Taiwan Matters Most

In 2025, Americans lost more than $21 billion to fraud and identity theft. That's why so many people are turning to Aura. Aura helps protect your identity with fraud alerts, dark web monitoring, and up to $5 million in identity theft protection. And if you become a victim, Aura's 24-7 U.S.-based support team is there to help. Don't wait until your identity is stolen. Start your free trial today at Aura.com slash safe. That's Aura.com slash safe. 8th. News, politics, entertainment. This is O'Connor and Company. And it's a beautiful Friday morning as the sun creeps up over the Chesapeake Bay in your nation's capital. It's O'Connor and Company on our flagship station, WMAL. And from the Relief Factor Studios. Good morning. I'm Larry O'Connor, and we've got a busy, busy morning coming up in this hour. We're going to speak with our friend Patrice on Wuka. She's the vice president of economic policy at Independent Women's Forum. We've got some economic numbers this week, some inflation stuff, some job stuff, and we'll sort it all out, especially looking at that. trade deal that's in the works as the president comes back from Beijing, Patrice Honbuka, joining us in just a little bit. Also, Gordon Chang will talk about that summit with Xi Jinping, what was said and what was unsaid. Our friend Sean Spicer will be joining us with a political outlook as it stands here in Washington and around the country as we lead up to the midterms. Also, we've got full coverage, and I do mean full coverage of yesterday's blockbuster hearing featuring Fairfax County Virginia prosecutor, Steve Descano. suffered some withering attacks from Republicans who dare to ask him, hey, how about enforcing the law, pal? How about locking up criminals? How about not releasing violent felons? And how about cooperating on immigration laws, do away with the sanctuary garbage? We're going to show you some of the most volatile moments of that hearing coming up. in mere moments. Also, as the morning develops, we're going to speak with Culley Stimson from the Heritage Foundation. He literally wrote a book about all of these prosecutors that are backed by George Soros and how they're upending law and order in this country. Also, in our third hour, Cheryl Minter, she's the grieving mother of one of the victims of Steve Descano, a woman who was murdered, stabbed to death at a bus stop. by an illegal immigrant who had been in custody 40 times. And that prosecutor, Steve Descano, released him yet again to wreak havoc. on American citizens, and one of them is dead now. Her mother, Cheryl Minter, will join us coming up in the third hour. She was at the hearing yesterday on Capitol Hill, and let's go right to it as it began with Jim Jordan. He's the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Jim Jordan wanted some clear answers to some very simple questions from Mr. Descano.

for not doing his job, for not keeping Virginians safe, for putting his thumb on this. Oh, forget about his thumb. He's jumping up and down like a sumo wrestler on the scale, trying to make sure that the scales of justice tilt in favor of people who are criminals in this country illegally non-citizens who continue to break our laws, our immigration laws, not to mention our violent felon laws against rape, sexual assault, and murder. Should we be outraged at Mr. Descano for that? Absolutely, we should be outraged. But let's not lose sight of the fact that he told the voters exactly what he was going to do. I think we also have a problem with the voters of Fairfax County, Virginia. The Lord knows on this program, which is broadcast right from Washington, D.C. Our antenna is just a few miles away from Fairfax County, Virginia. You all can hear us here. We talked about this guy during the election and during the first recall effort of him and his reelection over and over and over. We told you what his record was. We told you exactly what he was doing. We had guest after guest after guest. Collie Stimson, who is a former prosecutor. He's joining us later in the program. He wrote this book about him. and other prosecutors. If the voters of Fairfax County are now shocked, shocked to find out that gambling is going on here, well, they should look in the mirror. But the real irony here and the delicious moment that we're about to witness is Steve Descano. who should have his A Few Good Men moment. He should pound the table like Jack Nicholson and said, you're damn right, I ordered the code red. He should say, yes, yes, I promised the voters I would do this, and I'm actually fulfilling my campaign promise, but he can't do that. He can't do that because he knows he's violated the law. He knows that he promised the voters that he would violate the law. And now he's under oath in front of a congressional hearing with Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, bearing down on him. And so he has to say one of the most remarkable things I've ever heard a politician admit to, and he's admitting to it under oath. Oh, well, that's just garbage I told the voters. You can't hold that against me. We'll sum it up after this exchange. But just take a listen to this, this bully, this bald-headed, woke, liberal bully. trying to defend the indefensible yesterday. Here we go. My policies do not say that we do not prosecute people because of your policies. Why did you change your website? Because that's not my policy. As I told you, sir, that is a campaign statement that I made before I was commonwealth. It had been up for six years. A week after we send you a letter saying, we want you to come testify, Shazam, you change it. Because I couldn't have. Is that coincidental? Because I could not believe that people were so obtuse that they could not realize what the difference between a campaign statement and an actual office policy. So when you make campaign statements, that's not, those aren't true. You're not being honest with your voters? That's not what I'm saying at all, sir. Sure sounded like it. Sure sounded like it. That's absolutely not. What I'm saying is that when you, when you rate office.

You still haven't told me why you took it down. Because I was hoping to come here to talk about my office policies, not be distracted by a campaign statement that was a year before I was actually Commonwealth Attorney General. And had any cases that were mine. This is almost laughable. This is your policy. You said it right here. You told the voters, if you elect me, I will take into account immigration consequences when making charging and plea decisions. This is my policy. Not what you have in your hand. Oh, okay. So what you said to the voters are not real. Doesn't count. No, sir, what I'm saying is that as an office holder, my office is run by my policy. Your sheriff said you wouldn't prosecute. This guy gets released, kill someone the next day. We start asking about it. You change your website and take down the statements that say you're going to take into account immigration consequences when you decide what you are going to charge. It has been public the entire time I've been in office, sir. So here's what's happening. He's got this campaign promise. And then you actually look at the actions of his office. And his actions of his office where he's releasing willy-nilly, these violent criminals who are in the country illegally, who would face deportation, but he's choosing instead to either dismiss the charges, waive the charges, and not enforce the law, or reduce the sentences and reduce the charges so they can skate through under the radar and not be deported. Which, by the way, those actions of his office actually match the campaign promise. And then you've got a third way. You can follow the piece of paper that he holds up that apparently is an email that he's sent to his staff saying, hey, don't take immigration status into regard when you prosecute criminals. And you're supposed to believe that the email that he's holding up is what the real policy of his office is. Not what he promised the voters and not what he's actually doing. But it's all about the email. The man's a liar. The man's a bully. And the man, well, the man should face criminal prosecution for violating the civil rights of the people of Fairfax County and the people that he arrests. Because if you treat one criminal differently than the other because of their skin color, because of their religion, because of their sex, because of their immigration status, you're violating the civil rights of those people. and you're making Fairfax County a lot more dangerous. All right, more from Congressman Branding Gill, as well as the people who tried to defend this man. That's coming up in a moment. I'm Larry O'Connor. For nearly 3,000 years, Homer's The Odyssey has shaped Western imagination. It tells the story of Odysseus as he faces monsters, shipwrecks, false comforts, and impossible choices on his long journey home. As one of the foundational works of Western literature, Homer's epic is more than mythology. It explores permanent questions about courage, duty, loyalty, family, leadership, temptation, and the search for home. In one of the epic's defining moments, Odysseus rejects the offer of immortality from the goddess Calypso, choosing instead the long and difficult journey home. His decision reveals one of the central themes of the Odyssey that a life of duty, family, and home is greater than a life devoted to comfort or glory. Achilles chose glory. Odysseus chose home.

That's why Hillsdale College has released its newest free online course, The Odyssey. Taught by Professor Benedict Wayland, the course reveals why Homer's masterpiece remains one of the greatest works of Western literature. Find this free course at Hillsdale.edu forward slash start now. The Odyssey from Hillsdale College, go to hillsdale.edu forward slash start now. Here in the Washington area, Fairfax County, it's kind of a behemoth, huge population, huge influence. Same in Maryland and Montgomery County, Prince George's County. Back to Virginia and Prince William County, Loudoun County. But here's the thing. When you focus on just one of those jurisdictions, you have to recognize that the policies that they're struggling with and fighting with from the organized political left, like this prosecutor, Steve Descano, who just got elevated to the national stage yesterday on Capitol Hill, this... is representative all across the entire Washington region and frankly all across this country, whether you're listening right now on our network in Atlanta or in Philadelphia or in Detroit or in Dallas or in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Good morning. I know it's still the middle of the night. You're dealing with this right now. You have the exact same kind of prosecutor funded by the exact same kind of un-American nefarious agents who are trying to get someone like Steve Descano right there in your neighborhood ruining the lives of your citizens to upend our civilization. I'm not overstating the case. When we pass laws... You elect people to enforce those laws, and when the people you elect to enforce those laws, ignore those laws for their own political reasons, that's the beginning of the end of a civilization. Congressman Knott from North Carolina took up the questioning of Steve Descano yesterday. It could not sentence this person to any term over two years. Is that not correct? Sir, I'm so glad you brought the statement. Is that not correct? Well, because I would like to explain, sir. It is correct. And the court rejected it. Sir, I know the case file. I'm talking. It was a judge that was appointed by Senator Warner. This is not a right-wing judge. This is a liberal judge. And you know why he rejected it? Sir, he saw what you should have seen. He cited overwhelming evidence. Can we talk about the evidence, sir? That this person was a threat. I know it and you don't. Quit talking. And I would love to tell you about it. He yanked a four-year-old girl out of her bed with the intent to harm her. And you wanted to give her. A cap of two years. Sir, this is a great example. And then when the plea agreement was rejected, what did you do? Sir, this is a great example. This is a great example of a case. You know, I prosecuted, I prosecuted cases. And when you're evading like that, you know what that's a sign of? Guilt. What did you do? Sir, I dismissed the case.

