Speaker 1: Welcome back to another episode of The Michael Cohen Show.
On our continued journey to two hundred and fifty thousand subscribers,
Now we're about four thousand shy, so hit subscribe, watch
the most importantly, share because there's going to be a
lot to talk about. That's my promise to you now today,
just moments ago, the Senate confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth
came to an end. I mean, it was, let's just
say interesting to say it the least, and I want
to start by showing you how it opened with Senator Wicker,
chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and his opening comments.
Play the clip.
Speaker 2: Much has been made of both mister Hegseith's personal life
and some of his policy pronouncements. Regarding his personal conduct,
mister Hexth has admitted to falling short, as we all
do from time to time. It is noteworthy that the
vast majority of the accusations leveled at mister Hexith have
come from anonymous sources. Contrast these anonymous accusations with the
many public letters of support and commendation we have seen letters.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so, first and foremost they were not from anonymous people.
They were from actually named individuals that they ultimately decided
not to release the names on for obvious reasons. Right now,
I want to show you Jack Reid, who is the
ranking member of the committee, where he says that Hegseth
is just not qualified to be Secretary of the Department
of Defense. You're talking about just about a nine hundred
billion dollar department with over four million people in it.
This is what Jack Reid had to say. Play the clip.
Speaker 3: Mister Hegg said, I do not believe that you are
qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job. We
must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you. A variety
of sources, including your own writings, implicate you with disregarding
the laws of war, financial mismanagement, racists and sexist remarks
about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault,
sexual harassment, and other troubling issues. I reviewed many of
these allegations and find them extremely alarming. Indeed, the totality
of your own writings an alleged conduct would disqualify any
service member from holding any leadership position in the military,
much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.
Speaker 1: I mean, did you hear the litany of comments misogyny, racism, sexism,
you have mismanagement of funds, you have alcoholism, violence. I mean,
there's nothing in here that Senator Read is inaccurate about. However,
Red doesn't stop there. He also points out that heg
Seth refused refused to meet with any of the Democrats,
which is standard for procedure for a guy meaning heg Seth,
who talks a lot about process and procedure. The one
thing about this Armed Services Committee it has always and
needs to always remain non partisan. Why because our military
is non partisan, it should there should be no partisanship
in our military because it is made up of Republicans, Democrats,
and independents. He points that out that for whatever the
reason is, Hegseth met with all of the members of
the Republican committee but refused to meet with any of
the Democratic committee play the clip.
Speaker 3: I appreciate our meeting last week. It is unaccepted that
you did not meet with any other Democratic members of
this committee before this hearing. As has been our bipartisan
tradition during my time in the Senate, I have voted
for and work closely with sectors of Defense appointed by
Republican presidents. While we may disagree politically, there was always
an understanding that rank partisanship should have no place when
it comes to providing for the men and women who
serve in uniform. And mister heggs that I am troubled
by the many comments you have made, both as a
commentator and in your published writings. For example, in your
book American Crusade wrote quote modern leftists who represent the
soul of the modern Democratic party literally hate the foundational
ideas of America. You also wrote the other side, the
left is not our friend. We are not esteemed colleagues
nor mere political opponents. We are foes either we win.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean we are not foes when it comes
to the military. Look, we shouldn't be foes regarding any aspect.
We may not agree on specific policy, but at the
end of the day, we need to be one America,
not two America's not a republican America, not a democratic America.
We need to be one America. And it is concerning
that Pete Heigseth refused to meet what happens when he
becomes confirmed. And I say this with pretty much certainty
that the Senate members of the Armed Services, the individuals
that will be voting on the confirmation of Pete Heigseth.
Have every intention of voting him as our next secretary
for the Department of Defense. Despite everything that you heard here.
The reality is that he is going to get confirmed,
despite the fact that Red goes on to say that
HeiG Seth lacks character and he lacks composure, and again, regardless,
he will be confirms earned as Trump's nominee. Played the clip.
Speaker 3: Indeed, the challenge of the Secretary of Defense is to
remove partisan politics from the military. You propose to inject it.
This would be an insult to the men and women
who have sworn to uphold their own a political duty
to the Constitution. Mister Haggs said, you are the ninth
nominee of the Secret Defense that I've had the honored
consider as a member of the Senate Armed Service Committee.
I have voted in favor of all your predecessors, including
those in the first Trump administration. Unfortunately, you lack the
character and composure and competence the whole position of Secret Defense.
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1: Sinator read what a comment literally, he has voted for
every single person to be Secretary of the Department of Defense,
but he will not vote in favor of Pete Hegseith.
Send it to Kirsten Jilibrain. She was on fire today.
She spoke about heg Seth bringing politics into the DoD
and the danger of that play.
Speaker 4: The clip detegrated members of the LGBTQ community. Did you
know that when don'nas don't tell was in place, we
lost so many crucial personnel, over one thousand in mission
critical areas. We lost ten percent of all our foreign
language speakers because of.
Speaker 5: A political policy.
Speaker 4: You said in your statement you don't want politics in
the DoD. Everything you've said in these public statements is politics.
