Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / A Narrow Window for Peace as U.S. & Iran Re‑Engage plus Hollywood vs. Authoritarian Censorship
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: President Trump yet again keeping it sweet and simple. At
- 0:05Speaker 1: the White House today in the Oval Office, he was
- 0:07Speaker 1: asked about what's happening with Iran, and the President had
- 0:10Speaker 1: this to say to the press.
- 0:12Speaker 2: We have ships heading to a run right now, big ones,
- 0:15Speaker 2: the biggest of the best.
- 0:17Speaker 3: And do we have talks going on with I run.
- 0:20Speaker 3: We'll see it all works out.
- 0:22Speaker 4: Well, see how it all works out.
- 0:24Speaker 5: Now.
- 0:24Speaker 1: This comes just days after the President had this to
- 0:28Speaker 1: say inside the Oval Office about Iran as well.
- 0:31Speaker 2: Okay, we have a large armada flotilla, got whatever you
- 0:38Speaker 2: want heading forward Iran right now, even larger than what
- 0:43Speaker 2: we had in Venezuela. It's still in front of the Venezuelan.
- 0:48Speaker 1: This showing the presence not bluffing. He also over the weekend,
- 0:51Speaker 1: when asked at mar Lago about what's happening in Iran,
- 0:54Speaker 1: said this, Why wouldn't he say that?
- 0:57Speaker 2: A push you're going to say that, But we have
- 0:59Speaker 2: the big us been off of ships in the world
- 1:01Speaker 2: over there very close a couple of days, and hopefully
- 1:05Speaker 2: we'll make a deal. We don't make a deal then,
- 1:07Speaker 2: and we'll find out whether or not he was.
- 1:09Speaker 4: Right, find out or not whether he was right.
- 1:12Speaker 1: The President was referencing a rand supreme leader warning of
- 1:16Speaker 1: a regional war if the US attacks Tehran, and the
- 1:20Speaker 1: President saying, hey, if we don't make a deal, then
- 1:21Speaker 1: we'll find out whether or not he was right, which
- 1:25Speaker 1: brings us to where we are right now. With all
- 1:28Speaker 1: of this, Wikoff has now said that the talks with
- 1:31Speaker 1: nukes will happen on Friday with Iran.
- 1:35Speaker 4: That's right.
- 1:36Speaker 1: The US Special Envoyd and the Iranian Foreign Minister are
- 1:40Speaker 1: expected to meet in Istanbul, marking a potential restart of
- 1:44Speaker 1: direct engagement between Washington and Tehran after months of stalled diplomacy.
- 1:50Speaker 1: Several Arab and Muslim countries are expected to send representatives
- 1:55Speaker 1: to the meeting, which ames discussed the framework for a
- 1:57Speaker 1: possible nuclear agreement that according to two source is familiar
- 2:02Speaker 1: with the planning and a US official. Another source described
- 2:06Speaker 1: Friday's meetings as the best case scenario following days of
- 2:10Speaker 1: diplomatic efforts to bring both sides back to the table now.
- 2:14Speaker 1: If it occurs, the meeting would be the first between
- 2:17Speaker 1: the US and the Iranian representative since talks collapsed last
- 2:21Speaker 1: year and a twelve day conflict that broke out in June.
- 2:25Speaker 1: It also comes during a significant US military build up
- 2:28Speaker 1: in the Gulf. President Trump has argued that a swift
- 2:31Speaker 1: agreement is the only alternative to military confrontation with Iran. Now,
- 2:36Speaker 1: a US administration source said the meeting in Turkey is
- 2:39Speaker 1: intended to develop an agreement that could in fact prevent escalation.
- 2:45Speaker 1: The Trump administration is also hoping that Iran will arrive
- 2:48Speaker 1: prepared to make concessions. The plan talks follow recent mediation
- 2:53Speaker 1: efforts by Turkey, Egypt, and Katar. They don't want war
- 2:58Speaker 1: in the Middle East because of instant ability that it
- 3:00Speaker 1: can cost for their own countries, and on Monday, the
- 3:03Speaker 1: foreign ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabian Egypt held further discussions
- 3:08Speaker 1: about the proposed meeting. Now, the Iranian state media reported
- 3:13Speaker 1: that the president has ordered renewed negotiations with the Trump administrations.
