On the heels of several Antifa sniper shootings, President Donald Trump designated Antifa a domestic terrorist organization, but Face the Nation Anchor Margaret Brennan is not so sure Antifa is anything more than an idea. In an interview Sunday with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Brennan guides her questions to hint that Trump may break some Fourth Amendment protections by going after Antifa.
“Have you seen evidence that these left-wing activists are now becoming a more organized group with national leadership, something the FBI has said in the past that they’re really more of an ideology?” Brennan asked. And further minimized the threat by thrusting more concern on Trump’s response than snipers who fire bullets imprinted with very specific messages.
This was not her only outrageous segment. Opposing Trump is Brennan’s default setting. For proof, look at the introduction of the show when she promotes a discussion about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey for lying to Congress, and worries more indictments may be on the way.
“But what can stop him from pursuing more cases?” she asks her viewers, as if any charges the Trump administration would bring will be baseless.
The propaganda press still has not heard: the American people don’t want to stop Trump.
In interviews we focus on the answers and forget about the interviewer, but below, the answers have all been removed so you can see how Brennan guides the conversation to oppose Trump on every topic she covers. Here are just the questions.
(Introduction)
Margaret Brennan: I’m Margaret Brennan in Washington.
And this week on Face the Nation: President Trump says another blue city needs federal protection. Plus, his opponents say he’s stepping up a campaign of political retribution.
President Trump now says that Portland, Oregon, is under siege and that he’s sending troops there to protect ICE. But will his solution cause new problems?
Back in Washington, Mr. Trump put his political opponents on notice after directing his Justice Department to indict former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress.
(Video Clip)
Margaret Brennan: But what can stop him from pursuing more cases?
We will talk with the head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Rand Paul.
Plus, as the clock ticks down again towards a possible government shutdown, this round of the Washington blame game has the potential to hurt more than just the two parties. This time, the Trump administration is threatening to fire, instead of furlough, some federal workers, unless Democrats support their funding bill.
Why won’t they? We will ask two key Democrats in the Senate, Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar and Virginia’s Tim Kaine.
Overnight, Russia launches a massive attack involving hundreds of drones and missiles on Ukraine’s capital city. Republican Congressman Mike Turner just returned from the region, and he will join us.
It’s all just ahead on Face the Nation.
Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation.
We have breaking news as we begin what is likely to be another turbulent week here in Washington. Congress faces a government shutdown deadline of October 1.
Our Robert Costa spoke this morning to President Trump.
Bob, top leaders, both parties, both sides of the Capitol, are coming to the White House. Did the president tell you he thinks a shutdown can be avoided?
Robert Costa: A shutdown looks likely at this point, based on my conversation this morning with President Trump.
He says both sides are at a stalemate. Democrats want to extend health care subsidies that were part of the Affordable Care Act. But President Trump said his focus on health care is on preventing undocumented migrants from having access to any of the U.S. health care system.
Now, it’s illegal for any noncitizen to have that sort of access. But President Trump says, we’re not going to have it – quote – “We’re not going to allow it” in terms of moving forward on any discussion unless the Democrats come to his side on health care and don’t focus on the subsidies.
But, based on my conversations with top Democrats, that’s not going to happen. So President Trump told me – quote – “I just don’t know how we are going to solve this issue.”
That makes a shutdown quite likely. And inside the White House, sources are saying President Trump actually welcomes a shutdown, in the sense that he believes he can wield executive power to get rid of what he calls waste, fraud, and abuse. And there is that memo, as you mentioned, that says the government is ready to have mass firings if a deal isn’t struck.
Margaret Brennan: Reductions in force, right.
Well, we also know that the president took some extraordinary public statements in the past few days. He publicly said he wants to see Adam Schiff, now a senator, Letitia James prosecuted, along with James Comey, the former FBI director, who is now indicted.
Yesterday, he twice posted on social media about former FBI Director Chris Wray. Did the president tell you, is he planning prosecutions?
Robert Costa: I did not speak directly to the president about that today.
But fishing around all weekend in his inner circle, it’s clear this is just the beginning in terms of possible prosecutions of those who have scrutinized the president or criticized him over the years. You mentioned the mortgage policy potentially of Senator Adam Schiff of California. He’s being discussed inside of the Trump administration.
