Transcript

7.3.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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the third of July, already of twenty twenty five. For me,
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it's gone by very fast. And the front page starts
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on the left with Djy's ire at UVA mounted for
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weeks letters revealed growing scrutiny before president resigned during DEI
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fight by Jayan rosenwig Ziff and Laura Vezilla. In the
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middle is a picture of a whole group of people
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and obviously they are looks like they're outside the courthouse
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because it's entitled partial acquittal is a win for Combs.
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Mogul found not guilty of sex trafficking racketeering charges by
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Anne Brannigan, Janney Kingsbury and Shanna Jacobs. Into the right
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of that picture and article and on the right hand
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side of the front page, fate of GOP bill in
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the air, at risk of failing, procedural vote leaders press
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holdouts in frenzy of negotiations by Marianna so Mayor, Jacob
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Bogage and Marianna al Pharaoh. Below the UVA article in
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Trump's media wall, another white flag sixteen million dollars settlement
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by CBS parent firm came amid merger worries by Sarah
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Ellison and Jeremy Bark and below the Sean Daddy Combe's
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picture as ICE arrests workers, employers escape charges. The administration
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focuses its immigration raids on small businesses as it pursues
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mass deportation by Marianne Levine, Lauren Couge Gurley, and Aaron Schaeffer.
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And there is a picture of marchers protesting a ongoing
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immigration and customs enforcement raids in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
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Immigration experts say small companies with limited resources are easier
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targets than corporations. And on the very right side underneath
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the GOP bill in the air, Kiev taken aback as
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US slows its support, Russia welcomes halt to shipments of
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some AED definch munitions by David Elsdyne, Sergei Morganov, and
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Alex Horton. Out of Kiev. I'll start with the House
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clears procedural hurdle on Chump's agenda, paving way for passage.
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All but one Republican voted to clear the procedural hurdle
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that outlines the parameters for debate ahead of a final
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passage vote expected Thursday morning, so that should come today.
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And there's a picture of a House Speaker Mike Johnson,
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Republican of Louisiana at the Capitol and he's in a
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dark blue suit with a red tie, and he's got
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his American lapel flag on by Marianna Sodomy or Jacob
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Bogage and Marianna Alfaro, Republican leaders overcame a critical hurdle
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Thursday to advance President Donald Trump's massive tax and immigration legislation,
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paving the way to pass the legislation. In the morning,
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all but one Republican voted to clear the procedural hurdle,
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known as a rule that outlines the parameters for debate
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ahead of a final passage vote. Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican
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of Louisiana confidently declared Trump and GOP leaders notched enough
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votes throughout Wednesday and early Thursday to send the presidents
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adgended to his desk before July fourth, next tomorrow. When
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you're doing a big, comprehensive piece of legislation, you're going
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to expect a lot of extra time, a lot of questions,
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and a lot of deliberation over it, Johnson said, adding
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it took a lot of patience and listening to everyone's
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concerns ever since the Senate passed their bill Tuesday. The
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three point four trillion dollar legislation would extend tax cuts
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from Trump's first term and implement campaign promises such as
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eliminating income taxes on tips and equipping border patrol and
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immigration enforcement agents with new militarized capabilities. Lawmakers spent Wednesday
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shuttling between talks with party leaders, Trump administration lieutenants, and
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the President himself at the White House, but as Wednesday
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turned into Thursday morning, Johnson was still working to convince
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ten lawmakers to vote to advance the bill. As talks
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dragged on, leaders left open two votes for over five hours,
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a sign of the Republican conferences dysfunction and also the
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furious backroom dealing to get Trump's agenda over the finish
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line by an arbitrary July fourth deadline. I'll keep it
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open as long as it takes to make sure we've
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got everybody here and accounted for, Johnson said late Wednesday
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on Foxnooze's Hannity Johnson, a majority ripped Tom emer Republican
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of Mi Minnesota, worked the floor during the rule vote,
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holding what appeared to be tense conversations with ultra conservative
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and moderate lawmakers, but Republicans remained dug in for most
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of the evening. Physical hawks continued to have concerns over
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the ballooning price of the legislation, and some moderate conservatives
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remained uneasy about the even steeper cuts to medicaid in
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the Senate version of the bill. Shortly after midnight, Trump
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began to urge lawmakers publicly to stop delaying and vote.
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What are the Republicans waiting for? What are you trying
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to prove? And this is all in caps. Mecca is
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not happy and it's costing you votes, he wrote on
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his social media site Truth Social. Minutes later, the president
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added again in caps for Republicans, this should be an
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easy yes vote. Ridiculous the hand closed doors. Trump and
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Vice President J. D. Vance spoke to some of the
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holdouts and worked to get them to end their blockade,
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Johnson told reporters. Ultimately, leaders flipped GOP reps Victoria Sparks
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of Indiana, Keith Solth of Texas, Thomas Massey of Kentucky,
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and Andrew Clyde Georgia to vote yes, while five other
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members of the Host Freedom of Coccus cast. Their vote
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were represented to Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, one of three
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moderates representing a swing district. Vice President Kamala Harris Ie
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in twenty twenty four was the only Republican to vote
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with all Democrats against the rule. Johnson must now maintain
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the support and momentum of all but three Republicans to
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send the One Big Beautiful Bill to Trump Thursday. The
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objections embedded throughout the GOP conference came after the Senate
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overhauled or proposal the Host passed in May. Their Senate
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changes made the bill costlier excluding borrowing costs. The Host
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version would raise the national debt by two point four
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trillion over ten years, while the Senate bill would increase
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about three point four trillion. To offset the cost, the
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legislation would cut abate one tree and for Medicaid, the
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federal health insurance program for low income individuals and people
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with disabilities, and other health care programs. It would also
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make cuts to snap Snap, the anti hunger supplemental nutrition
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assistance program formerly known as food stamps. Nearly twelve million
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people will lose health care coverage if the bill becomes law.
