Blue City Crime Chaos, it's a Schumer Shutdown & Leftist Judicial Bias at its Best Week In Review
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123 segmentsThis is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. The future won't wait, and neither should you. That's why American Public University offers master's programs designed for momentum, affordable, high quality, and flexible so you keep moving forward. With career-relevant programs in business, health care, education, IT, and more, you can gain skills you can use right away and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University, made for what's next. Learn more at APU.apus.edu. Saturday, July 25th. I know I will be the best welterweight in the world. An undefeated phenom. Bad man is a rising star. And a frightening force. What a win for Shalmila. Ascend on the nation's capital to fight for gold. Thad, the silverback gene. Silverback Nation makes them noise. Versus Shemil Musayev. Oh, it's over! For the PFL welterweight world title. Unreal! Saturday, July 25th and 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our war fighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving healthcare, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage. If you're someone who's tracking your sleep, your steps, and your macros, then you already know that what you eat is kind of everything. You should also know that Sprouts Farmer's Market can help make eating for longevity easier. Sprouts has all the high-quality, nutrient-dense, organic foods and cutting-edge supplements you need. So whether you're focused on protein, gut health, or optimizing how you feel day-to-day, it's all there. And here's what no other grocery store can offer. An in-store wellness expert to help you find exactly what you need. So whether you're after longevity or on any other health journey, it's easier at Sprout's Farmer's Market. The first ever X-Games League Championship is going down live, and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports, a season's worth of competition, coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24th through 26th on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN 2. Or stream on the ESPN app, X Games YouTube, Kick, Roku Sports Channel, and Amazon. The championship starts July 24th. Don't miss the moment it becomes history.
Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz that we can review and Ben Ferguson with you. And here are some of the big stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, fighting the crime epidemic in liberal blue cities. Donald Trump taking it on and having massive success. So why are Democrats still fighting against them? Even when the data shows it's working. We'll have that for you. Also, the government shutdown is continuing. And is there an end date in sight? We'll have that as well. And finally, Brett Kavanaugh attempted murder suspect, given an incredibly light sentence due to a radical judge. It's the weekend review, and it starts right now. All right, I want to move to something else then that's really important. The Senate judiciary is having a big hearing, and it deals with Blue City Chaos, Democratic-run cities. The report that's out now is pretty clear. The top 20 most crime-ridden cities, 18 of them are controlled by left-wing, hardcore Democrats, and you guys are now looking into this. So what does this actually mean? Well, this week, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on out-of-control crime in Democrat cities, and it really is horrific, the policies. It turns out when you let violent criminals go, when you undermine the police, when you put in place prosecutors who won't prosecute crime, you get more crime. This summer, the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, is the chairman, put out a report that showed that the Biden Department of Justice sent taxpayer-funded grants to Soros-backed soft-on-crime NGOs. And in particular, here's what the report said. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Vera Institute was awarded millions of taxpayer dollars to prop up left-wing district attorneys, who would then partner with the Vera Institute to implement Soros-backed progressive policies. These policies included prioritizing violent criminals over victims and declining to fully prosecute felony charges, including assault, kidnapping, rape, and murder. And here's some of the key findings from the report. In New York, New York County DA Alvin Bragg partnered with the Very Institute and declined to prosecute certain misdemeanor felonies, actively working to downgrade felony charges to misdemeanors. and refused to detain criminals before their trials. Meanwhile, Bragg attempted to prosecute President Donald Trump for federal campaign finance violations. In the year 2025, there were over 48,000 individuals arrested for misdemeanors in New York County. Wow. But only 3,000 of them were detained. 48,000 arrested, 3,000 detained. In Georgia, Athens DA Deborah Gonzalez partnered with the Vera Institute and pledged to protect illegal immigrant defendants and release criminals on bonds that do not require the posting of money. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee DA John Chisholm partnered with the Vera Institute to implement progressive soft-on-crime policies and reportedly told the Milwaukee Sentinel Journey, quote,
