The Pentagon Lied To You?! US Troop Casualties Worse Than Reported & Joe Rogan vs Trump Gets Bigger

This episode is brought to you by White Claw Surge.

Nice choice, hitting up this podcast.

No surprises.

You're all about diving in and it tastes everyone in the room can enjoy.

Just like White Claw Surge, it's for celebrating those moments when connections have been made

and the nights just begun with bold flavors and 8% alcohol by volume unleashed the night.

Unleash White Claw Surge.

Please drink responsibly.

Hard Celter with Flavors, 8% alcohol by volume.

White Claw Celter works, Chicago, Illinois.

The Pentagon hid this from you.

That first attack on US troops by Iran, it was so much worse than they laid on.

Not only were six service members killed, more than 30 are still hospitalized with traumatic

brain injuries, memory loss, shrapnel wounds and burns.

Meanwhile, the international energy agency, they're releasing its largest ever oil release

from global strategic reserves as Iran keeps up attacks across the Middle East in a bid

to show that it hasn't been defeated yet.

And that's even after American and Israeli strikes that were described as the most intense

so far.

And that's where we have to start.

And so with all that, today you had a guitar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman

all saying that their forces intercepted drones and missiles.

Oman also reported drone strikes and fuel tanks that are important in the southern part

of the country.

And a British maritime monitoring group reported that three commercial ships in or near the

straight of Hormuz were hit by projectiles within hours of each other.

And Iran appeared to take responsibility for at least one of those attacks with the

commander of the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying in a social media post

that any vessel that intends to pass must obtain permission.

And as we've talked about it length before, Iran's ability to effectively lock down the

straight of Hormuz, it's pretty much their best leverage.

About a fifth of the world's oil passes through that waterway.

And with Iran, knocking it almost entirely out of business, you had international oil

prices surging to nearly $120 a barrel at their peak, which was the highest level since

2022.

And while they've since fallen to around $91 a barrel in part because Trump says, oh,

this is not a forever war.

It's actually pretty much done, but then he's constantly contradicting himself.

That $91 a barrel, it's still up from less than $73 a barrel before the war began.

And with that, you also had another Iranian official claiming today that the world should

get ready for the price of oil to reach $200 a barrel.

And while these rising prices, they're having the biggest impact in Asia and Europe, which

rely more heavily on the Middle East for oil and natural gas, without a doubt, this is

going to have an impact on the United States, and actually it's already having an impact.

Prices of the gas station, they have gone up for the 11th straight day.

The national average is $3.58 a gallon, according to Triple A. I saw I was driving this

morning.

I saw diesel was $5.18 near me.

And with the markets, you know, they react to Trump's offhand comments and other speculation

about when this war might end, but the situation on the ground or maybe in the sea rather,

it seems to just be getting worse.

For you had Trump previously saying that he might order navy warships to escort

merchant ships through the straight-of-war moose.

And there's actually precedent there.

American forces did that for a period of time in the late 1980s during similar tensions

with Iran.

And yesterday, you actually had energy secretary Chris Wright saying on social media that

a navy warship had successfully escorted an oil tanker to the strait, but then he deleted

that post.

And the navy's actually turning down requests from the industry for escorts on a near-daily

basis.

Also, Pakistan and France, they're among other countries that are looking into this

option, but there's been no movement yet, and it may only be about to get more dangerous.

Right, because the U.S. reportedly received intelligence yesterday that Iran was getting

ready or had even already begun laying minds in the strait.

With one unnamed official telling the New York Times that none had been laid yet, but preparations

were underway, while then other sources told CNN that at least a few dozen minds were

already in place.

And then adding that Iran still has 80 to 90 percent of its small boats and mine layers,

so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of minds in the water ray in the days to come.

Now then with that, you had Trump writing on social media yesterday that if Iran has put

out any minds in the war moose strait and we have no reports of them doing so, we want

them removed immediately.

With Trump then claiming that 10 mind-laying vessels had already been destroyed and Pete

Hegseth saying on Twitter, we will not allow terrorists to hold the street of

war moose hostage.

And by the end of the day, you had U.S. Central Command saying that the number of mind-laying

vessels eliminated had gone up to 16.

But it also is unclear to what extent that's actually limited Iran's ability to keep

it up.

And then in the meantime, you have the international community having to move forward

under the assumption that the situation isn't going to, you know, all of a sudden get

resolved.

And so today, first ad Japan, Germany, and Austria announcing that they would release

oil from the strategic reserves.

