Top Trump Officials Throw him Under the Bus at War Hearing
3/19/202621 mincomplete
0:00Wow, Donald Trump is getting thrown under the bus by his own top officials in
0:06this hearing that's taking place before the United States House of Representatives.
0:10So yesterday you had Donald Trump's top intelligence officials, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national
0:16intelligence, John Ratcliffe, the CIA director.
0:19And today, Kash Patel is there as well before the House of Representatives.
0:24Yesterday, they were kind of cagey with their responses because I think all of them
0:28all assess that Iran did not pose any imminent threat to the United States.
0:33And in their threat assessments that they gave to Donald Trump, they said Iran did
0:38not pose any imminent threat.
0:40They looked all cagey yesterday and all the MAGA people were going after them, especially
0:45as you had Joe Kent, this like ultra MAGA right wing guy who was the
0:50number two to Tulsi Gabbard.
0:51He resigned. He did a Tucker Carlson appearance where he was like, Iran definitely didn't
0:56pose an imminent threat to the United States.
0:58This was all directed by Israel and Donald Trump following Netanyahu's lead.
1:02This was Trump's top official as of 72 hours ago, right?
1:06As of last week. And the guy resigned.
1:08He was working with Tulsi Gabbard.
1:10Tulsi Gabbard's whole thing was no foreign wars in the Middle East.
1:13That's literally her entire message in her political life.
1:16And so she looked like an utter fool before the United States Senate.
1:20So she and John Ratcliffe, and to some extent, Kash Patel today, they kind of
1:25changed their tactic and they were very much distancing themselves from Donald Trump during these
1:31house hearings today. I mean, even in Tulsi Gabbard's opening statement, she goes, I'm here
1:37to provide a threat assessment.
1:39I'm not giving you my own personal views or my opinion.
1:44So she already starts off by kind of distancing herself saying, I may not believe
1:48what, you know, what these things are here.
1:50Let's just play this clip.
1:51I'm here today to present the 2026 annual threat assessment and joined by my colleagues,
1:57the directors of the CIA, the DIA, FBI, and NSA.
2:02This briefing is being provided in accordance with ODNI's statutory responsibility.
2:06What I'm briefing here today does not represent my personal views or opinions, but rather
2:12the assessments of the intelligence community of the threats that facing the United States, our
2:17homeland, and our interests. In this assessment, we're following the structure of priorities that were
2:23laid out in the president's national security strategy, starting with threats to our homeland, then
2:27shifting to global risks. Then one by one, as Democratic Congress members and even Republican
2:33Congress members are asking Tulsi Gabbard questions, which is, so why are we listening to
2:39Israel and following them in this war?
2:41Why don't we have our own views of things?
2:43Why is your assessment this and Donald Trump doing that?
2:48Isn't Iran more dangerous now than they were before?
2:52And ultimately, what Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, Kash Patel would say
2:57is, well, you know, ultimately Donald Trump's the one who makes those calls.
3:00He makes those decisions to which at one point, you know, these Democratic Congress members
3:04like, well, what's the point of your job then?
3:06What are you doing? What's your, what is the point of your existence in this
3:11government role? If you just say, well, Donald Trump does it, Donald Trump does it.
3:15It's a dictatorship. So over here, you have Congress member Carson saying, so is there
3:20any evidence at all that Iran intended to do any preemptive attack on the United
3:25States? And then Tulsi Gabbard is like, ultimately, it is Donald Trump who is responsible.
3:31It is Donald Trump responsible.
3:32And she'll keep repeating that over again.
3:34But here, play this clip.
3:35Directors Gabbard and Ratcliffe, is there any evidence that Iran intended to conduct a preemptive
3:40attack on the United States?
3:42And I ask this because 13 service members have been killed in Trump's war, including
3:47Captain Seth Koval, a husband and a dad from my state of Indiana, and my
3:53constituents want answers. So is there any evidence that Iran intended to conduct a preemptive
3:58attack on the U .S.
3:59prior to beginning this war?
4:00Yes or no? Congressman, the answer to this question needs to be reserved for a
4:10closed hearing. I will say, however, the intelligence community does provide the assessments of the
4:17threats that exist to the president so that he can make that determination within the
4:22body of information and intelligence and activities within the region that ultimately he is responsible
4:29for. What is an imminent threat?
