two fifty and say
the keyword baby. That's pound two five zero and say baby.
(16:31):
Or go to preborn dot com, slash buck preborn dot
com slash b uc k sponsored by Preborn Last.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Learn and hang with the guys. Clay and Buck.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Pre said on the iHeart app Walk.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Back in Play Travis Buck Sexton show. You want some
good news tax Day, We're gonna get into it.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
I've got some of the numbers that is not good news,
uh for those of us who actually pay taxes, But
good news. The S and P five hundred has just
set an all time record high.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
So it is up.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Buck two thousand points since we were told by all
of the economic experts last year that things were falling apart.
So if you have merely held stocks and just not
even looked at the prices, not panicked about what's going
on with Iran, what's going on with tariffs, what's going
(17:27):
on with everything? As President Trump is in charge, you
now have more money in your four to oh one k.
You have more money in your stock accounts than at
any point in your life. Buy and hold, Buy and hold,
buy and hold, and congrats to everyone with stocks on
the fact that we have now got an all time
(17:47):
record high even amidst the run situation. We'll give you
the latest on the situation in Iran. We come back,
but buck. This morning I was downstairs lifting weights, and
this night my wife said, yes, My wife said, are
you really lifting way more? Because you don't want your
(18:07):
fifteen year old to be stronger than you. He is
lifting all the time. I said, yes, I have to
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for at least a little while longer. And if you're
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(18:30):
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Speaker 3 (18:51):
Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. I was
just talking to a really good friend of mine who
lives in Washington, DC, and he was saying that the
city feels like a different city and Trump's initiative on
crime there is not only making people safer, he says,
there's such a life and vitality in certain neighborhoods he
(19:13):
hasn't seen a long time. Real estate prices are going
up and it's really been great for our nation's capital.
Well what happened? Oh, we all know. Let's talk to
somebody who can speak to this though with particular insight
and expertise. The director of the FBI Cash Hotel is
with us now. Director Patel honored to have you with
us against Earth.
Speaker 7 (19:32):
Thank you, thanks so much for having me back on.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Let's just talk about this violent crime crack down nationwide,
but give us some of the highlights of where this
has had a particular work. And then Director, I want
to ask you about what does it mean for the
federal and the local departner Like I want you to
take us into the mechanics of how this has worked
a bit so we can understand it. But first if
you would just where are we seeing huge results from
(19:56):
federal law enforcement FBI leading the charge working to bring
down violent crime rates.
Speaker 7 (20:01):
Here's the great news for America everywhere, literally everywhere, thanks
to President Trump's resourcing and backing the blue and law
enforcement and giving the American people the security blanket that
they so well deserve. We have launched out on what
you just announced, President Trump's task Forces in Washington, DC
and places like Memphis, where the violent crime rates have
(20:22):
been dropping by fifty and sixty percentage points across the board.
Memphis was a per capital homicide capital of America. We
chopped that down by forty percent thanks to President Trump's
leadership and establishment of the task force. But you hit
it right on its head. It's not just the FBI.
The FBI is the lead law enforcement agency, but we're
working with our state and local partners in every single
(20:42):
jurisdiction that we have because President Trump has stressed interagency
cooperation at the state and federal level. And when you
let good costree cops, when you remove the bureaucracy, and
when you know that your law enforcement personnel in the field,
and when they know that they have the support of
their leadership structure and their government and their president, they're
going to go out and do the work. And that's
why the homicide rate dropped twenty points across the entire country.
(21:05):
That's why we have twenty percent less opiate overdose debts
in America in one year. Long those two would be
monumental achievements, but President Trump and this FBI have done
so much more.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Washington, d C Is a great example. You just mentioned it.
I just looked at the current data. The murder rates
down fifty percent off last year, and last year was
one of the lowest murder rates on record. I would
imagine with America to fifty that's a focus. If cities
like Chicago actually got behind what we're seeing in Memphis
and we're seeing in DC. What do you think the
(21:39):
crime the murder rate. Let's just focus on murder, How
much murder? How many lives could be saved if you
had real support from blue cities like we've seen in
DC and Memphis. What kind of life saving opportunity would
be out there?
Speaker 7 (21:55):
Hundreds And you know this as well as anybody.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
You cover it.
Speaker 7 (21:58):
Tragically, you see these gang shootings, and that's where the
FBI's focus has been on those localized streak angs. Yes,
we're looking at the national security threats, the large foreign
terist organizations, the narco traffickers, the ms thirteams of the world,
but a lot of these offshoots and these localized street gangs.
We've done in places like Philadelphia where we literally eliminated
an entire street gang in Weymouth, and we would do
(22:20):
the same thing in Chicago if they let us in.
But you highlighted it. President Trump has offered to go in,
and they have an elected leadership there that is in
favor of politics over protecting its people. I mean playing buck.
You guys know this better than anyone. You see kids
five years of age, seven years of age get caught
up in gang shootings and murdered, and you would think
(22:40):
that the people of those towns want their city secure,
and I think the people do. It's just their elected
leadership is prioritizing politics over public safety. And to me,
that's just a tragedy. We could save hundreds of lives
in places like Chicago.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
We totally agree, Director Battella. It's remarkable and also unfortunately
really frustrating to see how clear the results are and
yet and the unwillingness to admit that this Trump initiative,
which you are part of, the tip of the spear
on and the FBI and the men and women of
the FBI, they won't admit that this is working and
(23:14):
saving lives. They'd rather things continue to be a problem
in some of these cities because you're not getting that
same level of cooperation. I want to ask you about
the fraud stuff coming up in a second, so we
definitely need to get to that. But first stuff, though,
can you just talk us through a little bit what
does it mean in Memphis now? What is different on
the ground in terms of how law enforcement is working together.
You know, we invited the mayor of Memphis on and
(23:35):
he still has an open invite to come talk to
us about this and just to congratulate him on how
well things are going in the city with this federal partnership.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
But what does it mean.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
You have FBI guys who are doing like riding along
with state troopers. Are they just coordinating back at headquarters?
How does it look.
