388. Brigadier General (Ret) Shawn Harris. Can He Win MTG’s Old Seat? 1/6 Bomb Suspect Captured. Boat Strikes and Venezuela. SECDEF has Lost the Confidence of the Brass. Putin Sending Ukrainian Children to North Korea. Football Coaches and Second Chances.

Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Righteous Media | Bleav

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

4.6 • 907 Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Retired Brigadier General Shawn A. Harris is back on the front lines—this time in politics. From his grass-fed cattle farm in Rockmart, Georgia to the halls of the Pentagon, Harris joins Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) to break down SignalGate, the deadly US boat strikes, the War Powers fight and the growing danger of sloppy, politicized military leadership. Running as a Democrat in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District—the open seat Marjorie Taylor Greene is abandoning—Harris explains why leadership, integrity and service still matter in a district that’s been defined by chaos, extremism and cable hits. He talks candidly about why he chose not to “change t‑shirts,” what it’s like to have two sons still in uniform, and why independent and Reagan Republicans are lining up behind his campaign. Rieckhoff and Harris also explore whether Congress is quietly edging America toward another war in the Caribbean, whether the boat strike could rise to a war crime, and what real accountability for the current Secretary of Defense should look like. They dig into the Pentagon press rules fight, the New York Times lawsuit, the arrest of the January 6 pipe bomb suspect, and what “dead men don’t talk” really means for intelligence and national security. Then, in a powerful “something good,” Harris salutes his hometown Early County Bobcats and the high school football coach who helped turn hopes and dreams into a life of service—sparking a heartfelt conversation about how sports, mentors and community can literally save young lives. Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories--and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It’s independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve--and stay vigilant. -WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now. -Learn more about Shawn’s campaign for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. -Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -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 now in time for the holidays. -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 • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Podcasts Ways to watch: YouTube • Instagram X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook Ways to listen:Social channels: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Powered by Righteous Media.
0:17.5	Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 388. I'm your host, Paul Reichoff. It is Thursday, December 4th. I am still coming to you from Northern California, USA. I'm headed home tonight, and it is gorgeous out here. It is a reminder of what an amazing country we have, and California is definitely one of my favorite
0:38.3	countries in the world. It's like nothing else. And our guest today coming up is a guy like nothing
0:42.8	else. Sean Harris, retired Brigadier General, running in Marjorie Taylor Green's seat in northwestern
0:50.2	Georgia for Congress. We're going to talk to him in a second. He's a fascinating guy
0:54.2	running in a really important and interesting race. He's coming up in a minute and he's a
0:58.0	combat leader who can also help us break down all that's happening. And there is a ton
1:02.2	happening. The latest on the U.S. boat strikes, Hegset, and all of the signal gate continues
1:07.1	to unfold. Yesterday, after we recorded, CNN has reported that the Pentagon,
1:12.1	Ineaternal Watchdog, has found Hegset, risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war
1:17.8	plans on signal. This report is going to be released in redacted form to the public as early as
1:23.2	today. Senators have seen it. Members of Congress have seen it. And I think the bottom line here is that it is clear now his actions put troops at risk. We've been talking about this on the show for months. And I think that's the most important factor in the bottom line and has been all along. Beyond all the technical classifications, he could have gotten troops killed. And that's the bottom line. That's why it's wrong. It's why there
1:44.7	needs to be accountability. In my view, it's why he needs to go now because our troops can't trust
1:50.4	him not to get them killed. And he could lead them any day that he's leading them, puts them
1:55.4	in jeopardy. I was on TV yesterday talking about it. We're going to continue to dig into it.
1:59.3	There's also now reporting, we've been asking this question, why did Admiral Holsey step down? There's a report from the
2:05.5	Wall Street Journal that there was a de facto ouster that was a culmination of months of fighting
2:10.2	between Hegset and the South Com chief, and ultimately, Hegset pushed him out. We'll see more
2:15.3	about that. I hope we get to hear from Admiral Halsey himself in public sometime soon. We asked Senator Angus King about that yesterday. If you didn't see it, please go back and check it out. Independent Senator Angus King was on the show. He's a member of the Armed Services Committee. We asked him tough questions about what might happen next. They actually haven't struck a boat since November 15th,
2:34.5	since all this has been swirling. November 15th was the last time that they struck a boat,
2:39.0	but the controversies continue. So does the oversight, so do the new revelations, and related.
2:43.8	We've been covering the Pentagon Press Corps and now the emergence of the propaganda press corps,
	...

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