Is there going to be an individual I divert or who I put into a treatment program who's going to go out and kill somebody? You bet. That is the Soros DA bragging. He's going to release criminals who murder people. And in 2020, the Milwaukee DA's office released a criminal twice before he ultimately drove an SUV through a Christmas parade killing six. and injuring 62 others. This pattern is happening over and over and over again. What is amazing is the Democrats are not learning. They're not saying, gosh, maybe we should stop siding with the criminals. Instead, they're doubling down. They're doubling down. And you see these stories that pop up. And there was one dad that went before Congress to testify about his daughter. And just how many times the man that killed his daughter, that took his daughter's life, had been arrested and released. And if you didn't hear that, people should go listen to it because I think it's really important. But we're seeing this happen where criminals are being caught and released. dozens of times, like dozens of time, Senator. And they're just like, yeah, so what? They go out and then they kill somebody. They're like, okay, maybe we should I guess lock that guy up. My bad. It's insane. Well, and here was a portion of the hearing this week. Give a listen. Prosecute violent criminals. Innocent victims die. Right here in Washington, D.C. in 2012, murders in D.C. totaled fewer than 100. By 2023, murders had nearly tripled 274 lives taken in a single year. These are the real-world consequences of Democrat crime policies that let murderers go. And the policy to be clear, Senator, is a simple one. DAs were instructed when they took money basically from Soros, they're bought and paid for by Soros. And what they were instructed to do was to have prison reform and bail reform. They wanted people out of the prisons. They didn't want people to go to prisons. They didn't want people to be held in prison because of bail. And so that is part of what they're advocating for here. It's comprehensive and it's at every stage. It's a left-wing agenda that wants to, number one, abolish the police, wants to defund the police. And by the way, that's not just empty rhetoric. If you look at jurisdictions across the country in Minneapolis, they slashed funding for the police department. In New York City, the NYPD, they cut over a billion dollars from the NYPD's budget in Austin, Texas, our home state. $150 million cut from the police department. So that's one way they do it, is they attack the police directly to wanting to either abolish or defund the police. But secondly, they go after DAs. And George Soros has spent tens of millions of dollars.
funding DA campaigns for radicals who've gotten elected in many major cities across the country. And when they get in, they refuse to prosecute violent criminals. They downgrade felonies to misdemeanors. They abolish cash bail. So they catch a murderer. They let them go. They catch a violent criminal. They let him go. Here's another portion from the hearing. You know, it's clear from this hearing the Democrat talking points have come out. Both Senator Alex Padilla and Senator Cory Booker spent a great deal of time talking about, quote, red states. There's a reason they were talking about red states, because unfortunately, most red states have blue cities, and that's where the crime is. If you want to look at in 2023, the large cities with the most homicides per 100,000 people, number one was New Orleans, Louisiana. Number two was Memphis, Tennessee. Number three was St. Louis City. Number four was Baltimore City. Number five was Washington, D.C. Democrat crime policies kill people. Soros D.A.s who let murderers out of jail kill people. So when you look at this being exposed, the way that you guys are doing it, what is going to be the mechanism that can obviously help stop this from happening? And how can Congress use that leverage? Well, there are lots of things we can do. One is what President Trump has done, which is he sent the National Guard to Washington, D.C. And the result of that is the crime rates have plummeted. The murder rates have dropped 58%. Now, you would think... rational people, if Democrats were rational people, they'd be celebrating, wow, the murder rate has plummeted. That means people are alive because the National Guard is there stopping murders. But they're not. They're furious. And I'll tell you, in the wake of George Floyd dying. Yeah. The D.C. City Council passed a soft-on-crime package of legislation that lessened the penalty for violent crime across the board, that tied the police hands and made it much, much harder to prosecute crime. And the result was crime rose dramatically. Carjacking and violent crime rose dramatically. I've introduced legislation in the Senate called the Clean D.C. Act. The Clean D.C. Act reverses those 2022 laws. It reinstates tougher penalties on violent crimes, and it allows the police to actually go after the violent criminals. At the hearing, the head of the D.C. Police Union testified, and he explicitly asked the Senate to pass my legislation, pass the Clean D.C. Act. Give a listen to the head of the D.C. Police Officers Union. That is why we also support the Clean DC Act. It begins the process of undoing harmful legislation, restoring balance, and rebuilding MPD strength. This is not just a DC issue. Other cities that embrace the same policies are now facing the same consequences. The lesson is clear. When leaders attack police, communities suffer. When lawmakers strip away tools and protections, criminals thrive. If this is not corrected, the crisis will deepen here and nationwide.