So is Letitia James, the New York attorney general, who sued the president over how he valued his real estate holdings. And there are others not even on our radar at this moment, like retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, who are being discussed as people who may have taken action against the administration or president in some way, allegedly, in the views of those inside, and they want to see the Justice Department hold them to account.
There’s such a gap right now in Washington. Republicans believe what President Trump is doing is accountability. Democrats are alarmed and see this as authoritarian government at work. And there’s a real tension there that’s not going away.
Margaret Brennan: No, and a justice system that has to deal with evidence and facts. And we’re going to talk about all of this ahead with some of our guests.
Robert Costa, thank you very much for your reporting.
Brennan Questions Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
We want to go now to the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Senator Rand Paul, who joins us from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Good morning to you, senator.
Margaret Brennan: Well, I want to start on that news you just heard that the president is basically expecting a shutdown and possibly to carry out these mass layoffs. Do you think all of this is just a threat to make Democrats fold?
Margaret Brennan: Well, we have this immediate deadline, though, of this week, and we know leaders are going to the White House.
If we end up in this shutdown, do you think it is appropriate and legal for the executive to carry out the kind of mass firings that the budget director laid out in that memo this past week?
Margaret Brennan: Without consulting Congress?
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Margaret Brennan: I want to ask you about your role in Homeland Security. You are chairman of that oversight committee.
The president announced yesterday, and I’m sure you saw his social media post, that he’s going to send troops to Portland, Oregon. He called it a war-ravaged city. He said he’s also going to send troops to any immigration facilities around the country which are – quote – “under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists” – end quote.
He said he’s authorizing full force, if necessary. Do you know what full force means here? Do you know what’s in store?
Margaret Brennan: Yes, but then – but you haven’t been briefed on the plan for Oregon?
Margaret Brennan: You have not been briefed on plans to send troops to Oregon?
Margaret Brennan: OK, because we have not yet seen troops in Chicago, though you’re referencing the president’s past threats to do so.
In Oregon, the governor said there’s no need and they don’t want these troops. But the mayor said, the mayor of Portland, federal agents have been arriving, along with some armored vehicles. Are you comfortable with pushing the limits here of some of these uses of either potentially troops or federal agents?
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Margaret Brennan: Well, it sounded – well, I’m asking about your oversight role, because it seemed like the president’s statement yesterday, it took a turn. It wasn’t how he talked about Chicago.
In fact, when he was speaking in this social media post about Portland, he used language here about domestic terrorists. And we know, just a few days ago, the president did issue that executive order saying he wanted to declare this anti-fascist group Antifa to be a domestic terrorist organization.
Have you seen evidence that these left-wing activists are now becoming a more organized group with national leadership, something the FBI has said in the past that they’re really more of an ideology?
Margaret Brennan: So, do you have concerns, though, about designating groups with these anti-government sentiments as domestic terrorist groups? I mean, do you start worrying about Fourth Amendment violations?
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
But it doesn’t mean we should go soft on Antifa…
Margaret Brennan: Right.
Margaret Brennan: All right, Sen. Rand Paul, thank you for your time this morning.
Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.
Brennan Questions Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
Margaret Brennan: And we’re back with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. She is a member of Democratic leadership. And she joins us this morning from Minneapolis.
Good morning to you, senator.
Margaret Brennan: Well, we just heard from my colleague Robert Costa that the president indicated to him the likelihood of a shutdown and, with that, potentially mass firings.
Do you think this is posturing or do you worry your fellow Democrats are walking into a trap?
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Senator Amy Klobuchar: … people who are farmers out there, twice as much in the rural areas.
So that’s what this is about to us. And the president prides himself in the art of a deal. This is the moment for him to meet with Democrats and come to an agreement.
Margaret Brennan: So those premiums go up November 1. You’re talking about the extension of the health care subsidies. But insurance companies plan that a year out. So these premiums are already priced in here.
Why not agree to the government…
Margaret Brennan: Go ahead.
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Senator Amy Klobuchar: … in addition to groceries and electricity prices going up. It’s health care.
Margaret Brennan: But, to be clear, you couldn’t take the seven-week funding and then negotiate that? You’re saying it has to be agreed to right now?
