Speaker 1: Jusio, New Yorkers, Toxi around.
Speaker 2: This is the seventy seven WABC Mini Cast.
Speaker 3: This is Freedom two fifty The Decisions that made America Now.
Speaker 3: Here's Jake Novak.
Speaker 2: Seven fifteen PM. Here in the Eastern time zone. I'm
Speaker 2: Jake Novak, live here on Freedom to fifty The Decisions
Speaker 2: that made America Joining us Now is Michael Castellera. Michael
Speaker 2: was a guest on this program weeks ago, just before
Speaker 2: he was sentenced on a financially related conviction against him,
Speaker 2: And of course we established a number of things during
Speaker 2: that initial conversation, including the objective fact that this was
Speaker 2: there are no actual victims in this crime. But since
Speaker 2: then he has been sentenced, and Michael, one of the
Speaker 2: things that has led to a more harsh sentence for
Speaker 2: you is, at least according to the judge, you're lobbying
Speaker 2: for a pardon for this conviction. So tell us where
Speaker 2: we are right now and what we've missed since we
Speaker 2: last spoke to you.
Speaker 1: He actually called it distasteful and craven that I would
Speaker 1: even consider applying for a pardon.
Speaker 2: That's a that's a little bit rough. I mean, you're
Speaker 2: not allowed to ask for forgiveness, but go ahead continue.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if there's no crime, I should be allowed to
Speaker 1: answer forgiveness. Why would I have to answer forgiveness if
Speaker 1: if there is no crime? Yet he's chosen to rule
Speaker 1: with feelings every step of the way. I actually received
Speaker 1: an extra year for doing media for not showing remorse
Speaker 1: against my crimes.
Speaker 2: The issue with that is you continue to contend that
Speaker 2: you are innocent. So this is the conundrum that everyone
Speaker 2: who is convicted of a crime that they don't believe
Speaker 2: they're guilty of is always basically in basically, do they
Speaker 2: have to admit that they committed a crime that they
Speaker 2: don't feel that they committed to get a better sentence,
Speaker 2: or do they need to try to go the extra
Speaker 2: mile for what they believe is the truth. That's that's
Speaker 2: the dilemma that's been in front of you.
Speaker 1: Yes, it is, because you know, we to get to
Speaker 1: the DJ to get them revisit this case. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, that's that's the biggest uphill battle there is.
Speaker 1: So it's which uphill battle do you take presidential pardon
Speaker 1: if you could prove that you were politically persecuted or
Speaker 1: fighting the DJ who basically all they want to do
Speaker 1: is cover each other's wrongdoings so nobody gets fired on
Speaker 1: their side.
Speaker 2: Michael, you've contended that your open support for President Trump
Speaker 2: led to this conviction. So that's a big part of
Speaker 2: your case to the Trump administration for a pardon, isn't
Speaker 2: it is?
Speaker 1: And we even crossed up to recently. Up until about
Speaker 1: a month ago, the partner attorney reached outs at the court,
Speaker 1: I guess for protocol to discuss my partner application and
Speaker 1: to see who the judge has any comments. They said
Speaker 1: ninety percent of the time they never even comments on
Speaker 1: it or anything. This judge wanted to make my partner
Speaker 1: application public. I think somebody said to me that this
Speaker 1: would be like one of the first times in US
Speaker 1: history that that would happen. Then proceeded the Sudden District
Speaker 1: in New York. Who are the ones that want to
Speaker 1: put me in jail for eleven years? The Southern District
Speaker 1: of New York deputies actually sided with the office of
Speaker 1: the partner attorney to again state that they believe that
Speaker 1: my partner application is too sensitive to make part of
Speaker 1: a public docket. The judge still what done, and the
Speaker 1: judge then opened it to the media till July twenty fourth,
Speaker 1: they had to write a response.
Speaker 4: If any media wrote, he would have released it. And
Speaker 4: like my lawyer said, if fifty people write for you
Speaker 4: and one person writes for him, he's going to rule
Speaker 4: with that one media entity.
Speaker 1: Thank god, nobody wrote, nobody said anything, so the department
Speaker 1: application has remained sealed.
Speaker 2: We're talking to Michael Castellero, who is you have a
Speaker 2: date that you need to report to prison, correct and
Speaker 2: tell us when that is and tell us more about
Speaker 2: your about your sentence.
Speaker 1: Due to report September tenth. We are appealing the case.
Speaker 1: We're waiting for the same judge to rule on bombline appeal.
Speaker 1: We think we have given him enough case law, on
Speaker 1: top of case law and on top of case law
Speaker 1: to be able to rule for bombing appeal. And at
Speaker 1: least I could, you know, not be uprooted, because the
Speaker 1: stress to me is even if I go to jail
Speaker 1: on an appeal, they're still going to take my assets
Speaker 1: and in turn my wife and kids to come homeless.
Speaker 1: And that's something I can't fathom. And that's the reason
Speaker 1: why I will speak to the media, and that's why
Speaker 1: we're here today. So I'm hoping for bombla and appeal
Speaker 1: pending a pardon or if for a pardon that happen
Speaker 1: between now and September tenth, for my wife and kids.
Speaker 1: And I don't care what you do to me. And
Speaker 1: that really is the truth at the end of the day.
