Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Signs of Struggle, Ransom Demand in Bitcoin-What Investigators Know about Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping

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Signs of Struggle, Ransom Demand in Bitcoin-What Investigators Know about Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: President Trump has come out and directed all federal law
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: enforcement to aid in the search for Savannah Guthrie's mother,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: as the family has released an emotional video, which we
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: will play for you in a moment. The President responded
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: to the disappearance of NBC News correspondent Guthrie's mother, Nancy
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: on Wednesday, as the family released that video pleading for
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: her return. The present revealed that he had spoken with
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Guthrie and her family, adding that he had directed all
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: federal law enforcement to aid in the search, saying quote,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I spoke with Savannah Guthrie. I let her know I
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: am directing all federal law enforcement to be at the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: family's and local law enforcement's complete disposal immediately. We are
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: deploying all resources to get her mother home safely. The
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: prayers of our nation are with her and her family.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: God bless and protect Nancy. Guthrie's eighty four year old mother.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Nancy disappears from her Arizona home on Sunday and what
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: appeared to have been a kidnapping. Police reported fighting blood
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: at the scene, with a report from TMZ saying the
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: kidnappers presented ransom note demanding millions in Bitcoin for her return.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: A report by TMZ Tuesday says that the attackers presented
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: that ransom note demanding the cryptocurrency be sent to a
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Bitcoin account which was verified as a real account to
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: secure Nancy Guthrie's release. The PMA County Sheriff's Department has
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: confirmed that they are aware of that ransom note. I
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: want to take a quick moment and talk to you
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: about an incredible organization and it is called Compassion International
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: and how you can get involved. I want you to
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: just pause what you're doing for the next sixty seconds,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: and I want you to imagine Lucy, a seven year old.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Her stomach often aches with hunger, her small hands instead
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: of holding crayons, no, only the struggle of survival on
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: the streets. School is a distant dream, medical care forgotten hope.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Lucy's potential is overshadowed, Her future is dim. But what
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: if someone stepped in? What if there was a way
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: to ignite hope for children just like Lucy? Well there is,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: and that is with Compassion International partners and the local
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: churches that provide children holistic support more than just food.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: They receive critical medical care, life changing education, vital skills training,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: and spiritual development. All in Jesus's name, and you can
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: empower a child just like Lucy to break free from poverty.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: I want you to do what I've done and sponsor
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: a child today. You can visit compassion dot com. That's
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: compassion dot com. I want you to listen to what
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Savannah Guthrie and her family had to say in an
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: emotional video that they put out.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: On behalf of our family. We want to say thank
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: all of you for the prayers for our beloved mom Nancy.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: We feel them, and we continue to believe that she
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: feels them too. Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She's funny, spunky,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you'll.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: See the light is missing from our lives. Nancy is
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: our mother.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: We are her children.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: She is our beacon. She holds fast to joy in
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: all of life's circumstances. She chooses joy day after day,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: despite having already passed through great trials of pain and grief.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: We are always going to be merely human, just normal
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: human people who need our mom.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Mama, Mama, if you're listening, we need you to come home.
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: We miss you. Our mom is our heart and our home.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: She's eighty four years old. Her health, her heart is spratual.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: She needs it to survive, she needs it not to suffer.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: We two have heard the reports about a ransom letter
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: in the media. As a family, we are doing everything
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: We need to know without a doubt that she is
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: alive and that you have her. We want to hear
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: from you, and we are ready to listen. Please reach
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: out to us. Mommy, if you are hearing this, you
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: are a strong woman. You are God's precious daughter, Nancy.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: We believe and know that even in this valley, he
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: is with you. Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: We will not rest, Your children will not rest until
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: we are together again. We speak to you every moment,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: and we pray without ceasing, and we rejoice in advance
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: for the day that we hold you in our arms again.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: We love you, Mom.