- 3:18Speaker 1: In fact, in a speech on Monday to Iran and
- 3:22Speaker 1: the people they're watching, they said they were quote open
- 3:25Speaker 1: to diplomacy, saying, quote but diplomacy is incompatible with pressure, intimidation,
- 3:31Speaker 1: and force. We hope that it results will soon become evident.
- 3:36Speaker 1: A key obstacle also remains unsolved. The Trump administration has
- 3:41Speaker 1: insisted that any agreement address Iran's nuclear program, its missile development,
- 3:48Speaker 1: and regional proxy forces. They're the biggest funders of terrorism.
- 3:52Speaker 1: Hamas And has blocked. Iran maintains that only nuclear issues
- 3:57Speaker 1: are quote negotiable. In other words, they still want to
- 3:59Speaker 1: sponsored terrorist proxies in the Middle East and around the world. Now,
- 4:04Speaker 1: it remains unclear how Witkoff and Iran's leadership would bridge
- 4:09Speaker 1: that divide. Obviously, that's part of the art of the deal,
- 4:13Speaker 1: and that's part of why the President of the United
- 4:15Speaker 1: States of America said, I'm not wasting time. I'm going to
- 4:18Speaker 1: send her military resources to that part of the world.
- 4:21Speaker 6: Now.
- 4:21Speaker 1: A head of the Istanbul meeting, Witkoff was to travel
- 4:24Speaker 1: to Israel and meet with the Prime Minister there at
- 4:28Speaker 1: Netanyahu's request. Witkoff is also scheduled to meet with General Zamir,
- 4:33Speaker 1: the Israeli Defensive Force chief of staff, who recently briefed
- 4:37Speaker 1: US military leaders on Israel's planning for a potential conflict
- 4:41Speaker 1: with Iran. Witkoff will then travel to Abu Dhabi, United
- 4:45Speaker 1: Air of Emirates for trilateral talks also involving Russia and
- 4:50Speaker 1: Ukraine on Wednesday and Thursday, and Trump's son in law
- 4:53Speaker 1: Jared Kushner is expected to participate as well. From there,
- 4:57Speaker 1: the White House, staying busy with Witkoff and kush Ser
- 5:00Speaker 1: said to travel to Qatar for discussions on Iran with
- 5:03Speaker 1: the Qatar's Prime minister, and before the meeting, they'll also
- 5:08Speaker 1: stop in Istanbul on Friday. Now, the foreign ministers were
- 5:11Speaker 1: being told from Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, the United Air
- 5:15Speaker 1: of Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are all planning to attend.
- 5:20Speaker 1: You've got to ask yourself this question. Why, Because they're
- 5:24Speaker 1: all very concerned about what happens with Iran and the
- 5:27Speaker 1: instability it can cause in their countries and also if
- 5:30Speaker 1: there's an all out war between Iran and Israel or
- 5:33Speaker 1: Ran in the US. Right, these are real problems that
- 5:37Speaker 1: they want to make sure don't happen for them personally. Now,
- 5:40Speaker 1: Trump said on Sunday that it remains quote hopeful for
- 5:44Speaker 1: a deal after Rand's leader warned that any US attack
- 5:49Speaker 1: could trigger a regional war. But at the end of
- 5:53Speaker 1: the day, this is all up to President Trump. Now
- 5:56Speaker 1: there are some thank goodness in the media, then understand
- 5:59Speaker 1: that President Trump said an amazing job when it comes
- 6:01Speaker 1: to dealing with these types of dictators and leaders, whether
- 6:05Speaker 1: it's Venezuela or Cuba or Iran. Even on HBO, Bill
- 6:10Speaker 1: Maher giving credit to the President of United States of
- 6:12Speaker 1: America for his leadership, saying this.
- 6:15Speaker 3: You know, we've seen these demonstrations in Iran before, but
- 6:18Speaker 3: this was bigger and more people have died. But I
- 6:22Speaker 3: think maybe more people have died because.
- 6:25Speaker 4: He said he was going to help. This looks like
- 6:27Speaker 4: a bay of pigs.
- 6:28Speaker 3: To me, this looks like America is going to come
- 6:31Speaker 3: and help you. Where is it this? Remember the courage
- 6:34Speaker 3: in ninety one when they thought they were going to
- 6:35Speaker 3: get help from America. Vietnam could make the same claim.
- 6:39Speaker 3: I mean a lot of people have felt let down
- 6:40Speaker 3: by US. I thought Trump was different. Where are you
- 6:43Speaker 3: on this because all these bodies that I see, these
- 6:47Speaker 3: body bags in Iran, I think a lot of those
- 6:51Speaker 3: people went in the streets because they thought, oh, he
- 6:53Speaker 3: said he's got our back this time.
