Latest / David Pollack Primetime / Death Delayed

Transcript

Death Delayed · David Pollack Primetime

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: January 12th, 1995, Knoxville, Tennessee. A 19-year-old girl named Colleen
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Slemmer walks with three other students from the Job Corps
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Center to an abandoned steam plant near the University of
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Tennessee campus. She thinks she's there to talk to the
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: other three students. Well, they knew otherwise. Krista Pike is 18.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: She and a classmate pull out a box cutter, a
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: small meat cleaver, and they attack. They slash Colleen's throat repeatedly.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: The medical examiner would later find a six-inch gash across
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: the middle of her neck and 10 more slash wounds
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: on her throat alone. They cut her face, a pentagram's
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: carved into her chest. There were so many wounds on
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Colleen's body that the medical examiner said cataloging every one
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: of them would keep her in the morgue for three days.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: And the most horrific part is that none of those
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: wounds killed her. Colleen was alive through all of it.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: The medical examiner testified the blood in her sinuses showed
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: that she was breathing and probably conscious the entire time.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: The attack went on for 30 minutes, maybe longer. Then
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Krista Pike picked up a chunk of asphalt and smashed
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: it down on Colleen's head so violently that most of
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: the left side of her skull was gone. Then Pike
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: reached down, took a piece of her skull, and kept
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: it as a souvenir.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: I've never seen anybody so excited about.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: Killing somebody, I guess, is the best way to put it.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: She was giddy and happy.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: She thought she was going to be a celebrity.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: That was 31 years ago. This morning, Krista Pike was
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: supposed to finally answer for it. She had spent two
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: weeks in pre-execution isolation. An all-female execution team was ready
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: at her request. Governor Bill Lee had denied clemency, saying,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: I am upholding the sentence. The United States Supreme Court
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: had turned her last request down the night before. Then,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: this morning, about an hour before a lethal injection was
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: supposed to take place, a single federal appeals judge stopped it.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Judge Jane Strantz of the Sixth Circuit halted the execution
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: until further order of this court arrived. She says Pike's
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: claim that her abusive childhood wasn't fully considered at her
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: 1996 sentencing, and it required attention. Tennessee's attorney general is
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: now asking the Supreme Court to lift the stay, calling
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: it a technical issue after decades of litigation. Of course,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: in the post-Lindsey Clancy era, sympathizers argue for mercy, arguing
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: that she was only 18. She's 50 now. That she
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: was abused as a child. That she's mentally ill. Sound familiar?
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: They say she's remorseful. So remorseful, in fact, that six
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: years into her death sentence, Krista Pike tried to kill
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: another person. In 2001, she and another inmate strangled a
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: woman in prison with a shoestring. A court convicted her
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: of attempted first-degree murder. How remorseful! Pike had her day
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: in court. A jury heard her case. The Tennessee Supreme
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Court reviewed it. Federal courts reviewed it. The governor reviewed it.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: The Supreme Court turned her down last night. And despite
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: all of that, this morning, 30 years in, with witnesses
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: gathered to finally see an end to the nightmare that
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: started for them over 30 years ago, a single judge
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: decided to stay the execution anyway. Now, personally, considering the
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: gruesome nature of this murder, I have zero sympathy for
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Krista Pike. I think lethal injection is probably too humane
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: considering what they did to that poor girl on that
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: tragic night in Knoxville. Whether it was 30 years ago
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: or 300 years ago, the family deserves justice. Now, I
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: understand how some can remain morally conflicted in their belief
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: that in protecting all life. After all, all life was
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: created in God's image, and such requires protection. But here's
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: the reality. Those primarily pleading for Krista Pike's life, those
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: aren't the God-fearing conservatives fighting to protect all life.
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: No.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Instead, it's the same crowd that shrugs when the Netherlands
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: reveals it euthanized a severely disabled two-year-old child, who cheers
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: abortion laws when exceptions wide enough to reach the end
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: of the pregnancy, and who watched 11 of 12 jurors
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: in Massachusetts vote to find Lindsay Clancy not criminally responsible
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: for killing her own three children. Protect the life of
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: a convicted torture murderer, but not the life of an
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: innocent child. It's cases like this one that the death
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: penalty exists for. And if it doesn't apply to Krista Pike,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: it doesn't apply to anyone. Tonight, Krista Pike is alive
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: for now. Colleen Slemmer, well, she's been gone for 31 years.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Joining me now with reaction, independent journalist Christy Lee. Thank
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: you so much for being here tonight. I don't know
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: what else to say. I mean, 30 years is a
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: long time. When I first looked at this story, because
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: of the fake news and the way the internet was
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: reporting on it, I said, oh, this is an interesting case.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: And then I looked into the facts and I said,
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: how did they wait this long to execute? What's your
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: take on this?
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: I mean, that's my very first reaction is 30 years.
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: I mean, this is because we're now in a system
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: that treats finality, the consequences of your actions as being optional.
• 6:27
  Speaker 5: I mean, that's 30 years that they can twist what
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: she should get the death penalty or not. That's 30
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: years where this family has to be victimized again and
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: again and again, that no one's paid the price for
• 6:41
  Speaker 5: that brutal killing process.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: Of this young woman.
• 6:45
  Speaker 5: And I mean, this is what we're seeing, David, time
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: and time again, is this victim swap. Suddenly, we're more
• 6:52
  Speaker 5: concerned about the person that has to potentially pay consequences
• 6:57
  Speaker 5: than we are about the victims themselves. We see this, obviously,
• 7:01
  Speaker 5: as you inferred in the Clancy case, where we're so
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: focused on, oh, well, the meds and the mental, yes,
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: I mean, that should be considered, but that doesn't suddenly
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: make all the attention go to her and make her
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: suddenly the victim. And that's, I think, what they're doing
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: here is these judges are basically able to take a
• 7:20
  Speaker 5: Clancy case and how there's suddenly all this sympathy for
• 7:24
  Speaker 5: the perpetrators and twist it into Clancy's making this woman
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: pay for the horrendous murder that she was, as we
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: heard in the clip, giddy and happy about.
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: Of course, we're in a godless society.
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: We're in a justice system that is always constantly celebrating injustice.
• 7:42
  Speaker 5: Of course, they're going to do this, but it's very disappointing,
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: very disgusting. To think that this family, they'd already traveled
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: to the prison. They were already prepared to get this closure.
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: And what, an.
• 7:58
  Speaker 5: Hour before, they're like, oh, wait, it's been stayed again.
