Hello, everybody, welcome. It is that time again, Matt Connerton unleashed
and we are live from the studios of w m n H ninety five point
three FM in Glorious downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. Also now on Comcast Channel
six if you are in Manchester watching on the cable. Also off course,
Hello to olive our online listeners across nation and around the globe. You can
go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all your live streaming options,
social media links, contact in folk show archives, etcetera, etcetera. Today
is Tuesday, August fifteen, two thousand twenty three. We have a guest
coming up in just a couple of minutes. He's going to be calling in.
Uh. He's had to reschedule a couple of times, you know,
things come up, and he's a very very busy guy, Award winning journalist,
Bob Henneley. But he's going to be calling in at four fifteen.
Really looking forward to speaking with him. He's uh, he writes for many
publications and also he's a fellow radio host. He's on w BAI in New
York City. Actually, let me make sure I get this right. What's
the is it ninety nine point five. Oh there, it is w BAI
ninety nine point five FM. Yes, in New York City, so he's
real New Yorker, So I look forward to speaking with him. So he'll
be joining us in just a couple of minutes. He has some experience here
in New Hampshire too. I'll ask him about that. But Jenny had the
privilege of being on Bob's program on w BAI a number of weeks ago,
and he's gonna he's gonna return the favor and join me here today. And
really looking forward to speaking with him. Very fascinating guy. So I will
not give out the studio line because he's going to be on the studio line
for He's going to give us about thirty minutes today, so so that will
be very cool. So looking forward to that, and we'll see what other
kind of stuff we can get into today as well. I don't know.
The news has been so slow lately. I don't know what we're going to
talk about. Actually, yesterday was a pretty big day in the news,
I reckon. But so we will not take any calls on the studio line
because we are expecting a guest. But of course you can still text me
at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six. You're welcome to
interact endo Pine in the Facebook live chat and we will say hello everybody in
there in just a moment. And of course you can email me Matt at
Matt Connerton dot com. So I would love to hear from you especially too.
If you have any questions or anything for our guest Bob Hennily, you
can put them in the chat room. You can email me, you can
text me at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six. So
that will be uh, that will be coming up in just a couple of
moments. But while we await mister Heniley, we'll go ahead and say hello
everybody in the chat room. Jenny of course is in there and says schill
loam peeps. Also, Mike from Queen City Cabinetry joins us. Mike uh
in Queen City Cabinetry not only one of our great sponsors here at WMH ninety
five point three FM, but I get to hang out with Mike every Friday
night. He's one of our co hosts on retro Spectrum Radio with Paul c.
Fredo. Is in the chat room, or you know, I like
to say his full name. Alfredo Enrique Benavitis joins us and says Yo Yo
Fredo of course from the band's Dank Sinatra and Cosmic Blossom, and Fredo has
been on the show a number of time time. J fed is in the
Facebook live chat, of course from the Great State of Vermont, says good
afternoon everyone. Tom Blanchard says, hi everyone. Melanie at Liberty, of
course from the Great State of Vermont, also says hey guys. Tom Blanchard
says Hipster is Back in the seventies, I used to have a pair of
low rise jeans nicknamed Hipsters. Let's see, we have a call. This
might be our friend, our guest. Hi, welcome to Matt Connerton Unleashed.
Who is this? Thanks for having me? Oh is this Bob?
It certainly is all right, Bob Hennley. It is well wonderful to us
speak to you, sir. Welcome, Welcome to Matt Connerton Unleashed. I've
been looking forward to looking forward to talking with you, and really appreciate too
that Jad Jenny on your show recently on w b AI very cool and I
was looking to at some of what you're very early in the morning. Yeah,
what time? What time are you on the air? You is it
seven am? Seven am? But we get up at four am to make
sure we get our facts right. So you really got to be a morning
person to do that. Good for you for a late night person, right
right, Yeah, just stay up super late and just just keep going.
Now, how long have you You've done radio at other places too, right,
weren't you on WM and w NYC. Is that guy? I was
on wac oh maybe like, oh like fifteen years? And then I have
been on Pacific I get fired by PACIFICA every ten years, you do.
Yeah, I've been doing this a long time. Now. Why do you
get fired from Radio PACIFICA every ten years? I have to there's always a
change of regime. Uh, there's always you know, if you've been in
this business long enough, it's uh, it's not personal. It's just been
Oh I understand. We have a new Hampshire radio host who is on Radio
PACIFICA. I believe or I think she still is Arnie Arniston. You must
know Arnie. I love Arnie. Yeah, where we've been. We met
during the pandemic. That starts like the beginning of a magical relationship. Has
been great I'm fortunate to know her, and she is really at this he
knows what's going on. And if you're not in a rolodex, you're probably
not going to be mounting much to New Hampshire politics. Yeah. I first
became aware of Arnie back way back when she ran for governor. That was
when she sort of became a household name to a lot of people around here.
And uh and then but I only met her for the first time maybe
five or six years ago. But yeah, really really interesting person, great
at what she does. I haven't checked out her show lately. I assume
her radio show is still on the Attitude. It certainly is. Yeah,
Yeah, it's distributed through PACIFICA and yeah, it's it's not a couple of
hundred stations. And she does a great job. And she's got, like
I say, just the who's who in New Hampshire politics. But she's been
doing it long enough that she does she's really connected into the national conversation.
So she's been really one of the few people who's got that the attention of
the national media focusing on the craziness with what's going on with your primary with
sitting and cumber president likely to be on the ballot and creating an opportunity for
Robert Kennedy Junior to have kind of like his Jean McCarthy moment, if you're
allo to remember with that way. Oh god, yeah, RFK, Yeah,
we've been. I've been very worried about the New Hampshire primary. I
want to, you know, because the DNC, of course wanting the first
primary to be in South Carolina. And I understand, I mean, Joe
Biden ows his entire presidency to South Carolina in my opinion, and Senator Jim
Flyburn. But I always say, to paraphrase something that oh God, Chuck
Heston, Charlton Heston said, uh, you know, you'll you'll have to
to pry the New apter primary from my cold that hands. But I well,
you know, I mean it's you know, every four years, once
every four years, there's a span of time where the rest of the country
actually is concerned with New Hampshire. So it's it's nice, but well,
and I do think so that you have to be the folks in about ways.