• 6:44
  Speaker 5: We love you. Mom stays strong. We love you, We.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Love Savannah Guthrie and her family members reading those notes
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: pleading for their mother to be brought home. Reports of
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: later surface that police can visitor Nancy Guthrie's son in
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: law as a potential suspect, but the Pima County Sheriff's
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Department said in a statement released on Wednesday that they
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: have not yet identified a suspect or persons of interest
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: in the case, saying, quote, we have not identified a
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: suspect or person of interest in the case. Detectives continue
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: to work with anyone who may have had contact with
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: missus Guthrie. We are also waiting additional forensic results. On Wednesday,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: Savannah Guthrie and her family not only appeared on cameras
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: they issued that emotional plea for the release of their
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: beloved mother, but they also made it clear that they're
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: willing to talk, saying we are doing everything we can.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: We live in a world where voices and images are
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: easily manipulated, and we need to know without a doubt
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: that she is alive and that you have her. We
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Please reach out. Guthrie describing her mother and that videos
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: you heard, is kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving, woman of
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: goodness and light. She has grandchildren that adore her, and
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: a crowd around her and cover her with kisses. This
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: is one of the most heart wrenching stories I've seen
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: someone that works in the media, knowing that their mother
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: has been a target of an adoption, and knowing that
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: there is a mother who desperately needs her medications and
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: also who is older. This is one of those moments
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: where I'm glad to see the President of the United
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: States of America make it very clear it doesn't matter
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: what your politics are, it's right and wrong. And that's
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: exactly why Donald Trump said he's deploying all resources to
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: help find Savannah Guthries's missing mom. After the family's emotional plea,
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: the President saying God bless Nancy and knowing that everyone
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: in the Trump administration is working hard to get her home.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: This is also one of those moments where I think
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: we should understand just how special it is that we
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: have a government that is willing to use this and
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: their resources for good law enforcement, which has been under
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: so much attacks from the left. Now people are saying
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: they want them to show up to find and to
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: help save, hopefully the life of Savannah Guthrie's mother. It
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: is really interesting to see how quickly that narrative has
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: changed as well, and maybe if there's any good that
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: can come out of this Number one, we hope that
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: we will find Savannah Guthrie's mother and bring her home,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: but also that it will be a reminder of just
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: how important law enforcement really is, because when terrible things
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: like this happen, you need men and women in uniform
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: that are willing to go out there and are willing
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: to fight to find innocent people, just like missus Guthrie.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: I hope that the American people understand this is why
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: we need law enforcement, and it's why we need law
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: enforcement that is backed by Americans, not demonized by so many.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: This is just one of those moments that I hope
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: sticks a little bit longer than a moment to remind
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: so many people that they're not the enemy, that that
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: the bravest men and women that we could ever ask
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: for wearing uniforms and willing to risk their lives to
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: save others. Donald Trump sitting down with NBC News having
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: a very blunt and honest conversation focusing on all of
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: the substance changes that we've had during the Trump administration.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: He talked about American confidence number one, saying that he
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: has strong confidence on interest rates, which are going to
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: help all Americans. Trump said there is quote not much
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: doubt that the US interest rates will be lowered by
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: the Federal Reserve, signaling much more favorable borrowing costs ahead
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: for consumers. That is something that the markets and many
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: business owners, he said, are welcoming. He also emphasized his
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: nominee for the FED chair understands his priority. The president
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: also said that it's important that we allow the DOJ
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: to handle business deals. This just hours after that anti
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: trust hearing on Netflix. In contrast to his earlier comments,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: Trump stated he would not intervene in the high profile
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: corporate competition between Netflix and Pair amount over it the
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: potential acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery, instead letting the Department
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: of Justice review it independently. This shift was framed as
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: respecting the process and reducing political influence on business decisions.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: The president also said that we're making great strides when
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: it comes to immigration, Trump saying his administration learned it
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: might be wise to take a little bit of a
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: softer touch, yes, that is the present's words in certain
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: immigration enforcement situations, while still emphasizingness where needed. This was
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: presented as a sign of responsiveness and learning from experience,
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: something Democrats are well very concerned. The President also talked
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: about money and the American people, his administration, and the
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: national debt, saying this.
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: Let's get to the FED.
• 12:20
  Speaker 6: Is there any doubt in your mind that interest rates
• 12:22
  Speaker 6: are going to be lowered?
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: Not much?
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Why how can you say that?
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: I just think they're going to be lowered.
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: To me, they chase your new FED pick on board.
• 12:29
  Speaker 7: With that, We're way high. Okay, we're way high an
• 12:31
  Speaker 7: interest we have now with me and with all the money.
• 12:35
  Speaker 7: I've always been good at money, and with all the
• 12:37
  Speaker 7: money coming into our country, we're a rich country.
• 12:40
  Speaker 5: Again.
• 12:41
  Speaker 7: We have debt, but we also have growth, and the
• 12:44
  Speaker 7: growth will soon make the debt look very small, because
• 12:47
  Speaker 7: it's the greatest way.
