Latest / Brian Thomas / Judge Napolitano

Transcript

Judge Napolitano · Brian Thomas

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: It is 8.30 here at 55KRC, the talk station. Always
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: a great time. Wednesdays at 8.30, we get the brilliance
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  Speaker 1: of Judge Anapolitano, a defender of the Constitution. Judge Anapolitano,
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  Speaker 1: what I mentioned yesterday, and welcome back to the morning show.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I've got a lot of people in my listening audience,
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  Speaker 1: as you know, critical of Congressman Thomas Massey. We can
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  Speaker 1: talk about the Hegseth issue, but more fundamentally, angry because
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  Speaker 1: he's been a thorn in the side of a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people in the name of supporting the Constitution. Someone
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  Speaker 1: accused him of not being patriotic relative to some of
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  Speaker 1: the decisions he's making, a Mr. No. And I said, no,
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  Speaker 1: I think you can argue that Congressman Massey is the
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  Speaker 1: most patriotic person because even though it causes him to
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  Speaker 1: suffer slings and arrows and he interferes with expedience in
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  Speaker 1: the name of defending the Constitution, he is at least
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  Speaker 1: someone you can always count on to defend the supreme
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  Speaker 1: law of the land. Too few people care about defending
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  Speaker 1: the supreme law of the land. And it can be tough.
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  Speaker 1: Everyone cares.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, Brian, good morning. Everyone in the Congress, well, everyone
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  Speaker 2: in the government, from a school board janitor to the
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  Speaker 2: president and everybody in between, including yours truly, has taken
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  Speaker 2: an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Thomas
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  Speaker 2: Massey is the greatest defender of the Constitution's words and
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  Speaker 2: value in the modern era. I'll say it again. Thomas
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Massey is the greatest, most consistent defender defender of the
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  Speaker 2: Constitution's words and values in the modern era. The Republicans
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: were foolish to have tabled the resolution to impeach Hegseth.
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  Speaker 2: The resolution was brilliantly crafted, articulately presented, and legally sound.
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  Speaker 2: And we'll be going through this again in January when
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  Speaker 2: the Democrats have their 100-vote majority in the House of
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: Representatives and their 10 or 11 vote majority in the Senate.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: What Hegseth has done is not only a violation of
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  Speaker 2: the Constitution and federal law, it's a war crime. But
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  Speaker 2: here's the question. Does impeaching a cabinet officer adequately address
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the underlying problem of how to address orders given by
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  Speaker 2: the president that are unconstitutional and illegal. It doesn't.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't. Well, and, you know, you got to make
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  Speaker 1: the counter argument to what Massey did is, well, look,
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  Speaker 1: every president since FDR has been waging unconstitutional, unapproved wars
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  Speaker 1: that didn't pass through Congress. I mean, and, you know,
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  Speaker 1: if you want to look at the War Powers Resolution
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  Speaker 1: from 1973, which, again, I think you and I believe
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  Speaker 1: is an unconstitutional delegation of what's written in the Constitution.
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  Speaker 1: We're still past that. And other presidents have never, didn't
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  Speaker 1: even have to contend with the War Powers Resolution because
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  Speaker 1: it preceded them. But year after year, presidency after presidency,
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  Speaker 1: they've all been doing this. So, you know, I guess
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  Speaker 1: Heg's retort is it's not an unlawful order. I'm just
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  Speaker 1: following through with what generals and military officials have been
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  Speaker 1: following through since, I don't know, Eisenhower.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, that. I guess he didn't study Nuremberg at Princeton.
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  Speaker 1: I was waiting for that.
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  Speaker 2: Of course, I can say that, having graduated from the
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  Speaker 2: same university 20 years before he did. That, of course,
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  Speaker 2: is an inadequate defense. You know, there's a statute here
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  Speaker 2: rarely cited, the War Crimes Act, a Clinton-era statute, which
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  Speaker 2: makes war crimes a federal crime. The president can pardon
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  Speaker 2: the federal crime, but he can't pardon the war crime,
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  Speaker 2: meaning Hegseth could be prosecuted anywhere in the world for
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  Speaker 2: the rest of his life if he chooses to leave
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  Speaker 2: the United States and go to a country that decides
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  Speaker 2: to prosecute him for war crimes. Now, the impeachment is
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  Speaker 2: not a prosecution. It's a political event.
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  Speaker 1: It.