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According to the non partisan Congressional Budget Office, those with
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objections are largely from the ultra conservative House Freedom and
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of Office, who have for years demanded that Republicans reduced
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the deficit by slashing federal government spending. Several lawmakers from
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the moderate wing were also upset after the Senate introduced
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sharper cuts to Medicaid, a decision that could impact the
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their constituents from receiving the benefit. Republicans largely remained confident
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Wednesday that the bill would pass, but some still needed
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to be convinced through the eleventh hour. Representative Greg Murphy
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of North Carolina, a rank and foul conservative with concerns
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of the Senate bill's Medicaid cuts, said he was hoping
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to talk to the President as the House waited on
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the next steps. Republicans who had previously wavered seemed to
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be persuaded after their White House meetings with Trump early Wednesday.
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Representative Jeff Van Drew New Jersey, a pragmatic conservative, said
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he was leaning yes following his conversations with Trump, which
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helped assuage his concerns over the bill, particularly regarding the
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bill's limits on healthcare provider taxes. Representative Donna Bacon, Nebraska,
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a moderate who said he will not be seeking re
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election next year, appeared poised to vote yes, saying he
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would find it hard to vote against making Trump's twenty
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seventeen tax cuts. Permanent. Representative Dusty Johnson, South Dakota, a
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supporter of the bill who attended a White House meeting,
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said the President was masterful in coaxing both moderates and conservatives.
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He absolutely moved some minds in that room, he said.
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Republicans who supported the bill said the legislation would help
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the working class voters who swept Trump to the White
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House and the GOP to unify control of Congress in
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November's elections. If we don't take a different trajectory, these
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programs will collapse under the economic failures of prior administrations.
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Representative Mike Kennedy, Republican of Utah, said on the House
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floor the bill would increase the child tax credit and
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add a bonus to the standard deductions for seniors, a
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provision inspired by Trump's campaign pledge to stop taxing Social
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Security benefits. It would create savings accounts for newborns seated
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with one thousand dollars of taxpayer money, and it would
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allow buyers of American made cars to deduct up to
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ten thousand dollars in carloan interest. But beyond those populous flourishes,
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the measure is regressive. The ten percent of households with
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the lowest incomes would stand to be worse off by
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an average of sixteen hundred dollars per year on average
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because of benefit cuts. According to the Congressional Budget Officers
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analysis of the House version of the bill, the ten
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percent of households with the highest incomes would be better
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off by two twelve thousand dollars on average. The legislation
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would make permanent a trio of corporate tax deductions that
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would make it easier for companies to invest in research
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and purchase new equipment. Adding in the impact of Trump's tariffs,
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which the White House has argued will help pay for
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the bill's tax cuts and new spending, the bottom eighty
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percent of households would see their take home incomes fall.
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According to the Yale Budget lab nearly one hundred and
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seventy billion dollars in the bill to fund the Trump
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administration's border and immigration crackdown would be one of the
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largest sums ever spent on homeland security and of roughly
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one hundred and additional roughly one hundred and sixty billion
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would flow to the Defense Department, partially for Trump's proposed
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Golden Dome Continental Missile defense system. Continuing with the peace
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on immigration, ICE is arresting migrants in work site raids.
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Employers are largely escaping charges. Trump has focused workplace raids
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on small businesses as part of his administration's push to
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ramp up a rest of unauthorized migrants. And there is
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a picture of a van with a big open door.
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It looks more like a bus as federal agents are
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seeing June tenth near Glen Valley Foods in Omaha, Nebraska.
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And you see ICE agents with masks over their faces
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and migrants in handcuffs being led towards that bus by
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Marianne Levine, Lauren Colrey Gurley, and Aaron Shafe. Trump administration
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officials have vowed to hold companies accountable for employing people
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who are in the country illegally, no matter which industry
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they are in or how big or small they might be.
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But the Department of Homeland Securities enforcement operations have overwhelmingly
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focused on arresting workers rather than punishing employers. Since the
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start of the year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE has
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posted news releases regarding approximately two dozen rates on the
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work site Enforcement section of its website. Local news lets
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have documented dozens more. The Washington Post has able to
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identify only one employer charged after the raid's ICE is publicized.
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The Post reviewed court filings and searched for records involved
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individuals named in corporate records of businesses DHS has rated.
