'BradCast' 6/4/2026 (J6er Says No to Trump's 'Weaponization' Slush Fund Money; Guest: Convicted Rioter Jason Riddle)

I just want to make sure, are you going to issue a new memo in writing, rescinding that May 18th memo? I'm not committing to putting anything in writing. No, he's not. He put the creation of the slush fund in writing, but not getting rid of it. Joker's to the right. Here I am. I'm not getting riddle with you. I am. From Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles, this is the broadcast, as heard on KPFK, 90.7 FM in LA, and also in California in Red Bluff and Reading on KFY and Round Mountains, KKRN, up in Oregon on the Central Coast, on KYAQ, Cottage Groves, KSO, and Eugene's KEPW. Lanchester, Pennsylvania's, W News, Maui, Hawaii's, K-A-K-U, in Columbus, Ohio on WGRN, Palinville, New York's WLP, Rochester, New York's WRFZ, down in New Orleans on WHIV, out in Gallup, New Mexico, on K-N-I-Z. Concord, New Hampshire's WNHN, Fiatville, Arkansas's K-P-SQ in Seattle on KODX, Richmond, Virginia's WR-W-K, Fairmont, West Virginia's W-E-FR, Janesville, Wisconsin's W-A-D-R, and yes, Minneapolis, St. Paul's, AM-950. KTNF. We also stream coast to coast and around the globe every day on the Internet, on the Progressive Voices Channel, NetRoo's Radio, Radio for Humans, Nicole Sandler.com, radio-free, Brooklyn, No Lies, Radio, Detour, Talk, Del Marva FM, and most of your favorite podcast sites. Blanketing Planet Earth. I'm Brad Friedman, your friendly investigative blogger, journalist, troublemaker, muckraker. And all around, swell fellow says me from bradblog.com. Thank you very much for joining us today. I tell you what, we have barely been back a week. And I am already ready for another week off, Desi Doyen. Yeah, the tsunami, the volcano of news, never stops. What a week, no kidding. But we press on. Coming up later this hour, a few thoughts on the disaster unfolding at CBS's legendary 60 minutes. And speaking of legendary, Desi Doyen will be here. I am here with our latest Green News report, which maybe we should start it like this. Oh, yeah.

Anyway, six minutes. We'll change the name to six minutes. That's it. That's what we should have done. Anyway, we've got a guest first, a guest standing by that I have never spoken with before, so I am really eager to do so. So please allow me to start here. A few days before Memorial Day. Donald Trump's corrupted Department of Justice announced what it described as a settlement agreement in Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against his own IRS. The suit claimed that Trump and his family and his companies were somehow harmed to the tune of $10 billion after an IRS subcontractor during Trump's first term. released thousands of tax returns of wealthy Americans, including several of Donald Trump's own returns, revealing that he had paid no more than $750 in federal taxes during his first two years in office and zero federal taxes at all in many other years. The judge overseeing the suit in which Donald Trump was suing Donald Trump's IRS, putting him on both sides of the same case, was dubious about the entire matter. But then Trump's DOJ, representing Trump's IRS in Trump's lawsuit against them, announced the supposed settlement agreement between the parties and withdrew the original lawsuit. They didn't move in court to settle the case, in which case a judge would have had to approve the settlement. They merely dropped the case entirely, but still referred to this agreement to create a $1.776 billion fund to be used essentially at Trump's discretion to pay out any amount to anyone he likes as a settlement to the lawsuit against the IRS. A supposed anti-weaponization fund, as it was described in the DOJ document. A slush fund, as it has been referred to by both Democratic and Republican critics alike. It would be used to pay any amount to Trump allies, including the more than 1,500 rioters at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, some of whom were charged and or convicted. of violently attacking police officers during the insurrection incited by Donald Trump in his failed effort to steal the 2020 election from Joe Biden and the American people who elected him. With no case before her, After it was withdrawn by plaintiffs, the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit in South Florida closed the case, though noted in her terse closing order that there was no settlement in this case since there was no case and no settlement had been brought before her.

