Latest / Curtis Sliwa & Larry Mendte In The Morning / Jon Decker, WOR White House correspondent, interview

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Jon Decker, WOR White House correspondent, interview · Curtis Sliwa & Larry Mendte In The Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We want to get right to John Decker, wo R
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: White House and Washington Correspondent, host of the podcast by
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: the Way, The White House Briefing Room with John Decker,
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  Speaker 1: which is excellent when you can find that on the
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  Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app. John, I want to start with something that
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  Speaker 1: was announced recently and it got everybody's attention that US
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  Speaker 1: Attorney Janine Piro made, which is a rare move to
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  Speaker 1: convene a twenty three member special grand jury in Washington,
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  Speaker 1: d C. I know a lot of the publications have
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  Speaker 1: noted this came after she got it talking to a
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  Speaker 1: the White House for what Trump considers dropping the ball
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  Speaker 1: on the reflecting pool damage. I don't know if the
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  Speaker 1: two are related at all. We probably don't even know
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  Speaker 1: what this is all about. But could you explain what
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  Speaker 1: a special grand jury is and why it's so rare?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's rare. You know, a few cities around the
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  Speaker 2: country have convened special grand juries to investigate specific crime.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes it's a special grand jury, for instance Larry and
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  Speaker 2: Curtis to investigate organized crime. We don't know specifically why
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  Speaker 2: this special grand jury was convened. We don't know how
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  Speaker 2: long this special grand jury will be the duration of it.
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  Speaker 2: Typically they're around eighteen months or so. But during the
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  Speaker 2: course of its duration it can investigate not just one,
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  Speaker 2: but a number of matters that the US Attorney for
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  Speaker 2: the District of Columbia chooses to bring to the special
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  Speaker 2: grand jury. And perhaps Jeanine Pirot feels that she can
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  Speaker 2: have better luck with a special grand jury and the
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  Speaker 2: process that is contained in that rather than what she
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  Speaker 2: has experienced through the regular grand jury process. You know,
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  Speaker 2: she has not been successful in terms of some high
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  Speaker 2: profile cases brought by the US Attorney's office. The case
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  Speaker 2: against Jerome Pow for instance, Larry and Curtis, the former
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  Speaker 2: FED chairman, that didn't go anywhere, case against those five
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  Speaker 2: Democratic senators for making that video that seems that seem
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  Speaker 2: to urge service members to ignore what they viewed as
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  Speaker 2: unlawful orders, that too went nowhere as well.
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  Speaker 1: One just for real quick follow up, because I understand
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  Speaker 1: that even without bringing charges, they can release a detailed
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  Speaker 1: public report regarding, for instance, if it has to do
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  Speaker 1: with government or official misconduct, even if the evidence does
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  Speaker 1: not result in a criminal indictment. That that seems unconstitutional,
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  Speaker 1: you know, to be able to defame somebody without bringing charges.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I've seen that before. Special counsels, you know that term.
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  Speaker 2: Special councils have released reports before. Sometimes they do not
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  Speaker 2: end up charging specific individuals, but contained in the narrative
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  Speaker 2: of a special council's report sometimes evidence they believe of
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  Speaker 2: crimes being committed. You know, we saw that with Robert Muller,
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  Speaker 2: for instance. Robert mull seemed to indicate crimes may have
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  Speaker 2: been committed by then President Donald Trump in his first term,
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  Speaker 2: but nothing became of that. So this is not that unusual.
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  Speaker 2: But I think that this really when you think about it,
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  Speaker 2: with what has happened over the course of the past
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  Speaker 2: few weeks with the reflecting pool area, I think it's
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  Speaker 2: really a way to modify President Trump to convene this
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  Speaker 2: special grand jury, and we'll see if indeed that satisfies
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  Speaker 2: the president.
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  Speaker 3: John Dekker, where are we with the ballroom? You're right there.
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  Speaker 3: There's construction going on all the time. I think a
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  Speaker 3: federal judge put a moratorium on it. Has the President
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  Speaker 3: observed that or is he just putting his hard hat
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  Speaker 3: on and pushing ahead.
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  Speaker 2: Well, there are two cranes that are outside on the
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  Speaker 2: south lawn every day when I go to the White House,
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  Speaker 2: and one of those cranes has to do with construction
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  Speaker 2: of the ballroom. Now, construction above ground concerning the ballroom
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  Speaker 2: has ceased. That's her restraining order imposed by a federal judge.
