Transcript

4.27.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Monday,
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April twenty seventh, twenty twenty five. Your normal reader is
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not available today, and Alice Dainer is filling in for her.
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And the reminder is radio I is for those that
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need help in holding or reading printed material. So I
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start with the front page of Today's Washington Post. And
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as you probably figured out, it has a lot to
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do with the White House Corresponden's dinner attempted assassination on
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Saturday night, of which obviously did not happen. Headlines across
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the top bold and large dinner lacked highest security level.
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On the left, suspect called himself a friendly federal assassin
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by Jeremy Roebuck, Perry stein In Kirkpatrick and Emily Davies.
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Speaker 2: And below that is get Down, Get Down, followed.
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Speaker 1: By Chaos by Dan Diamond, Kat Zerzuski, Emily Davies and
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Megan Vesquez. In the middle between the articles is a
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picture of high Speaker Mike Johnson being evacuated as the
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shooter opens fire at the White House Correspondent's dinner on Saturday.
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And then there's a picture below that, and that's a
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big one and it's all in Cepia colors Brown's and
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this series it's just all in Cpia brown colors. And
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then below that, in a smaller picture is the White
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House where quickly Donald Trump was escorted from the scene
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and arrived at the White House after the.
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Speaker 2: Incident, and you see him entering a room.
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Speaker 1: And to the left of that picture is a diagram
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of the area where the incident took place. The terrace
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level is above and there are stairs going down, elevators, restrooms,
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and an entrance to T Street northwest. And below that
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the concourse level showing where Trump was seated. It's a
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circular or an oval International Ballroom and in nineteen seventy
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two that's where Nixon held some of his inaugural events,
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and I was in that ballroom at that time in
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nineteen seventy two. To the right of the picture of
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Speaker Johnson, Administration set event Protocols, Concentration of Leaders Left
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Nation Vulnerable by Emily Davies, Isaac Earnsdorf, Jeremy Roebuck, and
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Joe Heim.
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Speaker 2: And then below the fold under.
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Speaker 1: All of those articles on the left hand side, mood
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in Russia bleak as war drags on and economy stalls
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by Catherine Belton and Natalia.
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Speaker 2: Koumova.
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Speaker 1: A marathon milestone shattered with a picture of Kenya's winner
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of the London Marathon in one hour, fifty nine minutes
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and thirty seconds, breaking the first barrier for under two
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hours for a twenty six point two mile distance. And
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on the very far right with Powell probe quashed Senator
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Tilla's clears the path for warsh by Andrew Ackerman. A
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first article Correspondent's dinner lacked highest security level despite presence
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of top officials. The White House Correspondent's Dinner, attended by
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the President and several CAVAT members, was not given top
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security status. They would have unlocked the full weight of
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federal resources. And there is a picture of the chaos
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as guests take cover after a gunman attempted to storm
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the ballroom at the Washington Hilton during Saturday night's event.
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And you see people lying on the floor holding each other,
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sitting around the table, chairs knocked over, people looking at
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each other and wondering what's going on. It must have
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been chaos. Davies, Isaac Arnsdorff, Jeremy Roebuck, and Joe Hin
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the Trump administration provided a lower level of security for
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the White House Correspondence dinner than it has for other
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gatherings of high ranking officials, even though the President and
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many cabinet members were in attendance. According to officials familiar
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with the plan, President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D.
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Vance were quickly evacuated to safety Saturday when the gunman
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charged the security perimeter and attempted to storm the ballroom
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at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Of his inattendance include Speaker
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of the host Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
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Treasury Secretary Scott Descent, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The
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concentration of high ranking leaders in one ballroom left the
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nation unusually vulnerable, as there would be assassin raced past
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Secret Service before he was apprehended. A worst case scenario
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might have resulted in passing the power of the presidency
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to the senior most senator of the majority party, Senator
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Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who was not at the event
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and his third inland to the presidency behind Vance and Johnson.
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When so many officials gather in one place for official
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functions such as an inauguration or State of the Union address.
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Speaker 2: The Secretary of Homeland.
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Speaker 1: Security typically puts the Secret Service in charge of coordinating
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all security through a formal designation known as a National
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Special Security Event. There was no such designation on Saturday night,
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at an event also attended about thousands of journalists and
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other government officials, according to local and federal officials who
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spoke on the condition of an inemnity because they were
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not authorized to discuss security details, the suspected gunman, thirty
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one year old Cole Thomas Allen, wrote.
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Speaker 2: A statement saying he wanted to target.
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Speaker 1: Members of the Trump administration and ridiculed what he called
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lack security at the hotel. According to two law enforcement
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officials familiar with writings, he said Iranian agents could easily
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have brought more dangerous weapons to the venue, according.
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Speaker 2: To the text.
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Speaker 1: The White House referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security,
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which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A
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spokesperson for the Washington Hilton said in an email that
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the Secret Service led security for the event. This Secret
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Service did not answer questions about its role. One DC
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government official said they were not aware of an instance
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when the annual dinner had been designated as a national
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Special security event. Typically, it hosts high ranking officials, but
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the lineup of those who attend varies from year to year.
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WHCA White House Correspondent Association Executive Director Steve Toma also
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said in his text he was not aware of such
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a designation in the past.
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Speaker 2: Not a thing that's ever come up in my time as.