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: I mean, this is further victimization of the family.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is horrific. I mean, it's probably one of
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: the more gruesome murders I've ever read about. And we
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: see some terrible things. And it's just I think the
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: real injustice here is that the execution didn't come soon enough,
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: that the sentence didn't get effectuated soon enough. And now
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: here we are in 2026 in this. You know, an
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: innocent child's life has no value to some people in
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: this society. And yet women who murder those children are
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: now being held up on a pedestal. And they're suggesting
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: somehow that it's not their fault. It's just poor old
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: society has grieved them. And now we have to excuse
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: all of their actions. And that is really where we're going.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: You mentioned it. Godless, immoral society. How have we gotten
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: to a place where people have any sympathy at all?
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: for people like Pike, sympathy for Clancy. It's really setting
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: up a dangerous precedent that people, especially women, who murder people,
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: however horrific, are not responsible for their actions because the
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: world is such a terrible place and it's so unfair
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: towards women, right?
• 9:07
  Speaker 5: Well, every time I see these stories, I just keep
• 9:09
  Speaker 5: on coming back to, we are still in a society
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: that celebrates the killing of your children, starting from the womb.
• 9:18
  Speaker 5: We are still society that celebrates abortion. We got the
• 9:21
  Speaker 5: Dobbs decision, but abortions have gone up. And now there's
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: even more options for how you can kill your child,
• 9:29
  Speaker 5: your unborn child in this case. But why wouldn't you
• 9:31
  Speaker 5: expect that to transition into children that have been born?
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: If you're not going to respect them in the womb,
• 9:38
  Speaker 5: if you're not going to respect the sanctity of life,
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: then why would you afterwards? But this whole thing is
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: setting a extremely dangerous precedent because abortion death penalty is
• 9:47
  Speaker 5: supposed to be the most severe of punishments.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: It is supposed to serve as a deterrent.
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: But when we see cases that take 30 years for
• 9:57
  Speaker 5: that death penalty to happen, then it's going to start
• 10:01
  Speaker 5: to get less and less to be as a deterrent.
• 10:04
  Speaker 5: And we're already seeing it. All of that sympathy for
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: Clancy that has come out, the excuses made. the relativism
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: of the whole situation. We've already seen copycats. We've already
• 10:17
  Speaker 5: seen a woman that was following that then strangled her two-year-old.
• 10:21
  Speaker 5: I was just reading today out of South Carolina, a
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: Taylor Gosnell, a 35-year-old woman stabbing her six-year-old boy and
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: her three-year-old girl between them 50 times, 50 times by
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: their own hands.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: Mother.
• 10:38
  Speaker 5: That's absolutely heartbreaking. They're still in a pediatric hospital and
• 10:42
  Speaker 5: already before we even know how safe they're going to be,
• 10:46
  Speaker 5: if they're going to come out of this, they're already
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: talking about, oh, well, her mental issues. So again, we're
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: bringing it back to, oh, well, poor mother, like she
• 10:56
  Speaker 5: had some mental issues going on.
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: We've set a precedent that this is somehow okay or
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: can be explained away.
• 11:04
  Speaker 5: And David, you know, I am a woman, but I
• 11:10
  Speaker 5: am not going to defend that somehow women are now
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: this protected class when it comes to these cases, that
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: they're protected from agency. When it is a man that
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: does these things, they are called a monster. And you
• 11:25
  Speaker 5: don't hear, oh, but.
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: What was his mental state? You know, you know, was
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: he on a medication? We don't hear that for men.
• 11:32
  Speaker 5: So for society, it constantly wants to say that women
• 11:35
  Speaker 5: are equal to men and should.
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: Be treated equally.
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: Well, then why aren't they being treated equally when it
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: comes to justice, when it comes to the most horrendous
• 11:43
  Speaker 5: things killing and harming your own children.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: Oh, but with the women, we have to come up
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: with excuses.
• 11:50
  Speaker 5: Oh, but you know, what about what was going on
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: with her hormones or what was going on with the
• 11:55
  Speaker 5: men's shoes taken?
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: I mean, this, this is also such a huge slap
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: in the face.
• 11:59
  Speaker 5: Like for, I thought, Hey, wait, feminists, you're now bleeding
• 12:03
  Speaker 5: hearts for the, these women that can harm their own children.
• 12:06
  Speaker 5: But I, we, I thought we were just the same
• 12:09
  Speaker 5: as men and we should be held up to the
• 12:11
  Speaker 5: same expectation, if not higher.
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's another thing in this case.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and we're seeing it on and on.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: The left keeps excusing all of these. We saw it
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: with Luigi Maggione. Oh, but he was the CEO of healthcare. Oh,
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: it's just always, it's always, let's look at the reason
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: for the murder before we start judging the fact that
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: it was a murder. And that is a dangerous, slippery
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: slope when basically a narrative can determine the value of
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: life because we know where that leads. Christy, thank you
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: so much for being here today and offering your opinion
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: on this. It's a terrible, terrible story. And these families
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: deserve justice. And we'll see if the Supreme Court does
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: the right thing and lets this thing move forward. Thanks
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: again for being here. Still ahead tonight, 600 migrants are
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: marching towards a border the Homeland Security Secretary says they
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: have zero chance of crossing. So why now? Five weeks
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: before the midterms? Retired Border Patrol Chief Chris Clem joins
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: me with that answer. Plus, Trump celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: as the polls flash a warning sign. And Pete Hagseth,
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Secretary of War, makes a long-needed cut to the Pentagon's top. Brass,
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: all that's coming up. Stick around.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: For all of our viewers out there asking where to
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: watch One America News, we'd like to introduce you to
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: OAN Live. OAN Live is the best way to stay
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: up to date on the hardest-hitting news and our talk shows.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: And the best part is OAN Live is only $ 4.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: 99 per month.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: Credible, honest, and unbiased reporting at.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: A fraction of the cost of cable.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: So just click on the link at the top of
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: our homepage, oann.com, to easily sign up for the news
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: and conservative talk you can't get anywhere else.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: On September 20th, a few hundred people gathered at the
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: bus station in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and started walking north.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: They called themselves Fe y Esperanza, Faith and Hope. By
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: the time they hit Tapachula in southern Mexico, they had
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: doubled to more than 600 Hondurans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Ecuadorans, and Haitians.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Mexican immigration agents escorted them across the border Saturday night.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: They set out for the United States. Now, think about
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: the timing. This caravan is... marching towards a border that,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: for all practical purposes, it's closed. Apprehensions are down 94%
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: from the Biden years. There have been zero releases into
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: the country for 16 straight months. Secretary of Homeland Security,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: he didn't mince words about it. Look.
• 14:56
  Speaker 6: The caravan has zero chance of coming into our country.
