The Rachel Maddow Show 6/1/26 | 🅼🆂🅽🅱️🅲 Breaking News Today June 1, 2026
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Thank you, Michael. Thanks, you guys.
1 second
Much appreciated. Uh, and thanks you at home for joining us here this hour.4 seconds
Really happy to have you here. Uh, I apologize for having this totally lame voice and also for looking all puffy.12 seconds
Um, Susan and I went away for a few days, which we never ever do. So, naturally19 seconds
punished for my sins. Uh, I caught a cold right at the end of us being away.23 seconds
And
now I'm back. Uh, and I'm here and I'm fine, but I sound like Fogghorn
Legghorn. And I know and I'm sorry. I apologize. I'll be better quickly.
I32 seconds
promise. All right. Uh this is myel Johnson. He is a historian. He's based in Philly. And uh myel Johnson leads a41 seconds
walking tour of that city. His walking tour is called the Black Journey, African-American walking tour of48 seconds
Philadelphia.
And on his walking tour, you will see, you know, the Liberty Bell and
Congress Hall and all the big Philly sites, but you'll also see um the57 seconds
national
historic site that's called the President's House. The President's
House is where the first presidents of the United States lived in Philly
while the1 minute, 6 seconds
White House was under construction in DC. Uh so George Washington lived there.1 minute, 10 seconds
The
the second president, John Adams, did as well. And as you might know,
when George Washington moved into the president's house in Philly, when
he1 minute, 18 seconds
lived there, he had with him there nine people who he kept in slavery.1 minute, 26 seconds
And
because of that, for more than 15 years now, that national historic
site in Philly, the president's house, has included an exhibit about
that about1 minute, 35 seconds
those
nine people who lived there with George Washington. And it is a
fascinating story, right? I mean, it's this contradiction of George
Washington1 minute, 43 seconds
as the first president, the man who led the literal fight for American liberty while he was also simultaneously1 minute, 51 seconds
personally
enslaving people, including right there in Philadelphia at the
president's house. We think of slavery as a southern thing, right? But
there it1 minute, 59 seconds
was. So, the city of Philadelphia um did a partnership with the National Park Service and they installed an exhibit um2 minutes, 8 seconds
of art and plaques and timelines and videos all about that part of this history. It was called the President's2 minutes, 15 seconds
House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation.2 minutes, 21 seconds
That exhibit on slavery and the nation's first two presidents went up in Philly at that site about 16 years ago. But2 minutes, 30 seconds
early this year, January of this year, the historian, Myuel Johnson, got a text message, an urgent one, basically said,2 minutes, 38 seconds
"Where are you? Get over to the president's house quick." He raced over. This was on Thursday,2 minutes, 45 seconds
January 22nd this year. And when he got there, this is what he found.2 minutes, 51 seconds
National
Park Service workers, Trump administration workers taking down that
exhibit at the president's house. They were carting off the uh
explication of3 minutes
quote
the dirty business of slavery which was a detailed history of the slave
economy. They were also taking away the part of the exhibit titled life3 minutes, 9 seconds
under slavery with its details on what it was like for black Americans who were held in slavery in Philadelphia. Into3 minutes, 17 seconds
the truck went the two panels on quote the house and the people who worked and lived in it. They just pried that stuff3 minutes, 24 seconds
off the walls, put it in the back of a pickup truck and and and took it away. This was what was left behind.3 minutes, 34 seconds
Scars. Look at that. Scars on the walls and empty brackets and old glue where3 minutes, 40 seconds
the history had been before they crowbarred it off under orders from Donald Trump.3 minutes, 49 seconds
If you've ever spent any time in Philly, you probably know that Philly does not easily aced to being messed with.3 minutes, 57 seconds
Philadelphia is a city you cannot mug.4 minutes
And so when Donald Trump did this to Philly earlier this year when he mugged Philly this way, um the city of4 minutes, 7 seconds
Philadelphia and activists and Nigel Johnson's own black journey walking tour, they got together and sued the4 minutes, 15 seconds
Trump
administration over the destruction of that exhibit. And you might
remember us co covering it on the show at the time. A federal judge back4 minutes, 24 seconds
in February sided with myel Johnson and the city ruled that it was illegal for Trump to have done what he did. And so4 minutes, 31 seconds
the
exhibit started going back up at the president's house, but then the
Trump administration appealed. So the order to put the exhibit back up