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Speaker 1: Executive direction director, said Thoma, who has been the association's
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executive director since twenty seventeen. The Secret Service considered the
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site it was charged with protecting to be the ballroom
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and the immediate perimeter around it, According to two law
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enforcement officers briefed on the investigation, who spoke on the
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condition of anonymity because there is a pending prosecution, The
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agency did not take responsibility for the entire Hilton Hotel
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outside DC, plus police handle road closures in traffic in between.
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There was no clear responsibility for the security of the
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thousands of guests and the rest of the Hilton property,
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where authorities said the suspect had.
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Speaker 2: Booked a room.
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Speaker 1: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday he did not
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view the incident as his security failure. The government was
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detained before reaching the ballroom. On the contrary, it was
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a massive security success story. I mean, if you think
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about what happened, as far as what we know right now,
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this suspect barely breached the perimeter, Blanche said during an
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interview with CNN's Dana Bash. The full range of security
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precautions taken before and during the event was not immediately
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detailed by our thirties. Attendees were free to enter the
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hotel with only a paper a digital ticket, then mill
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abate for hours before walking through metal detectives. Attendees, including
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Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania and Carrie Lake, senior
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adviser for the US Agency for Global Media, questioned the security.
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Speaker 2: At the event.
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Speaker 1: Representative Ritchie Torre's, Democrat of New York, called for an investigation.
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Speaker 2: In a post on x Grassley said.
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Speaker 1: He was setting up a briefing with Secret Service leadership
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about security program calls and related law enforcement matters involving
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the dinner.
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Speaker 2: He thanked the Secret Service for at the scene.
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Speaker 1: D C Police said the gunman was armed with a shotgun,
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a handgun, and knives. One Secret Service officer was struck
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by a bullet but protected by a bullet proof vest.
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Blanche said authorities initially believed the suspect fired the shot
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that struck the officer. While this was extraordinarily dangerous and
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put a lot of lives at risk, Blanche said during
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an interview with CNBC News Meet the Press, the system worked.
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All of us were safe. President Trump was safe. In
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a statement, WHCA Whitehouse Correspondent Association President Uija Jiang said
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the evening was a howering moment.
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Speaker 2: For everyone in attendance.
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Speaker 1: Our dinner exists to celebrate the First Amendment and the
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hard daily work of the journalists to defend it. Yang wrote,
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the WHCA board will be meeting to assess what happened
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and determine how to proceed. We will provide updates as
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soon as they are available. Yang and Tama did not
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immediately respond to questions about whether there had been any
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discussion with DHS prior to the dinner about whether it
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should be designated a National Special Security event or who
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was responsible for security outside the immediate perimeter of the ballroom.
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The absence of a National Special Security event designation last
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came under scrutiny for the failure to protect the US
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capital during the certification of the presidential election results. On
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January sixth, twenty twenty one, pro Trump RIOTUS overpowered the
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Capitol police and breached the building, forcing lawmakers to evacuate
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and suspending the certification for hours. The capital was eventually
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cleared with help from the police, federal agents, and the
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National Guard. In the aftermath, the host January sixth Committee,
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the Government Accountability Office, and the Justice Department Inspected General
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all recommended designating future electoral certifications as national special security events.
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The Joint Session of Congress on January sixth, twenty twenty
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five was such an event, with the Secret Service in charge.
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A DC government official briefed on the preparation for the event,
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who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were
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not authorized to speak publicly, said national special security events
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tend to be for multi day events with regular attendance
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by the president and top cabinet officials. This is a
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dinner that he might not go to at the last
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minute and is not annually attended by him, the official
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said in a text message in response to questions about
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why the event was not given the highest security level.
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Speaker 2: The state of the Union can only occur with.
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Speaker 1: The President the WHCD has occurred many times without potus.
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That's the President of the United States. Trump told reporters
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after the dinner that Secret Service and law enforcement did
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what they were supposed to do. I'm the one that
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would complain, he said, on Saturday night, I'd be up
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here right now saying they didn't do their job. Oh
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believe me, because you know it's my life. Our next
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article inside the chaotic Correspondent's Dinner shooting Get Down, Get Down.
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For the third time in less than two years, President
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Donald Trump found himself under the threat of gunvile. This time,
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the Washington Press Corps was in the room. And there's
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a picture of the stage at the White House Correspondence Association.
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Speaker 3: That was a huge sign behind them, and it was
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probably a TV screen, but it's got across it in
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big capitol white letters, White House Correspondents Association.
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Speaker 1: And on the das at the correspondence dinner. On the
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far left was Karen Travers, dressed in a v neck
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black outfit.
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Speaker 2: Press Secretary Caroline Levitt.
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Speaker 1: I'm going from the left to the right in a
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sparkly outfit and very expectant mother who's apparently due to
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have her second child sometime this week next to Caroline
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Levitt our first Lady Milania Trump in a black longsleeve outfit.
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Then the President who is clapping, and between him and
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Uija Xiang who is she is CBS reporter but on
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stage two and between them were the Marine Corps band.
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So this is just before the shooting by Dan Diamond,
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kat Zaguski, Emily Davies, and Megan Basquez. Plates clanged, glasses clinked,
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and at the front of the room sat President Donald Trump,
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making his long awaited return to the White House Correspondents
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Association dinner on Saturday. It was just after eight thirty
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pm in the basement of the Washington Hilton. The President
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was on stage, locked in conversation with CBS reporter Uija Jiang,
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spread out in front of them, with thousands of attendees
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seated at more than two hundred and fifty tables. As
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waiters cleared away salads, then loud popping sounds were heard
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from the lobby. I thought it was a tray going down,
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Trump would say later. For the third time in less
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than two years, Trump found himself under the threat of gunfire.
