RADIOJune 21, 2023

Legal experts DEBATE: Is Donald Trump in ACTUAL DANGER?

Donald Trump was indicted on 37 federal counts earlier this month, becoming the first U.S. president to face such charges. The case centers around Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, which were found at his Mar-a-Lago home. And even though entire situation screams of partisan politics, Trump will likely still have to face the court. So, is he in REAL legal danger? Are these charges ACTUALLY serious? Or is the far-left’s case against him as weak as their current commander-in-chief? In this clip, two legal experts — Judicial Watch’s Michael Bekesha and well-known attorney Alan Dershowitz — both join Glenn to give their own, differing opinions on the Trump case...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Michael Bekesha is on with us. Judicial Watch senior attorney. Michael, how are you?

MICHAEL: I'm good. Thanks for having me.

GLENN: So let's talk about Trump's case. Alan Dershowitz is coming on in a minute. And he's saying, he thinks he's on trouble on this one.

You're saying the opposite.

So explain the case, that they have against Donald Trump. And where you think the bright spots are.

MICHAEL: Yeah. So basically, the prosecution of Donald Trump, with respect to the documents, all started because the national archives. Somebody at the national archives, thought that maybe President Trump had some records that maybe he shouldn't have taken with him. When he left office.

That's how this started. And in the Wall Street Journal, I wrote a piece, talking about a similar case. That Judicial Watch had against the archives, when it came to President Clinton, and his records.

While he was in office, President Clinton created these audio recordings. And on these audio recordings, had all sorts of information. You know, they had conversations with foreign leaders.

It had discussions about cruise missile attacks to get Osama bin Laden.

It had information that would be classified, had it gone through proper channels. But instead, President Clinton kept these tapes in his sock drawer, and decided to take them with him, when he left office.

GLENN: And did he declassify them before he took them?

MICHAEL: He didn't do anything. According to what we know, he simply took them with him. And Judicial Watch wanted the tapes, when they found out about them. We figured, these are presidential records. These are tapes showing President Clinton being president.

So we sued the national archives for the tapes. And in that case, between 2010 and 2012, the Justice Department, the Obama Justice Department, took the position that whatever President Clinton took with him, were not presidential records. They were personal records. And there's nothing that they could do to get them back.

In 2012, the district court here in -- in DC, agreed with the government.

And the judge in that case said, the soul -- it is the sole responsibility of the president, to decide, what records are personal.

What records are presidential.

And once they are taken out of the White House, there's nothing that the court could do to get them back.

GLENN: Now, is that because -- I'm just trying to play devil's advocate.

Is that because these were tapes that he made. And not top secret documents.

Even though, they may have contained top secret information. But he made the tapes.

MICHAEL: You know, it doesn't -- Glenn, it doesn't really make a difference.

GLENN: Okay.

MICHAEL: Not only -- it wasn't as though President Clinton was pressing record. And going out and buying the tapes.

You know, based on, he was doing this along with a historian. And based on the historian's discussions about it. What he's told the public. The White House operation staff, helped schedule the interviews, helped prepare the tapes, probably went out and purchased the tapes.

And so the only thing that President Clinton did was place the tapes at the end of the session, into a sock drawer. And that's very similar to what president -- documents. If you look at the indictment, paragraph two, says while he was president, Trump placed documents in boxes. Paragraph four says, when President Trump left office, he took those boxes with him.

To me, it's not a sock drawer. But it was boxes. It was the same process. President Trump decided what he wanted to keep. What episode to leave.

And he took what he wanted to keep with him, when he left office.

GLENN: Okay. So help me out on this.

Again, I want to ask tough questions. Because I don't know legally where this is headed.

Except, all the way around, trouble.

Trump's defense, is that his actions were protected under the presidential records act. But that act excludes, and I'm quoting, any documentary materials that are official records of an agency.

So the indictment alleges that he had the information about our nuclear program. Defense. Weapon's capabilities. Potential vulnerabilities.

Of the US and our allies.

Is it -- is it your view that these kinds of documents are protected under the PRA, because of the Bill Clinton.

Or is there more?

MICHAEL: There's more. The fact that the presidential records act talks about agency records is really -- is really a red herring.

Because as the courts -- the DC appellate court here found that really, the focus is, are the records received by the president?

Once the president receives a record from the agency, it's no longer just an agency record. It's now a record received by the president.

So it has a different status. I mean, just imagine. It doesn't make sense, that once a president. The president gets a record from the agency. Is it like a library book, and he has to return it within 21 days.

Absolutely not.

It's his record.

And under law, he can do what he wants with it.

GLENN: Right. And there are exceptions.

No, no, no. It is treated that way, with things like the nuclear code.

He has access to that. But it's in a football, held by the member of a Department of Defense. That's with him all the time.

So there are some records, that do have to be signed in and signed out, right?