The big problem they've demonstrated is the inability to be nimble. And so
while theoretically I understand the arguments about diversity, and providing the opportunity of South
Carolina and a more diverse polity to have that first opportunity. But then there's
reality and the facts on the ground, and so it's happening now is that
New Hampshire is providing a wonderful opportunity to the Republican Party to dominate the national
conversation and for the Democratic Party to be kind of eclipsed. And I think
that's a mistake because I'm sure that there's there are issues in New Hampshire that
needs the President's attention. I was just looking up before he came on the
problem that you've got, which is happening over the country where we are now
with the pandemics supposedly over I said, what's the upanism in the by way
unwinding Medicaid? And so one of the things I just had this happened the
other day. I went to get a blood tested, was getting my blood
drawn at a Quest, you know, a multake billion dollar corporation, and
the wonderful young woman there of a single mother of two, was a Quest
technician, and she told me she'd just been thrown off her healthcare. So
there you have the American tableau. The twenty first century being in the front
line and a cential worker taking someone else's flood without healthcare. Yeah, it's
it's it's awful and obviously too. Now I have not yet had a chance
to read your book, but I'm very interested in it. You've written a
book, Stuck Nation. Can the United States change course on our history of
choosing profits over people? And so this is obviously an issue that you're very
steeped in and knowledgeable about. And yeah, I you know, it took
me a long time to get there, but I you know, I support
medicare for all, some or some form of socialized medicine. I consider myself
a capitalist. But so, like I said, it took me a while
to finally arrive at the reconcilable that's not I mean, I think that if
you want to maximize the economic opportunity in the United States, you want to
have all the workers healthy and prison and accountable, ready for exploitation. And
what better way to do that hasn't be healthy. Exactly, I wouldn't have
put it quite that way, although I would have put it very close to
that way. Bob, So yes, I agree, absolutely, you know,
a healthier country would ultimately be a more profitable country and more you know,
more efficient, and all of it, all of it. But I
can tell you here's the other thing too. I would make an argument to
use that. One of the sad things is as long as we have this
nineteenth century idea of that your healthcare is linked. Actually it's like I guess,
post World War two. The idea of linking your healthcare coverage to your
jobs is in light of the nature of employment has changed and the social contractive
work has changed, it gives entirely too much leverage to the bosses and also
guarantees that Americans will never see another raise that's greater than inflation as long as
they have to pay for their healthcare out of their employment relationship. And so
the other thing it's done is the scarcity mindset about real time delivery. I
think that's probably appropriate for all kinds of things in the economy, thinking cars,
you name it. But when you do that for healthcare and you create
it as a luxury gooder scarcity item, you then create a situation where a
significant part of the population is more vulnerable to disease. Not to get too
new testimony on you, but gated communities cannot stop you from a virulent,
infectious pandemic. And so what we had the COVID experience was four percent of
were four percent of the world's population a twelve percent of the death toll from
COVID, and we pay more than any other OECD country that is similarly situated
in terms of the status of the economy with the poorest outcome yea. And
so that meant that the fact that some many Americans were undercovered exposed the entire
population to the greater likelihood of being infected. And so that's why I say
to you, you can be a capitalist and in favor of a universal health
care to guarantee I think it was a civil defense measure that everybody that you're
interact with at least has basic healthcare that makes you safer as a cold buddy
capitalist to pursue those prophets to your heart's desire. Yeah. Even even my
father, who's pretty conservative, more so as he's gotten older, I would
say, I don't think he'll mind me saying that, but he even supports
socialized medicine. He's all for it, and and like myself, it took
him a while to get there too, by his own admission. But but
he's he's all for it as well. Now, oh, Bob too,
Uh not to pivot, but I have to ask you, and Jenny is
reminding me. Jenny said in the chat room, ask him about Jesse Jackson,
and uh, Jenny, Jenny told me, you've got some great stories
and uh, this is a connection that you have to the state of New
Hampshire, where I am correct. Yeah, it was a in my lost
youth in nineteen eighty or I was going to college at Ramapo College, which
is a was a public college that was started by let's euphemistically call them progressives,
but these were. And so there was a professor of sociology there,
Professor Sam Penn, and this was in northern New Jersey and he was actually
in his he was from New York City, was from Brooklyn, and he
was very much part of the Black United Front and Reverend Daughtry, which was
pretty far left organization. Funny enough, funny how times change. It was
kind of the same milieve that our current mayor, Mayor Adams came out of
before. You know. So, anyway, I got a call from Professor
Penn and he said, the Jesse Jackson campaign has landed in New Hampshire,
and they're realizing that there's not any kind of real for an American bass to
build a campaign organization on. So they asked if I would come up with
some of my other hippie dippie friends from Ramapo College, and so we came
up there and did a little bit of an audition and then ended up doing
advanced work for Jesse Jackson in nineteen eighty four. And it was indeed a
a once in a life experience, and it was it was I think what
was fortunate for us, and I didn't know that, was that there was
We were benefiting from the fact that in that primary season there was a tremendous
residual resentment of Walter Mondale because there were so many folks up there that were
disappointed in the Democratic Party that Ted Kennedy did not win the presidential nomination and
it was bested by mister Carter, and so we had all kinds of help
that of course was anonymous from the folks that wanted Jesse to well, and
of course interest we know what happened there. He had had a kind of
ancient history, but he had gotten the Air Force flyer out of Syria.
The campaign was flying pretty high, and then he had that whole incident where
he was involved with mentioning articulating, calling New York time town, and then
the campaign pretty much died from Neuron. But it gave me some real insight
into operating in the political environment Hampshire, which is just really like very unique,
and I understand why this is the habit of the American people just can't
shake every four years. Yes, now, was there an experience though a
negative experience where there was was there a brick thrown through a window or something?
Jenny, yes, man, she's got a great memory, and of
course I will have run my program to seek my revenge New York draw.
But so yeah, So we had managed at the storefront in Manchester and starting
up the campaign, and what ended up happening was right after the opening festivities,
somebody shot out play glass window and I was I was there when it
happened, and so there was a parking garage across the street where evidently it
had come to the window, and I remember, in my crazy twenties,
racing up into that parking garage and then it occurred to me like what would
I do if I caught the person. Yea, but it was Yeah,
it was also I mean, I do remember dealing with I really enjoyed the
diversity of the politics there. And as much as folks say that, you
know, it's a state that is not diverse. When I found that there
was this political philosophies where all over the map, but people did have this
passion about it, right, yes, and so that was something that was
really engaging. And yeah, there were some very curious conversations because a large
part of I had to work with a Secret Service, and so a lot
of the folks that we were drawing to the Jackson campaign were part of the
Clamshell Alliance and people that had been arrested of course fighting you to their power.
So there were some very tense conversations with the Secret Service, like,
so these are the people would have to be with the candidates. Oh interesting?
Interesting, Yes, Yeah, so that's why I always found it.
I had to tell you that my direct experience working with the Secret Service in
nineteen eighty four, that was what was running through my mind as a reporter
covering January sixth, And I know that one of the aspects of this entire
tribulation we've been through the ongoing insurrection has been the lack of disclosure about what
the Secret Service knew and when they knew it. And it still kind of
like an unresolved aspect of this. But I can tell you that the state
of play in nineteen eighty four, they knew everything that was going on in
that campaign. Oh, I bet so. I still think we need to
have some accountability about that because you know, in this last insurrection thing,
they lost all the text messages. Remember that, I do. I do,
although I had forgotten until you brought it up, because there's so much,
there's so much to keep track of with all of it, I'd actually
forgotten about that specific aspect. Yes, the mysteriously vanishing text messages that no
one can seem to find. Yes, Well, what I'm concerned about is
actually I don't see the insurrection as a discreet moment that's over with, And
so when I'm reporting on this, I see it as more like we're a
Caribbean island nation where it's still not resolved, where they have possession of the
Supreme Court at one house of the legislature. I mean, I'm following.
For instance, I had a lot of a chang into the continuing funding for
nine to eleven World Trade Center Health Program, which is a very important program
for so many first responders and folks that do that kind of work. That
the agendas, you know, when she was working as an E and T
and there's a funding authorization, it's critical to keep that program functioning, which
is going to get caught up in what looks to be the high jinks when
the Republicans returned to the House in the fall and there's a fairly good chance
will shut down the government. So I'm following very closely. So to me,
that kind of instability and the government is science to me that this insurrection
is not resolved. Interesting you mentioned you mentioned covering the insurrection. Were you
there? Were you in Washington, DC when when that does I was writing
for the The Chief Leader Is Paper, which is a civil service paper that
covers New York City, and I was actually kind of amazed because we had
retired civil servants who had, you know, in some cases significant pensions that
were putting at risks to be part of that activity. Yeah, and so
I sat in on a number of calls where this was when they of course
were raining people in conference calls because we're still in the midst of the pandemic.
And what about you also mentioned, of course nine to eleven were you,
I assume you were in New York when that happened. So I it's
funny. I was working for Pacific as a national affairs correspondent, and it
just to give a sense of the way of the land that there's five stations
that are a part of the Pacific network BA. I've been the New York
station, and that was on twenty one twenty Wall Street, which is all
the way over on the East River, and of course the World Trade Center
abuts the Hudson River, and so I had just had an isd in line
put into my house so that I could do the national feed without going in,
and so that was the beginning of me using that remote ability. So
I was not there then, But then, of course, like everybody else
for several months, a cleanup went on for seven months, well into May,
and the fires actually burned until Saint Patrick's Day, so that was really
a And also, of course, the thing I don't think most people are
aware of is that we have now lost more people from the occupational exposure that
day and the seven months afterwards, because of course, one of the things
had happened was that the Environmental Protection Agency, under the leader of leadership of
Christine ty Wodman, a former governor in New Jersey, said that the air
was safe to breathe, and subsequent report by the Inspector General DPA found out
that the Bush White House had intervened and that considerations about opening up Wall Street
continuity of business trunk concerns about occupational and public health, and that in essence,
the EPA mischaracterized and concealed and suppressed information that showed that the readings in
the air were of considerable concern, particularly the people that were working on the
file. And as a result, and I tracked this every day, we
lost three un forty three firefighters on the day of the attack, and we're
going to come close to that number of people that have died since from the
exposures they had that day and for the semple months afterwards, the general population,
I would say it's close to three to four thousand have died, So
we're well passed the number of people that perished on that day. And that
rooted back into the fact that it was considered more of a priority for the
nervy of business and that people made aware of the attendant risk was staying down
there. Wow. Yeah, And it's so infuriating to watching these people have
to fight for just to get the care that they need. And then of
course you know now the number of people who've passed it, it's just uh,
yeah, that is staggering, you know, John Stewart, of course,
it's it's great that you know, somebody like him, who who's got
such a high profile, has been able to do a lot of great advocacy
very publicly for these people. But it should never be in it. I
mean, first of all, I mean, you're it's interesting what you point
out about how everything was opened back up with without any consideration for you know,
whether these people were being poisoned, which obviously they were, and I
didn't know that. I didn't know the part about actually there's a lot of
details in that that I didn't I didn't realize, Bob. So that's that's
interesting, but but it's also infuriating and obviously well, one of the things
is that we have been successful in extending the Zagroga Act, which is named
for James Zadroga, who was a detective with the NYPD. And so to
give you a sense of how resistant, and this is not uncommon. I
mean, anyone who follows veterans affairs knows that the government is so resistant to
whether it be burn Pits in the twenty fer century or Agent Orange, the
government is just low to admit liability, right, And so the same thing
was true here. And so for a few years after nine to eleven,
the City of New York resisted disclosing or even owning up to the occupational risk.