And then the international energy agency announcing that its 32 members would together carry

out the largest ever oil stock release and history, or releasing 400 barrels of oil from

strategic reserves.

And in addition to it being the largest, this is also the first time that the agency is

taking action in this way since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Which on the note of Russia, it's worth pointing out that it and other oil exporters

outside of the Middle East are actually benefiting here.

Because prices are going up, sanctions might even be getting lifted and they have supplies

to sell that aren't trapped in the Gulf.

And so you're saying things like an economist historian at Cornell telling Axios, saying

that the pensioned Russian oil is trading at a premium to the most widely traded international

benchmark, which is just mad.

If you're a Russian oil trader or a Russian company, you have never earned as much money

selling oil as right now because of the supply chain in a Russian.

And with that, besides Russia taking advantage, even Iran is weirdly sort of benefiting from

this in a way, with the country now reportedly exporting more oil through the straight

of our moves than before the war.

Though notably, the US likely could destroy Iran's ability to do so at any time, but they're

just choosing not to.

But because the American military claimed to have struck roughly 5,000 targets in and around

Iran, but it is so far kept away from bombing the oil infrastructure.

And that including a place called Carg Island, which handles about 90 percent of Iran's

oil exports.

And one reason, at least according to an expert who spoke with the Guardian, is that destroying

or damaging the facilities there, it runs the risk of causing an economy shaping increase

in oil price that would not drop rapidly.

But then she also argues, Carg Island is sufficiently important to the Iranian economy that destroying

its facilities would abandon any pretense of fighting a war to create a brighter future

for Iran.

And actually with that, you had the Trump administration asking Israel not to carry out

more strikes on energy facilities in Iran, especially oil infrastructure after previous

attacks of linketed to Iran and toxic smoke and acid rain.

And the White House reasons for this reportedly being that, one, these strikes harmed the Iranian

public, many of whom opposed the regime.

Two, Trump wants to cooperate with Iran's oil sector after the war, similar to the

approach that he's taken with Venezuela.

And three, the strikes could trigger even more aggressive attacks by Iran on energy infrastructure

across the Gulf.

And with that, you're reportedly at a source familiar with the detail, saying that Trump

views strikes on Iran's energy and oil facilities as a doomsday option.

And then as far as, you know, what might trigger that option, that's not entirely clear

since Trump and his admin, they've continually shifted the timelines and goals for the

war.

And as we've been talking about, just over the past few days, he called for Iran's unconditional

surrender while almost simultaneously suggesting that the U.S. had already achieved its objective

of decimating Iran's military.

Then we had more today with him saying that the war would end soon because there was practically

nothing left to target and adding, any time I wanted to end, it will end.

So you have that as some American and Israeli officials reportedly told Axios that they're

preparing for at least two more weeks of strikes in Iran, but then you also have two

other Israeli officials telling Reuters that there was no sign that the U.S. was close

to ending the campaign.

And then Israel's Defense Minister today said that the operation will continue without any

time limit as long as required until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign.

And so with so many different statements out there, you would send a Democrat demanding

that Trump send Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify

under oath on the war in Iran, arguing that they've failed to explain the objectives,

scope, and endgame of this war.

Right.

And then with this, as far as the public reaction while you're seeing a lot of different

takes out there, you're also seeing people like podcaster Joe Rogan having yet another remarkable

revelation that the promises of this man that he helped get into office, they might have

not actually meant anything.

But just seems so insane based on what he ran on.

I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right?

He ran on no more wars and these stupid senseless wars.

And then we have one that we can't even really clearly define why we did it.

And then another thing we need to talk about is just how completely unprepared this

administration was to deal with the consequences.

Or because it's becoming increasingly clear that this White House was not ready for the

fight that Iran's put up.

You've seen them unprepared to evacuate personnel, coming up with ideas to deal with rising

gas prices only, after the fact and having no real plan for dealing with a straight-ahormous

situation.

And you even had Senator Chris Murphy who said after that briefing that the administration

had no plan on how to get it safely back open and adding, which is unforgivable because

this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable.

And you also have senior defense officials telling the New York Times that the Iranian

military has shown that it learned a lot more from the 12-day war over the summer than

they expected.

I mean, going back to that conflict, the U.S. launched somewhere from 100 to 250 THAT

interceptors.

That made up 20 to 50% of the Pentagon's inventory.

In the military, they also used 80 SM-3 missiles, which was nearly a fifth of its inventory.

And now the Iranian militaries believe you'll recognize that as a vulnerability and they're

focusing at strikes on other air defense and radar systems in the region, looking

to further deplete those stockpiles.

