Capitol Report Full Broadcast (June 9)

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, the House sending President Trump's $70 billion check for ICE and CBP, three years of funding locked in. What it means for the future of immigration enforcement. Taking away their ability to cut that funding, to block that funding, or to take hostage the funding for the remainder of the Trump administration. And President Trump is vowing a strong response after Iranian forces attack a U.S. Army helicopter. That's as he declares the new Iran nuclear deal is in its final throes. And a week after election night, multiple California races remain in limbo. Why experts are calling it a national case study in the urgent need for election integrity reform. We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape or form nuclear weapons. And polls closing in Maine tonight. Can Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner break through? What the results will tell us about where Democratic voters are heading into the midterms. And a bipartisan effort to get answers about extraterrestrial life and whistleblower protections for those who might have some of those answers. The push for transparency growing louder. This is a cover up. You all know it. We know it. We demand the answers. And dadgummit, we're going to get them. And House Republicans go after the Southern Poverty Law Center in a big way. Millions in donor money, informants tied to extremist groups. Tonight, the questions they're demanding answers to. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. And the House of Representatives moments ago passing a $70 billion bill to fund immigration enforcement through the end of President Trump's term. Here's Speaker Mike Johnson moments after the vote. But what we've done now by funding it for three years is we've taken away their ability to cut that funding, to block that funding or to take hostage the funding for the remainder of the Trump administration. House Republicans will always stand with America's law enforcement. And we will always work to ensure that these brave men and women have the resources they need to carry out their responsibilities to protect America's families and communities and to prevent tragedy like the murder of Lincoln Riley, Sheridan Gorman, and so many other precious lives that have been lost. The measure cleared the chamber on a tight margin. The final tally was 214 to 212, voting along party lines with independent Kevin Kiley voting with the Democrats against it. The vote ends a 115-day standoff on Capitol Hill over immigration policy. The White House says the bill will provide $38 billion for immigration and customs enforcement and $26 billion for Border Patrol. The bill passed the Senate last week. It now heads to President Trump's desk. The United States launching self-defense strikes after Iran attacked a U.S. Army helicopter. That's as President Trump says a nuclear deal appears to be very close with no sticking points remaining. We now go live to NTD's White House correspondent Mari Otu standing by at the North Lawn. Mari, good evening. Hey, Steve, good evening to you. That's right. Central Command announcing just a couple hours ago that at 5 p.m. Eastern today, the U.S. started launching self-defense strikes against Iran after Iran yesterday downed a U.S. Army Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Central Command is saying that that was just a proportionate response to what it calls unjustified Iranian aggression. And ABC is reporting that President Trump was actually on the phone with them when those strikes began, saying that he said he wanted that response to be very strong, very powerful. And that's exactly what that was. And here's the president on Friday clarifying his red lines, saying what exactly would trigger the restart of a military operation in Iran. Take a look. What would trigger you to restart military action? Would it be Iran killing more American citizens? Well, certainly that would be something that I would think about very seriously. But my red line would be if I think I wasn't going to make a deal or if I wasn't going to make a deal fast enough. U.S. Central Command giving us the specifics of the rescue mission, saying two crew members from a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued by American forces after their helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters. The soldiers were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition. A White House official telling NTD that President Trump holds all the cards and won't be rushed into a deal, saying Iran is desperate to make a deal because of the historic successes of Operation Epic Fury, Operation Economic Fury and the blockade. Talks on a deal that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon are continuing at a rapid pace and are going very well. President Trump saying he doesn't think there are any sticking points, and the U.S. is very close to a strong, powerful deal. We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons, etc. And the district will open up right away. It'll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days. Meanwhile, a week out from election night, California races remain in limbo, with experts saying the delays are turning the state into a national case study in why election integrity reform is urgent. That says President Trump renews his push for the Save America Act, calling the California election rigged. Even as the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles has opened multiple election fraud investigations, U.S. Attorney Bill Asayle says California continues to refuse a DOJ request to audit voter rolls despite clear federal authority. We believe the rolls are dirty. We have many examples of people voting who should