Last week, some 35 former federal judges filed a motion with that court asking the judge to reopen the case to investigate what they described as a potential fraud against the United States. That the lawsuit itself was never legitimate in the first place since the parties in the case had no conflict as they were both. Yes, Donald Trump. The judge has taken up the recommendation of those esteemed former federal judges and has asked Trump and his sons and the Trump organization to file a response to the federal judge's motion by June 12th. But that's not all. The day after U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams originally closed the case, Trump's defense attorney and now acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced an amendment to the original so-called settlement that would grant an unprecedented immunity in perpetuity to Donald Trump and his sons and his companies. from investigation or audit or any penalties by the IRS, which will reportedly save them, about $100 million that is believed that Trump may now owe to the IRS. In the meantime, however, the $1.8 billion slush fund itself has caused an uproar, as noted, from Democrats and some Republicans alike, so much so that Congress left town early before Memorial Day. Because Republicans could not agree on a way to pass an unrelated immigration bill without including a measure to either fund or kill the incredibly questionable slush fund. The entire scam became only less popular over Congress's holiday recess. And with the writing on the wall, the administration announced that they were killing the slush fund scheme. And the media reported it as such, even though it was unclear that it was really dead. On Wednesday, this week, as Todd Blanche testified to the House Judiciary Committee, he was asked about the slush fund and if it was really truly dead by Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York. Attorney General, I want to thank you for verbally committing to not moving forward with the so-called anti-weaponization fund. I just want to make sure, are you going to issue a new memo in writing rescinding that May 18th memo? I'm not committing to putting anything in writing. I'm going to say over and over again. I mean, I don't know what the purpose of putting something in writing. I'm telling you what we're doing. Meaning like, why do I need to put something in writing? I'm telling you what we're doing. You started it. You established it in writing, so it just makes sense to rescind it in writing. I think a lot of Americans, both sides of the aisle are concerned about it, and it would restore a lot of trust about this issue.

Okay, I'm not committing to doing anything in writing. No. Okay. I mean, I'll take it under advisement. He's not committing to doing anything in writing. He'll take it under advisement, however. The so-called agreement is on paper, signed by Trump's attorneys and the DOJ attorneys, who are also Trump's attorneys. and posted to the DOJ website. But though the slush fund is dead, he says he will not write that down on a piece of paper declaring it as such. And oh, by the way, DOJ has not even said that they would rescind the unprecedented immunity. The amendment, the addendum to pay federal taxes owed by Trump and his sons and his companies. But we'll set that part aside for another day when asked by CNN's Caitlin Susan Collins on Wednesday whether the fund was really truly dead. Trump was, shall we say, less than clear. Is the $1.8 billion DOJ fund dead or is it on hold? It's, uh, I'd have to ask the lawyers. I don't know. I know one thing, the weaponization. Are you talking about the weaponization fund? Yeah, what's your decision? The weaponization fund, uh, as far as I'm concerned, was a beautiful thing. Uh, these are people that are great people that would destroy. Their families have been destroyed. These are people who have been destroyed. Their families were destroyed. Presumably, these are the people he's talking about who rioted on his behalf at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, who Trump has variously called victims and hostages who were otherwise simply filled with love that day. That day in which more than 140 law enforcement officials were sent to the hospital. One died. And others later took their own lives. But the slush fund payments, if they occur, won't go to those cops. It'll go to those who attacked those cops. Back in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, where Republicans, at least some of them, have said they virulently oppose the entire slush fund idea, or at least the idea of giving money to those who violently attacked law enforcement officials. Well, back in the Senate, there seems to be a dispute about whether the Senate will actually ban the slush fund in the text of their immigration funding bill that they're hoping to pass under reconciliation rules. which allows them to pass it with a simple majority vote without needing to overcome a filibuster, or if they will just not include a provision to fund it, essentially punting the fight for another day.

As we go to air, the wrangling over that bill is underway in the U.S. Senate. Under those reconciliation rules, essentially unlimited amendment votes may be called by Democrats that in exchange for Republicans being able to pass their bill with a simple majority vote. But Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected an effort by Democrats to formally kill. Trump's push for that $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who claim they were victimized by the government. Senate Democrats forced the vote at the start of the marathon voting session known as a voterrama that will allow votes on amendments to the $70 billion GOP immigration funding bill ahead of final passage. If that measure from the Democrats had succeeded, it could have jeopardized that immigration enforcement funding package, which is a key Trump priority. The effort to kill the fund, however, failed, 49 to 50 with Republican Senator Susan Collins, John Husted, and Dan Sullivan all running for re-election this year, crossing party lines to vote with Democrats. The vote put Republicans, however, in a tough spot, given that many claim. They want to see that fund shut down, but they don't want to derail the larger immigration enforcement bill. So that wrangling will continue, but all of it is still of great interest to those J-Sixers, who were reportedly thrilled to hear that even after Trump had pardoned them all, all of them, bring hundreds of violent criminals from prison on his very first day in office. In his second term, that now, well, now they would actually get paid for their crimes. One of them, as AP reported last weekend, is David Mike Johnston, a licensed attorney. When he illegally entered the Capitol on January 6th with a mob of Trump supporters, more than five years later, Johnson is now offering to help his fellow J-6ers apply for payouts from the new fund for people claiming to be victims of a weaponized government. He'll do it for a 10% cut of any award. He said, I think the narrative is changing about how the history of that day is being told. He said in a video on social media, I think good things are happening for us. Some in the so-called J6 community are already staking claims, even though the government has not even established an application process. And as two judges have frozen use of the fund for now, the administration claims, though not in writing, that the fund is dead and Congress has yet to decide whether it will ever be funded at all, even if it does exist. Nonetheless, as the AP report details, plenty of J-Sixers are eager for a payout from that fund, including, for example, the Florida man who posed for photos, with then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's podium, who argued he deserves to be compensated for the cost of his infamy.