• 14:58
  Speaker 6: We have the most secure border in the nation, and
• 15:00
  Speaker 6: we're going to keep it that way.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: President Trump has made that very clear. The White House
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: put it just as plainly. You're not going to be
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: allowed into our country. So why are they marching now?
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Why walk 2,000 miles towards a door everybody knows is closed?
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: The migrants say, well, they're hungry. And for many of them,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: I'm sure that's true. But nobody has explained the hunger
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: or why the hunger organized itself into a caravan five
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: weeks before an American election when there's no hope of
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: coming in. We've seen this play before, haven't we? In
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: October of 2018, a caravan left the very same city,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: San Pedro Sula, weeks before the midterms. Activists with the
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: group Pueblos and Fronteras helped move thousands north. And for
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: a month, it dominated every newscast in America. Do you
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: remember that? It's like a parade every single day. The
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: migrant train getting bigger and bigger. And it worked exactly
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: the way a political operation was meant to work. So
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: let's ask the question plainly today. Does it sigh up?
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: And if it is, who's running it? One version says
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: it's the left. They put women and children on a
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: road to a closed border, film the heartbreak, then spend
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: the last few weeks before the campaign telling you how
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: insensitive and heartless Donald Trump is, how cruel he's starving
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: those families in Mexico. The other version says Willis says
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: it's political operatives who want you scared, who want the
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: pictures of a mass of people marching north to remind
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: you why the border still matters, leading up to these
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: important midterms. Now, here's what we do know. No one
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: has claimed responsibility for this caravan. It's just spontaneous. No
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: organizer has come forward and no group has taken credit,
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: which is exactly what makes it worth asking. But what
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: I know is this. This caravan is testing something. whether
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: it's testing Mexico, whether they'll stop the marches, whether it
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: wants to know if Washington will hold the line. And
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: it's testing whether you'll buy whatever story gets told about
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: it over the next five weeks. Four years ago, a
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: caravan like this one would have walked straight into a
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: catch-and-release pipeline, and the people in it would be living
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: in your town by Christmas, your neighbors. Today, the Secretary
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: of Homeland Security says they have zero chance of becoming
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: your neighbors. The difference is in the migrants. It's a
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: strong border, and it's Trump's policy working. Now, watch who
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: uses these pictures before November and what they want you
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: to feel when they use those pictures. That'll tell you
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: probably who sent them. Retired. Border Patrol Chief Chris Clem
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: ran the Yuma sector and has watched caravans like these
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: come one after the other. Chief, welcome back to the
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: David Pollak Prime Time. Who do you think's behind this
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: latest caravan for hunger?
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, David, you know what? Great monologue, great
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: opening points there. I bring it back to 2018. I
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: was the deputy chief in El Paso at the time
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: when that started and we were preparing for it. It's
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: exactly what you said. It was a political operation to
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: bring this attention and challenge at the midterms, which ultimately
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: went in favor of the Democrats against President Trump during
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: Trump 45. So, you know, we're seeing it play out again.
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: But as you mentioned, and as the Secretary mentioned, a
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: lot has changed. Different election cycle, same bad cast, same
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: bad script. However, we've got a better hero in this situation,
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: and that is President Trump and our border security policy
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: and posture. No one is going to get in. If
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: they do, they'll be caught, they'll be detained, they'll be prosecuted,
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: and they'll be removed. They won't be released like the
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: thousands and nearly, well, millions that were released under Joe
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: Biden in this situation. Now, who's behind it all? This one,
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: at least on the public facing forward stuff, it's unorganized.
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: It's a grassroots organization. But let me tell you, There's
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: nothing unorganized about this. There is somebody that is funding this.
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: There are large non-government organizations that are fronting this, that
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: are giving them directions, that are giving them sanctuary as
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: they make their march. Last thing I'll say and turn
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: it back to you is there's a lot of differences
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: between what's happening at our border, but also what President
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: Scheinbaum has done. She has actually broken this stuff up.
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: This is the first caravan in 2026. There was a
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: dozen or so last year, but only that this is
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: the first one now. Timing is of the essence. It's
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: coming up on midterms, as you mentioned, but they will
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: not make it as an organized group to the northern
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: border of Mexico, to our southern border, without assistance from
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: the government of Mexico, assistance from non-government organizations. So I
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: don't think this is going to happen, not under President
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: Trump's watch, and it's futile. They're going to be detained
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: and sent back if they even make it here.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's an excellent point because the policy previously
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: under Trump in the 2016 administration was, They stop in Mexico.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: If they're looking for asylum, Mexico's a perfect place for
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: them to seek asylum and they can stop there. And
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: then under Biden, you're like, no, no, no, just let
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: him pass through. And that's when we saw all these
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: caravans come through. I think the fact that they're calling
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: this faith and hope tells you exactly who's behind it.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: I know some people are suggesting that this is an
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: opt to benefit Trump. I don't believe that for a second.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: I think this is certainly a left wing operation to
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: get these people out. to the border to force an
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: issue to make Trump look insensitive because of that all-important
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Hispanic vote. But I don't think anybody's going to be sympathetic.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: This migrant caravan is going to be put down. But
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: it should remind people, Chris, heading into the midterms, what
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: would happen if Democrats were in charge. These people would
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: be storming into this country. And it's an important reminder
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: heading into the midterms, right?
• 21:14
  Speaker 7: Absolutely.
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: Look, border security and accountability of all our systems, not
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: just immigration, but all government systems, is an enduring mission.
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: It doesn't just stop because we built so many miles
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: of wall or we have so much technology. As long
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: as there are threats to our country, threats to our homeland,
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: threats to our systems, it's an enduring mission that has
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: to continue to be funded and supported by the American public. Now,
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: I've heard, too, oh, this is a psyop on the
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: Republican side to show that it's necessary. Absolutely not. This
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: is not the case. This is right up the Democratic
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: playbook of emotion and chaos. Create a victim, which would
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: be the migrant, especially under this administration. and then create
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: the boogeyman, which is the president and his enforcement arm
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: that is just doing the work that Congress has put
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: into law and that our system allows us to do.
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: So look, there's always going to be a sweet spot
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: to find when it comes down to compassion and enforcement,
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: but we cannot conflate immigration policy and border security And
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: until Congress wants to take on immigration, we're going to
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: be stuck with this. But let me tell you, border
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: security should never suffer because we want to adjust immigration policy.