And that's also as they've had some success going after military communications and for

structure and Iranian-backed militias, they've attacked hotels frequented by American troops.

And the actual damage that Iran's done to U.S. troops, it may be far greater than the

administration has led on.

Because we know, at least seven service members have been killed, six of them in a drone

attack in Kuwait.

And we were told yesterday that roughly 140 have been injured, including several with

life-threatening injuries.

But now you have CBS reporting that the drone strike in Kuwait was actually much worse than

our government led on.

Right at March 1st, they said that five were seriously wounded and several others sustained

minor, shrapnel injuries and concussions.

According to CBS, dozens are suffering injuries, including brain trauma, shrapnel wounds and

burns, and more than 30 people are still in hospitals as of Tuesday night.

And to the meantime, Iran has kept firing, and it's preparing to expand its targets

today, threatening attacks on financial institutions that do business with the United States

or Israel.

But with one official even saying that people across the Middle East should stay a thousand

meters away from banks.

Also, we're seeing reports that Iran has been launching cluster munition warheads at Israel,

which would likely violate the laws of war because they burst and they scatter into small

bombs and can cause indiscriminate harm if they're fired near civilians.

So with that is, you also have Israel being accused of similarly violating the laws of

war by allegedly using white phosphorus and Lebanon.

And speaking of Lebanon, we've seen fighting escalating dramatically with Hezbollah, despite

growing anger from the Lebanese people and government officials.

And this is actually a really important front for us to dive into because it doesn't

get as much attention with everything going on in Iran and the constant news cycle, even

though the potentially huge battles brewing on the cusp of bubbling over.

Right overnight, Israel gave evacuation warnings and then launched another wave of strikes

when barding the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are strongholds of the Iran-backed

military group Hezbollah.

Also, Israeli forces launched attacks on the southern city of Tyre, though Israeli forces

claiming that they had struck another Hezbollah command center there.

But you also have Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health, claiming that there were at least

three civilian casualties, including a paramedic.

And with this, as of recording, we're seeing a lot of different numbers for the total

number of people killed in the sweeping strikes.

Boards ranging from around 20 to as many as 36.

And very notably, we saw Israel expanding its attacks beyond the southern reaches of

the country and striking a residential apartment block in central Beirut.

And while there's been mixed reporting on whether there were casualties or not, it's

incredibly significant that Israel is striking at the heart of the city where many civilians

and government officials reside in densely populated areas.

Meanwhile, you also had Hezbollah claiming that its fighters at attack Israeli troops

near the southern border and launched rockets at Israel, where with an IDF official claiming

that the strikes were a part of a broader effort by Hezbollah to target Israeli civilians

and saying that the group's lashing out because Israel is doing so much damage to its

capabilities.

But it's also not just Hezbollah that's being impacted here, right?

The Israeli campaign is also taking a massive toll on the country at large.

And according to the latest figures from Lebanese officials, 570 people have been killed,

including 86 children, 45 women, and 21 paramedics, while another 1,444 have been injured.

And because of the continued fighting, the government says that more than 750,000 people

in this place just in the first 12 days since the US and Israel attacked Iran.

Number that the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon called unprecedented.

Then also on the ground, you have Hezbollah facing a deep and growing public backlash.

We have government officials and civilians openly blaming the group for dragging the

entire country into the conflict.

Right in the situation with Hezbollah, it's very sticky because the group is backed by

Iran and they've long been a major target of Israel, but it's also deeply ingrained

in Lebanese political and military structures wielding immense power over the state.

Right now, it only does Hezbollah hold cabinet positions and seats in the parliament.

It also operates one of the country's most capable armed forces.

The group's continuous confrontations with Iran, they've put the lives of Lebanese

civilians in jeopardy time and time again.

I mean, it's only been 15 months since a ceasefire was reached in the last conflict between

Hezbollah and Israel, which killed 4,000 and caused more than $11 billion in damage.

So also, I have to note there that Israel is reportedly broken the 2024 ceasefire more

than 10,000 times and killed more than 100 civilians as it continues to target Hezbollah.

But also, everything changed when Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel and retaliation

for the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, promoting the escalating series of strikes

and counter-strikes that we've seen ever since.

Now with all this, you've also had the Lebanese government trying to rein the group in,

not long after Hezbollah first struck Iran, the cabinet voted to declare its activity

illegal and ban it from taking further military actions.

But what happened is Hezbollah just continued fighting, making it clear that the group's

political arm isn't really having much control over its military branch.