- 6:55Speaker 4: Where's the help.
- 6:56Speaker 7: Well, the generals have told us that of sending in
- 7:01Speaker 7: a massive number of troops, it will be another raq.
- 7:05Speaker 3: Well then what did he mean when he said I
- 7:07Speaker 3: don't know.
- 7:08Speaker 7: But but if you look at it from a larger
- 7:13Speaker 7: if you look at it from a larger.
- 7:15Speaker 8: Perspective, because of Israel.
- 7:18Speaker 7: This is one person's opinion. Because of Israel and President
- 7:22Speaker 7: Trump's backing visory, the Middle East is safer than it
- 7:25Speaker 7: has been in twenty years. Absolutely, Sneeze, Boss Sneeze.
- 7:31Speaker 4: I gave him credit for that.
- 7:33Speaker 7: No longer looks invincible. And you know, and you know
- 7:36Speaker 7: who is applauding us every step of the way, not
- 7:38Speaker 7: out loud, but the Arab countries.
- 7:41Speaker 3: Look if every one of them, If Venezuela and causes
- 7:45Speaker 3: Cuba to fall, if he somehow gets Venezuela, Cuba, and
- 7:49Speaker 3: Iran all to be not these horrible places they were,
- 7:52Speaker 3: he should get a Nobel Peace Prize.
- 7:55Speaker 1: He should get a Nobel Peace Prize. I got to
- 7:58Speaker 1: give credit there to Bill Maher. You heard Senter Kennedy
- 8:00Speaker 1: laying it out, and he agreed with him. He said
- 8:02Speaker 1: he was absolutely right. And I wish there was more
- 8:05Speaker 1: in the media that would actually cover this honestly the
- 8:09Speaker 1: way that Bill Maher just talked about it. I wrote
- 8:12Speaker 1: a book years ago, and after that I stopped writing
- 8:16Speaker 1: for a very long time. But this week I decided
- 8:19Speaker 1: to write an op ed that you can read on
- 8:21Speaker 1: Foxnews dot Com. I'm also going to post a link
- 8:25Speaker 1: up on social media so you can follow me on
- 8:27Speaker 1: ex Ben Ferguson's show or on Instagram Ben Ferguson Podcast,
- 8:31Speaker 1: and you can read the entire article. Now, what made
- 8:34Speaker 1: me decide to write an article is a major issue,
- 8:37Speaker 1: one of importance, one that Ronald Reagan understood, and that
- 8:41Speaker 1: is America needs to have dominance in the world when
- 8:44Speaker 1: it comes to what we're putting out. Yes, I'm talking
- 8:47Speaker 1: about movies. You may remember that Donald Trump also understood
- 8:52Speaker 1: this about the importance of television and exporting what America
- 8:56Speaker 1: and freedom actually looks like. We also have other adversaries
- 9:00Speaker 1: around the world that want nothing more than to silence
- 9:03Speaker 1: American movies and put their propaganda everywhere. The biggest person
- 9:09Speaker 1: that's looking to do this is China. They're coming after
- 9:12Speaker 1: our kids to the point where they had to sell
- 9:14Speaker 1: TikTok to American ownership. They understand the value of silencing
- 9:19Speaker 1: and censoring different things and people, and that is exactly
- 9:23Speaker 1: why this hearing in Washington, DC today is vitally important and.
- 9:29Speaker 4: It deals with a merger.
- 9:30Speaker 1: Now I'm going to read for you the op ed
- 9:33Speaker 1: that I have put together and give you a little
- 9:35Speaker 1: bit of commentary throughout, but I hope that all of
- 9:38Speaker 1: you will take the op ed and this show and
- 9:40Speaker 1: share it wherever you can, because this hearing actually deals
- 9:44Speaker 1: with national security, putting America first and exporting freedom of
- 9:49Speaker 1: speech and freedom through the arts.
- 9:52Speaker 4: To the rest of the world.
- 9:54Speaker 1: Today in Washington, a critical hearing will help decide the
- 9:57Speaker 1: future of America's entertainment into street and America's influence abroad.