A rioter from New Jersey described by prosecutors as a Nazi sympathizer who hailed the new fund as, quote, good news, not just for J-Sixers, but all victims of weaponization, unquote, and a Texas man who received a seven-year prison sentence for storming the Capitol with a metal tomahawk who celebrated the fund as, quote, payback for victims of Biden's tyranny. But not all of the J-6ers are lining up in hopes of a payday. Jason Riddle, a U.S. Navy veteran from New Hampshire who was sentenced to 90 days behind bars after pleading guilty to riot charges, publicly rejected a pardon from Donald Trump and told AP that it would be, quote, ridiculous for him or any other J-6 rioter to get government compensation for it. Quote, I'd love money, said Riddle. But I can't accept that. Joining us now is Jason Riddle, a now former supporter of Donald Trump, who credits his time in prison as helping him gain perspective, eventually leading him out of the MAGA movement. Jason Riddle, thank you for joining us today on the broadcast, sir. Hi, Brett. Thanks for having me. So why didn't you accept your pardon from the president? And why wouldn't you take money from this so-called anti-weaponization fund if it ever actually came to fruition? I can't take money from the fund because I'm not a victim of January 6th. I was a criminal. I stood right next to the people. I don't know if it was the same gentleman who sprayed Brian Sicknick with OC spray, but I stood right next to someone who was spraying a police officer with pepper spray from top to bottom. So I very well could have been standing next to the people who killed Brian Sicknick. I don't know. And it's something that keeps me up at night and it sucks. You know, the only thing, you know, I can't take that back, but I cannot do it again. And the way you don't do it again is by acknowledging it happened in the first place. So for me to accept money, that I'd be claiming that I'm somehow a victim. I'm not, you know, I was a criminal on that day. And, you know, I can't accept money for that. You know, this money is a slap in the face to the officers who were killed. You know, if there's any money, if anything, you know, it should be going to their families. What? Not us. What do you think when you, you know, I mentioned some of these other folks, folks that are known, the guy who stole the podium and, you know, other folks who brought weapons and so forth when they say, great, things are changing. The tide is turning. We're finally getting what we're owed. What are your thoughts when you see that sort of thing, when you hear that sort of thing? You know, life obviously was down for them. And, you know, Trump, you know, Trump isn't wrong when he says families were destroyed. But, you know, they weren't, you know, destroyed by their own actions. You know, you know, everyone had their own motives for going down there on that day. I knew Trump was lying and I still went down there. That's, you know, that's something that was very wrong with me that I'm, you know.

Trying to put myself on a plate, you know, for starters, I was unemployed while doing it. I keep myself gangfully employed now. You know, I think there's a lot of comfort in Trump's lies. You know, it's not, it sucks knowing that I was, you know, standing shoulder to shoulder with cop killers. Mm-hmm. But it's still, it's lies. It's false comfort. It's not going to help you in the long run. And you're not going to learn anything in the long run. And all these people are going to, you know, I think we're going to see, I mean, we've already seen a lot of the people involved in January 6 getting re-arrested. Someone on the first day was shot and killed. I mean, we're going to see a crime wave. Well, I hadn't realized that you went there. So I was sort of under the impression that you had a change of heart after all of this, after you pled guilty and everything. You actually, you went down to D.C. knowing that he was lying about this, lying about the 2020 election? Yes, I knew he was lying and I didn't care. I went down anyways. Why didn't you care? I had just quit the post office and I was drinking heavily. I'm an alcoholic. I'm recovering alcoholic now. I was not recovering at the time. And, you know, a rational thought was just... taken over my life and I was just you know you know I should have been more concerned about getting a job you know my family my husband we didn't get divorced but we almost got divorced at the time and um that's those are the things I should have been focusing on um what I wasn't I Why did you actually then come down? What did you expect to happen? What did you think was going to happen? Even though you knew he was lying, what were you hoping to see? I thought I was going to my final Trump rally. You know, as my life fell apart, I got fired from corrections. I was drinking every single day. My husband and I, we split up. We didn't divorce before we separated. And I somehow, I had nothing to. that was working in my life. So I would cling on to these false victories, and I'd go on social media, and I'd tout about Trump rallies, and I'd go to Trump rallies. The only place where I felt like I belonged to anyone, and it had to be complete strangers who I'd never see again. Those are the only people I can get along with. And... Yeah, I thought I was going to my last Trump rally. You know, that's really interesting because I know that you now work with the leaving MAGA folks, Rich Logis over there. As a friend of the show has been on the program many times. He also talked when we spoke to him on the show before about that, about that sense of camaraderie. And there was a lot of people who, you know, maybe not did not know each other, but they had just the common, I guess.