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Charging company owners for employing undocumented workers has historically been
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rare because the government needs to demonstrate that the employer
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knew of the worker's illegal status. That is a high
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burden of proof, and investigations can take months. Neither Democratic
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nor Republican administrations have made work site raids as much
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of a priority in the past. The Biden administration halted
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large scale immigration arrest at work sites and focused enforcements
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on employers. The immigration officers are conducting have largely targeted
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small businesses, such as car washes. Some are carried out
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in a span of minutes. Two business owners said offices
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did not show a warrant even when asked for one,
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raising questions about where the immigration agents are violating constitutional
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rights in their effort to drive up migrant arrests. The
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difference about these raids of the last six weeks is
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that this is not principally an action against employers, said
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Muzafar kashet T, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration
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Policy Institute. This is principally an action in pursuit of
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nass deportations. When they could not produce the number of
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arrests that they had been hoping for, they suddenly said,
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let's raid employers. It was not let's penalize employers. Though
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the recent raids in Los Angeles outside home depots and
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at a garment factory drew much attention, immigration authorities have
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conducted enforcement operations in states throughout the country. They arrested
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thirty three workers at construction sites near Ocalla, Florida, and
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eleven had outlooked dairy farms near Luvington, New Mexico. The
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first raid ice publicized took place at complete autowash in Philadelphia,
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eight days after President Donald Trump took office. Small businesses
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with limited resources are eager easier targets than deep pocketed corporations.
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Immigration experts say that's because they are less willing to
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challenge government actions or stir up a public commotion. Though
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immigration offices need a judicial warrant to enter private areas
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within a business, they can go into any areas considered
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publicly accessible, such as the space where customers eat at
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a restaurant. Nevertheless, two business owners whose companies were raided
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said armed DHS agents had entered areas restricted from the public.
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In February, ICE agents arrived at an auto repair shop
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outside Philadelphia. They entered a private back office and arrested
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the entire staff of three workers, said the owner, who
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spoke on the condition that he and his business was
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not to be named because he fear's retaliation from the government.
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One of the workers was deported to Guatemala and another
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remains in detention. He said. It's already hard enough to
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run a small business, said the shop owner, an immigrant
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from Mexico. We've barely been open in recent months. This
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hurt a lot. The owner has faced no charges, finds,
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or other contact from ICE since the raid, he said,
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but the local Latino community avoids his shop now, and
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he and his wife had lost sleep worrying about whether
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the business can survive. He also worries that his rights
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were violated because of ICE's refusal to show a war
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DHS did not respond to questions about how many workplace
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raids have led to charges against employers. In April, is
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Aknounstead had arrested more than a thousand workers who were
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in the country illegally during Trump's first one hundred days,
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and proposed a more than one million dollars in fans
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against businesses that exploit and higher illegal workers. A Justice
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Department spokesperson said in his statement that under President Trump
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and Attorney General Bondi's leadership, the Department of Justice will
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enforce federal immigration laws and hold bad actors accountable when
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they employ illegal aliens in violation of federal law. An
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American business. On June twenty second, Customs and Voter Protection
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agents in masks, sunglasses, and bulletproof vest pulled up in
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unmarked cars at Bubble Bath and car Wash in Torrance, California,
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chasing workers into a car wash tune marked with employees
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and clients only signs. Video shop by a bystander shows
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the agent pushing one worker's head into a gate. DHS
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Assistant Secretary Trisia McLachlin said he was trying to escape
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and was not injured. The car wash owner, Emanuel karm
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Nicola Cruz, said his request to CEO warrant were repeatedly denied.
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Security visio of the incident obtained by the Post shows
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an agent pushing him into the tunnel. They weren't answering
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any of my questions. Nicola Cruz said, I feel like
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my rights were one hundred percent violated. I fell absolutely,
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absolutely betrayed. We have American flags all over the property.
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We are an American business. Seventy miles to the north
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in Ventura County, Marine McGuire, chief executive of the local
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Farm Bureau, said ICE agents swept through more than a
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dozen farms and packing houses last months. They arrested multiple workers,
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but left after farmers requested see proof of judicial warrants.
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She said those incidents and others have left some small
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business owners convinced the work work site operations are aimed
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at increasing the administration's goal of arresting three thousand migrants
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a day, rather than targeting public safety threats or investigating
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owners engaged in a criminal enterprise. In several raids, armed
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offices have been recorded moving in quickly surrounding workers, and
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questioning them about their emigration status. In other cases, the
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demand to see an ID. While workers do not have
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to comply unless agents present a warrant, many do, said
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Jennifer Martinez, a labor an employment attorney at the Hanson
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Bridget's law firm in California. People cooperate because they are scared.
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They worry things could get violent, she said. Several of
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the tactics have alarmed immigrant and labor rights groups. ICE
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agents have been serving notices in person that officials are
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auditing whether a company's employees have permission to work in
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the United States. Although serving these notices does not give
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ICE the authority to search and enter private areas of
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a work site, agents have intercepted workers attempting to flee
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after their arrival. The Trump administration has also asked courts
23:47
for special warrants that allow immigration officers to enter and
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search businesses without identifying who they are looking for. These warrants,
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known as Blacke's warrants, allow immigration of fees is to
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seek out underdocumented workers without having their names, a typical
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requirement for judge issued search warrants. Speaking about warrants more broadly,
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mcgloblin said it was not a new practice for ICE
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to ask for one without naming specific workers. Blackie's warrants
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in particular, have rarely been used under recent administrations, and
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some judges have found they failed to meet the requirements
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of the Fourth Amendment protecting individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.