I urge Congress to act, support the Clean D.C. Act, roll back field legislation, and work with law enforcement instead of against us. Officers want nothing more than to protect their communities, but they cannot do it alone. Again, I thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I welcome any questions the committee may have. Thank you. One of the things, Senator, I like about where you guys are going with this is that this is not going to be a short-term thing. This is actual reform you are advocating for to make sure that these cities don't go back to these liberal policies where innocent people are dying every single day. No, that's exactly right. And the first obligation, the first obligation the president, the commander in chief has is to protect this nation to keep us safe. The first obligation, really, every elected official should put front and center is protecting the health and safety of the men and women you're elected to represent. And, you know, it is striking, just like we talked about a minute ago with the shutdown. where the Democrats are engaged in gaslighting. You heard in the segment I was talking about what both Cory Booker and Alex Padilla said in that hearing, where they both had talking points almost exactly the same, where they said, well, you know, there are bad crime stats in a bunch of red states, and they went through a bunch of red states, and they're right, there are red states where the crime stats are problematic. My response, which they have no refutation to. is that is entirely driven by the blue cities in those red states that are governed by left-wing Democrat mayors and left-wing Democrat DAs who refuse to prosecute violent crime. And so, yes, look, Memphis, Tennessee was number two on the list. Now, Tennessee is a red state. But, you know, God help you if you live in Memphis when you have local officials who will not prosecute the bad guys. And that's true in Baltimore. That's true in New Orleans. That's true in Washington, D.C. And rather than address it and admit it and fix it, the Democrats are trying to distract people by engaging in dishonest rhetoric. Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week. Online education is convenient, but sometimes it can be lonely. Sometimes the extra help you need can only come from someone else. At American Public University, they make online education personalized, affordable, and memorable. With 24-7 mental health support available in multiple languages, access to career coaches who are industry professionals and lifelong career services, you'll never feel alone on your path to success. APU, digital by nature, human by design. Learn more at APU. APUS.edu. Saturday, July 25th. I know I will be the best walk away in the world. An undefeated phenom. Batman is a rising star. And a frightening force. What a win for Shabil Messiah. Ascend on the nation's capital to fight for gold. Thad, the silverback gene. Silverback nation makes some noise.
versus Shamil Musayev. All it's over! For the PFL well-to-weight world title. On Real! Saturday, July 25th and 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our war fighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving healthcare, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage. If you're someone who's tracking your sleep, your steps, and your macros, then you already know that what you eat is kind of everything. You should also know that Sprouts Farmer's Market can help make eating for longevity easier. Sprouts has all the high-quality, nutrient-dense, organic foods and cutting-edge supplements you need. So whether you're focused on protein, gut health, or optimizing how you feel day-to-day, it's all there. And here's what no other grocery store can offer. An in-store wellness expert to help you find exactly what you need. So whether you're after longevity or on any other health journey, it's easier at Sprout's Farmer's Market. The first ever X-Games League Championship is going down live, and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports, a season's worth of competition, coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24th through 26th on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN 2. Or stream on the ESPN app, X Games YouTube, Kik, Roku Sports Channel, and Amazon. The championship starts July 24th. Don't miss the moment it becomes history. Now on to story number two. Is this going to be a really long-term shutdown or is this going to be something that's going to get resolved pretty quickly? So let's talk about you in Washington last week. There were votes and movement, but it did not move enough to make the government go back to actually working for the American people. When you left D.C., what was the temperature? And you said, now Democrats, you feel like are actually freaking out. Yeah, look. I and every other Republican has voted repeatedly to open up the government. The House of Representatives has passed a clean CR, a clean continuing resolution that keeps the government open. And it's the Democrats who keep voting it down. And we're going to this week. We're going to be back in. We'll be in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, maybe Friday. Every day. We will vote to open the government. Right now, if the Democrats don't change every day, the Democrats will vote to keep the government shut down. And the challenge is they don't have an off-ramp. They're trying to make up all sorts of things to say, we're going to shut the government down because of X, because of Y. They're claiming.