Sir, can I please talk to about this case if you want to know about it so much? Be quiet. When you dismiss a case, what happens to that defendant? He walks free. Walks free. A disgusting, perverted individual praying on children that you dismissed the case. As the father of two young girls, one of them's five. That is as shameful as anything I have seen. Quit defending the indefensible. You clearly don't. Absolutely not. You dismissed the case and it's shameful. You're a coward. You are a coward. You won't even let me talk to you about the case. It's indefensible, sir. I yield back. So many of you I know hate it when they all talk over each other and shout over each other. I do too, especially on cable news and CNN and what have you. Sometimes a monster deserves to be shouted down. And that's what you just witnessed. Brandon Gill of Texas, one of our favorites, freshman congressman, rising star. He then took up the questioning. Here's Brandon Gill. I want to better understand how you weigh an illegal alien's immigration status whenever you're making charging decisions. Do you know who Ander Jose Cortez is? Are you familiar with that case? Yes, sir. Okay, this is a Guatemalan illegal alien who was arrested in March of 2024. He was initially charged with, quote, carnal knowledge of a 13 to 14 year old. Just for those of us who aren't lawyers, can you describe just very briefly what does carnal knowledge of a 13 to 14 year old mean in this context? Well, sir, generally the... A charge like that would typically refer to underage sex. Okay. So we raped an underage person. An illegal alien who raped an underage American. Your office reduced those charges to a misdemeanor charge of consensual sex with a child, 15 years and older. You offered him a 90-day suspended jail sentence. Is that correct? Sir, based on the evidence that we had in the case? So it is correct. It is correct. And again, Brandon Gill, very good at this and very good at exposing the monster that was sitting before him. Yes, I think he's a monster, Steve Descano. And he's inflicted great pain and great horror on the community of Fairfax County, which, by the way, the illegal immigrants in that county, according to a Cato expert who loves illegal immigration, doesn't want any borders. According to his expert testimony yesterday, he says that 20% of Fairfax County. consists of illegal immigrants or people who are eligible for deportation. That's a big part of the problem. We've got more on this as the morning develops, including experts, and more audio from yesterday. Keep it here. In 2025, the FBI reported that Americans lost more than $21 billion to fraud and identity theft. Identity thieves can steal your social security number, open credit accounts in your name. take over online accounts, and create financial headaches that can take months to fix. Most people don't realize they've been targeted until the damage is already done. That's why more families are turning to Aura. Aura helps protect your identity with fraud alerts, credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, and up to $5 million in identity theft protection. If something does happen, Aura's 24-7 U.S.-based support team can help guide you through the recovery process. You also get a VPN.

Antivirus Protection, password manager, and scam protection, all in one app. Don't wait until you're a victim. Protect yourself and your family today. Start your free trial at Aura.com slash safe. That's A-U-R-A-U-R-A-com slash safe. 33 minutes after the hour on O'Connor Company. Good morning. I'm Larry O'Connor. And on Fridays, we always like to check in with a friend of this program and absolute sparkling light on the political commentariat in Washington, D.C. She is the director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at Independent Women's Forum. Patrice, I'm Wuka. And Patrice, I want you to comment on the president's... summit in Beijing and what might end up happening with China and trade and all that jazz. But first, good morning, a good Friday to you. Yes, good Friday. Can I sneak in a friday? Absolutely. You could always throw a friday our way. Happy Friday. Patrice, we were just talking about Steve Descano, this prosecutor who doesn't prosecute crimes, especially when it comes to illegal immigrants. And you are a legal immigrant to this country, born in a foreign nation, but now happily, legally, a American citizen. I'd love for you to comment on a little bit more that happened here. First, here's this guy from the Cato Institute trying to make a case about how important it is to upend our immigration laws and protect people who have broken those immigration laws here. Take a listen to this. The first step would be to give up on the mass deportation fantasy. About one in five Fairfax residents is someone who could be deported or who lives with them. It would destroy neighborhoods, rip Americans away from their spouses, parents, friends, families, customers, employees, employers, nurses, nannies, and teachers. Let me be clear. Yeah, that's a little bit of a deceptive stat there. One in five could be deported or live with someone that could be deported. That's the doubles in the details. But Petries, you live in this area. You are a woman. You're a mother. As I said, you're a legal immigrant. This guy is stating the case that because so many illegal immigrants live in the area, we just need to give up on the idea of enforcing the law. How do you respond? I think that's absolutely irresponsible, Larry. I mean, listen, I understand Cato is very libertarian and they don't believe in borders or they don't, they believe that we're all one great world nation. I don't. There's a reason why my family spent a lot of money. sold everything we had to move to the United States with two suitcases of clothes. And when we stepped out of the plane in Washington, D.C. over 40 years ago, my parents did that, leaving everything behind because they wanted to embrace everything that America had here. But they would not do it unless America was willing to accept us. And they did that by, they're accepted by going through the legal process of coming, applying, gaining residency, and then eventually gaining citizenship. And, you know, what I, it's sad when you consider.

that immigrant communities very often are the targets of the illegal immigration, of the public safety issues. When you get hit in, when you get your car gets rammed in your neighborhood by somebody who is here illegally, who should not be driving, who should not have a license, more than likely, it's one of the neighbors whose car gets rammed. And obviously there's no insurance there, so you are footing that bill. But we've even seen the worst scenarios where women, young women are... are disappeared in the left vernacular. They are raped. They are murdered. They're abused. And so these crimes would not happen if these individuals were not in this country illegally. And people don't want to admit that. But there would be a lot of a crime that would not be occurring in particular neighborhoods. Have we actually been serious about legal immigration versus illegal immigration? Well, listen, when a Democrat elected official looks at these illegal immigrants, all they see is the accumulation of power. They see their physical presence in that district as something that props them up and keeps them in power, either through illegal votes or just through appropriation and census. Cato, they look at these people as dollar signs. This is labor to be exploited and to hell with the consequences, to hell with law and order, and to hell with victims of violent crime. So I think that you very properly call them out on that as somebody who was affected by all of these policies. But let's move to the former. Let's move to a Democrat, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington. She tried to grandstand here and, as usual, blur the lines between illegal immigration and legal immigration. by trying to pull the heartstrings of those of us who do have quite a bit of sympathy for people like you who go through the legal process. So watch this moment in the hearing, take a listen, and then we'll comment. If you're willing, would you please stand up if you're from Fairfax County? Wow, a lot of you. And please remain standing if you support immigrants and support policies that make sure that everyone feels safe in calling 911. Yeah, so that's just an insufferable deceitful lie because the suggestion is you need these sanctuary laws that... frankly, do not prosecute people for violating our law because illegal immigrants who are the victims of crime will not report those crimes. Now, that's just a lie. But by using that platform to reinforce that lie, she's basically putting illegal immigrants in this framework of terror. Like she's communicating to illegal immigrants. You better not call 911. I mean, you tell me, but I find that to be absolutely demonic. You know, it's wrong. Because you know what? In immigrant communities, I grew up in the hood when we moved to this country over 40 years ago. It was a dangerous neighborhood. And we actually didn't have the kind of police presence that was needed in that neighborhood. There are a lot of my neighbors who were black Americans and a lot who were black immigrants like my family. And we would have appreciated having the police. We would have appreciated being able to call 911 and know that someone would be there quickly to be able to stop the crime that was happening.

You know, I hate this obfuscation. Sorry, I can't get it out today, Larry. I hate when they blur the lines between legal and illegal immigrants because we are different. And yes, hey, I understand people want to come here for opportunity, but it doesn't give them the right to jump the line. I have family members who's processing their applications are almost a decade in the waiting right now, and they are choosing. to continue to stay at home until the U.S. government says, hey, come, we want to welcome you the legal way. And so we are not all the same. And it's important that all immigrants, you know, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants stand up for the fact that they have gone through the process and gone through what it takes to actually become a part of this country. You know, what happens with mass deportations? I actually think it's a good thing where we're getting rid of those who are here, causing trouble, creating violence. in creating public safety hazards. You also have to prove that you can afford to keep yourself and your family here. That public charge is a really important part of the issue because as we've seen in blue states, blue cities, Larry, there are a lot of communities that have been overwhelmed the illegal immigrants under the Biden administration and that is taken away from resources, meager resources that a lot of black communities, for example, have been long waiting for. You know, kids have pushed out of their base. all fields because that had to become areas for illegal immigrants to hang out and to be clustered together. It's wrong. And so we need to deal with the illegal immigrant problem. Well, so let's continue to pull on that string, if you don't mind, because Petri Samuq is our guest. She's with Independent Women's Forum and Petries, you are an immigrant. You're also a black woman. That doesn't communicate to everybody listening on the radio. So I just want to reinforce that. Because, well, because when Pramila Jayapal does this, she believes that she is appealing to people of color. She believes politically that she is creating some gotcha moment for, you know, those MAGA white conservatives who were trying to persecute because they're racist people of color. But so you can wear all these hats at the same time. You're a black woman and you're part of the black community affected by illegal immigration, but you're also a legal immigrant affected by illegal immigration. Does this work? This worked, I think, 20 years ago. Does it work today? No. No, it worked maybe in 2016. It did not work in 2020 and especially did not work in 2024. As Larry, we saw the splintering within the black community as the president's approval or his poll numbers with blacks rose 8%. And what's going on here? You were starting to see the rift between black immigrants and black Americans. And a lot of black Americans feel that black immigrants have come to this country separating the legal or the illegal and are somehow taking their opportunity. So that's a whole fight within itself. But when it comes to illegal immigration, we understand economically that illegal immigration undercuts the lowest wage workers and who are the lowest wage and highest unemployed worker demographic black.

workers, particularly black men. And so I think a lot of blacks are understanding, hey, illegal immigration is not helping me economically. It's taking resources away. I mean, look at Chicago where you have a lot of black voters saying, we've been demanding resources for our community for decades. And you policy, you Democrats have told us there's no money for our community centers. There's no money for our kids. Yet you're giving these illegal immigrants debit cards with thousands of dollars on there to go and spend or giving them apartments that we can't get. Thank you. So I think you're seeing that a lot of black Americans are saying, okay, we're going to start sitting this conversation out because we realize you are unempowering us economically through illegal immigration and also diluting our votes through illegal immigration. So another moment happened at this hearing. Thank you for that, Patrice. Let's talk about the criminal aspect of this because we've discussed this story. It's made news nationally, if not internationally. Stephanie Minter, a 40-year-old woman taking the bus home, was pursued by an illegal immigrant who had been arrested over 40 times. She was then stabbed to death when she got off the bus and murdered. Her mother, Cheryl Minter, and we've interviewed Mrs. Minter on this program, Patrice, absolutely heartwring. And she's going to be joining us later in the show in our third hour because she was at the hearing yesterday. I want you to listen to this. Steve Descano, this prosecutor, who let her daughter's murderer walk free. He came into the hearing room and walked right past Mrs. Minter without saying a word, without shaking her hand, without holding her hand. He's never spoken to this woman before, ever. He sits there and then when it's time for him to give his statement, then he grandstands and pretends like he cares about this woman. Here, take a listen to this. Ms. Minter. I am deeply sorry for your loss. And I say that not only as a prosecutor, but as a parent of a daughter, I am sorry for what you are having to endure. And I promise that my office is doing everything we can to prosecute the man responsible. Of course, his office did everything that they could to make sure that the man responsible was free to do what he did when they could have certainly prosecuted him. This is really where it hits home, the crime aspect and the victims, the victims who were law-abiding American citizens, many of them immigrants. And do you think this issue is a political issue for this upcoming election? Will it make a difference and move the needle in some places around this country? Well, if the economic issues are not front and center, then you start to get at the cultural wedge issues. And illegal immigration is one of those cultural wedge issues that have motivated voters in the 2020 cycle, Larry, in the 2024 cycle.