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Hundreds of people, table after table dove to the floor,
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reporters huddling next to Trump officials and other dinner guests,
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some draped by white linen table claws, others pressed up
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against the ballroom walls. Get out, get down, someone yelled.
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Speaker 2: At the front of the room.
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Speaker 1: Secret Service officers first rushed Vice President J. D.
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Speaker 2: Vance off the stage, then Trump a few seconds later.
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Speaker 1: Other officials in the line of succession, including Secretary of
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State Marc Rubio, were quickly whisked away too. Law enforcement
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officials barked out instructions, clear path, clear path as they
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escorted cabinet members and other sea Trump officials out of
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the ballroom. Some attendees were injured in the scramble. Harmon Didhuon,
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a top Justice Apartment official, said her head was bruised
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as agents ran across tables and chairs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,
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FBI directed Cash Mattel, and others gathered with security officials outside.
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Four minutes, chaos reigned in the ballroom. Some White House officials,
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who had been sitting at an elevated table overlooking the floor,
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said they were just as confused about what had just unfolded,
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even as they watched their colleagues quickly exit the room,
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Trump and Vance were taken to secure locations, the administration said. Meanwhile,
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law enforcement and White House Correspondence Association officials gave conflicting guidance.
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Security officers instructing attendees in the lobby to relief, while
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some media lydies encouraged reporters in the ballroom to stay,
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insisting that the dinner would go on. This is a
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crime scene, said one Secret Service officer, telling attendees to
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keep walking, outing over the hotel and go a block
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across the street. Law enforcement agents climbed over people in
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the crowded room. At least one man who was having
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trouble walking was escorted out of the room. Reporters milled
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a bed on the sidewalks outside the hotel. Some interviewed
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each other, asking what they had seen and learning little.
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Speaker 2: Around nine forty pm, Trump.
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Speaker 1: Departed the hotel, accompanied by his security detail and press pool.
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An hour later, the President addressed the nation from the
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White House. That was very unexpected, Trump said, drily, thanking
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law enforcement for their response. This was an event dedicated
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to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together
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members of both parties with members of the press, and
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in a certain way, it did. He also criticized the
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hotel's security protocols. Reflecting on his prior brushes with violence,
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Trump was wounded by a shooter in Butler, Pennsylvania, during
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his twenty twenty four presidential campaign. Weeks later, secret Service
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agents would foil another would be assassin who had crouched
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in the bushes around one of the President's golf courses.
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Speaker 2: It's not a.
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Speaker 1: Particularly secure building, the president said, calling the shooting an
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example of why his White House ballroom is needed. Striping
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an a typical tone, Trump praised the media for their
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coverage and said he was committed to freese to the
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free speech ideals that underpinned the dinner. As White House
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reporters and tuxedos and fomalware peppered him with questions, I
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fought like Caldice day, Trump said, vowing to return to
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the dinner and said it would be rescheduled within thirty days.
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Saturday's event was already shaping up as an unusual night
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in the words worlds of politics and media. For more
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than sixty years, the White House Hilton has hosted the
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Correspondent's Dinner, an event that has mushroomed from a celebration
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for White House reporters to a gala replete with pre parties,
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post parties, and celebrity encounters. It was said to be
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Trump's first appearance at the annual dinner since twenty fifteen.
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He was a guest of The Washington Post in twenty
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eleven and the target of the city u s president's
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jokes as Barack Obama tweaked him from the stage. Trump
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refused to attend the event during his first administration, and
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many of his deputies followed suit. Sometimes dubbed the Hinkley
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Hilton following John Hinckley Junior's attempted assassination of President Ronald
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Reagan outside the hotel more than forty five years ago,
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the venue has been home to numerous high profile events,
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many of which have been attended by sitting presidents and
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overseen by federal law enforcement familiar with the building's slayout.
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Guests faced minimal screening to enter the hotel on Saturday night,
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merely flashing their.
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Speaker 2: Tickets to get on the grounds.
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Speaker 1: After the ballroom opened at seven point thirty pm, thousands
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of guests descended on escalators to the hotel's lower levels,
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where they were swiftly whisked through several magnet omeiitas. Security
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took beer bottles and cocktail glasses away from people as
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they entered, but the screening protocols were inconsistent. Some guests
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were told to throw their umbrellas out in to a
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big blue trash can, while others were allowed to take
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them inside. The President entered the ballroom at eight fifteen
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pm as the band played as the Marine Corps band
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Hail to the Chief.
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Speaker 2: Trump officials sprinkled around the room, cheered and melody.
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Speaker 1: In the middle of the stage hung a bandon that
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read celebrating the First Amendment over a photo of the
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White House mansion. About twenty minutes later, the shots rang out.
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Officers with ballistic vest and long guns took control of
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the stage. As the President and Vice President were rushed off,
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the room fell silent plates, clinging the journalists and Trump
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administration officials hiding under tables. Secret Service agents ran from
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the back of the room, clamoring over chairs.
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Speaker 2: Watch your feet, watch your hands. Someone shouted.