it's all about that they really, really, really want to give health care to illegal aliens. Actually, ironically, they're not claiming that. That's in the language of the bill they keep voting for. So every Democrat keeps voting for a bill that would provide government provided health care for illegals. And then they're going on TV saying, what? Us? No, no, no. We don't want health care for illegals. Who's ever heard of such a thing? That's not possibly what we want. So there's a level of incoherence in terms of what their ask is. But there's a reason for that. They don't actually have a real ask. What they have is a political problem for Chuck Schumer. When he last kept the government open, he came very close to losing his job. The radical left wing rose up. They were furious. I got to say, Ben, it is astonishing. Every single Democrat Senate candidate in the country who has been asked, do you support Chuck Schumer to remain the Democrat leader in the Senate? Not one, not a single incumbent, not a single challenger has said, yep, he's our leader. They're all running terrified. So you want to know why there's a shutdown? Because Chuck Schumer needs to beat his chest. Now, at some point, he'll stop beating his chest and the government will reopen. But just this week, CBS did a poll. And I got to say the Democrats' numbers are near an all-time low. The Democrats' favorability rating is at 34%, 66% unfavorable. And it really is striking. So CBS, now this is not a right-wing poll. This is CBS. CBS asked, what words describe the Democrat Party? What do you think the number one word was? I'm going to guess it wasn't like inspirational, like hope and change back in the day when Obama was around. Week. There you go. Week. Week was 64% of Americans bold said the Democrat Party is weak. What do you think the number two word was? I'm going to go with Not Strong. Extreme. 46% said extreme. So weak and extreme are the top two words. Now, after that, you've got reasonable. Reasonable is at 44%. Strong? You actually asked about strong. What percent do you think say the Democrat Party is strong? I mean, if I had a guess, I'd say 35%. 27. Wow. So even lower than I thought, because 35 was not like a good number, by the way. And by the way, effective? What percent do you think, say the Democrat Party is effective? I'm going to say, based on what you just said a moment ago, 25 percent? 26. There you go. Okay. So, all right. Think for a minute. You are running the Democrat Party Senate campaign, the Democrat Party House campaign. Your message right now. Two-thirds of Americans think we're weak. Half of Americans think we're extreme. We've got a full quarter of Americans who think we're strong and effective. So we're telling you quarter of Americans, we are strong and effective. Everyone else, you know, we're full of crap. That is the definition of a political crisis. You want to know why my colleagues are nervous. Look, this past week, I sent out a meme. So you may have seen, in fact, I know you've seen Ben.
President Trump sent out a meme of Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero with a big handlebar mustache. By the way, so good and hilarious and just funny and people need to calm down. But of course, Democrats start screaming racism right away. Look, it was funniest crap. It was AI. So it had Chuck Schumer saying, all right, nobody's voting for Democrats because they know our BS. And we would have actually played the meme. But the AI curses a number of times. And this is a family-friendly podcast, so we're not going to play the curse words here. But I have to admit, I doubled over laughing. And look, it's obviously AI. Nobody thinks the – It's real. Yeah. It's pure humor actually said we, the Democrats, are full of crap. Like, it's obvious they're lying. But what people have gone nuts about is Hakeem Jeffries is there. They're saying, okay. Nobody votes for us. Everyone hates us. So we've decided to go all in on free health care, free illegals, because maybe the illegals, they don't speak English, so maybe they'll support us at least for a while to they discover how horrible we are, and then they won't support us either. That's a paraphrase of what Chuck Schumer says in the video. And you have Hakeem Jeffries and a sombrero and a big mustachio next to him. And I have to admit, my team. We took a video. There are 44 Democrats who keep voting to shut the government down. So we took pictures of all 44 of those Democrat senators. And we used a little bit of AI and we stuck sombreros and big old mustaches on them. And we put it out. And we put it out. Actually, I want to play the tune. And we're not going to play the whole thing, but I want to play the tune that we put it out to because it's very neutral and non-political. Give a listen to the song. that we put out, and mind you, while you're listening to this song, you have a cascade of 44 Democrat senators with sombreros and big handlebar moustaches. Give a listen. Camel is never going to beat me in November. Donna's going to make the country better than you can remember. Camel is never going to beat me in November.