4:30And if there is an imminent threat, what actions need to be taken?
4:34Then you have Democratic Congress member Crowe.
4:37Watch this exchange with Tulsi Gabbard, where she's like, the imminent nature of threats?
4:42That's not determined by me.
4:43That's determined by Donald Trump.
4:45Play this clip. Did you or the IC make any assessments as to the timing
4:50of potential threats facing the United States from Iran in the last 90 days?
4:57I'm sure there was timelines factored into the intelligence assessments that were delivered.
5:04Did any of them show imminence?
5:05Yes. The imminent nature of a threat is determined by the president based on...
5:11based on a totality of the intelligence and information provided to him.
5:15Did any of them show that there were attacks anticipated within the next 90 days
5:20from Iran? It's too simplistic of a statement to say that, because it depends on
5:25various scenarios occurring or not occurring.
5:27Did those assessments show timelines for the threats that Iran posed to the United States?
5:34The totality of threats, yes.
5:36There were timelines involved where it applied and where that information was available.
5:40But again, to your question about the determination of eminence, the president makes that determination
5:45based on the totality of information and intelligence.
5:49The bottom line is there was no eminence provided, and you know that, and there's
5:52no product that shows that.
5:54I yield back. And this was some scathing cross -examination here by Democratic Congress member
5:59Gomez. I want you to watch this.
6:01Let's play this clip. More from Congress member Gomez right here.
6:04Play this clip. Last year, you testified that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.
6:08Do you stand by that statement?
6:11Yes or no? Context matters with that statement.
6:15Yes or no? Iran had all of the materials and capabilities to do so.
6:19Mr. Chairman, I reclaim my time.
6:22It's an easy answer. You either stand by what you said last year or not.
6:27It is a serious question that requires the totality of the information available.
6:30I reclaim my time. I reclaim my time.
6:33And more from Congress member Gomez.
6:36Play this clip. Yesterday, you said that only the president, only the only person who
6:41can determine what is an imminent threat is the president of the United States.
6:47Do you stand by that statement?
6:50Yes, I do. Director Ratcliffe, do you agree with that assessment?
6:56That the president is the only person that can determine if something is an imminent
6:59threat or not? The president's commander -in -chief gets to make a decision about what's
7:04an imminent threat. The intelligence community...
7:06Well, you know, reclaim my time.
7:10The intelligence community has provided a body of intelligence that supports the decision that the
7:14president made. The reason why is that if the president can determine and ignore what
7:18you're doing, why do you guys even have a job?
7:20Why do you even advise them?
7:22So you're saying tomorrow the president of the United States can say China is an
7:27imminent threat, and then he can take his own...
7:30No matter what the intelligence says, he can take his own action.
7:34So that's what your basic...
7:35Let's go back to Democratic Congressmember Crowe himself, an army ranger right here who served
7:41many combat tours of duty, who knows what war is actually like firsthand.
7:46Watch this, play this clip.
7:47Director Gabbard, it is your job and the job of your agency and department to
7:53assess the views of Iranian leadership, their policy beliefs, and policy positions, correct?
7:59Yes. That includes now deceased Ali Khomeini of Iran, correct?
8:04Yes. And the now leader, his son, Mushtaba Khomeini, correct?
8:08Yes. The son is considered more of a hardliner than his father.
8:12Isn't that correct? Yes. So hardline that even some of Iran's leaders thought he was
8:19too aggressive. Isn't that correct?
8:21That is the intelligence community assessment, yes.
8:24Mushtaba, the son, is particularly close to the brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their
8:28most hardline commanders, correct? That is the intelligence community assessment.
8:32He was involved in ordering violent crackdowns on Iranian protesters, including their murder, correct?
8:38Yes. And we don't know if the son will continue his father's religious ban on
8:42developing nuclear weapons. Is that correct?
8:44It is unknown at this time.
8:45You testified before this committee last year that the elder, now deceased, Khomeini had in
8:532003 banned the nuclear weapons program or suspended it, correct?
8:57There was a fatwa in place that stated that.
8:59And that fatwa remained in place last year when you testified before this committee, correct?
9:04Yes. And that fatwa remained in place recently, correct?