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  Speaker 2: Actually that judge my former law professor, and that was upheld,
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  Speaker 2: by the way, by the d C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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  Speaker 2: But construction continues below ground. That's where the White House says.
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  Speaker 2: There are certain security features that are being put in
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  Speaker 2: place at the White House that that federal judge is
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  Speaker 2: allowing to continue.
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  Speaker 1: Can we talk about Caroline Levitt a little bit, because
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  Speaker 1: you've dealt with her a lot, and I thought she
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  Speaker 1: was excellent at her job, the youngest person ever to
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  Speaker 1: have that job, and now she's going off to be
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  Speaker 1: a mom. A couple of questions, just first your your
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  Speaker 1: reaction to that, and how you what you think about
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  Speaker 1: Caroline Levitt and also who might replace her.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I was surprised, just like everybody when I saw
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  Speaker 2: that social media post by President Trump yesterday. Caroline Levitt
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  Speaker 2: just came back from eternity leave a few weeks ago. Really,
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  Speaker 2: I think she's conducted two briefings since she's been back.
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  Speaker 2: And then get this surprise announcement that she's leaving the
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  Speaker 2: White House at the end of this month. She has
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  Speaker 2: been a forceful defender of President Trump, loyal certainly, not
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  Speaker 2: only working for him since day one as his press
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  Speaker 2: secretary of his second term, but also working in his
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  Speaker 2: first term as well, and serving as the press secretary
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  Speaker 2: for the Trump twenty twenty four presidential campaign. So she's
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  Speaker 2: devoted a chunk of her life to President Donald Trump.
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  Speaker 2: So she is leaving at the end of the month.
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  Speaker 2: As for a replacement, I've seen some names mentioned, but
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  Speaker 2: they're just names, you know. Monica Crowley is one of
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  Speaker 2: those names that does work for the administration right now.
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  Speaker 2: She is a possibility. She has the kind of experience
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  Speaker 2: that would be necessary to be the White House Press secretary,
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  Speaker 2: formerly serving as a commentator on Fox News. And you know, look,
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  Speaker 2: I think that whoever it is that the President names
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  Speaker 2: to replace Caroline Levitt is going to have some big
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  Speaker 2: shoes to fill because she really did, I think to
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  Speaker 2: do it. She did an excellent job serving as the
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  Speaker 2: White House Press Secretary for the past eighteen months.
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  Speaker 3: Now let me take you back, because you've seen them
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  Speaker 3: all come and go. I have first term in office,
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  Speaker 3: Poor Sean Spicer right out of the box when confronted
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  Speaker 3: with pictures of Morocco Obama's inauguration, and obviously President Trump's
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  Speaker 3: had to somehow defend that. No, Trump actually had more people,
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  Speaker 3: he just was never given an opportunity to have oxygen
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  Speaker 3: have to And then the mooch, Scott Scaramucci, what was
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  Speaker 3: that like ten days? And then Carine Jean Pierre, even
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  Speaker 3: though she was Biden's spokesperson. You know what they all
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  Speaker 3: three have in common. I don't know if you ever
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  Speaker 3: figured this out, John Decca. They all came out of
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: Long Island, born, raised, went to school. I would suggest
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  Speaker 3: maybe there'd be a prohibition on having anybody from Long
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  Speaker 3: Island speak on bef of whoever the president is.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, that's too funny. I never knew that connection. That's
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  Speaker 2: pretty funny. Yeah. Caroline Levitt is the seventeenth White House
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  Speaker 2: Press secretary that I have dealt with, so I've seen
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  Speaker 2: a lot ago. I put her certainly in the top
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  Speaker 2: tier of White House Press secretaries in terms of the
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  Speaker 2: job that she did defending the president. And she was
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  Speaker 2: one of those people who sat in on meetings. You know,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes people like Karine Jean Pierre. They're on the outside
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  Speaker 2: looking in, and they may not actually know what is
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  Speaker 2: actually happening in the West wing. That's not the case
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  Speaker 2: with Caroline Levitt. She knew and was involved in policy
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  Speaker 2: discussions every step of the way. So, like I said,
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  Speaker 2: some big shoes to fill. Whoever it is that ultimately
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  Speaker 2: is the replacement for Caroline.