And so, you know, I think it can, particularly in local races and statewide races. So in Virginia, for example, you know, you talk about these prosecutors. You talk about the fact that Governor Abigail Spanberger has been unwilling and is, you know, going against federal enforcement of illegal immigrants, you know, ensuring that ICE cannot apprehend these dangerous criminals in places that would not risk public safety. I don't want to see ICE apprehending people at a school yard. They don't have to if they can take them out of the local jails when they're being transported. Do away with the sanctuary policies. It'll make it very safe. All right. Stay with us, Patrice, because you did a big caveat there, if the economic issues aren't front and center. So we'll talk about the economic issues and the president's trip to China with Patrice San Wuka. Coming up in just a moment. You know, so many people out there are living with everyday pain. They think they're just stuck with it. It is what it is. But it doesn't have to be. I want to tell you about George from Oregon and his relief factor story. George is a hardworking guy, spends 10 hours a day on a garbage truck. It's a tough job made even tougher because he was dealing with a sore right knee that wouldn't bend. But the amazing part is George started taking relief factor and it changed his life. He said, I can bend my knee again and with very little pain. And I had a similar experience with Relief Factor. I was sore after running that Marine Corps marathon last year, and my recovery was way, way better and eased because of Relief Factor. If you're living with aches and pains, see how Relief Factor, a daily drug-free supplement can help you feel and live better every day. Get their three-week quick start. Try it out at ReliefFactor.com. or column, it's 800 the number four relief. Relieffactor.com, 800, the number four, relief. In 2025, Americans lost more than $21 billion to fraud and identity theft. That's why so many people are turning to Aura. Aura helps protect your identity with fraud alerts, dark web monitoring, and up to $5 million in identity theft protection. And if you become a victim, Aura's 24-7 U.S.-based support team is there to help. Don't wait until your identity is stolen. Start your free trial today at Aura.com slash safe. That's Aura.com slash safe. Larry O'Connor here from our flagship station, WMAO in Washington, D.C., where longtime listeners of this program know that Friday is my day to hang with my Friday radio pal. Patrice On Wuka from Independent Women's Forum. She's a economic guru. And Patrice, you know the drill here. I ask you what's going on with the economy and then... I get to go take a coffee break while you actually sound very smart and deliver all the information. But I'm going to stick around and listen this time because it's not just numbers. This is about negotiations. This is about the president representing America's interests in China. This was a big, big trip to Beijing. What's your overall impression of how the president did and whether America benefits from these negotiations?

Well, I thought President Trump was measured. He was constrained. He was friendly but firm. And I think those are really important because you didn't see him go off script. You didn't see him say anything or frankly even take the bait when President G tried to give the America a slight by calling us a declining nation. And President Trump kind of turned it around later on and said, oh, he must be talking about during the previous administration under Sleepy Joe Biden. But this was an opportunity, I think, to set the relations. as, you know, kind of a strategic stability between the two nations. understanding we're going to be rivals, but we also have to work together because both countries see the value in opening markets to each other's goods. I mean, particularly China wants to get access to the United States, but U.S. companies, and don't forget, folks, we had 17 CEOs of major corporations, including ex-buddy back in the good heirs of the president, Elon Musk, joining the president for some real deals. And coming out of his trip, we actually did get one pretty big deal, which was Boeing, getting an order for 200 planes from China. So, you know, I think President Trump is leaving with good relations. Taiwan is still up in the air, and obviously the Strait of Hormuz is still up in the air. But hopefully, you know, that's all going to be worked out because China needs that straight reopen even more than we do. Yeah, they do. And at the same time, I don't know if the president necessarily wants Xi Jinping to publicly. sort of put pressure on Iran. I mean, it would be nice to see them do that. But I don't know if the president necessarily wants it because he doesn't want to give the impression that we need China to resolve this issue. You know, a lot of people are confused, though, as they look at the stock market, they look at companies' quarterly earnings come in and they're pretty robust and stock prices continue to break records. And they're like, well, wait, how can the stock market be breaking records while we still have this issue with this trade of Hormuz and we still have gas prices high? Can you explain to me why that's happening? So the analysts who are trading, they're thinking about what's going to be happening in the future. I think this week they pushed aside the Iran conflict, just temporarily to recognize that there have been blockbuster corporate earnings this release this week. We also saw that inflation was not good, so I'll hold off on that for a second. But I think that there's a realization that, you know, generally the U.S. economy is going to be stronger from an investment standpoint when it comes to U.S. companies being able to get access to a massive Chinese market. And then, you know, the idea that generally Generally going forward, there could be greater certainty around tariffs with China. And so, you know, that's, I think, what drove the market. We blew through the $50,000 level on the Dow yesterday. S&P 500 was up as well. And so, you know, I think we can continue to see the Dow doing really well, which is good news for your 401K.

So the experts who make money trading on these companies and trading the funds and all that stuff, they know that the Strait of Hormuz issue is a temporary one. They know that it's going to be open eventually. And at that point, everything sort of resets. And I'm going to go ahead and say it. Despite what's going on with the trade and gas prices, the fundamentals of the economy are still sound. It sure seems that way, at least. Let's go ahead. Well, I would just add, because of the one big beautiful bill, folks, the 100% bonus depreciation, which is a corporate tax benefit, is huge for manufacturing, huge for companies to invest that money, that savings into expanding. And that's also what we're seeing. All right. So let's talk about the inflation numbers because they weren't great. But from a layman's eyes, and I'm a layman, you're the expert. This is your degree. This is your expertise. It looked like almost all of it was attributable to the energy costs. Is there more going on there with the inflation numbers than just energy? No. So we saw the consumer price index, which is what we call the inflation rate, rise from 3.4 to 3.8% year over year. And then the producer inflation rate, which is what the manufacturers and the producers also received, that rose 6% year over year. But you dig down lower and you find that almost 50% of the increase in prices is due to gasoline energy prices because of what's going on with Iran. So you take that out. And then a lot of the growth in prices are all... also indirectly affected by gas prices. So, you know, the transportation costs have been going up because diesel fuel is more. You know, just the products that depend on oil to be produced as inputs, those are rising, not surprisingly. So, you know, the sooner that we see this issue resolved and the straight of or most reopened and oil flowing, you know, through the straits. And then the global energy price prices start to come down, then I think it'll be very quickly that you will see that 450 national average drop down at least to $4 and then below. So I'm hopeful that negotiations end pretty soon and that we do have something reached here. For the last five years, Patrice Anwuka has been my Friday partner here on O'Connor & Company. It's always great to talk with you, Patrice. Thanks for giving us your time as always. And a big shout out to Julie Gunlock, who I know is listening right now. Love you, Julie, and we'll see you soon. And there's a lot of all three going on here today. News, politics, and entertainment from the Relief Factory Studios. I'm Larry O'Connor. On your flagship station, WMAO and the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., and all across the country on the Salem Radio Network. Thanks for tuning in to O'Connor and Company. Coming up in just a few minutes, we're going to speak with Sean Spicer. I'll be doing an event in Washington at the Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center tonight. I think there's still like 20 or 30 tickets left if people want to show up. It's a free event. We'll talk about it.

and talk about his book, Trump 2.0, and what this summit means in a political perspective here domestically, that's coming up in about 10 or 15 minutes. Also, later this hour from Heritage Foundation, Cully Stimson, who literally wrote the book about these prosecutors that go rogue, don't enforce the law, make life more miserable and less safe for American citizens. We saw it play out yesterday on Capitol Hill, Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano and Culley Stimson. We'll tell you everything you need to know about that here in D.C. and also wherever you live in this country, because I assure you, you live close to a jurisdiction that has one of these prosecutors who believe they're not supposed to prosecute the law. That's coming up in a bit. But right now, we turn to a friend of the program and a great American Gordon Chang, his book, Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America and the upcoming book, oh, excuse me, also the author of the book, The Coming Collapse of China. and China is going to war. It's Gordon Chang. Gordon, good morning. Thanks for joining us. You've probably been up all night long for the last couple of days tracking the summit in Beijing. Well, certainly, we've been obsessed by, or I've been obsessed with what's going on, because obviously it is important when the president of the United States does anything, it's important. And, you know, people say, well, there's two superpowers meeting. Well, no, there was only one superpower in the room, and it wasn't China. Yeah, so let's talk about this one moment that I think a lot of people are reflecting on. Xi Jinping referred to America. What were the actual words used here? Did he say that America is a country in decline? Is that a direct quote? No. What he was referred to was, and he actually said the Thucydides trap. This refers to the Peloponnesian Wars, ancient Greece. And it's a book by Graham Allison, the Harvard Scholar. And the thesis is that there are usually wars when you have a rising power meets a declining hegemon. So when Xi Jinping talked about the Thucydides trap, he was saying to President Trump, you're the leader of a failing state. But, you know, the other thing that Xi Jinping said was he mentioned, quote, unquote, new era. Now, new era in Xi Jinping speaks is the time when the U.S. has been pushed to the side and China rules the world. So he was very clear. This was not just some sort of mistake. These were two references to the end of the United States as a global power. The Peloponnesian reference, I guess, has to do with Sparta versus Athens. Is that the historical reference? Right. And then we know that Athens ended up sort of being the dominant Grecian force there as Sparta declined.