never gonna be me in November. Donald's gonna make the country better than you can remember. Camel is never gonna be me in November. Hey, Margarita! When I dance, I do the margarita. Shake it on my trail, I can't pay now. They all love me, because I'm Dante, and every good American wants me. Votes for me, Joe just beat on himself the third time this week. Votes for me. Joe just beat on himself the first time this week. Cambo is never going to be me in November. I'm going to make the country better than you can remember. All right, I got to say, you know that Donald Trump loves this kind of stuff. I cannot wait to see what he says to you when you guys hang out next. Look, it's hysterical. And you got to envision, if you haven't watched it online, while the song is playing, we've just got image after image of Democrats. So we have Chris Van Hollen sitting down with the MS-13 member having a daquery with a giant sombrera and a handlebar mustache. We just have fun with it. By the way, I will say the macarena. So as you know, my communications director is named Macarena Martinez. She's fantastic, really, really good. But I was talking to, like, several of the young staffers in my office, and I said, you know, there's only one member of our staff who has been the title of a number one song worldwide. And like the 22-year-olds in my office had no idea what I was talking about. Isn't that amazing? Like they never heard of the Macarena. You're aging us right now. Yeah, like it's it's for all episodes. So this pod has a lot of younger listeners. There was a song, what, 20 years ago, 25? Long time ago. Yeah, longer than that maybe. Yeah. That was the macarena. And there was a dance. I will say if you've never seen it, there's an image you don't want to see of Hillary Clinton dancing the macarena. And it just, it will make you feel like the gif of Homer Simpson wanting to pour bleach in your eyes. You do not want to see Hillary. Trust me, do not Google Hillary Clinton dancing the macarena. You will never be the same. Was that, wasn't that, was that at the Democratic convention? I'm having a flashback right now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don't remember which. They were trying to be cool, right? And it was completely backfired. It was horrible. Now, I will tell you, when I sent out this video of all the Democrats, Tim Kaine, Democrat from Virginia, who Tim and I are friends, but he like popped me back on Twitter. He's like, hey, did you buy those sombreros in Cancun? which I was, I immediately responded. Yes, I did. And by the way, Tim, instead of making dumb jokes about Cancun, how about we reopen the government since half of your friggin' state, Virginia, works for the government, and you've taken away all their paychecks. And he didn't like that. So, so I will say, on the Senate floor, I was giving Tim a little bit of grief for that. And he was kind of, he was like, did you like my Cancun joke? And I'm like, yeah, but.
I'd like it better if you open the government. If you open the government. So, all right, look into your crystal ball. Based on what it was, what D.C. was like in the mood when you left, going back in there on Monday, do you think that we will get the government reopened this week? Or do you think that Chuck Schumer's going to still dig in? No, I think they cave this week. And I want to play for you. So last week, Chuck Schumer was on the Senate floor. And I want to paint the picture. He's giving a speech for one of the multiple times the Democrats are voting to shut the government down. And they know the polling is going terribly. And so Chuck Schumer got up and his line, he said, well, okay, there are polls that Republicans are talking about, but those are biased Republican polls. And he says, well, it's the New York Times, but it's biased. And I got to say, I was standing 10 feet away from Chuck Schumer. And I and every other Republican just cracked up laughing because he's like claiming the New York Times is a biased right wing publication. And it was spontaneous. We did not organize this. We just like doubled over laughing. And Chuck Schumer, he stammered. He stopped. He's like, uh, uh, what, I mean, it was, look, who knew Chuck Schumer could be so funny? I want you to play. Um, the video is better, but I want you to play the audio of Chuck Schumer saying this and the spontaneous reaction appeals of laughter on the Senate floor. Now, I know the leader is going to show a poll that says that Democrats will be blamed for the shutdown. There are many more polls that show Republicans are blamed. The question in that poll is biased. Bias in the New York Times, but it's biased. If you turn the question.