And so it was actually James Zadroga who was ill and was disabled,
and if luckily he was taken to a New Jersey coroner who actually made an
independent determination outside of New York City that it was indeed his exposure to the
nine to eleven all the glass asbestos had really riddled his lung. And that
was the first situation where nine to eleven related health exposure was formally fingered for
a death. And even right up until that, the mayor of New York
City at the time, at the time, Michael Bloomberg insisted as the drug
had died because he was a drug addict. Oh yeah, And so everything
was about making sure the city demnified to solve for avoided liability, and then,
of course, to Mayor Bloomberg's credit, he did apologize to the family.
But before Jimmy died, the NYPD had him under surveillance and we're hoping
to catch him like some episode of you know, one of those national crime
dramas, and so that has been kind of like the received. For instance,
there's about twenty thousand children who are at the time K through twelve who
were ordered back into dozens of schools and lawer Manhattan and Western Brooklyn that it
were subsequently determined to be in the hot zone. Oh, I have a
significant elevated level of risk related to all kinds of diseases, which is why
this Drogact was expanded to twenty ninety. Now we just have to make sure
it's funded. Wow. Oh my god. Wow, that's incredible. That's
uh, that's that's crazy. I have to ask you too, I'm curious.
Is it strange, you know because obviously at that time when nine to
eleven happened, really just by by luck of him having to have been mayor
at the time, Rudy Giuliani, you know, it really elevated his status
and he sort of obviously he was already well, he had been a well
respected US prosecutor and so forth, but you know, and then he was
mayor. And I don't know how he was doing before nine to eleven,
but once nine eleven happened, you know, and he I guess he projected
a certain optimism and and so forth through that, through that terrible day in
the aftermath of it. But now now he's being indicted in Georgia. I
mean, as a New Yorker, is that just is that just weird?
I because because I covered him closely, Yeah, I have to tell you
that that image of him was always a false front. And so once you
I mean when he ran for President's instructed to remember that widows of firefighters from
nine to eleven dog just campaign because firefighters. He checked my written extensively about
this. The fire Union have always maintained that it was the failure of Julianna's
administration to provide proper fire radios led to the death of at least one hundred
and some odd firefighters who were caught up in a collapse of one of the
towers that didn't get the order to leave, okay, And so people always
have found it, who know, New York City intimately and know the public
unions find it ironic that the nation, I mean so largely that image of
Guliani as a consequence that when he was US Attorney, he was very very
much of a publicity machine and really cultivated the media. And in my business,
when somebody who like US Attorney cultivates you, then that becomes you're invested
in helping them when they just you know, they become somebody that you want
to reinvest in their image, and then it becomes like you're involved with Rudy
Ink. And so you just have to look at the people that he surrounded
himself with, Bernie Carrick, who was a police commissioner and then ended up
getting caught up and heard on a New Jersey state police wire and then found
himself convicted for a whole bunch of corrupt deeds before even Donald Trump was involved
as a figure in our politics. I mean, so, I guess that's
the thing is how well you're known New York. Did he Yes, you're
right at ten thousand feet. And the national image is that he was America's
mayor, But he was somebody that was very divisive and was very skilled at
playing off using racial dynamics as a way of running the city. And yeah,
and that's one of these things. The difference between his public persona and
what it was like if you were aware of how he actually governed day in
day out, there's a difference. It's like, even right now, there
is a renewed congressional interest in the City of New York releasing the files that
Juliannie had when he was mayor, and the current mayor, who is nominally
a Democrat, is refusing to release the nine to eleven municipal files unless there's
further indemnification of the City of New York. Really, yes, sir,
Wow, you didn't hear about that on the news, did you did not?
I did not. I had no idea. I do know that,
Uh. Mayor Eric Adams is uh. You know a lot of people are
not necessarily thrilled with him, but yeah, yeah, no doubt, no
doubt. So looking at Giuliani now, you know, having covered him and
knowing knowing that the truth of him and seeing that up close, are are
you are you not shocked at what's happening to him now? Or is there
a part of you that kind of always thought, you know, yeah,
it makes sense that it ends up this way for him. So so so
I had this h I covered New Jersey politics and so Donald Trump was on
my r from his days in Atlantic City. Yeah, and so I've interviewed
Donald Trump, and I really it's Atlantic City of the State of New Jersey.
It was a tremendous apology to the United States because it was in Atlantic
City that Trump really developed this ability to corrupt everything in anything that he is
engagement and the State of New Jersey, which so badly wanted gambling to work
out, aided and embedded him in his criminality. And he would collect regulators,
prosecutors, law enforcement figures like you might collect butterflies in a cigar box.
And once you finished your turn on the Regulatory Control Commission, by then
you, my friend, wouldn't have an opportunity to work. But Donald Trump.
Even Governor Jim Florio, who had great respect for just recently passed,
you know, he was on one of Donald Trump's board. That's right,
this is the way he works. And so I am not surprised. And
of course being in New York City real estate, knowing the way that that
functions as a business, which is it's got nothing on the Wild West,
has nothing on New York City real estate. Hi, I got a problem
with tenants in the building. Get some people with baseball batts who know the
hell's angels and throw them out. I mean, that's you know, it's
it's told to be some kind of like progressive place, but the actually economy
on the ground is a brutal place. I mean New York City's personality.
You know that New York City was actually the mayor during the Civil War wanted
to side with the South. I don't know if you're aware of that,
but New York City was really upset that the Union was lining up to stop
slavery because they're actually closer politically to the economy of the cotton South. And
so yeah, in New York is and by association, Lenning City has this
mercantile spirit. There are no enduring family values there. It's it's all just
about the money. Interesting. Yeah, I did not know that about New
York siding or wanting to side with the South and the Civil War. Jeez,
wow, that's that's shocking. I have to ask you too. I
wasn't there to cover that, but I understood I should ask you too.
Bob about because you obviously you know New Jersey very well. Uh. Any
thoughts on Governor Chris Christie, who, by the way, I don't know
if some of my listeners might know this, but he has now pulled ahead
of Ronda Santis and the polls here in New Hampshire. Not that it's going
to matter. Trump will win, I have no doubt. But do you
have any any insight on the governor? Yeah? I So it's so funny
because Chris Christy didn't go back a long way. We lived in the same
part of Morris County, New Jersey. I covered him when I was stringing
for the New York Times when he was a US attorney. I remember as
his press conference he was selected by Bush to be the US Attorney. He
had not had any real background in that kind of heavy lift. He was
known as a Bush pioneer, which means you've given more money than anyone else,
so of course you got to be US attorney. And I remember that
I asked him at the press conference if that's why he got the job,
that's the kind of That's how I was rolling back at that time. Did
he answer? Did he answer your question when you asked him that yeah,
he gave it an answer. He was always he's a great copy. I
will tell you that I did have I covered him then I was in NYC.
And he of course got elected when he served as US Attorney, he
did go after both political parties in because of political corruption. But I do
remember I was part of the national media poll of Pool that had to cover
him on Sandy. And I remember I had been I was living in a
rural part of Morris County and it was really tore up really badly by Sandy.
Sandy, and I had the sad duty to report the first fatalities for
Sandy in that part of Morris County. And then I got a call from
the State Police Executive Protection Unit that they wanted me to drive down the next
day to the State Police headquarters and then to take a Blackhawk helicopter and then
be responsible for providing the sound of Governor Christie's first inspection of a community called
Sayerville, which is, you know, a blue collar kind of place.
It's bungalow houses, it used to be seasoned. All that people had fixed
up to your run housing people with not a lot, certainly working class neighborhood.
And I have to tell you that I was very moved by his engagement
with these people. I've certainly been very critical of Bridge gatting all the rest,
but in that singular moment and those hours that I was covering him,
I was quite impressed with his ability to engage people in a way who had
really lost everything, and to give them a sense that they were part of
something bigger than themselves that would help them and protect them. That is the
kind of thing that you unless you experienced directly. I mean, I will
never forget when I've never been into black called helicopter before, and clearly they
preserve all of the payload for the lead that protect you if you're a soldier.