got stayed until4 minutes, 40 seconds
a federal appeals court could take up the case.4 minutes, 44 seconds
So
it's kind of been in limbo. What what this has meant for most of the
years that if you go to the president's house in Philly today, it's kind
of half4 minutes, 51 seconds
there. You see about half or maybe fewer of the panels are back on the walls.4 minutes, 56 seconds
It's
kind of a hodge podge. Some of the stuff is there, some of the stuff is
not. It's discontinuous. There are big holes where a lot of the panels
and information are just gone.5 minutes, 7 seconds
But now it's June, June of 2026, which means celebrations are supposed to start this month for the country's 250th birthday.5 minutes, 18 seconds
And I know you've heard all about Trump kind of botching the celebrations that are planned for the 250th in Washington,5 minutes, 26 seconds
right? Putting a cage match on the lawn of the White House sponsored by what multiple state gambling authorities5 minutes, 33 seconds
widely
consider to be an illegal gambling gambling operation. Okay. Uh but
nevertheless, they made a big donation to one of Trump's super PACs.5 minutes, 42 seconds
So he's regularly promoting this illegal gambling operation all the time. and their cage match is going to be on the5 minutes, 49 seconds
White House lawn. Uh Trump decided to put a car race on the streets of DC for which someone had the brilliant idea to5 minutes, 56 seconds
market this official t-shirt which says one nation, one race.6 minutes, 4 seconds
The t-shirt only comes in white.6 minutes, 7 seconds
Seriously, they had to take that down off the website after not being quite able to explain that one race.6 minutes, 15 seconds
Uh
Trump now has called for the cancellation of a concert that he had
tried to plan in Washington for the 250th. Uh after again a a a a
milange of6 minutes, 25 seconds
celebrities
and former celebrities they thought they had persuaded to come perform.
I think basically started hearing from their fans about whether or6 minutes, 32 seconds
not
it's a good idea to perform for a Donald Trump event this year. All
those celebrities and former celebrities started to drop out. Trump was
humiliated by that for obvious reasons.6 minutes, 43 seconds
And
so now he's called for the whole event to be cancelled and he has
announced that he himself should be the headliner instead. So, okay,
that'll be great.6 minutes, 53 seconds
And
you know, this is kind of how it goes with Trump. His first
inauguration in Washington, this was the musical entertainment. Remember
this poorly7 minutes, 2 seconds
organized, poorly attended, and sort of sadly underwhelming when it came to star power. The vibe was7 minutes, 9 seconds
like cut rate wedding DJ and dulttery junior varsity marching band.7 minutes, 15 seconds
Even
for Trump, I think it was therefore kind of a relief when his second
inauguration came around and had to be moved indoors for poor weather.
At least7 minutes, 23 seconds
they wouldn't need the the piano guys again or whatever. Um, then there was the North Korea style7 minutes, 31 seconds
military parade he tried to throw himself for his birthday. that turned out to be sad and small and also7 minutes, 38 seconds
radically underattended. That day it was dwarfed by the no kings protest that took place against him all over the country.7 minutes, 46 seconds
Like
this this is how things things go for him. I mean remember the proTrump
Super Bowl halftime show that everybody was supposed to watch instead
of the7 minutes, 54 seconds
real
one with Bad Bunny, but in the Trump one um Kid Rock kind of just lost
the thread trying to lip-sync and gave up halfway through.8 minutes, 5 seconds
I mean, Trump is just not good at this stuff. Uh, so I know you've heard about Trump botching the 250th in Washington,8 minutes, 13 seconds
but
you know, the birthplace of the Constitution, the place where the
presidents lived even before there was a White House, the real
birthplace of the8 minutes, 21 seconds
country, the place where we signed the Declaration of Independence is Philly. And right now, it's June of8 minutes, 28 seconds
2026. And in Philly, what's there? this half there, half not there, half taken8 minutes, 36 seconds
down mess thanks to Donald Trump.8 minutes, 40 seconds
And
so the good people of Philadelphia have done exactly what you would
expect them to do. They have decided to take matters into their own
hands and fix8 minutes, 48 seconds
this
themselves. The people of Philadelphia decided, yes, they're going to
sue and yes, they're going to hope that the courts do the right thing.8 minutes, 54 seconds
Stick
a pin in that. Come back to that in a moment. But in the meantime,
while they're waiting for this thing to get through the courts, if the
Trump administration is going to put those9 minutes, 2 seconds
words
back up, if they're not going to put that history back up, then the