I don't want women. I don't want moms. What's wrong
with a mom? By the way, once you have babies,
you therefore are no longer able to be lethal. I mean,
you're basically saying women after they have children can't ever
serve in the military in a combat role. It's a
silly thing to say. It's a silly thing to say
beneath the position that you are aspiring to to denigrate
LGBTQ service members is a mistake. If you you are
a sharpshooter, yours lethal, regardless of what your gender identity is,
Regardless of who you love.
Speaker 1: So please, she's so right. I mean, we're having a
hard enough time putting people in the military. They're already
trying to figure out how to kick people out. But
HECTH doesn't take any of the responsibility for any of this.
By the way, why should he. He knows he's going
to get confirmed. What does he do. He goes right
to a Trump talking point and he blames left wing media.
This is not on him. It's not that he had affairs,
it's not that he's drunk, it's not that he has
all sorts of issues, including mismanagement of funds in YadA YadA.
It's all left wing media play the.
Speaker 6: Clip instead, a small handful of anonymous sources.
Speaker 1: We're allowed to drive a.
Speaker 6: Smear campaign an agenda about me because our left wing
media in America today sadly doesn't care about the truth.
All they were out to do, mister Chairman, was to
destroy me. And why do they want to destroy me?
Because I'm a change agent and a threat to them?
Because Donald Trump was willing to choose me, to empower me,
to bring the Defense Department back to what it really
should be, which is warfighting. So I'm willing to.
Speaker 1: By the way, they will say that a thousand times,
that it's all anonymous smear. One of the anonymous people,
this is his mom. Don't forget that. Then. Senator Angus
King asks Haig Seth about his ideology regarding waterboarding. Waterboarding
something which the Hate Convention has outlawed, has made it
a war crime. Play this clip.
Speaker 5: In one of your interviews, you said they're willing to
do this year, talking about Donald Trump and Trump and
Senator Cruz, they're willing to do something like waterboarding if
it's going to keep us safe. Are you okay with waterboarding?
Speaker 7: Senator?
Speaker 6: The law of the land is that waterboarding is not legal.
Speaker 5: So statements that you made you now recan't. Is that correct?
They are willing to do something like waterboarding and it's
going to keep us safe. You expressed that with approval.
Speaker 6: Senator, I'm very familiar with that as a concept, having
spent a year at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, guarding seven hundred
of those that attacked us on nine eleven.
Speaker 5: I just want to be clear, are we going to
abide by the Geneva Convention and the prohibitions on torture
or are we not? Is it going to a circumstance.
Speaker 6: As I've stated multiple times, the Geneva Conventions are what
we base ours. What an American first national security policy
is not going to do is hand its prerogatives over
to international bodies that make decisions about how our men
and women make decisions.
Speaker 1: Seriously, you, there was not one Democrat or in this case,
Angus Kingwa I believe is an independent, who got a
straightforward answer yes or no, or a straightforward answer from
Pete Haigseth during this entire thing. But then again he
didn't have to because they already had the votes that
they needed. This is the danger of our system. By
the way, now you have Senator Kevin Kramer who's complaining
about Democrats going too hard on poor Pete Hegseth. I mean,
I don't think that Senator Kevin Kramer or any of
the other Republican senators gave two shits when Michael Cohen
spent seven different nine hours, not four hours, like Pete
Hegseth did. I had nine hour sessions and seven of them,
not one of them gave a shit about how the
Republicans treated me. Nobody cares about that. Okay, play the clip.
Speaker 8: Very idea that you should have to sit there and
answer hypothetical potential in somebody's imagination, crimes that may take
place at some point. And wouldn't that disqualify you if
you were a murderer or if you were a rapist. Unfair, unfair,
And I'm embarrassed for for this behavior. But first I
want to say thank you for your strong proclamation, unapologic,
unapologetic proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ. I sat here
and listened to your opening statement and thought, Wow, this
is a guy who, in today's culture is willing to
stand up and say the first thing is first, faith
in Jesus Christ. And I was reminded of what Christ
said in Matthew Seek he first the Kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and these things She'll be added unto you,
you are going to have a great future as our secretary,
and I look forward to that day.
Speaker 1: Happening, completely ignoring the separation of church and state. Sure,
the first thing out of his mouth is go straight
to the Bible, something that he has clearly straight from
with his multiple wives, children outside of marriage, and YadA, YadA, YadA. Congratulations,
great job there to you, Senator Kevin Kramer. Because Pete
Heggseth is exactly what Jesus would do. Right now, it
gets even better. You have a guy named Mark Wayne Mullen,
Senator Mullen, and I got to tell you something. He's
actually a pretty funny guy. He's came right to the
defense of hag Seth in a legitimate way that people
could sort of understand. Mark Wayne Mullen was a former
MMA fighter who somehow managed to attract the attention of
the Republican Party and became not just not just a
member of Congress, not just the local government, but he
became senator for his state. He asks about the different
senators who are all attacking poor Pete Haigseeth about drinking
on the job and so on, about their drinking when
they're there in the house, play the clip.