But when I got out of there, I've never heard I've never heard
the sound of two hundred women crying collectively. Well, that's something you don't
forget. I mean, colleagues of mine who've worked and worked on areas or
mass disasters that described it. But he acquitted himself that day, and of
course subsequently in a significant way with of course embracing President Obama. So you
know, you know what's funny. People people talk about the hug with Obama,
and people talked about it so much over the years that it sort of
created a Mandela effect, at least at I experienced. I have an actual
mental image of that hug, even though they never actually did embrace. They
just shook hands. But but in my mind, but I got so used
to hearing Republicans complain about the hug that in my mind I had created a
mental image of it, even though it never happened. By the way,
just quickly, Bridgegate, do you do you believe he knew? Because I
think he knew. I've never believed in my life there was an atmosphere and
this is this is an occupational hazard for a business that runs on your ego,
right, And so what is the problem here is that he had created
this atmosphere where his subordinates felt that they had to get results by any means
necessary. And the thing that is I just can't forgive is that this was
happening. Remember this play out on the anniversary of nine to eleven on the
port authorities George Washington Bridge, which, if you know anything about counter terrorism,
has always been one of the major targets that law enforcement and national security
has worried about. So this was actually the most egregious thing which the US
Attorney should have charged, which is that the Port Authority Police, an arm
of a bi state agency, was used for a political grudge. Their eyes
were taking off the ball of their fundamental job to protect and serve people from
a terrorist attack. That's what's wrong with Bridgegate. I bet you haven't heard
that analysis. Ei there. No, that's a fantastic point, and that
had not occurred to me. I mean, I know that obviously that you
know it caused problems. I believe someone died if I'm not mistaken because an
ambulance. They didn't die, but it was it did create it slowed the
response. So yeah, it was slowed an ambulance response, and it did
create and it was never addressed within one of the things that happened, the
Bergen records did create reporting on this is the What happened was the superior officers
of the Port Authority Police, when regular rank and file cops were like,
hey, we can't have these pylons here. This is going to make a
mess. They got visited by the brass who told them to stop talking on
the radio, and the PBA that backed Christy were like totally politically compromised.
In around this because what was happening was there was tremendous After nine eleven,
the City of New York wanted to take over the security function for that sixteen
anchor area of the Port Authority that has the World Trade Center. It's important
to understand that the Port Authority is actually a separate government. I try to
tell people it's like the Vatican, it's a duchy. So it is a
separate sovereign entity. And so Christie sided with in order to get the endorsement
of the PBA, sided with them in this internal battle, and so the
PBA became a tool for that. And so one of the other things that
happened is there were a number of unindicted co conspirators in Bridge Gate. They
were brought up and we never learned the identity of any of those people.
And of course subsequently the three people that were convicted had their convictions, well
two of them had their convictions overturned by the Supreme Court, which is getting
just lately gotten very weak. Need about public corruption, you really just have
to any kind of public corruption case or inclination. I guess they felt guilty
about Thomas. They feel, well, if he's not being held accountal.
We shall let them all go. I didn't realize that two of those had
been overturned. Oh that's incredible, that's incredible. Well, but I think
I got the jump. But it was great talking with you, and I
hope we can catch up again soon. Absolutely, do you want to do
you want to plug anything quickly before you go? No, I guess I
where my work is and shows up in DC reports. It would be great
to come back some time and talk about the battle of New York City retirees
to resist medicare advantage, because that's a whole other thing. That's how I
met Jen is this great event in Washington where you know, around the country,
civil servants, the retired civil servants have done so much to build a
country and protecting service now find themselves being auto enrolled out of access traditional medicare
in exchange for these fly by night snake oil salesman that to our primary senior
titanium sneakers at a twenty four carrot gold wooker call one eight hundred. Do
we cheat him? And how I know? It's It's maddening, all right,
Bob Heneley, I appreciate your time so much. Thank you for joining
us, my friend. I do look forward to doing this again in the
future, and we'll talk to you later. Thank you, byebye, take
care, all right, by bye, all right. That was Bob Heney
and you can hear him by the way too. He's also a fellow fellow
radio guy w BAI ninety nine point five in New York City. He's a
real New Yorker and UH really really enjoyed talking with him, and I learned
a lot too, so that was that was very cool. We've got a
few minutes before the top of the hour, so if anyone wants to get
in with a call, uh, the studio line is open six zero three
two five zero six zero seven six zero three two five zero six zero seven.
You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four
seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton. You can email me
Matt at Matt Connerton dot com, and of course you can interact end opine
in the Facebook live chat. But the best thing to do so that we
can hear and enjoy your dulcet tones is give us a call at six zo
three two five six zero seven. We'll get into in the second hour.
We'll certainly get into big big newsday yesterday. But let's see who else has
joined us. In the Facebook live chat, John Hopwood is in the chat
room. Hello John, and you might be the only one who's popped in
there. Jenny shared some links to for on Bob Heneley's behalf in the chat
room. Oh, Miriam Bannish joins this sense as good afternoon, Good afternoon,
and Miriam, uh, all right, very good. Oh. Ronda
Fervero from the great state of California, also in the Facebook live chat.
Hello Ronda, I thought I saw somebody else who had who had popped in
there. Very good, very good. Well, I think what we'll do
is we are close to the top of the hour, we'll play us song
and then we'll come back and we'll kind of reset, We'll show some love
to our amazing sponsors, all of that, and then we do have a
much to discuss, my friends, So there's plenty more Matt Connerton unleashed to
come. But thank you again to Bob Henley for joining us, and we'll
play a little lot Ian's and coded. The song always gets a great response
whenever I play it, and then we'll be back with our number two numerodos
coming up. Don't go anywhere. Hello everybody, Here we go our number
two newmerodos of Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from the studios of w
m n H ninety five point three FM and Glorious although a bit rainy and
damp Bud Glorious Downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, also now on Channel six on
Comcast here in Manchester. And of course hello to all of our online listeners
across the nation and around the globe. You can go to my website Matt
Connerton dot com for all of your live streaming options, social media links,
contact and folk show archives, etcetera, etcetera. Today is Tuesday, August
fifteen, two thousand twenty three. So nice to have you with me,
and thank you again to Bob Henley for joining us in the first hour.
I really enjoyed speaking with him. He's a very accomplished and award winning journalist
and he's also a fellow radio host. He's on w BAI ninety nine point
five FM in New York City and Jenny has had the privilege of being on
one of his shows a few weeks ago. They had a great discussion so
It was great too. I get to talk with Bob and he did say
and we're gonna hold him to it. He did say he'll be back in
the future. So I really enjoyed talking with him. I could have talked
to him for the whole show, but he had limited time because he is
a very, very busy guy. But I do have time for you.
If you would like to call us at six zo three two five zero six
zoo seven. The studio line is open six zoo three two five zero six
zero seven. You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven
four four seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton. You can
email me Matt at matt Connerton dot com, and of course you can interact
Endo Pyne in the Facebook live chat if you please. But the best way
to reach us so that we can hear and enjoy your dulcet tones is to
give us a call at six zo three two five zero six zero seven six
ozo three two five zero six O seven. Uh. Let's see. Well,
obviously, I mean there's no escaping it, and I know that last
week. Last week I avoided all the Trump legal stuff because I was suffering
from If you if you didn't get a chance to tune in last week,
you might not know. I've had a terrible ailment. I had some of
that TFS going Trump fatigue syndrome. But uh, huge news yesterday, which
is unavoidable. But we do have a call, so we'll we'll take this.
Hi, welcome to Matt Connerton unleashed. Who's this? Are you asked
for it? Oh? It's Dave Ridley. It's up Dave. And what's
worse, I'm going to talk about Dave Ridley. You're going to talk about
yourself? Yeah? Wow, Well you know we're allowed you can. You
can talk about yourself? Are you? Do you have some sort of announcement?
Are you h Have you won some sort of an award? Are you
about to go on a trip? Well, what could it be? No,
I wouldn't talk about myself. It wasn't someone a little bit news worthy.
Oh no, I am. I'm reactivating the Riddley Report as yesterday.
I didn't know the Ridley Report had been deactivated. Yes, I went about
a year and a half without producing anything. You know, they're just there's
hardly anywhere to put it. You know, I've been when I got a
new platforms from YouTube. You know, I was getting your well, I
guess my peak. I was getting about four thousand hits per video. Over
time, they gradually, you know, cut pieces of me off until I
wasn't I wasn't getting room any hits. And then they said, well,
you you put up any more videos and we don't like them, we'll just
take your channel down. It wasn't quite that simple, but that's the basics.
No, I understand. I mean, I've had my own tribulations with
YouTube, so I understand, but not nearly to the excent that you have.
Obviously. So how long ago was that that? So that was that
was when you decided to suspend the Ridley Report, right, So how long
ago was that? Dave? About eighteen months ago? Okay, so year
and a half. So now you are restarting it on YouTube. No,
I did try to make a new YouTube channel, but it it got no
hits, basically the old YouTube channel. Again, if I would put up
a video, they would threaten they would sometimes take they would look at the
video, or you know, their robot would look at the video and threatened
to take down the old channel. Because I there's all these things. Apparently
you're not allowed to stay anymore, and I can't keep track of them all.
And I don't know why the video gets taken down or why I get
threatened exactly, but they you know, Uh, it's just like you know,
anyone that has a YouTube account knows how this works, and anyone that
tries to watch YouTube knows how hard it is to watch without special software.