Speaker 7 (23:51):
It's a variety of things. But you have to attack
the gang network, as I was mentioning earlier, and that's
what we did in Memphis. But you also have to
get state and local prosecutors willing to bring those street
crimes in state local court. And we were able to
do that in Memphis. Which you also have to do
is expand your federal prosecutions. And thanks to the DOJ
presidence there, the FBI is leading the prosecutions of violent
(24:11):
gang offenders, murderers, rapists, and drug dealers and putting them
in federal court every single chance we get. So you
have to have a jurisdiction that's willing to let us
in and not take over, but also have a jurisdiction
that is a police force and a prosecution force willing
to take that on. And that's what was congregated in Memphis.
Thanks to President Trump's leadership. You saw the direct result
(24:34):
of how we reduced people said, you can't save Memphis.
The per capitol rate for homicides is the highest in
the country, and it's been like that for years. There's
no way you can do that. We did it in
six months. It shows you we could do it there,
we could do it in Chicago. But more importantly, for
the folks around America that are listening to this, we're
doing it in every single country. I mean, when you
seize enough fentanyl to kill one hundred and seventy eight
million Americans, a thirty one percent increase, that's just the
(24:56):
FBI seizures under President Trump's leadership. Think about how many
lives we saved in towns across America, how many overdoses
we presented for tragedies like kids in high schools that
we used to see around the country are diminishing.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Greatly less Seriously, here USA hockey. That was so awesome
and I can only imagine how cool it was to
be there representing the United States government and be able
to celebrate with those guys. Were you even blow I know,
we know that there are a lot of truly insane,
(25:28):
broken brain Democrats were even though you surprised by how
much they came after you for celebrating a gold medal win,
by the way, something that Jimmy Carter did, something that
Walter Mondell did back when we beat when we won
the gold medal the last time. I mean that to
me kind of characterized how much they've lost their minds.
Speaker 7 (25:49):
I think. Yet I guess it doesn't surprise me. What
was important was we were there for the Milan Olympics.
The FBI was leading the security for two hundred and
fifty thousand Americans that went to Milan for the Winter Olympics,
as responsible for the upcoming Club World Cup where we
have what sixty four matches across the country and ultimately
the twenty twenty eight Olympics. So we learned through every
evolution and thankfully due to the FBI and President Trump
(26:12):
and DHS, we haven't had any significant security incidences at
F one, at the Super Bowl, at the Club World Cup.
And that's what we're doing. And I was fortunate enough
to there, to be there with the men's hockey team
and my friends on the team and celebrating something that
hadn't been done in what fifty out of my MAT's
terrible fifty some years. So I was glad to be
(26:33):
celebrating for America at a historic time. And I was
glad that we were able to provide the security necessary
to make sure our athletes and our American citizens that
attended the Olympics could go there safely and return safely.
And that's our focus, and that's always going to be
our focus. I'll always ignore the noise.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
We're speaking an FBI director at Patel And just for
the record, mister director, I too love patriotism, freedom and
Americans kicking as at sports. But I got to take
us in another you know, womp, I'm taking this in
another direction here for a second, if I could, because
we have a lot of people writing in and they're
asking us this question, and we keep saying, well, this
(27:09):
is you know that we got to see how the
investigations go. There's a process, there's but there is a
really and I'm sure it's it's high up on your radar,
a sense that there is systematic and just massive fraud
going on defrauding the federal government, whether it's Medicare, Medicaid,
(27:30):
all kinds of different payments under those systems, just lots
of things in the fraud category at enormous scale, hundreds
of millions, billions of dollars. Does the FBI first of all,
is that a priority right now? Do you have the
resources to be able to deal with this? And and
are full investigations underway of places like what happened in
(27:50):
Minneapolis and people talking about that now California is up
on people's radar. Even Gavin Newsom started to say, Yeah,
there's a lot of fraud. Talk to us about that.
Speaker 7 (27:58):
Yeah, fraud has always been a priority. These complex investigations
are what the FBI does best. And thanks to the
Vice President as leadership and DJ on the task Force,
we're able to get after it with even more resources
we've ever had. But we've been on it since we've
gotten in the seat. Last summer alone, I was in
Minneapolis before everything went down, and we took down a
two hundred and fifty million dollar fraud for a program
(28:18):
called Feeding Our Futures, where people defrauded a program in
the state of Minneapolis that was used to feed poor children.
We did that last summer. We connected it to the
statewide fraud investigations that we have going there and in
places like California. We just had a massive takedown just
last week with our US Attorney's office there, I think,
on a fifty five million dollar fraud program. And so
(28:39):
we're not stopping but mapping out these networks under our
NSPM seven initiative, we're taking entire data sets from around
the country and the world and says who's funding these things?
Then more importantly, who is taking the taxpayer dollar enriching
themselves unlawfully? And everyone that is doing that is a
target and is going to continue to be a target
(29:01):
under the President the Vice President's task force.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
So you are looking into this, there's a task force
and people because right now, mister Director, there's a sense
that people are just getting away with this all over
the place, that there's so much fraud that it's it's
like impossible to track it all down. Sounds like you're saying, no,
the Bureau was on it. The resources are there, because
if we're a country where people can steal millions, billions,
(29:27):
whatever it is, when you count this up, there's a
sense it's tax day today, and it's you know a
lot of people say, okay, so I have to pay
my federal income tax.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I have to do this the right way.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
But a lot of people can get away with just
cheating the system to the tune of huge sums of money.
So that is not going to be allowed on President
Trump's watch.
Speaker 7 (29:45):
It hasn't been allowed. I'll and I'll tell you what happened.
And you know this. When you let rampant fraud in
the prior administration explode, we are the ones left cleaning
it up. And we are doing that, just like we
did with the violent crime initiatives across the country that
drop the murder rate and so many other ways in
which we're protecting violent crimes. Are violent crimes against children are?