not have voted. We are relying on HAVA and NVRA on a federal basis that the Attorney General has the authority to request these voter rolls. California has refused. They're stonewalling, claiming that it would be a violation of their state privacy laws to hand over the data to the federal government. The U.S. Attorney Bill Asayle is calling that claim a, quote, completely ludicrous argument. Meanwhile, President Trump has continued to repeat ahead of the midterms that free and fair elections and a free press are necessary to, quote, make America great. Back to you. Entities, Mari Otsu, live from the White House. Thank you, Mari. And voters in the state of Maine are taking to the polls in the highly anticipated Democratic Senate primary. They're deciding who will challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. Joining us now to discuss in studio, Scott Bolden, criminal attorney and former D.C. Democratic Party chair, as well as Horace Cooper, director of Homeland, excuse me, Horace, that was Project 21. Great to have you both in studio here. I want to play a soundbite here. Here's Graham Plattner and Susan Collins discussing the atmosphere as we approach this primary. I'm very happy to talk about incredibly uncomfortable things in my life. But when things come along that are just made up or lies, I'm very much going to push back against those. The allegations against Graham Plattner are extremely troubling and serious, and he owes the people of Maine a detailed answer. Scott, I'd like to start with you. Graham Plattner, he's obviously the Democratic favorite, Mills essentially dropping out of the race, suspending her campaign. He's been rocked by scandals linked to communist social media posts, intimidating women. Yet he's still the front runner. What are his real chances in this primary? He's got a real chance in being the Democratic nominee. Listen, there are no more perfect candidates. I mean, it's kind of hard. You look at Plattner and then you look at Donald Trump and America as a whole has put Donald Trump in office twice. And so the issue of character and morals and who is the perfect candidate, they may not have perfect personalities. Now, the Democrats aren't going to defend Plattner under any circumstances. If these allegations are true, he's got to defend himself. But we've got to go to you've got to go with who browns to the dance, as we say, because it's too late to change candidates. And, you know, the voters are going to have to ultimately make that decision. He's going to get the nominee. And then the real issue for voters is, are they going to vote against Plattner because of character or are they going to vote again for Susan Collins, who's voted Donald Trump 94 percent of the time? Of course, comparing a multibillionaire real estate magnate who has successfully been elected twice to this reprobate is a remarkable contrast. When you look at what's being said, I would say any party could do better, not not from a partisan perspective. Any party could do better. Now, here's what I predict is going to happen. One more leak, one more scandal, one more outrage is going to occur after this primary election is over and the party is going to be caught flat footed trying to figure out how to push him aside and put someone else in place. They could have done that from the beginning. The bar that he is able to cross over is a bar that's too low. Well, the Republicans, it's amazing. My friends are Republicans want to compare Plattner, but don't want to compare him to Donald Trump, who's a convicted felon. I think Donald Trump wins heavily for sexual abuse by a jury and has several scandals, quite frankly, that we know about. Now, the American people voted him back in, if you will. But I think it's really rich when the Republicans try to be critical of Plattner, who's got some allegations, if you will, but none as serious as that. It'll be up to the voters. I think a Nazi tattoo settles all of this. That was one thing we left out on top of the Communist Post. With that said. I think he had that removed, right? Covered. He didn't have it removed. He had it covered. His scandals have actually, Scott, received a lot of attention from the legacy media, who's traditionally been more friendly to the Democratic candidates. What does that say about the current state of this race? Well, you've got the leaders on the Democratic side and you've got the leaders on the Republican side. And you know what? It's going to be a two-person race. Schumer in Washington here isn't going to lift a whole lot of weight for Plattner. Plattner's got to defend himself, if you will. But the Democrats are in a tight spot, right? They've got a real shot at unseating Susan Collins. He's not the perfect candidate. At the same time, you're going to want to support him, but it's going to be hard to defend the allegations against him. I don't think Susan Collins has the same allegations. And throwing Trump in the mix, that may muddy it for the Democrats. But really, all politics is local politics. And so this is about main voters, if you will. Okay. In California, when Mr. Swalwell showed up with all of his problems, the party jumped in and moved him aside. You can say whatever you'd like about Becerra, but he doesn't carry this kind of baggage. And that's the kind of thing that should have been done. When you do background checks, what you want is a candidate, as I said, if the bar, if he's able to crawl over the bar, the bar is far too low. I predict that sometime before the summer's out or maybe early fall, we're going to be talking about who steps in for him. Well, my colleague is right about one thing. You've got the drip, drip, drip. And in politics, I'm a former state party chair and I've run for office myself. The drip, drip, drip is