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: You have two ways. You can cut, cut, cut, and
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: we do that anyway. And we did that.
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: You know, we got rid of hundreds of thousands of
• 12:55
  Speaker 7: federal workers, and those workers went out and got them
• 13:00
  Speaker 7: jobs in the free enterprise system.
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: And you know what that's called making America great again.
• 13:05
  Speaker 7: We had ten workers in the federal government for every
• 13:08
  Speaker 7: single job. When the Democrats go in, they hire I
• 13:13
  Speaker 7: could right now give you the best employment numbers in history.
• 13:16
  Speaker 7: You know what I do, go out and hire two
• 13:18
  Speaker 7: million people, put them in the federal.
• 13:19
  Speaker 6: Does your new fedies does your new FED pick.
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: Understand that you want him to lower interest rate?
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: Well?
• 13:24
  Speaker 7: I think he does, but I think he wants to anyway.
• 13:26
  Speaker 7: I mean, if he came in and said I want
• 13:27
  Speaker 7: to raise.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: Him, we should said that he wouldn't have gotten the job.
• 13:30
  Speaker 5: He would not have gotten a job.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: No, you listen to the president. There two points he's
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: obviously making. Number one, I'm not going to fake the
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: numbers of the federal government on employment. I'm not going
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: to go hire two million government workers, which is what
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: the Democrats did to artificially inflate the employment numbers. He said,
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: I can give you the best employment numbers in history,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: but guess what, you, as a taxpayer, are going to.
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: Be paying for it.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: And he's also talking about how it's important to have
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: a FED chairman that understands that Americans need someone on
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: their side to help them.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: That being a.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: Big part of the conversation. Donald Trump also moved on
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: to foreign policy issues, talking about what's happening in Iran,
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: the President saying this to NBC News.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: Should the Supreme leader in Iran be worried right now?
• 14:15
  Speaker 5: I would say he should be very worried. Yeah, he
• 14:18
  Speaker 5: should be. As you know, they're negotiating with us.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: I know they are.
• 14:21
  Speaker 6: But the protesters have said, you know where the Americans
• 14:24
  Speaker 6: who promised them we would have their back, do we still.
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: Have the back?
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: We've had their back, and look, that country's a mess
• 14:30
  Speaker 7: right now because of us.
• 14:31
  Speaker 5: We went in and we wiped out their nuclear. Peace
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: in the Middle East.
• 14:37
  Speaker 7: If I didn't take out their nuclear think of it,
• 14:40
  Speaker 7: if we didn't take out that nuclear we wouldn't have
• 14:42
  Speaker 7: peace in the Middleast because the Arab countries could have
• 14:45
  Speaker 7: never done that. They were very, very afraid of Irana. Yeah,
• 14:48
  Speaker 7: they're not afraid of Iran anymore. We wiped out those
• 14:51
  Speaker 7: beautiful Beat two bombers ones right over there, those beautiful
• 14:55
  Speaker 7: little models, those beautiful Beat two bombers went in and
• 14:59
  Speaker 7: they hit their target. Every single bob and O obliterated it.
• 15:02
  Speaker 7: And because of that, they were going to have a
• 15:05
  Speaker 7: nuclear weapon within one month. Within one month, they were
• 15:09
  Speaker 7: gonna have a nuclear weapon. That was a big threat
• 15:12
  Speaker 7: that they're not gonna have it anymore.
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: But now if you obliterate it, what's the deal about.
• 15:16
  Speaker 6: I mean, if there's no more are they are they trying.
• 15:18
  Speaker 7: To restart the nuclear We heard that they are, and
• 15:21
  Speaker 7: if they do, and I let them know if they do,
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: we're going.
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: To send them right back and do their job againt.
• 15:25
  Speaker 6: So you're understanding that they tried to restart it, and
• 15:27
  Speaker 6: that's why you're threatening force.
• 15:29
  Speaker 7: They tried to go back to the site. They weren't
• 15:31
  Speaker 7: even able to get near it. There was total obliteration.
• 15:33
  Speaker 7: But they were thinking about starting a new site in
• 15:37
  Speaker 7: a different part of the country. We found out about it.
• 15:39
  Speaker 7: So you do that, We're going to do very bad
• 15:43
  Speaker 7: things to you.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: We're going to do very bad things to you. The present,
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: not backing down on any of his promises there, the
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: President Trump also asked the of course, obsession question by
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: the media, and that is that somehow he's going to
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: stay in office for like a third term. NBC News
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: actually taking the time to ask the President this question,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: and he had a little fun with it.