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Jesse Hahn, a senior attorney at the National Immigration Law
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Center and Advocacy nonprofit, said ICE is trying to make
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an end run around the legal requirements that find law
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enforcement in line with the broader trend of abusing executive powers,
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ishes and taco trucks. On June tenth, ICE conducted a
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work site rate of Glenn Valley Foods, a meat production
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plant in Omaha, as part of an investigation into identity theft.
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According to a news release, the raid resulted in an
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arrest of more than seventy people working illegally. Chad Hartman,
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president of Glen Valley food said in an interview that
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he was taken by surprise, especially because he said the
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business had an one nine and I nine inspection this
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year and participated in e Verify, an online service designed
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to help employers confirm work eligibility. Hartman described hearing a
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loud knock and said he was hinted a federal search
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warrant as ICE agents entered. When they opened the door,
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you saw armed officials in bulletproof vest everybody. They've got
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masks on. It was just shocking, he said. Hartman said
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DHS later informed him that Glenn Valley Foods would not
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face charges or fines because they had follow the law.
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He noted that Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, described
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Glenn Valley Foods as a victim, but added that there's
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no winner in this. There's also the victim of the
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person that got their identities stolen, and arguably there's a
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victim in the family members that are left to figure
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out how to make ends meet when the family member
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who is the brand winner is not able to support them.
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There's tragedy all around, Hartman said. ICE announced in March
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that John Washburn, General meninger of San Diego Powder and
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Protective Coding in El Cajoune, was charged with conspiracy to
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harbor aliens after employing undocumented workers. The Justice Department said
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this month that Washburn pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
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one year probation and thirty hours of community service. The
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current Trump administration appears on track to exceed the number
27:13
of worksite arrest made in the initial two years of
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his first term. The National Immigration Laws Center estimated in
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twenty nineteen report that more than eighteen hundred workers had
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been arrested in worksite raids since twenty seventeen. Immigration advocates
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also note that Trump committed the twenty seven year prison
27:36
sentence of Shalom Rabashkin, the former chief executive of an
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Iowa meet packing plant that was raided under President George W. Bush.
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In parenthesis, Rubashkin's immigration charges were dismissed, but he'd been
27:52
convicted of financial fraud. The administration has claimed it is
27:58
going after the worst of the worst in prioritizing the
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arrest and deplotation of people who are a threat to
28:05
public safety, but former ICE officials said raiding car washes
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and taco trucks is not an effective strategy for reaching
28:13
that goal. This is the exact opposite, said John Sandweg,
28:19
acting ICE director under President Barack Obondam. Under the second
28:24
Trump administration's approach to worksite raids, you are much more
28:30
likely to find non criminals because professional criminals don't work
28:35
at car washes. Typically all right, how Trump's media war
28:42
brought paramount to its nees. Tuesday night, sixteen million dollars
28:49
settlement with Trump followed months of tension between CBS's journalistic
28:55
mission and its corporate interest Sarah Ellison and Jeremy Barr.
29:03
The breaking point came on a Saturday night in the
29:06
middle of May. CBS president George Cheeks called News division
29:12
chief Wendy McMahon with a suggestion, it's probably time. Two
29:19
days later, McMahon announced her departure. The forced resignation marked
29:26
a turning point. The network of Edward R. Morrow, which
29:30
diod against McCarthyism and once defined American broadcast journalism, was
29:35
capitulating to White House pressure at its corporate owner sought
29:40
approval for a lucrative merger. As its corporate owner sought
29:46
approval for a lucrative merger, The cascading effects of President
29:53
Donald Trump's decade long war on the media had helped
29:57
topple McMahon as her corporate bosses struggle to navigate how
30:02
to respond to a lawsuit from a president who had
30:06
fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the press and power In America.
30:14
It's become clear that the company do not and I
30:17
do not agree on the path forward, McMahon wrote to
30:22
her staff just weeks before Bill Owens, the top producer
30:27
at the news divisions prize sixty Minutes, had resigned. On Tuesday,
30:35
CBS's parent company agreed to pay sixteen million dollars to
30:39
settle a lawsuit over the network's editing of a campaign
30:43
interview within Vice President Kamala Harris. The deal makes Paramount,
30:50
which is attempting to complete an eight billion dollars sale
30:54
to Skydance Media, the latest company to pay millions of
30:59
dollars to try aligned entities to avoid punitive government action.
31:06
The money, minus plaintiff's fees and costs, will go to
31:10
Trump's presidential library. Pairman said neither Trump nor a separate
31:15
plaintiff in the case, Representative Ronnie Jackson, Republican of Texas,
31:21
will receive funds directly or indirectly from the company. The
31:26
company agreed that in the future, sixty minutes will release
31:30
transcripts of interviews with presidential US presidential candidates after their
31:36
interviews have aired. The settlement, suggested by the professional mediator
31:42
overseeing the discussions, does not include an apology. The arrangement
31:48
illustrates how a major media institution gave in the pressure
31:52
from the President to protect the business interest of its
31:55
controlling shareholder and avoid what could have become an extended confrontation.