And it's very much, looking like the situation's just going to get worse amid growing fears

about a full-scale Israeli ground defense of in Lebanon.

Just yesterday, you had readers reporting that Hezbollah fighters are bracing for the possibility

of a full-scale Israeli invasion in the South.

And at the same time, you have Israeli military leaders ordering the transfer of troops

from Gaza to the border of Lebanon.

And just since this war began, Israeli forces have already seized more territory in Lebanon

and you have military officials also reportedly outlining plans for a much deeper ground

incursion, which is why you then have many experts speculating that Israel is trying

to use the war as an opportunity to achieve its long-term goal of dismantling Hezbollah

entirely.

And then with all of this, you have Lebanon's president making a remarkable statement,

blaming Hezbollah for betraying the country and calling for internationally mediated direct

talks with Israel.

It's also been reported that the Lebanese government approached the US ambassador to Turkey

last week and asked him to mediate with Israel, allegedly claiming that some Hezbollah

members were open to a deal.

But at least for now, it doesn't seem like Israel is really interested in those peace

talks, nor has the US really had any interest in facilitating them.

But with sources telling Axios that the Israeli government rejected the outreach, indicating

that it's too late and that the focus is now on eliminating Hezbollah.

That's something you've also seen echoed by Israeli officials with one on-boy telling

reporters that the only thing that could end the war is if the Lebanese government disarms

Hezbollah, which is also a goal that the US ambassador to Turkey reportedly pushed

as a prerequisite to any talks.

And so right now, it seems like things are set just for continued escalation.

It's not just something you made, it's the privilege that you get to work with your hands.

It's building something that serves a purpose, proof that you have the grit to keep going.

At Simbaland, we understand you take your craft seriously, and we do too, which is why

our products are built to the highest quality.

We put in the work so you can perfect yours, with purpose in every detail, and crafted

with intention.

Simbaland, built on craft, visit Simbaland.com to shop.

And then there's more that we've got to dive into in just a minute, but first let me

thank a sponsor and say, let's be real.

Your underwear is either on your team or actively trying to ruin your day like a tiny fabric

or a coupe.

In mine, it used to be constant, readjusting, stuff riding up, the whole situation until

I tried to sponsor me on these boxer briefs.

You've got a supportive, contoured pouch that keeps everything comfortably in place.

No squish it, no stick in, no weird midday adjustments.

And their fabric is their ultra-modal micro-model, right?

It's ridiculously soft, breathable, and it feels broken in from day one.

Once I switched, my old underwear got retired.

That's how big of an upgrade it was.

It's not one style fits all.

They've got 10 plus styles, boxer briefs, trunks, briefs, jocks.

You can find the exact thing that doesn't annoy you and, you know, loves you.

And something awesome is that they're also responsibly sourced with sustainably sourced

materials and partners who care for their workers.

And in the unlikely event that you don't like your first pair, it's on me undies.

Right, it gives you an elite level of confidence or something that lives that close to you.

You know, I'm not alone here.

30 million pairs have been sold, 90,000 five star reviews, people are clearly upgrading.

It's honestly one of my favorite little effort ways to feel weirdly put together.

And right now, all you beautiful bastards can get 20% off of your first order plus

free shipping at me undies.com slash Philip DeFranco promo code Philip DeFranco.

Again, that's me undies.com slash Philip DeFranco promo code Philip DeFranco

or scan that QR code for 20% off plus free shipping.

Then diving right back into the news, it looks like Christie knows about to leave the

department of Homeland Security just in shambles.

Or because last week, Trump gave her the boot, right?

You're fired, though, he framed it as a promotion, though we really all know what happened.

And with that, it's now being reported that by the time she's gone on March 31,

there's likely going to be dozens of pending contracts still sitting on her desk that she

just never got to.

And that's because back in June, she began requiring that all DHS contracts worth more

than $100,000 come to her first for personal approval.

Thing is, you'd probably expect that's like most, if not all, DHS contracts.

It's an amount of work that more than one person is meant to handle, especially a person

who seems more concerned with maximizing her TV presence than actually doing administrative

work.

So you're seeing things like a source telling Axios, there's a mountain of backed up contracts

and invoices on her desk that the new guy will just have to deal with.

Now, known as department, they justify the policy as a measure to combat waste, fraud,

and abuse, claiming back in August that it saved over $10 billion.

Then, in addition to everyone being pretty skeptical about that claim, you have critics

countering that it's also made the department's work impossible.