- 10:03Speaker 1: The question before lawmakers is simple but consequential. Will the
- 10:08Speaker 1: United States strengthen its own creative companies or weaken them
- 10:13Speaker 1: just as foreign avisaries use media, culture and capital to
- 10:18Speaker 1: shape global narratives. At the center of the debate is
- 10:22Speaker 1: a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery. This
- 10:26Speaker 1: should not be treated as just another corporate deal. That's
- 10:29Speaker 1: why I'm talking about it right now, By the way,
- 10:31Speaker 1: on this show. It directly affects American jobs, it directly
- 10:36Speaker 1: affects American movie making, and it directly affects US national security.
- 10:42Speaker 1: Let me explain why. For more than a century, American
- 10:46Speaker 1: films and television have carried our values around the world
- 10:51Speaker 1: of freedom, creativity, open expression. The cultural influences have been
- 10:58Speaker 1: one of America's greatest strategic advantages, and today I would
- 11:03Speaker 1: say that is under real threat. The entertainment industry supports
- 11:07Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of good paying American jobs. This includes
- 11:12Speaker 1: writers and actors, camera crews, editors, visual effects artists, set builders, marketers,
- 11:19Speaker 1: and engineers, and then don't even count all the people
- 11:22Speaker 1: behind the scenes to get hired for social media and
- 11:24Speaker 1: things like that. Now, I care about these jobs because
- 11:28Speaker 1: I work with these people each and every day, and
- 11:30Speaker 1: I understand how important is to keep those jobs in America.
- 11:34Speaker 4: These are also middle class jobs.
- 11:36Speaker 1: I'll give you a great example today, I'm going to
- 11:39Speaker 1: basically help employ a team of fifteen people. Why because
- 11:43Speaker 1: of me doing what I'm doing right now. There are cameramen,
- 11:47Speaker 1: makeup artists, they're editors, their producers. All of these people
- 11:52Speaker 1: have jobs right now because of the entertainment industry. Why
- 11:55Speaker 1: on earth would I want to turn that over to
- 11:57Speaker 1: a foreign country. Not only is it about that, but
- 12:00Speaker 1: it's also about building the economies in different states. All right,
- 12:05Speaker 1: These jobs are spread all over the country. I'm doing
- 12:07Speaker 1: this right now for you from Texas. You've got states
- 12:10Speaker 1: like California and Georgia, New Mexico, and New Jersey that
- 12:13Speaker 1: are all growing in this area. We know about movies
- 12:16Speaker 1: that are made in Georgia, for example. There's a lot
- 12:18Speaker 1: of people that are listening right now. Where you live,
- 12:21Speaker 1: there is a thriving industry. And if you think this
- 12:24Speaker 1: is like theoretical, you're wrong. Netflix recently committed one billion
- 12:30Speaker 1: dollars to build a new production studio at the former
- 12:36Speaker 1: Fort Mama Army Base in New Jersey, a project that's
- 12:41Speaker 1: expected to create you ready for this, more than five
- 12:44Speaker 1: thousand high paying American jobs. Now, that doesn't even count
- 12:47Speaker 1: all the jobs that come because of what is produced
- 12:50Speaker 1: there and all the support for when those jobs wrap
- 12:54Speaker 1: up and the movies or the content is made available
- 12:57Speaker 1: to all of us.
- 12:59Speaker 4: You understand, there's a snowball effect here.
- 13:02Speaker 1: That investment turns a former military base into an engine
- 13:06Speaker 1: of American production, innovation, and employment. And it only happens
- 13:11Speaker 1: when companies have this scale and the stability to invest
- 13:15Speaker 1: long term, because this is big money we're talking about here. Streaming, however,
- 13:20Speaker 1: is capital intensive as well. When companies are weak in
- 13:23Speaker 1: or fragmented, that's when I get worried, right, because production
- 13:26Speaker 1: slow opportunities shrink, that's when the layoffs happen. Scale brings stability,
- 13:32Speaker 1: Stability protects and creates more American jobs. This is a
- 13:36Speaker 1: no brainer for me. Now, A combined Netflix and Warner
- 13:41Speaker 1: Brothers Discovery would create not only a stronger but a
- 13:45Speaker 1: more resilient American company. That's me and my ideals as
- 13:49Speaker 1: an American first guy, and it would create an American
- 13:52Speaker 1: company able to invest consistently in one thing that matters
- 13:56Speaker 1: the most to me, US production instead of foreign production.
- 14:00Speaker 1: That means more projects made here at home, and more
- 14:03Speaker 1: investments like the military base that was just bought. That
- 14:08Speaker 1: is amazing for American job. This is all about protecting
- 14:14Speaker 1: what I say is so important to us, our secret weapon.