MICHAEL: Well, maybe. The question is: What is allowed by the Constitution? And these are questions that have never really been addressed. The president of the United States is commander-in-chief. Everything in the executive branch flows from him. So there is one question on, what limitations can Congress place on the commander-in-chief? But there's also a question of whether or not Congress can mandate or require, another branch of government to do something.

And so there are strong arguments, that if the presidential records act, is what some folks say it is.

Then that would be unconstitutional, because it's placing burdens on the office of the president, that is not allowed.

The other question under the Espionage Act, is authorization.

While -- while someone is in office, while President Trump was in office, he was authorized to maintain that information. To maintain those documents.

If you went into the Oval Office, he could show you that document. Because he had slight authorization to do what he wanted with it.

So the question is: Did he authorize himself by -- to take those records with him when he left?

GLENN: Well, hang on just a second. Because he does have the ability to declassify. But even according to his own words, in the indictment, there's a transcript of a conversation where he holds up a classified document to somebody. And somebody writing a book about him. See, as president, I could have declassified it. Well, now I can't. So this is still a secret.

So he knew that he possessed something secret. He knew that he hadn't chosen to declassify it as president.

And now he's showing it to a member of the press. Not as president.

MICHAEL: Right. And the question there. And I think it's facts that, again, indictments are just one side of every fact.

And I don't know the fact. You don't know the facts. The American public don't know the facts.

But the question is, whatever document he had in his hand, to how did he get into his hand?

And I think we need what we need to do and what the public needs to wait. Is to wait until all the facts come out.

To see whether or not he was, in fact, authorized to still have that record. And maybe the facts will show that he wasn't.

You know, I keep thinking, if President Trump, after he had left office, somehow got access to records, he must have access to, when he was president. That would be where a problem may lie.

GLENN: Right.

MICHAEL: But if the records were in his possession while he was this office. And he took affirmative steps to maintain those records when he left, there are real constitutional legal questions about whether or not that was authorized.

GLENN: Okay. Let me give you a statement from Bill Barr.

And I'm sorry. I'm just playing devil's advocate. Both sides. I will hit Alan with the same thing.

Both sides hard. Because I want to ask the questions. That people aren't asking. But I think the American people are asking.

There's a statement from -- not one of my favorite people in the world.

A former attorney general Bill Barr. And I want to give you a chance to respond to it.

He said, quote, I think this counts under the Espionage Act, that he willfully retained those documents are solid counts. They gave him every opportunity to return those documents.

They acted with restraint. They acted very deferential with him. And they were very patient. They talked to him for almost a year to try to get those documents. And he jerked them around.

They finally went to a subpoena. And what did he do according to the government. He lied. And obstructed that subpoena.

And when they did a search, they found a lot more documents.

There are official records. They're not his personal records. Battle plans for an attack on another country. Defense Department documents about our capabilities. In no universe, Donald J. Trump, do these belong. Or are personal documents of Donald J. Trump.

MICHAEL: There's a lot there.

To begin with, the end part. The Obama Justice Department, would disagree. So would the federal court, that concluded, that once a president leaves office, it is assumed that the president chose to take those records. Had designated them as personal.

And that there was nothing that could be done about it. And so just because former Attorney General Barr doesn't think those records should have been taken, doesn't mean that lawfully, they couldn't have been taken.

The other interesting part is Attorney General Barr seems to focus a lot on the fact that President Trump may have not -- all the records that he had been asked to turn over.

Well, under the Espionage Act, that's irrelevant. So even if he had returned those records. If the espionage is what everybody thinks it is, then President Trump could have still been charged under the Espionage Act.

GLENN: Okay.

MICHAEL: So the idea that it's somehow different because he had the records, really is just showing an emphasis that he's displeased or unhappy with President Trump's actions and has nothing to do with what the law actually is.

GLENN: When Trump was indicted last week, I was on vacation. And I was not paying attention to the news.

And I mentioned it on Monday, when I came back. But I told you, I wanted to really get the best minds on both sides.

And talk to them. And because there's -- there's people who like -- I should say. Have defended Trump.

And may like Trump. But one of those who I think is very credible on this. Because he has defended Trump time and time and time again. Written books about it

Now says, this is real trouble. And his name is Alan Dershowitz.

So I just had, this is no big deal, we can win this.

And he says, there's real trouble. So let's get the real trouble side now from Alan Dershowitz. Hi, Alan. How are you?

ALAN: Hey, how are you? There's real trouble. But that doesn't mean that it cannot be won. This is a very, very, very serious charge. You know, in my book, Get Trump, I predicted all of this. I also predicted the indictment of Hunter Biden on minimal charges in order to nonsense the -- the claim that there's equal justice. But the problem with Donald Trump is illustrated by that plaque, that some people have in their homes, with the stuffed fish on it, that says, if I had only kept my mouth shut, I would still be swimming. All of Trump's problems comes from his own statements. What he said, the most serious one was what he said to a writer, who was writing a book on Meadows, in which he allegedly showed him some classified material. He says, it wasn't. It was just newspapers.