comes in October, if you will, not necessarily in June. You're getting the drip now. But the real question is, is this it? Unfortunately, most of us think that there may be more, quite frankly. But let's be real honest about all of this. Again, there are no perfect candidates. It's going to be hard to move him out. And he's got to answer to the voters. He's got to apologize. He's got to defend it in the sense of, listen, I was a different person then. Judge me now. But one thing's for sure, taking back control of the Senate is the number one priority. And I can make the I can I make the base case. I make the best case for defeating Susan Collins. That's all he's got to kick up where predators go on to meet younger people. What do you do as a party when finally one of these people speak up? My point is, when you know your candidate is there, what you say is it's not time for you to find someone else. What's interesting is all of us who've run for office do these self investigations, like these allegations against him, to him and his team. They can't be new. When I ran for office for city council 20 years ago, I did. I had an investigative team do a complete background check on me, including on me and what my who I represented in the white collar criminal space. And then what their team does is they shared with you and then they make an assessment as to whether the voters or the environment, whether you should go forward or not. And then ultimately, it's up to the candidate. So this these allegations are political director. His political director said we vetted him. We talked to him. We asked these questions with me. And he lied. She said she wrote a piece that was just published in The Washington Post. And this is why she resigned from the campaign. Well, listen, you you'll have to answer to the voters. I mean, you and I can sit here and debate the morality of it all. But I think it's really rich to compare morality to Donald Trump who once supported a someone who was allegedly a child pedophile. There's no one in the Alabama. There's no your president did that. There's no one in Maine. Scott, I want to get your thoughts, though, on the schism within the Democratic Party. You see a high profile Democrat, Ro Khanna. They're still endorsing him. But then today up on Capitol Hill, you have the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center even denouncing him and many high profile Democrats denouncing him. Talk to us about why we're seeing this schism. And does he have to be concerned? Is there a possibility somebody could come in, as Horace mentioned, with two months before the election and actually give Susan Collins a run for her? Well, the party would have to make that decision sooner than later because you talked about it being done now. I don't necessarily agree now because it's really up to the voters right now. And these allegations are coming in late. The election day is today. The possibility of the party putting enormous pressure on Plattner to step down after the voters have spoken and made him the nominee. That's going to be tough. It's possible, but highly improbable. And when you have a candidate that is flawed and has these allegations, right, you're going to have that that that chasm between those and say, I denounce you. Well, Ro Khanna says I denounce you, too. Right. But I'm still supporting him because this race is super important to getting control of the Senate. No one's endorsing bad behavior here. But politically, you've got to make a decision as a party and as political leaders. Right. How am I going to win this seat? Do I do I ride this very flawed dog, political dog, or do I get a new candidate that's clean and fresh that the voters have never selected? That's pretty tough. We've seen it in other states. We've seen it in Virginia with the attorney general and others. And so, you know what? It's not a favorable place to be in. Both parties have been in this place with certain candidates. So we're going to have to let the voters decide that. I just want to conclude with if he can climb over the bar for what's appropriate, the bar is too low. Well, then I won't criticize the voters then because the voters are the bar. And just just one last question, Horace, on this. The state of Maine is an interesting state, right? It was, you know, swing state, red state now very close to Massachusetts at the border. You know, he's a far left candidate, self-proclaimed socialist, borderline communist against a very moderate Republican. What are what are the what do you expect to come out of this race as we get closer to the midterm? Well, first observation, again, is in the entire state of Maine, there had to have been a person who could animate the interests of the enthusiastic wing of Democrats. There had to have been someone who could say that they were progressive. There had to have been a person who could stand up and speak to public crowds and communicate effectively. And I wonder why someone didn't simply say to Platner, look, we've got somebody. But but what is likely going to happen is there will be no progressive that wins in November and that the low bar that he was able to climb over and putting that on the people when many of the people aren't really fully aware of all of the background of this individual, I think, does a disservice to what they're aware of and why the Democrats are going to write Platner to to the general election. The president of the United States is in the 30s. He's got a awful economy. He's an economic terrorist in regard to putting tariffs on us voluntarily, exclusively. He's put us in a war in Iraq that has driven up gas prices. Inflation is on the rise. Wages are not keeping up with inflation right now. And and whether you and his promises of economic prosperity and