- 14:18Speaker 1: Our influence around the world through TV, film and content.
- 14:21Speaker 4: Is massive, all right.
- 14:23Speaker 1: I look at my podcast and it's incredible how many
- 14:26Speaker 1: people download it in foreign countries. It's unbelievable the reach
- 14:30Speaker 1: that you can have when you create things here. This
- 14:35Speaker 1: is the reason why I say it is a strategic
- 14:38Speaker 1: national asset. Let me explain why more American movies and
- 14:43Speaker 1: I'm going back to my OpEd and television reached more
- 14:46Speaker 1: people globally than any government program or diplomatic initiative. They
- 14:51Speaker 1: literally shape how the world views the United States of America,
- 14:55Speaker 1: and it serves a powerful counterweight to authoritarian propaganda and
- 14:59Speaker 1: regimes around the world. Now on the other side of
- 15:02Speaker 1: this is China. We all know how much influence China
- 15:06Speaker 1: wants to have on our lives. Go back to what
- 15:08Speaker 1: just happened with TikTok, right, You're terrified of what can
- 15:11Speaker 1: happen with TikTok because TikTok being owned by China and
- 15:15Speaker 1: China hating America and trying to have influence, can change
- 15:18Speaker 1: the algorithms and put out propaganda to undermine America.
- 15:21Speaker 4: We knew that.
- 15:21Speaker 1: That's part of the reason why the forced sell to
- 15:23Speaker 1: American assets was so vitally important for a national security standpoint.
- 15:28Speaker 1: Now China understands this. It's why they tightly control media
- 15:34Speaker 1: at home and they heavily invest in state back platforms
- 15:37Speaker 1: abroad because they want foreign influence. We've already seen how
- 15:41Speaker 1: that censorship works. I'll give you a great example, Top
- 15:44Speaker 1: Gun Maverick Love the movie. The film was a massive
- 15:49Speaker 1: global success, bring in billions of dollars in America and
- 15:54Speaker 1: guests who refused to show it. China China refused to
- 15:58Speaker 1: allow it to be shown in its theaters. Why because
- 16:02Speaker 1: of a small patch on Tom Crui's leather flight jacket
- 16:07Speaker 1: depicting the flag of Taiwan. No violence, not offensive content,
- 16:13Speaker 1: not a diet tribe against China.
- 16:16Speaker 4: It was a.
- 16:18Speaker 1: Patch on a jacket that ninety nine zero point nine
- 16:21Speaker 1: percent of the audience would never have even noticed. That
- 16:26Speaker 1: single symbol was enough for Beijing to block the film entirely.
- 16:31Speaker 1: The message was unmistakable, by the way, unmistakable by the way.
- 16:34Speaker 1: Access to China's markets require you bowing down to them. Right,
- 16:38Speaker 1: political compliance and self censorship. Ronald Reagan understood the fight
- 16:43Speaker 1: long before streaming even existed. He knew television and storytelling
- 16:47Speaker 1: were powerful tools in the battle of ideas, literally going
- 16:51Speaker 1: after the in the Cold War. He understood that foreign
- 16:55Speaker 1: or communist influence over American media posed a real threat.
- 16:58Speaker 1: That's why he became so famous when he was fighting
- 17:01Speaker 1: communism in California. As Reagan warned, quote, freedom is never
- 17:06Speaker 1: more than one generation away from extinction. Protecting American culture
- 17:11Speaker 1: and the cultural leadership became a cornerstone of his presidency,
- 17:16Speaker 1: and that lesson matters more now, I argue than ever before.
- 17:21Speaker 1: There are also serious concerns about foreign money entering the
- 17:24Speaker 1: American media ecosystem and then national security risks that come
- 17:28Speaker 1: with it. Some company proposals are involving legacy studios that
- 17:32Speaker 1: would shrink the field from five to four major studios,
- 17:36Speaker 1: and that's a problem, right, concentrating more power in fewer
- 17:39Speaker 1: hands and driving up costs for families who just want
- 17:41Speaker 1: to watch a movie at home. That kind of consolidation
- 17:44Speaker 1: reduces competition, It limits your choice and historically leads to layoffs,
- 17:50Speaker 1: not innovation. Even more troubling, some of these proposal and
- 17:53Speaker 1: these takeovers are requiring money to come from overseas, reportedly
- 17:58Speaker 1: backed by twenty four billion, for example, from foreign governments.