love for Donald Trump or whatever it was he stood for that brought them together. Is that, that's something you felt as well? Yes, and it gave me a fake uniform to wear. I got fired from corrections. I couldn't serve in the military anymore. I lost the ability. I was becoming a non-functioning alcoholic. But I go to these Trump rallies, and now I got the MAGA uniform on. I'm a real Trumper. I'm a loyal trumper. One thing I thought about a lot in prison, too, is like, you know, that's when I really started to change. how i feel i know about trump and it was like how can i be loyal to someone who doesn't value the truth and like he puts loyalty above the truth you have to be loyal to him before you're loyal to the truth that that's pretty hard um did you serve your full 90 days in prison i did and uh And as AP describes it, that helped you gain perspective. Tell me about that. What perspective did you gain? And were you jailed with other J-Sixers at the time? I wasn't jailed with other J-Sixers, and I think prison actually made it worse. It was, I credit rehabilitation and getting sober. My probation officer put me on a breathalizer. And by the time I went to prison, I had 11 months sobriety on me. In prison, though, it had kind of an opposite effect because I was the Jan Sixer inmate. I had, there was, I was more of less a celebrity there. Everyone to meet the Jan Sixer, and my nickname was Trump. Every single day I got called Trump. And it was a little bit of an ego boost. And I think that's one thing, you know, I only did my 90 days. It's a little easier for me than the guy who did seven years, did three years. So, you know, I just recently talked to him. This Gen Sixer, who has a very similar background in crimes as I do, Brandon Fellows. He smoked a joint inside the Capitol building. I rated a liquor cabinet. But I did three months. He did three years. So when Trump talks about families being destroyed, I can understand how he can relate to that. And that's what I like to look at Brandon Fells and see what's going on with him because I easily could have ended up. in a jail cell next to him. And he was in the DC jail next to the militia people who went down. And like, so if he wasn't, you know, he became radicalized in there. So he hasn't made the journey you have towards sanity. No, no, he's excited. He went on CNN and he did a interviewer and he said he's finally a claim for $30 million. Well, listen, he, I mean, I guess he, you know, his life, his family's life, whatever was destroyed, but it wasn't destroyed by Biden's weaponization. It was destroyed by him and the choices that he made, right?

I would, that's how I think, I believe so, yes. I don't know if he feels that way. I can't speak for him. Do you think that, have you met J-Sixers who were actually treated inappropriately, victimized by a weaponized DOJ as you see it? No, I have not. I mean, I went to minimum security prison, and it was more or less like a nursing home. A lot of most of the inmates were senior citizens. I didn't, I didn't fear for my life. I didn't feel for my safety. I've read stories about the D.C. jail where the people who were arrested on that day and held from that day, that the conditions were, were. I believe the jail might have been shut down, actually. And it was this whole thing how it was actually it was bad there before the J6ers showed up. But because of J6 happening, drawing attention on it, they ended up reforming the jail. Yeah. Yeah, one of these things that kind of drives me crazy. There's this Republican woman in Colorado, Tina Peters. I don't know if you followed her story. She, of course, did some very terrible stuff with voting systems and so forth. And she was jailed for nine years. She was recently pardoned ridiculously or given clemency by the Democratic governor of Colorado. But one of the first things she said coming out was, I'm going to work on prison reform. You sure do see a lot of Republicans coming out of prison. All of a sudden concerned about prison reform. Kind of drives me crazy. Anyway, I digress. So what is it that you, so it wasn't anything in jail necessarily that brought you to your senses here. It was essentially that you stopped drinking. Yes, I, more or less, I quit drinking. I started to see me. I wasn't a Trump supporter. I was a Trump obsessor. I mean, I... I don't think you could have a conversation with me. That would be ever bring it up. I had to bring it up every day, and I had it on social media all the time. It took me years to throw away everything. I kept finding things. I think I threw out all my Trump paraphernalia. And next thing, you know, I find a pair of Trump socks. And it was an unhealthy obsession that has caused a lot of problems. And by not. engaging that behavior. I've been finding it much easier to being a contributing member of society. And I'm going to...

