-
Unknown A
We continue to follow the weaponization of the justice system. What am I talking about? Tom Homan, Trump's deportation czar, has now acknowledged on two different programs that he has asked the Department of Justice to investigate Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Why would he do that? What on earth could AOC have to do with Tom Homan's deportation mission? Well, he explained it on a couple of different shows yesterday. Extraordinarily chilling when it comes to speech and free speech and protection under the law. Here is Homan confirming on Fox News he has asked the DOJ to investigate aoc.
-
Unknown B
Heard you talking about AOC over the weekend. Do you believe she is breaking the law?
-
Unknown C
I'll leave that up to doj. What I find disturbance to any member of Congress wants to educate people how they vain law enforcement. You can claim you're educating those constitutional rights. That's okay. You can keep that claim. What she, in fact, is doing, telling people, don't open your door, hide in your home, don't talk to ice. We're talking about people who are in the country illegally committed a crime. They're a public safety threat. They've been convicted of serious crime, and they've been ordered removed by a federal judge. So it's like AOC and others don't want ICE to enforce the laws that they enacted. She's a member of Congress. Let us enforce the laws you enacted. That's what we're supposed to do.
-
Unknown B
You can't go after her. Do you think others should?
-
Unknown C
No, I think I've asked doj, where is that line of impediment, of interference? Now, if someone stands in your way, prevention, arresting somebody, put your hands down, that's impediment. But what, what line is telling people to hide from mice, not open the door? Where do you cross that line on impedance?
-
Unknown A
You know, this is a reminder that just because you are in law enforcement doesn't mean that you know the law. And this is a classic example of conflating legal advocacy with criminal activity. Now, if AOC were telling people things that were untrue, you're allowed to commit acts of physical violence against ICE if they come to your door. Well, maybe there's something there. But informing people of their rights is a constitutionally protected form of speech. Now, I have one more video clip to play for you, and then we'll dig into this a little in a little more detail. Here is Homan for a second time yesterday talking to Hannity, saying, oh, yeah, I want AOC investigated.
-
Unknown B
When does it cross a line into aiding and abetting lawbreaking. Would it have to have direct involvement by her in helping people to evade ice?
-
Unknown C
That's exactly the question I posed to the deputy Attorney general I asked him to look into. I says, you know, I know through my career someone steps in front of between you and the person arresting repeating you, yeah, that's a violation. But at what point do you cross the line on saying you're educating people versus you're teaching how to evade ICE arrest? So I've asked.
-
Unknown A
Well, one area where you might cross the line is if you recommend things to people that are not based in the law. And we'll get into what AOC is telling people in a moment that question.
-
Unknown C
To the Department of of justice for clear guidance so I can share that with the officers advice. So we're looking for that clear direction so we can start taking action on people that want to evade, who want to help educate these people to evade ice.
-
Unknown A
So they want to look at taking action against people, educating others. So here is the very cut and dry. It's not hyperbolic, it's not speculative, it's not conjecture. Advising people of what they are legally allowed to do is never a crime. And in fact it's protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The right to free speech includes the right to inform others of their legal rights. If those rights pertain to immigration, so be it. If they pertain to criminal law, if they pertain to any other area, that's what AOC is doing. There is a fundamental principle of democracy that they claim to care about. They call it free speech. If advising people of their rights were a crime, then every lawyer, activist, friends, giving legal advice could be prosecuted. That is not how the law works. Aiding and abetting, which Hannity is talking about, is a legal term and it requires someone to actively assist in the commission of a crime.
-
Unknown A
Telling someone, you have a right to remain silent. You don't have to open the door for anybody. If they don't have a warrant to come into your house, that's not aiding and abetting. That's the law. It's informing people of their rights under the law. Non cooperation in and of itself is not a crime. People have a right to refuse to speak to law enforcement authorities or immigration authorities. They have the right to ask for a warrant before allowing anybody to enter their homes. These are well established legal protections which in other circumstances these right wingers love to defend. And what Tom Homan is doing here is trying to criminalize advocacy. It is a tactic we've seen before. It's a tactic we've seen in the context of immigration enforcement. It's a tactic we have seen in general when governments become authoritarian. And the idea is to create a chilling effect where people are afraid to speak out, they're afraid to help others understand their rights.
-
Unknown A
They will simply look the other way and say nothing. This really isn't about law enforcement. This is about silencing dissent. And they want to create a narrative that anyone who challenges or criticizes immigration enforcement policies is breaking the law. And it's not true. AOC is not breaking the law. The idea that AOC could be prosecuted for this is legally dubious at best. And we actually have case law. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right to advocate for nonviolent resistance and to inform people of their rights. You're allowed to do it. And in fact, during the civil rights movement, activists would routinely encourage people, know your rights, resist unjust laws through nonviolent means. It wasn't a crime then, it's not a crime now. Saying I'm not going to say anything is not a crime. Telling people that they can do that is not a crime.
-
Unknown A
Saying I will not open my door unless you have a warrant is not a crime. Telling people, hey, did you know you don't have to open your door unless you've been presented with a warrant. It is not a crime. This is a political attack, plain and simple. And it's an attempt to demonize aoc. It's an attempt to demonize those who are simply saying, you do have rights. That's it. Here's what they are. You should know about them and you should be aware that you can deploy them if that's what you want to do. And they are framing that as criminal. That is how you know this is the authoritarian direction, accelerating things that are illegal. They don't care about what Elon Musk is doing with Doge. They look the other way. Things that are legal, like simply saying, here are your rights with regard to federal immigration authorities, they want criminalized.
-
Unknown A
This is what authoritarian regimes do. Well, I wrote a book.
-
Unknown D
After a long journey and a ton of work, I am really thrilled with how it turned out, and I hope you'll read it. The book is called the Echo Machine, and in a nutshell, it looks at how American politics got so broken, who has already figured out solutions, and how we can try to fix it and stop the terror of Trump for the next four years. With Trump winning this election, the Echo machine couldn't be more relevant. Not only a warning about how we got here, but also about what might be coming and how to prevent the worst outcomes. We've got to stay engaged. We need a plan, and that's what the book is about. There is a belief out there that unless you have corporate media behind you, you can't have a successful political book launch. That it's not possible. I think we can prove that wrong.
-
Unknown D
Order the Echo Machine today at David pakman.com/echo on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible, Kindle, anywhere that books, e books and audio books are sold. You can also call any local bookstore and say, please order me the Echo Machine by David Pakman.
-
Unknown A
Wherever you get the book, you'll get.
-
Unknown D
The free preorder perks, including the signed book plate. Head to David pakman.com/free book stuff after ordering.