1 00:00:17,519 --> 00:00:20,199 Speaker 1: And we are back with another edition of the Federalist 2 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,960 Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle's senior elections correspondent at the 3 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,600 Federalist and your experienced Shirpa on today's Quest for Knowledge. 4 00:00:29,039 --> 00:00:32,000 As always, you can email the show at radio at 5 00:00:32,039 --> 00:00:36,880 the Federalist dot com, follow us on exit fdr LST. 6 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,799 Make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast, and 7 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,159 of course to the premium version of our website as well. 8 00:00:43,679 --> 00:00:47,159 Our guest today is Mike Cowell, president of the Oversight 9 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:52,920 Project and lead investigator behind the auto pen scandal involving 10 00:00:53,960 --> 00:01:02,439 the mentally diminished former President Joe Biden. Of course, a 11 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,719 very interesting week on that front with a new report 12 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,359 out from the House. Mike, thank you so much for 13 00:01:09,439 --> 00:01:12,519 joining us today on this edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. Hey, 14 00:01:12,599 --> 00:01:15,120 great to be back on. Yeah, it's great to have 15 00:01:15,159 --> 00:01:19,040 you on. And you can take a victory lap here 16 00:01:19,359 --> 00:01:23,079 at some level because you were the first to really 17 00:01:23,719 --> 00:01:26,959 dig into this. I want to set the stage here 18 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:33,640 by reading from my Federalist colleague Beth Brellia's story this morning. 19 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,159 The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a 20 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,120 one hundred page report Tuesday with the damning title the 21 00:01:41,159 --> 00:01:45,799 Biden Auto Pen Presidency Decline, Delusion and Deception in the 22 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,079 White House. It details former President Biden's diminishing mental and 23 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,760 physical abilities, the implications of that decline, and Biden's inner 24 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:59,000 circle of loyalist attempting to mislead the nation to ignore 25 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:04,040 what people's eyes plainly showed them. The report states the committee, 26 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,639 led by Representative James Comer, Republican from Kentucky, found that 27 00:02:09,159 --> 00:02:12,800 Biden White House officials exercised the authority of the former 28 00:02:12,879 --> 00:02:20,280 president and intentionally concealed Biden's rapidly worsening mental and physical state. 29 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,039 Since you were there at the beginning of all of this, 30 00:02:25,159 --> 00:02:27,800 as a matter of fact, as you served as lead 31 00:02:27,879 --> 00:02:31,759 investigator the Oversight project was the first to uncover the 32 00:02:32,199 --> 00:02:35,360 Auto Pen scan. Wanted to scandal, wanted to get your 33 00:02:36,479 --> 00:02:39,599 first thoughts on what came out of that report and 34 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:40,639 where we go from here. 35 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, so thanks for having me on at the outset. 36 00:02:43,719 --> 00:02:46,560 I'll say we are far from victory. Victory happens when 37 00:02:46,599 --> 00:02:50,319 accountability happens. The people who have the no good pardons 38 00:02:50,319 --> 00:02:54,360 should be federally prosecuted and the people will implemented the 39 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:58,479 scheme of forgery and lying should also be prosecuted, and 40 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,199 so we have laid the foundation. 41 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:01,599 Speaker 3: For that work. 42 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 2: We have, you know, as you noted when we broke 43 00:03:03,719 --> 00:03:06,960 it in March of this year, have constantly been putting 44 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,800 on new pieces of information, and then Chairman Comer and 45 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,280 his team did an excellent job of grabbing you know, 46 00:03:12,759 --> 00:03:16,479 a lot of additional evidence through the interviews of a 47 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,960 bunch of Biden era officials who basically test by to 48 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,199 a few key themes of people who are supposed to 49 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,639 be who traditionally their positions would put them in the 50 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,520 nexus of power in the chain of command, barely saw 51 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,639 the president, and so the president wasn't an active force 52 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:35,479 in the White House, which clearly supports the core contention 53 00:03:35,599 --> 00:03:39,960 of our autopendi investigation. Also, there just wasn't a chain 54 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,800 of custody for these things to prove that there was 55 00:03:42,879 --> 00:03:47,759 evidence that Biden himself actually was exercising the presidential authority 56 00:03:47,759 --> 00:03:52,520 that manifested itself in things such as pardons and commutations, 57 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,280 and there's a lot there. Yesterday, you know, we put 58 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:00,840 out some additional information that we went and reviewed everything 59 00:04:01,319 --> 00:04:04,879 that had Biden's alleged signature on it, and we found 60 00:04:04,879 --> 00:04:08,520 that eighty eight percent of documents excluding public laws were 61 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:10,960 aut epend that's a lot of autopends. 62 00:04:11,159 --> 00:04:12,639 Speaker 4: That there's a lot of autopends. 63 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, all the public laws that he allegedly did sign. 64 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,240 Put in a nine minute video of them all running 65 00:04:18,319 --> 00:04:21,240 up against each other, and you'll see the signatures all 66 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:21,839 over the map. 67 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 3: It instantly begs. 68 00:04:22,759 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 2: Questions of was there more than one person signing these 69 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:26,759 things for the president? 70 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: It does beg that question, and it is a crucial 71 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,319 question because we're not only talking about these pardons here, 72 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:37,160 we're talking about all manner of things in the federal government. 73 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,879 You talk about that eighty eight percent, what area is again, 74 00:04:43,079 --> 00:04:46,279 I mean, and is there something in particular that really 75 00:04:46,319 --> 00:04:47,759 stood out to you in your review? 76 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,399 Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's executive orders, pardons, commutations, and proclamations. 77 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,079 Speaker 3: Eighty eight percent. 78 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 2: Of those, in other words, eight hundred and forty six 79 00:04:57,519 --> 00:05:00,000 out of nine hundred and fifty eight were signed by audit. 80 00:05:01,199 --> 00:05:04,639 What stands out to us is obviously the scale of usage. 81 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,000 I mean, it was autopen by default in the administration. 82 00:05:08,199 --> 00:05:12,040 And for those on the left who were claiming that 83 00:05:12,079 --> 00:05:14,800 this is how it's always worked, people have always used autopens, 84 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,920 not at this scale, there was something going on. You know, 85 00:05:18,959 --> 00:05:22,920 the autopen was designed as a tool for executive convenience 86 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,600 the presidents in one place, the documents in another. 87 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 3: Not as a tool to basically replace the president. 88 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 2: And that's what happened during Di Biden years, and other 89 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,879 things we've put out show that it's not just us 90 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:36,959 saying it. 91 00:05:36,959 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 3: It was the DOJ at the time. 92 00:05:39,079 --> 00:05:41,319 Speaker 2: We put out an email from a very senior person 93 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,560 at DJ, one of Meic Garland's right hand men as 94 00:05:44,639 --> 00:05:48,959 a career, Bradley Weinsheimer, who after the parting spree on 95 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,160 January seventeenth where they shortened the sentences of what they 96 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,120 told us were non violent drug offenders, they ended up 97 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,439 being very violent offenders. They didn't even think the president 98 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:01,680 had approved, and there was all sorts of funky problems 99 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,879 with it, and so there's a lot to be undone. 