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: That's the part that protects American lives, American interests. These operationally,
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: I'll say this so the audience knows, operationally, yeah, they're
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: going to monitor this. They'd be in law enforcement. But
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: this will not have an impact to the already secure
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: border we have. If anything, it'll just be monitored unless
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: something changes.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: That's it. Turn them away at the border. They can
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: make an asylum claim. But guess what? It's not like
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: the Biden days. They don't get released into the country.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: If you make an asylum claim, the law says that
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: you are locked up until you have a chance to
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: prove that you're there for asylum. But I think that's
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: the play here. I think they're encouraging these people to
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: come north in order to press Trump. It's just a play.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: We see it happening. Chris Clem, thank you so much
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: for your expert advice, I mean, your expert take on
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: all of this. Always, and I love seeing you on
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: the show. Can't wait to have you on again soon,
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: my friend.
• 23:21
  Speaker 8: Thank you.
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: Thanks for having me on.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Pleasure. Coming up, Republicans made history with Hispanic voters in 2024.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: Can they hold them in 2026? Bianca Gracia of Latinos
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: for Trump joins me right after this.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: For all of our viewers out there asking where to
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: watch One America News, we'd like to introduce you to
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: OAN Live. OAN Live is the best way to stay
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: up to date on the hardest hitting news and our
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: talk shows. And the best part is OAN Live is
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: only $ 4. 99 per month. Credible, honest, and unbiased reporting at
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: a fraction of the cost of cable. So just click
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: on the link at the top of our homepage, OANN.com,
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: to easily sign up for the news and conservative talk
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: you can't get anywhere else.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS NOT YET RECOVERED FROM THIS. TWO
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: YEARS AGO, SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY STILL HASN'T
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: QUITE RECOVERED FROM. DONALD TRUMP WON HISPANIC VOTERS IN TEXAS
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: BY 10 POINTS. HE CARRIED MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, THE FIRST REPUBLICAN
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: TO DO IT SINCE 1988, AND HE WON IT BY
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: 11 POINTS. IN FLORIDA, NEARLY 6 IN 10 VOTERS CHOSE TRUMP.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: THE DEMOCRATS SPENT DECADES TREATING HISPANIC VOTERS AS A At
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: the White House, President Trump celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. He
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: and by Hispanic entrepreneurs who built their businesses from the
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: ground up. And the administration came with receipts. Hispanic poverty
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: fell 13.9% last year. Hispanic homeownership hit 10.2 million households,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: which the White House calls the biggest one-year jump since
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the Census Bureau started keeping track. There's no tax on
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: tips for waiters and bartenders and service workers, and there's
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: no tax on overtime for the men and women pulling
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: double shifts. Nicolas Maduro, the dictator who drove millions of
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: Venezuelans out of their own country, he's in American custody.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: The cartels poisoning Latino neighborhoods have been designated as terrorist organizations.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Rubio put it simply. This administration is restoring an economic
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: agenda that works for Hispanic Americans. He made it clear
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: why Hispanic voters... should continue to vote Republican in this country.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: Take a look.
• 25:48
  Speaker 6: All I would say is Hispanic Americans, we are Americans.
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: We love this country.
• 25:52
  Speaker 7: We W.W.
• 25:53
  Speaker 6: And we love it because so many of us either
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: know firsthand or through our parents or grandparents what life
• 25:58
  Speaker 6: is like in other countries. And so we know how
• 26:00
  Speaker 6: special this country is.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Now, that's the record. Now, here are some warnings, though.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: The New York Times and Siena poll this month puts
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: the president's approval among Hispanic voters at 26 percent. A
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Texas survey has it at 33. Pew found approval among
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: Latino Trump voters dropped 27 points in the first year
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: and a half of his term. In South Texas and
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: in South Florida, the two places that delivered for Republicans
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: in 2024, Democrats say the ground is moving back their way. Now,
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: keep in mind who's publishing those numbers. Some come from
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: mainstream outlets that got 2024 badly wrong, and some are
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: internal polls paid for by Democrat groups. But even Republicans
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: who dismiss the numbers shouldn't dismiss the question. So is
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: it working? Have Republicans done enough to keep the voters
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: who came over in 24? The honest answer is that
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: the results are only half the job. The other half
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: is showing up. For decades, Democrats treated Hispanic voters like
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: a demographic on a spreadsheet. Promise them things, amnesty, whatever,
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: and assume the votes will follow. Republicans won in 24
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: because they talked to Hispanic Americans about the things they
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: actually cared about. That meant jobs, gas prices, safe streets, family, faith,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: and a border that works. The same things every American
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: family cares about. The left is betting it can scare
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: those voters back with words like deportation. What it never
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: mentions is the fact that Hispanic Americans live in the
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: communities where the cartels operate. Hispanic workers are the ones
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: undercut by illegal labor, and Hispanic families are the ones
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: who waited in line and did it the right way.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: No vote is permanent, though. You can't win a community
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: in one year and assuming it stays won five weeks
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: before midterm with control of Congress on the line. The
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: party that earned these votes in 24 has to go
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: earn them again in Spanish and in English and in
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: person and on the issues. Today event was a good start.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: November will tell us whether it was enough. Bianca Gracia,
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: president of Latinos for Trump and founder of Latinos for
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: America First, joins us now. She was at the White
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: House today. Bianca, how was the White House today? And
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: do you think the president is doing enough to retain
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Latino voters?
• 28:23
  Speaker 9: Well, hello, David. Thank you so much for having me
• 28:25
  Speaker 9: on today.
• 28:26
  Speaker 7: Listen, the event at the White House was obviously.
• 28:31
  Speaker 9: We really needed that.
• 28:32
  Speaker 7: We really needed that because, you know, a lot of
• 28:35
  Speaker 7: Hispanics have been felt that they've been left behind or
• 28:37
  Speaker 7: that they weren't being included in today.
• 28:39
  Speaker 9: You know, President Trump surely made up for it.
• 28:43
  Speaker 7: And listen, we've got to see We were the first
• 28:47
  Speaker 7: people to be allowed to go see the development of
• 28:50
  Speaker 7: the ballroom.
• 28:51
  Speaker 9: We were able to walk into the ballroom.
• 28:53
  Speaker 7: And so he gave us accolades for all that we've
• 28:56
  Speaker 7: contributed to this country.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: He said, you know, we are.
• 28:59
  Speaker 7: The fabric of this country, and he's doing everything that
• 29:02
  Speaker 7: he can do to make sure that we achieve the
• 29:05
  Speaker 7: American dream.
• 29:06
  Speaker 9: And he reminded us, he brought business owners, and he
• 29:08
  Speaker 9: reminded us that, you.
• 29:09
  Speaker 7: Know, the no tax on tips and the no tax
• 29:11
  Speaker 7: on overtime is tremendously helping people in the community.