Now wait, what, well you know how you know it's probably putting ads
up in front of you and interrupting your videos. You know, if you
have an ad locker or what not. There their ways to get around it.
But yeah, yeah, I got you. Yeah, No, I
know exactly what you mean. I know exactly what you mean, and it
is frustrating when they don't. You know, Facebook is like this too.
It's frustrating when they tell you, you know, you've broken the rules in
some way, but they won't tell you exactly what the rule is that you
broke, so then you have to guess, and then it becomes a matter
of well, it's a little difficult to know what not to do if you're
not going to tell me what I did that was wrong. So I understand
that frustration too, So are you starting the restarting the Ridley Report on another
platform. Well, it's it's been running on I've I've been uploading whatever I
shoot to bit shoot basically, and there have been a couple of exceptions,
you know, over the last two years. It's been occasions where I've I've
shot something and uploaded it. But basically I just kind of throwing my hands
up. But people kept requesting that I that I get it going again and
get out there and you hold. The whole idea is to go to government
meeting, stand in front of the government meeting, ask government bureacrats questions and
established the right to film the meeting. That kind of thing. It usually
triggers some you know, often triggers some drama and hopefully makes civics interesting in
an area where, you know, especially local politics just is undercovered by the
mainstream press. Now. Scott Robinson in the chat is asking a question about
pork Fest. You don't but you don't actually participate in pork Fest? Do
you dive? Yeah? I go sometimes I go about every five years.
Oh did you go? Did you go? This year? No? I
went in twenty twenty one was the most recent one. Scott Robinson's asking something
about people walking around nude and doing drugs around kids. I don't, I
don't. I haven't heard anything about that. Did you know anything about that?
So pork pork Fest is a big tent. So you've got to Evangelical
Christians there, Statanists, Muslims, Orthodox Jewish folks, people who just got
off the plane from Israel visiting Russians and uh, nudists and conservatives and drug
users, gun owners and people who don't like drug users very much at all.
It's all right, right, and they used and but there's definitely is
a lot of drug use at pork Fest. No one's pretending otherwise. And
that's what makes it special. I mean, it's not burning Man, where
you know, there's police all over the place. Police are not really allowed
at pork Fest, you know, with rare exceptions, right, I'm sure.
Yeah, I heard at pork Fest there are people walking around nude with
guns. Yeah they Yeah, there's definitely nudists. It's a whole, shaving
the whole. The only the only real rule people are supposed to have to
follow is you just don't start fights. You just don't don't commit any acts
of aggressions. And everything else is supposed to be go obviously, you know,
management you know has sometimes been forced to, you know, impose some
rules, or sometimes management once to impose rules, but in practice it's a
it's a it's a libertarian festival, but there's a libertine element to it.
Does it make sense? Yes? Yes, absolutely resolutely? So where so
to circle back, Dave, I'm sorry I was distracted by Scott Robinson's question.
So, uh, where is the new Riddler Report going to be a
bit shoot? Yeah? Well shoot, yes, yeah, I'll be able
to just follow the new videos by by going to Riddler report dot com.
You'll see you when you go there the house how long it's been now?
Right now? Really report dot Com redirects to Odyssey, but I think I'm
going to redirect it to my bit shoot channel because it gets four hits.
And yeah, I agree, it was. The idea is just I'll be
I'll be going to government meetings and asking asking the hardest questions I can think
of, uh, you know, not not inside the meeting, but but
as people walk in and bureaucrats and so forth, and I just try to,
you know, do what I can to bring specific some some accountability to
to these unaccountable institutions. And when does that start your bit shoot account?
Uh, the bit shoo account is up and running. If you go to
bit shoot and just type riddle the report, you'll find find videos there they
were shot earlier. Oh very good. Yeah, I use I use bitch
shoot. I upload content to it. It's very easy, very user friendly,
and there are definitely I mean, I don't know how, I don't
know how accurate the numbers are, but you can definitely get a lot of
views on bitch shoot, So I think I think that's a very smart move.
And they don't sensor anything, you won't have any problems now. Yeah,
eventually they'll come to bitch shoot too. I mean, look what they
did the gab. Look what they did to uh other platforms like Library in
Manchester where they they just shut them all the way down. Yeah, well
or they shut the company all the way down right, all right? Well,
Dave, congratulations on that. Anything to add if you just go if
you want to uh no more, you can go to forum dot shire society
dot com and I posted detailed just a detailed post there that it had what's
gonna happen? And if you want to buy an ad you can go there
to form well forum dot chire society dot com. All right, very good,
all right, Well, thank you for the call, Dave, and
congratulations and I'm glad you have revived the Ridley Report. Well, let's see
what we can do. Gotta do something, Gotta do something. Can't let
them have their way on everything. There you go, there you go,
all right, Dave, thank you for the call, my friend, take
care. All right, thanks Matt, all right, you got it,
bye bye. All right. That was Dave Ridley of the Ridley Report.
Now on bit shoot. And yes, I am a fan of that platform.
It's, like I said, you can put content on there. It's
very easy. They don't give you a hard time about anything. I'm like,
I'm like YouTube. Tom Blanchard says, come on, let's talk about
Trump. Oh, absolutely, we're gonna Mike from Queen City Cabinetry says,
when he says they're coming for us, does he mean the aliens? Oh?
I don't see. I can't ask him, Mike because he's not on
the line anymore. But we do have virtual Dave Ridley has joined us,
so we can ask him. Are you talking? What was real Dave Ridley
talking about the aliens had no idea. Okay, so he yeah, he
doesn't know. Yeah, I'm not sure everyone's gonna get tat or like it.
Right, Well, we don't you know. No, Okay, I'm
done. I gotta go, I gotta go, all right, Virtual Dave
Ridley is also leaving us. But if you'd like to call us six zero
three two five zero six zero seven six zho three two five zero six zero
seven, the studio line is open, and you go on. Seems to
be very excited. Well, well, we'll just I thought you were leaving
Virtual Dave Ridley. Okay, let's see. Yes, so if you if
you don't know, there was some big news and I guess my Trump fatigue
syndrome has ended because we do have to talk about this. But that will
grab this call. We do have a call. Hi, Welcome to Matt
Connerton unleashed. Who is this? John C. Hawkwood And the seas for
flying Saucer? I know there's okay whatever, Oh the sea is for flying
saucer. There's a sea in there somewhere. Yes, what's up? John?
Who who's making mocking uh UAPs and extraterrestrial Well, Mike from Queen City
cabinetry. I want names. Yes, Mike from Queen City Cabinetry. He
was just asking are the aliens coming for us? Oh well, if putting
it that way, it could just be an innocent question. He might be
thinking. I was just doing a thing about Manchester's self sub Messiah, which
you know we can't talk about on your program because you always try to stay
within the boundaries of good taste. Not really shut up virtual days. Yes
I do, Yes, I do try to stay within the bounds of good
taste. Yes, I just, I just, I just don't think people
should be mocking extraterrestrials, particularly in light of that some of the presidential and
its could be either hybrids or just you know, two hundred proof you know,
from mock tourists or some place right. I'm here, just amazing though
that you know, they's allegedly amongst us, and instead of lifting us up,
we've seem to have done them down. Oh well, that's all that's
terrible to hear. So, by the way, did you see Chris Christie
has pulled ahead of Rohnde Santas and the upholding here in New Hampshire. I
believe our friend Eric Pilcher will be very excited. I might have a parat
paroxysm. Paroxysm. How do you how do you pronounce the word p r
A r o x y M of a belly? Laughter? Oh my goodness.
Well, Jack in homem Edge to Jack the Jackie Gleason of presidential politics.
Yeah, I mean he's still you know, he still has no no
chance of course. Any thoughts on the indictments coming out of Georgia. Georgia,
Jee's I just don't still want to think about politics. I'm still where
you are. Last week. Well, I've snapped out of it. I've
come through it. The events of yesterday have forced me to do so.
Uh. You know, Plus I had the weekend to kind of you know,
get my fever down, my Trump fatigue syndrome. But I'm sure it
will be back. I'm sure it will be something that will likely be with
me for a long time. But you know, it's probably something I'll just
have to manage, try to control. But I'll have an occasional flare up,
you know what I mean. It's all about suppression. I mean it's
like, you know, I don't want to hear about the war in Ukraine
because it actually is triggering and it gives me nightmares. But you know,
everybody talk, you know, people talk about it, and it's a thing
in the news. That's right. Two nights I've been having nightmares. It's
something you don't want to think about. But pork Fest. Robert F.
Kennedy Junior addressed pork Fest and the head of the New Hampshire Democratic Party,
Ray Buckley, who I've bought horns with two but you know that's politics right
friendly with him now he told him that he shouldn't go and speak to pork
Fest, and I thought of that as a betrayal because some of those people
are my sworn enemies. We're talking, you know, not as Dave says,
it's a you know, diverse crowd, but there's some really obnoxious people
there, unlike somebody like me, who's you know, looks perfect gentleman.