changing the economy immediately, he's done just the opposite, right? That gives Platner and anybody else in Maine or any other place else a chance. Maine residents hate Trump so much this reprobate is their first choice. Yeah, well, maybe, maybe. But there are two reprobates you speak of in one tongue. We do have to leave it there, folks. And another thing. Horace Cooper, Scott Bolden. Really appreciate you both. And U.S. Central Command has launched strikes against Iran in response to the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. Retired Naval Captain Brent Sadler joins Tiffany Meyer tonight with analysis on the latest. That's at 8 p.m. Eastern. And you're looking at a live shot of the United States Capitol. How important is the newly passed ICE and Border Patrol funding for carrying out President Trump's immigration crackdown? Hear from Congressman John Rhodes just after the break. I'm Jonathan Lawson. If you're 50 to 85, I have an important message about security. Write down the number on your screen so you can call when I finish. The lock I want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. This is a lock for your life insurance. 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Don't wait. Call this number now. Call now and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. Use this valuable guide to record important information and your final wishes. And it's yours free just for calling. So don't wait. Call 1-800-283-0793 for your free information. That's 1-800-283-0793. There's no risk or obligation. That number again is 1-800-283-0793. That's 1-800-283-0793. Call now. Introducing the QuestWise Soothing Herbal Eye Patches. It comes with 30 pairs and can be used to help combat tired and strained eyes. The natural herbal formula provides a cooling minty and refreshing effect that stimulates natural tears and awakens your tired eyes. Placing the eye patches around your eyes helps to reduce dryness and massages acupuncture points. They can be worn while reading, studying, using electronics and provide hours of long-lasting relief. And welcome back to the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance. The House of Representatives has just approved 70 billion dollars in funding for ICE and CBP. It will last another three years until the end of President Trump's term. Measure is now heading to the President's desk for signature. Joining us to react to the funding bill is Republican Congressman John Rose of Tennessee. Congressman, great to have you with us. So even though Democrats had worked quite hard to delay this vote, Republicans are now funding these agencies through the end of the Trump administration. How critical was it for this funding to get passed for future border enforcement? Well, I think it was very important. Thanks for having me on tonight. We've seen Democrats really obstructing the ability to fully fund law enforcement at the federal level, specifically Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. All the way back to last fall, they've been resisting this and particularly throughout most of this year. The president, using the authorities that he has, have kept those agencies operating, but there was a limit to that. And so it's critically important tonight that Republicans delivered, without any Democratic help, the funding to fulfill the president's campaign obligations from 2024 of keeping our borders secure and getting criminal illegals out of the country. And so I was proud to vote for that. We voted for it several times in the House over the last several months. Finally, we end the obstructionism from the Democrats that has gone on now for months. Congressman, switching gears a bit, you attended a hearing today on the House Financial Services Committee on Chinese money laundering inside of the United States. I want to play a clip of one of the witnesses on the real world impact. The failure to successfully combat money laundering has dramatic impact. Your constituents see it in their families, in their communities. The opioid, heroin, and cocaine epidemics are devastating. Gang violence, fraud in government programs, corruption, human trafficking, e-commerce fraud, texting scams directly impact Americans. These and other criminal activities exist because of the illicit money they generate. That was one of the witnesses there, former CIA officer, talking about how money laundering can sound like a sort of a distant financial abstraction. But as that testimony made clear, the damage runs deep. What is the true cost of money laundering to ordinary Americans? Well, I think because of the link that we saw demonstrated today between the Mexican cartels that are enabling the trade in fentanyl, which has been the number one killer of young Americans, this money laundering is the pipeline that finances that. And the Chinese are very much involved in that, working with the Mexican drug cartels. So this is not only damaging in terms of the lost lives of Americans, but it's corrosive to the law and order because we have these criminal organizations working together. Frankly, I think plenty of evidence to suggest that with at least a blind eye turned by the Chinese authorities. And so we have to get this under control. We need to bear down on it. And ultimately, it's critical to ensuring that we save American lives, but also that we quit funding these illegal, illicit activities. The hearing really did seem to zero in on Chinese actors, specifically. Here's that same witness with another powerful comment. China is responsible for approximately one half of the money laundering worldwide. Chinese actors, sometimes working with the cartels, are actively pushing what I call an evolution in money laundering. The dirty money increasingly stays in place. Value is exchanged or