- 18:03Speaker 1: Did you hear I said, foreign governments including Saudi Arabia,
- 18:06Speaker 1: Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. Now I'm hardly a fan of
- 18:11Speaker 1: excess regulation, but we have laws on the books for
- 18:14Speaker 1: reason to protect the American marketplace and the American people
- 18:17Speaker 1: from foreign manipulation. So let's be clear, twenty four billion.
- 18:22Speaker 1: Twenty four billion from the Middle East is not philanthropy.
- 18:26Speaker 1: Foreign governments do not invest billions in American media for fun.
- 18:30Speaker 1: They do it to gain leverage influence, narratives, shape what
- 18:34Speaker 1: you see and hear. That's why I say this is
- 18:36Speaker 1: a direct national security concern. So in today's world, influence
- 18:41Speaker 1: is power, and when American content is weakened, something else
- 18:45Speaker 1: fills the void, and increasingly that content is shaped or
- 18:50Speaker 1: approved by authoritarian governments. That's the reason why I'm saying
- 18:54Speaker 1: right now this Netflix Warner Brothers Discovery merger, it doesn't
- 18:58Speaker 1: eliminate competition. It actually strengthens American company and allows for
- 19:05Speaker 1: us to get foreign backed actors out of our studios.
- 19:10Speaker 1: That's why I say that this merger is important. It's
- 19:13Speaker 1: a vote for American workers, American creativity, and American strength.
- 19:17Speaker 1: And by the way, Ronald Reagan knew culture influence was
- 19:21Speaker 1: national security and power that, my friends, hasn't changed. So
- 19:27Speaker 1: i'd encourage you call your senator, tell them what you think.
- 19:32Speaker 1: Massive fraud found in California, and many, including Donald Trump,
- 19:36Speaker 1: are warning that it may be bigger than what we
- 19:39Speaker 1: found in Minnesota. Millions of your tax dollars were defrauded,
- 19:44Speaker 1: in fact, by just one man.
- 19:46Speaker 4: The money was meant to feed the homeless.
- 19:49Speaker 1: I want you to hear how Fox News talked about
- 19:52Speaker 1: this one individual, the defrauded Americans of more than twenty
- 19:57Speaker 1: three million dollars. I'll stay it again. This is just
- 20:03Speaker 1: one person. Listen to the report from Fox News.
- 20:07Speaker 9: Agents moving in today, busting the man accused of stealing
- 20:10Speaker 9: tens of millions of dollars meant for the homeless and
- 20:14Speaker 9: spending that cash on a lavish lifestyle. Corisponding Matt finn
- 20:18Speaker 9: is live in Los Angeles for you, and you know,
- 20:22Speaker 9: folks were warned about this and lo and behold here
- 20:25Speaker 9: it is.
- 20:27Speaker 8: Yeah, this is it. Behind me, John.
- 20:28Speaker 10: The Feds say this man was contracted with the City
- 20:32Speaker 10: and County of Los Angeles two housand feet up to
- 20:35Speaker 10: six hundred homeless people, but instead he was misusing tens
- 20:39Speaker 10: of millions of dollars to live.
- 20:41Speaker 8: A luxurious life.
- 20:43Speaker 10: Exclusive Fox video shows the fed's early morning bust here
- 20:46Speaker 10: at the La mansion, Forty two year old Alexander.
- 20:49Speaker 8: Suker was arrested.
- 20:51Speaker 10: Suker's one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars land rover
- 20:54Speaker 10: was also seized by law enforcement. The fedse Suker defrauded
- 20:57Speaker 10: the City and County of La out of twenty three
- 21:00Speaker 10: million in taxpayer dollars for not only his mansion and car,
- 21:03Speaker 10: but a second home in Greece, luxury vacations, designer clothes,
- 21:07Speaker 10: and private schools.
- 21:10Speaker 11: He was living the high life while the people suffering
- 21:15Speaker 11: homelessly on the streets with no shelter, no food.
- 21:18Speaker 8: They're living out in the streets.
- 21:20Speaker 11: People are literally dying, and this guy is out vacationing,
- 21:23Speaker 11: buying homes, buying range rovers, and going shopping.
- 21:28Speaker 10: Prosecutors say Suker was supposed to provide three nutritional meals
- 21:31Speaker 10: a day to the homeless, but during one inspection, Suker
- 21:34Speaker 10: only had canned beans and ramen noodles on hand. The
- 21:37Speaker 10: Fed Saint Lucre lied about various aspects of abundant blessings,
- 21:42Speaker 10: including fake vendors, facilities, and the homeless actually getting meals.