kind of stick with that and no taxpayer dollars for me. So you're not going to, well, I think that in all of this, you eventually, we talked about mentioned, you found the leaving MAGA movement. Has that been helpful? Tell me about that, because we like Rich Lowe just a lot on this show, Adam on several times. Tell me about your experience with them and if it's something that might be valuable for other folks like you. It is. You know, I was, he came, after I refused the pardon, he reached out to me and asked me if I'd like to. do a bio and uh i did it and um they have um i have a meetings about once a week you catch up and just talk about um why he became a trump supporter and why you left and uh it's just kind of it's more or less is like a gateway i found it very similar to um i i used a a a for quitting drinking and it's more or less it's just a support group that's what it is you know there's a lot of people where they were turning to politics for support and this is a gateway to stop turning to politics for sports, especially Trump politics. Yeah, I mean, I guess it sort of replaces that sense of community that you found with the with the with the with the Trumpers. Hopefully you find it with others who are now leaving MAGA. There's some debate Jason Riddle in the non-Maga community about how forgiving. We should be towards folks like you who are, you know, trying to leave, who are trying to correct your life and put things right. What is your thought on that? I mean, it's a good question. You know, you should have known better. Jason, you were in the U.S. Navy. You were a corrections officer for crying out loud watching other law enforcement officials being harmed here. Should we forgive you for that or should we welcome you and give you an off-ramp? Well, I reached out to a reporter that talked to Brian Sicknick's brother, and I even, I was like, would you be interested in maybe passing along? I would like to apologize to him, and I never heard back. And I try to think from his point of view, and I wouldn't. And that's okay. I'm not, I don't need to be forgiven. I just, I need to not. put myself back in that position um so i'm not i'm going to focus a little less on what people you know i'm getting a reaction out of everyone and just you know maintaining uh Living the rehabilitated lifestyle. And for people who don't remember, Brian Sicknick was the officer who actually died after collapsing at the Capitol, it died the next day in the hospital. Jason, really fascinating talking with you about all of this. And I'm encouraged and I'm hopeful about your path. Do you have any recommendations for other things?

Maga folks out there or their families. I know that that was a big thing. That's always been a big thing with Rich Lodges as, you know, supporting the friends and family of Maga folks. Do you have any recommendations for people like you who might be non-Maga curious, so to speak? Well, leavingmaga.org. It's a good place to check out. I don't want to know what you looked at it. Yeah, and it's just seeing other people's stories. Like, I'm glad you brought that up. I forgot about, like, just hearing the stories of the people affected by relatives of MAGA. We had an, I remember an elderly woman saying, my grandson just called me the C word on social media over politics. And, you know, I lost, I, you know, the family's destroyed. It applies to me, too. I lost a lot of relatives and friends along the way. They just. Like the things I was putting on social media, it just wasn't normal. And they became uncomfortable, and they distanced themselves from me. And it's looking into leaving Mago, it was nice seeing that I'm not the only person who's been through that. Did they have they welcomed you back to the fold, the family? Some. Some, not so much. That's okay. All right. Well, listen, Jason, really appreciate you joining us today, giving us some perspective on all of this. Really appreciate the tough road you're going down right now and, you know, coming to terms with where you were and where you're going. Jason Riddle, a former U.S. Navy veteran and former Manga. You can, as he notes, get more information on stories like his at... leaving maga.org, whether you are in maga, whether you are a family member or a friend of someone who is leaving maga.org. They're great folks over there. Jason Riddle, really appreciate speaking with you today, sir, and don't be surprised if we give you a shout in the future. Thanks, Bradshaw. Thanks, Jason. Okay. Well, he seems like a nice guy. Yes, and somebody who's definitely gone through a redemption arc. It sounds like, you know, because he had trouble with alcohol and so forth, but it sounds not unlike Rich Logis' story and others that I've heard. You know, Rich always likes to say, you know, he was Maga and he's got the dozen Make America Great Hats to prove it. Yes. Same with this guy. Same with Jason, you know, buying all that gear. The mindset. And I guess it's just something that those of us who didn't fall for it or don't fall for it can't seem to... understand, but the mindset of a lot of these folks who buy all this merchandise, who buy into this, I mean, I guess it really is like a cult. I guess that's how a cult works. Well, yeah. I mean, I think it's also sort of a similar thing to what you hear with street gangs, for example. It gives people a sense of belonging. It gives them a family. It gives them a community that they were missing earlier.