swapped. Law enforcement is challenged to follow the money when illicit money doesn't move. It seems as though traditional sort of anti-money laundering tools were built to track money as it moves. But these Chinese networks appear to have found ways around that. No surprise, the CCP essentially wrote the book on unrestricted war, hybrid war. What specific challenges does this new model create for investigators and policymakers? Well, I think it's significant because, as you already heard the witness say, tracking the money is no longer the answer. That was always part of the way that you ferreted out the bad actors. They found ways to really change the rules of the game. And of course, much of this activity is happening or is cited outside the jurisdiction of American authorities. I think ultimately, this becomes a showdown between China and the United States in terms of whether we're going to allow them to host these criminal enterprises that are really harming American families and American people and profiting from the illicit trade in these drugs that are originating in China with the financing also cited in China and funding criminal enterprises. I think China has made itself very clear that it is the nemesis of this country. And this is just one more example of that, that I think we're challenged to get control over, but we very much need to find the tools to confront this 21st century challenge. We currently catch less than 1% of money laundering. Witnesses there today advocating for a whole of government approach to Chinese transnational crime. Let's have a look. This Silk Road of crime, there's evidence of instances where Chinese criminal actors also work with, say, local Chinese diplomats or have worked on behalf of Chinese state-owned enterprises. I think that's exactly why this needs to be further prioritized in the bilateral relationship. Congressman, how does our ongoing trade relationship with China complicate efforts to crack down on this? And what solutions do you think might be more effective than our current approach? Well, there's no doubt our country has become far too dependent on China for supply of critical goods that we need, inputs as well as finished products that we rely upon. We've allowed ourselves to become dependent. I think this is why President Trump's heavy hand with respect to trade negotiations has been called for. Frankly, there are many who are calling for just outright decoupling from China, but at the very least, whether we go that far or whether we just put in place very significant incentives on the one hand and constraints on the other to make sure that if we're going to let them have access to our markets and if we're going to be dependent in any way on supply chains that rely on production coming out of China, then we and the rest of the world simply have to demand that China play by the rules, that they are a law-abiding country, and that they frankly cooperate with the multinational effort to bring lawbreakers to justice. Congressman John Rose, really appreciate you joining. And for more details on how Chinese money laundering networks are fueling America's fentanyl epidemic, we now go live to NTD's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley. These networks are not comprised of petty criminals. They are professional money launderers who move billions through our financial system. Chinese money laundering networks are the financial lifeline enabling Mexican cartels to flood America with fentanyl and thereby destroy communities. A house financial services hearing exposing how these drug cartels launder billions through these Chinese networks. Chinese money laundering networks have become the financial fuel for cartels to poison Americans and threaten our borders. We're seeing a silk road of crime across the Americas. According to Treasury Department data between 2020 and 2024, more than 300 billion dollars in suspicious activity linked to suspected Chinese money laundering networks have been identified. Witnesses describe these networks enabling cartels like Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel. Chinese companies sell cartels fentanyl precursor chemicals. Cartels put those into pills and then sell those drugs into the U.S. That cash is transferred or sold back to China by money brokers through underground banking networks, shell companies, trade transactions, and cryptocurrency. That allows cartels to access those funds abroad including purchasing more fentanyl precursor chemicals from China. Several witnesses say that the Chinese Communist Party has the capabilities to crack down on these networks being an authoritarian regime and all but chooses not to. China has one of the largest surveillance networks globally. There's other individuals that are moving these funds that are probably politically connected in China and China's looking the other way. Is that your analysis? 100%. I mean we have to basically call out the Chinese for turning a blind eye to these criminal activities. China is a command state. If they want to end something, they can end something. If they want to do something, they can do something. We need to call them out and tell them that they are the largest transnational criminal actor in the world and they are the largest money launderer in the world. As fentanyl remains the leading killer of Americans aged 18 to 45, lawmakers say that breaking these Chinese money laundering networks is key to starving these cartels. Jack Bradley, NTD News, Washington. In a new cyber security report says Beijing is targeting U.S. tech in their cyber attacks. It comes as China ramps up a massive push into AI with hundreds of billions planned for new data centers. Find out more tonight on China in Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9 