• 16:08
  Speaker 6: On January twenty first, twenty twenty nine, do you see
• 16:11
  Speaker 6: any scenario where you were still president?
• 16:15
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 16:16
  Speaker 7: It would be interesting, But wouldn't it be terrible if
• 16:19
  Speaker 7: I agreed with you? Know, if I gave you the
• 16:21
  Speaker 7: answer that you're looking for, it would make life so
• 16:24
  Speaker 7: much less exciting, right, it would be so much less exciting.
• 16:28
  Speaker 7: But I only do this for one reason, make America
• 16:32
  Speaker 7: grade again.
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: And that's what we're doing.
• 16:34
  Speaker 7: We're making America grade again, greater than ever before. Our
• 16:37
  Speaker 7: country is greater than ever before.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: The President obviously having a little fun there with NBC
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: News not answering the question the way they wanted to,
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: smiling from ear to ear, knowing that that was going
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: to trigger them. Now back to the serious issues at hand.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: One of the things the President talked about was getting
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: rid of excess government waste, fraud, and abuse. And one
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: of the examples of that is what he's been talking
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: about with a federal reserve building. He is furious over
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: the costs and then the cost overruns. The President asked
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: about it, and this is what he said. The American
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: people are sick and tired of government abuse of your
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: tax dollars.
• 17:16
  Speaker 6: There's been bipartisan suggestions that the criminal investigation to the
• 17:20
  Speaker 6: current FED share jer own Powell is payback right for
• 17:23
  Speaker 6: not lowering interest rates, but also for when he was
• 17:25
  Speaker 6: in that sort of news conference with you with the
• 17:27
  Speaker 6: hard hats and he was shaking his head and showing
• 17:29
  Speaker 6: you the papers and disagreeing with you in public.
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: Is that why he's under criminal investigation.
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: He was very respectful to me. He was explaining to me.
• 17:37
  Speaker 7: I'm asking him, why are you spending almost four billion
• 17:41
  Speaker 7: dollars on a very small little complex of buildings. It's
• 17:45
  Speaker 7: the highest price for square foot He's renovating buildings for
• 17:49
  Speaker 7: three to four billion dollars. And you know, the s
• 17:52
  Speaker 7: fedshare that I have is I think he's.
• 17:54
  Speaker 5: Going to be great.
• 17:55
  Speaker 7: He might not have a home because this guy has
• 17:57
  Speaker 7: spent so much money. And I look, it's a see
• 18:00
  Speaker 7: through there's nothing inside. They haven't done. They are spending money.
• 18:04
  Speaker 7: He's in judge of the project. Is the Federal is
• 18:07
  Speaker 7: their building I'm talking about. It's a very small little
• 18:11
  Speaker 7: it's actually a couple of little bit. They're spending more
• 18:13
  Speaker 7: money than any building ever built in history.
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: Per square foot.
• 18:17
  Speaker 6: Some real publican centers say they're not going to prove
• 18:20
  Speaker 6: him unless you drop that investigation.
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: A lot of people say a lot of things.
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: You don't think that's true.
• 18:24
  Speaker 6: You think is it worth it to drop the investigation
• 18:27
  Speaker 6: to get your fed share through.
• 18:28
  Speaker 5: I think the investigation is.
• 18:30
  Speaker 7: The investigation is being handled by Pam and Janine and
• 18:35
  Speaker 7: the people.
• 18:35
  Speaker 5: They'll make their own decision on it now.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: The president was also asked one other fun question at
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: the very end. It's a little bit about his legacy,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: how he'll be remembered, and what he's done so far.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: And here's what the President had to say about all
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: of that.
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: You think at one point people will talk about you
• 18:54
  Speaker 6: when they talk about presidents like Washington and Lincoln.
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: Is that something you think is going to have?
• 18:59
  Speaker 7: It's such an honor. But I'm walking down and everyone's
• 19:02
  Speaker 7: screaming code. I said, what are they talking about? I
• 19:05
  Speaker 7: hope they're right, not for me, but for the country.