32:02
In the first five months of his second term in
32:05
the White House, Trump has forced similar concessions from universities, Disney,
32:11
which owns ABC news, social media giants, and several top
32:17
law firms. The ultimate outcome for Paramount remains uncertain. The
32:23
Federal Communications Commissioned Chairman Brendan Carr's instigate investigation into CBS
32:31
news coverage still ongoing, and now a guarantee that regulatory
32:36
pressure will subside even if CBS capitulates to Trump's demands.
32:42
The amount of the settlement is the same as Disney
32:45
paid to settle Trump's lawsuit against ABC News. Board members
32:49
at Paramount were loathed to pay more than ABC, partly
32:53
because they were concerned that to do so might open
32:57
them up to sharehold lawsuits or allegations bribery. CBS's coverage
33:03
did not involve any factual errors, and lawyers almost universally
33:07
deemed the legal case unlikely to succeed, but the months
33:12
it would have taken to litigate risks bargain down Paramount's
33:16
proposed deal with Skydance, which David Ellison, the son of
33:21
tech billionaire and Trump ally Larry Ellison controls Cheeks, defended
33:28
this settlement on the call with shareholders Wednesday morning, costing
33:32
such agreements as a common corporate action to avoid the
33:37
high and someone unpredictable cost of legal defense, the risk
33:42
of being mired in uncertainty and distraction. Sambrabroski, president of
33:51
CBS News, thanked employees on Wednesday for blocking at the
33:56
noise from the case. According to The Washington Post, I
34:01
know the fast few months have been very tough and difficult,
34:04
and this has been a major distraction, he said, urging
34:09
employees to lock arms and continue their work throughout the
34:13
litigation and negotiations. Trump delivered steady attacks on the media,
34:18
and sixty minutes Paramount responded by exerting extraordinary scrutinova how
34:24
its news organizations covered the administration. Lawyers for both Paramount
34:30
and Trump were facing a court decline that would have
34:33
compelled the parties to begin exchanging internal documents for discovery.
34:39
According to two people familiar with the discussions who like
34:43
others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of
34:46
anonimity to describe competential conversations. Paramount also planned to make
34:53
significant changes to its board Wednesday, which could have complicated
34:58
a sensitive settlement negotiation. Lawyers worked over the weekend to
35:03
reach a deal and finally clinched it late Tuesday, these
35:06
people said. With this record settlement, President Donald Trump delivers
35:13
another win for the American people as he once again
35:17
holds the fake news media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit,
35:23
said a spokesman for Trump's legal team. What began in
35:27
early October with a promotional clip for a sixty minutes
35:30
episode spiraled into an oppressive environment for news gathering at
35:34
CBS News, according to more than ten staffers at CBS
35:39
and Paramount, in addition to outside banker's lawyers, Trump advisors,
35:44
and other media executives, many of whom spoke on the
35:48
condition of anonymity to describe sensitive deliberations. Origins of the
35:54
CBS case, Trump sued CBS in a court Texas court
36:00
in leaked to October, an alleged of the network harmed
36:04
his election by deceptively editing two separate versions of an
36:08
answer given by Harris during an interview on Sixty Minutes.
36:13
The news magazine show traditionally invites both presidential nominees for
36:19
an interview. Harris agreed, but Trump declined. Harris was interviewed
36:26
on Saturday, October fifth, and sixty Minute staffers scrambled to
36:30
edit and prepare the episode so it could be ready
36:32
to ail Monday evening. In parenthesis, the usual Sunday broadcast
36:38
was preempted that weekend for the American Music Awards. In print,
36:44
staffords worked through Saturday night and all day Sunday, continuing
36:48
into Sunday evening. Normally, a promotional clip would be pulled
36:53
from the finished interview show, the time was short when
36:58
CBS's Sunday Morning show faced the nation wanted to use
37:02
a clip to promote Harris's interview. Sixty Minutes approved the
37:06
first part of her response and later selected a different,
37:10
more succinct section of her answer for the next day's show.
37:14
Such editing decisions are common, especially when condensing a lengthy
37:19
interview into a twenty minute television segment. But in the
37:25
fevered weeks before the presidential election, Trump and his supporters
37:29
saw a sinister plot, arguing that CBS had deceptively edited
37:33
the interview to make Harris appear more coherent. Soon after
37:38
the episode aired, Daniel Sir, President of the Center for
37:42
American Rights, a right to leaning public interest law firm,
37:47
found a complaint with the FCC. CBS's editing pulled back
37:52
the curtain on what conservatives believed all along, that they
37:56
were slicing and dicing answers to make certain people look
37:59
as certain way, Sewers said. In an interview, Trump said
38:05
the editing amounted to a brazen attempt to interfere in
38:09
the twenty twenty four US presidential election, and claimed that
38:13
it had violated the Texas Consumer Protection law, intended to
38:17
shield consumers from false advertising and misleading practices. Trump won
38:23
the presidential election in November, undercutting the notion that CBS
38:28
had heard him harmed him, but by then he had
38:32
repeatedly declared his intention to retaliate against media organizations. The
38:38
fake news media should pay a big price for what
38:41
they have done to our once great country, Trump posted
38:45
in September on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded.