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  Speaker 2: It doesn't impair his freedom. It doesn't take his assets.
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  Speaker 2: It just kicks him out of office and prevents him
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  Speaker 2: from occupying an office again. Prediction, he'll be impeached and
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  Speaker 2: convicted in the new Congress. He's upset too many Republicans
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  Speaker 2: who want a change.
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  Speaker 1: So relative to the war crime here, I guess Hegseth's
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  Speaker 1: Response should have been when directed to, oh, I don't know,
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  Speaker 1: blow up drug boats in the waters south of us
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  Speaker 1: or engage in military strikes against the Iranians, decapitate the
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  Speaker 1: Iranian government. Should have been, I quit?
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  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes. And then after he quit, he should have
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  Speaker 2: stated the reasons why. Admiral Halsey quit, but didn't state
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  Speaker 2: the reasons why because of a quirk in the Uniform
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  Speaker 2: Code of Military Justice statement. which could subject him to
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  Speaker 2: discipline even after he retires from his four stars. Admiral
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  Speaker 2: Halsey was asked to be in charge of the speedboat killings. So,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, Congressman Massey has everything in there. The speedboat killings,
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  Speaker 2: the speedboat killings of survivors of the speedboat killings, the
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  Speaker 2: triple tap on the girls' school, meaning They blew a
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  Speaker 2: hole in the roof, and then they sent two more
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  Speaker 2: firebombs through the hole to burn everything down, and they
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  Speaker 2: knew or should have known that it was a school.
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  Speaker 2: The kidnapping of Maduro, the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure
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  Speaker 2: in Tehran, all of this is in there. I don't
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  Speaker 2: know if Congressman Massey wrote this or had legal assistance,
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  Speaker 2: but it is beautifully, thoroughly, and legally... I mean, I
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  Speaker 2: watched them for an hour. I could have read it,
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  Speaker 2: but I was fascinated watching my hero. I watched him
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  Speaker 2: for an hour and 45 minutes on PBS, reading into
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  Speaker 2: the record every word of these eight articles of impeachment.
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  Speaker 2: They'll all be resurrected, not by him, but by a
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  Speaker 2: Democrat in January.
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  Speaker 1: Well, doesn't tabling it ensure that it will be brought
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  Speaker 1: back up in the next Congress?
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  Speaker 2: No, tabling it allows it to be brought back up
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  Speaker 2: in this Congress if the committee to which it was
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  Speaker 2: sent decides to review it. But that committee is the
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  Speaker 2: House Judiciary Committee, whose chair was just named the minority
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  Speaker 2: leader on the floor of the House in the new Congress.
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  Speaker 2: He's not going to convene that committee. It's Jim Jordan.
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  Speaker 2: He's not going to convene that committee for this purpose.
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  Speaker 2: So tabling it effectively kills it. until it is reintroduced
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  Speaker 2: in the new Congress, obviously by somebody else, because our friend,
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  Speaker 2: Congressman Massey, will not be, regrettably, most regrettably, will not
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  Speaker 2: be in the new Congress.
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  Speaker 1: Do you suspect that Democrats would get cold feet moving
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  Speaker 1: forward with this, and considering the majorities that they now have,
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  Speaker 1: it maybe presumably would pass, but Doesn't that pose a
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  Speaker 1: pesky challenge, recognizing that someone like their own guy, Barack Obama,
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  Speaker 1: did exactly the same kind of thing when he was
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  Speaker 1: president and committed war crimes?
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: It does, but I think they're going to go after
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: Peg Seth, a person I wrote about this morning, Attorney
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  Speaker 2: General Blanche, for the reasons I wrote about him, and
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  Speaker 2: RFK Jr. I think they're going to go after those three. Now,
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  Speaker 2: RFK Jr. made some statements last night which lead me
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: to believe he's going to resign very soon. Blanche is
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: not going to resign unless he's disbarred, something that may
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: happen in New York City where he's being prosecuted. You
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  Speaker 2: won't see this in the papers, but he's being prosecuted
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  Speaker 2: for ethics violations, which essentially involved just what I wrote about,
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  Speaker 2: being the president's lawyer while he's also the attorney general.
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  Speaker 2: So I don't know how this ends. I mean, as
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  Speaker 2: we know, You can be impeached after you leave office,
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  Speaker 2: but I don't know that they want to spin their
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  Speaker 2: wheels and do that.
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  Speaker 1: Hmm. Well, we live in interesting times, Judge.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, we do.