GLENN: Right.

ALAN: You hear it, apparently, rustling.

And I don't know what the facts are. But -- and saying, I could have declassified this, but I didn't. So it's still secret.

That seems like the government was using it as an admission, that he didn't declassify anything. If he hadn't said that, his claim of declassification would be very strong. Then he spoke to his lawyers. Now, I don't think those statements should ever be admissible. Those are the lawyer/client privilege statements. I would be fighting like hell to keep those out. Because I can't talk to my clients anymore, as a result of that ruling.

GLENN: Thank you. So wait. Wait.

I watched enough Perry Mason. And I know that's not actual law.

But if you break the bond of attorney-client privilege, you -- sometimes you're working with a dummy like me. And I'm like, I don't know. What happens if we don't give it to them?

Well, I'm asking for your legal opinion.

ALAN: What if you tell it to a priest? What if you say to a priest, you know, I know this would be a sin. But I'm thinking of perhaps of not giving it over. And the priest says, no. You have to give it over. Or you talk to your doctor. All of these privileges are now at risk as a result of this terrible position.

Made by judges who handpicked by the special prosecutor. Remember the case is in Florida. But this special prosecutor brought these legal motions to compel the lawyers to speak in DC, where he knew he would get him on federal court.

So he was judge shopping. Then he got his favorable rulings. And then he takes the case to Florida.

GLENN: Wow.

ALAN: And I would hope the Florida court would look at that in a very, very critical light because, as I say, I have to tell my clients now. Don't ask me any questions. Because I may have to disclose them. I'm not taking notes anymore with clients. I'm not turning over anything that my clients tell me in confidence, just because some court says -- you know, and then there's this absurd thing of a tainting. Where if you say something that is lawyer-client privilege, the government says, all right. We'll pick some government lawyers, who have lunch every day with the prosecutors, and stand next to them in a urinal every day, and we will allow them to look at the lawyer/client privilege material. Read them. Oh, they promised they won't.

GLENN: No, I don't say anything to the prosecution.

That's what's happening now. And just had the courage to have a decision saying, no. She was going to appoint an independent judge. A former judge. A great judge in New York, to look over the lawyer, client classified materials. The court said, no, no, no.

No, that's special treatment for Trump. No, that's what everybody should get.

GLENN: So the crime -- the crime fraud exception to attorney/client privilege. You don't buy into that here?

ALAN: I buy into it in general, but I have to tell you, I have done 250 cases involving criminal defendants.

I would say in half of them, the conversation included some reference to maybe if I went to Brazil, I couldn't get caught. No, I don't that. You'll get caught. But the client raises all kinds of questions. That's why it's confidential.

GLENN: Correct.

ALAN: To allow the client to say anything they want.

GLENN: Correct. Isn't it the same reason why we have the presidential confidentiality? When -- when you're talking to the president in the Oval and you're brainstorming, people don't want to say things that are maybe unpopular. Or say things that are maybe crazy in hindsight. But you're brainstorming. I don't want that on the record. I want to have a private conversation.

If you can't have that, you don't really have anything.

ALAN: No. I agree you with. What I taught at Harvard for 50 years. I would say to my students, what you're saying is confidential. And you can be as speculative as you want.

You can say any wild thing about criminal law. You can make statements that you would be ashamed to have made public.

This is for a Socratic discussion. And Socratic discussions is anything goes.

GLENN: The indictment doesn't ever mention the Presidential Records Act.

ALAN: Or espionage. Or the word espionage.

That's being thrown around all over the place.

Yeah.

GLENN: So where is -- because I have gathered from what I've read from you, that this is a serious charge. And he will have a hard time. Why?

It sounds like there's a lot of other legal issues to really go after.

ALAN: There are. That's why it's not a slam-dunk case. That's why the case should never have been brought. Forget about former president.

You don't bring against the man who is running to become the president against the incumbent, head of your party, unless you have a slam-dunk case. Now, I think they have a case.

But it's not a slam-dunk case. There are these legal issues, involving lawyer-client privilege. The government doesn't have the piece of paper that was waved, allegedly in front of the writers. So they have a hard time proving that. They have to deal with the classification issue. It's a winnable case. But it's also a losable case. Whereas the case in New York, is absurd.

The case in New York, the prosecutor should be disciplined for bringing it. In 60 years of this, doing this business, I've never seen a weaker indictment than New York. I cannot say that about the Florida case.

That doesn't mean, it's going to end up with Trump being convicted. Particularly, since the trial is in a fair district, unlike Manhattan.

I love Manhattan. I live in Manhattan. You can't get a fair trial for Donald Trump in Manhattan. Maybe you can in Palm Beach County.