30 p.m. Eastern. And right now you're taking another live look at the United States Capitol where reports of possible extraterrestrial sightings are back in the spotlight. Lawmakers now calling for more transparency on the phenomena while urging protection for whistleblowers when we come back. Every day thousands of kids start vaping and I can't let this happen to my kid. Of course, it's awkward to talk to kids about the dangers of vaping. Hey, bestie. How sketchy. It's hard to get their attention. Ready? Go. Yes. Look at that. Yeah, you can turn yours over. So if you want to talk to kids about the dangers of vaping, you have to get it trending. Right, backpack kid? Let's do it. First, invite your kid to do the vape talk. Let's try this. All right. Why is he here? I got to get it trending. Honey, can we talk? Yeah, what's up? I see a lot of your friends vaping. Visit TalkAboutVaping.org for tips on when and how to have the vape talk. My 15 year old son Ethan and I had a fun and relaxing morning. We returned home and Ethan walked to his best friend's house an hour later. I heard the ambulance scream by the street carrying my beautiful boy. Ethan was shot in the head in his best friend's house with an unsecured gun. He had zero chance of survival. The father, the gun owner, he stored his three guns and bullets in a shoebox. How do you feel? That has to be the most horrific experience that a human could ever have. David, would you give any advice? First thing you do is not keep your ammunition with your weapons and that your weapons need to be locked at all times. I was a quarterback at Bartlett High School. College first round draft pick. During the football season, I would stop eating. I didn't know I was depressed. We didn't have any education behind what mental health was. I started to learn it starts here first. If this is together, I'll be better as a father and as a husband. We have to redefine what being a strong man is and he'll love your mind. Even the mighty might not see it coming. It's prediabetes and it captures one in three adults, but you can escape. Take the one minute prediabetes risk test at doihaveprediabetes.org. Be your own hero. And welcome back to the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance. Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is pushing for election reform in California. The candidate says voter ID is one change that could help strengthen election security and voter confidence in that state. Entity Christina Corona tells us more. Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton spoke in Los Angeles County today to discuss election and voting reforms outside the county's election headquarters in Norwalk. He outlined changes he says are needed in California's election system. So here's the argument. Mail-in voting should be treated the same as voting in person. That means if you vote by mail on election day, your vote should be counted and we're going to give you seven days through the postal service for your ballot to get there. That's the theory. Hilton says the problem is how the law is enforced, arguing election officials do not adequately verify when voters actually complete their ballots. Under our current system, you can back date your ballot because it doesn't require a postmark to be counted, a postmark that proves that you voted on or before election day. You can write it by hand and it will still be counted. He also challenged fellow gubernatorial candidate Javier Becerra to join him in supporting voter ID requirements. To Javier Becerra, Javier, join me. Go on the campaign trail with me for voter ID. In Los Angeles, city council member Nithya Raman will advance to the November mayoral runoff against incumbent Karen Bass. Raman pulled ahead of Spencer Pratt in the race for second place, earning 28.5% of the vote compared with Pratt's nearly 26%. It is an outrage and a travesty that Spencer won't be on there. I think he's fought an incredible campaign. I think his ideas are incredibly strong and I'll be honored and proud to have him work with me as the next governor in any capacity. Hilton is currently in second place in the governor's race with about 25% of the vote behind Democrat Javier Becerra's roughly 28%. Decision Desk HQ projected Monday evening that Hilton will advance to California's top two primary. Hilton called the result encouraging but said he's waiting for the Associated Press to officially call the race. Although Hilton says he isn't celebrating just yet, he states that he remains confident that he will secure a spot in the November election. Reporting from the city of Norwalk, Christina Corona, NTD News. And a bipartisan push for transparency. Lawmakers and UAP whistleblowers gathering on Capitol Hill today urging greater disclosure and protection for whistleblowers. Entity Sam Wong reports. So look, the time for disclosure is now. Disclosure today, disclosure tomorrow. Lawmakers and UAP whistleblowers convening on Capitol Hill urging more transparency on information surrounding reports of extraterrestrial life. Whistleblower David Grush says the federal government is aware of different kinds of alien life. It's a continuum from corporeal bipedal type life to, you know, what I would consider like sentient plasmoid life. Lawmakers are calling for the release of more records, including those related to the 1996 Virginia incident. The event took place in Brazil, where witnesses reported encounters with non-human sentient creatures. Some say those beings were captured by the Brazilian military and later transported to the US. I received a video statement from the right as I was walking over here basically saying the Virginia 1996 incident occurred and that if the United States releases the files on that and declassifies, Brazil will probably