100 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,879 Speaker 1: I guess the short response to all of this is 101 00:06:09,319 --> 00:06:12,920 he had no idea what was being signed in his name. 102 00:06:13,759 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that appears to you know, be what happened. 103 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:19,439 And also, again don't take my word for it, take 104 00:06:19,519 --> 00:06:21,759 Joe Biden's word if you want. He went to the 105 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,040 New York Times and said for those pardons and commutations 106 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,959 in question. He didn't individually approve them. He just sent 107 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,399 broad categories for his staff to go out and collect 108 00:06:30,439 --> 00:06:32,800 names and fill in the blanks. And that's not a 109 00:06:32,879 --> 00:06:35,959 valid exercise of the part in power. And so again, 110 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,800 like we're proving over and over and over again through 111 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:43,439 this original evidence that these things are no good and 112 00:06:43,519 --> 00:06:46,360 so the balls in the Department of Justice's hands. It's 113 00:06:46,399 --> 00:06:50,920 always been in their hands, you know. Yesterday after Chairman 114 00:06:50,959 --> 00:06:55,000 Comber released the report, Dio Jay said, hey, we're investigating. Well, 115 00:06:55,079 --> 00:06:57,000 you know, I'm here to say investigating is no longer 116 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:57,560 good enough. 117 00:06:58,079 --> 00:06:59,319 Speaker 3: There needs to be accountability. 118 00:06:59,759 --> 00:07:03,439 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's the problem that we've seen for many, 119 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,839 many years. We're seeing some accountability that certainly more accountability 120 00:07:07,879 --> 00:07:11,000 in the Trump administration than we've seen in a very 121 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,600 long time. But for a lot of folks, and I 122 00:07:14,639 --> 00:07:18,160 would imagine it's frustrating for you. It's a lot of 123 00:07:18,199 --> 00:07:22,120 it's coming too little and hopefully not too late. 124 00:07:22,519 --> 00:07:23,879 Speaker 4: That interview with The New. 125 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: York Times that President Biden had must have made things 126 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:35,839 incredibly more difficult for the people who have been aiding 127 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:41,560 and embedding him, who have covered for him, and who 128 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,879 could indeed face prosecution in all of this. 129 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 4: Am I correct? 130 00:07:46,199 --> 00:07:46,399 Speaker 3: Yeah? 131 00:07:46,439 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 2: I think that was the case every time Joe Biden 132 00:07:48,199 --> 00:07:51,120 opened his mouth, and it's probably why he was moved 133 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:53,839 from the picture and replaced with an auto pen. The 134 00:07:53,879 --> 00:07:57,199 New York Times interview is also very curious, because why 135 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,600 is The New York Times published the audio. It's like 136 00:08:01,279 --> 00:08:03,759 Biden came out of hiding, or his handlers took him 137 00:08:03,759 --> 00:08:06,240 out of hiding, because we had done so much damage 138 00:08:06,639 --> 00:08:09,519 to the historical legacy of what was left of his administration, 139 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:11,839 and he tried to salvage it. And he basically admitted 140 00:08:11,879 --> 00:08:15,439 to the key contentions of our investigation, which I'll take 141 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,040 you to a little bit back down memory lane after 142 00:08:18,079 --> 00:08:20,199 we rolled it out in March. I'll give you one 143 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:24,120 wild guess as to what the New York Times called it. 144 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:30,519 Speaker 1: Par for the Sea, Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's yeah. That's 145 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,279 their default position, as you know, anything that comes out. 146 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:39,159 They're from Russia collusion hoax, to the you know, the 147 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:43,960 COVID scandal, now to Arctic frost and to the auto 148 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:48,039 pen scandal. That's their default position. But no, it's not 149 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:52,360 a conspiracy theory at all. We've got the receipts for this. 150 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,480 Speaker 2: That's exactly right, and you know, juxtaposed against this whole 151 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,799 narrative art that the Democrats have, you know, manufactured of 152 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,960 assaults on democracy. What greater assault on democracy than not 153 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,440 having a duly elected president. 154 00:09:06,759 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, that is absolutely right, and this is there's more 155 00:09:11,519 --> 00:09:17,120 to come, obviously, but this is such a really dark 156 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:23,440 chapter when it comes to representative democracy in this republic's history. 157 00:09:23,639 --> 00:09:26,399 And as you say, what we're hearing from the left 158 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:32,360 over and over again the marching armies of Marxist out there, 159 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:37,120 is that the Trump administration, the president is a threat 160 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:43,600 to democracy. But this obviously did a number on the 161 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:50,279 concept of duly elected presidents and what this country's elections 162 00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:55,399 are truly all about. Now, you say, and we've noted 163 00:09:55,399 --> 00:10:01,399 this before, but you have said this about the committee's findings. 164 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:06,159 The ultimate test is whether Attorney General Bondi will prosecute 165 00:10:06,159 --> 00:10:10,960 individuals whose quote pardons were never valid in the first place, 166 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,720 and execute or rearrest those who did not receive valid communications. 167 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,360 That goes deep and wide. How do you propose the 168 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:26,159 Justice Department go about this beyond just the investigation side. 169 00:10:26,799 --> 00:10:29,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's easy, and we've we've charted out for them 170 00:10:29,279 --> 00:10:30,000 multiple times. 171 00:10:30,039 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 2: And so it's important to also note that for a 172 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,279 lot of people who Biden shortened their sentence via auto 173 00:10:36,399 --> 00:10:40,120 pen or whoever shortened via the AUTOPEN, they were released 174 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:41,639 during the Trump administration. 175 00:10:42,159 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 3: So DOJ under. 176 00:10:43,799 --> 00:10:47,320 Speaker 2: Pam Bondi has actively been obeying the orders of the autopen. 177 00:10:47,879 --> 00:10:50,399 That's a huge problem. They're violent people who have been 178 00:10:50,399 --> 00:10:54,279 put back on the streets during this administration, despite the 179 00:10:54,279 --> 00:10:58,320 President saying over and over again the pardons are void, vacant, 180 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,360 and of no effect, and not seeing the president's orders 181 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,360 being faithfully implemented. So the first thing would be to 182 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,159 recognize that the President has declared those actions illegal and 183 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,919 to re arrest the people that should be back in prison. 