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Speaker 1: Law enforcement officials said they had a suspect in custody
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and that he would be arraigned in court on Monday.
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Speaker 2: At the White House.
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Speaker 1: Two hours later, Trump said that he had planned the
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most inappropriate speech ever made as he prepared to gibe
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an army of reporters whom he often derives as fake news,
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but that speech may need to be permanently shelved. The
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President said, it'll be very boring the next time. The
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President joked now about the suspect. Correspondent's dinner shooting suspect
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called himself friendly federal assassin. The suspect has been identified
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as Cole Co L. E. Thomas T. M as Allen
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A L. E. N thirty one of California.
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Speaker 2: It's Terence.
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Speaker 1: California official said he is a part time teacher, former
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engineering student, and game designer by Jeremy Roebuck, Perry stein N. Kirkpatrick,
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and Emily Davies. He identified himself in a missive sent
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to family members moments before the attack as a friendly
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federal assassin and railed against Trump administration policies. He booked
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a hotel room at the Washington Hilton weeks in advance,
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then traveled by train from his home outside Los Angeles
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to Chicago and then to d C. And as he
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stormed the security permima at the White House, correspondenced in
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a Saturday exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents. The thirty
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one year old suspected shooter aimed to target top officials,
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including possibly the President himself. Law enforcement officials said those
25:56
details about the man involved in the shooting that forced
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the evacuation of President Donald Trump and several members of
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his cabinet from the Ritzy Annual event emerged Sunday as
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investigators on two coasts worked to gather information on the
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suspected gunman and what motivated his attack. Though officials have
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not publicly named the band they took into custody Saturday,
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five people familiar with the investigation have identified him as
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Cole Thomas Allen, thirty one, of Torrance, California. They, like
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others who shared details of the ongoing investigation, spoke on
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the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
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publicly disclose details of the probe. Social media accounts that
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appear to be linked to Alan described him as a
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self employed video game designer and a part time teacher
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whose employer named him in twenty twenty four as Teacher
26:56
of the Month. He earned an undergraduate deghee in mechanical
27:02
engineering from the California Institute of Technology in twenty seventeen,
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where he was part of an award winning robotics team,
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and a master's degree in computer science from California State
27:15
University last year, according to those profiles and two law
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enforcement officials who said the details they contained matched those
27:26
of the suspect. Now there is a picture that the
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President released. It's an image released by the President via
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his truth social account shows law enforcement personnel detaining Cole
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Thomas Allen, the suspected gunman, at the White House correspondence dinner.
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And mister Allen looks like he's shirtless, lying on the
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floor with his hands camcuff behind his back, his chin
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touching the floor in his chin and nose. He's looked
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looking down and in the background our law enforcement officials
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with their vest on and their equipment all behind him,
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and it looks like a security point to the left
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of there before people entered the ballroom. I have heard
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that an officer was shot and that he was protected
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by his bulletproof vest. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
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The preliminary investigation indicated that the government acted the loan
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and set out from his home in California last week
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before arriving in DC and checking into the Hilton on
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Friday with two firearms and a knife he had purchased
28:47
years before. So far, the suspect had refused to cooperate
28:52
with investigators, Plant said been interviews with family members, as
28:56
well as writings recovered from Alan's home outside Los Angeles
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and the hotel room he booked at the Washington Hilton
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contributed to a growing confidence among authorities that his attack
29:09
was politically motivated. Blanche said during an interview with NBC's
29:15
Meet the Press, it does appear that he did, in
29:18
fact set her to target folks in the administration, likely
29:23
including the president. Law enforcement officials has said. The gunman
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stormed the security checkpoints in the lobby of the Washington
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Hilton around eight thirty pm, feet from the ballroom where
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Trump was preparing to deliver his first address to the
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White House's Correspondence Association as the sitting president. Security personnel
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quickly tackled the gunman to the ground, and the only
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person injured was a Secret Service agent whose bulletproof vest
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stopped a shot to the chest. Minutes before Saturday shooting,
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Allan sent a message to his family a apologizing for
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what he said he was about to do. I don't
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expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other
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way to get this close, I would have taken it,
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he wrote. The message was first reported Sunday by The
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New York Post to law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
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Lady confirmed the accuracy of that letter to the Washington Post.
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Though the message did not mention Trump by name or
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specifically detailed plans to attempt to assassinate the president, its
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author expressed sharp criticism of his administration and said that
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he was no longer willing to permit a traded to
30:41
coat my hands with his crime. I am a citizen
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of the United States of America. What my representatives do
30:49
reflects on me, he wrote. The letters said he intended
30:55
to target administration officials prioritized from the highest run thanking
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to lowest, not including FBI Director Cashpurtel, who was in
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attendance at the Saturday event. The author wrote he had
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no desire to target law enforcement or the dinners of
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the attendees, but he added.
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Speaker 2: I would still go through most everyone here to get
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to the target.