We're doing the same thing on the fraud front. We're
(30:06):
cleaning up the past failures of the prior administration and
we're not going to stop until we have every fraud
investigation complete. I have hundreds of fraud investigations, large scale
fraud investigations open around the country that we've been working
for fourteen straight months, and people are I'm glad, are
paying attention to our publicized wins, and we got a
lot more coming cash.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
I'm going to go back completely unserious because you probably
get asked all sorts of serious questions, Butte but Buck
and I were just talking off air. Pete Hegseth. You
probably saw this posted a video of him bench pressing
three hundred and fifteen pounds. That is a ridiculous amount
to be able to bench press. But I know that
you are pretty serious workout guy too. What's your bench
(30:51):
and has it gone up since you became FBI director.
Speaker 7 (30:54):
I'll just say I think Pete's got me on that one.
But I did is push up and pull up challenge.
You know, it's I think it's great. It's also inspiring
to our workforces, yeah, to prioritize fitness, because look, we
are the premier law enforcement agency in the world, and
I'm not asking you to be a Navy seal, but
if I'm asking to take down bad guys in the
streets and chase them down, then you've got to be
able to do a couple of push ups and pull ups.
(31:15):
And so our standards are going to meet the requirements
of the dynamic threat landscape, and leaders like Pete and myself,
we're willing to go out there and maintain our fitness
levels to what we can. We're just asking our workforce
to do the same. And I think it's inspiring and
if folks out there want to make fun of us,
what would you rather have Pete, myself and the other
leaders doing what we're doing, or three hundred and fifty
pounds overweight people leaving this Department of War in the
(31:37):
Federal Borber of Investigation. It's an example. We set leadership
out front and we're going to continue to do it.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Will you be at the UFC fight? By the way,
are you looking forward to that?
Speaker 7 (31:46):
You know, I'm a big MMA guy, and you know
Dana's a dear friend. And as you know, the FBI
for the first time did its historic partnership with the
UFC at Quantico. We had ten world champions come in
and train three hundred and fifty agents for a weekend.
So it's a big part of what we're doing here
to provide the resources and training for our agents, and
so I'm looking forward to that fight at the White House.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
FBI Director Cash Bettel, good work, sir, Thank you for
making the streets safer. Great to talk to you, and
we'll have you back soon.
Speaker 7 (32:15):
Yep, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
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Speaker 6 (33:26):
Level up your brain and balance out your day with
the right amount of information and entertainment. Clay Travis and
Buck Sexton on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (33:36):
Or wherever you get your podcasts, Welcome back in Play
Travis Buck Sexton Show Buck. I know this sometimes stuns you,
but I just saw our friend Jesse Kelly share it
and I just went and clicked on it. In the
state of Texas right now, the Athletic, which is the
New York Times sports section, they are awful. They are
(33:57):
investigating this is this is their lead story. The Texas
Rangers franchise has installed a statue of a Texas Ranger
inside of the baseball stadium, and the Athletic has decided
that it is an offensive statue and they are trying
to get the statue removed. So I do think it
(34:21):
is worth remembering, and I just point this out right now,
We've got a solid you just heard from Cash Pttel.
We've got a solid cadre of what I would say,
are just normal people running the country. The moment that
Democrats get power, their crazy train hasn't been derailed, It
(34:42):
hasn't even necessarily lost momentum inside of the party it's
just being curtailed because we've eliminated the crazy in terms
of leadership right now, but Buck, they have not gone anywhere.
I see some of the things that they are working on,
and it is absolutely bonkers, absolutely bonkers how far left
(35:05):
wing they remain.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
But right now lead story.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
They are offended that the franchise named after the Texas
Rangers has decided to put up a statue of a
Texas Ranger. So this is the world that we are in.
I will say positive side, As I said, the stock
market has now set a record high, but there's still
a lot of chaos out there.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
I'm just I'm waiting for them to figure out that
the Vikings, a storied NFL franchise, not very feminist and
in fact, really weak on trans writes, really weak on transwrites,
although the guys did have long hair sometimes. All right,
we have VIP email from Andrew. We're gonna need some
(35:49):
new FBI guys. Is a hilarious Diehard reference. Well done.
That was actually Clay in reference to my VIP email
from guy nice Diehard reference. Buck, you ask for a miracle,
I give you the FBI. You know what I love
about that? We might have talked about this before. Hans Gruber,
who was played by Alan Rickman, who unfortunately has passed away.
Many of you know him from his role as Snape
(36:10):
and Harry Potter, which is so famous that even I
know that without having seen the movies. You know, he
had never been in a movie before he did that movie.
He was a stage actor from the UK and he
stepped in. That was his first movie, was Hans Gruebert.
That skill right there, that's game that I would argue
is the greatest action film ever made.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
I put it at number one as well. I put
Predator at number two.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
My brothers and I just talked about this, and I
actually put the Matrix at number three, but that's a
little more controversial. But I go Diehard Predator the Matrix.
I would probably go die Hard one Matrix two. Those
are both amazing. We come back, sax Day.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
Sorry,
Welcome it, everybody to the Wednesday edition of the Clay
Travis and Buck Sexton Show. And we are stacked, my friends,
not just with great news stories, very interesting and important
things to discuss there. We've also got some guests to
(00:21):
speak with all of you about, including at the bottom
of this hour, we will have the director of the FBI,
Cash Pattel, joining us talking about crime fighting. Clay, you
ask for miracles, I give you the FBI director.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
So he will be with us, and gonna need new
FBI guys.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
I think they're probably hired in some new FBI guys,
getting some good people on that team. So a lot
going on there. We're gonna have some fun with this.
It's not gonna be fun for the people that end
up shopping there. But Zoran Mamdani is setting up a
government run grocery store in New York. Will take clear.
Are you already up on the stats here? By the way,
(01:03):
did you already see this one gonna?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Because I'm fired up because today's tax day and wasted money.
And when I saw that, Mom, Donnie is gonna waste
you hit us with the numbers. But to try to
get one grocery store government run he's gonna spend thirty
million dollars, Yeah, and three years to build a grocery
store that he has already scaled back the promise of
(01:27):
it's not everything will be cheaper, because he might have
had somebody who knows something about the grocery business to
explain to him, you're operating with a one to two
percent profit margin. It's just scale that makes this a business.