people of Philadelphia will put the words back themselves.9 minutes, 10 seconds
And so, right now, sometimes at the president's house in Philly, that means a handmade sign posted up where a real9 minutes, 17 seconds
one used to be. Sometimes it means reading the words from those9 minutes, 24 seconds
signs aloud yourself. Here, for example, was the official life under slavery9 minutes, 31 seconds
panel on its way to the truck to be taken away. But here's the same content from that panel being read aloud a9 minutes, 39 seconds
couple of weeks ago for all comers, for anybody coming by to see it by a volunteer named Sher Ute.9 minutes, 47 seconds
Philadelphia's enslaved people observed firsthand how free African descents moved about the city. The city was a hub9 minutes, 54 seconds
of
several escape routes for many seeking freedom. Here, those seeking
their freedom often found sympathetic assistance despite the threat of
punishment for helping them.10 minutes, 6 seconds
Yeah. What are you doing for the country's 250th in Philly? These folks have been reading10 minutes, 13 seconds
this stuff. They have been volunteering as citizen dosent to read out loud the history that Trump stole so it can't be10 minutes, 21 seconds
taken
away from the site where that history happened. Day after day they show
up. They stand by the walls of the president's house. They give out
flyers10 minutes, 29 seconds
with
the text of those those panels that were taken down. They have folders
of the text that the president removed. They have carefully10 minutes, 38 seconds
saved
the history of this place where George Washington and the people he
enslaved lived and where school kids now line up to see the Liberty Bell
and they10 minutes, 46 seconds
keep that history alive. Volunteers take turns signing up for a shift to read the text out loud from the disappeared panels.10 minutes, 55 seconds
The group doing it is newly formed.10 minutes, 57 seconds
They're
called Old City Remembers. The founder of the group tells us he got the
idea right after the Trump administration destroyed the exhibit.11 minutes, 5 seconds
His
name is Matt Hall. He says when he found out what they did, he thought,
"We've got to do something." And he thought the simplest and most
sustainable response was to capture the11 minutes, 13 seconds
history they had taken down and just read it aloud for people who came to the site. So they read it aloud.11 minutes, 21 seconds
Old City remembers is still onboarding volunteers in Philly. So far about 150 people have completed their training. 5011 minutes, 29 seconds
people have signed up already for one of these reading shifts. With tourist season upon us now and the 250th coming11 minutes, 37 seconds
fast, Old City Remembers is hoping more people will sign up. Oldcity remembers.com if you're curious.11 minutes, 46 seconds
But I said to stick a pin in what's going on with the courts. Um, tomorrow, tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m., the11 minutes, 53 seconds
federal
appeals court that sits in Philly is going to hear the case on this.
they're going to hear the appeal on whether the slavery exhibit from the12 minutes, 1 second
president's house in Philadelphia has to be put back up or not. We understand that lots of people in Philadelphia are12 minutes, 8 seconds
planning
on going in person to hear those court arguments tomorrow. They've had
to move the arguments to the big ceremonial courtroom at the federal
courthouse on Market Street in Philly.12 minutes, 19 seconds
People
are going to rally outside ahead of the hearing and then the hearing
hearing starts at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. and they are expecting a12 minutes, 26 seconds
packed
house. People in Philly pushing back, protesting, suing and being
creative, finding ways to undo what Trump has been trying to do.12 minutes, 39 seconds
I
mean, you you get the sense no matter what happens to that case
tomorrow, the people of Philadelphia are not going to let that history
be erased.12 minutes, 46 seconds
And
it's not just in Philly. Um, two days after tomorrow's court hearing in
Philly, um, this Thursday in Washington DC, a bunch of folks from the
activist12 minutes, 56 seconds
group Third Act are expected to pack the meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington DC. doesn't13 minutes, 5 seconds
usually sound like the most exciting, stimulating public meeting, but it's going to be packed because the these13 minutes, 12 seconds
folks
are are are going as part of their efforts to oppose Trump building a
triumphal arch for himself to honor himself in Washington.13 minutes, 24 seconds
They've been protesting already under the banner 86 the arch, saying democracies do not build memorials to living presidents.13 minutes, 33 seconds
But Trump has been trying to ram this ridiculous dictator arch thing through despite vast and overwhelming public13 minutes, 41 seconds