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Speaker 1: See if it were absolutely necessary, dot dot dot, but
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I really hope it doesn't come to that he ridiculed
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what he called lack security at the hotel, and said
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Iranian agents could easily have brought more dangerous weapons to
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the menu, according to the text. After receiving the letter,
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Allen's brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, According to
31:44
Whitehose official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, The
31:49
New London Police Department said in a statement its officers
31:52
were contacted just before eleven pm, roughly two hours after
31:57
the Secret Service had detained the government. The Secret Service
32:02
and police in Montgomery County, Maryland, interviewed Allan's sister, who
32:06
lives in Rockville. She told authorities that her brother was
32:10
prone to making radical statements and frequently expressed a desire
32:15
to do something to fix what he described as issues
32:19
with today's world. According to a White House official and
32:23
a law enforcement official briefed on authorities discussions with her,
32:29
Allan had purchased two handguns and a shocked gun years ago,
32:33
which he kept stored in their parents' home. The officials
32:37
briefed on Allan's sister's interview with authorities said there was
32:41
little otherwise in public records or Allan's online profile to
32:45
suggest cause for concern. Interraim d C Police Chief Jeffrey
32:50
Carroll said the suspect in custody had no immediately identifiable
32:55
criminal history and was now previously known to law enforcement.
33:00
He had not indicated a party affiliation in his Los
33:04
Angeles County voter registration records, but had donated twenty five
33:08
dollars to Act Blue, the Democratic pack supporting Kamala Harris's
33:14
twenty twenty four presidential campaign. According to federal campaign finance filings,
33:20
the linked in profile registered in Allan's name painted a
33:24
portrait of a highly educated man with a passion for
33:27
video game design and an early career in education. Spokespeople
33:33
for California Institute of Technology and California State University confirmed
33:38
his student named Cole Allen, graduated from the school in
33:42
twenty seventeen, but it could not confirm it was the
33:46
same person who is in custody. Kevin Tang, who lived
33:51
in the same dorm as Allan at cal Tech, said
33:54
he remembered Allan as a very nice guy. Local ABC
34:00
station in Los Angeles interviewed Alan during his senior year
34:04
of college as part of a story about technology available
34:08
to assist people as the age. Alan had developed a
34:12
prototype for an emergencyat break for wheelchairs. Ben Tang, a
34:18
computer science professor at the California State University at Dominga's Hills,
34:23
where Allan learned his master's degree last year, said he
34:27
taught him in a few of his classes. He was
34:30
a very good student, indeed, always sitting in the very
34:34
first row of my class, paying attention and frequently emailing
34:37
me with coursework questions. Soft spoken, very polite, a good fellow,
34:43
Tang wrote in an email to The Washington Post. Alan
34:47
had been working as a teacher with private tutoring and
34:51
test prep company C two since twenty twenty, according to
34:55
the LinkedIn page. The company named him Teacher of the
34:59
Month in December twenty twenty four, an honor memorialized in
35:03
social media post taken down after Saturday's shooting. We are
35:09
fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist them in their investigation.
35:16
Violence of any kind is never the answer, the company
35:20
said in an email statement Sunday. Allen also described his
35:25
work designing video games on the side. He published a
35:29
game called Boherdom b r HM under the studio named
35:36
Ice Forged Games on the gaming platform Steam in December
35:40
twenty eighteen, which he described as a skill based, non violent.
35:46
Speaker 2: Asymmetrical fighting game.
35:49
Speaker 1: As news of the shooting began to spread Saturday night,
35:53
a small crowd gathered outside the modest, two story house
35:56
in Torrance, a suburb of about twenty miles southwest of
36:00
downtown Los Angeles, where records show Allan lived. This is
36:05
a quiet neighborhood. We moved here because it was super safe,
36:10
James Costello, fifty three, a prop master and nearby neighbor,
36:15
told the Post. Costello said there are many current and
36:19
formal law enforcement officers living in the neighborhood. Costello said
36:23
he didn't know Alan beyond a friendly hello. Other neighbors,
36:28
who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing privacy concerns,
36:33
said they would wave to Allan and see him ride
36:35
his scooter down the street, but did not know him well.
36:39
We see them every day and we just say hi,
36:42
and they're very nice, a fifty year old man said
36:45
of Alan and his family, they're peaceful people. Hours afterward,
36:51
FBI and Secret Service agents surrounded the home. Onlookers gathered
36:56
beyond the scene crime scene tape as local news. His
37:00
video showed law enforcement personnel shining a spotlight in an
37:04
upstairs window. Max Harris, a local high school senior, stood
37:09
amid the crowd taking in the scene. He told reporters
37:13
that Alan had tootored him for several months.
37:16
Speaker 2: He seemed just like a completely average guy. I would
37:19
never have suspected anything like this. Dot dot dot.
37:24
Speaker 1: It's really just bizarre, Harris said. Alan is expected to
37:29
face preliminary charges of assaulting a federal officer with a
37:33
dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
37:38
Fell on the crimes, which carry potential punishments of more
37:41
than a decade behind guars. He is scheduled to make
37:45
his first appearance in federal court in DC on Monday.
37:50
This individual was intent on doing as much harm and
37:54
as much damage as he could.
37:57
Speaker 2: US Attorney for d C.
37:59
Speaker 1: Janine Piro said, Tillis clears path for warrish confirmation as
38:07
new Federal Reserve chief. The Republican Senate had blocked Kevin
38:12
Walsh's nomination until the Justice Department stood down on its investigation.
38:18
Speaker 2: Of Fair Chair Jerome H. Powell.