Margaret Brennan: You sit on the Judiciary Committee, so I want to ask you about what’s happening right now.
Earlier this month, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, resigned after failing to bring a case against New York Attorney General Letitia James. We just spoke about her with Robert Costa.
Monday, Lindsey Halligan was sworn in as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. She has never prosecuted a case before. Three days into this new job, she moved forward with the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey on two counts.
Have you spoken to your fellow Republicans on the Judiciary Committee? Do they have concerns about what’s happening in Virginia?
Margaret Brennan: You also worked on investigating January 6, 2021, and the attack of the United States Capitol.
FBI Director Kash Patel yesterday said publicly 274 FBI agents were – quote – “thrown into crowd control” on that day, against FBI standards. President Trump also said publicly that FBI agents acted as agitators who were secretly placed against all rules, regulations, protocols and standards into the crowd prior to and during the attack.
This contradicts what the inspector general said in a published report that said there was no evidence of undercover employees in the crowd and that there were hundreds of special agents and employees who came in after the Capitol Hill police asked for them.
This is now newly in focus because the president put the focus there. What was the role of the FBI that day?
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Margaret Brennan: Senator, thank you for your insight there. We will be watching what happens here, as the president tweeted both of those things and in reference to former Director Chris Wray.
We will be right back with a lot more Face the Nation. Stay with us.
Brennan Questions Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio
Margaret Brennan: And we’re joined now by Ohio Republican Congressman Mike Turner.
Good morning.
Margaret Brennan: Good to have you here in person.
Margaret Brennan: I want to talk to you about Ukraine, which you just returned from.
But, before I do that, let’s button up where we left the conversation with Senator Klobuchar. FBI Director Chris Wray was twice spoken about in public statements by the president yesterday, and he said he has some explaining to do. He seemed to be connecting it to the FBI and January 6.
Margaret Brennan: Specifically, the number of the agents, the 274?
Margaret Brennan: What – but what part is concerning? Because that inspector general report said months ago that there were several hundred FBI agents who responded after the Capitol Police asked them to be there.
Margaret Brennan: So when the president says Chris Wray has some explaining to do, how do you interpret that?
Because the inspector general report is public. Kash Patel said those individuals were there. It’s not standard to send them, but it was disclosed they were there after the Capitol…
(CROSSTALK)
Margaret Brennan: But just to be very clear, because it is such a dangerous information environment in so many ways, you are not in any way suggesting that the FBI was secretly agitating, which is what the president said, the attack on January 6?
Margaret Brennan: We’re going to take a break, and I want to talk about your trip to Ukraine on the other side of it. But I have to do this right now.
So, stay with us, all of you.
We will be right back with Congressman Mike Turner, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and former White House special counsel to Trump Ty Cobb.
Margaret Brennan: Welcome back to Face The Nation.
Stay with us.
We return now to our conversation with Ohio Republican Congressman Mike Turner.
Congressman, we were showing video there earlier of the overnight attack Russia carried out against Ukraine. You were just there in Kyiv. I’m sure you welcomed what the president said this week when he said he now has changed his mind and he does believe Ukraine could win this war and get its territory back from Russia. But he also added, he wishes everyone well when he made that statement. So, is he telling us that the United States is walking away from Ukraine and leaving it up to them, or is he signaling that the United States is going to help Ukraine win that territory back?
Margaret Brennan: But Speaker Johnson has said before that he would put that bill to a vote. He just hasn’t. And he said, oh, I need the – the president to green light it. That’s not true. We has a veto-proof majority. We’ve had Senator Graham on this program a million times telling us this is set to go, just give us the green light.
Margaret Brennan: Did Speaker Johnson respond to your request to move?
Margaret Brennan: Well, leadership is not acting on it.
Margaret Brennan: And I’ve heard military officials explain this to – to me, that this is like a really interesting test case to learn the lessons that Ukraine is – is illustrating for the world. However, in – in the immediate term, will the president lift restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to use long-range weapons to actually attack Russia?
Margaret Brennan: Because he has the old Biden policy.
Margaret Brennan: You’ve just got to persuade President Trump to do that, that change in policy.