38:51
Trump's waw on the press. In the two months before
38:55
the presidential election, Trump attacked the media more than one
38:59
hundred times and public speeches or other remarks. The week
39:03
before election day, Trump threatened to soothe the New York Times,
39:07
and his campaign larned a Federal Election Commission complaint against
39:11
the Washington Post. He demanded equal time from NBC after
39:16
the network featured Harris on Saturday Night Live the week
39:20
before the election. In mid December, ABC News stunned legal
39:25
experts by agreeing to pay fifteen million to Trump's presidential
39:29
foundation to settle a defamation lawsuit with him, along with
39:34
one million in illegal fees and a note of regret.
39:38
Shortly after the settlement, the new president elect declared that
39:41
he had to continue to go after the very corrupt press.
39:47
It cost a lot of money to do it, but
39:49
we have to straighten out the press, he said at
39:52
a news conference at is Maral Largo Club in Florida.
39:57
We knew we were going into this election that we
40:01
could not let the press do what they had done
40:03
the first term. We had to fight in the courts
40:07
and put the media on their back feet, said Trump.
40:11
Aides involved in the legal campaign. Sherry Redstone, Paramount's chair
40:17
and controlling shareholder, was increasingly weighing in through cheeks on
40:22
the news that put of CBS in sixty minutes in January.
40:26
She had objected to CBS executive was about a sixty
40:29
minute segment on Israel's war and Gossom appoint a particular
40:34
interest for her, and a day later, the company appointed
40:38
Susan Zirinsky, the formacy president of CBS News who was
40:43
close to Redstone, to a new role overseeing standards at
40:47
the news division. In that role, Zorinsky reviewed sixty minute
40:52
segments that she deemed sensitive before they aired. Those segments
40:57
were often politically oriented in evidence involved the president, who
41:02
dominated the news cycle. Producer Owens chafed at the additional
41:07
supervision and the lack of trust it seemed to signal.
41:12
MAGA celebrates as paramount and CBS executive strategized about how
41:18
to resolve their standoff with the President elect. Maga acal
41:22
likes reveled in their wins, one brilliant legal strategy after
41:27
the other. I know it's brilliant because George Stephanopolos is
41:32
paying fifteen million, Stephen K. Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist,
41:38
said at a Manhattan gala in December, drawing cheers and
41:42
applause as he criticized the ABC News host and toasted
41:46
Trump's legal adviser Boris. If sin Boris, I will never
41:53
know how you pull that off. I don't know if
41:55
I want to ask, Trump, whose business career was litted
42:00
with unsuccessful lawsuits, was on a streak. Matta agreed in
42:04
late January to pay him twenty five million to resolve
42:07
a twenty twenty one lawsuit, with twenty two million going
42:11
directly to Trump's presidential library and then remainder covering legal
42:16
fees and payments to other plaintiffs. Elon musks X settled
42:22
with Trump in February for ten million over a decision
42:25
by its previous incarnation. Twitter demanded him from the platform
42:31
over the January sixth, twenty twenty one attack on the
42:33
US Capitol. The FCC's car demanded that CBS release the
42:39
transcript and unedited footage of the Harris interview. CBS did
42:43
so in February, maintaining that it edited and presented the
42:47
interview in line with industry standards. Redstone and CBS executives
42:53
told associates that a settlement could put the dispute behind
42:57
the company, as the merger of approval process the deal
43:01
requires FCC approval, and while the FCC chairs traditionally an
43:06
independent role, Carr wears the gold pen of Trump's face
43:11
on his lapel and has talked glowingly of the president
43:15
and his agenda. He is the first FCC chair who
43:20
has defined his job as doing the president's bidding, said Levin,
43:25
who served as chief of staff to FCC Chairman Reid
43:29
Hunt in the nineteen nineties. Carr did not immediately respond
43:34
to her request for comment pressure from the left, but
43:40
Paramount was also receiving warnings that Trump's lawsuit was not
43:44
the only danger ahead. Lawyers had briefed the board in
43:48
March that given the weakness of the Trump's legal case,
43:53
the company could be on the hook with shareholders unhappy
43:56
with the company paying a president over a fribliss claim.
44:02
The lawyers really scared the board members, said one person
44:06
involved in the negotiations who spoke on the condition of
44:09
anonymity to talk about confidential discussions. Paramount foiled a motion
44:16
in March requesting dismissal of the Trump suit, which the
44:20
company said was on a front to the First Amendment
44:24
that was without basis in law or fact. Internally, CBS
44:30
was adamant the company would not have to pay more
44:32
than ABC News, given that ABC's Sephanopolis had incorrectly said
44:37
Trump was found liable for rape rather than sexual abuse,
44:43
in a civil suit brought by writer E Gen Carroll.
44:47
But Trump's suit, which initially asked for damages of ten
44:51
billion and lead twenty billion, was so far beyond the
44:55
scope of a reasonable figure that negotiations, even with professional mediators,
45:00
dragged on for months. This spring, the two sides discussed
45:05
CBS airing a number of public service announcement as a
45:09
way to come to terms, but distance between them persisted.