184 00:11:14,159 --> 00:11:17,080 And there's also individuals that were taken off death row 185 00:11:17,799 --> 00:11:19,720 and some of them are on like home confinement. Now 186 00:11:19,759 --> 00:11:23,039 that's unacceptable, so Bondi puts some of them in a 187 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,360 maximum security prison instead, but they need to be back 188 00:11:26,399 --> 00:11:29,960 on death row. And so that's the easy stuff right 189 00:11:30,159 --> 00:11:33,399 like that, to me, there's no real good excuse for 190 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,840 why it hasn't happened. I know what the arguments of 191 00:11:36,919 --> 00:11:41,000 DJ are, but they're not good enough. And then Separate 192 00:11:41,039 --> 00:11:44,759 from that, the individuals that received the no good pardons, 193 00:11:44,799 --> 00:11:45,159 think of. 194 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:46,919 Speaker 3: Shift, Melle Fauci, etc. 195 00:11:47,759 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 2: You charge them for the crimes that they admitted guilty 196 00:11:50,279 --> 00:11:54,360 when they accepted the pardon. So under Biden administration, the 197 00:11:54,399 --> 00:11:57,320 Department of Justice argued that if you accept a pardon, 198 00:11:57,799 --> 00:12:00,519 you admit to the guilt for the crime. So now 199 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:03,200 we just this got a whole bunch easier because people 200 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:04,000 like Shifting, etc. 201 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 3: When they accept for those pardons, admitted guilt for the crimes. 202 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,279 Speaker 2: So you have that working in your favor, and then 203 00:12:09,279 --> 00:12:12,039 you look at whatever criminal activity they should be charged 204 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:13,960 with and you charge them, and then you have this 205 00:12:14,039 --> 00:12:15,120 fighting court. 206 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:20,759 Speaker 1: What is pray tell the dojay's arguments, for instance, as 207 00:12:20,759 --> 00:12:25,919 you mentioned, not putting violent criminals, taking them out of 208 00:12:26,039 --> 00:12:30,720 home confinement and putting them back into prison and death 209 00:12:30,799 --> 00:12:35,000 row inmates back on death row. What is the argument here? 210 00:12:35,639 --> 00:12:38,159 Speaker 2: Yeah, One argument is that the President Trump is wrong 211 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,440 and what he says is wrong. And so let's just 212 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:42,600 be clear that that's what the argument is based on. 213 00:12:42,639 --> 00:12:46,639 Because President Trump has clearly an unequivocally said hundreds of 214 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:48,879 times at this point that the pardons are no good. 215 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: So there are good Yeah, so President President Trump's own 216 00:12:53,519 --> 00:13:00,600 attorney general is arguing against the president, who they serve 217 00:13:00,799 --> 00:13:01,840 at the president's will. 218 00:13:02,759 --> 00:13:06,080 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, that is what's happening now, in effect, because 219 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:10,360 the President says pardons are no good, and DJ is saying, well, 220 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,759 we don't want to do anything that could attack the 221 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:14,480 use of the auto pen or the you know, these 222 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,120 types of parties, because you know, we don't want to 223 00:13:16,159 --> 00:13:21,279 limit presidential authority in any way, which is in effect 224 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,759 saying the President is wrong, that the pardons are good. 225 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 3: And so that's what's happening. 226 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:27,279 Speaker 2: And I don't know if that's gotten to the President's 227 00:13:27,279 --> 00:13:31,080 attention yet, but I think he would be, you know, 228 00:13:31,159 --> 00:13:33,240 not too happy to know that, you know, his own 229 00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:36,919 Department of Justice is taking the opposite position as to him. 230 00:13:37,279 --> 00:13:39,799 And then I think a second order argument is the 231 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:41,799 politics of it all. You know, they don't want to 232 00:13:41,799 --> 00:13:44,559 bring these prosecutions for political reasons. 233 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,759 Speaker 1: Yeah, pardon me, but I mean that that's a ridiculous idea. 234 00:13:49,879 --> 00:13:54,720 If that is indeed the case, that you don't want 235 00:13:54,759 --> 00:13:57,600 to take away the authority of the president and the 236 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,039 use of the auto pen. What did Joe Biden do 237 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:06,559 and what did his underlings do By the broad use 238 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:10,440 of the autopen for all of these pardons and executive 239 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:15,080 orders and all of these dispensations, and then that absolutely 240 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,679 undercut the office of the presidency. I think the argument 241 00:14:19,399 --> 00:14:23,919 ought to be that that broad use of the auto 242 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:29,759 pen was what you know, limited or eroded the power 243 00:14:29,799 --> 00:14:31,039 of the executive branch. 244 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 3: That's exactly right. 245 00:14:33,799 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 2: There can only be one president at a time, and 246 00:14:36,399 --> 00:14:39,440 all of the executive powers are vested in that individual, 247 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,360 and so by prosecuting these you were reasserting that foundational principle. 248 00:14:44,399 --> 00:14:47,039 So I think they have it completely wrong. And there's 249 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,039 a massive distinction not only in the scale of the usage, 250 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,519 but the type of the usage. So people who disagree 251 00:14:53,559 --> 00:14:55,639 with me will point to a you know, early two 252 00:14:55,639 --> 00:15:01,080 thousands internal DOJA, non binding legal opinion. They basically says 253 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,399 you can use the autopen if the president's aware of it. 254 00:15:03,519 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 3: Well, that's you know, a key distinctioneer. 255 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: Because Biden was not aware in the New York Times, Yeah, yeah, definitely. 256 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,399 So we'll get to the political ramifications of all of this, 257 00:15:15,559 --> 00:15:17,720 or the political calculus of all of. 258 00:15:17,639 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 4: This in a bit. 259 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: But you know, it is curious how the left, the 260 00:15:25,399 --> 00:15:29,840 Democratic Party, tries to defend Biden as well as their 261 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:34,919 sycophants in the accomplice media. But let's talk about the 262 00:15:35,039 --> 00:15:39,519 difference between the broad use of the autopen during the 263 00:15:39,559 --> 00:15:44,519 Biden years and the use of the autopen by President 264 00:15:44,519 --> 00:15:49,159 Trump in the first term or President Obama during his 265 00:15:49,279 --> 00:15:50,600 term George H. W. 266 00:15:50,879 --> 00:15:51,279 Speaker 4: Bush. 267 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: As long as the autopen has been used, what I 268 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,799 think is lost in the conversation is there is a 269 00:15:56,919 --> 00:16:00,799 dramatic difference in the use of the auto with those 270 00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:03,679 other administrations compared to the Biden administration. 271 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 2: That's one hundred percent correct. I mean, both of the 272 00:16:08,159 --> 00:16:11,360 scale and the type. It was autopen by default, even 273 00:16:11,399 --> 00:16:13,399 at times when the president was in the White House 274 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,639 and otherwise, you know, if things were running as they 275 00:16:15,679 --> 00:16:18,000 said they were, there's no reason. 