• 29:16
  Speaker 9: And so obviously those business owners came. And the most important.
• 29:19
  Speaker 7: Thing, David, that we cannot forget is the faith. You know,
• 29:23
  Speaker 7: our culture is centered on faith. And we had Pastor
• 29:28
  Speaker 7: Pascual and his wife, Norma, lead us in prayer out
• 29:32
  Speaker 7: of this East Wing. And it was, you know, you
• 29:36
  Speaker 7: could just feel it in the air, in the atmosphere,
• 29:41
  Speaker 7: that Trump needed those prayers, we needed those prayers, and
• 29:44
  Speaker 7: the country needed the prayers. And it just really reminded
• 29:47
  Speaker 7: us of why we love President Trump, you know, because
• 29:51
  Speaker 7: he put faith, and he reminded us, he said, hey,
• 29:53
  Speaker 7: I have a faith office now in the West Wing,
• 29:56
  Speaker 7: and he says, we don't have a lot of room
• 29:58
  Speaker 7: in here, but we found a place for them, because
• 30:01
  Speaker 7: he wanted to make sure that God was at the
• 30:03
  Speaker 7: forefront of everything that he does in this country. And
• 30:07
  Speaker 7: so today, you know, it was great to just be
• 30:10
  Speaker 7: honored and to be in the presence and to just
• 30:13
  Speaker 7: really be part of this. And, you know, he came out,
• 30:15
  Speaker 7: you know, the first thing he announced as he came
• 30:17
  Speaker 7: out was, we're pulling out of Iraq.
• 30:20
  Speaker 9: That was huge news. I don't see a whole lot
• 30:22
  Speaker 9: of people covering it or talking about it, but that's
• 30:24
  Speaker 9: huge news.
• 30:26
  Speaker 7: So, you know, in celebration, I mean, we just were...
• 30:29
  Speaker 7: Today was just really an honor, David. It was so amazing.
• 30:32
  Speaker 7: And I heard you, you know, talking about all the
• 30:34
  Speaker 7: numbers and everything. And so I really believe and I've
• 30:37
  Speaker 7: been saying this. I've been saying this. You know, look,
• 30:39
  Speaker 7: we don't have a mass deportation problem. We've had we
• 30:43
  Speaker 7: have had a messaging problem.
• 30:45
  Speaker 9: It's the messaging.
• 30:46
  Speaker 7: It's the fact that we don't have enough Hispanic voices in,
• 30:50
  Speaker 7: you know, in this in this media space that's really
• 30:53
  Speaker 7: putting out the message and really communicating with our communities
• 30:56
  Speaker 7: and reminding them why we voted for President Trump in 2016,
• 31:01
  Speaker 7: 2020 and 2024. And, you know, why we voted for
• 31:06
  Speaker 7: him and how we do not want an open border.
• 31:09
  Speaker 7: We simply do not want that. We don't want amnesty.
• 31:11
  Speaker 7: We don't want a pathway to citizenship. We just want
• 31:14
  Speaker 7: law and order to be restored.
• 31:16
  Speaker 9: You're exactly right. We want our communities to be safe.
• 31:20
  Speaker 7: And we don't want anyone to be attacking our religious
• 31:23
  Speaker 7: liberties because faith is at the forefront of every single
• 31:27
  Speaker 7: Hispanic household. And that is what we love that Trump
• 31:31
  Speaker 7: champions at. And he gets it and he gets us
• 31:34
  Speaker 7: and he understands our work ethic.
• 31:37
  Speaker 9: Our culture has a work ethic like no other.
• 31:41
  Speaker 7: And that today was highlighted during this.
• 31:43
  Speaker 9: Hispanic Heritage Month. And you know what, David?
• 31:45
  Speaker 7: We were able to walk out with this beautiful letter
• 31:49
  Speaker 7: signed by him with the seal of the White House.
• 31:52
  Speaker 7: And just reminding us on all of the achievements and
• 31:56
  Speaker 7: the contributions that Hispanic Americans have done in this country
• 31:59
  Speaker 7: and our strength, our character and our devotion to the country.
• 32:03
  Speaker 7: You know, he highlights the health care workers, highlights doctors, clergy,
• 32:07
  Speaker 7: religious leaders. And, you know, again, he says, you know,
• 32:11
  Speaker 7: we serve in the highest levels of government, just like
• 32:13
  Speaker 7: Marco Rubio. And also didn't go without saying and acknowledging
• 32:19
  Speaker 7: our armed forces, who is 34 percent of them are Hispanic,
• 32:22
  Speaker 7: as well as law enforcement. Our Border Patrol agents, over
• 32:25
  Speaker 7: 70 percent of our Border Patrol agents are Hispanic. And
• 32:28
  Speaker 7: he highlighted that, David. So today it was a home
• 32:31
  Speaker 7: run for President Trump. And we just got to make
• 32:33
  Speaker 7: sure he's going to go on the campaign trail. We
• 32:35
  Speaker 7: got to make sure that we get out the vote.
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: I love it, and I am confident beyond any doubt
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: that you'll be out there in the front putting that
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: message out there to make sure that we are ahead
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: in the midterms and keeping the Hispanic vote where it belongs,
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: in a party that values faith and family and a
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: strong border and safe communities. Bianca, gracias. Gracias for being here,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: as always. Look forward to having you again real soon.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: Thank you, David. Thank you. Still ahead, Secretary of War
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Pete Hegseth just announced he's cutting 20% of the positions
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: reserved for generals and admirals and ended tenure at the
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: military academies. The goal is to make our forces more lethal, slimmer,
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: and quicker at making decisions. Benghazi hero Mark Osgeist joins
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: me with a reaction. Then a Florida nurse is serving
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: 20 years in federal prison. An appeals court says the
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: judge tilted the scales against her. She remains in prison, though.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: Her sister joins me on Weaponization Watch Wednesday with that story.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: Don't go anywhere.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: For all of our viewers out there asking where to
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: watch One America News, we'd like to introduce you to
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: OAN Live. OAN Live is the best way to stay
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: up to date on the hardest hitting news and our
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: talk shows. And the best part is, OAN Live is
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: only $ 4. 99 per month. Credible, honest, and unbiased reporting at
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: a fraction of the cost of cable. So just click
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: on the link at the top of our homepage, OANN.com,
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: to easily sign up for the news and conservative talk.