But you are razor thin on the margins. It's not
you know, your if you were think about it. People
(01:48):
who understand capitalism, I e.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
All of you. If one grocery store.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Was selling a can of Goya beans for three dollars
and another grocery store was selling them for two dollars,
people would go to the other one, right, I mean this,
there's competition. This is why grocery stores have to do
things Like a lost leader. You might say, Buck, why
is it that I could go in and get London
broyle at a nice, nice cut of meat London broil
(02:14):
at my local grocery store at this great price, Because
they're actually losing money on that to get you into
the store so that they can get you to get
some other things that they might make some money back on, right,
So we'll get into some more clay, because it's really
the key thing about it, though, is everyone knows this
will be a disaster. Everyone knows that Mam Donnie's project
(02:37):
is going to be a cautionary tale. But he is
a kamie and so he can't stop real government grocery
stores have never been tried. That's where we're going on
this one. That is where this is heading. It is
a slow motion financial train wreck for the City of
New York. I'm already too excited about it. We will
come back to this story, I promise you. I wanted
(02:57):
to start clay because obviously we got to get to
the crime situation with the FBI Director Cash Betel, Director
Patel at the bottom here. But Trump has had two
things that I know are high on your radar. Aaran,
which will give you the latest update on But I
actually want to start with this Clay because I'm hearing
stuff you're here and stuff. Friends, we might be faced
(03:21):
with a Supreme Court vacancy here, a voluntary vacancy meaning
you know, no, we're all wishing for the good health
of all of the Supreme Court members. This is just
someone saying, look, I'm old, I'm stepping down. The speculation
is it will be Alito or perhaps Thomas. I think
Alito is more likely personally. Trump was asked about this
(03:41):
by Fox News's Maria Bartiromo. This has cut one hit it.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
It's probably not easy to give up for people, you know,
they reach a certain age. Hinsburg could not do it,
and she really hurt herself within the Democrat Party. People
are very angry at her because I got to appoint
people instead of Biden. So you don't know if you're
going to be naming putting another nomination forward.
Speaker 6 (04:05):
Okay, you've got a biggest possible, you know in theory.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
In theory it's two or three. They tell me if
you just read statistics, and could be two, could be three,
could be one. I don't know. Uh, I'm prepared to
do it. But when you mentioned Alito, he is a
great justice Clay.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
The team player move here from Alito, who I think
is seventy six, that's right, The team player move is wild.
Trump is the president and while we have the Senate,
he would get nothing but applause for me. You and
I'm sure this audience step aside. Now let someone else
(04:42):
take the reins.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
What say you, We've been ahead of the story on this,
and I give credit. This is where the prediction markets
polymarket in particular really got my attention as I'm running
through to see that Alito is favored to step down,
and if he's going to step down, we got big
decisions coming in June, which will be the end of
(05:03):
this Supreme Court term, and then you have a little
bit of a dead period, and it would be make
a lot of sense while Republicans control the Senate and
the Presidency, to get a new Supreme Court justice in
before the October term. So you have nine justices ready
to go. And look, I hope Republicans retain the Senate
(05:25):
for two years thereafter, for the final two years of
Trump's two point zero term, but it's not guaranteed. And
so if you want to guarantee that, for instance, you
could be replaced by potentially Buck, a actual one of
your clerks, which again is something that a lot of
(05:47):
Supreme Court justices love to do. You know the person
that is going to replace you, you feel good about
their judicial philosophy, and you go through the confirmation process
with that new individual. I do wonder Buck, whether now
that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, will there be
a calmer Supreme Court justice process? I know Democrats are
(06:10):
going to score their political points and they're going to
lose their minds, but will it be calmer than it
has been in past years? Because we were all told
if Roe v. Waighte ever gets overturned, the seas will
be boiling right like things will fall apart, And it's
actually not happened at all.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
It's really not even a top ten political issue in
the country anymore for what determines certainly national elections, because
it's now up to the states, which is what it
should have been. It really should have been all along.
But nonetheless Clay and that was always the Scalia position
on this. It's funny you asked that question, and I'm like, yes,
(06:50):
of course, in a rational act or environment, the Supreme
Court temperature should be turned down post Row.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
But no, I don't think so. They'll find some they'll
find some way to make this.
Speaker 7 (07:06):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
The other big issue that comes to mind is the
birthright citizenship, and that that's some of my Democrats are
clearly deranged about. But I think trans rights is another
thing that gets them about as not quite as.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Animated as abortion.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
But the far left fringe wants a Supreme Court that
will create a special carve out for trans rights. There's
no question about that. And so they will fight tooth
and nail on it for that. I think so so
the answers. I think they will not be able to
get the same mobilization. But there will be plenty of
(07:40):
crazies who treat the Supreme Court like it's there. It's
the end of the world if they don't get some
communist maniac in robes.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah, and look, I also would point out, I mean,
we're dealing with this with Swallwell, which has brought back
the echo of Kavanaugh. They're gonna fight any guide that
they find. We're kind of in this era now where
it feels to me Buck, unless you are well, it
doesn't even matter. I was gonna say, unless you have
only slept with one person in your entire life and
(08:09):
only kissed one woman in your entire life, that you're
almost going to get attacked. And somebody's going to say, oh,
so and so, if you're a guy and you're getting
you're up for a big job. So and so is
a sexual abuse or a rapist. He dated women who
were too young, and I was thinking, well, maybe if
you only married one woman you were a virgin when together,
(08:29):
they'll just make it up anyway, right, Like we're kind
of in Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh hadn't led some some playboy lifestyle
at all.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yes, he was. He was a boy scout. It was
a boy scout of the first order. And I mean that,
you know, in a good way as a boy scout.
And yet they they still tried to they completely fabricated
things about him. But Clay, who is your I mean,
we could do this right now.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Now.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Look, we're getting a little ahead of this. There's still
some rumors coming out. Obviously Trump is being asked about it,
so it is now in the news cycle. But I
have heard from people who have heard from people who
have heard from people that there is going to be
a vacancy soon and everyone is I think pretty confident
it would be Aldo, but who knows, could be Thomas
(09:13):
if that happens.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Who is our pick? Who is the move for Supreme Court?