It kind of speaks to, you know, the sort of epidemic of loneliness in America today that everything is so fractured and people aren't seeing each other in person anymore. There aren't any community spaces to meet in anymore. It's really difficult to make connection and community in America today. So I think, and that on top of the pandemic, just fed into a lot of these things that sort of brought together folks into this really sad mindset. Back in 2020. when the only place you could find a crowd. at that point in the middle of the pandemic was in fact at a Trump rally. Yeah. You know, and when he talks about, you know, what recommendations for family and friends of folks who have sort of felt lost to the MAGA crowd, well, obviously different people are going to have a different reaction to this. But, you know, personally, I think it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to punish your family members or your friends if they finally find their way back to sanity. and they find a way to feel a genuine remorse for what happened and where they went. And I think it actually helps bring them back if they have a community and a family to go to. Those MAGA folks in your family coming around yet? Not yet. But a couple of them have backed off of it and seem to recognize that, hey, that was wrong. And I wish I hadn't done that. Not buying quite as much gear as Trump gear as they were. All right, we got to get out. But let me, we've got to get to a quick break. We'll come back with some thoughts on, yes, 60 minutes and the state of the media and the state of the world and the state of Desi Doin and the Green News report all still had on today's broadcast. I'm Brad Friedman.

What the public hears on the public airwaves matters. Please help us stay on your public airwaves by going to bradblog.com slash donate to help keep us going. That's bradblog.com slash donate. And thanks. Banning all the words I write destroying them with great delight They make me start again It's Good News Week Because the rest is not allowed I think I'll write a song about the freedom of the pen Think about the news Vital things today Look at the press Let's see what they have to say It's Good News Yeah, spoiler alert. Not very good news week. Welcome back to the Bradcast, Brad Friedman from bradblog.com. There has been so much going on this week that we have not even touched on in truth. One of the biggest stories of the week. The apparent destruction of CBS News is 60 Minutes, which has for decades been not only the top ranked news program, but in many weeks and many years over the decades, the top ranked program period overall on network television. But with the takeover of CBS News by Paramount Skydance owner, the very Trumpy David Ellison, and with the... With the installation of Trumpy opinion columnist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News, despite any experience in television journalism at all, well, like so many things that Donald Trump touches in any way CBS News itself appears to be collapsing with the CBS Evening News once headed up by the likes of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather. Pretty much crashing and burning in the ratings ever since Bari Weiss tapped Tony Ducopal as anchor. And 60 Minutes appears all but decimated after now four of its top correspondence are gone. Leaving just three out of the previous team of seven, along with two executive producers who have been fired at the once-storied independent television news magazine. And one of the things about 60 Minutes was that it was independent even from CBS News. Yep. The story just exploded this week after a meeting on Monday included a confrontation between 20 years, 60 minutes veteran correspondent Scott Pelly and the show's new executive editor. A guy just tapped by Bari Weiss after she had fired the previous executive producer last week for still unexplained reasons. A guy by the name of Nick Bilton.

A tech writer who also apparently has little or no television experience, as I understand it. The staff meeting included demands from Pelley to know why the previous executive producer and two other correspondents were fired from the program a week or so ago. And the meeting reportedly included Pelly charging that Bilton had slim experience for the job at best and accused Bari Weiss of trying to quote, murder 60 minutes. Quote, she does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that. Pelley reportedly said to Bilton in Bilton's first meeting with the staff that Bari Weiss did not attend. Following a meeting with Pellie alone then the next day with Bilton and Bari Weiss, Pellie was fired by email in a note that from Bilton calling out Pellie's conduct in the meeting on Monday. Quote, yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt, wrote Bilton. After the filing, Pelly issued a public statement in response, accusing the network's news executives of silencing employees and claiming they instructed him, quote, to inject falsehood and bias into his reporting at 60 minutes. Quote, 60 Minutes has been the number one program in America for decades because our beloved audience finds integrity, quality, and humanity in our stories Pelley wrote in the lengthy statement that he shared on social media on Wednesday morning. When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects. Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, he writes, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. That sounds about right, doesn't it? Pelley criticized the new leadership at CBS. He said, quote, last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness and against the forces of political bias. They stood for professionalism.