That's true. I don't always believe the New York Times. You can be sure of that. Neither do you. Okay. It's amazing, by the way. Like, you hear him there. It's kind of like he realized he stepped in it. And even his grin to you guys. He really was. Like, I'm standing 10 feet from him. And all of us, we like, okay, the microphone on the Senate floor when you're speaking, you have a little microphone on your lapel. Nobody else is miced. That gives you a sense of how loud the laughter was, that that's all coming through Chuck Schumer's mic, and we were just doubled over laughing. And you watch his expression. He's like, oh, oh, oh, oh, wait, okay, okay, that's really dumb. Oh, crap. Yeah, okay, the New York Times is a right-wing bias publication. Yeah, maybe that's not like. This is why my prediction is the shutdown will end this week. Because I think the Democrats, as much as Chuck Schumer feels he's in trouble with the left wing, I think a lot of the Democrats say we're on fire. We don't have a win. This is not going well. There's a combination of two things. One, an awful lot of Americans, the government is shut down and they don't care. It doesn't impact their lives. That is the nightmare for any big government Democrat is if the government shuts down and nobody notices. And look, during government shutdown, 83% of the government keeps functioning. So the military functions, law enforcement functions, the FBI functions. Border Patrol functions, ICE functions, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all of that function. The A benefits continue. And so it is a nightmare. If your entire political career is built on telling the American people, the most important thing in your life is the federal government, if the government shuts down and everyone yawns and goes about their life, that's a disaster. But a second disaster is to the extent people are focused. So listen, if you're going to D.C. this week and you wanted to go to the Smithsonian and go see the Air and Space Museum, you can't because the Democrats shut down the Smithsonian. They shut down Yellowstone National Park and all the national parks. And so people are going to get pissed off gradually over time. But I think the vast majority of people are blaming the Democrats saying, why are they shutting this down? As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcasts from early this week to hear the entire thing. You want your master's degree. You know you can earn it, but life gets busy. The pack schedule, the late nights, and then there's the unexpected. American Public University was built for all of it. With monthly starts and no set login times, APU's 40 plus flexible online master's programs are designed to move at the speed of life. Start your master's journey today at APU.APUS.edu. You want it? Come get it at APU.
Saturday, July 25th. I know I will be the best walk away in the world. An undefeated phenom. Batman is a rising star. And a frightening force. What a win for Shabil Messiah! Ascend on the nation's capital to fight for gold. Thad, the silverback gene. Silverback nation makes them noise. versus Shamil Musayev. All it's over! For the PFL well-to-weight world title. On Real! Saturday, July 25th and 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our warfighters, advances life-saving health care, combat cyber threats, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage. If you're someone who's tracking your sleep, your steps, and your macros, then you already know that what you eat is kind of everything. You should also know that Sprouts Farmer's Market can help make eating for longevity easier. Sprouts has all the high-quality, nutrient-dense, organic foods and cutting-edge supplements you need. So whether you're focused on protein, gut health, or optimizing how you feel day-to-day, it's all there. And here's what no other grocery store can offer. An in-store wellness expert to help you find exactly what you need. So whether you're after longevity or on any other health journey, it's easier at Sprout's Farmer's Market. The best skaters, BMX riders, and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues. Until now. The X-Games League Championship is live from New Orleans, July 24th through 26th. Three days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro Boomin, J-I-D, Subtronics, and Bunt. Watch on ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2. Stream on the ESPN app, Roku, Kick, Amazon, and X-Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July. I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. I want to move to another topic that we mentioned earlier, and that is there is a lot of quiet outrage for people that have been paying attention to the Brett Kavanaugh assassination scandal. You have a, quote, transgender man who planned to assassinate Brett Kavanaugh. Only receiving eight years for that crime, there are a lot of people that are upset and angry about it. I'm one of them. I think you are as well. And somehow, I guess being transgender now allows for you to have less accountability for your actions. Explain this one.