GLENN: Okay. So let me -- let me take you through the crazy scenario, that he goes to trial. In the middle of an election season.

He's convicted, sentenced. What does this look like?

We've never -- we didn't do this with Nixon. We've never did this before. What does this look like?

ALAN: Nobody knows what it looks like. The only thing we know for sure, is he can run for president even if he's president. Eugene V. Debs, Curly became mayor of Boston, while he was in prison. The Constitution specifies only several criteria. And the Constitution means what it says. So you can run.

You can even serve as president. That's not going to happen. The judge will not sentence him to prison. These crimes -- these crimes did not endanger national security. They're not espionage. The media is throwing around the term espionage. The first thing that has to happen, is this trial has to be on television. We, the American people do not trust the media to tell us the truth about the trial. If you watch MSNBC and CNN and read the New York Times, you're going to think it's an open-and-shut case.

If you see other networks, you will see it's an open-and-shut case of innocence. You know, I was a lawyer in the O.J. Simpson case. There was a poll that showed that people who actually watched the trial on television, were not surprised at the verdict.

But people who read about it in the newspapers, was shocked beyond belief.

So we have to be able to see this trial. And the word espionage should not be allowed to be used in the trial by the prosecutor. And if he does use it, there should be a mistrial.

GLENN: Why is this espionage -- where did they even get that?

ALAN: It's the name of the statute. It's as if Congress passed the statute entitled The Child Molestation and Inside and Trading Act.

And they indict somebody for insider trading.

And they go in front of the jury and say, this man has been indicted under the Child Molestation Act.

GLENN: Wow.

ALAN: It's the name of the statute. It was passed in 1917 to go after war resisters, mostly religious people who had a conscientious objection about going to the First World War. And Woodrow Wilson passed the Espionage Act, which had very little to do with espionage. It had mostly to do with dissent and whistle-blowing. And all of the whistle-blowers have been indicted. Under the Espionage Act.

I defended many anti-war protesters, and other dissenters under the Espionage Act. And the government loves to use the word espionage. But there's no allegation here, that led to foreign enemies

The Book of Enoch: Did Extraterrestrial Beings DESCEND in the Days of Noah?!

The Book of Enoch tells a story the Bible only hints at: A story of heavenly beings who descended to Earth, took human wives, created hybrid giants, and unleashed forbidden knowledge that corrupted the world before the Flood. Glenn Beck and researcher Timothy Alberino break down how the ancient Hebrew worldview explains the Watchers, the Nephilim, the origins of demigod myths, and why Peter and Jude referenced Enoch directly in the New Testament. From extraterrestrial terms in Scripture to the cosmic “family of God” and the divine rebellion that reshaped human history, this discussion reveals a forgotten narrative that once defined early Jewish and Christian theology. What really happened in the days of Noah, and why does it matter now?

Watch the FULL Interview HERE

Cracker Barrel CEO speaks out about DISASTROUS logo in exclusive upcoming interview

Glenn Beck recently spoke with Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino about the company’s infamous attempt to change its logo, and he asked the question everyone has been wondering: Why wasn’t she fired?! Glenn previews his interview, which debuts Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6PM ET!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I was in Tennessee this weekend, and Saturday morning, I go to -- I think store number two for Cracker Barrel. And I met with the senior vice president and the CEO of Cracker Barrel. And we sat down, and we had an interview. And Julie, who has not done an interview since Good Morning America, kind of said, okay. No more interviews, because that didn't go well.

This was her first interview since then.

And, you know, it was weird. Because I got off. I got off the plane.

And, oh. Somebody on the plane said, "What are you doing here?"

And I said, "I'm going to go interview the CEO of -- of Cracker Barrel."

And the immediate response was, "Get her!"

I was like, "Wow. Okay. All right. Thank you."

I get into the car, and the Uber driver says to me, "What are you doing here?" And I said, "I'm going to meet with the person at Cracker Barrel."

"Boy, she really screwed her up. You hold her feet to the fire."

I mean, I've never -- I've never seen anything like that. And, you know, I started the interview with her, you know, honestly. And I said, look, I -- I -- I'm not here to get you. I'm not here to do anything, but ask questions that I think everybody in America wants to know.

Like, what the hell were you thinking?

And I asked her some -- asked her all of the really pointed questions. Rikki, the TV executive producer said, "There's no way. I know you. You're going to soften. There's no way."

And when I got up afterwards, she was like, "Wow. Okay. You didn't -- you really -- you really didn't soften. You know, you asked all of those questions."

Because I thought they were fair. And I told her, "Look, I hate conflict. I'm not here for conflict. I'm not here. I don't need to make a name for myself by giving you a hard time. I don't care about any of that. I just want to do my job and ask you, 'What happened here?'"

