November 18, 2025 - Ken Klippenstein | Sarah Leah Whitson | Brendan Benedict

Background Briefing with Ian Masters

Ian Masters

News

4.7 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Loophole in the Epstein Files Bill Passed by the House Today 427 to 1 That Allows Trump to Classify What He Does Not Want the Public to See | The Former Pariah's Lavish White House Welcome With Trump Dismissing MBS's Murder and Dismemberment of a Critic as "Things Happen" | Meta Wins the Antitrust Case Against the Tech Giant on the Basis Facebook Has Lost So Much Market Share to TikTok and YouTube backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia youtube.com/@ianmastersnet instagram.com/ianmastersmedia

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.
0:21.7	We'll begin with a loophole in the Epstein Files Transparency Act
0:25.1	passed by the House today in a 427 to one vote to compel the Justice Department to release
0:32.0	the files, a loophole large enough for Trump to drive a luxury jumper jet through.
0:39.7	Joining us to discuss that only unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials will be released,
0:46.4	thus allowing Trump's DOJ to classify what they don't want the public to see is Ken Klippenstein,
0:53.1	an American journalist reporting on the United States,
0:56.1	national security, state, and politics. He previously was an investive reporter at the
1:01.5	intercept and prior to that was the DC correspondent at the nation and a senior reporter for
1:06.9	the young Turks. He now runs a popular substack at Ken Clippersstein.com, where his latest article
1:13.3	we will discuss is National Security Blocks Estein files release. Then we'll look into the pomp
1:19.5	and ceremony with honor guards, a 21 gun salute, and a flyover of fighter jets lavished on Saudi
1:25.6	Arabia's crown prince at the White House greeting of the former
1:29.0	pariah who ordered the murder and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist, which Trump dismissed
1:34.6	today saying, quote, things happen. Joining us is Sarah Lee Whitson, the executive director of Dawn,
1:41.7	an organization that seeks to support democracy and human rights in the Middle East.
1:46.1	She was formerly the Executive Director of the Human Rights Watchers Middle East and North Africa Division,
1:51.0	where she oversaw work in 19 countries.
1:54.1	Her latest book with Michael Omer Men is From Apartheid to Democracy, a blueprint for peace in Israel, Palestine.
2:02.6	Then we'll assess Silicon Valley's big win in today's verdict in the antitrust case against
2:07.6	Meta, formerly Facebook, which found the tech giants' purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp
2:13.6	may have been monopolistic back in 2012 and 2014, but now with competition from TikTok and
	...

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