Rick Wilson, Sen. Tammy Baldwin & Beth Macy

Molly Jong-Fast (0:00)

Welcome to Fast Politics. I'm Molly Jong-Fast, and we have such a great show for you today.

Later in the show, we'll talk to Senator Tammy Baldwin about holding Trump accountable. Plus, as a bonus, we have journalist and author Beth Macy, who will talk to us about her run to flip Virginia's sixth congressional district. But first, we have The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson, who talk about the weaponization of Trump's Justice Department. Rick Wilson.

Rick Wilson (0:29)

Hey, how are you?

Molly Jong-Fast (0:30)

The Trump DOJ exists to prosecute the enemies of Donald Trump, whoever they may be. Yes. And nothing else, as far as I can tell, right?

Rick Wilson (0:40)

It is also to keep the Epstein files under on ice until such time as Donald Trump falls off the face of the earth. It is true. How do they keep this horror from us for so long?

Molly Jong-Fast (0:51)

The Epstein files, I mean, you find a DOJ, find a person who can get rid of stuff the way the DOJ can get rid of the Epstein files, because we know...

Rick Wilson (1:02)

And I want to bring Todd Blanchard over to clean out my garage.

Tammy Baldwin (1:06)

Because there were these files.

Rick Wilson (1:07)

You can eat off the floor at this point. Good lord.

Molly Jong-Fast (1:09)

We know there are at least 3 million more Epstein files, right? Yeah, yeah, I do. And the other thing which I always wondered about was the tapes, because there are also tapes, tapes, tapes.

Rick Wilson (1:21)

The ones that Blanchard one time said, there are absolutely no tapes, and then all the inventories talk about videotapes seized from Epstein's house in Little St. John, his house in Palm Beach, his house in New York, his house at the Zorro death ranch out there in New Mexico. The fact that Todd Welch is about to face a Democratic Senate delights me more than I can say.

Molly Jong-Fast (1:45)

Wait, do you really think Democrats are going to flip the Senate?

Rick Wilson (1:48)

I do now.

Molly Jong-Fast (1:49)

Okay, so the DOJ, besides hiding the Epstein files, which we know they have, and FYI, fighting with New Mexico's AG., Raul Torres, who's been on this podcast, preventing him from doing the investigation into Zorro Ranch, which was bought by a Trump ally. I mean, by the way, this is like such an amazing, we know, or at least some of the girls have said they believe that there are girls buried around Zorro Ranch. An investigation into that would make clear if there were or were not, and we'd be able to see, because human remains remain.

SPEAKER_4 (2:29)

But in-

Rick Wilson (2:29)

Yeah, they tend to.

SPEAKER_4 (2:30)

They stick around.

Molly Jong-Fast (2:31)

And, but instead-

SPEAKER_4 (2:32)

Especially in dry desert climates.

Molly Jong-Fast (2:34)

Right, but instead, the DOJ has fought really hard to prevent that from going. So there's all different ways in which this DOJ has covered for Donald Trump, the most recent of which is now they are investigating TV networks for antitrust. After signing off on letting-

SPEAKER_4 (2:53)

On the Paramount Ellison deal.

Molly Jong-Fast (2:55)

Right, where the Saudis are going to essentially control CNN, CBS, and various other networks and outlet.

Rick Wilson (3:06)

They're going to control both news and entertainment in America because the Ellisons, even the Ellisons did not have the cash to pull off this deal. So they went to the Saudis, they went to the Emiratis, and they said, hey, listen, we need this money to make this happen. Donald will be happy if you do this for us and with us. And look, the Saudis are not unsophisticated investors.

When they want to buy something and control it, they go out and spend the money. This is a huge, huge national security question that none of these people will grapple with.

Molly Jong-Fast (3:41)

But the real antitrust problem, the real one, the one that is...

Rick Wilson (3:45)

The ones we made along the way?

Molly Jong-Fast (3:46)

Right. Is the networks not covering Donald Trump, President Xi's arrival, where Donald Trump went to pick him up at the airport? That's unusual.

Rick Wilson (3:57)

Donald Trump sending the federal government after the networks for an antitrust complaint, I think actually is a good thing. And I'll tell you why. Because it's going to expose just how much of a near monopoly now exists in the media infrastructure in America, with the Ellison's controlling, essentially CBS and CNN, with the greater and greater media consolidation. And while on a First Amendment basis, I think it's absurd, I do think it's illustrative, and Donald Trump will not be in power forever.