38:21
Speaker 1: And there is a picture of Senator Tom Tillis, Republican
38:25
of North Carolina, during this month's confirmation hearing for Kevin
38:30
Walsh by Andrew Ackerman. Senator Tom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina,
38:37
said Sunday he was satisfied that the Justice Department ended
38:41
its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell,
38:46
clearing the way for Republicans to advance President Donald Trump's
38:51
pick to be the next leader of the Central Bank,
38:54
Kevin Walsh. I am prepared to move on with the
38:58
confirmation of mister Walsh, Tillis said on NBC's Meet the Press.
39:04
Tillis had previously criticized the probe as an effort to
39:07
pressure Powell to resign early and to erode the Fed's
39:11
ability to set interest rates free from White House to interference.
39:17
On Sunday, Tillis said he had assurances from officials that
39:21
the case would be reopened only if the fed's internal
39:25
watchdog found evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Tillis's announcement removed the
39:31
last major obstacle to worsh his confirmation, setting up what
39:36
could be a decisive week for the fed's future leadership.
39:40
The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on
39:43
whether to advance the nomination to the full Senate.
39:48
Speaker 2: He is an outstanding.
39:49
Speaker 1: Nominee, and it is time for the Federal Reserve to
39:52
move beyond this distraction and return its full attention to
39:56
its mission, Tillis said in a statement after his interview.
40:02
US Attorney Jeanine Piro said Friday that she was closing
40:06
her probe into Powell and the Federal's two point five
40:10
billion dollar headquarters renovation, though she said the inquiry could
40:15
resume if the Central Bank's Inspected General uncovered evidence of wrongdoing.
40:21
Piero said she had asked the Fed's Inspected General to
40:24
review cost overruns connected to the renovation, a probe the
40:29
watchdog had already been conducting since last summer. At Powell's request.
40:34
Tillis had blocked Walsh's nomination until Pierro stood down on
40:39
the investigation, which he called bogus and which a federal judge,
40:45
Chief US District Judge James E. Bo Asberg of d
40:49
C concluded was an abuse of Justice Department. Powell Republicans
40:55
hold a thirteen to eleven majority on the Banking Committee,
40:59
meaning as defection could still sink Wednesday's vote. On Sunday,
41:05
Tillis said he was not concerned that the Justice Department
41:08
might appeal Bozzberg's ruling quashing a pair of grand jury
41:12
subpoenas in the case. He said he had been assured
41:16
that any appeal would be over legal principles, not an
41:20
attempt to reissue the subpoenas. Palell's term as FED chair
41:28
expires May fifteenth, but he is eligible to remain on
41:32
the board until twenty twenty eight. Trump had threatened to
41:37
try to fire him if he does not depart the
41:40
board on time, a move that would inject extraordinary volatility
41:46
into financial markets and the broader economy if Worsh's confirmation
41:51
continues to stall. Tillis said he expected Powell might stay
41:55
on the FED board until the appeal is fully settled,
41:59
which could be a lengthy process hopefully not, he added.
42:05
Speaker 2: Trump's drive to.
42:06
Speaker 1: Install an ally atop the FED has drawn fierce democratic
42:10
opposition and alarm among economists and formal officials, who view
42:15
it as a potential threat to the Central Bank's independence.
42:19
Democrats show no sign of backing down. Senator Elizabeth Warren
42:25
of Massachusetts, the Banking Committee's top Democrat, called warsh president
42:31
Trump's socked uppet. Early Saturday, after the GOP led Senate
42:36
Banking Panel scheduled the vote to advance Warsh to the
42:39
Senate floor. She accused Republicans of either naivete or naivete
42:46
or deliberate dishonest in moving to confirm him despite a
42:50
White House characterization of the power probe is ongoing. A
42:56
separate Justice Department investigation targeting FED and Atliza Cook also
43:01
remained active. Warren noted no Republican claiming to care about
43:07
FED independence should support moving.
43:09
Speaker 2: Forward to the nomination of Kevin Walsh. Warren wrote Worsh, who.
43:16
Speaker 1: Pledged independence from the White House on interest rates during
43:19
his confirmation hearing last week, pushed back on Democratic characterizations
43:24
of him as a sock puppet for the President. Worsh
43:28
also said Trump never asked him to commit to cut rates.
43:32
Speaker 2: He didn't ask.
43:33
Speaker 1: For it, he didn't demand it, he didn't require it,
43:36
even as Trump had said he would be disappointed if
43:40
Worsh doesn't move immediately to lower rates upon confirmation. Going
43:47
inside with the planned visit by King Charles and Camilla
43:51
to the States beginning today, the nineteen thirty nine royal
43:57
visit and the party that tested US British relations in
44:02
the run up to World War two, King George six
44:07
sought to rally American support with a garden party at
44:10
the British Embassy, but it didn't go exactly as planned.
44:15
And here is a picture taken on June eighth, nineteen
44:19
thirty nine, with Queen Elizabeth, King George six, Lady Elizabeth Lindsay,
44:27
British Ambassador Sir Ronald Lindsay, who is quite tall, Second
44:33
Lady Maryette Garner, Vice President John Nance Garner, Postmaster General
44:41
James Farley, and Elizabeth Farley, who welcome guests to the
44:46
June eighth, nineteen thirty nine garden party at the British Embassy.
44:50
It's in black and white, so I can't describe who
44:55
is what they're wearing. Butt Ted Muldoon. The Washington garden
45:02
party might have changed the course of World War II
45:05
if the British ambassador's wife had been more diplomatic with.
45:09
Speaker 2: The guest list.