You know, the president had an opportunity there. He could have said, whoa, whoa, hold on a second. Who's who in this scenario? Because the way I look at it, you guys have over 20% unemployment. You don't have a replacement birth rate right now. You have a crunch with all these men without a woman to be able to bed down with. You've got rising issues. Sure, you may create this fake-looking sort of Potemkin village in Shanghai with high-speed trains. But if you go 30 miles outside the major metropolis, you've got... abject poverty. He could have done that, but instead he chose a diplomatic route, I suppose. Was that a sign of strength from the president, or is it being interpreted as a sign of weakness, Gordon? Yeah. We only, you know, it's only President Trump who can answer that question, but I think that it was a sign of strength. It was a sign of confidence that he wasn't going to pillage the Chinese. He wasn't going to take the bait. He wasn't going to rise, yeah. He wasn't going to take debate. The issue here, though, is that China is going to propagate this. And we've seen this already on X. China's trolls are saying this shows that the United States is weak. And we're going to hear that from the Chinese for a little while. Now, that propaganda narrative is not going to last. And the reason is for what you just mentioned, we are seeing signs of contraction in the Chinese economy. So, you know, this is a sign that China is a failing power. It's not a rising one. And this whole notion of the Peloponnesian wars, that just does not apply in this case. The rising power is the United States. We've been pushing China around. a lot this year, thanks to President Trump, starting January 3 in Venezuela, when we took a Chinese friend off the board. He's going to take Cuba off the board, another Chinese friend, and we all know what's going on in Iran. So the Chinese are bystanders to this. They're just watching it helplessly. So, yeah, the rising power is the United States. Is it in China's interest right now to put pressure behind the scenes on Iran? Again, Iran is run by lunatics. So if they don't listen to this, I don't know if they'll listen to China either. But if China does have some kind of influence in opening this trade and getting the flow of oil and goods that they need more than anyone else through that straight, is it in their interest to do that or is it in their interest to see America potentially have a domestic political problem here for President Trump? over the Iran War. It's in China's interest to open the strait because it needs the oil. It gets 50% of its seaborne oil, 45 to 50% of its seaborne oil through the strait. And we know that China's the world's largest importer of crude. We've seen the oil shocks in the Chinese economy, which has been unmistakable. But it's not in the interest of the United States to open the strait until Iran surrenders its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons and stops its acts of terrorism.

So our interests here do not align. Does China have a role in that, though, Gordon? Would it be beneficial for the U.S. to ask China to take a role in getting that done or not? No, we don't need, you know, as President Trump said before he left, as we've heard during the trip from U.S. officials, we don't need China's help. And I think that's absolutely right. China, we've got to remember that there's a war now because of China. China transplanted equipment, materials, technology for a nuclear weapons program onto Iranian soil. That's the reason why we have a war. And the Chinese today just said, look, you know, this war was unnecessary. The president of the United States needs to say in public that China transplanted its nuclear weapons program. You know, presidents since Bill Clinton has known this is the case, none of them have been willing to say that in public, and the Chinese just are winning the information war on this. Gordon Chang is our guest. You can follow him on X, by the way, really informative and important stuff that he posts on the X platform. It's Gordon G. Chang, Gordon G. Chang in his book, Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America. Let's talk about that title of that book. And whether, I know Marco Rubio, I know Secretary Scott Bessent, I know Secretary Pete Hegseth, all talk about this. I know the President knows that China is working to bring this country down. They're working from the inside out. The week before this summit happened, we saw a mayor in Arcadia, California, confessed to being an operative for the Communist Party of China. So was that raised during the summit at all? Can they speak frankly with China at any time and say, knock this garbage off? I don't know the answer to that question. I suspect Trump did not talk about that, but that's just a guess. But I believe Trump should have talked about it because we're seeing some very dangerous activities on the part of Chinese agents and operatives in our country. So, for instance, March 10th, there were those two Chinese Americans who planted a bomb near the visitor center at McDill Air Force Base in Florida. That has all the hallmarks of a Ministry of State Security Operation. I'm not sure that bomb did not go off, but I don't think it was intended to go off. I think it was intended to warn President Trump before this summit. And we've seen some other things, such as those secret Chinese biological weapons facilities in our country. We found two of them, one in Reedley, California, and the other in Las Vegas. But it's clear that there's at least one more. And we don't have much clarity on it. But the FBI has not seemed to be that active in trying to run this down.

President Donald Trump, his entire career, whether it was in business, in real estate, in the casino business, and the hotel business was in the entertainment business, and now over five years in as a president, he has worked on and negotiated on and secured deals with people that he doesn't necessarily like or trust or have any respect for, but he recognizes that sometimes the deal is the most important thing. Given that. How do you assess what the president is doing right now with America's relationship with China by leading with these corporate titans there and trying to make deals for our economy? Just if you can in a minute sum up exactly what the president's role has been here and how you grade how he's how he's addressing China. Yeah, the president is trying to come to accommodation with China, which is what American presidents have been trying to do since Nixon. I think, though, they've given the dangerous activities of China and what China, and the hostile statements it's made, we need to have a new attitude where we meet China's hostility with hostility of our own. I know Americans don't want to hear that. But we're at a very dangerous point at this moment. And we need to start preparing for some pretty horrible outcomes. Well, Gordon Chang, I know that the president has great respect for your opinion and your insight on this. That's a fact. Everyone knows it. And that's one of the reasons why we like talking to you about it and keep your voice out there. So we'll have you back. Gordon Chang. I'm Larry O'Connor. This is O'Connor and Company. Sean Spicer's people, his agent, his handlers, his body men, he's got like 50 that you have to go through. They now insist that he'd be introduced as two-time New York Times bestselling author, Sean Spicer. And it is true. His latest book, Trump 2.0, has made the New York Times bestseller list. And that's a big deal to be a two-time bestseller, Sean Spicer. Congratulations on that. Do I need to say it a third time? Two-time. New York Times bestseller, Sean Spicer, Trump 2.0. Congratulations, my friend. Yeah, thank you. I don't insist on it, but the people that represent the people who I talk to are very clear on this. There are a lot of layers to get through to get to Sean. I know. Yeah, but one of the things I'll tell you is the only thing that, the only time that I will ever say anything positive about the New York Times. However, when we're waiting for the rankings to come in, my publisher, and I think it was sort of the way you console somebody that you think is going to get crushed by the other team. He was like, Sean, I'm just going to be honest with you. You put President Trump's picture on the cover of your book. I don't think that's going to go over too well. I went, oh, Tony, that's a good point. It's like you're daring the New York Times. It's true. Right, right, right. It was like, what else could we put on here? I mean, like, maybe we could put like the Israeli flag. Is that offensive? That seems pretty bad. Pretty much. Pretty much. I thought. Real fast, I just want to say to our listeners in WML in the Greater Washington area, you all know we've got the free speech for him at the Birch mirror this Sunday. And Sean, of course, he's walking distance to Berkshire. He's a bit of a groupie of mine. Whenever I do a public event, he always shows up. He's in the front row. He's screaming like a maniac. He creates a mosh bit. It's embarrassing. And he loves that so much that he asked me to do a live event with him tonight. So we're going to do that.

tonight because the event sold out over there at the Birchmere i think there's like 30 tickets left still for the trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. center we'd love to see you tonight six p m i mean it's bigger it's a bigger venue yeah it is a pretty big venue it's true And we also have a VIP event on the rooftop there with cocktails, overlooking the Potomac, springtime in D.C. I'm looking forward to this tonight, Sean. Actually, we like to give each other a hard time, but this is going to be great. I'm actually, I'm looking at the text chain. And. This is just for your listeners. And I mean, I'm reading, I mean, for everyone who's on the video, you can see, I'm reading off my phone. For those listening to WMAL, this says, hey, Sean, heard you got a book event at the Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center on Friday, May 15th. If there's any way you can involve me, it would be amazing to me. As you know, I've got this little event at the birch mirror. So this would kind of be a big deal to show up plant and the rest of the guys from WMAL. Is that what I said? If there's anything I can do to make this up to you. It would be the best to me. I can't believe Vince Colonnese texted you and said that. That is, that's really subversive. Yeah, I mean, I'm just, guys, I'm reading. I'm just, yeah. I'm reading this. This is a text. But anyway, yeah. So, and if you go to the Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center website or my own website, Charles Xavier Becerra.com, you can click on get tickets. The event starts at six. It's free at the Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center. But because we had to get the franzia wine for the reception, Larry was like, I want the best box possible. That's right. Yeah, there's a VIP reception. Tickets are all available at the Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center at sheldsweiser.com. All right. Honestly, I've never seen somebody get so excited for boxed wine. Can I ask you a political question before we run out of time? The terrain is almost set now. The district maps. You and I have been saying this and preaching it. Stop looking at the national party preference polls to figure out what goes on in November. Look at the actual polls for the 435 districts. Based on where it's looking right now with redistricting, how many districts are actually in play this November, Sean? So that's a great question. I mean, again, look at the math. Stop listening to the pundits who've never been involved in anything because, you know, whoever gets 218 seats controls the House of Representatives. Right now, if you go through district by district and count them up, I've got Republicans at about 212. South Carolina, I think, is going to end up with an additional seat through redistricting. And there's a potential for one more in Tennessee. That gets us, or Alabama, I'm sorry. So that would get us 24. Right. And that's an average. There's inside advantage already has a set at 217. So if you take the average of go through each one of these districts, one by one, like I said, I've got to set 212, add more two, that's 214. You're four seats away, and there's about 16 toss up districts where they could go either way. So Republicans, in theory, worst case scenario, need to win six of 16 to get the majority.