276 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 3: He was unable to sign. 277 00:16:20,759 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's interesting some of the explanations or examples 278 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:31,559 that they give. But then when you see and and 279 00:16:31,639 --> 00:16:35,240 you hear what Joe Biden is saying about the widespread 280 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,799 use of the autopen and his absolute negligence in that, 281 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,360 I think it really drives home the point. So the 282 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,519 political ramifications, I mean, this, this thing does not happen 283 00:16:45,559 --> 00:16:49,440 in a vacuum, and the president may very well be right, 284 00:16:49,639 --> 00:16:51,559 and I think a lot of us agree that he 285 00:16:51,759 --> 00:16:55,759 is correct on this. And not only is he right, 286 00:16:55,879 --> 00:17:02,720 he's constitutionally correct on this. But what happens do you 287 00:17:02,919 --> 00:17:10,000 think in an unhinged environment from the left, if all 288 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:15,039 of these pardons, particularly all of the pardons for the 289 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:22,839 very bad deep state actors and others are basically voided, what. 290 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:25,279 Speaker 2: Happens is a very good thing where we have accountability 291 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:28,240 meeted out for some of the biggest abuses in our 292 00:17:28,279 --> 00:17:31,079 government's history, particularly as it relates to the weaponization of 293 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,960 government against their political enemies. Practically, I think one of 294 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,880 the issues that DOJ is, look, they can barely get 295 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,640 a COMI prosecution or indictment. Rather across the finish line, 296 00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:45,079 you had disagreement not only the political ranks, but also 297 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,599 the failure to faithfully implement the orders down in the 298 00:17:48,599 --> 00:17:52,839 eastern districts of Virginia. Now compounding that problem is we 299 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:57,200 don't have that many Trump appointed and confirmed US attorneys 300 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,799 in place, largely running off a system. 301 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,839 Speaker 3: Of holdover from the Biden and Obama years. 302 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 2: And so I'm sure that calculates into the DOJ thinking 303 00:18:06,039 --> 00:18:09,599 we don't have operational control of the Department of Justice 304 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:13,720 to actually effectuate something on this scale, and so we've 305 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,440 been calling on them to you know, get operational control. 306 00:18:16,799 --> 00:18:19,319 But I do think that's another element here. 307 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,440 Speaker 5: If you want to be wealthy, you have to have 308 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,519 a wealthy mindset. How the watch doot on Wall Street 309 00:18:26,559 --> 00:18:29,599 podcast with Chris Markowski every day Chris helps unpack the 310 00:18:29,599 --> 00:18:32,279 connection between politics and the economy and how it affects 311 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:36,440 your wallet. Walk away from easy money. Ignore most of 312 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,640 the headlines because ninety five percent of them are garbage. 313 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,440 Always continued to reinvest. Whether it's happening in DC or 314 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:45,400 down on Wall Street, it's affecting you financially. 315 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 3: Be informed. 316 00:18:46,079 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 5: Check out the watch dot on Wall Street podcast with 317 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,279 Chris Markowski on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 318 00:18:53,599 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: That's also something that's in the hands of Congress, particularly Senate, 319 00:18:58,799 --> 00:19:01,759 and you know the and the lags in all of that. 320 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:07,240 Now you've got this stupid political theater of the government 321 00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:11,559 shutdown and a lot of distractions going on, But this 322 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,640 is a key constitutional issue. Let me ask you this. 323 00:19:15,799 --> 00:19:20,240 Do you think that the Department of Justice is afraid 324 00:19:20,799 --> 00:19:24,640 Is it afraid of roiling the political waters. 325 00:19:24,599 --> 00:19:26,759 Speaker 4: The you know, the the. 326 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: Sort of potential that could happen. And again I'm not 327 00:19:31,839 --> 00:19:34,319 excusing any of this. The law is the law, and 328 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:36,960 what we've seen in this country and the weaponization of 329 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,160 justice and what we've seen in the unruly acts from 330 00:19:41,319 --> 00:19:45,559 the left out in our streets and with all kinds 331 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:49,079 of policy that has led to, you know, the violation 332 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,920 of laws. The rule of law is critical here and 333 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,559 that's what we're really talking about. But that does not 334 00:19:55,559 --> 00:19:58,279 that does not mean that the left won't do what 335 00:19:58,359 --> 00:19:59,359 the left does. 336 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:00,279 Speaker 3: The the. 337 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: Rebellion insurrection, you know, laden mob that goes out in 338 00:20:08,279 --> 00:20:10,480 the streets and is fighting Ice. What do you think 339 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:11,640 will happen on that front. 340 00:20:12,279 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, the bad news is the violence is already here. 341 00:20:15,519 --> 00:20:18,920 And the resistance movement as they call it, which is 342 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:23,039 nothing more than a violent obstruction movement, you know, drenched 343 00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:26,640 in extremism and manifesting in domestic terrorism. It was here 344 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,039 when they shot President Trump in the face. It was 345 00:20:29,079 --> 00:20:32,079 here when they shot and killed Charlie Kirk, it was 346 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,759 here when they assassinated Ice of officers. It's here, and 347 00:20:35,839 --> 00:20:39,279 so we need not make decisions based on the fact 348 00:20:39,279 --> 00:20:41,519 that we can avoid it, because it's already happening. 349 00:20:42,279 --> 00:20:43,839 Speaker 3: I'll tell you the real danger. 350 00:20:43,519 --> 00:20:46,640 Speaker 2: Of not doing it is you will lose faith in 351 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,559 the operation of government, and particularly the ability of a 352 00:20:49,599 --> 00:20:52,240 political movement such as the America First movement, which is 353 00:20:52,279 --> 00:20:56,920 still young, to actually generate real lasting impact on its 354 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,839 core promises. And one of the core promises accountability. And 355 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,039 I think the Department of Justice lost their footing in 356 00:21:04,079 --> 00:21:07,279 the wake of the Epstein rollout and the bungling of that, 357 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:08,799 and has been a. 358 00:21:08,799 --> 00:21:10,400 Speaker 3: Little bit scared of the shadows since. 359 00:21:11,039 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 2: And so it's of existential importance in my view that 360 00:21:14,319 --> 00:21:16,519 they actually proceed on this autopen route. And that's why 361 00:21:16,599 --> 00:21:20,119 we've invested, you know, so much time and energy on it. 362 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,799 Speaker 3: It is it is important for so many different reasons. 363 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: Our guest today is Mike Howell, president of the Oversight 364 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,359 Project and lead investigator behind the Autopen scandal. When all 365 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,680 of this stuff started breaking in March, it was Mike 366 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,079 and the Oversight Project leading that way. In fact, didn't 367 00:21:39,079 --> 00:21:45,079 that turn into a pretty detailed documentary from Fox News 368 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:45,519 as well? 369 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,759 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, we got the Fox Nation documentary. It's great. 370 00:21:49,279 --> 00:21:51,079 Speaker 2: It has a lot of you know, key key players 371 00:21:51,079 --> 00:21:53,319 in this story. I suggest anyone who wants to hear 372 00:21:53,319 --> 00:21:54,400 about the origins of it. 373 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:55,519 Speaker 3: Take a look. 374 00:21:56,079 --> 00:21:59,119 Speaker 2: It's a shorter documentary, but I mean it's started in 375 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,680 the townhouse in Washington, c You with a bunch of 376 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,720 guys who knew something was wrong and did the thing 377 00:22:04,759 --> 00:22:06,839 that not enough people do, which is roll up your 378 00:22:06,839 --> 00:22:09,759 sleeves and engage in hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of 379 00:22:09,759 --> 00:22:13,720 hours of work of document review, of legal analysis, of 380 00:22:14,319 --> 00:22:17,799 probing data collection. And that's what makes the Oversight project, 381 00:22:18,519 --> 00:22:21,599 I think, something that I'm so intensely proud of, because 382 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,720 that has been the missing link. You know, everyone you 383 00:22:24,759 --> 00:22:27,400 know to to some credit, you know is out there 384 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,480 for you know, the big flashy headlines and the big 385 00:22:30,519 --> 00:22:33,720 cable news appearances, but you need guys that are really 386 00:22:33,759 --> 00:22:34,680 doing the scrubs. 