45:11
Speaker 1: The June nineteen thirty nine visit of King George the six,
45:15
the first by a reigning British monarch since the United
45:20
States declared its independence in seventeen seventy six, was cause
45:25
for anticipation and anxiety. Some Washington politicians were exceptionally excited
45:34
about the opportunity, said Catherine Scott, the Senate historian, and
45:40
also very worried about not doing the right thing, not
45:43
knowing and following protocol. We want to show them that
45:47
we're independent, but also we didn't want to appear as
45:51
country bumpkins. Adding to the pressure, the world was careering
45:56
toward global conflict. American ice personizationism had strained relations between
46:03
Britain and the United States. Nazi Germany was menacing Europe,
46:09
and London was pushing Washington to pick a side. This week,
46:15
George's grandson, King Charles the Third, visits Washington, confronting similar concerns,
46:23
growing fears of spreading warm arising America First Movement a
46:29
mission to restore Anglo American bonds. When George visited, Hitler
46:35
had invaded Czechoslovakia and was threatening Poland. Britain had promised
46:40
to defend Poland, but would need American airplanes, guns, and ammunition. Americans, however,
46:47
re split of a whether to get involved selling arms
46:51
to the Allied powers is what had dragged the United
46:54
States into World War I. German U boats began sinking
46:59
American merchant ships carrying supplies across the Atlantic. That is
47:05
very much in the memory of these folks who are
47:07
serving in the United States Senate and in the United
47:10
States House of Representatives. In the nineteen thirties, barely a
47:15
generation that passed since peace had been declared, Scott said.
47:20
And then there is also a picture of Franklin Delano
47:24
Roosevelt addressing a joint session of Congress in May nineteen
47:28
thirty five, a full house of all men seated in
47:33
the semi circular seats or in Congress. More than one
47:39
hundred thousand Americans were killed in nineteen seventeen in nineteen eighteen,
47:44
and another two hundred thousand ruined wounded. Congress, weary of
47:48
a sequel, passed the Neutrality Act in nineteen thirty five,
47:53
barring US weapons manufacturers from selling arms, ammunition, and implements
47:59
of war abroad. By nineteen thirty nine, President Franklin D.
48:04
Roosevelt was pushing Congress to revise the legislation so the
48:09
United States could again help Britain and France fights Germany.
48:13
But standing in his way were the isolationists. What we
48:17
call neutrality legislation is not neutrality legislation.
48:22
Speaker 2: It is what might be called peace legislation.
48:26
Speaker 1: Senator William Barrow, and Idaho Republican on the Farm Relations Committee,
48:30
told reporters some members of Congress were pushing to adjourn
48:34
early in June, which would prevent action until the following January. Ordinarily,
48:41
when Congress adjourns, members returned to their states and districts,
48:46
but in nineteen thirty nine, no one was going anywhere.
48:50
Speaker 2: The British were coming.
48:52
Speaker 1: The diplomatic objective of the royal visit was to charm
48:57
the Americans, on whom their countries have rival Mike depended.
49:02
The first stop was Washington, where the British Embassy would
49:06
host a garden party for some thirteen hundred elites. The
49:10
task of choosing the guests fell to the wife of
49:13
the British ambassador, Sir Ronald Lindsay, Lady Elizabeth Lindsay. The
49:20
advent quickly became the fixation of social Washington newspapers debated
49:26
royal decorum, dress code, skirt length, and whether kurtseying before
49:31
the Queen was a betrayal of American democracy or merely
49:35
the polite thing to do. The caterer ordered twenty seven
49:39
hundred sandwiches and twenty five thousand strawberries, the Post reported,
49:44
But when the invitations were in it became clear that
49:49
the British mission had made a diplomatic misstep. More notable
49:54
than who made the guest list was who didn't. Congressional wives,
50:00
in particular were a ghuest to learn that most of
50:03
them had been left off. There was talk of a
50:07
second American Revolution. They managed in one fell swoop to
50:12
insult half the Senate, three fourths of the White House,
50:16
and all the Washington press. The journalist Helen Lombard wrote
50:21
in her nineteen forty one book Washington Walltz.
50:26
Speaker 2: Neither Senate Minority Leader.
50:28
Speaker 1: Charles McNairy, an Oregon Republican, nor his wife had merited
50:34
an invite, Nor had Senator Hiram Johnson, a California Republican
50:40
and an influential isolationist. After all, the Senate is merely
50:46
the treaty making pard body in the United States, and
50:50
not the social register.
50:52
Speaker 2: He sniffed.
50:54
Speaker 1: The White House State Department in British embassy were flooded
50:57
with phone calls and letters of appeal. Congressional wives worried
51:01
about what their husband's constituents would think. The White Washington
51:07
Post published the art of crashing a column that proposed
51:11
techniques for sneaking into the party, disguising oneself as a
51:16
delivery driver, or whitening one's hair to appear elderly. Sir Ronald,
51:23
speaking with reporters, prompted promptly made matters worse. The garden
51:28
party is just like heaven. You know, some are taken in,
51:31
some are not, he said. Lady Elizabeth was similarly unmoved.
51:37
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
51:39
Speaker 2: She said.
51:42
Speaker 1: In a final gambit, Sinnet twives appealed to Second Lady
51:46
Marriott Garner to impress upon her husband, Vice President John
51:50
Nance Garner, the political importance of reopening the guest list.