In fact, some vendors have reportedly begun billing the department in chunks of $99,9999

in 99 cents at a time just to get paid.

Within another source saying, from everything that I've heard, it's still a giant shit

show up there.

And adding the ramifications of her tenure are going to be felt for years and years and years

and years.

We're not really going to know exactly how bad it is until we have a major hurricane

that unfortunately impacts some place in the United States.

With the referring to there is the fact that one of the agencies under the DHS umbrella

is FEMA, which responds to natural disasters.

According to Senate Democrats, Nome's personal approval policy is delayed over a thousand

grants, contracts, and funding awards worth tens of millions of dollars to help communities

rebuild and recover after disasters.

The average delays that we're talking about, they were reportedly lasting three weeks

and sometimes longer, contradicting DHS claims that typically nothing's on her desk

for longer than 24 hours.

But it's also not just FEMA, even Trump's own priorities have stalled, including his

signature border wall.

By Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill, it funded nearly 2,000 miles of it, but as

of mid-February, just 36 miles were complete.

In addition to that, you had two sources telling Axios that dozens of ICE facilities currently

holding detainees, they have contract extensions waiting for Nome signature, and they're

awaiting payment.

With those including Texas's Camp East Montana, who's funding lapsed in February, New

Jersey's Delaney Hall, who also hasn't been paid, and the infamous Dilly Family Detention

Center in Texas, which just ran dry this month.

Now to be fair to Nome, though, don't kill ICE Barbie really doesn't.

However, it may not be entirely her fault, because her top aid, Corey Lewandowski, also

apparently signs contracts before they go to her desk.

Right?

Lewandowski, if you've forgotten, he's the guy that Nome's room are to be fucking even

though both of them are married, and his title is Special Government Employee, and an

exempts him from regular federal ethics laws.

And while Nome was asked whether Lewandowski had any role in approving contracts, Nome said

to the Senate Judiciary Committee, no, ProPublica obtained DHS records showing that Lewand

Dowski personally approved a multimillion dollar equipment contract at the agency last

summer.

The source is adding that he also approved numerous others, and that his signature is often

needed before large ones can go through, as you had Senator Richard Blumenthal saying that

he would open an investigation into whether Nome committed perjury right up federal crime

by lying about Lewandowski's involvement.

But then with all this, you know, moving our eyes forward, there's the question of, is

Trump's new pick to head DHS Mark Wayne Mullen?

Is he going to continue Nome's contract approval policy?

Though then, even if he doesn't, you know what a source telling Axios is going to take

weeks if not months of constant work to restore vendor's funding.

And even then, some of the damage is just irreparable, right?

If the 2500 trucks in SUVs emblazoned with the ice logo in the slogan, defend the homeland

that Nome's DHS purchased last year, reportedly, despite agents warning that branded vehicles

would make them targets.

So now, according to the Washington Examiner, they just sit idle in garages and detention

centers across the country with a source adding, ISIS never had marked vehicles, and

talking to people, they're like, we don't want to use these.

We can't.

And then, there's the luxury jet that Nome had DHS lease and tried to outright purchase

for 70 million dollars with NBC obtaining photos of the insides showing a private bedroom

in the back, a queen bed, showers for large flat screen TVs and a bar.

And then, topping off, all of that alleged waste is that 200 million dollar advertising

campaign that seemed like it was meant to boost Nome's image as much as encourage immigrants

to self-deport.

Though, in that case, you have critics saying it wasn't just waste, it was corruption.

Or because the contract for it was given to GOP-Link companies without competitive bidding.

In fact, for a specific photo show with Nome in Mount Rushmore, a contractor called the

Strategy Group wasn't even listed on public documents about the contract.

And the company that's listed, it was created just days before the deal was finalized.

Yet, as you had the Daily Beast putting it, no firm has closer ties to Nome's political

operation than the Strategy Group.

Right, and not only was it central to a run for governor of South Dakota, but Lewandowski's

work extensively with it, and at CEO is married to outgoing DHS spokesperson Trisha McLaughlin.

But even that, it's just one of the many sketchy deals at DHS.

You've also got a 250K contract to a Republican political consulting firm led by former Trump

campaign officials with connections to Lewandowski.

And not only was that posted with a bid window of just 31 hours, it also explicitly asked

for contractors with an established track record of promoting Trump administration policies

in the media.

Right, and then with all this, you had a DHS source telling the Daily Beast that Nome

and Lewandowski, they could be on the hook here, saying, expect scrutiny on the warehouse

contracts, the ads, the plane purchasing, the cars, everything.