- 21:46Speaker 10: The US Attorney's Office in LA says they are actively
- 21:49Speaker 10: investigating at least twelve other similar fraud cases here in California.
- 21:53Speaker 8: First Assistant US Attorney Bill A.
- 21:54Speaker 10: Sale says there's a tremendous amount of fraud in this
- 21:57Speaker 10: state and that today's bust of one man who missed
- 22:00Speaker 10: US twenty three million dollars a loon may show how
- 22:02Speaker 10: little oversight there is.
- 22:05Speaker 11: California was pushing this money out quickly, a lot of
- 22:08Speaker 11: money went out the door with frankly, very little vetting,
- 22:13Speaker 11: very little checks and balances, and he's one of the
- 22:16Speaker 11: individuals that got it.
- 22:19Speaker 10: The suspect is scheduled to make his first appearance later today.
- 22:22Speaker 10: He faces up to twenty years if convicted on a
- 22:25Speaker 10: federal case. The local district attorney is also planning on
- 22:27Speaker 10: prosecuting Sean.
- 22:29Speaker 4: Now this is just the tip of the iceberg.
- 22:32Speaker 1: In fact, we now have the same man, Nick Shirley,
- 22:36Speaker 1: who did the incredible job of discovering massive fraud in
- 22:40Speaker 1: Minneapolis and exposing it to the world that is landed
- 22:43Speaker 1: in California, and he's now saying that's even worse than
- 22:47Speaker 1: anyone else.
- 22:47Speaker 4: Could have imagined.
- 22:49Speaker 1: Before I get to that, though, I want to tell
- 22:50Speaker 1: you about my good friends over it Bitcoin IRA. I
- 22:55Speaker 1: got to ask you a question, can you buy Roe
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- 23:36Speaker 1: are you waiting for? Get in the bitcoin game today
- 23:40Speaker 1: and diversify your portfolio. You actually talk to a real
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- 23:55Speaker 1: to one or bitcoin ira dot com slash ben that's
- 23:59Speaker 1: bitcoin ira dot com slash ben to open a free
- 24:03Speaker 1: account and are up to one thousand dollar bonus right?
- 24:06Speaker 4: Now all, right.
- 24:08Speaker 1: Take a listen to What Nick shirley said about arriving In,
- 24:11Speaker 1: california and what he says, is, well incredible amounts of
- 24:16Speaker 1: fraud that may be much bigger than what he exposed In.
- 24:19Speaker 4: Minnesota, oh there's massive fraud In.
- 24:22Speaker 6: CALIFORNIA i mean the homelessness is just increased as they
- 24:25Speaker 6: receive more. Money that's just one part of. It like
- 24:28Speaker 6: you talked about the light rail and everything like. That
- 24:31Speaker 6: the fraud is like crazy In california and they have
- 24:34Speaker 6: the highest.
- 24:34Speaker 12: Taxes, yeah they want, More.
- 24:38Speaker 5: Nick because anybody approached you about this, THING i tweeted
- 24:40Speaker 5: it about. IT i had never heard about, it but
- 24:42Speaker 5: these guys educated me on it CALLED qui, ten which
- 24:45Speaker 5: is this framework where you can actually sue on behalf
- 24:50Speaker 5: of the state and on behalf of tax. Beayers has
- 24:52Speaker 5: anybody approached you about thinking about using all of the
- 24:56Speaker 5: information that you've garnered to try to launch some of
- 24:59Speaker 5: these lawsuits or.
- 24:59Speaker 6: No, yeah actually had somebody to reach out to me
- 25:02Speaker 6: the other day about, It So i'm gonna actually help
- 25:03Speaker 6: on a phone call that.
- 25:04Speaker 3: Guy.
- 25:05Speaker 12: Yeah, also AS i understand that some of these whistleblower
- 25:08Speaker 12: laws reward the whistleblower with something like twenty to thirty
- 25:11Speaker 12: percent of amounts in some. Cases, yeah that ARE i
- 25:15Speaker 12: don't know if it's like fines or it's amounts that
- 25:17Speaker 12: are recaptured, recaptured BUT i don't. Know, nick you could
- 25:20Speaker 12: become a billionaire here just with all the billions you've.
- 25:23Speaker 8: EXPOSED i, KNOW i gotta sit down and figured it.