opposition to it. So Third Act is is trying to make that the that public opposition to the arch as loud and13 minutes, 49 seconds
visible and as present at every meeting as possible. And so at that boring meeting on Thursday, they're going to be13 minutes, 57 seconds
packing the house and doing everything they can to try to stop that big dumb arch.14 minutes, 2 seconds
You've
probably also heard about the ongoing protests and confrontations
outside the Delaney Hall immigrant prison in New York, New Jersey. We're14 minutes, 11 seconds
going to talk with New Jersey US Senator Andy Kim about that tonight on the show.14 minutes, 14 seconds
But
you should also know that it's not just at Delaney Hall. In Ohio this
weekend, there were vigils and protests and prayer services all across
the state14 minutes, 23 seconds
of Ohio against the prisons and jails where the Trump administration is holding immigrants in Ohio.14 minutes, 29 seconds
At
the end of this week on Saturday, there'll be another day of nationwide
protest, particularly in the Northeast against Citizens Bank for their
role in14 minutes, 39 seconds
bankrolling Trump's immigrant prisons, including the one at Delaney Hall.14 minutes, 43 seconds
Citizens
Bank, for its part, they say they follow the law and they apply their
standards consistently to all their clients. But the faith-based groups
that14 minutes, 51 seconds
have been pressing Citizens Bank on this say that the bank's CEO has dismissed concerns about the conditions in Trump's14 minutes, 58 seconds
immigrant prisons, and they say he has refused to meet with them uh as they have tried to push him on this matter.15 minutes, 4 seconds
Faith-based groups have pulled millions of dollars out of Citizens Bank already.15 minutes, 8 seconds
We're
told to expect this week that they will be pulling out millions more
with more faith groups, more churches and mosques and synagogues joining
that effort all the time.15 minutes, 22 seconds
Push
back against Donald Trump and the Trump administration comes in all
kinds of forms. It can be suing them. It can be protesting against them
in the15 minutes, 31 seconds
streets. It can be pressuring the companies and public figures who collaborate with them and enable them.15 minutes, 37 seconds
It
can be giving public comment and showing up at otherwise boring
meetings where they're trying to ram through one or another of their bad
decisions. It15 minutes, 45 seconds
could be volunteering for a candidate who will oppose Trump or picketing the office of an office holder who won't oppose him.15 minutes, 53 seconds
In
Philadelphia, it might mean standing up outside the walls of the
president's house national historic site, reading the words out loud
about George16 minutes, 1 second
Washington's slaves, the words that Donald Trump tried to throw into a truck and disappear.16 minutes, 9 seconds
If you're CBS News correspondent Scott P, it can apparently mean mocking the sweet be Jesus out of the oligarch sock16 minutes, 16 seconds
puppets sent in to destroy 60 Minutes as a favorite for the Mad King. God bless you, Scott Belly.16 minutes, 24 seconds
Long may you wave.16 minutes, 28 seconds
In this time, in this moment, American push back comes in all kinds of flavors.16 minutes, 34 seconds
And
we don't always know what effect each act of push back is going to have
in the moment. We don't know if it's going to work now or ever. We
don't what16 minutes, 41 seconds
backlash
it might entail. We don't know what it might cause to happen
differently that wasn't otherwise going to happen had we not pushed
back. But in16 minutes, 48 seconds
the year and a half so far, adding it all up collectively, all these different kinds of push back.16 minutes, 56 seconds
All in all, it's made this president radically and historically unpopular.17 minutes, 3 seconds
And that has made him profoundly historically weak. And that means that over time, the effort that it takes to17 minutes, 11 seconds
get him to fail and to cave gets a little easier because he's weaker as time goes on. And as more and more17 minutes, 18 seconds
Americans see clear to saying no to what he's doing.17 minutes, 23 seconds
Tonight, after what is being, I think, sort of mildly described as backlash to Trump's attempt for this this slush17 minutes, 31 seconds
fund, Trump's attempt to back up a truck to the Treasury to take nearly $2 billion to use as a slush fund. The17 minutes, 39 seconds
White
House tonight is reportedly backing off that plan to try to take that
money for Trump. And that is in part because it hasn't just been17 minutes, 48 seconds
Democrats
in Congress. It has been Republicans in Congress who said no to this
thing and who showed themselves to be prepared to vote against it as
well.17 minutes, 58 seconds
But
I think the underappreciated part of all of this, something I I feel
like I want more clarity on is that it is really starting to look like
they were18 minutes, 5 seconds
going