Best case scenario, I think they could win four or 14 if we get up with these two additional districts. And the point in saying that is when you hear a bunch of pundits say, well, the history doesn't suggest, that's like, you know, two teams playing and saying, you know, the commanders are playing the Ravens and on alternate Tuesdays of the last, it just, you still have to play the game. So don't, don't listen to the pundit. Well said, Sean Spicer. Check out, Sean Spicer's Show.com. And we'll see you tonight at the Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Center. Larry O'Connor, O'Connor and Company, live from the Relief Actors Studios in your nation's capital. Coming up later in the program, we're going to speak with Cheryl Minter. Now, Cheryl Minter is the grieving mother of Stephanie Mentor. Who is Stephanie Mentor? Stephanie Minter was murdered by an illegal immigrant in Fairfax County. He had been in custody over 40 times. The police department in Fairfax County. pled with the prosecutor's office to not let this man free. They even said in writing, there will be nothing to stop this man from acting again. He's going to kill somebody. They ignored that. They let him out free. They could have handed him over to ICE to be deported, but that runs contrary to the policies, the sanctuary policies of prosecutor Steve Descano. Steve Descano from Fairfax County, who represents, by the way, pretty much every rogue prosecutor who decides that they're going to ignore the law and not enforce the law and just do whatever they want for their own social engineering purposes. He was on Capitol Hill yesterday. Jim Jordan challenged him on his immigration policies. But why does the prosecutor have an immigration policy? Even a governor isn't supposed to have an immigration policy, let alone a county prosecutor. Jim Jordan challenged him on his pledge to voters that he would not prosecute crimes against illegal immigrants if it meant they might get deported. Here's how that went. This is your campaign website where you said our office will take immigration consequences into account when making charging and plead decisions. Immigration consequences were certainly part of the game here, part of the issue here with Mr. Morales Ortiz. No, they weren't. They decided not. They absolutely were not. You are assuming something that is not, that is in fact untrue. Because you are misrepresenting my policies. My policies do not say that we do not prosecute people. Well, if you're proud of your policies, why'd you change your website? Because that's not my policy. As I told you, sir, that is a campaign statement that I made before I was commonwealth. It had been up for six years. A week after we send you a letter saying, we want you to come testify, Shazam, you change it. Because I couldn't have... Is that coincidental? Because I could not believe that people were so obtuse that they could not realize what the difference between a campaign statement and an actual office policy is. So when you make campaign statements, that's not, those aren't true? You're not being honest with your voters? That's not what I'm saying at all, sir. Sure sounded like it. Sure sounded like it. I'm sorry. I cannot stand it. I just can't stand it. And neither.

can you, I'm sure. I love this. This is one of those woke Soros-funded Democrats who, if you dare to say, hey, you said on your campaign website, you promised the voters you would do this thing, and now it appears that you're doing it. And they say, oh, well, you're obtuse for interpreting it that way. You're obtuse for actually reading the words that I wrote and then looking at my actions that match those words. And you're being obtuse. by claiming that these are, in fact, my policies. When they are, in fact, his policies, no, he holds up an email saying, oh, no, no, no, these are my policies, even though nobody in his office seems to have acted on the idea that people, regardless of immigration status, should be prosecuted equally under the law, you know, kind of a basic civil rights interpretation of our federal laws. No, no, no, no, you're being obtuse. You're the problem for actually taking me at my word. absolutely maddening and frankly even more maddening cully stemson senior legal fellow and director of the institute for constitutional government over at heritage cully even more maddening frankly if i may your neighbors there in fairfax county they knew who this guy was and they voted for him anyway i mean who should i be more frustrated with at this point him um because look he got we we wrote the book on the road prosecutor movement And it's literally called rogue prosecutors, how radical Soros lawyers are destroying America's communities. We didn't dedicate a chapter to Steve Descano because he's a little guppy compared to the George Gascones in L.A. and the Chesa Boone's and the Larry Krasner's and the Mosby's. But he's a big problem. And he got $659,000 from Soros-related PACs when he first ran. That was 70% of his campaign contributions, Larry. And so... He could have been honest. He could have said, yeah, you're darn right. I order my prosecutors to take into consideration immigration status because that's what I'm paid to do by the Soros machine that propped me up. That literally is the quid pro quo. One of the many quid pro quos you have to take to do when you get that dirty money. Yeah, as a former Navy JAG, I know that you probably cringe when anyone references a few good men. But he should have done it. He should have had his Jack Nicholson moment with Jim Jordan and say, you're damn right, I ordered the code read. I promise the people of Fairfax that I would ignore prosecuting criminals if they're illegal immigrants, and that's what I've done. But yeah, he couldn't do that, could he, Cully, because then he'd be admitting that he's violating the law. Right, and you would think a West Point graduate, and we have to honor his service in the Army, would have the integrity, to be honest with the voters. I mean, yes, it was part of his campaign website that he would take into consideration immigration status, but it was part of his playbook, because that's the part of all these Soros Road Prosecutor's playbook. He should have said, actually, I go a lot further than that, Jim Jordan, Jim Jordan. I watered down felonies. the misdemeanors. I don't let my prosecutors prosecute misdemeanors. I don't take violent juvenile thugs and prosecute them as adults. I don't ask for cash bail. He should have laid out the whole playbook and he said, that's what I do. But he's not honest enough. And you saw when Nick Mnock, the local reporter, asked him as he was walking out of the hearing, Descano was sweating like a stuck pig.

I mean, he was literally perspiring because he did not want to answer his simple question of a local reporter who's done a great job on him. Yeah, we take, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, Sure. Well, sir, why didn't you apologize to Stephanie Mentor's mother much sooner? Why did it take a congressional hearing to apologize to her? Where we go? This one? Why haven't you apologized to Ms. Mentor sooner? Sir, it's been several months since that murder. Why have you not apologized to her sooner? I'm sorry, I can't hear you. What is the importance of having the community trust? Well, look, we need witnesses to testify. Without witness testimony, we can't prosecute cases. We can't get bad guys out the street. That's our job. So having that trust with the community, that's necessary for us to do our thing. All right, thanks for us. Yeah, you saw, you're right. He looks like a guilty man, sounds like a guilty man, ignores the question, the basic question. We're going to have Cheryl Minter, by the way, the person he refused to apologize to until moments before his testimony. She'll be joining us later in the program. But Cully Simpson, he repeated this claim that these sanctuary policies are necessary, otherwise victims of crime will be afraid to testify. This has been debunked left and right across the map, but apparently it continues to need to be repeated. Can you please explain to us what the actual law states when it comes to victims of crime, regardless of their immigration status? Yeah, one of the members asked him, point blank, aren't you able to ask for a U visa, the letter U visa, for victims of violent crime who get a special immigration status to stay in the country? He didn't answer it. And every tough question he didn't answer. He was prepped clearly by the Soros Money Machine and the Democratic Party because there was all sorts of supporters of him in the crowd to just be not evasive or combative. And he looked terrible. You notice the Democrats, all they talked about was Trump, Trump, Trump, and ICE. They didn't even defend Steve Descano at all, which should have told you a lot. But I think Jim Jordan and McClintock, Brad Nott, was awesome. When Brad not told him to be quiet twice, it was amazing. And he understands that asking questions is not to get any answer. It's to make a statement. And that's exactly what happened yesterday. And Descano was, if he had any integrity, he would resign today, but he won't do it.

We're speaking with Cully Stimson. Now, he is the senior legal fellow at Heritage Foundation. He heads up the Institute for Constitutional Government there. His book, though, came out. I want to say it was maybe two or three years ago now, but it's incredibly relevant today in these headlines. The book is called Rogue Prosecutors, how radical Soros lawyers are destroying America's communities. And if I remember right, Cully Heritage put together a mini documentary about this as well to really make it hit home. So you should find that on YouTube or wherever you like to. see your videos. Can we zoom out a little bit beyond just Fairfax County, Virginia? I know that, frankly, all through Northern Virginia, we've got these prosecutors. But you mentioned Gascon and L.A. and Budin in San Francisco. We've got a prosecutor like this Krasner in Philadelphia and on and on and on. It sure seems like this is a targeted, orchestrated, and scripted plan by these activists to not worry about who's sitting in the Oval Office, not worry who's sitting in the governor's mansion. but focusing more on who's sitting in these prosecutors offices. Do we lose, Cully? Cully, we still got you? All right, we're going to reconnect with Cully Stimson. But let me just repeat. I laid it out as a question and we'll get Cully's response. But you need to understand this. The organized left are just that. They are organized from the left. And they know that it's impossible politically to get a governor to run and win for office statewide anywhere in this country by saying we're going to ignore the laws. We're going to employ our radical racial justice agenda here. By tipping the scales of justice and not prosecuting criminals based on the color of their skin or based on their immigration status, we're just going to ignore those criminals, whether they're rapist or murderers or kidnappers or armed robbery. We don't care because if the color of their skin is darker than Donald Trumps. They're really not criminals. They're just victims of systemic racism. Now, a governor is never going to get elected by making that campaign promise. And frankly, most congressmen won't get elected by making that campaign promise unless they're running in California and New York. And that's why the Democrats are such a basket case right now because, well, they're really only represented out of New York in California at this point. So what do they do instead? Well, what they do is they throw all their money into these local district attorneys, races, states, attorneys, Commonwealth attorneys, depending on where you live. It's the same job. They're county prosecutors. And there's way fewer voters in these elections and way fewer informed voters, frankly. who, you know, just sort of vote on party lines, or maybe they don't even vote at all in these local county prosecutor elections. We spend so much time in this country focusing every four years. Oh, forget about every four years. We're focusing on it right now. All you hear right now from political journalists and analysts. And yes, even my fellow talk show host is who's going to be the Republican nominee in 28? Who's going to be the Democrat nominee in 28?