And I said, "So I'm going to ask you really uncomfortable questions." And she was prepared. And I think I finally broke through, and got the real answer in the end. I think I got the real answer.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: And it came from one of the questions I asked was, I mean, are you surprised, you haven't been fired yet?

And her response was, all telling. All telling. It's a fascinating interview you should watch. It's going to happen, I think Thursday on the podcast.

STU: Because I'm mildly surprised that hasn't happened. You know, like just because -- not because -- I don't know. There's a lot of things she's been accused of and everything else.

But just like, when you have a situation like this, where you're trying a major change and you roll it out a specific way and it does not go well, you know, it's usually -- it's like, when you're general manager of a football team, you go through the process. You evaluate all the quarterbacks. You pick the guy.

And that guy is a total bust, like you usually don't survive it. It doesn't necessarily mean you went through the process incorrectly. But when you miss, usually something happens like that. Does she feel like she missed like that?

GLENN: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yes, she does.

She's a very bright woman. I mean, she ran Coach, you know, the purse place or whatever.
STU: The purse company.
GLENN: The Coach brand. Godiva Chocolates. Taco Bell, the whole -- global. (I mean, she's a Fortune 500 CEO. She's very, very competent. Very competent.

So how could somebody very, very competent make this mistake?

STU: Hmm. Did she walk you through that? How that happened?

GLENN: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. She see.

And what's interesting is, they brought the senior vice president was also sitting there.

And he has been brought in since.

I mean, he had been there for 30, 35 years.

And really good guy. And he was one of the voices that was like, while that was happening, like, you guys. Hey, everybody upstairs. You shouldn't be doing this.

It's a bad idea. And so after they were like, "Hey. You know who was saying this? Let's bring him upstairs." And it was interesting to talk to him, because he's been long before she got there. So he kind of gave the view of, here's what happened before she got here! And here's where she came in.

And here's what happened.

And it's -- it's really fascinating.

I mean, if you want to hear the real story behind it.

And -- and also see somebody -- I mean, just wait until you hear her answer on -- I mean, it was so powerful and so honest. When I said, are you surprised you haven't been fired yet?

It was a fascinating answer.

STU: How many pancakes did you --

GLENN: Podcast on Thursday, I didn't eat any.

STU: You went to Cracker Barrel headquarters, and you ate zero pancakes?

GLENN: I didn't. I didn't. It was very difficult to not order the pancakes.

STU: You're the type of guy who gets pancakes by mistake. What do you mean you've got none?

GLENN: I was looking at my wife. My wife was sitting off to the side of the camera. And I'm looking at her. I'm like, she's so beautiful. And I eat pancakes, too many times.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And she's just -- she has to live with this, the pancake-wearing shoes. I'm not going to order the pancakes. The pancakes.

Democrats' latest attempt to tie Trump to Epstein scandal falls flat

Democrats are trying yet again to tie President Trump to Jeffrey Epstein’s scandals. This time, they’ve highlighted that Epstein once referred to Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked.” Is this proof that Trump is in the Epstein Files…or is it actually evidence that he was a whistleblower against Epstein? Glenn and Stu discuss…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Now, Jeffrey Epstein is back in the news today. Could we just for the love of Pete release everything that we have, so we can move on! From the Jeffrey Epstein thing.

Here's the answer: No.

Even if we release everything that we still have, this is going to go on for the rest of our lives.

It will always -- and probably, into our children's lives.

Do you know, Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump were the reason we never went to the moon.

It's going to happen!

It's just one of these conspiracy theories, that will never, ever go away.

Why?

Because no one was honest about it in the first place. Once you start to lie, you lie once -- once! If you're a very honest person, you will lie once. And then people are like, what? What?

Why would he lie about that? What is going on?

He's not like that. But if you're the United States governor government. You already have no credibility whatsoever!

Stop lying to the American people.

Just stop it. You know, I said something a minute ago. One of the reasons why you're hearing lies is because it works to the advantage of a Colour Revolution.

You know, there are reasons why people are lying to you. Some of it, they're just dirtbags and they're liars. Some of it, they're politicians, and so they're liars.

Some of it, however, a good deal of it is, we lie, because we know it causes damage to the credibility of this entire system.

We know it does damage to the culture of America, and we are here trying to destroy the culture of America because we want to try something new. And the only -- you won't vote for it. So the only way we can get America to change and do something entirely different, that they will never vote for, is just to cause chaos and disbelief in everything!

So as I said a minute ago, you know, it's not the news. Many times, it's a reflection of a plan! And when it comes to the Epstein thing, this is absolutely a plan. The way this thing has been played out. Democrats are completely against bringing anything out against Epstein.

They don't want to do anything about it. The media. Do you remember the ABC anchor that went into a commercial break. And she was like, you know what, I've got to tell you, Epstein. You know, we had the goods on him. Dead to rights.

Clinton. All of it.