I got it.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Look, there's a lot of judges that might be phenomenal
that I don't have at my fingertips right now. I'd
have to see what the Federalist Society puts forward. If
you're asking me, off the top of my head, though,
Mike Lee would be really good. Mike Lee would be great.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
I'll give you one that I don't know if it's
going to get any attention, but I think it would
be a home run Ron DeSantis.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I don't know that one hundred percent he would do it.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I don't know that Ron wants it. I think that's
I think Ron wants to run stuff. I don't think
he wants to be a judge personally, That's just my sense.
I think he might like being a judge really is.
And I say this in a favorable way for him.
Him he is a law nerd. And I'll tell you
a story. I don't know if I've told this story
on the air before, but a few years ago, there
(10:07):
was a Sunshine Summit that was put on by Florida.
I spoke at the event, and I was sitting at
the table with James Utmeyer, who is now the very
accomplished Attorney General of the State of Florida doing a
really good job. He was the chief of staff for
Ron DeSantis at the time. Marco Rubio is there Byron
Donald's a lot of the guys that are friends of
ours and have been on the program a lot over
(10:29):
the years. And I sat down, I said, where is DeSantis?
And Utemeyer told me he's in a back room reading
all of the latest court opinions coming down in the
state of Florida, from cover to cover, so that he
is completely prepared for them.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
So everybody else is this is one hundred percent true.
Everybody else is walking Yes, everybody else is walking around
like kissing babies, posing for photos. And Santis, who was
the keynote as the governor of Florida, as you would anticipate,
is in the back reading opinions.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Again.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
I do think Ron DeSantis would make a very good senator.
He's obviously been an excellent governor. He would make a
great cabinet member. A part of me thinks that he
might be open to the idea of being a Supreme
Court justice. And so if you asked me someone who
is in the political realm who would be a great
Supreme Court justice, you mentioned Mike Lee. I don't disagree
(11:29):
with that. I think he likes being in the Senate.
But I do think Ron DeSantis, remember his term is
up in November, so the timing of it could be
pretty perfect. Right, So you've got his term as governor
coming to an end, and again I'm not sure that
Trump is going to go to a political figure. It's
(11:50):
somewhat of a rarity and there will be a lot
of as you just mentioned Buck Federalist Society recommendations, guys
and gals who have been former Alito clerks that he
would be very excited I think to have succeed him.
But if you wanted me to go with a political name,
I think Ron DeSantis would be a outstanding, outstanding Supreme
(12:13):
Court justice. Remember he's also only forty six or forty seven,
so you would get him for thirty years.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I think he would be phenomenal.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Quite honestly, he's certainly because this is where IQ you know,
is Ron the funniest guy?
Speaker 7 (12:27):
No?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And also our sense of comedians and comedy and politics
now because of Trump is forever the bar has been
said very high on what makes a politician funny. No
one since Reagan has had anything approaching Trump's timing and
comedic ability. I'm just saying, in terms of the charisma factor,
you don't care about a Supreme Court justice having super
high charisma. You want super high intellect, understanding and honestly wisdom,
(12:53):
and Ron hits all of those notes very well. I
just think that he still thinks maybe one day he's
going to run for the big job, which I don't
think you can do if you're Supreme Court.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
No, no, no, it's it's true. I would say this. It
also would be an easy vetting, like whatever you think
about Ron DeSantis. When you run for president, they go
through your past with a fine tooth comb, like there,
what are you going to say about him? I mean,
he's already I just think it would be he would
be outstanding at it.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
You know, you'd have.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Him for thirty years. He's run for president. He may
be looking at it and saying, look, JD. Vance is
the guy in twenty eight it's gonna be hard to
be JD. Marco Rubio is out there. He may look
at that. Look, he's still relatively young, forty six or
forty seven. I mean, you know we elect presidents over seventy,
so twenty five years from now, I mean, he's still
got a long career. But I think he's a legal nerd,
and I think he would be a phenomenal pick for
(13:43):
the next thirty years to serve on the Supreme Court.
And I look, the Supreme Court justice is the ultimate
legacy that every president gets, but president gets eight years. Again,
I'm just saying, Ron DeSantis, somebody of his age could
be on the Supreme Court for thirty or even remember
John Paul Stevens State, Sorry, suitor, I think stayed on
(14:05):
until he was ninety, right, So I mean he could
be on for forty five years. So again, if he's healthy,
it's an appointment. That is I think the most important
thing in many ways that presidents do. We're just talking
about how in a post Row world the Supreme Court
feels different. Democrats were saying forever that the world would end.
(14:28):
Didn't end, but unfortunately abortion didn't end either. It's still
happening all across the country in states with very liberal
abortion law, so babies are losing their lives at very
similar levels to what was happening before Roe versus Way
was overturned. This is why I think it's so important
to do what you can to act on your pro
(14:49):
life principles and save tiny babies in the womb right now,
not next year, not the next Supreme Court term, whatever
it may be, save babies now. So Preborn clinics allow
you to do that because if you support these preborn clinics,
you are helping moms who come into the clinics and
just need compassion and truth. And what happens is they
(15:11):
have this ultrasound process and the baby is shown to
mom via ultrasound, and then there's a discussion about all
the support that these preborn clinics are going to give
that mom for the tiny life growing inside per womb.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Over eighty percent of the time when Preborn has a
mom see the baby on ultrasound, the choice is for life.
And so many of these mothers, I've met them, So
many of these mothers have been pushed to abortion elsewhere,
told that's their only choice. Step in and save babies. Today,
Preborn is attempting to welcome more than ten thousand women
into their clinics nationwide this month in April alone. So
(15:48):
here is my ask. I know you're busy, and I
know prices are high, and I know times are tied
for a lot of people, But if you can consider
saying yes to a gift of just twenty eight dollars,
that twenty eight dollars. There's a reason for that number.