- 25:26Speaker 12: OUT i know that's not why you're in, it but
- 25:28Speaker 12: you be the most well loved billionaire In america if
- 25:30Speaker 12: you did absolutely.
- 25:31Speaker 13: Well the way to do it, is you, know since
- 25:33Speaker 13: you're drafting off of these other news, reports is to
- 25:35Speaker 13: set up your own tip Line, So, nick what's your
- 25:37Speaker 13: website or do you have a website where people can?
- 25:40Speaker 13: Donate and do you have a tip, Line because you
- 25:42Speaker 13: wouldn't get the Whistle Blow awards for the Stuff fox
- 25:46Speaker 13: nine has been doing for a, decade but for the
- 25:48Speaker 13: next one you. Could so what is your website where
- 25:51Speaker 13: people can?
- 25:51Speaker 6: Donate?
- 25:51Speaker 12: Nick?
- 25:52Speaker 8: Yeah everything just on social.
- 25:53Speaker 6: Media so if they can message me on any, PLATFORM
- 25:56Speaker 6: i should probably get a.
- 25:57Speaker 8: Website, going.
- 26:01Speaker 13: What's your social media handle where people CAN dm you and?
- 26:04Speaker 8: Donate, yeah it's Just Nick.
- 26:05Speaker 6: Shirley and if you go ON X i do have
- 26:07Speaker 6: my tip section, open so if you would like to donate,
- 26:10Speaker 6: there that gives them all the whether it be, venmo, cash, app,
- 26:13Speaker 6: crypto you can all do it right.
- 26:15Speaker 2: There so x.
- 26:16Speaker 1: Doc by the, WAY i love that this guy is
- 26:19Speaker 1: doing this on his, own like he's just, like, yeah
- 26:22Speaker 1: if you want to, support go for. It i'm just
- 26:24Speaker 1: going to be out here exposing all this, waste fraud and,
- 26:26Speaker 1: Abuse Like that's What i'm doing with my life. Now
- 26:29Speaker 1: i'm not afraid Like Nick shirley was In San. Diego
- 26:34Speaker 1: he now estimates billions of dollars in fraud under Gab
- 26:37Speaker 1: newsom's leaderships and they want more. Money they want to
- 26:41Speaker 1: raise taxes even higher than they are right. Now there's
- 26:46Speaker 1: Also Benny johnson who says his team is traveling to
- 26:49Speaker 1: the fraud capital of the.
- 26:50Speaker 4: World he's now saying It's.
- 26:51Speaker 1: California they say the fraud uncovered In minnesota was very
- 26:56Speaker 1: bad and led to the destruction Of Tim waltz's. Career
- 27:00Speaker 1: Gavin Newsom's california is far, worse saying The american taxpayer
- 27:03Speaker 1: needs first hand to understand how Criminal california's fraud is
- 27:08Speaker 1: robbing our nation. Blind he, said here's just a glimpse
- 27:12Speaker 1: of what we already. Know state auditor In california found
- 27:15Speaker 1: ready for this seventy. Billion think about that, number seventy
- 27:21Speaker 1: billion and taxpayer funds that have been lost like they just,
- 27:24Speaker 1: disappeared no accounting for, them. Whatsoever twenty four billion In
- 27:29Speaker 1: california loan spent on nonexistent homelessness. Programs that means someone
- 27:35Speaker 1: stole twenty four billion. Dollars eighteen billion poured into non
- 27:40Speaker 1: existent high speed. Rail you Heard nick talk about that
- 27:44Speaker 1: a second, ago thirty two billion FOR covid relief funds
- 27:48Speaker 1: that had been stolen two point five billion ready for
- 27:52Speaker 1: this word loss To snap. Fraud billion spent on rebuilding
- 27:58Speaker 1: after the POWER i would say, fires but no homes
- 28:02Speaker 1: have been. Built that is just some of what's being
- 28:05Speaker 1: exposed right. Now this is all happening In. California it's truly.
- 28:11Speaker 1: Incredible But california is the fraud capital Of, america and
- 28:16Speaker 1: the taxpayer fund and nonprofits there are embezzling our money
- 28:20Speaker 1: by the, billions and the governor is allowing it to.
- 28:22Speaker 1: Happen make sure you share this podcast please wherever you
- 28:26Speaker 1: can on social media so others will hear. It hit
- 28:30Speaker 1: that subscriber auto download, button And i'll see you back here.
- 28:34Speaker 4: Tomorrow