And doubting if the rumor is circling Washington or true, Democrats will want hearings and

maybe even prosecutions.

And there's going to be no Republican with a brain who comes to their defense, they're

fucked.

But also, I'd say, with this Trump administration, I wouldn't hold your breath for accountability.

Especially as, you know, what they've done isn't really all that unique for the Trump

administration, almost every part of which has been accused of ramping corruption.

But of course, there's Trump himself who looks like he's enriched his family to the

tune of billions of dollars in winning the election, telling the New York Times, I found

out nobody cared and I'm allowed to.

Also, Trump's deputy secretary of defense, billionaire Steve Feinberg, co-founded the private

equity firm that owns at least four of the companies awarded Golden Dome contracts

so far.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blancho, and almost $160,000 in crypto-related assets when

he shut down investigations into crypto companies, dealers, and exchanges.

And Attorney General Pambondi sold off up to $5 million in Trump media stock, the same

day that Trump's tariff announcement caused its value to drop 13% prompting accusations

of insider trading.

And actually speaking of Pambondi, it looks like the insider trading accusations might

be the least of her work.

Because you've got the New York Times in our wording that she has quietly relocated

to one of several military bases in the Washington area over mounting threats that she's

facing from drug cartels and people upset with her handling of the Epstein files.

Threats that were flagged by federal law enforcement and they really started picking up after

the capture of Maduro earlier this year.

But it also turns out she's not the only official in Trump administration living in military

houses.

Steven Miller, Pete Hegseth, Marguerubio, and Kristi Nome have all moved into secure military

facilities.

And right now, we apparently don't know what they're paying to live there or if it even

costs them anything at all, you had known previously saying that she was paying fair market

rent.

Well, you know, over the past few decades, it's not an unheard of thing for government officials

to live in these kinds of facilities, having so many all at once, it's a little unusual.

And that's why you have the time saying, this appears to be the first administration

to take such widespread advantage of taxpayer-funded military housing to accommodate

political appointees who do not have a direct connection to the military.

And so with all that, as far as a response you had as spokesperson for Bondi not commenting

on the move except to say that the Times was not to publish the specific location of the

base that she's living in.

But also, of course, this is coming as Bondi's not been able to escape constant public criticism,

especially over the Epstein files.

In earlier this week, you actually had a representative introducing articles of impeachment

against her for illegally withholding the files, accusing her of protecting predators

who abuse children to appease Donald Trump.

She was also just subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee and today, Chairman James

Gomer said that he's working to schedule her testimony in the next few weeks.

And that says today, you have the Oversight Committee deposing Epstein's long-time accountant

to get answers about how Epstein made his money, and there you had Democrats in the committee

claiming that this accountant was a central facilitator of Epstein's ability to exploit

girls and women and saying, we will leave no stone unturned as we seek answers.

But also, when it comes to Epstein news, the biggest headlines today are actually coming

out of the UK.

Or because while the administration in the US, they're letting accused pedophile protectors

live in secure military bunkers, the UK are releasing bonus, extra credit files about

their government leaders.

These new files, they center around Peter Mandelson, who was previously the UK's ambassador

to the United States, but also was outside last year over his Epstein ties and later resigned

from the labor party.

Or with the DOJ's files, suggesting that Mandelson received tens of thousands of dollars

from Epstein, and he advised him on government policy, and there's a photo in the files

that shows a man who appears to be Mandelson and a T-shirt and underwear alongside a redacted

person in a row.

And there was a ton of follow-up because while he denied wrongdoing, last month he was

arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and then released as the probe continues.

And then this is also created a massive headache for Prime Minister Kierz Starmer, who many

things should resign as Prime Minister for making Mandelson the US ambassador in the first

place.

And so this batch of files at the British government released today relates to the vetting process

behind Mandelson's appointment, and it doesn't really help Starmer in the slightest.

Or because they show that Starmer was warned that Mandelson could generate general reputational

risk over his ties to Epstein, with a DO diligence checklist saying after Epstein was first

convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, his relationship with Mandelson continued

across 2009 to 2011, beginning when Lord Mandelson was business minister and continuing after

the end of the labor government.

Mandelson reportedly stayed in Epstein's house while he was in jail in June of 2009.

She'd also claimed that in 2014, Mandelson was a founding citizen of an ocean conservation

group founded by Kalain Maxwell and funded by Epstein, and it says that Mandelson facilitated

a meeting between Epstein and former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002.