to get in trouble for this. There was that one court ruling on Friday
that ordered Trump not to start up the fund or make any dispersements
from it. But18 minutes, 13 seconds
there was also the other court ruling on Friday that essentially indicated that a judge had18 minutes, 22 seconds
started
an investigation, a court ruling that essentially started an
investigation led by a federal judge into whether or not the whole
process by18 minutes, 30 seconds
which Trump was trying to take this money might have been an act of fraud, might have been a fraud on the court.18 minutes, 38 seconds
The whole idea that this was a settlement of a lawsuit appears to have been false from the beginning. It was designed that way18 minutes, 46 seconds
simply
as a pretext to give the appearance of legality to what was otherwise
just a bank robbery against the American people. And it is one thing18 minutes, 55 seconds
politically
to try to pull that off for the American people. It's it's one thing to
try to sort of p, you know, try to try to scam people and tell people
not19 minutes, 3 seconds
to
believe their lying eyes about what's happened, but to do it to a
federal court essentially gives the federal judge overseeing that court
the right to19 minutes, 12 seconds
look
into it to see whether you might have committed fraud against that
court and thereby be sanction be subject to sanctions for it.19 minutes, 21 seconds
So this is going to be really interesting. Trump may be dropping this slush fund as of tonight. Reportedly, he19 minutes, 28 seconds
is
considering doing that. But as far as I understand it, him dropping it
won't necessarily stop the judge's investigation, the now ongoing19 minutes, 36 seconds
investigation into whether all of this was a crime.19 minutes, 43 seconds
You never know how all the push back is going to work out, but the push back always and ever matters.19 minutes, 49 seconds
Joining
us now is Joyce Vance, former US Attorney for the Northern District of
Alabama, co-host of the Excellent Sisters in Law podcast. Joyce, it's19 minutes, 57 seconds
great to see you. Thank you for being here. It's good to see you, too.20 minutes, 1 second
Joyce, is it, as you know, I'm not not a lawyer. Um, I do not play one on TV, but is it fair for me to characterize this20 minutes, 9 seconds
as the judge in this case effectively investigating what went on here?20 minutes, 15 seconds
I
I think that that's a fair characterization because under article three
of the constitution, courts only consider actual cases and
controversies.20 minutes, 25 seconds
And the potential issue here is that Donald Trump was on both sides of the V in this lawsuit. He was the plaintiff20 minutes, 32 seconds
who was suing the IRS, but he also purports to control decisions that the IRS makes. And so there's actually video20 minutes, 40 seconds
of
him saying, "Isn't this crazy? you know, I have to decide how much
money to give myself. So, the judge is entitled to figure out whether
that was a case20 minutes, 49 seconds
she should have been considering in the first place.20 minutes, 53 seconds
in her order on this on Friday, which was a sort of tur like four-page order, uh, very sternly worded, um, the judge,21 minutes, 2 seconds
in this case, Judge Kathleen Williams, noted that she is entitled to investigate serious misconduct as a21 minutes, 9 seconds
collateral issue within the purview of rule 11. And I talked to a couple of lawyers about this and all of them were21 minutes, 16 seconds
basically just saying like, rule 11, exclamation point, rule 11. Can can you explain for us non- lawyers what rule 1121 minutes, 25 seconds
is and and whether it is in fact a big deal that that is what was invoked by the judge as she looks into this?21 minutes, 31 seconds
It is a big deal. Um there's a little bit of law school 101 that has to happen here. This case has been dismissed and21 minutes, 39 seconds
so
to get to that rule 11 consideration the judge would have to reopen the
case and she can do that. There's actually a group of 35 former federal
judges.21 minutes, 50 seconds
They've
petitioned her and said, "Please, judge, use rule 60 to reopen this
case and decide whether you should set aside the dismissal because there21 minutes, 59 seconds
was a fraud that was perpetrated on the court." And so, as part of doing that, the judge then says, you know, there's a22 minutes, 6 seconds
rule called rule 11 of the federal rules of civil procedure, and it involves filing frivolous motions or frivolous22 minutes, 14 seconds
cases, and judges can sanction parties who do that. And so she's almost musing to herself in in this four-page order22 minutes, 21 seconds
saying, "Well, I think I might need to inquire into that." And if she were to use rule 11, she would be able to ask22 minutes, 29 seconds
the government to explain itself. Why did you file this case? Did you understand that it was collusive in some22 minutes, 35 seconds
sense?