For crying out loud, it's May of 26 right now, and that's all we care about is who's going to be sitting in the Oval Office, and we don't pay attention to these prosecutors. And the organized left, they know that. They're not stupid. They're nefarious and they're brilliant. So they have focused all of their energy and all of their money in great respects on who sits in these prosecutors' offices, like Steve Descano in Fairfax and the others that are mentioned in Culley Stimson's book, Rogue prosecutors. And what have they done? They've won those elections. They've won those elections and they put people in place to ignore the law, not prosecute the law, to ignore the law. Why go through the process of passing a law? that allows people to walk scot-free when they break the law. Instead, all you've got to do is have a prosecutor who doesn't prosecute. It's a cancer in this country, and it needs to be fixed. What also needs to be fixed is your pain. So many people right now living with everyday pain, they think they're just stuck with it. It is what it is, but that's not the case. You can actually do something about it. You can, well, you can break up with pain. Just like if you're in a bad relationship, you think you can't do anything about it. No, you've got to step up and protect yourself and break up with pain. It doesn't have to be like this. With relief factor, you can actually break up with pain. I know it. And so to all of my colleagues here on the network. They know it too. That's why you've heard them talk about Relief Factor for so many years. Relief Factor is 100% drug-free. It targets the inflammation that causes pain so you can move better, feel better, and actually enjoy life again. Try their three-week quick start for just 1995. Go to Relieffactor.com or call them. It's 8004 relief. Again, that's Relieffactor.com or column 800, the number four, relief. Larry O'Connor here on O'Connor and Company, but always with a part of my heart with my friend, Chris de Gaul. As you know, Krista Gall, has been your morning guy for years here on this radio network. He's my best friend and was the best man at my wedding, and he's now running for Congress in Missouri, Missouri 6. And I just want to remind you, if you miss Krista Gaul, well, you'll be seeing a lot of him. If he wins that race for Congress, he'll be a regular on this show as a guest. And I'll be hard on him, too. Go to stigalphorcongress.com, get information about his campaigns, stagallfor congress.com. As we look at politics and we want to be the go-to radio program here for you every single day for the midterms and certainly for the presidential election in 28. But we don't lose sight, as I just discussed, about local races as well, county prosecutors, important city council, mayor governors. It's all over the place. That's how we focus so much in California on their governor's race and primary that they're happening right now in Los Angeles. This is a political program. And we talk about politics from...

Pennsylvania Avenue and in Washington, D.C. and the White House all the way down to Main Street in your house. That's what we do. And, well, frankly, I think we're pretty damn good at it. That said, it is important to take a look at who's going to be in the White House starting January 20th of 2029. It is. And if you're a Democrat right now, you're sort of rudderless. You don't have a leader. Best option, I guess you've got is Gavin Newsom. And then from there, what, Josh Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg? Seriously? Okay. Could be. I mean, I don't want to write them off. But, you know, here on the Republican side of the equation, we're like, oh, who do you like? JD Vance or Marco Rubio? Either way, it's bad news for Democrats, I think. I'm overconfident. You're right. Because candidates matter. And we've got those candidates. And frankly. If you look at the Democrat side, they're two most qualified candidates who have run in national elections and could easily raise enough money to have a fighting chance against JD Vance or Marco Rubio. Those two candidates are Bernie Sanders and this woman, Kamala Harris. And Kamala Harris is sure acting like she's going to run again, and that would be amazing. So she put together a video. where she was interacting with a podcaster and talking about how she's leading the charge on the left there. I believe before this interview, she may have had a couple of vodka martinis. I'm not sure. Can't prove it. You be the judge, but I want you to pay close attention to the woman who was just the nominee for the Democrats. Pay close attention to the ideas that she is now floating for her party and what they will do should they gain power again. Because everything she lays out here is contrary to the American dream, the American ideal. the Constitution and everything this country has stood for for 250 years. And she's the leading candidate for the Democrat. She was just their nominee. So take a listen to what she intends to do. Say, look, this is a moment where there are no bad ideas. No bad idea brainstorm is what I'd like to call it. And in that no bad ideas brainstorm, we talk about what we need to do and think about doing around the electoral college. We talk about the idea of Supreme Court reform, which includes expanding the Supreme Court. We invite a conversation about multi-members districts. We talk about, look, that if we win the Senate, which we should and we will, then the Senate Judiciary Committee should have rules that they put in place. So when these people come before as nominees to the Supreme Court and lie, That they are held to account and consequence, not just that somebody goes on cable news and says they lie, but that there are rules in place to actually penalize people for lying to a Senate Judiciary Committee, that we agree that it is right to have ethics rules for Supreme Court justices. And let's put those in place. Let's talk about statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C.

These are the things I think that we've got to do. We've got to neutralize these red states from cheating, including blue states expanding their maps. And all of this, I think, is, look, we got to fight fire with fire. These folks are playing to win. We got to play to win. I hope everyone's paying attention. I hope John Thune and the leadership in the Senate paying attention. And also Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Mitch McConnell. I've been rough on John Thune lately. So how about those four holdouts who refuse to actually upend the filibuster? Are you paying attention? Because they're telling you what they will do when they get into power. And every single one of the things that she just said, abolish the electoral college, pack the Supreme Court, make Puerto Rico and D.C. states. You can't do those if you've got a filibuster. So the first thing they're going to do is get rid of the filibuster and then do what they want to do. So what in the hell are we waiting for? We're in power now. Get rid of the filibuster so that we can actually do something to keep them from doing what they want to do. And let's just be clear here. That last line, we got to neutralize these red states from cheating. I don't know about you. But if you think that your opponent is cheating, what do you do? Do you say, hey, we've got rules here and you've got to be following the rules, so stop cheating. Follow the rules. Here are the rules. We love the rules. We play by the rules. We expect you to play by the rules. So let's everybody play by the rules. That's what a normal person does. What did she just say? Hey, the other side is cheating. So let's throw out the rule book. Let's rewrite the rule book. I'm sorry, winning the electoral college is not cheating. Winning the electoral college is literally following the rules. These people hate everything that went into the origins of this nation, and they're telling you, listen to them. From the Relief Factor Studios in your nation's capital on our flagship station, WMAL, good morning. It's Larry O'Connor here. in D.C., but spreading the word across this nation. Thanks for tuning in here to our little morning extravaganza. Coming up in 30 minutes, we've been talking about Steve Descano, this rogue prosecutor here in the greater Washington area, whose neglect of the safety and citizens of his county led to the murder of an innocent woman at the hands of an illegal immigrant who had been in custody over 40 times and yet released again. lest he be deported, because Steve Descano, the prosecutor here, cares more about ignoring. ignoring the crimes, ignoring prosecuting these criminals. He cares more about ensuring that illegal immigrants can stay in this country and not cooperating with federal law enforcement than he does about actually keeping the streets of Fairfax County safe. The mother of that victim, the mother of a woman who was murdered, Stephanie Mittter, her mother will be joining us in just 30 minutes. And you need to hear this because the victims never get a voice in these stories.

So pay close attention coming up 30 minutes from now. Most of Washington right now watching Air Force One as it hurdles his way across the stratosphere as it makes its way back from Beijing with the president and most of his cabinet for a high-stakes negotiation with our global adversary and yet strangely our economic and trading partner. the People's Republic of China. Joining us right now to unpack this summit is a friend of the program, John Solomon, his podcast, of course, John Solomon reports, and he's also the CEO of Just the News. John, good morning. Thanks for joining us. Yeah, good morning. Good to be with you. So overall impression of the Beijing summit here, it was a short one, but the president appears to think that based on trade tariffs and business deals for all of those CEOs he brought with him, it was the success from an America First perspective. What's the read out there? Yeah, listen, I think the first success and perhaps the most important is that the world got to see that the number one superpower, America, the number two superpower China, could constructively engage. I think the last several months of tension, that the world a little bit on edge. And so it was a cordial, sometimes galliant gathering. The two sides could be frank with each other and candid, but have a good constructive dialogue about tough issues, Taiwan, Iran, and things like that. And I think that that's what the world needed to see, that there isn't a complete defraying of this relationship, that there is a way for the two sides. to work together. And I think China kicked that off with its statement that we should never mess this relationship up. And I think they carried that out throughout the two days. There are big distances between China and the United States when it comes Iran and Taiwan, particularly. There are some big differences still about China's growing. aggression against the united states whether it's interference in our elections or interference in our intellectual property but there was some progress made perhaps the biggest is hundreds of billions but hundreds of billions of dollars in trade deals that China agreed to do. Now, they have to be verified. China promises a lot. You've got to trust but verify when it comes to China. But most of those CEOs, most of those attendees that came with the president, walked away with something that will bring more jobs for America, more revenue for America, and more importantly, more reliance on China on American marketplaces in goods. And I think that that is a... a win, because at the end of the day, when we have moments of difficulty with China, our greatest carrot and our greatest stick is the fact that we can shut off our market to China, and China would be devastated. They do not have a middle class to buy its wares, and so they need America to have an economy. And so the more we make them dependent on these costs deals, the more we continue to hold our leverage over China. And I think at the end of the day, now the president will come back and recalibrate.

the Chinese relationship, the U.S.-Chinist relations based on what he thinks he achieved and didn't achieve. I think there was one little headline that the president dropped that didn't get a lot of attention, but there was an interesting discussion about starting a new nuclear weapons treaty, something that hasn't been on the table for a long time, but it was considered to be a trilateral opportunity with China-Russia and the United States. That would be a good thing for the world, and it's a great sign that the two sides can do constructive dialogue. that even something like that can reach the dialects. I think that's what the president walks away with, a lot of money, a lot of economic opportunity for America, and a more stable China-U.S. relation. John Solomon, thanks. That's a very thorough overview. Was there a definitive announcement with regard to relaxing the tariffs that have been put on China goods across the board, or is it just on a case-by-case corporate-by-corporate basis, especially when it comes to agriculture? Because we're told that the president is suffering politically and the party is suffering because of some of those tariffs. Yeah, so there wasn't a full readout on how that will go. There was a promise by the President to ease up on some of the opportunities there. And I think that that's one of the things the President will come back and recalibrate and decide what tariffs, when, how, and what he may ask China in return for them. And I think one of the big trade that are probably going to be made is more pressure on Iran to... come up with a deal on the state of our moves that is acceptable to the world. And if China constructively engages on that and pushes the Iranians to a good position, you could see a lot of those tariffs in both directions ease up, and that would be good for our farmers and for some of the other manufacturing capacities in America. Yeah, when it comes to energy, though, it's so funny that we all acknowledge that China is getting a bulk of their oil from all of these rogue states. These countries that have sanctions put on them, Iran, Russia, Cuba, well, Cuba, I don't think has any oil. Venezuela. John, it's like we're supposed to just accept the fact that China sitting on the UN Security Council participates in levying these sanctions, and then they just defy those sanctions. That said... They're not getting Iran oil. They're not getting Venezuela oil. They're left with Russia. Was there an agreement to get American oil? Yes, there was a tremendous amount of discussion about how that would work, but there will be more shipments, particularly of liquid natural gas from the United States out of the West Coast and into China and into the Asian theater. And I think that that is another one of those wins that the president secured in the course of the conversation. That'll be a good thing. You're right. China has the, China shows the limits to our ability to create embargoes and sanctions around the world.