387 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,160 Speaker 3: And we're scrubbing. 388 00:22:36,559 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's it's a pretty exhaustive process. Exhaustive and exhausting. Now, 389 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:48,079 what what I suppose really got your attention from this 390 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:51,119 one hundred page report from the House Committee on Oversight 391 00:22:51,279 --> 00:22:55,079 and Government Reform. As you mentioned, they picked up on 392 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:57,720 some of the things that you were able to uncover 393 00:22:58,279 --> 00:23:01,440 earlier this year. What really stands out from that report 394 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:02,000 for you? 395 00:23:03,039 --> 00:23:05,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, so you know I've been tracking the investigation for 396 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,799 a long time and working obviously closer to the extent 397 00:23:09,519 --> 00:23:13,119 allowable with Congress and their staff, and my staff and 398 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:14,960 their staff have been communicating on. 399 00:23:15,039 --> 00:23:16,559 Speaker 3: A daily basis on this. 400 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,640 Speaker 2: The biggest disclosures, I think relate to just the overwhelming 401 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,559 breadth of evidence that all pointed. 402 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 3: To support the same conclusions. 403 00:23:25,759 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 2: Now, there are a couple individual pieces that stand out, like, 404 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,960 you know, the four million payment if Biden were to 405 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,079 stay in the race and win, and so he starts 406 00:23:35,079 --> 00:23:37,960 to get it understand the incentive base of people to lie, 407 00:23:38,799 --> 00:23:40,160 and so that was that was big. 408 00:23:40,839 --> 00:23:42,279 Speaker 3: Another big thing, and this was. 409 00:23:42,279 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 2: You know, all I really cared about for the purposes 410 00:23:44,759 --> 00:23:47,960 of this report were two things. One, it needs to 411 00:23:48,039 --> 00:23:51,119 say that the parties are no good. It said that 412 00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:54,279 that is great because that is true. The second thing 413 00:23:54,319 --> 00:23:57,079 that I was a little disappointed in, and I'm sure 414 00:23:57,079 --> 00:24:01,240 there's some politics behind this, is the recommend for DJ 415 00:24:01,559 --> 00:24:04,640 to initiate a review. I don't want to review. I 416 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,559 want prosecutions. The review is our investigation, it's Comber's investigation. 417 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,039 You know, Trump has already ordered reviews from DJ and 418 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:14,000 even the White House. 419 00:24:14,759 --> 00:24:17,880 Speaker 3: I'm done reviewing it's time for action, all right. 420 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,599 Speaker 1: With all of that said, and what you've talked about 421 00:24:21,599 --> 00:24:25,119 with the DJ and in some ways being scared of 422 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,519 its own shadow, is it time for new leadership there? 423 00:24:29,519 --> 00:24:32,759 Speaker 2: You know, I can't go that far. You know that 424 00:24:32,759 --> 00:24:37,640 it's the president's prerogative. I respected the president's decision. But 425 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,039 you know, who am I to play musical chairs or 426 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,759 suggest cabinet officials what I want to for the things 427 00:24:44,759 --> 00:24:47,599 the president has promised and said to be well executed. 428 00:24:48,279 --> 00:24:50,960 And maybe they can execute it, maybe they can turn 429 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,519 the ship around and do it. But I'm not here 430 00:24:53,519 --> 00:24:56,359 today to call for any resignations or anything like that. 431 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:57,839 Speaker 3: But I know a lot of other people have. 432 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,559 Speaker 2: But you know that that's not not a place I'm 433 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:02,759 on ago just yet. 434 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:04,680 Speaker 4: Yeah, understandable. 435 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:12,680 Speaker 1: Do you see moving forward in increased will from the 436 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,599 some of the the antllary players in this as well? 437 00:25:18,039 --> 00:25:21,440 You know, because we're going to we're going to see, 438 00:25:21,519 --> 00:25:26,279 as you mentioned before, maybe an urgency from some of 439 00:25:26,279 --> 00:25:28,599 the violent offenders that are out there. I mean, who 440 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:33,200 is really keeping track of the recidivism and the return 441 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:34,119 of violent crime? 442 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 2: Right if one of these people that that was released 443 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,839 under the Trump administration with the bad part and kills somebody. 444 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,519 That could be a scandal that we don't want to 445 00:25:44,519 --> 00:25:47,480 deal with. And obviously, you know the most important thing 446 00:25:47,559 --> 00:25:49,440 is you don't want someone to be murdered as a 447 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,000 result of it, right, It would I think cause a 448 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:53,759 lot of heartburn. 449 00:25:54,319 --> 00:25:56,799 Speaker 1: Well, I mean it's exactly the same kind of thing 450 00:25:57,319 --> 00:26:00,599 at a larger scale that we saw with the wide 451 00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:03,839 open borders, you know, in the invasion that we saw 452 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:11,519 from you know, these these policies they end up hurting people, 453 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:16,680 They end up hurting American citizens and you know, as 454 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:20,640 you mentioned before, there's no accountability. Speaking of the accountability question, 455 00:26:21,319 --> 00:26:26,200 how much does this latest report from the House Committee 456 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,640 indict the accomplice media. 457 00:26:32,279 --> 00:26:34,200 Speaker 3: Uh, it's a complete indictment. 458 00:26:34,279 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 2: I mean, the thing that really grinds my gears is, uh, 459 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,720 you know, there's that book by Axios and Jake Tapper 460 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:43,559 that came out and said, oh, you know, we were 461 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:45,720 just lied to and didn't know what was going on 462 00:26:45,799 --> 00:26:47,880 when they're the part of the cover up. But then 463 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,839 the un seriousness in which you know, political staff here 464 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,960 in d C showered them with adulation and exclusives and 465 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,839 new information and just fed the beast that lied to 466 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,400 them the whole time, and so the is broken. But 467 00:27:01,559 --> 00:27:05,400 I wish that there's more efforts by the administration not 468 00:27:05,519 --> 00:27:08,319 to try to rehabilitate them through, you know, a profit 469 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,359 maximizing exercise of the book tour for the people who 470 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:12,440 lie to us the whole time. 471 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:14,400 Speaker 4: Yeah, why is that? Why? 472 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 1: Why not just the administration, it's Republicans in general. Why 473 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,599 do they never learn the lesson that they're never going 474 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,079 to get a fair deal? From the New York Times, 475 00:27:24,079 --> 00:27:26,799 from CNN, from the Washington Post, you name it up 476 00:27:26,799 --> 00:27:27,480 and down the line. 477 00:27:28,759 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 3: Good question. I don't know. I do not know the 478 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,359 answer to that question. And you know, I watched, you know, 479 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,160 these these new media press gaggles and stuff they have. 480 00:27:39,279 --> 00:27:41,279 Speaker 2: To me, it looks like a kid's table they're setting up, 481 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,759 and then they treat the legacy media as the adults 482 00:27:45,759 --> 00:27:46,519 with the real stuff. 