You know, I'm like pouring oil? Is it on troubled waters or probably
you're thinking gasoline? But now we I know why I went to watch the
pork Fest. The introduction, you know, him speaking and the person who
introduced him is like I mentioned that right congress the right wing congressman's wife,
oh, the wife of Yeah, we can talk about this another time,
because you know, you've got to get onto the Trump stuff. But she's
there introducing a podcast. I don't know about her, but I know her
husband, who was a nine term congressman Orras County, California, which is
where the John Birch Society was from, and was on the long list to
be Trump's Secretary of State. He was marching to protest to stall an election
on January sixth, Bobby Kennedy Junior picks to be his new Hampshire coordinator.
She lives in Kittery, Maine. And you know, I'm dealing with that
because, you know, like Tom Maskell and other people, I know,
because of his anti you know, like nineteen seventies anti corporate message, we're
looking at to him like he's a second coming to Bernie Flanders. Right.
So, Ray Buckley, all right, I'm gonna I have RFKA derangement syndrome
today. I understand. I understand. Oh you already figured it out well
before I did. That's right, Okay, take care of Matt. All
right, John, thanks for the call, bye bye. All right.
Well, even saying something like that, you know you could if you were
like a national talk show host. You said something like that you could have
your show yank off the year, or or that could be protests at your
offices or something over something like that. Oh, virtual, Dave Ridley,
you worry too much. Six h three two five zero six zero seven.
The studio line is open and available for you six zho three two five zero
six zero seven if you would like to chime in. Mike from Queen City
Cabinetry said, I bet Georgia's on Trump's mind. I would assume so.
I mean, in the short term it's all good news for Trump and that
again in the short term because it will help him to win the nomination.
He's apparently doing a big press conference on Monday, some sort of presentation on
Monday. Trump is where I assume he'll, you know, he'll say horrible
things about Jack Smith and Fanny Fanny Willison all that, and he's apparently he's
uh supposed to make his case for how the Georgia election was in fact stolen
from him, you know, two recounts and all of that. But you
know, he'll he'll still say whatever he's going to say, and uh yeah,
maybe he'll say horrible things about Ruby Freeman again. Try to re ruin
her life. You know who knows. But yes, yesterday, while last
night Jenny and I were watching the the indictments, Uh, there was a
which were handed up. Apparently convictions are are handed down, or sentences are
handed down, indictments are handed up. That's something new that we learned yesterday.
But we do have something here. This is from the Hill dot com.
Five takeaways from Trump's Georgia indictment. So this will kind of get us
caught up. Former President Trump was charged alongside eighteen co defendants, one of
them, by the way, he turns out to be his former chief of
staff Mark Meadows, in a sweeping indictment touching on nearly every aspect of his
effort to reverse his twenty twenty election loss in Georgia. The ninety eight page
indictment outlines Trump's pressure campaign against numerous Georgia officials, applied to submit false slates
of electors, and a lawsuit with faulty claims affirmed by Trump that sought to
overturn the results in the state. And it devotes substantial time to lies about
the election from Trump and his allies, whether about voter fraud in the state
or those that unleashed a wave of threats against a Georgia election worker they accused
of mishandling ballots. And that's, of course Ruby Free and you know,
the woman whose life they ruined based on zero evidence. The indictment caps a
more than two year investigation by Fulton County Attorney Fanny Willis, who gave the
defendants until noon on August twenty five to voluntarily surrender in Georgia. She said
late last night after the charges were filed, quote, I make decisions in
this office based on the facts and the law. The law is completely nonpartisan.
The substantial charges for Trump or matched by a lengthy list of those indicted
alongside him, nearly every member. And by the way, they're all going
to be tried together apparently, but some of them will of course flip or
there will be some degree of cooperation. I'm sure. I'm sure all eighteen
of these folks don't want to go down with Trump, particularly Mark Meadows,
because Mark Meadows and there was some surprise that he was included in this indictment,
because Mark Meadows has not been included in any federal indictments. And there's
a belief, there's a theory and in fact, Chris Chrissie, who we
were discussing earlier, has been saying that Mark Meadows, while he doesn't know
this for sure, can't be certain, but Mark Meadows looks like a cooperating
witness. So nearly every member of Trump's legal team is listed in the indictment.
Oh and that's another really fascinating aspect of this. Someone pointed out they've
never seen so many attorneys on an indictment together. Nearly every member of Trump's
legal team is listed in the indictment, with Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman,
Kenneth Cheesebro, Jenna Ellis, and Sidney Powell all facing charges as a result
of the probe. Jeffrey Clark, a former DJ lawyer Trump Maulden stalling as
Attorney General, is also listed in the indictment. Cheesebro, who drafted the
memo hatching the fake elect plot, was charged alongside just three of those who
served as alternate electors, Sean Still, David Schaefer, and Kathy Latham,
While sixteen Georgians participated in the scheme. Many have since received immunity deals in
the investigation, and in a departure from the federal election interference case. Willis
also brings charges against former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who,
alongside Trump, is charged with soliciting Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffinsburger to
reverse the election results by suggesting he quote find enough votes for Trump to carry
a state Joe Biden won. And by the way, if you've never heard
it, I suggest you listen to the call. I mean everyone's heard bits
and pieces of it. You know who was a perfect call, But actually
no, it was a shakedown. I mean, if you believe that call
was anything other than a shakedown, you're deluding yourself. But you can actually
listen to the entire thing, not just the part where Trump talks about I
just need you to find eleven thousand votes. You can hear the whole thing.
It's pretty fascinating. I think it's about thirty minutes. It's on YouTube.
Charges were also filed against Trump campaign staffers and those who sought to pressure
election worker Ruby Freeman after Juliani claimed she had improperly handled ballots. Trump called
her a vote hustler or something, again based on zero evidence. The indictment
also targets those involved in the breach on an election's office in Coffee County,
including Missy Hampton, Coffee County's election supervisor, who sent a written invitation a
Trump's legal team after posting a viral video claiming dominion voting system machines could be
manipulated. The heart of the indictment is labeling Trump's efforts in the state as
a criminal enterprise, a designation that allows for the use of these states racketeer,
influenced and Corrupt Organization's law, also commonly referred to as RICO. And
by the way, so Georgia has their own version of that. You know
we always hear about federal RICO laws. This is George's own version of RICO.
The indictment list one hundred sixty one acts that formed the basis for the
RICO charges, a point by point recounting of nearly every act and lie Trump
and his associates made in the course of trying to overturn the election. Use
of the law also allows Willis to sweep in crimes that occurred outside her jurisdiction,
like the effort to breach Coffee County election systems and the charges for Clark,
who advocated for the Justice Department to send a letter to the state asking
that it hold off on certifying President Biden's victory in Georgia. While dioj investigated
Trump's baseless claims of election fraud. Like the federal indictment brought earlier this month,
Willis focuses on the fraudulent claims made by Trump and his team, but
where a special counsel, Jack Smith, condenses the behavior into one fraud charge,
Willis's indictment brings charges under primes that her forgery, I'm sorry that bar
forgery, making false statements, and filing false documents. The Fulton County indictment
also alleges specific violations of Georgia election law. The indictment spends considerable energy on
lies spread by Juliani that turned the life of Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman upside
down, and we talked about that on the show recently too. By the
way, Juliani is no longer claiming that what he said was true. I
forget exactly how it was worded, but he's no longer contesting that or no
longer claiming that there was any validity to that, effectively acknowledging that he lied,
just made it up. Juliani shared a video of Freeman working alongside her
daughter, Say Moss, whose life was also wrecked by this, during ballot
counting at the State Farm Arena, later saying that the two were quote passing
around USB ports as if their vials of heroin were cocaine unquote, Freeman was
actually handing her daughter a mint. Trump would go on to call Freeman a
quote professional vote scammer unquote. Those lies fueled the total disruption of the lies
of both women and are also the basis of a civil defamation suit brought by
the women. Moss would go on to testify before the House Committee investigation on
the JAM six attack, tearfully recounting how she feared for her life and she
and her mother were advised by law enforcement not to return to their homes out
of fear for their safety. The two black women also faced a series of
racist threats after being thrown into the spotlight. Moss said at the hearing,
quote a lot of threats wishing death upon me, telling me I'll be in
jail with my mother, and saying things like be glad it's twenty twenty and
not nineteen twenty unquote. Other Trump campaign allies like Harrison, Floyd, and
Trevy and Cutty were also charged, accused of pressuring others to make false statements
about election operations on election Day twenty twenty. It was clear Trump had lost
the twenty twenty election by mid November, and by January twenty twenty one,
Biden had assumed office, But Willis's indictment alleges a conspiracy spanning from November four,
twenty twenty, the day after the election, to September twenty twenty two,
nearly two years down the line. The last charges against Trump point to
a September seventeen, twenty twenty one letter to Ravensburger, asking that he began
decertifying the state's election results well after the inauguration. Wow, why talk about
not letting something go. The move nods to the length of Trump's effort in
the state and an argument he has made on other cases that he should be
immune for actions taken during his presidency. That's almost comical, like after the
inauguration sending Ravensburger that letter. Maybe it had actually gone out earlier and it
got lost in the mail. I don't know. That's this wild. I
do remember that though, I remember that being reported in the media. It's
like what he's still trying. Oh my god. Lawyer Robert Chiley and Kathy
Latham, a retired teacher who served as the chairwoman of the Cowfee I'm sorry
the Coffee County Republican Party, were each charged with perjury for quote knowingly,
willfully and unlawfully unquote making at least one false statement about their involvement in the
alleged plot. Prosecutors say Latham lied under oath during a deposition for a different
legal matter involving Ravensburger about her role in a breach of election equipment at the
Coffee County Board of Elections registration office. Chile allegedly perjured himself before the Fulton
County Special Purpose Grand Jury. Let's see, It's long been suspected that details
like Trump's call to Ravensburger and his lawyer's fake elector's scheme would play a central
role in a Georgia indictment, details that have played a key role in Smith's
federal investigation of the twenty twenty election aftermath as well. However, Willis's indictment
ultimately weaved in lesser known local efforts that allegedly advanced the broader conspiracy. The
indictment details trump lawyer's efforts to persuade state lawmakers of the former president's false election
fraud claims, plus his allies alleged efforts to pressure Freeman, the election worker.