Yeah, I have to admit, this story makes me incredibly angry. When I saw it, I read the news story this week. I was literally yelling out loud as I was reading my phone. Heidi and I and our daughter, Caroline, we were in New York this weekend. I was with a half dozen NYPD cops. And I got to admit, I vented to the cops who were all pissed about this. So the man who planned to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on 2022, he flew from California to Maryland. He arrived there. He had with him. He had. A knife. He had a gun. He had duct tape. He had zipped ties. And he had planned to murder not just Brett Kavanaugh, but a total of three Supreme Court justices. He was deranged. And he was caught on the street right outside Brett Kavanaugh's home. And by the way, he was also threatening Brett Kavanaugh's wife and their two daughters. Well, this guy was prosecuted quite rightly. And the Department of Justice asked for 30 years, which is a pretty reasonable sentence for someone trying to kill a Supreme Court justice. Well, this left-wing judge, her name is Deborah Bordman. She's a Joe Biden appointee to the Maryland federal court. She made a 22-year downward departure. So instead of 30 years, she sentenced him to eight years. And her reasoning... was essentially, instead of 30 years you get eight, why? Because you're transgender. Here's what Judge Bordman said. Quote, under the law, I must consider the sentencing guidelines. The guidelines in this case are 360 months to life. It's important to understand the Supreme Court stands on guidelines. They used to be mandatory, but in a case called Cory Booker, the Supreme Court held they were advisory. The judge acknowledged that, quote, this case did involve domestic terrorism. but she undid most of the terrorism enhancement created by the Sentencing Commission, and said, quote, I have not seen evidence that the Sentencing Commission relied on evidence, that it would reduce recidivism. The sentencing took more than seven hours, and she discussed at length her justification for the light sentence. Here's what she said. Ms. Roski, of course, she calls the man a woman because she's a leftist. Ms. Roski came out to herself, to herself, like this is a private, like just in the quiet of night. I've decided I'm a woman. Ms. Roski came out to herself as transgender in 2020, but kept it a secret. Ms. Roski's sister came out as gay two years prior, but Ms. Roski saw their parents struggle to recognize her sexuality with their religious beliefs. By the way, it is not. It is not subtle or implied. The judge thinks religious beliefs on this are horrible and terrible, and you are bad if you have religious beliefs concerning sexuality. The judge continues, quote, I am heartened that this terrible infraction has helped the Roski family accept their daughter, by which she means Nicholas Roski, for who she is.
So, you have someone attempting to murder a sitting Supreme Court justice, and the federal district judge who's sentencing the attempted murderer says, I'm heartened. The great thing about this is the parents are now accepting of their psychopathic murderous son that thinks he's a daughter. The mother of the murderer told the judge on Friday that, quote, I've attended P-flag meetings. I have attended P-Flag meetings and learned about the LGBTQ plus community. I am committed to going on this journey with Sophie, by which she means her son, Nicholas. She was frustrated with what was going on in the world, and we weren't a safe place to process it. And by the way, the Daily Wire in their story, the next sentence says, as his mother wept, Nicholas Roski also choked up, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Now, here's what the judge continued saying. Quote, Any prison time is punishment for her. The length doesn't need to be particularly long. Unduly harsh conditions make a difference too. She will be imprisoned in a male facility, even though she is a transgender prisoner pursuant to an executive order from the president. Before the executive order, that wasn't the case. In other words, this judge really wanted to send this dude to a woman's prison where after attempting to murder a sitting Supreme Court justice, he could assault women who were incarcerated. This is, I want to be clear, this is lunacy. This is nuts. I have to admit, I literally yelled and cursed out loud. Listen, number one, Brett Kavanaugh is a friend. I've literally known Brett Kavanaugh for 30 years. His wife, Ashley. Heidi and I were with Ashley on the 2000 George W. Bush campaign. She's a West Texas girl. She's a wonderful woman. They have two daughters who went through an utter nightmare going through his confirmation hearing. Night after night after night, the Brett Kavanaugh House, along with the House of every Supreme Court justice, had angry, violent left-wing protesters out front screaming, violating federal law. It is a crime. to protest at the home of a justice seeking to change the decision of an opinion. And yet, the Biden Justice Department refused to enforce that law. They would not prosecute those felonies. And the heated rhetoric, look, this is very much like what we're seeing with ICE, where Democrat rhetoric gets the lunatics in their party energized to go commit crimes of violence. I want to be clear.