And we were told, pull it.

Remember that.

Remember that, gang?

They pulled it at ABC. I think they fired the person who tried to -- who released that video.

Or tried to fire that person. I think they were working either at CBS or whatever. That person was in trouble for releasing that behind the scenes tape.

They had no intention of it. Now, everybody wants the Epstein tapes. Wait a minute. You didn't want them when Biden went in. And you could have said something, Democrats. And you could have released it all.

And, you know, it's funny. It is just so full of stuff about Donald Trump. Then why wouldn't they release just that?

Why wouldn't have the Democrats released anything in the Epstein file?

You're telling me, we've got to find something on them. Hey. I've got the Epstein files. Yeah, yeah. We've got to find something on it.

I have got some information here about Epstein. Him and Epstein, they were fooling around. Yeah, shut up for a second. Is there anything at all, that we can construe and manufacture about his banks?

I know!

He's got a vet signal between his bank and the Russian bank. I've got stuff about the Epstein.

Come on! If they had stuff about the Epstein, they would have gone to the stuff about the Epstein files.

They don't have anything, they don't have anything.

Now, let me speak directly to conservatives. They're not going to release anything about the Democrats, because they had the Epstein files.

Do you think that -- let's just say, I'm not even going to name names. Let's just say the most powerful people on the earth. The most powerful people with powerful connections, to government.

They knew their names were, you know, there on little, you know, guest books at the island, or whatever.

You don't think they called in some favors and said, "Hey, I need that -- can you remove that?"

You don't think that there were people that were like, "Hey. You know what, we'll remove that."

"We need $100 million from you, to help out on this campaign."

I mean, whatever it is, those names are gone too! They're gone! How do I know this?

Because the government is completely dishonest! That's how I know that.

But, anyway, now, Donald Trump.

STU: You don't think anything of interest would be in these files?

I mean, I think we've already seen some stuff of interest in the emails, no?

GLENN: Yeah, I think there are stuff of interest. I don't think there's going to be anyone at a very high level that is going to get -- that's going to be like, holy cow. Look, here's pictures with him with a 14-year-old girl!

That's not going to happen.

STU: Right. Somewhere that stuff, at least at the upper levels, not there.

Now, here's what is interesting: The timing of the release of a few documents last week. The Democrats released some documents.

And they released them, and at the same time, that Johnson were saying, by the way, we are going to expedite the releasing of everything.

So there's no reason to leak anything. But the Democrats decide to leak some stuff. They like a memo. And in that, oh, my gosh.

Look at what was said. What was said in that memo. Well, it was said, you know, the only dog that hasn't barked is Trump!

Well, what -- what did he mean by that?

He's keeping it quiet. All of these things. All of these innuendos and everything. Well, now we know, from the guy who wrote the book, all the president's meeting. Donald Trump and the making of a predator, that guy came out this weekend and said, no, no. That's not what he meant.

What did he mean?

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(music)

GLENN: So Barry Levine comes on. And he's on MSNBC this wreaked.

And he's asked, so tell me, I mean, we've seen this email between you and Epstein. What did he mean that the to go that hasn't barked is Trump. What do you think he's referring to?

Okay. What was he referring to?

I think Epstein is referring to the fact that he believed that Donald Trump talked to Michael rider who was the Palm Beach police chief in 2004. And began the first investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

So, in other words, he was the whistle-blower!

Yeah. But he's got all kinds of stuff in his -- in Jeffrey Epstein's books.

He's the whistle-blower!

The one thing you don't do is blow the whistle, when you know you got fingerprints all over the dead body. And the handgun that killed him!

You know what, I think you could find that hand gun, in this alleyway. Your fingerprints are on it. Man, why would you blow the whistle?

The suspect, he said, I suspected that Jeffrey Epstein was saying, he was 75 percent there.

Believing that Trump might have been the whistle-blower at the time. He believed it's 75 percent.

Now, how do you release something.

I mean, if you think things will be released. That will get Donald Trump. Why would you release that?

Where after two days of it being out, the guy who was part of that email, who hates Donald Trump, is like, yeah.

That's not what it means. It means he was whistle blower. Jeez.

STU: That is interesting. And I will say, you know, it is -- amazing that that's what they released. And chose to release.

That's the same email, by the way, that you're mentioning. That they blacked out the name of Virginia Giuffre, which they did intentionally. Because she has said that he was nothing, but respectful. And was never with any of the girls at all.

In not only her book, but also in testimony, under oath.

And the other one, that they released, which said, Trump -- he says, of course, he knew about the girls, was the other big one that they released. Which they left the -- well, they didn't leave it out. They just hoped you didn't focus on the next part of the sentence, which he says, that of course, he knew about the girls, as he asked Ghislaine to stop. Which would indicate, even if he was aware of this, which I don't think this had anything to do with the sex stuff. I think this was about him taking them.

