A federal judge just hauled Donald Trump's officials inside of a courtroom, told them they have to testify. They are under oath, saying she can do this all day. She is not happy with the Trump administration. The administration is scrambling to try to defend its positions inside of a DC courtroom right now. And it all comes as Donald Trump's major, major corruption inside his administration is actively being exposed in real time. What I'm about to show you in this episode, I think everyone needs to see. Make sure to like, comment, share, subscribe as we're on the road to a million subscribers together. The more you do, the more people see. It is crazy. And really, it all started because of one person, Katie Zachariah. It all goes back to her. All roads lead back to Katie. And well, she has sent the White House into a bit of a pickle. She has sent the president into an issue where he is now scrambling to try to save his prized possession, a golf course. I'm serious. So, let's take a step back here because right now in the DC courtroom, Trump attorneys are being lambasted by federal judge Anna Reyes over Donald Trump's plans to redevelop a golf course in Washington DC. You may say, Aaron, this isn't top issue for anyone. This is like issue number 80 on the list, but it may be. But it is causing the administration headaches as though it is a top three issue. And that's why you need to be aware of it. Because right now, Judge Reyes is furious. After Donald Trump attacked her personally on Truth Social this morning, Judge Reyes forced DOJ attorneys in the room to raise their hand whether they'd be willing to sign on to a brief filed by the number three lawyer in the Justice Department, Stanley Woodward. It got testy quickly. Now, you may ask, Aaron, what is this brief that we're talking about? And what did Trump say? Well, Trump this morning said this about Judge Reyes, saying that she is essentially a hack of a judge, a crazed lunatic is what Trump said this morning for not allowing his golf course project to move forward, saying that he doesn't need approval. He's just going to do it anyway. And you may ask, what brief are we talking about? Well, last night while most of you were asleep, the Justice Department filed a brief with the federal court with Judge Reyes saying that its lawyers aren't representing Donald Trump's actual thinking, merely now just interpreting his public statements, saying, but they can't actually tell the court any direct conversations they've had with Trump because it's protected by constitutional privileges. And essentially, anything regarding the golf course isn't subject to the Administrative Procedures Act. This court can't touch it. Trump can do whatever he wants. And Judge Reyes is saying, 'Hold up. We're not going to do that.' So which lawyer in the courtroom wants to sign on to this brief? And well, Woodward, the number three lawyer in the Justice Department, says that's untenable. Says he's not going to. He's going to tell his lawyers to essentially shut up. He's going to tell his lawyers not to talk even as Judge Reyes says she's giving them an order. Now, Judge Reyes is saying, 'You got a few hours. If you can't explain why she can't ask other attorneys to sign on to the brief, uh, you got another thing coming for you.' But it comes as, well, the Truth Social post also got brought up and she said she has no plans to, uh, back off forcing senior officials to testify, saying, quote, 'Hearing from them will help me understand whether the agency has been accurate and forthcoming in its litigation position.' And she hauled up the deputy of interior, deputy chief Greg Weisser, already to talk about the situation saying, 'We can do this all day. I have nothing planned for this evening.' Now you may ask, Aaron, what does Katie Zachariah have to do with all of this? Well, this all kind of started because Katie Zachariah posted this picture with the East Potomac golf course map circled in red right over there. As of this, it set off a scramble inside the White House. I don't know that this was intentional. I doubt this was intentional, but she posted this to thank Donald Trump for her short five-day employment. She posted this and then posted this image right after with her family photoshopping the East Potomac golf map out because it set off a scramble inside the White House because for weeks the Justice Department was telling the court that Trump had no concrete plans for this golf course. This right here, which she posted, shows a concrete plan for the golf course. And now top officials are being hauled into court. DOJ attorneys might be held in contempt. It is not good. I have never seen something like this. And I've been practicing law for a long time. I have never seen something like this happen inside of a courtroom. And so Judge Reyes is not messing around. But we're seeing a broader issue for the Trump administration. Major corruption is being exposed in real time. According to Axios, top Trump adviser Rick Grenell allegedly outlined a, quote, 'stunning pay-for-influence' offer to a Turkish billionaire last year, access to VIP events and administration officials. The White House is now investigating