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: You can't get anywhere else. At the end of the
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: Cold War, America had more than 2 million troops in uniform. Today,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: we have about 1.3 million. The number of generals and
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: admirals running them, well, that number hasn't moved. We have
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: a smaller army with the same crowded top floor today
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: in Quantico. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stood in front
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: of hundreds of junior officers and enlisted troops and announced
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: that he's going to start clearing out that top floor
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: 20% of the positions reserved for generals and admirals are
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: coming off the books. And that's on top of last
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: year's cuts. At least 10% of general officer posts and
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: 20% of the four stars. Some jobs disappear entirely. Others
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: get handed to a colonel or a Navy captain. Now,
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: nobody's getting fired. Instead, the positions themselves, they're just going away.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: Every star on a collar comes with a staff, an office,
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: a motorcade, and another signature between the warfighter in the
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: field and the decision he needs. Hegseth wants fewer signatures
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: and faster decisions with more authority in the hands of
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: the people actually leading the troops, the ones who knows
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: what's going on. Then he went after the academies. Yesterday,
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: he signed an order ending new tenure for civilian professors
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: at West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy. In
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: his words, civilian academic norms have been allowed to dilute
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: our focus on lethality, and tenure breeds, quote, academic stagnation
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: and faculty complacency. The critics are already crying academic freedom.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: And I'd remind them who pays for those schools. You do.
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: The taxpayers. You guys fund the academies for one reason.
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: To produce officers who can lead your sons and daughters
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: into combat and bring them home alive. A professor who
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: helps do that. Well, we want them to keep their job.
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: A professor who doesn't. Well, they should be replaceable like
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: everyone else in America who works for a living. Remember
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: what we were. Just a couple of years ago, Biden's
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: Pentagon asked for more than $ 100 million a year for diversity, equity,
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: and inclusion programs. They called climate change a national security priority.
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: It reopened the ranks to transgender service members. It made
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: Rachel Levine a four-star admiral in the public health service. And,
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: of course, how can we forget when the Navy put
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: an active-duty drag performer in its digital ambassador program? Pentagon
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: swore it was just outreach, not recruiting, as if it
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: made it any better. Now, Hegseth addressed that earlier, too.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: Take a look. Translation of that?
• 37:18
  Speaker 8: No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps,
• 37:23
  Speaker 8: no radicals.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: Just warriors.
• 37:26
  Speaker 8: Just tough, ready... committed troops. The War Department, as you know,
• 37:32
  Speaker 8: is colorblind, gender neutral, and merit-based. Or as the president
• 37:38
  Speaker 8: likes to say to me, heat central casting.
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: A military exists to deter our enemies. That's its job.
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: And when deterrence fails, its job is to destroy them.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Every dollar and every hour spent on anything else is
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: time stolen from the soldier carrying the rifle. Now, will
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: fewer generals alone win the next war?
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: No.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: Of course, we need full accounting of which commands are
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: cut and why. We need to make sure that we're
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: moving in the right direction for the strongest and most
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: lethal military. We have a Secretary of War once. But look,
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: a leaner command and a sharper academy, that's going to
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: be way better than a bloated Pentagon that measured its
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: success in committees and pronoun trainings. Joining me now for
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: reaction is Marine veteran Mark Ozgeist, who fought on the
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: rooftop of Benghazi and knows what readiness really means. Oz,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: welcome to David Pollak Prime Time. Secretary of War is
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: really putting a new light on lethality and readiness, and
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: it's a welcome change from what we saw in the past, right? Yeah,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: it is.
• 38:45
  Speaker 6: I mean, it's about time that you clear out the
• 38:48
  Speaker 6: cobwebs from the rafters.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: When you see just the difference alone in the priorities
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: set by Secretary of War, I mean, he talked about
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: not having the DEI stuff, and that's great, too, but
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: he's building more military bases. He announced that today. New,
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: shiny new military bases, energy-dependent, independent, by the way. They're
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: going to build their own power plants. He understands what
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: it takes to secure America. I mean, as a warfighter yourself,
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: I mean, you have to have so much more confidence
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: in in the mission when you have somebody at the
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: top calling the shots that understands what it means to fight, right? Yeah.
• 39:25
  Speaker 6: And it's, you know, you look at most of the
• 39:26
  Speaker 6: four-star generals, they've been there going on 30 some odd years. Um,
• 39:30
  Speaker 6: so a lot of what they're doing is from the past. And,
• 39:35
  Speaker 6: you know, when you look at it, I think, uh,
• 39:37
  Speaker 6: after world war two, we had the largest standing army
• 39:40
  Speaker 6: that we've ever had. And there was a total of 36,
• 39:42
  Speaker 6: I think it was 34 or 36, uh, four-star generals,
• 39:47
  Speaker 6: and now we have almost the smallest military that we've
• 39:50
  Speaker 6: had in years, and we have about 38 four-star generals.
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: Why is that?
• 39:59
  Speaker 6: I mean, you got this beautiful building called the Pentagon,
• 40:03
  Speaker 6: and every part of that has to be filled up
• 40:06
  Speaker 6: with something, and you said it in your dialogue. I mean,
• 40:09
  Speaker 6: with every four-star general comes a staff and everything that
• 40:13
  Speaker 6: comes with it, and To be a lethal fighting force,
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: we have to be leaner, stronger, faster than the others.
• 40:21
  Speaker 6: And we can't do that with this dead weight that
• 40:26
  Speaker 6: we have as a bureaucracy in the military.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and when you talk about the ranks at the top,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, that bureaucracy with the military, it has to
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: really— complicate things especially in life and death situations where
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: you have to make split decisions does all of that
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: extra brass at the top in your experience it did
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: does that slow things down and will leaning out the
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: top make us more efficient and make those decisions a
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: little quicker.
• 40:58
  Speaker 6: Yeah i mean i'll give you a great example was
• 41:00
  Speaker 6: benghazi i mean we had isr which is uh drones
• 41:04
  Speaker 6: up above fairly quick in benghazi as the battle was
• 41:08
  Speaker 6: happening over at the consulate before it even got over
• 41:12
  Speaker 6: to the CIA annex. And decisions were being made because
• 41:18
  Speaker 6: they had a visual of what was going on there.
• 41:22
  Speaker 6: And whoever in Washington, D.C., I mean, we can all
• 41:26
  Speaker 6: guess who that is. Though they weren't military, they stuck
• 41:29
  Speaker 6: their heads and opinions in and slowed things down. And
• 41:35
  Speaker 6: that's why through the ebb and the flow of the battle,
• 41:39
  Speaker 6: For 13 hours, we were never allowed to have or
• 41:43
  Speaker 6: they never sent any yes, any help. And it's because
• 41:47
  Speaker 6: of too much information getting up to the top instead
• 41:53
  Speaker 6: of them trusting the people that they have on the ground.