Who was who was responsible? Who signed off on this? Who didn't, you
know, say that this settlement should not have taken place? because you
can't22 minutes, 44 seconds
have
the president setting his own settlement up. So, lots of legitimate
inquiry that she can engage in there if she decides it's appropriate.22 minutes, 55 seconds
Joyce
Vance, this is going to be fascinating to watch. Again, we don't know
for sure whether they are withdrawing this thing. The reporting is that
they are at least considering it.23 minutes, 2 seconds
There
remains the open question about the IRS immunity part of this um that
was tacked on to the the supposed settlement after it was closed. It's23 minutes, 10 seconds
going to be a lot to watch here. Thanks for helping us understand, Joyce. It's really good to see you. Thanks.23 minutes, 16 seconds
All right, much more news ahead here tonight. Stay with us.23 minutes, 24 seconds
We
know your days are Mr. Pavino has been spending his retirement
lamenting that he was not able to achieve his personal dream of23 minutes, 32 seconds
deporting nearly a third of the US population. He's also posted photos like this one on social media. He posted that23 minutes, 40 seconds
on social media. He posted that photo just before jetting off to a white supremacist conference in Portugal this23 minutes, 47 seconds
weekend.
He was the special guest at a gathering of European far far faright
politicians and activists who advocate for making Europe more white.23 minutes, 58 seconds
Bavino appeared before a giant photo of himself in the 1930s Germanstyle great coat he apparently made for himself to24 minutes, 7 seconds
wear
on the job. He told the assembled fascists in Portugal that the United
States and Europe have quote the same problems and the same solutions.24 minutes, 18 seconds
Last
fall, when that tiny terror was leading the Trump administration's
attack on Chicago, Trump's federal prosecutors, you might remember, they24 minutes, 26 seconds
charged a local Chicago man, a Chicago carpenter, with plotting to kill Greg Bravino. Trump's DOJ said that this man24 minutes, 34 seconds
had
put out a hit on Greg Bravino, had offered cash to anybody who would
kill him. Bravino said it was just more evidence of how terrible things
are and24 minutes, 42 seconds
terrible
Chicago. He called the city a war zone. But, you know, interestingly
enough, that case immediately fell completely apart after multiple court24 minutes, 51 seconds
rulings that prosecutors were trying to say stuff in court about the defendant that they had no evidence to back up.24 minutes, 57 seconds
The jury in the case proceeded to acquit the defendant in less than three hours.25 minutes, 3 seconds
That
pitiful failed case was run out of the US attorney's office for the
Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. The case just fell apart25 minutes, 11 seconds
completely,
which is important to know because everything is falling apart in that
particular US attorney's office right now. At the center of the collapse
is25 minutes, 19 seconds
the
office's case against the so-called Broadview 6. Federal prosecutors
initially indicted six people for protesting outside the ICE facility in25 minutes, 28 seconds
Broadview, Illinois. They charged them with felony conspiracy. But then things started going wrong quickly. They25 minutes, 35 seconds
dropped
the charges quickly against two of the defendants. Then they paired
back some of the charges against the remaining four. That made defense25 minutes, 43 seconds
attorneys
start to wonder was go what was going on. Defense attorneys demanded to
see the grand jury transcripts which would show how prosecutors got a
grand25 minutes, 51 seconds
jury
to indict these defendants in the first place. Rather than turn over
those transcripts, the US attorney's office instead just dropped the
remaining25 minutes, 59 seconds
felony
charge altogether, saying, "Okay, now you don't need to see the grand
jury stuff, right?" The defense attorneys at that point could have just
celebrated having all26 minutes, 7 seconds
the
charges dropped, but they decided they really wanted to get to the
bottom of what was going on. The judge eventually agreed with the
defense26 minutes, 15 seconds
attorney's
requests, and she ordered prosecutors to hand over the grand jury
transcripts. It was it was quickly clear why they'd been trying to keep
them26 minutes, 24 seconds
hidden.