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  Speaker 1: How about that? Well, Chinese proverb, and it's not a
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: well wish when it's directed someone. Hey, real quick here.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: I commented this morning. Ohio lawmakers lifted the short barrel
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: rifle and suppressor restrictions, much like the federal government previously done.
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  Speaker 1: We had a law on the books in Ohio that,
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  Speaker 1: So in order to now be consistent with what the
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  Speaker 1: federal government is doing, you had to pay a $ 200
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: fee to buy a suppressor or short barrel rifle, register
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  Speaker 1: the firearm. So once the tax was removed, the courts
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  Speaker 1: determined that you could no longer require this registration. So
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  Speaker 1: now Ohio law, if Governor DeWine signs it in law,
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  Speaker 1: is effectively going to make us consistent with that, which
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  Speaker 1: my firearm-owning friends are really appreciative of. But pivoting over,
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  Speaker 1: Texas just went blue to a large degree. They've just filed,
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  Speaker 1: the Democrats have 20-plus gun control bills, including a ban
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  Speaker 1: on the so-called assault rifles, AR-15. Now, this one's pending
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  Speaker 1: before the Supreme Court. Under Bruin, I would argue, you know,
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  Speaker 1: the founding fathers had access to literally any type of
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  Speaker 1: weapon that was available to them. It just happened to
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  Speaker 1: be that the weapon of choice was, Because the technology
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  Speaker 1: was a musket. Of course, they had cannons. But, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I guess a pioneer, a settler, one of the colonists
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  Speaker 1: could have gone out and bought a cannon if they
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  Speaker 1: were able to afford it. And affordability is probably the
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  Speaker 1: biggest challenge. Nobody had cannons. Whatever. The AR-15, I know,
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  Speaker 1: I got more friends that own AR-15s than multiples of them.
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  Speaker 1: It's analogous to having a musket back in the days
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  Speaker 1: of the Revolution. Is there any way the Supreme Court
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  Speaker 1: is going to allow for the banning of a specific
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  Speaker 1: type of rifle because, oh my God, it's black and
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  Speaker 1: it's got a handle on it?
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  Speaker 2: I don't think so, Brian, just from reading the words
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  Speaker 2: that the court has uttered. And, you know, Texas may
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  Speaker 2: have gone blue. Its legislature is still red. I don't
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  Speaker 2: think this is going to happen, or at least one
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  Speaker 2: of the houses is still red. So I don't think
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  Speaker 2: this will happen. Texas is the most pro-gun state union.
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  Speaker 2: These suppressors are still illegal in New Jersey. But if
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  Speaker 2: I go across the river to Pennsylvania or down the Turnpike,
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  Speaker 2: To Delaware, they're perfectly legal.
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  Speaker 1: I'm hoping the Supreme Court just puts a knife and
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  Speaker 1: ends this entire ridiculous discussion.
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  Speaker 2: I'm hoping that before the Republican Congress leaves, they enact
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: universal carry, just like a universal driver's license.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly. Well, for my listening friends, it's the Viramontes v.
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  Speaker 1: Cook County. That's an Illinois case. And Grant v. Higgins
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  Speaker 1: in front of the Supreme Court. They ultimately will decide
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  Speaker 1: whether or not you can ban the ownership of an AR-15,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: among others. Judge Annapolitano, Judging Freedom is your podcast. I
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: encourage my listeners to check it out throughout the week.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Your regular group today on the podcast program?
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Yes, but I do have another person because last week
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: I asked one of my intel friends, does the CIA
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: have income from sources other than the government? Short answer, yes.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: So I have David Hathaway on. David Hathaway is a
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: sheriff of a border county in California, but for 30
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: years was the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration in
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: the southwest part of the United States, arrested CIA agents
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  Speaker 2: for importing drugs. That's what he's going to talk about today.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's appointment listening. If you can't listen live, Judging Freedom,
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: where you get your podcast every week here on the
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: 55 KRC Morning Show, 830s on a Wednesday. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: Judge Ed Napolitano, God bless you, sir, for your time
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  Speaker 1: and your thoughtful analysis. And again, Your words are sometimes
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: quite often difficult to swallow, but somebody's got to defend
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  Speaker 1: the Constitution before it just becomes a notion, a quaint,
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  Speaker 1: old-fashioned notion.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Brian. All the best.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: And to you, sir. 843-55-KRC-D Talk Station.