45:14
In parentheses, Tuesday's settlement did not include language affect such
45:19
announcements that Trump's team anticipates that a new paramount might
45:24
be more open to such a campaign. In parentheses, Trump's
45:29
lawyers were requesting twenty five million dollars, then close to
45:33
fifty million, while CBS hub at around fifteen million. In April,
45:39
the President took aim at sixty Minutes over its reporting
45:43
on Ukraine and Greenland and said the network should lose
45:46
its license. CBS is out of control at levels never
45:51
before seen, and they should pay a big price for this,
45:55
he wrote on Truth Social executives at Paramount and CBS
45:59
to t note of Trump's complaints, which only served a
46:03
heightened tension inside the organization. Prominent lawmakers on the left
46:08
meanted an effort to apply pressure from the other direction.
46:12
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont,
46:19
and Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon sent a letter to
46:23
Paramount expressing serious concern that the company might be engaging
46:30
in improper conduct involving the Trump administration in exchange for
46:34
approval of its mega merger was Goddance Medium. The senator's
46:40
letter suggested that any settlement would violate bribery laws, noting
46:45
that it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value
46:49
to public officials to influence an official act. If Paramount
46:54
officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement
46:59
to influence Vice President Trump or other administration officials, they
47:03
may be breaking federal Paramount appears to be attempting to
47:09
appease the administration to secure merger approval, the senators wrote.
47:16
The senators had previously joined six colleagues in a May
47:19
sixth letter urging Redstone not to settle the lawsuit, calling
47:24
it an attack on the United States Constitution and the
47:28
First Amendment. This Patterson pattern of corporation sacrificing their journalist
47:34
and news divisions to make Trump happy is just horrifying,
47:39
Widen told The Post. The CBS settlement, he said, looks
47:44
like just a pure and simple cellow. At least one
47:49
Paramount shareholder had threatened to file a lawsuit against the
47:53
company's board of directors over the settlement. Seth Stern, director
47:58
of agivist CASSI The Freedom of the Press Foundation, sent
48:02
a letter to Redstone on May twenty third, putting her
48:06
on notice of pending edigation and requesting that she preserved
48:11
all communications related to a potential agreement with Trump. It's
48:16
not a comfortable situation for us to be sending a
48:19
legal letter to a company that operates the news outlet,
48:22
but we're here to protect the rights of journalists, not
48:26
to protect Sherry Redstone. Stern told The Post. Democrats in
48:32
the California Senate launched their own probe an unusual instance
48:36
of state level oversight of media industry decisions. Their senators
48:41
in Stern did not receive responses from Redstone, and the
48:46
company bosses appear to agree with Trump that he held
48:49
the cards. One of the final confrontations that MacMahon, soon
48:54
to be out as head of the news division, had
48:57
with CBS executives came in many cheeks. The president of
49:01
the network had taken what mac mahon perceived as an
49:04
unusual interest In a sixty minute segment on Trump's efforts
49:09
to pressure law firms that had opposed him in court.
49:12
Mac mahon refused suggestions she saw as intrusions, including one
49:17
that she preempted the episode with live programming. It ultimately
49:22
ran as scheduled in the fall, but the bigger battle
49:26
seemed lost. Media tycoons who had once opposed the president
49:31
were renewing ties and shifting editorial policies. Companies were opting
49:36
for financial settlements over editorial battles, even when they believed
49:40
they could prevail in court. Many, like CBS, had financial
49:45
incentives that went beyond the news divisions. In June, when
49:50
asked about the state of the Paramount deal, Trump told
49:54
reporters that David Ellison, who would leave the joint company,
49:58
would do a great job. Many observers took that as
50:02
a sign that Trump anticipates that the deal will go through.
50:08
Going into this section. I think this is an interesting
50:11
article as I only have eight minutes left. GOP tax
50:16
bill includes a six thousand dollars senior deduction. Here's who qualifies.
50:23
The provision emerged from President Donald Trump's campaign pledged to
50:27
end taxes on Social Security, but experts say many are excluded.
50:33
By Jeff Stein, the tax bill approved by Senate Republicans
50:38
on Tuesday includes a proposed six thousand dollars deduction for seniors,
50:43
the legislative version of President Donald Trump's twenty twenty four
50:46
campaign pledged to end taxes on Social Security payments. The
50:51
new deduction is one of the flashiest provisions in the
50:55
Trump tax legislation, and the White House has been eager
50:58
to tote it as a major economic benefit for American
51:01
sixty five or older. But the provision would not benefit
51:05
tens of millions of low income seniors, and it would
51:09
hasten the date by which the Social Security Trust Fund
51:12
runs out of money. According to non Protestant estimates, under
51:17
current law, most taxpayers claimed the standard deduction of fifteen
51:22
thousand or thirty thousand dollars for couples to reduce their
51:27
tax liability. Though the GOP tax bill would increase these
51:32
amounts slightly. Additionally, seniors already qualify for an additional deduction
51:38
of two thousand dollars or thirty six hundred for couples.