It's because that's how much an ultrasound costs. So if
you can give twenty eight dollars, you will be helping
a mom get that ultrasound and helping a life be
(16:10):
saved via preborn clinics. And if you can do one
hundred and forty dollars, that would help five moms make
that decision for life in a preborn clinic. Twenty eight dollars,
one hundred and forty dollars. Whatever you can spare to donate,
use your cell phone dial pound two fifty and say
the keyword baby. That's pound two five zero and say baby.
(16:31):
Or go to preborn dot com, slash buck preborn dot
com slash b uc k sponsored by Preborn Last.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Learn and hang with the guys. Clay and Buck.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Pre said on the iHeart app Walk.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Back in Play Travis Buck Sexton show. You want some
good news tax Day, We're gonna get into it.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
I've got some of the numbers that is not good news,
uh for those of us who actually pay taxes, But
good news. The S and P five hundred has just
set an all time record high.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
So it is up.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Buck two thousand points since we were told by all
of the economic experts last year that things were falling apart.
So if you have merely held stocks and just not
even looked at the prices, not panicked about what's going
on with Iran, what's going on with tariffs, what's going
(17:27):
on with everything? As President Trump is in charge, you
now have more money in your four to oh one k.
You have more money in your stock accounts than at
any point in your life. Buy and hold, Buy and hold,
buy and hold, and congrats to everyone with stocks on
the fact that we have now got an all time
(17:47):
record high even amidst the run situation. We'll give you
the latest on the situation in Iran. We come back,
but buck. This morning I was downstairs lifting weights, and
this night my wife said, yes, My wife said, are
you really lifting way more? Because you don't want your
(18:07):
fifteen year old to be stronger than you. He is
lifting all the time. I said, yes, I have to
be able to be the strongest man in the house
for at least a little while longer. And if you're
out there and you want to be the strongest man
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Speaker 3 (18:51):
Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. I was
just talking to a really good friend of mine who
lives in Washington, DC, and he was saying that the
city feels like a different city and Trump's initiative on
crime there is not only making people safer, he says,
there's such a life and vitality in certain neighborhoods he
(19:13):
hasn't seen a long time. Real estate prices are going
up and it's really been great for our nation's capital.
Well what happened? Oh, we all know. Let's talk to
somebody who can speak to this though with particular insight
and expertise. The director of the FBI Cash Hotel is
with us now. Director Patel honored to have you with
us against Earth.
Speaker 7 (19:32):
Thank you, thanks so much for having me back on.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Let's just talk about this violent crime crack down nationwide,
but give us some of the highlights of where this
has had a particular work. And then Director, I want
to ask you about what does it mean for the
federal and the local departner Like I want you to
take us into the mechanics of how this has worked
a bit so we can understand it. But first if
you would just where are we seeing huge results from
(19:56):
federal law enforcement FBI leading the charge working to bring
down violent crime rates.
Speaker 7 (20:01):
Here's the great news for America everywhere, literally everywhere, thanks
to President Trump's resourcing and backing the blue and law
enforcement and giving the American people the security blanket that
they so well deserve. We have launched out on what
you just announced, President Trump's task Forces in Washington, DC
and places like Memphis, where the violent crime rates have
(20:22):
been dropping by fifty and sixty percentage points across the board.
Memphis was a per capital homicide capital of America. We
chopped that down by forty percent thanks to President Trump's
leadership and establishment of the task force. But you hit
it right on its head. It's not just the FBI.
The FBI is the lead law enforcement agency, but we're
working with our state and local partners in every single
(20:42):
jurisdiction that we have because President Trump has stressed interagency
cooperation at the state and federal level. And when you
let good costree cops, when you remove the bureaucracy, and
when you know that your law enforcement personnel in the field,
and when they know that they have the support of
their leadership structure and their government and their president, they're
going to go out and do the work. And that's
why the homicide rate dropped twenty points across the entire country.
(21:05):
That's why we have twenty percent less opiate overdose debts
in America in one year. Long those two would be
monumental achievements, but President Trump and this FBI have done
so much more.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Washington, d C Is a great example. You just mentioned it.
I just looked at the current data. The murder rates
down fifty percent off last year, and last year was
one of the lowest murder rates on record. I would
imagine with America to fifty that's a focus. If cities
like Chicago actually got behind what we're seeing in Memphis
and we're seeing in DC. What do you think the
(21:39):
crime the murder rate. Let's just focus on murder, How
much murder? How many lives could be saved if you
had real support from blue cities like we've seen in
DC and Memphis. What kind of life saving opportunity would
be out there?
Speaker 7 (21:55):
Hundreds And you know this as well as anybody.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
You cover it.
Speaker 7 (21:58):
Tragically, you see these gang shootings, and that's where the
FBI's focus has been on those localized streak angs. Yes,
we're looking at the national security threats, the large foreign
terist organizations, the narco traffickers, the ms thirteams of the world,
but a lot of these offshoots and these localized street gangs.
We've done in places like Philadelphia where we literally eliminated
an entire street gang in Weymouth, and we would do
(22:20):
the same thing in Chicago if they let us in.
But you highlighted it. President Trump has offered to go in,
and they have an elected leadership there that is in
favor of politics over protecting its people. I mean playing buck.
You guys know this better than anyone. You see kids
five years of age, seven years of age get caught
up in gang shootings and murdered, and you would think
(22:40):
that the people of those towns want their city secure,
and I think the people do. It's just their elected
leadership is prioritizing politics over public safety. And to me,
that's just a tragedy. We could save hundreds of lives
in places like Chicago.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
We totally agree, Director Battella. It's remarkable and also unfortunately
really frustrating to see how clear the results are and
yet and the unwillingness to admit that this Trump initiative,
which you are part of, the tip of the spear
on and the FBI and the men and women of
the FBI, they won't admit that this is working and
(23:14):
saving lives. They'd rather things continue to be a problem
in some of these cities because you're not getting that
same level of cooperation. I want to ask you about
the fraud stuff coming up in a second, so we
definitely need to get to that. But first stuff, though,
can you just talk us through a little bit what
does it mean in Memphis now? What is different on
the ground in terms of how law enforcement is working together.