Prosecutors also tie an election equipment breach and Coffee County to Powell, one
of the former president's most front facing surrogates, for his election fraud claims.
The result ult of Willis's wide reaching narrative is the most comprehensive indictment to date,
detailing Trump and his allies efforts to stop the twenty twenty election results from
going into effect. So that kind of gets us caught up on what's in
the indictment. Now media has a story about Brian Kemp, the governor of
Georgia. And by the way, both Brian Kemp and Brad Raffinsburger were able
to win reelection, so Trump was not able to damage them politically in Georgia,
even though both of them, you know, stood stoic all along,
all through this never caved into Trump. And but they were able to they
were able to withstand. They were able to withstand that. Tom Blae Chwerd
says, a narcissistic person will not will not take no for an answer that
is true. This just popped up on media a little bit ago. Governor
Brian Kemp absolutely obliterates Trump's plan to present quote irrefutable report on voter fraud in
a scorching statement. So let's see, and I've not preread this, but
we'll see what. Brian Kemp again, the Republican governor of Georgia who has
stood firm against Trump and has politically actually thrived. I mean, I think
he's pretty popular there. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp buried Donald Trump over his countless
claims about the election in his state that the former president has never been able
to prove in court. On Tuesday morning, Trump announced on truth Social so
that was this morning that he will hold a press conference next week where he
will produce a quote large, complex, detailed, but irrefutable report report in
all caps. That's why I said it that way, report on the presidential
election fraud which took place in Georgia unquote. This sensationalistic claim follows thirteen count
indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Bonnie Willis or I'm sure if it's funny your
fanny pronounced both ways? Who charged Trump? And eighteen code defendants? Okay,
we know that skipping down. Kemp was clearly not convinced of Trump's claims
in a statement posted to X formerly known as Twitter. Hard to get used
to that the platform? Oh it says it even right here in the article
the platform formerly known as Twitter. Oh god, how many years are we
going to be referring to it that way? X? How long is it
going to be before we can just say X and people know what we're talking
about? For years we're gonna be saying X the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Oh hello to U. Slim volume. By the way, who joins
us in the Facebook? Lat chet? So the governor flatly declared on X
quote the twenty twenty election in Georgia was not stolen. For nearly three years
now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward under oath and
prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure,
accessible and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor.
The future of our country is at stake in twenty twenty four, and that
must be our focus unquote. Kemp's remark follows the statement Georgia's Secretary of State
Brad Ravensburger released which clearly zinged the former president over his mounting legal troubles.
Both officials have come under attack by Trump ever since the election because they refused
to back his election lies. Kemp has said that he would support Trump if
he wins the twenty twenty four Republican presidential nomination, and even though Trump remains
the leading candidate in the polls, Kemp has urged the GOP to move away
from the ex president. So that was Governor Brian Kemp's response. How much
time do we have? Well, if you'd like to get in with a
call, the studio line is open six zo three two five zero six zero
seven six three two five six zero seven. The Hill dot Com also has
another article here the twelve Trump tweets listed in the Georgia indictment. This might
be interesting, by the way, even though it's no longer Twitter now it's
called X, we're still calling them tweets, so you still tweet on X.
I know it's confusing. Maybe Elon Musk will just change it back,
change it back, Elon, Okay, says here. Fulton County, Georgia
District Attorney Fini Willis noted twelve of the former president Trump's tweets as part of
her case charging Trump for his efforts to remain in power following the election.
The indictment lists more than one hundred and fifty alleged x at the prosecutors say
all contributed to a conspiracy to overturn the election. Here's a look at the
tweets that are now part of Willis's prosecution. Okay, there's tweets about the
Georgia legislature hearings. In five of the posts included in the charging documents,
Trump referenced hearings held by committees of Georgia's state legislature at which Trump's allies promoted
unfounded claims of mass election fraud to convince them no overturn the results. Several
Trump attorneys who testified before state lawmakers now faced charges of making false statements or
soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, including Rudy Giuliani, Ray Smith,
and John Eastman. Trump himself did not travel to any of the hearings,
but he repeatedly posted them on Twitter, the platform now known as X
as they were taking place. One tweet read as a December twenty twenty hearing
the first of the three kicked off Georgia hearings now on at OA n N
amazing of course One America News network O ANN. Is that still a thing?
By the way, does that still exist? I never hear about it
anymore? Did that go away? I know they were having a problem getting
their contract renewed with cable companies or something happened, but Trump promoted false fraud
claims discussed out the hearing about an hour later, tweeting, Wow, blockbuster
testimony taking place right now in Georgia ballot stuffing by Dems when Republicans were forced
to leave the large counting room. Plenty more coming, but this alone needs
to be an easy win of the state. The indictment also lists I wish
I could do a good Trump impression. I'm sorry, guys, that'd be
much more fun, but anyway. The indictment also lists three tweets issued on
Trump's account during a December thirty twenty Georgia Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing about the election.
Trump wrote just after nine am on that day quote hearings from Atlanta on
the Georgia election overturn now being broadcast. Check it out at OA n N,
at Newsmax, and many more at Brian Kemp Georgia should resign from office.
He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia. Big
also won the other swing states. Unquote. Swing States is capitalized, by
the way, because if you haven't noticed, Trump just capitalizes random words.
Don't know why. Uh, I mean well, I won't say it.
About an hour later, Trump again encouraged people to tune in, tweeting a
link to a live stream of the hearing and writing quote Hearings from Atlanta on
the Georgia election overturn now being broadcast live via at RSB network x clamation point
unquote. At six pm, after the arian concluded, Trump tweeted again promoting
his false claims of mass election fraud. He said, quote, we now
have far more votes than needed to flip Georgia in the presidential race. Massive
voter frauds in all caps took place. Thank you to the Georgia Legislature for
today's revealing meeting unquote. Tweets pressuring top state officials. Let's see here four
of The tweets outlined in the indictment relate to Trump's pressure campaign on Georgia Governor
Brian Kemp and Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Ravensburger, both of whom refused to
declare Trump the winner of the Peach state. Trump claimed in a December third
tweet, quote, people in Georgia got caught cold bringing in massive numbers of
ballots and putting them in voting machines. Great job at Brian Kemp GA,
by the way, Trump twetd that with no evidence, of course. Three
days later, Kemp and Lieutenant Governor Jeff Duncan issued another individual who has stood
firm and stoic and did not bend to the pressure, issued a joint statement
saying it would be unconstitutional for state lawmakers to name pro Trump electors in light
of Joe Biden's victory in the state. Trump tweeted that evening, quote,
Gee, what a surprise. Has anyone informed the so called says he has
no power to do anything. Governor at Brian Kemp GA and his puppet Lieutenant
Governor at Jeff Duncan ga that they could easily solve this mess and win signature
verification and call a special session. So easy unquote that's a problem. Actually,
yeah, they actually probably could have. They just didn't realize it would
be so easy. It's so easy, so easy. Trump similarly called for
his special session December fourteen, the day that sixteen pro Trump individuals allegedly met
in the state capitol and signed documents purporting to be Georgia's valid electors. By
the way, if you don't know they were not, they were lying.