• 41:56
  Speaker 6: And that's the key elements there is training and trust.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and obviously the Secretary of War understands this and
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: these changes hopefully will result in quicker decision-making because, yeah,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: Benghazi– I mean, obviously, that situation is very sensitive for you.
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Looking at where we are now to where we are then,
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: do you feel like we've improved, or do you feel
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: confident that we will improve in our response now?
• 42:24
  Speaker 6: You know, I think the leadership at the State Department,
• 42:27
  Speaker 6: especially at the very top with Rubio, you know, he
• 42:31
  Speaker 6: is a person of action. He seems to be a
• 42:33
  Speaker 6: man of action, and he is going to listen to
• 42:36
  Speaker 6: those that– are down below him and let them make
• 42:40
  Speaker 6: a decision, you know, and that's what it's all about.
• 42:43
  Speaker 6: You know, if there's two things, you either, you got
• 42:45
  Speaker 6: to train them to fight. And then when you do
• 42:48
  Speaker 6: train them to fight, then let them go and fight
• 42:50
  Speaker 6: and listen to them on the ground because they have
• 42:53
  Speaker 6: the best information, the most information and firsthand information of
• 43:00
  Speaker 6: what they're facing and what assets they need. Yeah.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, and that's, and that's where we need to
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: move towards it. I think you understand probably better than
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: anybody in the world how important that is. One more
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: question for you. I mean, today I saw that we're ending,
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: I guess, officially operations in Iraq for somebody who fought
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: for so long. What's your thoughts on that?
• 43:23
  Speaker 6: You know, I spent from 2004 to 2008 and then
• 43:29
  Speaker 6: came back again for about three months in 2009 in Iraq.
• 43:33
  Speaker 6: I was a security advisor to Dr. Ayatollah, one of
• 43:37
  Speaker 6: the former prime ministers. I've seen a lot of what's
• 43:40
  Speaker 6: happened there and still have a lot of friends over
• 43:42
  Speaker 6: there that are Iraqi. I think that it's time that
• 43:47
  Speaker 6: we do let them take care of themselves. They have
• 43:49
  Speaker 6: the capabilities. We've been putting a lot of training into them.
• 43:54
  Speaker 6: They do have some heavy lifting to do with their
• 43:59
  Speaker 6: relationship with the IRGC and Iran. But that is something
• 44:03
  Speaker 6: that they're going to have to take care of. And
• 44:05
  Speaker 6: if they don't, then, I mean, obviously, I'm sure that
• 44:07
  Speaker 6: there will be contingencies for that. And sometimes you just
• 44:11
  Speaker 6: got to bring our men and women home and let
• 44:15
  Speaker 6: them work on it. I know that there is big
• 44:17
  Speaker 6: concern with the Kurds up north. But the Kurds, you know,
• 44:21
  Speaker 6: they got a saying, the best friend they have is
• 44:23
  Speaker 6: the mountains. And they know how to fight and they'll
• 44:26
  Speaker 6: do great at it.
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, and that's the other part of this.
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, we need to be ready. We need to
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: be lethal, but we can't just be sitting around just
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: providing peace and security for places that we have no
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: business being in anymore. And look, I think all of
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: us are thankful that we're concluding operations there and bringing
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: our boys home. And thank you so much for all
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: of your service and sacrifice for this nation. And thank
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: you so much for joining us today.
• 44:50
  Speaker 6: Hey, thank you for having me. God bless. Thanks, David.
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: God bless you as well, my friend. Coming up, the prosecutors,
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: they got 40 minutes and the defense got 30. An
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: appeals court called it an abuse of discretion and kept
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: this woman in prison. Anyway, it's Weaponization Watch Wednesday, and
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: we have a story about somebody sentenced to 20 years
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: in jail, regardless of the weakness of her case. Her
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: sister is coming on to make a plea, and all
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: that's coming up next.
• 45:27
  Speaker 2: For all of our viewers out there asking where to
• 45:29
  Speaker 2: watch One America News, we'd like to introduce you to
• 45:32
  Speaker 2: OAN Live. OAN Live is the best way to stay
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: up to date on the hardest hitting news and our
• 45:37
  Speaker 2: talk shows. And the best part is OAN Live is
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: only $ 4. 99 per month. Credible, honest, and unbiased reporting at
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: a fraction of the cost of cable. So just click
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: on the link at the top of our homepage, OANN.com,
• 45:50
  Speaker 2: to easily sign up for the news and conservative talk
• 45:53
  Speaker 2: you can't get anywhere else.
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth Hernandez was on trial fighting for her freedom. Six
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: days of testimony in a complicated federal Medicare fraud case
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: and everything came down to one question. Did she? No.
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: The government says she knowingly signed off on fraud. She
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: believed she was doing legitimate work reviewing charge for patients
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: other medical professionals had already seen. Now, tonight's weaponization watch
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: case isn't necessarily about the facts of this case. The
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: jury rendered its verdict, but the real story in this
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: case comes from the fact that the judge gave the
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: prosecutors 40 minutes in a complicated case and then gave
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: the defense 10 minutes less, just 30 minutes to make
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: their final arguments. His reason was that the government had
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: the burden of proof, so they needed more time. Think
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: about that. The burden of proof exists to protect the
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: person on trial. It's the reason the government has to
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and the reason
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: you're presumed innocent. In this courtroom, it became the government's
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: excuse for an unfair advantage. And when her lawyer hit
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: the 30-minute mark and asked for 10 more minutes, Judge,
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: he said no. That's what happened to Elizabeth. A Florida
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: nurse practitioner in September 2023, a jury convicted her on
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: eight counts of health care fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, false statements.
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: The same jury acquitted her on two other counts. The
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: judge sentenced her to 20 years in federal prison. This
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: past July, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed her
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: case and it agreed the child to trial court judge
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: abused his discretion by giving the prosecution more time. The
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: appeals court said that in writing. And then it upheld
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: her conviction anyway. Said the evidence was strong enough that
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: the unequal time didn't change the outcome. I'd argue it
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: could have. That wasn't the only problem the court found,
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: by the way. While reading the jury instructions out loud,
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: the judge told the jurors that the defendant was required
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: to prove good faith. They got it backwards. The defendant
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: didn't have to prove anything. Now, the written instructions did
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: get it right. The appeals court said that that was enough.
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: So the court admitted the scales were tilted twice, and
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: it still said, eh, no harm, no foul. I think
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: the person sitting in jail for 20 years would disagree.
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: And let's look at the sentence. 20 years was calculated
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: off $ 192 million intended loss figure for the whole scheme.