You know, we invited the mayor of Memphis on and
(23:35):
he still has an open invite to come talk to
us about this and just to congratulate him on how
well things are going in the city with this federal partnership.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
But what does it mean.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
You have FBI guys who are doing like riding along
with state troopers. Are they just coordinating back at headquarters?
How does it look.
Speaker 7 (23:51):
It's a variety of things. But you have to attack
the gang network, as I was mentioning earlier, and that's
what we did in Memphis. But you also have to
get state and local prosecutors willing to bring those street
crimes in state local court. And we were able to
do that in Memphis. Which you also have to do
is expand your federal prosecutions. And thanks to the DOJ
presidence there, the FBI is leading the prosecutions of violent
(24:11):
gang offenders, murderers, rapists, and drug dealers and putting them
in federal court every single chance we get. So you
have to have a jurisdiction that's willing to let us
in and not take over, but also have a jurisdiction
that is a police force and a prosecution force willing
to take that on. And that's what was congregated in Memphis.
Thanks to President Trump's leadership. You saw the direct result
(24:34):
of how we reduced people said, you can't save Memphis.
The per capitol rate for homicides is the highest in
the country, and it's been like that for years. There's
no way you can do that. We did it in
six months. It shows you we could do it there,
we could do it in Chicago. But more importantly, for
the folks around America that are listening to this, we're
doing it in every single country. I mean, when you
seize enough fentanyl to kill one hundred and seventy eight
million Americans, a thirty one percent increase, that's just the
(24:56):
FBI seizures under President Trump's leadership. Think about how many
lives we saved in towns across America, how many overdoses
we presented for tragedies like kids in high schools that
we used to see around the country are diminishing.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Greatly less Seriously, here USA hockey. That was so awesome
and I can only imagine how cool it was to
be there representing the United States government and be able
to celebrate with those guys. Were you even blow I know,
we know that there are a lot of truly insane,
(25:28):
broken brain Democrats were even though you surprised by how
much they came after you for celebrating a gold medal win,
by the way, something that Jimmy Carter did, something that
Walter Mondell did back when we beat when we won
the gold medal the last time. I mean that to
me kind of characterized how much they've lost their minds.
Speaker 7 (25:49):
I think. Yet I guess it doesn't surprise me. What
was important was we were there for the Milan Olympics.
The FBI was leading the security for two hundred and
fifty thousand Americans that went to Milan for the Winter Olympics,
as responsible for the upcoming Club World Cup where we
have what sixty four matches across the country and ultimately
the twenty twenty eight Olympics. So we learned through every
evolution and thankfully due to the FBI and President Trump
(26:12):
and DHS, we haven't had any significant security incidences at
F one, at the Super Bowl, at the Club World Cup.
And that's what we're doing. And I was fortunate enough
to there, to be there with the men's hockey team
and my friends on the team and celebrating something that
hadn't been done in what fifty out of my MAT's
terrible fifty some years. So I was glad to be
(26:33):
celebrating for America at a historic time. And I was
glad that we were able to provide the security necessary
to make sure our athletes and our American citizens that
attended the Olympics could go there safely and return safely.
And that's our focus, and that's always going to be
our focus. I'll always ignore the noise.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
We're speaking an FBI director at Patel And just for
the record, mister director, I too love patriotism, freedom and
Americans kicking as at sports. But I got to take
us in another you know, womp, I'm taking this in
another direction here for a second, if I could, because
we have a lot of people writing in and they're
asking us this question, and we keep saying, well, this
(27:09):
is you know that we got to see how the
investigations go. There's a process, there's but there is a
really and I'm sure it's it's high up on your radar,
a sense that there is systematic and just massive fraud
going on defrauding the federal government, whether it's Medicare, Medicaid,
(27:30):
all kinds of different payments under those systems, just lots
of things in the fraud category at enormous scale, hundreds
of millions, billions of dollars. Does the FBI first of all,
is that a priority right now? Do you have the
resources to be able to deal with this? And and
are full investigations underway of places like what happened in
(27:50):
Minneapolis and people talking about that now California is up
on people's radar. Even Gavin Newsom started to say, Yeah,
there's a lot of fraud. Talk to us about that.
Speaker 7 (27:58):
Yeah, fraud has always been a priority. These complex investigations
are what the FBI does best. And thanks to the
Vice President as leadership and DJ on the task Force,
we're able to get after it with even more resources
we've ever had. But we've been on it since we've
gotten in the seat. Last summer alone, I was in
Minneapolis before everything went down, and we took down a
two hundred and fifty million dollar fraud for a program
(28:18):
called Feeding Our Futures, where people defrauded a program in
the state of Minneapolis that was used to feed poor children.
We did that last summer. We connected it to the
statewide fraud investigations that we have going there and in
places like California. We just had a massive takedown just
last week with our US Attorney's office there, I think,
on a fifty five million dollar fraud program. And so
(28:39):
we're not stopping but mapping out these networks under our
NSPM seven initiative, we're taking entire data sets from around
the country and the world and says who's funding these things?
Then more importantly, who is taking the taxpayer dollar enriching
themselves unlawfully? And everyone that is doing that is a
target and is going to continue to be a target
(29:01):
under the President the Vice President's task force.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
So you are looking into this, there's a task force
and people because right now, mister Director, there's a sense
that people are just getting away with this all over
the place, that there's so much fraud that it's it's
like impossible to track it all down. Sounds like you're saying, no,
the Bureau was on it. The resources are there, because
if we're a country where people can steal millions, billions,
(29:27):
whatever it is, when you count this up, there's a
sense it's tax day today, and it's you know a
lot of people say, okay, so I have to pay
my federal income tax.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I have to do this the right way.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
But a lot of people can get away with just
cheating the system to the tune of huge sums of money.
So that is not going to be allowed on President
Trump's watch.
Speaker 7 (29:45):
It hasn't been allowed. I'll and I'll tell you what happened.