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  Speaker 1: Levitt seventeen press secretaries. How old are you? You're like
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Doriam Gray, I said, I'm seeing you. You look like
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: you're in your twenties.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: You're not going to say you're age?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, now, okay, now, John Deka One quick question on that.
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  Speaker 3: I noticed as she steps down she just recently had
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  Speaker 3: another child. She's always smiling. So even when she's giving
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  Speaker 3: a gatling gun response and a tough fans on behalf
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  Speaker 3: of the president, she's always smiling. This seems to be
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  Speaker 3: the new political way, whether you're zorn Mondami else ied
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  Speaker 3: or in this case the outgoing spokesperson for the president,
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  Speaker 3: maybe as part of the younger generation, no matter how
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  Speaker 3: bad the news, no matter how vitriolic you are, you
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  Speaker 3: always have a smile at the end of it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, I think that's what made her good,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and that's what made her effective as a
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  Speaker 2: White House Press secretary. She was amiable, you know. And look,
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  Speaker 2: I've been friends with Caroline for a number of years.
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  Speaker 2: She sent me a text yesterday, and you know, I'm
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  Speaker 2: sad to see her go. I know she'll be successful
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  Speaker 2: in terms of whatever she decides to do. She's run
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  Speaker 2: for Congress before, a reminder, so I don't think we've
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  Speaker 2: seen the last of Caroline Levitt in terms of public service.
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  Speaker 2: I would not be surprised at all to see her,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in elective public office representing the state of
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  Speaker 2: New Hampshire, her home state.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I think that Donald Trump's worst nightmare is
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  Speaker 1: coming through and coming true, I should say, And this
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: Iran conflict war is going to stretch into the midterms
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: in September. Do you see an end in sight? Because
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  Speaker 1: I'm not seeing it.
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  Speaker 2: No, I don't.
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  Speaker 3: You know.
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  Speaker 2: The President may want to see an end an off ramp,
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  Speaker 2: but the problem, of course is Iran really wants to
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  Speaker 2: impact the midterm elections. And for that reason, I think
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  Speaker 2: that what we see that's been taking place over the
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  Speaker 2: course of the past few weeks, past few months, in
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: terms of the inability of cargo ships and oil tankers
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  Speaker 2: to get through the straight up fromous. I think that
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  Speaker 2: continues all the way through early November when the midterm
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  Speaker 2: elections take place.
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  Speaker 1: Well, John, there's a new campaign slogan, vote against Trump,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: vote with Ron. Yeah, there you go.
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  Speaker 3: But now, John, as more information leaks out, as the
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Trump administration acknowledges the switch that took place from air
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  Speaker 3: Force one the old one, to the container to obviously
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  Speaker 3: a special flight, and then back to the gift from
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  Speaker 3: Qatar once he left England, do we know what the
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: exact threat was, because now I'm noticing when I read
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  Speaker 3: Israeli publications as saying that the Israelis had given a
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  Speaker 3: heads up to the Secret Service that there was an
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  Speaker 3: imminent threat opposed to the President while he was at
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  Speaker 3: that NATO conference in Turkey.
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  Speaker 2: Well, the concern was of a shoulder fired missile. Keep
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  Speaker 2: in mind I made this point before that Ankra, which
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: is where the President was for the NATO summit and
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: was leaving from and route to the UK, is only
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  Speaker 2: a thousand miles from Tehran, and Iran has missiles that
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: are capable of traveling twenty five hundred miles, So there
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: was a real concern about the safety the security of
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  Speaker 2: the mode of transportation that the President used to depart
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  Speaker 2: Turkey just a few weeks ago, and that was the
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  Speaker 2: reason why the Secret Service essentially put that mission in
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  Speaker 2: motion to switch the President to a third plane. I
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  Speaker 2: asked the President the other night when we came back
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  Speaker 2: on Air Force one. I was on the new Air
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  Speaker 2: Force one and I asked the President, where you surprised
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  Speaker 2: that the Secret Service directed you to take that third plane?
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  Speaker 2: And the President said, no, I have a target on
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  Speaker 2: my back. You know, Iran wants to kill me. I'm
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: a consequential president.