follow. But the road to transparency has been a bumpy one. Some members of Congress say they've been stonewalled by the intelligence community time and again in their pursuit of disclosure. According to lawmakers, some of the information has even been withheld from presidents of the United States. And I'm sitting in a skiff and some little punk in a man bun tells me the president's on a need to know basis, folks. That ought to tell you right there what we're up against. We're up against corruption. We're up against a cover up. We demand the answers and dadgummit, we're going to get them. Meanwhile, several whistleblowers say they've been punished and retaliated against for speaking out. I learned that the Air Force worked with an external agency to seek an investigation of me for alleged unauthorized disclosures, punishable under the Espionage Act after I testified in front of Congress in 2023. This should concern every member of Congress, regardless of party. Last month, the Trump administration declassified two batches of UAP files containing more than 200 documents. According to chairwoman of the task force on the declassification of federal secrets, Ana Paulina Luna, granting immunity to whistleblowers could be next on the president's list. The next course of action and something that they are willing to entertain is if you are an intelligence official or have knowledge of locations of materials and in doing our due diligence and following up the task force, they are considering and I do believe that they are going to be providing immunity permanently. Reporting from Capitol Hill, Sam Wong, NPD News. And a House Judiciary Committee hearing today put the Southern Poverty Law Center under a microscope. Republicans focusing on allegations that the SPLC used millions in donor funds to pay informants linked to extremist groups. Antony's Chris Bobb reports. He wanted out. He wanted help in leaving this racist group. And what did the SPLC do? They said, no, no, no. Stay in the group. We'll pay you a monthly salary. We'll reimburse you for hosting rallies, purchasing racist material and field source 37. This person is the one who coordinated transportation and attended the 2017 rally in Charlottesville. The Southern Poverty Law Center paid him $300,000 to the guy who helped put together the event. House Republicans spent hours questioning Southern Poverty Law Center leadership Tuesday, focusing on the organization's controversial hate map and allegations that more than $4 million in donor funds was paid to informants tied to extremist groups, claims the SPLC disputes. Throughout the hearing, SPLC interim president Brian Fair repeatedly declined to address the indictment's allegations. Did the SPLC tell Alabama donors that donated funds could be used to pay informants tied to groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations or the National Socialist Movement? All the allegations in the indictment will be addressed in the middle district of Alabama in the criminal case pending against the SPLC. Republicans repeatedly returned to that answer. The niece of Martin Luther King Jr., Alveda King also testified and criticized the organization's practices. The KKK is a hate group. It's not effective to pay the KKK or an informant to pretend they're KKK or whatever. And then they do KKK stuff and people get hurt. And you can't keep paying informants to do stuff and then they end up helping to do terrible stuff, not tell the donors that's what they're paying for. Democrats largely defended the SPLC, arguing it continues to play an important role in tracking hate groups and political violence. One of the hearing's most notable exchanges came when Texas Congressman Brandon Gill questioned Fair about tattoos belonging to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner. Do you think that somebody who has a Nazi tattoo on their chest should serve in the United States Senate? I wouldn't vote for that person. The Southern Poverty Law Center has referred to the pro-life movement as quote, inherently a white racist male supremacist and classist political project. Do you believe that pro-lifers are white supremacists? I believe that reproductive liberty is... No, do you believe that pro-lifers are white supremacists? I will tell you what I believe if I can't answer that question. A judge has set a tentative October 5th trial date in the federal case involving the Southern Poverty Law Center. Chris Bobb, NTD News. And you're looking at another live shot of the United States Capitol. In addition to funding extremism, the Southern Poverty Law Center is alleged to have used its influence to blacklist and target conservatives. More from someone who has experienced that firsthand was a witness on Capitol Hill just after the break. According to ancient medicine, purslane is considered a medicinal herb and is used to help lower cholesterol, improve vascular functions and prevent diabetes. 