GLENN: No. It was about poaching his girls from Mar-a-Lago.

STU: Right.

GLENN: The employees. He knows that we're poaching these girls. It doesn't mean he knows what they're doing with them. Stop taking my employees!

Okay. Now, if you suspect he's the whistle-blower and he knew you were taking employees from him, you know, in retrospect, you know, looking at it later, you go, oh, man, he's the whistle-blower?

But he also knows about the girls.

He knows we were taking them.

Does he know what we were doing with the girls?

I mean, this does not hurt Donald Trump. It helps Donald Trump.

STU: What about the one they released from Jeffrey Epstein. Where he said, I've met some very bad people, and none are as bad as Trump.

I mean, what if they come up with bad comments from Jeffrey Dahmer about Donald Trump? What will you say then? I mean, this is so dumb.

GLENN: I've eaten some bad eggs in my life, but I would not eat Donald Trump. I'll tell you that right now.

'House of David' Star REVEALS Story Behind TV’s #1 Biblical Series

Amazon’s House of David has become the #1 show on Prime Video, and today Glenn Beck talks with Michael Iskander, the actor bringing King David to life in one of the most powerful biblical series ever produced. Michael shares how fasting, prayer, and years of preparation shaped his performance, why David’s flaws and redemption resonate so deeply with viewers, and what really happened behind the scenes with Goliath, the sheep, and the shepherd who taught him lessons he’ll never forget.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I've got somebody on, who is in just an amazing, amazing show from Amazon. House of David. If you haven't seen House of David yet, you have to. Do you remember when-like biblical movies. I mean, they were good in the '50s. And then they got really, really bad.

And then all through the '70s and '80s and 2000s. They were horrible.

And then all of a sudden, they got really, really good?

This someone amazing. This is as good as the Jesus. What is the Jesus one?

Chosen.

It's called House of David. It's on Amazon, and we have the guy who portrays David. Michael Iskander on with us.

Michael, how are you?

MICHAEL: I'm good. What an introduction. Thank you for that!

GLENN: I mean, it's really.

Come on. Was there any time, that you thought, oh, man. This might -- I hope they do it right!

And then you saw the finished product, and you were like, wow! This is good?

MICHAEL: Yeah. That was -- you know, I try to keep my head down, and, you know, it's -- it's not finished until it's finished.

And season two is coming out. You know, I'm just going to be hearing the response of how this show is really affecting people.

GLENN: So can I talk to you about Goliath?

Because Goliath is portrayed really as a giant. Not just a big guy. He's a giant.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

GLENN: Talk to me about that.

MICHAEL: Well, I'll tell you what, when I first met Martin.

He was -- I went to -- I went to the gym with him one time.

And I -- I knew, I'm going to get, you know, my stuff. So I was prepared for that.

And -- and he made me workout for two and a half hours. And I thought that the workout was done. And he was like, no. There's another half. And, man, he -- Martin is a really dedicated man. And he just -- he pushed me to the edge, when it came to working out.

And, you know, when it comes to his role with Goliath. He's someone that really just put all the effort, both physically and emotionally to really portray that part, as best as he can.

GLENN: How long did it take you to learn the slingshot?

MICHAEL: Three days. It wasn't too bad.

GLENN: Well, I heard you had problem with the sheep.

That the sheep were -- they were not helpful.

MICHAEL: The sheep -- well, the sheep were actually really interesting.

I remember when we first started filming, they -- they put me in sheep training classes.

Because when I get on tape. They have to make sure, that I'm not -- you know, I'm not going to get attacked by one of the sheep. And I'm comfortable around them.

The sheep. First day I show up to this training, and she painted me. And you would think that the guy who plays David, you know, would think of his sheep.

GLENN: No. I don't. I don't. I don't think that's natural. You're an actor. I don't know if that's -- yep, well, they picked me because I'm good with sheep.

MICHAEL: I should get classes from you.

GLENN: I don't know.

MICHAEL: But, no. I mean, it really -- spent a lot of time with the Shepherd.
And he was giving me some really amazing lessons.
He saw that I was having trouble.

And he said, you know, you should stick next to me. Because this sheep, when they see you with the shepherd, they'll know that you're with me.
So they'll never leave my side.

GLENN: It's amazing.

MICHAEL: I want you to spend a lot of time with me. And I he said, oh, okay. And he said, I want you to know another thing: A bad shepherd is a shepherd who is behind the flock. And so you, you're going to be a good shepherd. You're going to show them. You're not going to let them lead you.

You're going to lead them, and you're going to be in the front taking risks and showing them the path.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

MICHAEL: And he is saying this, I think -- I think I'm getting more than just a sheep lesson here. It really helped in terms of understanding who David was as a person. And then his relationship to Christ.

And why -- why David was chosen as king.