483 00:27:47,319 --> 00:27:50,759 Speaker 1: Some of your your previous findings are are very interesting, 484 00:27:51,839 --> 00:27:55,279 and I'd like to delve into those a little bit 485 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,160 and get a little more detail on them. As you 486 00:27:58,279 --> 00:28:01,839 found and you were reporting, the Biden Whitehouse first deployed 487 00:28:01,839 --> 00:28:06,640 the auto pen on day five of the Biden administration 488 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,480 to sign a proclamation day five, So this wasn't something 489 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,400 that you know, all the presidents slowing down by the 490 00:28:16,599 --> 00:28:20,799 end of his four year term. This was something that 491 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,680 his handlers believed he needed right out of the gate. 492 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 3: That's right. I mean, there's no doubt. 493 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 2: That those closest to hiding in the basement Biden after 494 00:28:34,039 --> 00:28:36,200 the stolen election knew that they would have to handle 495 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,119 this presidency different than any other. And the systems were 496 00:28:40,119 --> 00:28:42,920 in place from the very deco understanding that they had 497 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,640 a diminished candidate. And that's the story of the administration 498 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,559 and another area of constitutional abuse. I mean, the twenty 499 00:28:49,599 --> 00:28:52,720 fifth Amendment was designed for situations just like this. If 500 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:56,039 the president is incapacitated, you have to rely on the 501 00:28:56,039 --> 00:28:59,400 patriotism character of the cabinet and the vice president to 502 00:28:59,519 --> 00:29:04,720 make that decision. They instead, an elaborate exercise to evade 503 00:29:04,759 --> 00:29:07,759 the invocation of the twenty fifth Amendment was on display 504 00:29:07,799 --> 00:29:09,960 for the entirety of the Biden administration, and it had 505 00:29:10,119 --> 00:29:14,319 very practical and awful consequences. I think it allowed the 506 00:29:14,359 --> 00:29:18,440 opening for a really radical left to take advantage of 507 00:29:19,039 --> 00:29:21,960 the fact that Biden wasn't there. And you hope that 508 00:29:22,119 --> 00:29:25,279 maybe you know, this radical transformation of Biden has publicly 509 00:29:25,359 --> 00:29:28,119 understood late in life. You know, we were told he 510 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,640 was a moderate, we were told he was an old guard, senate, 511 00:29:30,759 --> 00:29:35,119 institutionalist type guy. He did not govern that way. And 512 00:29:35,319 --> 00:29:37,480 I think that it's because of the auto pen and 513 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:39,799 how they were able to get away with it. I 514 00:29:39,839 --> 00:29:42,799 happened to think that if Biden knew the policies would 515 00:29:42,839 --> 00:29:45,400 open the border to that much death and destruction, he 516 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,680 wouldn't have done it. And I think it's things like 517 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:50,799 the autopen that allowed it to happen. 518 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:52,519 Speaker 4: I don't know. 519 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: I mean, I have a hard time believing that he 520 00:29:56,319 --> 00:30:00,200 was that cognizant quite frankly. I mean maybe a the 521 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,359 first year there was something still there, but we saw 522 00:30:03,559 --> 00:30:07,039 just a rapid decline and it was happening before our eyes, 523 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,880 and we didn't need George Clooney in a New York 524 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:14,440 Times editorial to tell us that. But will I will 525 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,440 say this, if if we were counting on, as you noted, 526 00:30:19,319 --> 00:30:25,839 the patriotism and the integrity of the people around Joe Biden, 527 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:32,319 his cabinet secretaries, America was screwed all along. So now 528 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:38,160 we understand that the facts are the facts. So the 529 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,519 question is will there be and you've talked about it. 530 00:30:42,559 --> 00:30:50,319 Will there be people standing around this president, President Trump, 531 00:30:51,559 --> 00:30:55,160 standing up and being patriotic for accountability? 532 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there are. There are a few, like 533 00:30:58,759 --> 00:30:59,839 with any administration. 534 00:31:00,039 --> 00:31:01,839 Speaker 2: And this was a problem in the first go around, 535 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:03,920 right like there was all these promises as it related 536 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,000 to Hillary Clinton and so forth. And you know, I 537 00:31:07,039 --> 00:31:08,880 worked on Capitol Hill in the Obama years and we 538 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:10,480 had a whole bunch of stuff we wanted to see 539 00:31:10,519 --> 00:31:12,960 through Benghazi, you get on the list, fast and furious, 540 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:16,599 all the scandals of that era. But the decision was 541 00:31:16,599 --> 00:31:18,559 made at that time that you know, they weren't going 542 00:31:18,559 --> 00:31:19,480 to look backwards, they. 543 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:20,279 Speaker 3: Were going to look forward. 544 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 2: Is the expression that's commonly used, and that's a standard 545 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,519 political instinct for when people get in and get confirmed, 546 00:31:26,519 --> 00:31:29,799 to get through the campaign cycles. You know, you start 547 00:31:29,799 --> 00:31:31,359 delivering on things you didn't say you were going to 548 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:33,240 do and you ignore the things you said you were 549 00:31:33,279 --> 00:31:36,480 going to do. And I think there are individuals that 550 00:31:36,519 --> 00:31:39,519 have that impulse now within the administration. You know, you 551 00:31:39,559 --> 00:31:41,240 get it to be a cabinet secretary. You want to 552 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,839 execute on your agenda. You don't want to be playing cleanup, 553 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:48,000 doing doctor view and investigating your own staff is hard 554 00:31:48,039 --> 00:31:51,680 work in more ways than one. That being said, there 555 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,440 are people in the administration who know, who agree with me, 556 00:31:54,519 --> 00:31:57,160 and I think most of the voters out there that 557 00:31:57,279 --> 00:31:59,200 this is what we voted for, and if we don't 558 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,519 deliver on it, it's going to be a black mark. 559 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,240 I'm talking about people like Ed Martin at the Department 560 00:32:04,279 --> 00:32:08,039 of Justice. I'm talking about you know, Stephen Miller's of 561 00:32:08,079 --> 00:32:10,799 this camp. Lindsay Halligan certainly is. 562 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:11,759 Speaker 3: I think jd. 563 00:32:11,839 --> 00:32:14,759 Speaker 2: Vance, the Vice President, understands I think President Trump understands it, 564 00:32:14,839 --> 00:32:18,720 obviously more and more than others. But President Trump, you know, 565 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,680 is a busy man. He needs people to faithfully implement, 566 00:32:21,799 --> 00:32:24,400 you know, not only his key promises, but also his 567 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,559 instincts and to fall through on these things. 568 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,759 Speaker 1: He is an extraordinarily busy man. And we've seen that 569 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,279 just in the last several weeks alone, let alone you know, 570 00:32:36,039 --> 00:32:40,960 nearly the coming on the first year of his term. 571 00:32:41,519 --> 00:32:45,440 You mentioned some other things in your report as you 572 00:32:45,519 --> 00:32:49,680 look through it that I think are pretty astounding. As 573 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,400 you note the details on it, President Biden appears to 574 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:58,440 have hand signed all but one bill into law. President 575 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:03,400 Biden's signature very significantly across the enrolled bills and appears 576 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:08,759 to deteriorate as his cognitive abilities to climb throughout his presidency. 