Upon reviewing those transcripts, the judge said, quote, "I have read
hundreds, if not thousands of grand jury transcripts. I have never26 minutes, 32 seconds
seen
the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in
those transcripts." She accused the US Attorney's Office not26 minutes, 41 seconds
just of all that misbehavior, but of trying to hide that misbehavior from her by initially giving her a redacted26 minutes, 48 seconds
version of the transcripts that hid the worst stuff that they had done.26 minutes, 54 seconds
Well,
upon getting dressed down by the judge that way, the US attorney's
office then dropped all the charges, all the felonies, all the
misdemeanors, and the27 minutes, 1 second
Trump
appointed US attorney in that city has been flailing ever since, saying
he wasn't personally aware of any of the misconduct, saying he took
action as27 minutes, 8 seconds
soon
as he heard about it. He's announcing sweeping new reforms to his
office. But against his denials, one of the Broadview 6 defense
attorneys, a man27 minutes, 17 seconds
named Chris Pari, says the US attorney himself is a big part of the problem here. Parent accuses the US attorney of27 minutes, 24 seconds
having had contact with the grand jurors himself.27 minutes, 28 seconds
If true, that's basically a catastrophe for that federal prosecutor's office.27 minutes, 35 seconds
The US Justice Department under Donald Trump has cratered. It's basically gone.27 minutes, 41 seconds
But
in Chicago specifically, what's going on there right now could result
in potentially one of the biggest federal prosecution scandals ever in
the history27 minutes, 49 seconds
of
this country. And that's saying something for Chicago specifically, uh,
let alone for the country, but I mean it for the whole country. Joining
us now is27 minutes, 58 seconds
Chris
Pary, attorney for one of the Broadview Six, former former federal
prosecutor himself. Mr. Prenty, I really appreciate you making time to
be here. Thank you.28 minutes, 6 seconds
Thanks for having me on, Rachel.28 minutes, 9 seconds
So,
this case is not over despite the fact that all the charges against
your client and all his codefendants have been dismissed. You're
continuing to28 minutes, 17 seconds
push
on this issue of alleged misconduct by the federal prosecutors here.
The judge says she's going to entertain briefings on whether this was a28 minutes, 25 seconds
vindictive prosecution. Um, what should we expect to keep happening here and why are you still pushing?28 minutes, 32 seconds
We're still pushing, Rachel, because again, the government picked the wrong six people here to go after, right?28 minutes, 37 seconds
These
are six people who were out there at that Broadview facility protesting
for the rights of the undocumented that were being abused by our
government. So28 minutes, 44 seconds
they
were willing to risk their own finances, their own freedom to fight for
those people and they are willing to see this through into the end
because they realize how important this case is.28 minutes, 54 seconds
Right?
What this case has done is allowed us to see what goes on in secret
inside these grand jury rooms. Um over the past week or two, I I heard
acting29 minutes, 3 seconds
attorney
general Todd Todd Blanch on these news shows telling people, "Hey, it
might look like DOJ's, you know, returning political indictments against29 minutes, 11 seconds
uh
Mr. Comey and Don Lemon and the Southern Poverty Law Center. But don't
worry, it's not us. It's the grand jury, right? That's that's the
official word29 minutes, 19 seconds
here.
But if if his prosecutors are corrupting that grand jury process, and I
can assure you they are because we've seen these transcripts, then all
of that29 minutes, 27 seconds
falls
away, right? Because then you can't the grand jury is just being
bulldozed by federal prosecutors who are who are acting in an unethical
way. And29 minutes, 34 seconds
and
the behavior that we saw in our grand jury is it's it's appalling. As a
former federal prosecutor, I have never seen anything like this. The
federal29 minutes, 42 seconds
prosecutor went in there and personally vouched for the uh the indictment. She threw out grand jurors who who voice29 minutes, 50 seconds
dissent.
Right? That's one way to get an indictment. Don't know. You don't like
it? Then get out of the room. Uh and she had contact with the grand jury
outside of the grand jury room, which you can't29 minutes, 58 seconds
do.