GLENN: Is it true that you fasted, before the audition? I mean, you're a Broadway guy.

MICHAEL: Yeah. Yeah. I sent in the first audition. I was really excited about it.

And it was a dream of mine for a long time. You know, one of these dreams, that you don't tell anyone. And you don't think it will ever happen.

GLENN: To play David specifically? Or to be --

MICHAEL: Yeah, to play David. To play David.

GLENN: Really?

MICHAEL: And because I was inspired by the Chosen.

And I wanted to maybe do flashback scenes with a young David, or something.

When I got the audition, and they originally said no. I thought, oh, that would have been a good opportunity.

GLENN: Hmm.

MICHAEL: And I got another audition. I called my mom. And I said, Mom, this doesn't happen often. Can you believe it? She said, Michael, calm down.

The one thing I need you to do. I need you to fast, and I need you to pray.

I said, yes, ma'am.

A week later, I was having lunch with Jon Erwin. And he -- it kind of took off from there.

But, yeah, fasting and prayer.

GLENN: You know, I'm friends with.
I went to school with Jim Caviezel. And I can't remember what grade he was in. Maybe fifth grade, I think. But he went into church, and all by himself.

And he prayed, and he made a pact with God. Let me -- all I want, Lord, is to play you in a movie some day, and I will live my life honorably to be able to be ready, but I want to play you.

And so he told me when Mel called, he was like, yeah, I've been waiting for the call. It's an amazing thing.

MICHAEL: Wow. I didn't know that story. That's beautiful.

GLENN: Yeah. What do you think it is about the story about -- this was the number one show -- number one series on -- on Amazon -- on Amazon Prime this year.

What is it about the series that you think is connecting?

MICHAEL: You know, I -- I think it's different for everybody.

But I'll tell you for me.

The reason why this show means a lot to me, is because, David points us to Christ.

And -- and David is -- is a person.

He to me, is the embodiment to what it means to be human.

And to make mistakes. And find forgiveness.

It's a complex, long story.

But he was a man that -- that -- he's known as the man after God's own heart.

So for people to see that example. To see, to see the man that God loved so much, that Jesus himself was -- son of David.

I think that's what -- they see the Holy Spirit in the show. I mean, that's what I see.
And that's who I do it for.

GLENN: It's -- it's -- it's amazing to me, how -- with the exception of one, the Bible -- every single hero is so deeply flawed.

And David is so good, so good, and then, you know, becomes really, really does one of the worst things I think I've ever read in the Bible. I mean, just really bad.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

GLENN: Are you going to play -- do you have any idea, assuming the ratings are there, how long of the story you're going to tell?

MICHAEL: I really don't know. I mean, we're just trying to get to season two right now in the release.

Hopefully, pray for us, that we can get to season three, and we can keep telling the story.

I don't know what Erwin and Gunn have. What they're picking up. But I pray that we tell as much of the story as possible. I think it's important to see both the good and the bad. Like you said, to see this flawed human being, to see someone make mistakes, and to see them get back up and repent.

And ask for forgiveness. And find grace in God. So we'll see!

Pray for us.

GLENN: You -- I read some place that you were a Broadway guy. And I thought, this career is not over yet.

I mean, are you prepared to always be David?

I mean, the guy who is playing Jesus now. Jim Caviezel said, it took years before he was allowed to play anything else.

And I can't remember the guy who was playing Jesus his whole life. He is Jesus to a lot of people. Are you prepared to this be you for the rest of your life now?

And not, you know, going -- going back and doing other things, if that's the way it is?

MICHAEL: You know what, God has taken me through so much in my life, that I'm sure he's going to get me through this.

And if I'm known as the guy who plays David, I think it's actually a blessing. And I don't know what God has in store, but I trust him.

GLENN: Yeah.

MICHAEL: When that time comes, I will worry about it then. But nor for now, I'm having a great time portraying one of my favorite people.

GLENN: I just have to ask you a personal question. One for me. My daughter wants to be on Broadway. Can you talk her out of it in 30 seconds, please?

MICHAEL: Oh, man, I don't know if I want to talk her out of it.

GLENN: Okay. Well, time for you to go now.
(laughter)
Michael, thank you so much, and we're looking forward -- when does it premiere? Is it this weekend? Is it out?

MICHAEL: Well, episode eight is out on Warner Project on Prime this Sunday. Yeah.

GLENN: Okay. Good. Good.

Well, we'll be watching. Thank you so much, Michael. I appreciate it.
MICHAEL: Thank you so much, Glenn. Have a good one. Take care.
GLENN: You bet. If you haven't seen the first season, you really should see it.

It's really, really good. It's one of those that I started watching, you know.

And I stopped because I was like, wait.

Tania, we should watch this together. And she came home. And so we started watching it, and I think we watched the whole season in one weekend.

It's one of those. It's really good. Season two premieres this Sunday.