And according to reports in an email coordinating this meeting, Mandelson described Epstein as

someone who has his finger on the pulse of many worldwide markets and as safe whatever

that means.

Sometimes also reporting that current PM Starmer received an email warning him about appointing

Mandelson claiming.

But anything goes wrong, you could be more exposed as the individual is more connected

to you personal.

So you have some, feeling like this clashes with what Starmer had said about the situation,

because he insists that Mandelson lied to him repeatedly about Epstein and that he would

never have made him ambassador if he knew then what I know now.

But now you have some feeling these documents they show he had ample warning.

And so you saw conservatives in the country slamming Starmer claiming,

The Prime Minister has already admitted that he knew Mandelson had maintained his friendship

with Epstein even after the latter's conviction faced terrible crimes.

That was a bad choice.

And it's a choice that we can now read about in black and white.

Now the Prime Minister claims that he was lied to.

He wasn't lied to by this due diligence document.

Maybe the Prime Minister was lied to.

But he was lied to by an inveturate liar who had been fired twice before.

And we're supposed to believe, Madam Deputy Speaker, that the Prime Minister,

who was once the chief prosecutor in this country, couldn't see through this nonsense.

But then on the other side, you have Starmer Chief Secretary acknowledging that yes,

Mandelson should have never been appointed.

But he also said that this due diligence report didn't expose the full depth

than extent of the former ambassador's Epstein ties.

Adding, the Prime Minister deeply regrets taking him at his work.

It was a mistake to do so.

But as far as what's next, we'll see.

There are more files that are expected to come out in the UK still.

Where the government's releasing these documents and batches,

and while some are being withheld amid the police investigation into Mandelson,

Starmer's came.

They insist that these files will show that Mandelson did, in fact, mislead the government.

But also, you know, Starmer is in a tricky spot right now with the AP, for example,

saying that while he survived initial resignation calls,

the position remains fragile, even though he'd never met Epstein and is not implicated in his crimes.

Which again, it's just wild to compare just our government to any other government.

Our guy, like the main guy, is named in the files like a hundred billion times,

being a little hyperbolic, but a bunch.

Right, and there even FBI interviews accusing him of assault,

and he's not going anywhere.

You know, in the UK, their main guy may get the boot because he knew and appointed a guy.

And then there's more we've got to dive into in just a minute.

But first, let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, high rings like online data.

Except I guess the bad first date, it costs you payroll.

So let's fix resume relic with skill-based hiring.

For translation, you know, I don't care if your last title was senior or whatever.

Can you do the actual job?

Because that's how you hire faster, smarter, and with fewer regrets.

And while if you're an employer who's adopted skills-based hiring,

the best way to ensure that your applicants have the right skills is Zipper Cruder,

which is today's sponsor.

Zipper Cruder recommends smart screening questions to help you hone in on that perfect match for your role.

And right now, you can try it for free at zippercruder.com slash defranco.

They're powerful matching tech.

It's built to surface, qualified candidates fast.

So you're not spending your week reading.

I'm a fast learner or 400 different ways.

Add screening questions right into your job post and let the answers do the sorting for you.

Right, wild concept, hiring that doesn't destroy your soul.

And if you want people who are actually active right now,

Zipper Cruder's filters can help you find them.

Also, Zipper Cruder's the number one rated hiring site on G2,

so it's not just me yelling about it.

Right, four out of five employers who post on Zipper Cruder get a quality candidate within the first day.

So try it for free at zippercruder.com slash defranco or just scan that QR code.

That zippercruder.com slash defranco, meet your match on Zipper Cruder.

Then, diving right back into the news,

within 70 million American Social Security information could be at risk,

all because of one ex-doge member trying to leak it to his new private employer.

And the reason we know about this potentially unprecedented breach is thanks to a whistleblower.

And the key person in question here is reportedly a former Doge engineer who worked for the SSA last year

and eventually started a job as a government contractor in October.

And he reportedly claimed to have two highly restricted databases of US citizens' information called

Nubident and Master Deathfile, at least one of which he carried on a thumb drive.

And the complaint alleges that he claimed to have still had access to his agency computer

and credentials, leaving the data wide open to this kind of breach.

However, you have the post saying that the SSA denies these claims.

And when we wait to learn what the case actually is,

these databases were reportedly hold more than 500 million living in dead American Social Security numbers,

birth dates, birth places, and parents' names,

among other sensitive information.

And this ex-doge member reportedly asked the whistleblower for help transferring data

from the thumb drive to quote,

his personal computer so that he could sanitize the data before using it as a new employer.