577 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:13,640 So it is it Biden signing these bills? Is it 578 00:33:14,079 --> 00:33:19,119 somebody else? Is it auto pen Ultimately, I don't know. 579 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:21,400 Speaker 2: I don't know the answer to that. He's obviously on 580 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,400 camera signing some things at certain points. Yeah, but you know, 581 00:33:24,839 --> 00:33:27,039 I'll leave it to the instincts of people who watch, 582 00:33:27,599 --> 00:33:30,559 you know, the video we put out as to whether 583 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:34,440 that is a single signature applied differently over time, or 584 00:33:34,519 --> 00:33:36,640 a different hand signing those documents. 585 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,519 Speaker 1: Well, President Trump basically on his first day in office, 586 00:33:40,519 --> 00:33:42,759 in his first week in office, undid a lot of 587 00:33:42,799 --> 00:33:46,960 the damage that Biden or his team did through executive orders. 588 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:51,720 But is there anything out there executive order wise, in 589 00:33:52,359 --> 00:33:57,000 a specific example, if you would, that could definitely be 590 00:33:57,359 --> 00:33:59,880 no and void because it was autopen. 591 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 3: Yeah. 592 00:34:01,519 --> 00:34:04,039 Speaker 2: I think some of the foreign policy executive voters definitely 593 00:34:04,039 --> 00:34:06,319 fit that category. I think there are sanctions still on 594 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,079 the books that rolled out in the last days of 595 00:34:09,119 --> 00:34:11,159 the administration that are still having like you know. 596 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 3: Lingering effects. 597 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,800 Speaker 2: And so yes, President Trump virtually, you know, we're sending 598 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:19,360 all of the Biden executive orders, but they're still and 599 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,880 I call this the ghost of the autopen you know, 600 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,519 lingering second order and third order effects from those executive 601 00:34:25,599 --> 00:34:28,800 orders that are hard to de implement, de implement. 602 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,119 Speaker 4: This is the auto pen scandal. 603 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:37,800 Speaker 1: Tell us about justice in America because when you think 604 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:43,440 about these, the most record number of pardons and commutations 605 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:48,800 that you have seen from any administration and far away record. 606 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:53,480 I mean, it was insane just how you know, many 607 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:56,679 of these pardons and commutations are going out, But what 608 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:01,920 is that? What does that communicate to Americans about the 609 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,880 system of law and order injustice in this country. 610 00:35:06,039 --> 00:35:11,039 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a deeply embarrassment embarrassing event in which the 611 00:35:11,119 --> 00:35:14,079 United States acted out of complete accordance with their constitution. 612 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:18,719 We've invaded countries for less in the name of building 613 00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:23,000 democracies and constitutional republics, and so it should be a 614 00:35:23,159 --> 00:35:25,519 sobering reminder that what we have is not permanent. 615 00:35:26,199 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 3: And we have a playbook and a rule book. 616 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:31,719 Speaker 2: We have a strong foundation in history, but those things 617 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:35,320 have to be implemented by men of character. And when 618 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:37,960 you have a political project, such as a Democrat party, 619 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,800 intent on tearing those things down, they're not necessarily going 620 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,719 to do that, and so if you're a constitutionally minded patriot, 621 00:35:46,599 --> 00:35:48,840 it should be a five alarm fire that the rules 622 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,639 aren't self enforcing and that we're up against something that 623 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:56,559 is not just the politics of the day and whatever 624 00:35:56,559 --> 00:35:59,920 the issue du jour is, but of a very system 625 00:36:00,079 --> 00:36:01,199 of government and way of life. 626 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,039 Speaker 1: How much is going to depend on the coming steps. 627 00:36:05,199 --> 00:36:09,559 We've talked about reviews and so in Washington, d C. 628 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:12,599 It is a world of reviews. Not sure how long 629 00:36:12,679 --> 00:36:15,480 that process is going to take, but the past is 630 00:36:15,519 --> 00:36:20,159 any indication that's going to take some time. But what 631 00:36:20,159 --> 00:36:24,360 what do you think this scandal? How will it inform 632 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:27,400 administrations moving forward? 633 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:29,480 Speaker 4: Yeah, well I don't. 634 00:36:29,559 --> 00:36:31,880 Speaker 2: I think there'll be some safeguards around the autopen. I 635 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:34,320 think that, for for sure, no one wants to deal with, 636 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:40,440 you know, the historical, you know, absolute drubbing that Biden 637 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:42,119 has taken as a result of this issue for that 638 00:36:42,159 --> 00:36:45,760 purpose alone, I think there'll be less frivolous use of 639 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:50,119 the autopen. But ultimately, if we don't solve for it 640 00:36:50,199 --> 00:36:55,079 through prosecution and accountability, the real bad actor here is us, 641 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:59,280 because what good is it to just point out a 642 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,599 problem and then demonstrate that there's not the appetite or 643 00:37:02,679 --> 00:37:04,360 political will to solve it. 644 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 3: And so I think it'll be credibility destroying for both 645 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,559 the right and the left. If theft. 646 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:12,400 Speaker 2: For the left it'll be you know, this is how 647 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:14,920 you guys ruled. It was out of order, it was 648 00:37:15,119 --> 00:37:18,360 just insane. But for the right it'll be what good 649 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,119 are you guys if you can't present an alternative to it. 650 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:25,599 Speaker 1: That's a good, very good point. And so if something 651 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,840 in the way of accountability doesn't happen by the mid terms, 652 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,079 how do you think that might influence the midterm elections? 653 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,079 Speaker 3: Yeah, people aren't going to turn out. 654 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:42,119 Speaker 2: Unless we execute on the key promises of President Trump's agenda, 655 00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:45,159 people won't have a reason to turn out. You know, 656 00:37:45,199 --> 00:37:49,280 whether that's massive importations, whether it's accountability, whether it's you know, 657 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:53,159 the economy being back on track, all those things. We 658 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:56,280 need to demonstrate to people who have joined this new 659 00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,440 political coalition that their participation in the political process says 660 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:03,719 will manifest in actual changes, that it's not just noise. 661 00:38:04,199 --> 00:38:06,639 And here's the rub President Trump has, you know, is 662 00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:10,840 defining feature is keeping his promises. So I think he 663 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:13,599 intends to you will do that, But he's going to 664 00:38:13,639 --> 00:38:14,159 need some help. 665 00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:17,920 Speaker 1: Well, we've talked around the edges of this. You know, 666 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,719 I've been avoiding this question for some time because it 667 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:24,320 really is the meat and potatoes of all of this. 668 00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:29,800 What do you think this Biden autopen scandal will mean 669 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,199 for Kareem Jean Pierre's book tour. 670 00:38:34,639 --> 00:38:37,119 Speaker 2: Well, first off, I have a zero percent faith she 671 00:38:37,159 --> 00:38:39,199 wrote a word of that book, so we'll call it 672 00:38:39,199 --> 00:38:40,159 the ghostwriter's book. 673 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:41,599 Speaker 4: Well, no, the autopen book. 674 00:38:42,119 --> 00:38:45,039 Speaker 3: Oh, the autopen book. Yeah, there you go. 675 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:47,400 Speaker 2: I don't know, and I'm not going to waste any 676 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,840 brain cells even wondering about it. But you know who 677 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:53,880 knows the kind of weird projects she's on right now? 678 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,760 I see the clips on accidents. I was happy to 679 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:58,719 have forgotten about her until she re emerged. 