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Even blow snow right off your vehicle at no time. Turbo clean your porch in a flash or tidy up your dirty garage floor in seconds. Get it today for just $99.99. But wait. Act now and get a $20 discount. So it's only $79.99. Plus, you'll get the adjustable extension tube. Yours free and it all comes with free shipping. Order now. Call 1-800-209-2313 or go to bullseyeblower.com. That's 1-800-209-2313 or order online at bullseyeblower.com. Order now. And welcome back to the Capitol Report. I'm Steve Lance, the Southern Poverty Law Center, back in the hot seat. Testimony today, exploring their role in manufacturing extremism all in an effort to support and drive funding to demonize conservatives. Joining us in studio is one of those witnesses, Ryan Bangert, senior vice president at the Alliance Defending Freedom. Ryan, really great to have you. That was some explosive testimony today. Really shocking. I want to play a clip from Congresswoman Harriet Hageman discussing the case against SPLC. What happens when racism, for example, is largely a thing of the past? The brain trust at SPLC came up with their own unique solution to this conundrum. They decided to fund the very hatred that they claim to be fighting against. And like magic, the money has continued to roll in. Ryan, sometimes this can be convoluted. Talk to us about what the congresswoman just said there about how the Southern Poverty Law Center was funding the very hatred that they're claiming to be working against. Well, Steve, she's making a very good point, and it aligns with the indictment, which was the subject of the hearing today. Basically, what the DOJ is alleging is that the Southern Poverty Law Center spent over $4 million paying individuals who are part of the very violent extremist hate groups that they claim to be fighting, the KKK, other racist groups. They were paying individuals who are part of these groups, and those individuals are then going out and engaging in the very conduct that the SPLC told its donors it was fighting. So that's a very big part of the story today, but there's even more than that. And it sounds like the president, who we heard from there today, he says that, you know, these were informants, paid informants to help them in the good work that they do. What do you say to that response? And as somebody who was targeted by SPLC, the organization you work for, Alliance Defending Freedom, what does it say about the role of sort of private organizations using their connections with the government and wealthy donors? We've been targeted since 2016, Steve. We were put on the hate map. And we were put there not because of any violent extremism. We advocate for religious freedom, freedom of speech, parents, the most vulnerable in society. We were put there because the SPLC disagrees with ADF's political program and our work on behalf of those groups, those marginalized groups. Specifically, one of the things the SPLC said about us was that we were working to sterilize those who were suffering with gender dysphoria. That's actually false. We've supported states that have passed laws to protect those very populations. And do you know who opposed us in those lawsuits? The SPLC. Incredibly cynical, incredibly hypocritical. That's what they've been up to. And the CEO there of the SPLC was directly asked about some of his organization's more extreme views, such as abortion. Here's a look. Your organization said that restricting and banning abortion is a tool that the far right uses to maintain white supremacy. Do you believe that pro-lifers are white supremacists? I believe that reproductive liberty is... No, do you believe that pro-lifers are white supremacists? I will tell you what I believe if you ask me. Is it yes or no? I can't answer that question. What does it tell us that the man in charge of the SPLC can't answer that question? Well, it's shocking because they are using that data point, pro-life views, to label groups as hate groups. So the fact that he can't explain his own hate map, his own defamation and slander of conservative groups who are simply trying to protect the most vulnerable among us, is absolutely astonishing. And it's not just that they're saying it, they're also deeply partnered with U.S. government agencies and institutions. All throughout the Biden administration, the SPLC was meeting regularly with top officials at the DOJ and other agencies and providing information to the Biden administration. And of course, we saw the outcome of that. The Biden administration weaponized the government against conservatives, against pro-lifers. But not only that, the SPLC has a long-running program of going to large corporations in tech, in finance, and asking them to de-platform and deny services to the SPLC's political enemies. They're trying to shut down the public square to erase any opposition to their program. What can be done to prevent anything like this from occurring, no matter what party is in power? Well, this hearing was a great first step. Sunshine is sometimes the best disinfectant. Exposing what's actually happening is very, very important here. But we need to go beyond that. We laid out some of the things that Congress can do today, including further hearings and potentially even passing a law that would prevent financial institutions from relying on dishonest, discredited institutions like the SPLC to make critical decisions about who gets access to bank accounts and financial products. Ryan Bengert, really important topic. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much, Steve. And the House Judiciary Committee holding a hearing discussing the SPLC's role in funneling money to extremist organizations, slandering conservatives and misleading donors. More on that when we come back. Big things are happening at Mathis Home. That's right. We've got deals in every department with Memorial Day Savings storewide. Here's a top seller. This contemporary three-piece sectional is sleek, stylish, and comfortable. It's just $19.99 and it comes with nine throw pillows. That's an incredible deal. Just one of over 100 sofas and sectionals in stock and ready for you to enjoy tonight with fast and free delivery. So don't miss out on Memorial Day Savings. It's finally here. Our second annual mega sale. This sale only comes around once a year, so take advantage of the best offers ever while you can. For example, save 50% on our Giza Dream bedsheets as low as $29.98. And for the first time ever on TV, my pillow mattresses and my pillow mattress toppers as low as $99.98. 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