357. Dan Lamothe. Hegseth’s War On The Pentagon Press Corp. The Media Walkout You Missed. Trump’s Propaganda Plan Rolls On. Artillery Shells Send Shrapnel Over CA Highway. More Strikes on Venezuelan Boats. Hegseth & Platner’s Nazi Tattoos. Govs vs Trump.

Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Righteous Media | Bleav

Daily News, Veteran, News, Politics, News Commentary, National Security

4.6 • 907 Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

357. Dan Lamothe. Hegseth’s War On The Pentagon Press Corp. The Media Walkout You Missed. Trump’s Propaganda Plan Rolls On. Artillery Shells Send Shrapnel Over CA Highway. More Strikes on Venezuelan Boats. Hegseth & Platner’s Nazi Tattoos. Govs vs Trump. The Pentagon press corps has walked out. The briefings have stopped. And the most powerful military in the world is being wielded in ways few Americans understand. In Episode 357, Washington Post national security reporter Dan Lamothe returns to Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff to break down an unprecedented crisis of transparency inside the Department of Defense. Lamothe explains why major news outlets—including the Washington Post, New York Times, and Politico—vacated their Pentagon offices after losing access, how coverage has been replaced by YouTubers, far right-wing propagandists and the MyPillow guy’s TV network, —and what it means for democracy, accountability, and military families. He and your host Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) unpack the live-fire debacle over a California highway, potential unlawful orders surrounding Venezuela strikes, and how governors and journalists are pushing back against a White House testing the boundaries of power. Rieckhoff and Lamothe also explore the moral and national security implications of collapsing standards inside the military, from extremist symbols to politicized operations. They talk about what’s next for Pentagon leadership, the risk of normalization amid chaos, and the urgent need for vigilance. It’s one of the most important and explosive episodes yet—a conversation that underscores the cost of silence when truth itself is under siege. Stay vigilant, America. -WATCH video of this episode. Past appearances by Dan Lamothe: Episode 96, Episode 154, Episode 185, Episode 206, Episode 245, Episode 318 and Episode 332. -Learn more about Independent Veterans of America and all of the IVA candidates. -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours. -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us. And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch. -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm. Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/id1457899667 Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/49a684c3-68e1-4a85-8d93-d95027a8ec64/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff Ways to watch: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@independentamericans Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/IndependentAmericansUS/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/indy_americans BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/indyamericans.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndependentAmericansUS/ Ways to listen:Social channels:

Transcript

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0:00.0	Powered by Righteous Media.
0:17.6	Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 357.
0:23.7	I'm your host, Paul Reichoff.
0:25.9	Halloween is just one week away.
0:29.3	And this is definitely a season of scariness, of fright, of terrifying prospects.
0:36.4	As Trump rips off half of the White House, sends troops into new
0:41.1	cities like Portland and Chicago, ICE starts doing raids in New York City. Hegset is authorizing
0:48.0	strikes on what may or may not be Venezuelan narco boats. And the shutdown continues. There's also
0:54.0	baseball happening, but who can
0:55.8	pay attention to that when the world seems like it's on fire? But now is most definitely a time to
1:01.6	stay vigilant, and to help us stay vigilant, to help us navigate these dicey waters, and especially
1:07.6	focus on the national security issues, which I believe are of the utmost importance
1:12.2	and continue to get buried beneath all the other crap.
1:16.1	Rejoining us is a returning champion, the intrepid reporter of the Washington Post,
1:21.0	the great and powerful Dan Lamath is back on Independent Americans.
1:24.8	Welcome back, sir.
1:26.1	Thank you.
1:30.7	I notice that you are, I always ask everyone, where are you and how are you? I notice you are not at the Pentagon. So can you tell us
1:36.8	where you are and why you're not at the Pentagon and how you're doing, Dan? Yeah, you're catching
1:43.6	me in my home office right now.
1:46.2	That's largely in part because the Pentagon Press Corps, for the most part, turned in its badges last week.
1:54.2	And very few outlets, basically no outlets asking critical questions are left in the building.
	...

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