51:43
The Senate bill would create a third category that give
51:47
seniors an additional six thousand or twelve thousand for couples
51:51
off their taxable income, provided they are below a certain
51:56
income threshold. Seniors earning more than seventy five five thousand
52:00
per year or one hundred and fifty thousand for couples
52:04
would start to see a smaller deduction, which gradually diminishes
52:09
and then disappears for those earning more than one hundred
52:12
and seventy five thousand or two hundred and fifty thousand
52:15
for couples. Benefits for lower income seniors would be limited
52:20
as well, because most do not have sufficient tax liability
52:24
to claim the new deduction. In twenty twenty two, the
52:28
median income for seniors was roughly thirty thousand dollars according
52:32
to federal data, which is similar to the existing standard deduction.
52:38
That means roughly half of Americans age sixty five or
52:41
older would not benefit from the new Trump provision. Although
52:45
senior's median income had increased since twenty twenty two. Experts
52:50
say the policy, which would not apply to retirement benefit
52:55
recipients ages sixty two to sixty four, is set to
52:59
cause to be ninety billion dollars over four years and
53:03
closer to two hundred and fifty billion if made permanent,
53:07
according to estimates from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
53:11
While not a dominant share of the overhauled tax package,
53:16
the provision is still among the more expensive individual items
53:20
in the legislation. The host version of the tax bill
53:24
set the new senior deduction at four thousand dollars, but
53:28
it's unclear if that of the Senate six thousand dollars
53:31
proposal will make the final bill. This is going to
53:36
be a meaningful tax cut that will help seniors in
53:39
the upper middle class, said Mark Goldwing, Senior vice president
53:44
of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan organization.
53:50
While it may be pitched as going to low income seniors,
53:54
low income seniors don't pay taxes already. Is pushed back
54:01
against criticism of the proposal and argued it will fulfill
54:04
Trump's campaign promise to end taxes on social Security during
54:09
the twenty twenty four election, Trump endorsed several similar policies,
54:13
including an end to taxing tips, that antagonize conservative tax experts,
54:19
but were designed to increase the political appeal of tax reform.
54:24
The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers historic tax relief to
54:29
seniors with a new tax deduction that, combined with other deductions,
54:34
ensures the average Social Security beneficiary will pay zero taxes
54:39
on Social Security, the White host said in the statement. Still,
54:44
the provision has also faced criticism for exacerbating the already
54:48
grim financial look for Social Security, even though it doesn't
54:53
directly touch the structure of the program. That's because Social
54:57
Security benefits are partially taxable under current law, and the
55:01
revenue from those taxes as funnel into the program's trust
55:05
fund that then disperses benefits By reducing the amount of
55:10
income that seniors o taxes on, the new deduction would
55:14
shrink the share of Social Security benefits subject to taxation,
55:18
lowering the revenue flowing into the trust to funds. The
55:23
One Big Beautiful Bill, the name the Republicans have given
55:27
the twenty twenty five legislative package, would move up the
55:31
Social Security Trust Fund's exhaustion date by about one year
55:35
from twenty thirty three to twenty thirty two, according to
55:39
the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, That is the
55:43
same year today's sixty year olds will reach the program's
55:46
full retirement age, and when today's youngest retirees will turn
55:51
sixty nine. The committee said, among those seniors who would
55:56
qualify for the deduction, the savings would vary significantly based
56:00
on their income and filing status. A couple over age
56:04
sixty five earning one hundred thousand dollars could see their
56:08
taxable income drop twelve thousand dollars worth the deduction, while
56:12
a single filing earning forty thousand might reduce their taxable
56:17
income by only a few hundred dollars. And many seniors
56:21
who are wealthy would probably qualify for the deduction because
56:25
the annual earnings are in the lowest six figures. Taxpayers
56:29
who itemize their returns would also be eligible for the deduction.
56:35
It's essential for middle and upper middle income people. Rich
56:39
people don't get it, and it doesn't do any good
56:42
for lower income people because they already make less than
56:45
the standard deduction before the new senior bonus, said Howard Gleckman,
56:50
Senior fellow at the non partisan Tax Policy Center. Gleckman
56:55
said the deduction is still preferable to Trump's original proposal
56:59
to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, which he said
57:03
would have done far more to benefit wealthier with tyrees.
57:07
That plan would have been far more expensive, probably over
57:11
one trillion dollars according to estimates. There's a significant chair
57:16
of older adults who already pay no taxes. Blackman said,
57:20
pretty good in that sense that this doesn't do more damage,
57:24
but it also really do much good for the people
57:29
who need the most help. And with that, I do
57:33
conclude today's reading for The Washington Post for Saturday of
57:38
third Thursday is this Thursday, the third of July of
57:44
twenty twenty five. I hope everybody has a very nice
57:49
Fourth of July weekend. It is hot. Please stay hydrated,
57:54
and I am going to go have to get out
57:56
and cut my grass because it grew with the storms
58:00
over the weekend. Everybody, take care. I'll be back on Saturday.
58:06
Please continue listening to programming on RADIOI and I went
58:10
by the offices yesterday. They are very nice and I
58:14
am so proud of how RADIOI has continued to grow
58:18
during this period of transition. Take care by