China has been flaunting them all throughout, whether it's giving weapons or weapon parts to Iran, which violates the sanctions, or taking their very cheap oil, which kept the Iranian economy propped up. And I think that that is a limitation, that we do not want to get to the next level. And China knows that's a limitation, and that is part of the rebalancing of the relationship. But the great stick that they fear, there isn't sanctions they fear. If the president ever had to get serious with China, they could put China's economy into a tailspin by just cutting off American markets in just a little bit. And I think that that's the one thing that America still walks around with that China has to and does respect. They need access to our markets to have an economy. And I think the president preserved that and perhaps extended that, made China a little bit more dependent on us, which gives us more leverage in future diplomatic crises. You know, this is the constant debate that I think, especially conservatives, free market. enthusiasts like most conservatives from the Reagan era. This is what vexes us the most. We want open markets. We want free markets. We want free trade. We want fair trade. And we recognize that our major corporations from T-shirts and textiles to furniture to high-tech and smartphones, we are currently reliant on cheap labor in China to be able to deliver those products worldwide at a low cost. So we need them for that, I suppose, or at least those corporations need them. But, John, they need us. If Apple isn't over there manufacturing that stuff, if Walmart or the Walmart suppliers aren't over there making cheap textiles and, you know, very inexpensive T-shirts, then China has a major problem. They are going to have like, you know, 70% unemployment if our corporations aren't using their contract manufacturers. So that's sort of the balance that these two nations have to find. And in your mind, observing it, who has the upper hand there? We clearly do. Now, we have some weaknesses, which were exploited during the pandemic. We're too reliant on prescription drugs. We're too reliant on computer chips. We're too reliant on some medical supplies. And what President Jump has done quietly, he doesn't talk about it a lot. But one of the greatest on-shoring operations in American history is underway. And I think when the Trump presidency ends in early 2029, America will have the capacity to make a lot more of the most critical things we would need if we ever had to get into a critical trade war. The president took over. He didn't have that capacity. We were naked on drugs. We were naked on many medical supplies. Joe Biden did nothing to prepare. the obvious flaws we had in our health economy after the COVID era. And so Donald Trump is doing that on a daily basis. There is a reshoring opportunity going on here. You saw the big superconductor chip announcement in Arizona. You've seen major prescription drug companies expand their operations here in America. These new innovative box pharmacies where you can create a mini factory that can turn out lots of prescription drugs quickly.

We needed to get that security in order to have a more balanced detain. What we really have is economic detain, just like we used to have a nuclear detain with the old Soviet Union. But we have some flaws. The president is really closing it. He doesn't talk about it. He's just getting it done. We will have the upper hand when that onshoreing is more balanced and complete. And that's what China fear. They see this. They see what we're doing. And they're like, we've got to give this guy a little respect. Thanks, John. Well done. Our friend, John Solomon, just the news. Thanks for that very thorough readout. More to come here on O'Connor and Comedy. Keep it here. I'm Larry O'Connor and Company. Good morning. It's 22 minutes after the hour here in your nation's Capitol. I'm Larry O'Connor, O'Connor and Company. And I say it all the time. There's no better place to be. on federal holidays, then in your nation's capital. It's the best place to honor, reflect, and when appropriate, celebrate. And Memorial Day is one of those days as well, from Arlington National Cemetery to all the war memorials and all the other iconic locations in your nation's capital to really bring meaning. the real meaning to a day like Memorial Day. This is where you want to be. And that's why we love having conversations with the spokesperson for the National Park Service, who covers the National Mall in all the Memorial Parks, a friend of the program, Mike Litterist. Mike, good morning. Thanks for joining us. Larry, thanks for having me. Good to be with you. And you're absolutely right. There's no more meaningful day to be on the National Mall than Memorial Day. Yeah, so what's it looking like, especially, I know you are a busy man with the, you know, you're just finishing up the Cherry Blossom Festival. And then you've got the great improvements that are starting to be completed there at the Lincoln Memorial. You've got the reflecting, all the stuff going on right now. But everything is going to be focused on Memorial Day in this America 250 year. What's it going to look like in Washington? Yeah, we are planning our usual slate of, remembrances and replaying ceremonies and playing of taps. And I think there are 16 sites around the National Mall and the uptown parks that will have commemorations going on for Memorial Day weekend. But you're absolutely right. At the same time, we are... Getting ready for probably one of the biggest event seasons that the city has seen in generations. And we're also sprucing up. We are making D.C. safe and beautiful, making sure that so many of these monuments and memorials that pay tribute to individuals and commemorate events and the nation's military men and women, making sure they look their best. not only for Memorial Day, but for the events coming and into the future. Talk to me a little bit. You just mentioned it, but I'd love for you to just sort of give a little more detail on this. At 8 a.m., the Taps across the National Mall when Taps is played. Describe exactly how that goes down.

So this is something we started several years ago and has really sort of caught on. And at 8 o'clock in the morning on Memorial Day, on Monday, May 25th, we will have a brief replaying ceremony at the World War I Memorial with Gold Star Mothers and the Doe Boy Foundation and the Trust for the National Mall. And then simultaneously played at... 16 sites across the city, we will have Googlers playing taps. Everything from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, to some of the smaller sites that people don't necessarily think about as much, places like the African-American Civil War Memorial, the D.C. War Memorial. So it's a great way to start Memorial Day, sort of have just that moment to remember, you know, why the day is a holiday. Remember all the... tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy, you know, the America we know today. It's impossible to be a freedom-loving, patriotic American and not get emotional at moments like that. And I'm starting to get choked up thinking about it, Mike. So you hear me out. I'm going to throw a curveball at you, but I know you got the answer to it. I always get emotional when I go to the Korean War Memorial. It's the most haunting, I think, of all of them. I love the Korean War Memorial. And there's always a wreath there from a grade school in South Korea. thanking those veterans. Here we are, what, 70 years later, can you shed some light on how that occurs, how this Korean grade school across South Korea ends up sending this dedication to the American patriots who lost their lives there? So the Korean people have not forgotten. And like you said, you know, 70 plus years later, the embassy is usually out there a couple of times a week with replaying ceremonies, bringing guests, bringing, you know, people from the embassy or, you know, Korean nationals who are visiting to pay their respect for what American sacrificed for a free South Korea. And so... They bring with them reeds, of course, every time. And the school wreaths that you mentioned is part of their routine visits. It's so incredible, and it's so gratifying to know that the children growing up and being raised in South Korea are taught about what America did for them to make sure that they remained free, that they're not part of the gulag that is North Korea, the fact that they acknowledge that sacrifice. I only hope American children do the same. Mike, thanks for joining us. Mike Litteris, National Park Service.

From the Relief Factor Studios in your nation's capital, Larry O'Connor here. Good morning on O'Connor and Company. We've been spending a lot of time this morning showing you and playing for you various moments from yesterday's hearing in the Judiciary Committee. in the House. Steve Descano, the Commonwealth's attorney. He's the prosecutor. He's the elected prosecutor. His campaign, 70% of the funding for his campaign was from out of state from George Soros back to political action committees. And he has promised in his campaign and now carried out in policy the, well, the illegal effort to basically ignore the law and not prosecute criminals based on their immigration status. And the most shining example, the tragedy, The grief of that policy played out with the murder of one Stephanie Minter. She, an innocent mother who was stabbed to death by a man who had been in this country illegally for years, had been in custody for violent crimes multiple times, over 40 times, and was released again against the police department's wishes and warnings. And God forbid he had be handed over to federal immigration officers who could then deport him and send him back where he belongs. or prosecution at the federal level for that matter. No, instead, he was allowed to roam free. Well, the grieving mother, the angel mother of Stephanie, was at the hearing yesterday. And Mr. Descano, well, he attempted to apologize to her. Here, take a listen. Ms. Minter, I am deeply sorry for your loss. And I say that not only as a prosecutor, but as a parent of a daughter, I am sorry for what you were having to endure. And I promise that my office is doing everything we can to prosecute the man responsible. Cheryl Minter, Stephanie Mentor's mother, joins us now. She's been on the program before, and Mrs. Minter, thank you again. I know that you're going through a lot of grief, but you've also taken up this cause so that other mothers, other wives, other husbands, other American citizens don't have to go through what you've been going through. So as you were there, and as Mr. Descano apologized to you, I'd love for you to sort of relate to us. What was going on through your mind? What were you feeling at that moment? Um, that he had to wait until that point to do it. Um, and I mean, I had always had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Descano. And, um, but in the very beginning. He didn't do anything. And it wasn't until his other team members of his office got in touch with me, and they were like, you know, we're all very sorry and that. And then, you know, he always opened and said, we will, you know, he wants to talk to you if you want to. And I'm like, right now it's just a little late.

I'm curious because when they say they're sorry, when Mr. Descano says he's sorry, is this one of those, I'm sorry for your loss kind of sorry, so that he is showing empathy for the grief that you're experiencing? Or do you think he's accepting responsibility? Like, I'm sorry that because of my inaction and my political policies to not prosecute this criminal, that he was able to do this to your daughter? I believe, and I felt that it was just an apology to me. Just sort of a, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for your loss kind of thing. I'm sorry for your loss. Yeah. And that's how I took it, and that's how it felt. Well, and I think it's fair for you to say that because as the questioning continued yesterday, after his 15 seconds focusing on you and apologizing to you, after that, with all the questioning and all of his responses to the congressmen who were challenging his policies, he seemed pretty defiant. He seemed like he was in the right that he hadn't done anything wrong. Correct. Very much so correct. So, I mean, given that, I just, I don't mean to interrupt you, but how do you think this is going to play out at this point? From your perspective, as you see this person who is a paid elected official whose job it is to prosecute these criminals, he seems perfectly intent to continue to let this policy continue. Well, I think he said enough yesterday for people to go. Oh, what in the world is going on with our, you know, prosecutor here. Yeah, yeah. He said things that made people's mouth drop the visiting people watching. Yeah. That I got, I'm not so sure it's on film, but I did get several people telling me. because I couldn't see behind me. Yeah. Well, he brought a bunch of supporters. He brought a bunch of people there who essentially supported him, but there were reports that they were shocked at some of the things he said, even his supporters. Yes. I mean, what I heard was that my campaign and the things I said in my campaign aren't true. and I'm doing it my way. Yeah. I lied to people who were supporting me on my campaign. Correct. And that's kind of what caused mouth to drop. Yeah. So you've sort of been thrust into the spotlight here. You never expected this, and certainly I know that you would rather have Stephanie's life back and be able to have your daughter back. Yes. The tragedy that you've had to endure here has turned you into what I like to refer to as an accidental activist. You didn't plan on this for your life, but now this has become part of your life. What do you want to happen here? What are you hoping to achieve?