• 19:07
  Speaker 7: Because if I do a great job, that means the
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: country is doing well.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: That sums up President Donald Trump perfectly in his second term.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: If I do a great job, that means the country
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: is doing well. And that's why there's so many Americans
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: that are loving exactly what he's doing. Each and every day.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Hearings in Washington, DC aren't usually that exciting for average Americans.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: And when you hear words like antitrust nine nine percent
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  Speaker 1: of you two, now I understand that there's a reason
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: why I want this hearing to be on your radar screen.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: I am going to read for you part of an
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: op ed that I've been working on, and it is
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: one that I think is important, especially for national security.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: And rarely when I say that when it comes to
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: what you're watching on TV. So I'm going to read
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: for you my thoughts and the title I add for
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: this is why this week's Netflix Warner Brothers merger hearing
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  Speaker 1: is about jobs, it's about national security, and it's also
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: about standing up to China and the influence coming from China.
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  Speaker 1: This week in Washington, a critical hearing will help decide
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  Speaker 1: the future of America's entertainment industry and America's influence abroad.
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  Speaker 1: The question before lawmakers is simple but consequential. Will the
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: United States strengthen its own creative companies or weaken them?
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  Speaker 1: Just as foreign avisaries use media, culture and capital to
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: shape global narratives. At the center of the debate is
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  Speaker 1: a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery. This
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: should not be treated as just another corporate deal. That's
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  Speaker 1: why I'm talking about it right now. By the way,
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  Speaker 1: on this show directly affects American jobs, It directly affects
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: American movie making, and it directly affects US national security.
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  Speaker 1: Let me explain why. For more than a century, American
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  Speaker 1: films and television have carried our values around the world
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  Speaker 1: of freedom, creativity, open expression. The cultural influences have been
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  Speaker 1: one of America's greatest strategic advantages, and today I would
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: say that is under real threat. The entertainment industry supports
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  Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of good paying American jobs. This includes
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  Speaker 1: writers and actors, camera crews, editors, visual effects artists, set builders, marketers,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: and engineers. And then don't even count all the people
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: behind the scenes to get hired for social media and
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: things like that. Now I care about these jobs because
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: I work with these people each and every day, and
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: I understand how important is to keep those jobs in America.
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  Speaker 1: These are also middle class jobs. I'll give you a
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: great example today. I'm going to basically help employ a
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: team of fifteen people. Why because of me doing what
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  Speaker 1: I'm doing right now. There are cameramen, makeup artists, they're editors,
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: their producers. All of these people have jobs right now
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  Speaker 1: because of the entertainment industry. Why on earth would I
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: want to turn that over to a foreign country.
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  Speaker 4: Not only is.
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  Speaker 1: It about that, but it's also about building the economies
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: in different states. All right, These jobs are spread all
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: over the country. I'm doing this right now for you
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  Speaker 1: from Texas. You've got states like California and Georgia, New
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Mexico and New Jersey that are all growing in this area.
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  Speaker 1: We know about movies that are made in Georgia, for example.
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  Speaker 1: There's a lot of people that are listening right now.
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  Speaker 1: Where you live. There is a thriving industry. And if
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: you think this is like theoretical, you're wrong. Netflix recently
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: committed one billion dollars to build a new production studio
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  Speaker 1: at the Fort Mama Army Base in New Jersey, a
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: project that's expected to create you ready for this, more
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: than five thousand high paying American jobs. Now, that doesn't
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: even count the jobs that come because of what is
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: produced there and all the support for when those jobs
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: wrap up and the movies or the content is made
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: available to all of us. You understand there's a snowball
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: effect here. That investment turns a former military base into
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: an engine of American production, innovation, and employment. And it
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: only happens when companies have this scale and the stability
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: to invest long term, because this is big money we're
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: talking about here. Streaming, however, is capital intensive as well.
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  Speaker 1: When companies are weaken or fragmented, that's when I get worried,
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: right because production slow, opportunities shrink, that's when the layoffs happen.
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  Speaker 1: Scale brings stability, Stability protects and creates more American jobs.
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  Speaker 1: This is a no brainer for me. Now, a combined
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  Speaker 1: Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery would create not only a stronger,
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  Speaker 1: but a more resilient American company. That's me and my
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: ideals as an American first guy, and it would create
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: an American company able to invest consistently in one thing
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  Speaker 1: that matters the most to me, US production instead of
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: foreign production. That means more projects made here at home
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  Speaker 1: and more investments like the military base that was just bought.