51:55
Days before the party, Lady Elizabeth extended invitations to the
51:59
remaining senators and their wives. The home life of a
52:03
good many United States senators became somewhat less complicated today
52:08
when word got around that they and their wives would
52:11
get to attend the garden party for King George and
52:14
Queen Elizabeth after all, The Evening Star reported, House members, however,
52:23
were still mostly left out.
52:26
Speaker 2: Charles.
52:27
Speaker 1: King Charles's schedule to arrive Monday today with his consort,
52:31
Queen Camille. The British embassy is planning another garden party.
52:36
The current and British Ambassador, Sir Christian Turner, sympathizes with
52:40
his predecessors. There is nothing that is a greater honor
52:45
than hosting a state visit for one's head of state,
52:48
one's monarch. As an ambassador, there's probably also nothing more
52:54
nerve racking. Guest list are something of a nightmare because
52:59
everyone wants to be part of these extraordinary occasions and
53:02
there are always limits on space and side. Sir Christian
53:10
Turner said, his wife, Lady Claire Turner, like Lady Elizabeth
53:15
for her before her, is involved with planning.
53:19
Speaker 2: Lots of thought going into the menus.
53:22
Speaker 1: How are we showcasing sort of a typical English tea?
53:25
She said, So we've got smoked salmon, sandwiches, English beef,
53:30
and then we've got as you would expect, scones and
53:34
clotted cream and jam as to beg the guest lists.
53:38
She left, Well, that's beyond my pay grade. But it's
53:42
been a tough one, yes, because obviously it's a hot ticket.
53:46
But hopefully we've included as many people as possible. In
53:51
nineteen thirty nine, hundreds of thousands of people gathered along
53:55
Constitution Avenue to greet George and his consort, Queen Elizabeth Perenn.
54:02
Their thirteen year old daughter of the future Queen Elizabeth Second,
54:07
remained at when a large her home in Pernn. Whatever
54:12
outrage had gripped social Washington had not trickled down to
54:16
the American public. The media declared the Garden Party and
54:20
the tour a success, a master's stroke of diplomacy, England's
54:25
Huddersfield Examiner claimed, but was it Congress didn't revise the
54:31
Neutrality Act by originally injuring the feelings and majority of
54:36
the Senate. The Post reported at the time the British
54:40
Embassy with slighting men who hold the key to whether
54:44
Congress can revise the Neutrality Law this year to aid
54:47
Great Britain and France. Some of observers pointed out it
54:52
wasn't until after Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September one
54:58
and Britain in France enter the war that Congress lifted
55:01
the arms embargoed. Two years later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
55:07
and the United States entered the war. The Garden Party
55:12
had come and gone. Lombard wrote the Instrument to measure
55:18
the effect of wounded vanity on world history has not
55:22
yet been invented. That famous event would have been an
55:26
interesting first experiment.
55:31
Speaker 2: OH.
55:31
Speaker 1: A photo caption with previous version of this article misstated
55:35
the first name of the thirty second Vice president of
55:38
the United States. It is John Nance Gardner, not James
55:44
Nance Gardner. I read it as much of this article
55:49
as I can. Trump says he sees shootings as a
55:53
reflection of his impact. I hate to say I'm honored,
55:59
the President says of his repeated brushes with violence. And
56:03
there's a picture of him with reporters answering questions Saturday
56:07
after the event at the White House, and you see
56:10
Caroline Levitt and others that were at that correspondent's dinner
56:17
still in their tuxedos, listening and answering questions at the
56:21
White House by Isaac Arnsdorf. President Donald Trump said Saturday
56:28
that he've used his repeated brushes with violence as a
56:32
sign of his historic significance and is determined not to
56:36
let the dangers affect him. Authorities have not identified a
56:40
motive or target in the shooting at the Washington Hilton,
56:43
where Trump and multiple cabinet officials were attending the White
56:47
House Correspondent's dinner Saturday evening. The interim DC Police Chief
56:52
Jeffrey Carroll said during a news conference that the suspect
56:56
was running through a security checkpoint in the direction of
56:59
the ballroom where Trump proceeded at the head table. The
57:03
latest instance of a gunman in his vicinity after two
57:08
assassinations at temps during the twenty twenty four campaign, led
57:12
the President to contemplate, while such things keep happening to him,
57:17
I've studied assassinations, and I must tell you, the most
57:20
impactful people, the people that do the most dot dot dot,
57:24
they're the ones that they'd go after, Trump told reporters
57:28
at the White House soon after a shooting suspect was apprehended,
57:31
adding I hate to say I'm honored by that, but
57:34
I've done a lot. Trump mentioned Abraham Lincoln, but not
57:39
Torontald Reagan, who was injured in a shooting outside the
57:42
same hotel in nineteen eighty one.
57:47
Speaker 2: Trump said he.
57:47
Speaker 1: Tries not to dwell on the occupational hazards of being
57:51
a president. Here's ear was wounded by would be assassin
57:55
during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July twenty twenty four.
58:00
That September, a man set up a sniper's nest outside
58:04
Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was
58:08
spotted by Secret Service agents. He was sentenced in February
58:13
to life in present. And with that I end today's
58:17
reading of the Washington Post for the twenty seventh of
58:20
April of twenty twenty six. It is a Monday. I
58:24
will be back on Thursday. Have a good week. I
58:28
will see you then.
58:30
Speaker 2: Bye.