And you know this. When you let rampant fraud in
the prior administration explode, we are the ones left cleaning
it up. And we are doing that, just like we
did with the violent crime initiatives across the country that
drop the murder rate and so many other ways in
which we're protecting violent crimes. Are violent crimes against children are?
We're doing the same thing on the fraud front. We're
(30:06):
cleaning up the past failures of the prior administration and
we're not going to stop until we have every fraud
investigation complete. I have hundreds of fraud investigations, large scale
fraud investigations open around the country that we've been working
for fourteen straight months, and people are I'm glad, are
paying attention to our publicized wins, and we got a
lot more coming cash.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
I'm going to go back completely unserious because you probably
get asked all sorts of serious questions, Butte but Buck
and I were just talking off air. Pete Hegseth. You
probably saw this posted a video of him bench pressing
three hundred and fifteen pounds. That is a ridiculous amount
to be able to bench press. But I know that
you are pretty serious workout guy too. What's your bench
(30:51):
and has it gone up since you became FBI director.
Speaker 7 (30:54):
I'll just say I think Pete's got me on that one.
But I did is push up and pull up challenge.
You know, it's I think it's great. It's also inspiring
to our workforces, yeah, to prioritize fitness, because look, we
are the premier law enforcement agency in the world, and
I'm not asking you to be a Navy seal, but
if I'm asking to take down bad guys in the
streets and chase them down, then you've got to be
able to do a couple of push ups and pull ups.
(31:15):
And so our standards are going to meet the requirements
of the dynamic threat landscape, and leaders like Pete and myself,
we're willing to go out there and maintain our fitness
levels to what we can. We're just asking our workforce
to do the same. And I think it's inspiring and
if folks out there want to make fun of us,
what would you rather have Pete, myself and the other
leaders doing what we're doing, or three hundred and fifty
pounds overweight people leaving this Department of War in the
(31:37):
Federal Borber of Investigation. It's an example. We set leadership
out front and we're going to continue to do it.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Will you be at the UFC fight? By the way,
are you looking forward to that?
Speaker 7 (31:46):
You know, I'm a big MMA guy, and you know
Dana's a dear friend. And as you know, the FBI
for the first time did its historic partnership with the
UFC at Quantico. We had ten world champions come in
and train three hundred and fifty agents for a weekend.
So it's a big part of what we're doing here
to provide the resources and training for our agents, and
so I'm looking forward to that fight at the White House.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
FBI Director Cash Bettel, good work, sir, Thank you for
making the streets safer. Great to talk to you, and
we'll have you back soon.
Speaker 7 (32:15):
Yep, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
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Speaker 6 (33:26):
Level up your brain and balance out your day with
the right amount of information and entertainment. Clay Travis and
Buck Sexton on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (33:36):
Or wherever you get your podcasts, Welcome back in Play
Travis Buck Sexton Show Buck. I know this sometimes stuns you,
but I just saw our friend Jesse Kelly share it
and I just went and clicked on it. In the
state of Texas right now, the Athletic, which is the
New York Times sports section, they are awful. They are
(33:57):
investigating this is this is their lead story. The Texas
Rangers franchise has installed a statue of a Texas Ranger
inside of the baseball stadium, and the Athletic has decided
that it is an offensive statue and they are trying
to get the statue removed. So I do think it
(34:21):
is worth remembering, and I just point this out right now,
We've got a solid you just heard from Cash Pttel.
We've got a solid cadre of what I would say,
are just normal people running the country. The moment that
Democrats get power, their crazy train hasn't been derailed, It
(34:42):
hasn't even necessarily lost momentum inside of the party it's
just being curtailed because we've eliminated the crazy in terms
of leadership right now, but Buck, they have not gone anywhere.
I see some of the things that they are working on,
and it is absolutely bonkers, absolutely bonkers how far left
(35:05):
wing they remain.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
But right now lead story.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
They are offended that the franchise named after the Texas
Rangers has decided to put up a statue of a
Texas Ranger. So this is the world that we are in.
I will say positive side, As I said, the stock
market has now set a record high, but there's still
a lot of chaos out there.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
I'm just I'm waiting for them to figure out that
the Vikings, a storied NFL franchise, not very feminist and
in fact, really weak on trans writes, really weak on transwrites,
although the guys did have long hair sometimes. All right,
we have VIP email from Andrew. We're gonna need some
(35:49):
new FBI guys. Is a hilarious Diehard reference. Well done.
That was actually Clay in reference to my VIP email
from guy nice Diehard reference. Buck, you ask for a miracle,
I give you the FBI. You know what I love
about that? We might have talked about this before. Hans Gruber,
who was played by Alan Rickman, who unfortunately has passed away.
Many of you know him from his role as Snape
(36:10):
and Harry Potter, which is so famous that even I
know that without having seen the movies. You know, he
had never been in a movie before he did that movie.
He was a stage actor from the UK and he
stepped in. That was his first movie, was Hans Gruebert.
That skill right there, that's game that I would argue
is the greatest action film ever made.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
I put it at number one as well. I put
Predator at number two.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
My brothers and I just talked about this, and I
actually put the Matrix at number three, but that's a
little more controversial. But I go Diehard Predator the Matrix.
I would probably go die Hard one Matrix two. Those
are both amazing. We come back, sax Day.
Speaker 4 (36:46):
Sorry,
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Kingdom of Fraud
It’s the unlikeliest of criminal partnerships: a devout polygamist from an insular Utah sect joining forces with a shadowy Armenian tycoon from LA. The result - a billion dollar fraud conspiracy. In Kingdom of Fraud, investigative reporter Michele McPhee traces the origins of the extraordinary alliance between Jacob Kingston and Levon Termendzhyan. Together, the two men trigger the largest tax investigation in American history and weave around themselves a web of dirty cops, influential political relationships and transnational money laundering. All this is set against the backdrop of Jacob Kingston’s clan – The Order. A powerful and secretive polygamist organization in Salt Lake City. To whom Jacob is desperate to prove his worth. Kingdom of Fraud is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. You can listen to new episodes of Kingdom of Fraud completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!