Violence is never, ever, ever justified. So I'm not advocating violence against any Democrat. I'm not advocating violence against any left-wing judges or justices. Violence is wrong. And by the way, When it comes to politically motivated violence, it is almost exclusively a left-wing phenomenon. Look, when George Floyd died, we saw riots in American cities on fire being burned to the ground. We saw police cars being firebomb. We saw people being murdered. When Charlie Kirk was murdered, we saw prayer vigils across the countries. People went out and lit candles and prayed and sang together, and we did see violence. but not from the people supporting Charlie Kirk, instead from the same left-wing violent activists who were attacking the people in prayer vigils. There is a difference, and I have to say, this judge, this judge has demonstrated she is utterly unfit to be a federal judge. I think the House of Representatives... should seriously contemplate impeaching this judge. And I don't go to impeachment lightly. How often does that happen for what you're describing right now? Because everybody listening is going to be like, hold on a second. If this is the case, then why don't we do it? Does it happen? How many votes do you need to do it? How does that work? Yeah, it's happened a number of times. There have been multiple federal judges who've been impeached and removed from office. Typically, they're impeached after committing a crime, something like accepting bribes. So Alcy Hastings, for example, was a federal judge who was convicted of accepting bribes as a judge. He was removed from office, and then he turned around and ran for Congress as a Democrat and got elected as a congressman. So he was a Democrat congressman. who had been impeached and removed from office for being a federal judge taking bribes. So that, I'm going to let you draw all the inferences you want. Those facts are objective. It is not easy to impeach a judge, although under the Constitution, to impeach a judge, it takes a majority vote in the House of Representatives. And I actually think in this instance, a judge who thinks someone trying to murder a Supreme Court justice. because he disagrees with a decision the Supreme Court justice is rendering. That is a fundamental assault on our judicial system, on the rule of law, on the basic protection of rights all of us have. And if you are such a zealot, such a partisan ideologue, that you will not follow the sentencing guidelines, you will not acknowledge this is terrorism. And instead you say, you know what, this person's transgender, and my ideology is such that I love transgender. And so instead of 30 years, I'm going to give this person eight years. And by the way, I really think this man should be in a woman's prison, but that mean, mean president won't let me do that. I believe, and I don't know this woman at all, I don't know this judge, but just...
How she conducted herself in this proceeding to me demonstrates she is completely unfit to be a federal judge. I would urge the House of Representatives take up impeachment, and I would love to have a trial in the Senate. Do we want judges who refuse to enforce the criminal law for psychopathic murderers who are trying to murder Supreme Court justices? I think the obvious answer is no. Let me say. It's also on brand with the American people. I can tell you this. No Democrat wants to defend the other side. As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Don't forget to download my podcast, and you can listen to my podcast. Every other day, you're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to verdict afterwards. I'd love to have you as a listener to, again, the Ben Ferguson podcast, and we will see you back here on Monday morning. The future won't wait, and neither should you. That's why American Public University offers master's programs designed for momentum, affordable, high quality, and flexible so you keep moving forward. With career-relevant programs in business, health care, education, IT, and more, you can gain skills you can use right away and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University, made for what's next. Learn more at APU.apus.edu. Saturday, July 25th. I know I will be the best walk away in the world. An undefeated phenom. Batman is a rising star. And a frightening force. What a win for Shabaya Messiah! Ascend on the nation's capital to fight for gold. Thad, the silverback gene. Silverback nation makes some noise! versus Shemil Musayev. All it's over! For the PFL well-to-weight world title. On Real! Saturday, July 25th and 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our war fighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving healthcare, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage. If you're someone who's tracking your sleep, your steps, and your macros, then you already know that what you eat is kind of everything. You should also know that Sprouts Farmer's Market can help make eating for longevity easier. Sprouts has all the high-quality, nutrient-dense, organic foods and cutting-edge supplements you need. So whether you're focused on protein, gut health, or optimizing how you feel day-to-day, it's all there. And here's what no other grocery store can offer. An in-store wellness expert to help you find exactly what you need. So whether you're after longevity or on any other health journey, it's easier at Sprout's Farmer's Market.
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