Oh, I want change. I don't want it just here either. I want it nationwide. What does that change look like? It looks like criminals, violent criminals, always get prosecuted to fullest extent. I don't care if they're legal or not illegal. It doesn't matter. These criminals, no matter where they are, who they are, where they came from, need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent. No if and or buts. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington, she was there sort of defending Mr. Steve Descano policies, and she tried to make a point that immigrants, legal or otherwise, are scared to report crimes when they're the victims. Let's play that moment here if we could, and then I'd love for you to react to it since you saw it in real time. Here we go. If you're willing, would you please stand up if you're from Fairfax County? Wow, a lot of you. And please remain standing if you support immigrants and support policies that make sure that everyone feels safe in calling 911. It's another suggestion there is, number one, you don't support immigrants, which I don't think is true. But number two, that if you're in the country and you're not a citizen, legal or not, if you're the victim of a crime, you won't feel safe calling 911. And so you have to suffer and be a victim of crime. How do you respond to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal? Well. I think they're reading a whole lot of things into it. Because they're basing everything from the way I understand it and the way I hear it. I hear they're saying ICE is just going out and being destructive and nobody knows who they're going to shoot at or pick up and take off. And it doesn't matter. Yeah. And that's not their goal, first of all. Second of all, people should be. And if they didn't have what they call their trust policies, which apparently aren't working, you know, because you say you've put them in place, but people are still scared to call. So your trust policies are doing nothing. Yeah. Absolutely nothing. Except hurting people. I mean, hurting, you know, the victims, the victims are getting hurt because of it.

We're speaking with Cheryl Minter. Her daughter was murdered in Fairfax County by a man who was released time after time after time. It appears because he was in the country illegally and the policies of Mr. Descano's office, the prosecutor, was that they didn't want to make him eligible for deportation. By the way, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal also, we don't have the video or audio here, but she expressed sympathy to you too. But is it right that she actually mispronounced your name when she was trying to express? grief for you? Actually, I think she did. I mean... I was listening, but you know, I'm old, so my hearing is a little off. So I wasn't actually sure if she did or not, but I thought she did. And actually, you're the first one that made a comment about it. I just put it off. Oh, yeah, no, actually, and by the way, Bill Malusion of Fox News also pointed out. She called you Ms. Minter. I believe, instead of mint or added an extra litter in there. It's all right. Those are, I guess, the details. I do like that people are expressing sympathy for you that they're at least acknowledging the grief that you've experienced here. I just wish that they would actually follow through with some actions and some policies. These members of Congress, Steve Descano, the prosecutor, their job is not to get elected and hold office so that they can express sympathy for you. They're supposed to actually enact policies and laws that keep you from having to experience the grief that you're feeling right now. Yes. Yes. And I do hear yesterday that they're working on some policies to change some things, whereas when things like this happen, there's the... prosecutors could actually be accountable. Yeah. If you could, and Cheryl Minter, and I apologize for putting it on the spot here, but I... I know that there are a lot of other women like you, other angel moms like you, angel dads for that matter. A lot of you who have gone through this grief because a loved one is a victim of this crime at the hands of illegal immigrants, and you feel like the system isn't there for you. Can you talk a little bit about the support system you've received here? I'm hoping that you have. I've spoken to other angel moms, and it's a big deal here that you're not alone. Right. I've got several different victim groups that are there at a phone call or a text message away. I've got, and they're amazing. They really are. I can always call the detective. He can get me in their office.

The victims fund local, I guess it's local in Fairfax or everybody has them. There is. But they're all there. They are there. And they do check in. And they do check in. I'm sure they, I think they're doing a good job. All right. Good. But I think they could do maybe a little better. You need a little bit more. Well, sure. And listen, and let us know about that. Next time we have a conversation, that support system should be there. And by the way, the government should be a part of providing that support for you. Because you're a law-abiding taxpayer. I've been told there's health. They can find me some therapist. You know, things like that. And I have called a couple, and I've not gotten returned calls. Oh, no. All right. You know, I think this is important. Well, you know, Cheryl, I'm, I feel terrible, but we're out of time. We're up against a hard break. But, you know what? Let us know about that offline, and we'll try to follow up on your behalf. Thank you, Cheryl. It's O'Connor and Company. 51 minutes after the hour here on this Friday from your nation's capital larry o'cotter otocotter and company and well i don't know what to tell you but the ufo news continues unabated but we've got some more details here about the sightings. Now, I just want to reiterate. I don't completely discount the idea that there could be life on alien planets, and I don't discount the idea that they may have visited us or have some interest in us. That said, I don't want to have anything to do with them because if they have the technology to come and visit us from thousands of light years away or wherever they're coming from, they can probably squash us like bugs. So I'd really rather not have any encounters closer otherwise. That said, I'm also rather skeptical of how legitimate all of these sightings are, considering the fact that 50 years ago all we saw was sort of shaky Super 8 film footage of these things that I'm told were flying saucers when they really look like a woman's straw hat thrown up in the air in some suburban Nebraska neighborhood. And now that everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket with a film studio, TV studio, live stream capabilities. where you can get high-definition video of things like this. You still pretty much just see a shaky, distorted image of what looks like a woman's straw hat thrown up in a suburban Nebraska neighborhood. So color me skeptical. That said, that said, try to keep it open mind. And apparently... When you look at the database of the UFOs and the sightings and the encounters that people are reporting, there are thousands and thousands and thousands of these encounters and, well, observations, let's say, of unidentified objects coming from the ocean. More than 9,000 underwater UFOs.

have been spotted near the U.S. coastline. The New York Post is reporting. A nonpartisan organization called Enigma. Oh, if that doesn't sound like an evil empire kind of bond villain. That's like Spector, for God's sake, Enigma. says that the largest queriable historical siting database for global UFO sightings has recorded roughly 30,000 sightings since its launch in 2022, and over 9,000 of them. are within 10 miles of the United States shoreline. Many of them actually called U.S.Os unidentified submersible objects. So are these alien creatures who live underwater, or are these actually the citizens of the lost city of Atlantis? Or are they just some sort of anomalies? Two states, by the way. account for the most of these sightings. These two states, understandably, have a whole lot of shoreline. That would be California and Florida. They're also, although uniquely different politically, frankly, they have a stereotypical reputation for having some Looney Tunes citizens in their states. No offense to my friends in Florida or California, but let's face it, you know, is Florida man really an alien? That would explain a lot. It would. And California, well, if anybody's a creature from another planet or a lizard person living in a men and black style human skin, it's Gavin Newsom. Can we agree on that, please? So I'm merely reporting what they're telling you about the aliens who now apparently aren't coming from under space. They're coming from under the ocean. although they originally came from outer space, and then they settled under the ocean. And what's the idea that they're like planning to conquer us from underwater? I'm trying to keep an open mind, I promise, although it doesn't sound like it. Also, by the way, quoting the author of Catastrophic Disclosure, Aliens, the Deep State and the Truth, Kent Hecken-Lively, That's a made-up name. Kent Hecken-Lively says what's really interesting to me is the reports that we receive about U.S. underwater vessels detecting craft moving at exceptionally high speeds underwater. Yeah, they're super fast and they're... Okay. Witnesses describe them as moving at incredibly fast speeds, making precise changes in direction, and processing transmedium capabilities by seamlessly transitioning between water and air.

Who am I? Who am I to judge or be skeptical? Well, I'll tell you who I am. I'm a person with a logical brain. That's who I am. None of it necessarily makes sense. Back in the real world, though, off the coast of Florida, we've got some major news developing with Cuba. They're not aliens over there in Cuba. They're 90 miles off the coast of Florida, and they are in deep, deep trouble. And now, according to the CIA, they have run out of oil. CIA director John Ratcliffe met with their interior minister in Havana. Why are you all blackpilling right now when we've got the CIA director meeting with the Interior Minister in Cuba in Havana? Things are happening, my friends, in Cuba, and it's happening fast. Apparently, there's a major problem with the government. They've run out of oil. The U.S. is there to help them, if necessary. And, well, Marco Rubio is ready to be the brand new viceroy in charge of the... 51st state of the United States, Cuba. Just say the word and he's ready to go. That's your latest. Here are from aliens and from the Cuban communists. It's going to be a very busy weekend if you're trekking all of those stories. But when we come back on Monday, we'll be here to keep you up to date on all of it. Now, I want to tell you about Relief Factor, because the second you hear about the origins of Relief Factor, you'll be on board. You see, the creator of Relief Factor was a Vietnam veteran, combat wounded multiple times. He came back home and decided he wanted to be a doctor because he wanted to help people to heal them. And he created Relief Factor. Now, originally he created it just to help his own patients with pain. And he wanted to do it drug-free. Then he saw how well it worked, and he decided to make it available to everyone. And, well, here we are. Relief Factor has this incredible Quick Start program. They actually lose money on this first offer. But they do it so people can try it for themselves and experience just how much it can improve their lives. So far, over a million people have tried Relief Factor. And about two-thirds of them go on to order more. It's 1995. It's three weeks worth. And, well, why don't you try it for yourself? Because when it comes to supplements, you want two things that matter most, that it works, and you can trust it. And both of them are true with Relief Factor. So go try that quick start plan. It's Relieffactor.com, or give them a call, 800, the number four relief. Again, Relieffactor.com, 804 Relief. In 2025, Americans lost more than $21 billion to fraud and identity theft. That's why so many people are turning to Aura. Aura helps protect your identity with fraud alerts, dark web monitoring, and up to $5 million in identity theft protection. And if you become a victim, Aura's 24-7 U.S.-based support team is there to help. Don't wait until your identity is stolen. Start your free trial today at Aura.com slash safe. That's Aura.com slash safe.