That is fraud. Just so we're all clear, Trump wrote or tweeted,
quote, what a fool governor at Brian KEMPGA of Georgia is could have been
so easy, but now we have to do it the hard way. Demand
this clown call a special session and open up signature verification now, otherwise could
be a bad day for two great senators. On January fifth, unquote,
what does that mean? And willis acided to tweet? Trump said after his
infamous January second, twenty twenty one call with Raffinsburger, when he asked the
Secretary of State to help find eleven seven hundred eighty votes, Trump tweeted the
next day, quote I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensburger yesterday about Fulton
County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling or unable to answer questions
such as the ballots under table, scam, ballot destruction, out of state
voters, dead voters, and more. He has no clue unquote. Well
again, if you just make up a bunch of stuff and then ask somebody
about it, they're not going to have much of a clue. The final
three Trump tweets listed in the indictment revolve around Trump's pressure campaign against his vice
president, Mike Pence. Another person who stood firm give him credit for that.
I have a lot of criticisms of Mike Pence, but I give him
credit for that. In the lead up to the Jan sixth Capitol riot,
the ninety eight page indictment and at length discusses Trump in his inner circle's alleged
scheme to overturn the election results by submitting false states I'm sorry, false slates
of electors, and leveraging Pence in his role presiding over the counting of the
Electoral College votes as president of the Senate. Trump claimed in a Jan five
tweet quote, the vice president has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors unquote.
Well, now that particular tweet is a bit ironic, is it not,
because yeah, that's what Pence did. He did reject the fraudulently chosen
electors and went with the legal electors, as he is constitutionally obligated to do
so. Trump actually got that one right. Yes, the vice president has
the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors. You know what they say about a
blind dog. Let's see. The indictment also lists two tweets on JAM six
itself. In the early morning hours, Trump wrote, quote, if Vice
President at Mike Pence comes through for us, we will win the presidency.
Many states want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect and even fraudulent
numbers in the process not approved by their state legislatures, which it must be.
Might can send it back unquote. Just after eight am, when the
former president's supporters were gathering on the Ellipse for a rally at which Trump and
multiple other defendants in the indictment spoke, Trump tweeted again, quote states want
to correct their votes, which they now know we're based on it. It's
amazing that someone can just lie so easily, like it just flows out of
him. Sorry, I just it is astonishing when you really think about it.
Then, of course there's millions of people who can't see it, who
just don't realize that's what he's doing. That's even more astonishing. Quote.
States want to correct their votes, which they now know we're based on irregularities
and fraud plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Penns has to
do is send them back to the States and we win. Do it,
Mike, this is a time for extreme courage unquote. So there you go.
So those are the tweets that are featured in the indictment. Let's see.
Well, we have a few minutes left. If anyone wants to get
in with a quick call, you can. The studio line is open six
zo three two five zero six seven six two five six o seven there is
by the way, so there are recently Uh. John Appod says, can
we talk about Dusty Russell? I have no idea who that is. Miriam
Bannish says, he is blatantly in public and expects everyone to just go along.
Well, that's the thing, people do, go along. That's that's
part of the problem. Oh, our friend Ron is on the line.
High Ron, Hey, real fast met Yes, great show. This is
a kind of show that I like. I could sit here and listen to
this stuff all day. So hopefully if you don't have things planned for tomorrow,
we can go pot tool on this. Yeah. Well tomorrow, of
course we'll be joined in the first hour by Eric Pilcher, my favorite conservative,
and we're gonna talk about many things, no doubt, but I'm sure
this will be one of them. All Right, you've done my attention.
Excellent, Thanks, Ron, appreciate it. Bybye, all right. Always
nice to hear from our friend Ron. And if you'd like to get in
with a quick call six o three two five six seven six three two five
six seven, Vox has a story up the constitutional case of Donald Trump is
already banned from mean president. Two conservative legal scholars have made a strong fourteenth
Amendment argument, but the politics of their theory are very, very dicey.
Let's look at we'll look at a little bit of this just briefly, and
then we'll have to pick up the rest of it later. But again,
these are a couple of conservative and actually I think a third conservative scholar has
come out. So you know, anyone who wants to say, oh,
you know, it's it's just left the left to saint Trump can't be president.
These are conservative scholars who actually care about the constitution making this case.
Whether you buy it or not, let's just be clear on where this is
coming from. It says, here are two conservative legal scholars, members of
the Federalist Society and Good Standing have just published an audacious argument that Donald Trump
is constitutionally prohibited from running for president and that state election officials have not only
the authority, but the legal obligation to prevent his name from appearing on the
ballot. The legal paper, authored by University of Chicago professor William Baud and
the University of Saint Thomas professor Michael Stokes Pauls and centers on section three of
the Fourteenth Amendment, a provision that limits people from returning to public office if
they have since quote engaged in insurrection or rebellion, or given aid or comfort
unquote to those who have. Boden Paulson argue that this clearly covers Trump's behavior
between November twenty two, I'm sorry November twenty twenty and January twenty twenty one.
Now let's just again, we're very yeah, we're running out of time,
but just quickly, and we'll come back to this on another day tomorrow
if we can get to it. Engaged in insurrection or rebellion. If if
you blame just on a surface level, if you blame Trump for jan six,
then you would accept the argument that he engaged, that he encouraged,
you know, which personally, I do that to happen, That he caused
that daen not just by you know, people talk about the speech on the
ellipse, you know, I would say more everything that led up to it.
By putting this in people's heads that the election was stolen and then they
believe him. And I do believe, by the way, some people will
disagree with me, I believe the term insurrection absolutely appropriate to use. Insurrection.
The Webster's definition is a violent uprising against a government or authority. So
how that doesn't count as an insurrection, I don't know. Somebody can try
to explain it to me, but that's an insurrection as far as I'm concerned.
As far as the given aid or comfort, well, when Trump made
that video, remember what was it two and a half hours in, Trump
finally got in front of a camera and made a video telling everybody to go
home. But what did he also say in the video? He said,
I love you. You're very special. I completely understand why you're upset.
You have a right to be upset. There was a lot of lot of
comfort, I think given in that video. You know, I need you
to go home. But but I'm with you. I love you, I
agree with you, you know. And of course since then now he talks
about how he's going to if he's elected president, he's going to start pardoning
the rioters and so forth. The legal paper authored by University of Chicago professor
Oh no, I'm sorry, I read that already, Okay, bod and
Paulson, right, and then we'll have to stop on this. In the
paper, quote, the most politically explosive application of Section three to the events
of January six is, at the same time the most straightforward. Former President
Donald J. Trump is constitutionally disqualified from again being president or holding any other
covered office because of his role in the attempted overthrow of the twenty twenty election
and the events leading up to the January sixth attack. Unquote. They also
write no officials should shrink from these I'll let me back up a little bit,
so the consequences of this argument are astonishing. On bod and Paulson's read,
Section three is self executing, meaning it does not require an Act of
Congress to enter force, and binds those public officials in the position to act
on its dictates. Basically, if a single official anywhere in the US electoral
system finds their constitutional analysis compelling, bod and Paulson urge them to act upon
it. They write, quote, no official should shrink from these duties.
It would be wrong. Indeed, arguably itself a breach of one constitute,
one's constitutional oath of office to abandon one's responsibilities of faithful interpretation, application,
and enforcement of section three unquote. And by the way, if you violated
your oath of office, that should be that should be a disqualifier, you
know, on you, if you well, what I'm getting at is,
and again we're running out of time. But the president swear as an oath
to defend, defend the constitution, defend the country from all enemies, foreign
and domestic. And I've always made the argument that if our nation's capital is
under attack, and again it wasn't a foreign attack, it was a domestic
attack. But if our nation's capital is under attack, and let's say,
for example, you decide to sit in your dining room off of the Oval
office and watch it on television for two and a half hours before doing something
to stop it, at one point even encouraging it by after the capital had
already been breached, tweeting something negative about Mike Pence, who was indirect danger.
That seems like a violation of an oath of office, does it not.
I mean, if you, if you swear, if you take an
oath to protect your country, which would include your capital from all enemies foreign
end domestic, and then when the capital is under attack you choose to do
nothing for two and a half hours, you know that's you've violated your oath.
All right, on that note, we have to go. Eric Pilcher
will be with us tomorrow. And thank you again to Bob Henley for joining
us in the first hour today and everyone who called, everybody in the Facebook
live chat, we gotta go. There was somebody else who was trying to
call earlier but they didn't get through. But then they give up too easily.
But he might like this song. So we'll end with this. We
won't get here the whole thing, but a little bit of Jerry and the
scumbags. I'm the man. I do love this song. And if you
miss any part of today, so it will be up in just a little
bit at you have an h radio dot org at my website Matt Connerton dot
com. All right, I gotta go, We're out of here. I'll
talk to y'all a little bit later. By everybody, all right, he
got Francisco a y sne and everyone one to walk on about me by night.
Ride by the lady scream when you turning downs Mary. You know what,
I'm really cool, very handsome too well, I read some Stuart cool.
You know what. Let me tell you a wor