it. Quote, 'Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange a donation to the Kennedy Center.' Essentially, what happened here was that there was a massive, massive pay-for-play scheme ongoing that happened right under Donald Trump's nose. And you need to know about it because it involves two of his top officials, Alina Habba and Rick Grenell. Rick Grenell essentially tried to solicit a massive donation for the Kennedy Center. Rick Grenell was in charge of the Kennedy Center. The donation he solicited came from Alina Habba's now new husband, a Turkish businessman. He's a billionaire. He's very wealthy. They just got married. Trump's former lawyer, former White House counselor, former US attorney for New Jersey. Well, she's now accusing Grenell of hoodwinking her husband into making a Kennedy Center donation that never arrived. And her husband says that at Grenell's direction, he wired $17 million to a Texas company. He says the money was supposed to be split in two parts. One for a deal regarding the Congo and then $6 million for the Kennedy Center. None of that money actually showed up according to Alina Habba. And it has erupted inside of the White House today. So, it's a very difficult and precarious moment for this White House. All while early voting numbers are surging. Trump voters aren't turning out the way that the president wants them to right now. It is all crumbling as many say. Now, I spoke with Mi Smith, who's a senior strategist working on these elections and protecting them. You're going to want to hear that conversation. Make sure to subscribe. And a quick word from our sponsor today. This episode of The Parnas Perspective is brought to you by our friends at Wild Grain. Cozy season is here, which means cooler temperatures, warm ovens, and the perfect time to enjoy fresh baked breads and seasonal treats at home. Wild Grain delivers sourdough breads, seasonal pastries, and French butter made with simple, recognizable ingredients by small independent bakeries. All delivered to your door and ready to bake straight from frozen in just 25 minutes or less. Customize your box with classic, gluten-free, vegan, or protein options and skip or cancel anytime. And right now, Wild Grain is celebrating carbs giving their biggest sale of the year with their best offer of the year. I love Wild Grain. It has helped me and my wife literally survive as we have a newborn at home. Uh, if you're ready for warm bakery-quality food at home this cozy season, I definitely recommend giving Wild Grain a try. And for carbs giving, Wild Grain's biggest sale of the year. You can get $40 off your first box, plus free croissants for life. That's the best offer you'll hear from me all year. Visit wildgrain.com/parnas40 to get $40 off your first box and free croissants for life. Or use our promo code PARNAS at checkout. Again, that's wildgrain.com/parnas40 or use code PARNAS at checkout. Excited today to be joined by Mi Smith, the director and senior strategist for Defend America Action. I got to jump right in because I'm seeing voting, early voting trends across the country right now and Democrats have a lot to be excited about. What are you taking away from early voting numbers right now?
Yeah. So, what we're seeing is there's some regional diversity, but, um, North Carolina, Ohio, um, early voting, uh, is looking great for Democrats. Um, I think what you're seeing too, and this is a bit unfortunate just because of President Trump's, uh, actions here, which is a lot of Democrats are switching, um, their vote to in person and moving away from the mail, which I completely get given everything President Trump is trying to do there to make mail voting harder. Um, the reason I say it's unfortunate is people shouldn't be changing their voting pattern based on, uh, an unstable president, uh, pushing election lies. Uh, but you're seeing the composition of how Democrats vote change. We're moving a little bit away from mail and is something we heavily relied on to more early in-person voting. And I also think we're going to do better on election day than we traditionally do because Democrats, um, have moved away, uh, from mail voting.
Well, Trump is historically unpopular. Um, he's as unpopular as he's ever been, uh, even after the January 6 insurrection. And, uh, it's not just folks, uh, scrubbing, uh, his name from their websites. We have, um, their super PACs have been transferring money, uh, to super PACs that don't have the name MAGA in them to, uh, essentially, um, try to hide that that money is Trump money and that doesn't have that branding and name associated with it. Uh, I think it shows you that, uh, the MAGA brand and Trump himself is, uh, toxic right now. Um, and I also think it shows you too that Republicans are not as enthused about Trump or MAGA and that having that branding doesn't help them turn out Republicans. Um, we've seen this in election after election. When Trump himself is on the ballot, he is good at turning out some of these low propensity Republican voters. But when Trump is off the ballot, um, he's good at turning out Democrats, but he's not as good at turning out the folks that Republicans need to come out and vote, who seem to only vote when Trump is on the ballot.