When we were in France last week, speaking to President Macron, I asked him about those incursions into European air space. Some would say by Russian drones or Russian jets. Others have said they still need to investigate. We’ve seen drones or jets into Poland, Estonia, Romania, Norway, possibly Denmark. What should the United States be doing to push back on those provocations?
Margaret Brennan: Isn’t that what they’re doing?
Margaret Brennan: Mike Turner, thank you for sharing some of your insights which you learned on the ground in Ukraine.
Brennan Questions Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
Margaret Brennan:We turn now to Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who joins us this morning from Richmond. Good morning to you, Senator.
Good morning to you, senator.
Margaret Brennan:: You have, what, 140,000 federal civilian workers in your state. One of the highest numbers in the nation. How concerned are you that you will see mass layoffs if we go into this shutdown that the White House says they are preparing for?
Margaret Brennan: But is it enough of a deal to say, take the short-term seven-week funding deal and we’ll continue to talk about these health care subsidies that Democrats say they are so concerned about? I mean is it really worth the risk?
Margaret Brennan: I want to ask you another question specific to Virginia, and that is what is going on inside the judicial system. Back in August it was the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, Todd Gilbert, who suddenly resigned. Then, earlier this month, the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Eric Siebert, resigned after failing to bring a case against New York’s Attorney General Letitia James.
What is going on here in the Virginia court system?
Margaret Brennan: Well, when it comes to those Virginia cases, have you talked to Siebert, have you talked to Gilbert to understand why they felt they had to resign?
Margaret Brennan: Well, that eastern district did come forward with this indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. Yes, it was just a two-page indictment. No evidence presented publicly here. But it was convincing enough to 14 of 23 people sitting on a grand jury. Can you really say there’s no there there?
Margaret Brennan: You – on your Armed Services role I want to quickly ask you. You have said you are supportive of the creation of a Palestinian state.
Margaret Brennan: And we saw at the U.N. this past week a large number of members just simply walked out when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke. It was a statement. Tomorrow, he’s going to be at the White House. Ahead of that meeting, President Trump said this.
(Video Clip)
Margaret Brennan: That’s a strong statement. Do you know how the United States should enforce that? How do you force Israel to step back from annexation?
Margaret Brennan: Senator Kaine, thank you for your insights today.
We’ll be back in a moment.
Brennan Questions Ty Cobb, Former White House Special Counsel to the President
Margaret Brennan: And we’re joined now by Ty Cobb. He served as White House special counsel for just under a year during the first Trump administration, helping to coordinate the response to Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian influence on the 2016 election.
Good morning to you.
Margaret Brennan: Well, we saw this action against former FBI Director James Comey this past week and he was indicted on two charges specific to his September 2020 testimony to Congress about Russian election meddling in 2016. The so-called crossfire hurricane.
In your view, from what you’ve heard of this case, do you think it has enough substance to actually head to trial?
Margaret Brennan: Wholly unconstitutional and authoritarian. That’s – that’s quite a description. You used to work for President Trump. What makes you now characterize his actions that way?
Margaret Brennan: Yes. Well, The New York Times is reporting that half a dozen U.S. attorneys’ offices have been ordered to draft plans to investigate a group funded by George Soros, who is a Democratic donor. You look at that, you look at the lists of names of others who the president has said he specifically wants to be prosecuted or investigated. I’ll read a few of them to you. Two former Trump officials, Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor. He also said he wants a federal investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith. The DOJ fired the 35 lawyers who were involved in the January 6th and classified documents cases. The Justice Department is now going after Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis’ travel records. We have quite an exhaustive list here. What is the pattern you see?
Margaret Brennan: Well, a number of Republican lawmakers are declining to speak out and are leaving the door open that these cases are legitimate. Do you think that the judicial system can resist what you are saying here as just simply politically motivated pressure?
Margaret Brennan: We’re going – I’m going to have to put you off. I’m sorry.
Margaret Brennan: I’m going to have to cut you off, I’m sorry, because we’re out of time there.
Margaret Brennan: Ty Cobb, thank you for your time.
We’ll be right back.
Margaret Brennan: That’s it for us today. Thank you for watching. For Face The Nation, I’m Margaret Brennan.
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