Speaker 9: Or I guess I better use. The senator from Virginia
starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed
up drunk to your job? How many senators have showed
up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you
guys asked them to step down and resign for their job?
And don't tell me you haven't seen it, because I
know you have. And then how many senators, do you
know have got a divorce before cheating on their wives?
Did you ask them to step down?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 1: But it's for show, you guys.
Speaker 9: Make sure you make a big show and point out
the hypocrisy because the man's made a mistake, and you
want to sit there and say that he's not qualified.
Speaker 1: Give me a joke.
Speaker 9: It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as
this higher standard and you forget you got a big
plank in your eye. We've all made mistakes. I've made mistakes,
and Jennifer, thank you for loving him through that mistake.
Speaker 1: I mean he actually humanized Pete. Hegseth better than any
better than any of the other Republicans because he actually
hit something home, which is the fact that they're awful
of shit. And I used to work in eighty seven
and eighty eight in the House. I worked for Congressman
Joe Moakley, and the big joke was to see which
member of the House, which member of the Senate was
going to end up throwing up on the floor today.
And I remember that I was in college. Senator Kane
then goes ahead and asks heg Seth about his infidelity.
Play this clip.
Speaker 10: Oh, that occurred in Monterey, California in October twenty seventeen.
At that time, you were still married to your second wife. Correct,
I believe so. And you had just fathered a child
by a woman who would later become your third wife.
Speaker 5: Correct, Senator.
Speaker 6: I was falsely charged, fully investigated, and completely cleared.
Speaker 10: So you think you are completely cleared because you committed
no crime, that's your definition of cleared. I had just
fathered a child two months before by a woman that
was not your wife. I am shocked that you would
stand here and say you are completely cleared. Can you
so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on
the mother of a child who had been born two
months before? And you tell us you are completely cleared?
So how is that a complete clear?
Speaker 5: Senator?
Speaker 6: Her child's name is Gwendolen Hope hag Seth, and she's
a child of God and she's seven years old.
Speaker 10: And you cheated on the mother of that child less
than two months after that daughter was born, didn't you?
Speaker 5: Those were false charges?
Speaker 6: Well, no, dully investigated, and I was completely cleared. And
I am so youthful, and you've the marriage I have
to this. No, you've admitted that you had sex at
that hotel in October twenty seventeen.
Speaker 10: You said it was consensual.
Speaker 6: Isn't that correct anything?
Speaker 10: You've admitted that it was consensual and you were still
married and you just had a child by another woman.
Speaker 6: Again, how do you explain yourly false charges against me?
So I investigated and.
Speaker 1: He was completely clear.
Speaker 10: You have admitted.
Speaker 1: Yeah, praise Jesus. And lastly, I want to show you
what Senator Tim she making a joke about the entire hearing.
It's this is truly amazing. Play the clip, Peter.
Speaker 7: I'm actually going to ask you questions because I want
to hear your answer. How many genders are they tough? One? Senator?
There are two genders. I know that well. I'm a Shihi,
so I'm on board. What is the diameter of the
rifle round fired out of an M four A one rifle?
Speaker 6: That's a five five six?
Speaker 7: How many push ups can you do?
Speaker 6: I did five sets of forty seven this morning?
Speaker 7: What do you think are what do you think our
most important strategic basis in the Pacific?
Speaker 6: In the Pacific Guam is pretty strategically significant.
Speaker 7: How many rounds of five to five six can you
fit in the magazine of an M four rifle.
Speaker 6: Depends on the magazine, but standard issues thirty center.
Speaker 1: Yeah, basically, First, I'm sure he had that information provided
to him in advance, which is fine, but I think
he probably would have known it anyway. Listen, he knows
his military equipment that he does. That's not what this
hearing was about. It's about his competence within which to
be the secretary for the Department of Defense in order
to run a nine hundred billion dollar agency. It's going
to be a lot. It's going to be a lot.
But here's again the problem. I like to talk facts.
I like to talk to talk accuracy, and I like
to be on point. And the point is he is
going to be confirmed. There's no doubt about that. He
is going to be the Secretary of Defense. And we
need to keep our eyes in our ears open for
everything that's coming out of the DoD because rest assured
there's going to be chaos, not just in the DoD,
but in the DOJ, in the Department of Education, and
every one of these departments, which is why this community
is so important for getting facts. If by chance, Pete
Heggsth does great things, I will be the first one
to come onto this episode, to this channel and to
tell you he's doing a great job. I don't want
to be hero to be thought of as somebody who
is negative towards the Republican Party and anything that goes
on bullshit. If you watch any of my episodes, you'll
see that that's not true. I want it to be
accurate and fair, and because in twenty twenty six, we're
going to have to make a decision whether or not
that the chaos and the nonsense that's going on in DC,
assuming that it is chaos and it is nonsense, there
may be a need for an immediate change, and that's
going to require each and every one of us. So
as always, thanks for listening. Hey everyone, First of all,
thanks for watching. I mean, we're going to be posting
daily episodes with reactions and talking about politics. We'll be
talking about everything in fact, so please like and subscribe
join us on this journey.