The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (01/09/2024):

3:05pm- On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments to determine the validity of Donald Trump’s presidential immunity defense in his federal election subversion indictment. Two of the judges on the panel are Democratic appointees—Judge J. Michelle Childs and Judge Florence Y. Pan. Though, the third judge—Judge Karen L. Henderson—seemed equally unconvinced by the Trump team’s legal argument.

3:15pm- Charlie Savage and Alan Feuer of The New York Times write: “Judge [Florence Y.] Pan asked [Donald Trump’s Attorney John] Sauer to address a series of hypotheticals intended to test the limits of his position that presidents are absolutely immune from criminal prosecution over their officials acts, unless they have first been impeached and convicted by the Senate over the same matter. Among them, she asked, what if a president ordered SEAL Team 6, the Navy commando unit, to assassinate a president’s political rival? Mr. Sauer said such a president would surely be impeached and convicted, but he insisted that courts would not have jurisdiction to oversee a murder trial unless that first happened.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/us/politics/trump-immunity-hearing-takeaways.html?smid=url-share

3:30pm- Following Tuesday’s Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing, former president Donald Trump said that if his presidential immunity argument is proven to be unfounded then former president Barack Obama could, and should, be prosecuted for covert drone strikes he ordered in the Middle East—including one that resulted in the death of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. The strikes were conducted without congressional approval.

3:40pm- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spent several days in an intensive care unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland following elective surgery—though the precise surgery has not been disclosed. Alarmingly, the White House—including President Joe Biden—was not informed of Secretary Austin’s incapacitation for more than three days. Equally concerning, while Secretary Austin was in intensive care, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico. Will anyone be held accountable for this disastrous breakdown in communication? Secretary Austin released a statement on Saturday addressing the issue: “I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon. I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better.” On Tuesday, it was announced that Secretary Austin has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

4:05pm- Zack Smith—Legal Fellow and Manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing arguments on Tuesday to determine the validity of Donald Trump’s presidential immunity defense in his federal election subversion indictment. If the presidential immunity defense is dismissed, does that mean former president Barack Obama could be held accountable for his authorization of drone strikes which resulted in the death of an American citizen?

4:25pm- On a recent episode of The Journal podcast, New Hampshire voters revealed that they are changing their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican prior to the state’s January 23rd primary. Because they can’t vote for their preferred candidate—Joe Biden—as he won’t appear on the ballot following a Democrat National Committee feud with the state over scheduling dates, many Democrat voters are now registering as Republicans in order to vote against Donald Trump, supporting rival candidates like Nikki Haley and Chris Christie. Democrats have seemingly destroyed their own New Hampshire primary, are they impacting the Republican primary as well?

4:35pm- During a Fox News town hall event on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley accused her primary opponent Donald Trump of orchestrating chaos.

4:40pm- Lisa Kashinsky of Politico writes: “The New Hampshire attorney general’s office is accusing the Democratic National Committee of engaging in unlawful voter suppression after the national party dismissed the state’s upcoming primary as ‘meaningless.’ Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Donnell on Monday fired off a cease-and-desist order to the DNC, saying that instructing state Democrats to ‘educate the public’ that the primary is ‘meaningless’ violates the state’s voter suppression laws.” You can read the full article here: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/08/new-hampshire-attorney-general-dnc-voter-suppression-primary-00134378

4:45pm- Steven Nelson and Josh Christenson of The New York Post write: “First son Hunter Biden’s Manhattan art dealer shared details Tuesday about purchasers of the first son’s novice works—while contradicting the White House’s claim that officials brokered an ethics arrangement to keep buyer identities anonymous to prevent corruption. Georges Bergès said that Hunter, 53, actually knew who bought about 70% of his art—including Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, whom the dealer revealed purchased works by the first son both before and after scoring a prestigious appointment from President Biden.” You can read the full article here: https://nypost.com/2024/01/09/news/hunter-biden-knew-most-of-his-art-buyers-despite-ethics-plan-dealer-says/

5:05pm- Over the weekend, MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart began to cry while discussing the three-year anniversary of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

5:10pm- Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire writes: “One of the co-defendants in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ sprawling RICO case—against former President Donald Trump and several of his top associates—claimed in court filings this week that Willis had an ‘improper’ relationship with one of the prosecutors in the case. The court filing claims that special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private lawyer, paid for vacations that he allegedly took with Willis using funds his law firm received from the county as compensation for his work on the case. His firm has been paid approximately $650,000.” You can read the full article here: https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-co-defendant-in-georgia-rico-case-claims-da-fani-willis-had-relationship-with-prosecutor-report

5:20pm- On Monday, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. During the hearing Dr. Fauci repeatedly denied remembering details about his decision making during the pandemic when pressed by members of Congress.

5:40pm- Haley Strack of National Review writes: “Maryland’s largest school district drove up its legal expenses by 548 percent last year hiring counsel to investigate the school district’s potential cover-up of sexual harassment and defend the district against parental complaints over mandatory LGBTQ curriculum. Montgomery County Public Schools has so far spent $412,544 more on legal fees this fiscal period than last, ‘due to substantial litigation on two separate matters pending in Federal Court,’ according to the district’s most recent legal-fees report.” You can read the full article here:https://www.nationalreview.com/news/maryland-school-district-amassed-exorbitant-legal-fees-defending-mandatory-lgbtq-curriculum/

5:55pm- Rich got a shoutout in The Philadelphia Inquirer’s article documenting how The National Park Service’s decision to remove a statue of William Penn from Welcome Park was halted. The decision was quickly reversed after numerous people voiced their displeasure with the move online, on the radio, and on television. You can read the article here: https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/william-penn-statue-philadelphia-nps-social-media-outrage-20240109.html

6:05pm- Ray Epps—a former Trump support who some believe was an asset of the federal government who instigated the riot at Capitol Hill on January 6th, 2021—was sentenced to one-year of probation for his participation in the riot.

6:20pm- On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments to determine the validity of Donald Trump’s presidential immunity defense in his federal election subversion indictment. Two of the judges on the panel are Democratic appointees—Judge J. Michelle Childs and Judge Florence Y. Pan. Though, the third judge—Judge Karen L. Henderson—seemed equally unconvinced by the Trump team’s legal argument.

6:25pm- Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire writes: “One of the co-defendants in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ sprawling RICO case—against former President Donald Trump and several of his top associates—claimed in court filings this week that Willis had an ‘improper’ relationship with one of the prosecutors in the case. The court filing claims that special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a private lawyer, paid for vacations that he allegedly took with Willis using funds his law firm received from the county as compensation for his work on the case. His firm has been paid approximately $650,000.” You can read the full article here: https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-co-defendant-in-georgia-rico-case-claims-da-fani-willis-had-relationship-with-prosecutor-report

6:40pm- Following Tuesday’s Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing, former president Donald Trump said that if his presidential immunity argument is proven to be unfounded then former president Barack Obama could, and should, be prosecuted for covert drone strikes he ordered in the Middle East—including one that resulted in the death of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. The strikes were conducted without congressional approval.