Speaker 2: Michael Castillarro, you know, one of the reasons why I
Speaker 2: wanted to revisit your story is not only because of
Speaker 2: the impending reports to prison date, but also because I
Speaker 2: want to remind people of the personal history and the
Speaker 2: political history of the pardon. Now, just before we went
Speaker 2: to break, I let everyone remind I told everyone about
Speaker 2: the very first presidential pardon in seventeen ninety five that
Speaker 2: George Washington issued not to friends, not to people who
Speaker 2: supported him, but literally to his enemies, people who had
Speaker 2: committed treason against not only the United States government, but
Speaker 2: were ready to take up arms against a militia that Washington,
Speaker 2: as president was leading towards western Pennsylvania. So, in other words,
Speaker 2: he could have taken this very personally. And one of
Speaker 2: the people who was pushing him not to be in
Speaker 2: any way lenient on the Whiskey rebels was Alexander Hamilton,
Speaker 2: the Treasury Secretary at the time and his former aid
Speaker 2: when he was a general, and actually Alexander Hamilton rode
Speaker 2: out with the militia took they got the band back together.
Speaker 2: They became army buddies again, just for that moment. But
Speaker 2: Hamilton ended up writing the words of the actual pardon,
Speaker 2: the actual pardon statement. Why because as much as Alexander
Speaker 2: Hamilton didn't want to give lenience to these guys, the
Speaker 2: Whisky Rebels, he believed it was important for the president
Speaker 2: of the United States to be the only one who
Speaker 2: had the pardoning power. Not Congress, not an auto pen,
Speaker 2: not a White House staff, but the president himself, acting
Speaker 2: like the kings and queens did in old Europe. The
Speaker 2: fauniding fathers wanted a president who was like a king
Speaker 2: and queen but accountable, but had all the same powers,
Speaker 2: but accountable, and that was a big part of it.
Speaker 2: So President Trump is someone who we could see doing this.
Speaker 2: And for many years they've been talking about how President
Speaker 2: Trump some kind of vindictive guy that has been shown
Speaker 2: to be completely not true. I mean, we just had
Speaker 2: two hours ago on this very station Michael Cohen, who
Speaker 2: the President has very publicly based forgiven for for everything.
Speaker 2: So here you have someone in yourself who supported President
Speaker 2: Trump and you're you're hoping for a part and last
Speaker 2: word to you, Michael Castelaire.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just you know, I hope he's right now
Speaker 1: watch it listening to your show. I hope we could
Speaker 1: hear this, because you know, we have I think I've
Speaker 1: done anything and everything to the point that I have
Speaker 1: to be able to I think be in a position
Speaker 1: where people can understand the injustices that have happening, not
Speaker 1: just to me, but hundreds of thousands of people that
Speaker 1: were seeing position. They were loyal to President Trump, and
Speaker 1: now the bidens came after them.
Speaker 5: Hard, hard, because you know, the movement that he created
Speaker 5: was second to none. I mean, we relocated to Florida
Speaker 5: because of him. Really, Florida was open and he moved
Speaker 5: to Florida and me and my family picked up and
Speaker 5: we moved to Florida.
Speaker 1: We were away from where he lived. We were a
Speaker 1: member of the properties of Trump properties and so on,
Speaker 1: and we frequented them. And now it's it's it's a
Speaker 1: point where you know, they chose to pick and choose
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one who they came after.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's been the problem with prosecution of the DOJ
Speaker 2: and sadly now also in DA's offices across the country. Undeniably,
Speaker 2: it feels like, no matter who's in charge, the decision
Speaker 2: for which groups and which people get charge is more
Speaker 2: political than basically taking a flow chart and saying, where
Speaker 2: can we which indictments will get us the most peace
Speaker 2: and prosperity in this country? Instead, it's which indictments will
Speaker 2: get us the most political points score? Michael, where can
Speaker 2: people learn before we go? Where can people learn more
Speaker 2: about your case and more about your story? Tell us
Speaker 2: some of those websites where you have that information.
Speaker 1: I have a website called Michael kessleara dot com and
Speaker 1: they can find me on x at Mike ce All
Speaker 1: nine two one. I'm pretty active. I'm extra active. I
Speaker 1: guess you could say, all.
Speaker 2: Right, well, please keep in touch and we will continue
Speaker 2: to tell your story. And again, it's a great way
Speaker 2: for people to learn the history of this country. It's
Speaker 2: happening right now, folks, and it's great to understand where
Speaker 2: all these rules come from. It particularly the presidential pardon
Speaker 2: as it was established by George Washington. Michael, thank you
Speaker 2: so much, and best of luck to you when we
Speaker 2: come back. I'm going to talk about what certainly is
Speaker 2: one of the most momentous decisions, no matter where you
Speaker 2: fall on at pro or con in American history, and
Speaker 2: that was the very quick decision by Harry S. Truman,
Speaker 2: President Truman to recognize the state of Israel. What went
Speaker 2: into that decision, what did it mean. We'll talk about
Speaker 2: that and what it means for us going forward when
Speaker 2: we come back. Freedom to fifty, The decisions that made America.
Speaker 3: This is Freedom two fifty, the decisions that made America.
Speaker 3: On seventy seven WABC