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: According to her advocates at Weaponization Watch, the amount Elizabeth
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: personally received was about 1.6 million. Violent criminals walk out
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: of prison with less time than she's facing for this.
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: And the sentence doesn't only punish Elizabeth. Her young daughter, Sophie,
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: is growing up without her mother. And in a video
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: shared by Weaponization Watch, she said this.
• 49:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I miss you a lot.
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: I miss you so much.
• 49:13
  Speaker 3: I cannot wait to give you a million kisses when
• 49:14
  Speaker 3: I see you.
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: Me too. I love you. I love you more. That
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: organization is asking for a full review.
• 49:14
  Speaker 7: Of this case and for clemency tonight.
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: We're joined by Evelyn Hernandez, Elizabeth's sister. Evelyn, thank you
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: so much for being here. Welcome to David Pollak Prime Time.
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: This is a tough one. This is a really hard case.
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: She's in jail for a really long time, and the
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: evidence looks like she didn't have a fair trial, right?
• 49:54
  Speaker 10: That is correct. She did not have a fair trial.
• 49:57
  Speaker 10: The judge was biased to the prosecution from the get-go, and.
• 50:01
  Speaker 11: Despite the best attempts by the defense, we were unable
• 50:06
  Speaker 11: to finish our closing statement which was going to summarize
• 50:10
  Speaker 11: my sister's defense, such as the good faith issue.
• 50:15
  Speaker 10: Also the fact that the claims were submitted from IP
• 50:19
  Speaker 10: addresses all over the world was another thing that was
• 50:21
  Speaker 10: going to be brought up. The court found that it
• 50:24
  Speaker 10: was harmless error, which is difficult because it's obviously an
• 50:29
  Speaker 10: intelligent jury. They acquitted on two counts and had they
• 50:32
  Speaker 10: heard the defense in its full, They may have found
• 50:36
  Speaker 10: my sister not guilty, which would have been.
• 50:38
  Speaker 11: The correct finding.
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's the hard part here for an appeals
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: court to say, eh, you know, harmless error, when it's
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: impossible to know how harmless it was. I mean, clearly
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: it's not harmless. You know, there's a child without her mother.
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: There's somebody in jail for 20 years. So it's not harmless.
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: She should have had the opportunity to present her full case,
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: and that's the problem here. So, look, you went to
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: the 11th Circuit. What's next?
• 51:05
  Speaker 10: So we filed a bank re-hearing. We're waiting for them
• 51:10
  Speaker 10: to reconsider their opinion on the 11th Circuit. And meanwhile,
• 51:14
  Speaker 10: we have been advocating, telling her story, telling the story
• 51:17
  Speaker 10: of weaponization as loud as we can shout it from
• 51:21
  Speaker 10: the rooftops to see if we're able to get her
• 51:24
  Speaker 10: pardoned in this case.
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: And then why do you feel this is a case
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: of weaponization?
• 51:30
  Speaker 10: The prosecutors were ruthless.
• 51:32
  Speaker 8: And midway through the trial, when.
• 51:35
  Speaker 10: The actual fraudsters who all took plea deals stated they
• 51:40
  Speaker 10: did not know my sister. So how can you commit
• 51:42
  Speaker 10: conspiracy for healthcare fraud with people you don't know? They
• 51:45
  Speaker 10: added a willful blindness instruction, which is the most unconstitutional
• 51:49
  Speaker 10: thing I've ever heard, which is basically, even.
• 51:52
  Speaker 4: Though she did not know, she should have known.
• 51:55
  Speaker 10: And even in the prosecution's closing arguments, they stated that
• 51:58
  Speaker 10: Elizabeth was not there for violating any Medicare rules. She
• 52:02
  Speaker 10: was there because she lied. That's what they said. They
• 52:05
  Speaker 10: considered her recollection not being what they wanted her to say.
• 52:10
  Speaker 10: So they said that she just automatically lied, which.
• 52:12
  Speaker 4: Is not true.
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: So if there's anybody watching that sees this segment and
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: they can do something, what are you hoping somebody could
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: do for you?
• 52:22
  Speaker 10: They could go on change.org or they could help us
• 52:25
  Speaker 10: get our pardon in front of President Trump. The weaponization
• 52:28
  Speaker 10: against citizens needs to stop. I really thought this was
• 52:31
  Speaker 10: an isolated incident. Uh, the more that I speak out,
• 52:35
  Speaker 10: the more people come to me with their stories of
• 52:37
  Speaker 10: things that have happened to them. Um, you know, you
• 52:39
  Speaker 10: have Angela Pacheco, Dr. Kumar, Ron Ethelbein, um, all of
• 52:43
  Speaker 10: them were prosecuted and weaponized against, um, by a prosecution
• 52:48
  Speaker 10: that was either political or they just wanted to win
• 52:51
  Speaker 10: the case so that they could get their promotions and
• 52:54
  Speaker 10: work in the private sector after they leave the government.
• 52:58
  Speaker 10: There's no other reason for it. And as a result,
• 53:00
  Speaker 10: there's a family that's missing someone that's essential. My sister
• 53:04
  Speaker 10: has five children and we're all suffering without her.
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, hopefully somebody hears your pleas. Hopefully the
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: court hears your pleas and justice can be served for
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: your sister. Thank you so much for being here tonight
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: and sharing your story. And we'll be following this one closely.
• 53:22
  Speaker 10: Thank you for having me.
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Well, that is all the time we have
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: for tonight. Be sure to join us tomorrow because Gavin Newsom,
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: he just signed legislation that makes it easier for people
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: to get medical abortions in California. I have a Republican
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: candidate for Attorney General, Michael Gates, on to discuss. And
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: as always, if you want to stay in touch with
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: us on social media, I'm everywhere at David Pollak USA,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: or send us an email, davidpollakprimetime at oann.com. We'll see
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: you tomorrow. Same time, same place. And until then, stay classy, America.
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: Good night.
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: For all of our viewers out there asking where to
• 54:02
  Speaker 2: watch One America News, we'd like to introduce you to
• 54:05
  Speaker 2: OAN Live. OAN Live is the best way to stay
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: up to date on the hardest hitting news and our
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: talk shows. And the best part is OAN Live is
• 54:12
  Speaker 2: only $ 4. 99 per month. Credible, honest, and unbiased reporting at
• 54:17
  Speaker 2: a fraction of the cost of cable. So just click
• 54:20
  Speaker 2: on the link at the top of our homepage, OANN.com,
• 54:23
  Speaker 2: to easily sign up for the news and conservative talk
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: you can't get anywhere else.