Pelly then released another statement on Wednesday afternoon, contesting Bari Weiss's assertion about the meeting held the day earlier, suggesting that, in fact, no attempt at a detaunt was made. Quote, Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true. In the meeting on Tuesday in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort to, quote, find a way back, as Bari Weiss said in the editorial meeting. At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution. In fact, Bari Weiss... CBS executive Tom Zabrowski, who was also in that Tuesday meeting, and Nick Bilton, refused to answer my questions. I asked why some number of questions about why she fired the entire staff of 60 minutes a few days before and without cause. I'm, quote, I'm not answering that question, she said. I asked why she did not come to 60 Minutes offices to explain her actions. Quote, I'm not answering that question. She said, why did she fire 60 Minutes executive producer, Tanya Simon? Quote, I'm not answering that question. Why fire correspondent Cecilia Vega? I'm not answering that question. Why fire correspondent Sharon Alfonsi? I'm not answering that question. Later in the news statement, Pelly said, I am pained that the staff of CBS News was misled in the Wednesday morning conference call. These executives cannot gain the trust of staff with lies. This is antithetical to everything that we stand for and reveals contempt for what journalists do. Now, I don't know, of course, who's telling the truth about what happened in that Tuesday meeting. I was not there. I do know that Scott Pelly has been a trusted voice of the news and of CBS News and 60 Minutes for 20-something years at 60 Minutes and then another decade or so before that at CBS News overall. Yeah, he has earned half of the Emmys that 60 Minutes has earned as a show, yes. So I suspect that you've heard at least some of this ugly story by now. And I suspect there will be more to come as things continue to fall apart at both 60 Minutes and CBS, where Donald Trump has already, by the way, taken credit for the removal of the legendary Stephen Colbert from The Late Show after 11 years there as the top-rated program in late-night television because he didn't like the things that Stephen Colbert said about him. But what's happening at CBS and at 60 Minutes is not just newsroom drama, however. It is, in fact, a political assault on a journalistic institution and yes, on the free press itself by a new corporate billionaire owner hoping to curry favor with the president.

In fact, it was reported only after Ellison's private meeting with Trump's corrupt FCC chair, Brendan Carr, that David Ellison's attempt to buy Paramount was given the green light. And then after a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump himself, that the new Paramount Skydance company run by Ellison received the go-ahead from the administration to buy Time Warner, to buy Warner Brothers at this point, which owns CNN, which yes is where all of this is going. After taking out CBS, CNN will be next. CNN is next on the menu. presuming the purchase of Warner Brothers actually closes as expected in the coming months. We will see the same undermining of CNN. as Trump takes out as many institutions as he possibly can who report on him and his failing administration accurately and truthfully. This is where we are. And this is why I continue to remind you every day about the importance of supporting independent media. Not just folks like us at bradblog.com and the broadcast, et cetera, though we do appreciate your support, but wherever you get your news from right now. particularly if they are an independent outlet that survives thanks to support from the public, as opposed to, you know, mega corporations who do not serve at the public's interest. But apparently in the interest of their corporate shareholders, and really for pretty much the first time in our nation's history, as far as I can tell, at the pleasure of the president of the United States himself. In this case, a quickly devolving and degrading president of the United States. I know I talk a lot about elections on this show as our only way out of this nightmarish Trump era. But as long as we have covered elections, we've also covered the media and the need for a robust, independent media, both large and small. It was, in no small part, failure by the corporate media to report honestly and accurately on Donald Trump about a decade or so ago now that has brought us to this terrible moment and these terrible events. And things will get worse before they get better. But if that is ever going to happen, if things are ever going to get better, we need to make sure that there are folks still able to afford to tell you the truth every day over your public airwaves and elsewhere. So, yeah, what's happening at CBS is much more than network news drama. It is a warning. And a warning light.

Right now is flashing bright red. So please do your part. Help all of us who care about truth and freedom and the press and freedom of speech to even survive, whatever that might mean as you see it. All right. Speaking of, Desi Doyen and the Green News Report is next up on the broadcast. I'm Bradfreydman. Hey, this is Brad. Please consider supporting whichever progressive media outlet is supporting you and the things that you care about. Most, just like us, do not receive corporate or political support. We all need your support to counter the powerful corporate media echo chamber. Right now, as much as ever. If you choose to support us, you can do it really easily, safely, and quickly via brandblog.com slash donate. From Desi Doyan and myself, thank you. All right, speaking of truth and news and independence and justice and the American way. All of that. Now in our 18th year, by the way, let's get to it, our latest report. Those measuring devices being taken away around the Americas, really has a worldwide effect. Trump administration moves to dismantle crucial ocean monitoring system. People are leaving the coast in Louisiana, but it's going to accelerate in the course of this century. And those people are going to have to go somewhere. New study warns New Orleans faces significant sea level rise and should start planning relocation now. Plus, Trump EPA rolls back limits on climate warming super pollutants. What are climate warming super pollutants? Those are chemicals used in refrigerants. And that's bad? That's bad. All of those bad stories and more straight ahead from brandblog.com. I'm Brad Friedman. And I'm Desi Doyen. Stand by for six minutes of independent green news, politics, analysis, and snarky comment. There's nothing wrong with the refrigerant other than sometimes it makes your food too cold. So we ended the anti-refrigerent movement in this country. Hey, didn't you hear Desi? It's bad. What are you doing? This is your Green News Report. I swear Desi Doyen, Donald Trump never listens to a word you have to say, but if he did... Boy, would things be a lot better? What do you got for us today? Well, first, a few remaining news items from while we were out. A new Tulane University study warned that New Orleans, Louisiana will likely be ground zero for climate migration due to rising sea levels. That's partly because sea level rise from man-made climate change is accelerating, but also Louisiana's coastline is both sinking and rapidly eroding from being carved up.