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  Speaker 1: That is amazing for American job. This is all about
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  Speaker 1: protecting what I say is so important to us, our
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  Speaker 1: secret weapon. Our influence around the world through TV, film
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: and content is massive. All right, I look at my
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: podcast and it's incredible how many people download it in
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: foreign countries. It's unbelievable to reach that you can have
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: when you create things here. This is the reason why
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  Speaker 1: I say it is a strategic national asset. Let me
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: explain why more American movies and I'm going back to
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  Speaker 1: my OpEd and television reached more people globally than any
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  Speaker 1: government program or diplomatic initiative. They literally shape how the
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: world views the United States of America, and it serves
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: a powerful counterweight to authoritarian propaganda and regimes around the world. Now,
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: on the other side of this is China. We all
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: know how much influenced China wants to have on our lives.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: Go back to what just happened with TikTok, right, You're
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: terrified of what can happen with TikTok because TikTok being
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: owned by China and China hating America and trying to
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: have influence, can change the algorithms and put out propaganda
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  Speaker 1: to undermine America.
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  Speaker 4: We knew that.
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  Speaker 1: That's part of the reason why the forced sell to
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  Speaker 1: American assets was so vitally important for a national security standpoint.
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  Speaker 1: Now China understands this. It's why the that they tightly
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: control media at home and they heavily invest in state
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: back platforms abroad because they want foreign influence. We've already
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: seen how that censorship works. I'll give you a great example.
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  Speaker 1: Top Gun. Maverick loved the movie. The film was a
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: massive global success, bring in billions of dollars in America
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  Speaker 1: and guests who refused to show it China. China refused
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  Speaker 1: to allow it to be shown in its theaters. Why
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: because of a small patch on Tom Crui's leather flight
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  Speaker 1: jacket depicting the flag of Taiwan. No violence, not offensive content,
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: not a diet tribe against China. It was a patch
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  Speaker 1: on a jacket that ninety nine zero point nine percent
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: of the audience would never have even noticed. That single
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: symbol was enough for Beijing to block the film entirely.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: The message was unmistakable, by the way, unmistakable by the
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: way access to China's markets require you bowing down to them.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: Right political compliance and self censorship. Ronald Reagan understood the
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: fight long before streaming even existed. He knew television and
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: storytelling were powerful tools in the battle of ideas, literally
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: going after the in the Cold War. He understood that
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: foreign or communist influence over American media posed a real threat.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: That's why he became so famous when he was fighting
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: communism in California. As Reagan warned, quote, freedom is never
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: more than one generation away from extinction. Protecting American culture
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: and the cultural leadership became a cornerstone of his presidency,
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: and that lesson matters more now, I argue than ever before.
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  Speaker 1: There are also serious concerns about foreign money entering the
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: American media ecosystem and then national security risks that come
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: with it. Some coming proposals are involving legacy studios that
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: would shrink the field from five to four major studios,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: and that's a problem, right, concentrating more power in fewer
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: hands and driving up costs for families who just want
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: to watch a movie at home. That kind of consolidation
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: reduces competition, It limits your choice and historically leads to layoffs,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: not innovation. Even more troubling, some of these proposal and
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: these takeovers are requiring money to come from overseas, reportedly
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: backed by twenty four billion, for example, from foreign governments.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Did you hear I said foreign governments including Saudi Arabia,
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Now I'm hardly a fan of
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: excess regulation, but we have laws on the books for
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: reason to protect the American marketplace and the American people
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: from foreign manipulation. So let's be clear, twenty four billion.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: Twenty four billion from the Middle East is not philanthropy.
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  Speaker 1: Foreign governments do not invest billions in American media for fun.
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  Speaker 1: They do it to gain less average influence. Narratives shape
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: what you see and hear. That's why I say this
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: is a direct national security concern. So in today's world,
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: influence is power, and when American content is weakened, something
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: else fills the void, and increasingly that content is shaped
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: or approved by authoritarian governments. That's the reason why I
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: am saying right now this Netflix Warner Brothers Discovery merger,
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: it doesn't eliminate competition. It actually strengthens American company and
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: allows for us to get foreign backed actors out of
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  Speaker 1: our studios. That's why I say that this merger is important.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: It's a vote for American workers, American creativity, and American strength.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: And by the way, Ronald Reagan knew culture influence was
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: national security and power that, my friends hasn't changed. So
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: I'd encourage you call your senator, tell them what you think,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Tell them if you want to back as I do
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: the Netflix Warner Brothers discover Merger. Why don't forget Share
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: this podcast wherever you can with your family and your friends,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: and I'll see you back here tomorrow.