680 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:01,239 Speaker 1: Sorry to bring it up again, I could, of course, 681 00:39:01,599 --> 00:39:03,840 because if we don't laugh, we cry in this business. 682 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:08,559 But let me ask you this off of the auto 683 00:39:08,639 --> 00:39:12,119 pen scandal. You know, this is an administration that has 684 00:39:12,159 --> 00:39:15,679 to deal with all kinds of areas of accountability. You 685 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:20,159 mentioned James Comy before, and I'm curious, as you've watched 686 00:39:20,159 --> 00:39:24,480 this play out, John Brennan, the others, do you believe 687 00:39:24,519 --> 00:39:27,400 there will be any accountability on that front. And what 688 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:31,159 do you think of the DOJ's case at this time 689 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:33,239 with James Comy. 690 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,920 Speaker 2: I think Lindsay Halligan is a hero for air dropping 691 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,000 in and to bring it where there otherwise was in 692 00:39:39,039 --> 00:39:41,559 political will to get it done. I do think the 693 00:39:41,599 --> 00:39:45,119 case suffers from the you know, well intentioned and good 694 00:39:45,159 --> 00:39:47,760 faith effort to get it in as fast as possible, 695 00:39:48,599 --> 00:39:51,159 and I think it'll allow Comy some wiggle rim. I 696 00:39:51,159 --> 00:39:54,119 think it's an uphill battle, it's a worthy fight. I 697 00:39:54,159 --> 00:39:57,039 celebrate it, and I will do whatever we can to 698 00:39:57,039 --> 00:40:00,280 help make it successful. But it needs to be the 699 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:02,639 beginning of the beginning, and certainly now the end of 700 00:40:02,679 --> 00:40:07,519 the beginning or anything less. The scale of actions need 701 00:40:07,599 --> 00:40:11,880 to ramp up drastically, and we can't just you know, 702 00:40:12,239 --> 00:40:14,440 take these these one offs as enough. 703 00:40:14,599 --> 00:40:17,599 Speaker 3: We need to see a sustained march. And I think 704 00:40:17,639 --> 00:40:18,840 when you look at something. 705 00:40:18,599 --> 00:40:21,400 Speaker 2: Like the Arctic frost revelations that are coming out you 706 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:24,960 know now, and people realize the breadth and intensity of 707 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,199 what the FBI was doing to their political opponents, you 708 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:32,639 really start to you can't ignore that the FBI was 709 00:40:32,679 --> 00:40:36,280 taken over in a corporate way, and that the Accountability 710 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:38,320 spreads out for much more than just the names that 711 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:40,960 you and I and your listeners may know, but to 712 00:40:41,199 --> 00:40:43,440 you know, mid level and even you know brick agents, 713 00:40:44,159 --> 00:40:47,199 and so there's a lot of accountability. 714 00:40:46,599 --> 00:40:47,440 Speaker 3: That needs to happen. 715 00:40:47,559 --> 00:40:50,559 Speaker 2: And I, you know, I am a huge supporter of 716 00:40:50,639 --> 00:40:54,639 President Trump, but I will disagree with these premature celebrations 717 00:40:55,159 --> 00:40:59,280 that institutions like the FBI are better now and completely fixed. Well, 718 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:02,079 there certainly are bet what you know, than they were. 719 00:41:02,639 --> 00:41:06,920 They're under some political management, but they aren't reformed, and 720 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:08,239 the back guys are still there. 721 00:41:08,679 --> 00:41:12,199 Speaker 1: Oh, the deep state goes very, very deep. And I 722 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:15,440 guess that's the you know, the issue with all of 723 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,440 these areas and the strengthening of the deep state under 724 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:24,039 Biden's watch, I don't think that's the right But during 725 00:41:24,039 --> 00:41:27,960 his administration, I mean, he he deepened and he was 726 00:41:28,039 --> 00:41:33,079 there of course when you know, the Intelligence Community assessment 727 00:41:33,079 --> 00:41:35,719 first came out in sixteen led by his boss at 728 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:39,639 the time, Obama, and then of course Russia collusion that 729 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:44,280 came out of that, and the hurricane and James Komy 730 00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:46,760 and the rest of them. But can you imagine how 731 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:50,440 much more smug I know, it sounds impossible, But how 732 00:41:50,519 --> 00:41:55,280 much more smug James Coomy would be if he escapes 733 00:41:56,079 --> 00:41:57,840 the conviction here? 734 00:41:59,079 --> 00:42:02,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, my first thing I told our team is if 735 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,599 jam Comy escapes, I think. 736 00:42:04,519 --> 00:42:05,559 Speaker 3: He's running for president. 737 00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:09,119 Speaker 2: So if you want to have a nightmare tonight, think 738 00:42:09,159 --> 00:42:10,559 about that before you go to bed. 739 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:15,400 Speaker 1: Wow, that has set my nightmares, that's for sure. A 740 00:42:15,519 --> 00:42:19,360 final question for you. I appreciate your time and obviously 741 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:23,119 all the good work that you and the Oversight Project 742 00:42:23,119 --> 00:42:25,960 have done over the last several months in this regard, 743 00:42:26,079 --> 00:42:34,280 but does clearly history is not going to be kind 744 00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:37,360 to Joe Biden. We know more and more about the 745 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:41,559 auto pen and just what an absentee landlord he was. 746 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,760 What does history say do you think about Joe Biden 747 00:42:46,119 --> 00:42:48,920 after these latest revelations? 748 00:42:50,039 --> 00:42:53,079 Speaker 2: History is written by the victors. I think it depends 749 00:42:53,119 --> 00:42:56,079 on who wins. And if we turn this machine of 750 00:42:56,119 --> 00:42:59,039 the weaponized federal government back over to the left, he'll 751 00:42:59,079 --> 00:43:05,719 be rehability. He'll be presented as a flawed yet valiance 752 00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:10,679 figure that interrupted the Trump agenda, which was a transient 753 00:43:10,719 --> 00:43:11,519 moment in history. 754 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,480 Speaker 3: Now that's a history I don't want to read one day. 755 00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:17,760 Speaker 2: I want to read a history where President Trump set 756 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:22,159 into motion a multi generational return of control of the 757 00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:25,039 United States of America to the people and away from 758 00:43:25,119 --> 00:43:28,199 this extremist and radical leftism that we see today. 759 00:43:28,559 --> 00:43:33,599 Speaker 1: Yeah, and Americans absolutely know what they experienced over that 760 00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:37,480 four year time period, and that is why they voted 761 00:43:37,639 --> 00:43:40,599 the way they did in November of two thousand and 762 00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:44,480 twenty four. Thanks to my guest today, Mike Cowell, president 763 00:43:44,559 --> 00:43:47,760 of the Oversight Project and lead investigator behind the auto 764 00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:50,800 pen scandal, you've been listening to another edition of The 765 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,719 Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittles, Senior Elections correspondent at 766 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:55,519 the Federalist. 767 00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:58,239 Speaker 4: We'll be back soon with more. 768 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:02,559 Speaker 1: Until then, stay lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray. 769 00:44:09,719 --> 00:44:15,280 Speaker 2: I heard the fame voice the Reason, and then it 770 00:44:15,519 --> 00:44:16,480 faded away.