So if if if that's what they're doing to get these cases, these
political cases, and the Broadview Six case was a political case, and
we're30 minutes, 5 seconds
convinced
it was directed from the White House or the Trump administration, if
they're willing to to have prosecutors act in such an unethical way in a
room30 minutes, 13 seconds
where
there is nobody, there's no judge, there's no defense attorney, it is
built on trust that the Department of Justice will have its uh
prosecutors do the30 minutes, 21 seconds
right thing. If that trust erodess, then the whole system collapses. And that's why all six defendants in the Broadview30 minutes, 28 seconds
6
case are willing to continue to push this fight forward because they
want the sunlight to expose what this Department of Justice is having
their prosecutors do behind closed doors.30 minutes, 38 seconds
I'm
really glad that you explained it that way. I feel like it's part of
the reason that I've been so interested in this case and in the other
cases where30 minutes, 46 seconds
misconduct before the grand jury is uh has been alleged. Um, I mean, again, I'm I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me30 minutes, 53 seconds
like us non- lawyers in the country really need to get our heads around this particular problem because if they are31 minutes, 1 second
lying
to the grand jury, if they are engaging in misconduct before the grand
jury, what that means in non-legal ease is that they can31 minutes, 10 seconds
bring criminal cases, they can bring charges, they can potentially arrest and jail people on the basis of nothing. And31 minutes, 18 seconds
they can do it to all of their political opponents, to whole classes of people.31 minutes, 22 seconds
If
the grand jury system falls apart because they are abusing it, because
they are behaving behind closed doors in ways that aren't what they're
supposed31 minutes, 30 seconds
to be doing under the judicial system, it really kicks the door wide open to mass arrests of their political31 minutes, 36 seconds
opponents. Now the judge um acceding to your request to look at these grand jury transcripts recognizing and being so31 minutes, 44 seconds
stern
with the US attorney's office here after what they did. What kind of
penalties are possible here? What kind of punishment is possible here?
How can31 minutes, 53 seconds
this
US attorney's office, how can any of these prosecutor's offices be sort
of brought back under the right side of the law if judges decide to do
that?32 minutes, 1 second
Yeah,
we are hopeful. I mean this judge was deceived by the US attorney's
office for seven months. I can my view of this is she is angry right for
seven months32 minutes, 10 seconds
and
and and keep in mind she came out of that office as I did as right and I
think she didn't see it because you don't want to see it you want to
believe that that US attorney's office the32 minutes, 17 seconds
Chicago US attorney's office which is known around the country as being one of the pre-minent offices I in this country32 minutes, 25 seconds
you
don't want to see that they're doing things the wrong way or they're
doing they're putting you know not just their finger on their scale but
their entire32 minutes, 32 seconds
body
on the scale for this one right and and you don't want to see that And
now that at the end of this, right, she saw it, right? And the
government tried to32 minutes, 40 seconds
hide
it. They like they were ordered to turn over transcripts and what they
did is they redacted certain parts and they removed pages, right? You
would never do32 minutes, 48 seconds
that
with something that's only going to the court, right? You redact things
that'll be on a public docket, social security numbers, birthdays,
names, things that are just going to a judge in32 minutes, 56 seconds
her
chambers. You would you wouldn't redact anything. But someone in that
office and and maybe more than one person sat down and literally crossed33 minutes, 3 seconds
out
all of this misbehavior that I just described for you that occurred
there and took out pages and didn't tell the court. So, you know,
everyone is thinking that the office is acting with33 minutes, 12 seconds
that
presumption of regularity that that the department is is usually
entitled to. But as we tried to argue to the court, judge, that's gone.
And it's not just for what's happened in Chicago. You33 minutes, 20 seconds
see
it across the country. This Department of Justice has mailed it in on
on on doing things the right way. And now it's time for judges like her
and33 minutes, 28 seconds
judges
across the country to say, "I'm not going to allow this." We have now
seen what you're doing behind closed doors and and the American people
need33 minutes, 36 seconds
to
see it because if you're doing it here in Chicago, I guarantee you
they're doing it in every other office because they're getting pressured
to put through33 minutes, 43 seconds
these
indictments that no grand jury, if you didn't put your finger on the
scale, would indict. And keep in mind, in our case, the grand jury voted
no. And it shows how relentless this department is.33 minutes, 52 seconds
Even
when the grand jury, who almost never says no, voted no against this
indictment, they went back the next week and engaged in more misconduct
to get this across the finish line. That's the scary part.34 minutes, 3 seconds
Yeah.
and and judges around the country in Chicago and around the country
sort of getting up on their hind legs and saying no to this, exposing
it,34 minutes, 10 seconds
acknowledging
that it's happening and saying we're going to put a stop to it could be
I I think a whole new phase uh in Trumpism and in what this34 minutes, 18 seconds
administration
is doing and even tries to do. Chris Parenty, former federal prosecutor
attorney for one of the Broadview Six. Mr. PT, thank you so much for
your time. Please keep us apprised.34 minutes, 28 seconds
We'd love to have you back. We'll do. Thank you, Rachel. More ahead here tonight. Stay with us.
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