He allegedly told his co-workers that once he removed personal details from the data,

he wanted to upload it to the company's system.

And in response to this, you had one colleague refusing to help the dozer because, you know,

it'd be illegal.

But also, the whistleblower says that the legal recourse was a concern for the dozer who

was allegedly expecting to receive a presidential pardon if he ran into any trouble.

Now, at least currently, there's no concrete evidence to say that he was ever able to actually

upload the data, and the post also hasn't confirmed his name or the name of the company that he tried

to share the data with since they haven't independently confirmed the accusations yet.

But you had anonymous sources telling the Washington Post that the government accountability office

has already started its own audit of Doge's access to the data, which is indicative of the

type of scrutiny that the department is under.

And what we do know is that one of the alleged conversations the whistleblower mentioned happened

around early January per the whistleblower complaint.

However, reports say that when the post looked into it, the SSA and the engineers new companies say

they didn't know anything about the complaint and didn't report any findings in their subsequent

investigations, and since then, the engineers' lawyer has also told the post that he denied

all wrongdoing.

Right, in general, this whole situation with the SSA, it's concerning because they've been

known to be very restrictive with personal data.

But then, you know, things change when Trump gave Elon Musk to go ahead to lead a White House

cost cutting effort to search for waste, fraud, and excess spending across government agencies.

Trump is a puppet of a foreign national whose name is Musk who has taken over our data.

New things coming to a head went the Supreme Court granted Doge full access to Social Security

information last year, and as Dogeers combed through the records, SSA workers often push back,

but also to no avail.

With one source telling the post, Doge boys had pre-ordained answers and weren't interested in

anything other than defending decisions they'd already made.

And it goes without saying, you know, these type of accounts have inflamed Democrats

ongoing concerns about Doge.

Every American ought to be concerned about the fact that they're combing over your personal data

in information.

You also had Representative Robert Garcia, a ranking member on the House Committee on

Oversight and Government Reform, saying,

Not only has an ex Doge bro been accused of running around with the Social Security

information of every American on a flash drive.

He also may have the ability to edit and manipulate data at the Social Security

Administration at will.

Begin on the other side, you have the SSA speaking out about the whistleblower allegations

calling them false.

Also, with other officials involved, like Leland Dudeck, the Trump Administration's

acting commissioner of the SSA during Doge's efforts, claiming to be unaware of the allegations

and stressing the possible legal issue, saying,

sharing new mid-ant data with unauthorized third parties, whether it be the cloud or a

personal thumb drive, violates the law.

Also, say, it is weird that there are so many officials either denying the claims or acting

oblivious because this doesn't seem to be a new issue.

I mean, for example, in a separate claim made last August by the SSA's former chief data officer,

he alleged that Doge members had put private information at risk by uploading Social Security

data to a digital cloud.

Doge employees had inappropriate access to our data.

They had uploaded sensitive Social Security data to a cloud server without adequate security

controls.

He also cited an email thread from last summer where SSA officials discuss letting a Doge

member get access and make a copy of the new mid-ant database and even took all these

concerns to Congress.

And while the SSA seemingly brushed these types of concerns off at first, in January,

the Department of Justice acknowledged in court that Doge members had shared sensitive

Social Security data without agency officials knowing.

And then in another case, the Trump Administration even admitted that Doge staffers had been

to blame for another data breach after a Doge employee signed an agreement to share data

with an unnamed political group who was allegedly aiming to overturn election results in

multiple states.

So you had this guy saying of the data he has seen mishandled that this is absolutely the

worst-case scenario, saying there could be one or a million copies of it and we will never know now.

Right now, you have people like this who are speaking out, they're in a tough spot as the

GAO's audit of Doge's access to data.

It reportedly lacks protection for whistleblowers.

So ultimately, right now, we aren't sure where any of the data that Doge had access to landed

and the people who are trying to keep things in order, they're left to freefall.

We are seeing in real time the consequences of this administration's early decisions to

place the president's unqualified friends in these high places.

It's creating real security problems for Americans, those that are trying to do the right

thing are in a tough spot and even worse, those at the center of all this, they get to sleep easy

knowing that if things do go left on them, the pardon will make it right.

But then my friends, you beautiful bastards is the end of today's show, but it also doesn't have

to be because you've got that brand new episode of crashing out with myself and Alex Perlman

that went out today. It's a great one.

Andorr, maybe you missed last night's Philip DeFranco show. There was more to catch up there.

You can click or tap and get there however you want.

But yeah, thank you for watching. I love you faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.