by decades of oil and gas industry operations. The researchers warn that planning should begin now for an orderly managed retreat to relocate New Orleans and coastal communities to higher ground, or else let climate crisis chaos decide the state's future. Yeah, I think we'll end up doing that one. While we were out at the United Nations, more than 140 countries voted to affirm a landmark non-binding opinion from the international... Court of Justice declaring that countries that don't act to protect the climate system could violate international law. It opened the door for affected countries to seek damages from the world's worst polluters. The measure passed despite efforts from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Iran to derail it. I wonder why they were against it. The Trump Environmental Protection Agency removed restrictions on potent climate warming greenhouse gases used. in refrigeration, reversing limits signed into law by Donald Trump himself in his first term. Hydrofluorocarbons are regarded as super pollutants. EPA now claims that rules restricting HFCs are just too costly for grocery stores. But Bloomberg News found EPA's cost-benefit analysis simply omitted any benefits. So Donald Trump was against... These refrigerants before he was in favor of them. Exactly. I guess he's been paid off by big grocery. Industry groups don't want the repeal. They say manufacturers have already redesigned their products and retooled their factories. Didn't Trump do the same thing with light bulbs? Yes. In science and alarming development, the Trumpified National Science Foundation, which funds scientific research, has announced that it is shutting down the crucial Ocean Observatories Initiative. That's an ocean monitoring network of underwater sensor arrays that provide critical, irreplaceable data on ocean temperatures, fisheries, marine heat waves, ocean chemistry, global currents, and even tsunamis. Not just shutting... it down, but actively dismantling the $365 million system paid for by taxpayers. Wow. Professor Matthew England of the Australian Research Council warned of the crippling loss of critical data, not just for the U.S., but globally, at a time when the world's oceans are dynamically shifting due to climate change. It's really important for industries such as fisheries and agriculture. It's also important for understanding how our oceans are changing to have. these monitoring systems in place and having put all that money and investment into putting the measuring devices in place it really is a backward step to be removing them well it's under the water donald trump can't see them he has no clue what they actually do let's get rid of them Also, it means ignoring climate science. Added benefit. And finally, there's a new side benefit to all electric school buses, in addition to protecting kids' lungs and saving schools money by ditching costly diesel fuel. In Massachusetts, once the school year ends, a new pilot program will utilize parked electric school buses as big yellow batteries, sending their power back to the grid, boosting energy supplies during peak summer demand.

and earning revenue for cash-strapped school districts. Cool. For much more on all of these stories and the ones who couldn't get to today, check out our website at greennews. Bradblog.com. Find, follow, and share us planetwide on the social media, especially Blue Sky, please, at Green News Report. I'm Brad Friedman. And I'm Desi Doyen. And this has been your Green News Report. All right, I'm writing my magic bus the hell out of here. Thank you very much, Desi Doyen, our executive producer. Thanks as well to my guest today, Jason Riddle, and all of you for spending a portion of your day or night with us. If you missed any portion of today's program or any other, since the beginning of time, you can now download all of them for free at bradblog.com. You can listen to them online, share of them with someone you know, love, or hate. It's easier than ever. I hope since I spent a whole bunch of time redesigning. it for you. Check it out. Bradblog.com slash donate if you'd like us like to help us stay on your public airwaves. Yes, but definitely visit the site because it's very cool now. Whether you hope to donate or not. Exactly. Love to have you there. What else? Where am I? Drop me email. Drop me email if you like. I'm Bradcast at Bradblock.com. And you'll find me on the social medias. Yes, including blue sky at the Brad blog. That's it. We will see you at all of the above. Until we see here next time, I'm Brad Friedman. Good luck, world.