9:08As far as I know, it has not been lifted.
9:11Yeah. You're aware of no information that would lift that fatwa?
9:14I'm not aware of any intelligence reporting that states that.
9:18To be clear on the Mojtaba, the son who has been named to replace him,
9:23it is unclear of his status or his involvement.
9:27He was injured very severely through one of the Israeli strikes.
9:32And so the decision making is unclear about what's happening in the Iranian leadership.
9:37So it's unclear. So we're less certain of the positions of Iranian leadership and their
9:41intentions than we were 60 days ago, correct?
9:44That's an accurate assessment. And you had Congress member Gothheimer over here saying, by the
9:51way, that's why this hearing was relatively bipartisan as well, saying, what are we doing
9:57in Iran? Congressmember Gothheimer said, so did the IC brief the president on the impacts
10:03to the global supply chain?
10:05And she's like, yeah, we told him.
10:06We told him. Here, play this clip.
10:07American people. Director, were you in a meeting to discuss a possible strike on Iran?
10:15Congressman, there were several meetings that were held in advance.
10:19I'm sure I was in at least some of them.
10:22Did the intelligence community brief the president on the potential impacts a conflict could have
10:26on global supply chains and on oil and gas prices prior to the outbreak of
10:30hostilities? Were you in a meeting?
10:34Were you in any meetings where that came up?
10:36Yes, that is the intelligence community's assessments in those.
10:39were provided. Director, did the IC, Director Radcliffe, if I can ask this to you,
10:44did the IC brief the President on who would succeed the Supreme Leader if he
10:48was killed and the likelihood that a replacement would be a hardliner?
10:54Did the IC brief the President on who would succeed the Supreme Leader if he
10:57was killed and the likelihood that a replacement would be a hardliner or could be
11:01a hardliner? So to be clear, the President's objectives with respect to Operation Epic Fury
11:08did not include regime change.
11:10That may be different from what Israel's objectives were, but you can, but yes, the
11:15President was briefed in the event that Supreme Leader...
11:18That's great. Thank you so much.
11:19I'm sorry to cut you off.
11:20I just have 20 seconds.
11:21Director Patel How about Congress Member Barra?
11:25Here, play this clip. Albert, did you, there is no imminent threat of nuclear breakout.
11:32Did you deliver that assessment to the President?
11:35I have delivered the intelligence community's assessments to the President.
11:40There was no imminent nuclear threat to the United States.
11:44There was no evidence of imminence that Iran was going to attack American assets.
11:50That was different from anything they've done over four decades.
11:53That was going to attack our homeland.
11:56There was no imminent threat.
11:58Imminent is defined in the dictionary as something that is about to happen.
12:02Not something that's been happening for four decades.
12:05Not something that is going to happen three months from now.
12:08Not something that's going to happen a year from now.
12:10Imminent said, this is about to happen.
12:11Did you deliver that assessment to the President?
12:15I delivered the intelligence community's objective analysis of the threats, the severity of those threats,
12:21and the scope, along with assessments of the different scenarios and contexts that exist within
12:27the Middle East? The President owes it to the American people to go on television,
12:31to explain to the American people, to the service members who have died in action
12:36serving our country, why we are at war with Iran.
12:40He needs to go on television and explain that directly to the American people, what
12:44the imminent threat was. All right, I want to ask you something.
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13:56Elise Stefanik was getting in on the action.
13:59Congresswoman Stefanik, let's play it.
14:01Assessments. Thank you. I also wanted to ask this because this week there was a
14:05high -profile resignation of Director of National Counterterrorism Center.
14:10Now, I want to be clear from the outset.
14:12I've communicated directly with President Trump my support for Operation Epic Fury, and I was
14:17very not only disappointed, but how inappropriate this letter was.
14:22And I want to read a statement that and get your personal assessment, whether you
14:27agree or disagree with that.
14:29And that's this. Early in this administration, high -ranking Israeli officials and influential members of
14:34the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and
14:40pro -war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.
14:42This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed no imminent
14:47threat to the United States and that you should strike now.
14:49There was a clear path to a swift victory.
14:51This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us
14:55into a disastrous Iraq war.
14:57Now, I cannot say how much I disagree with that statement.
15:02Do you agree or disagree with what this letter was put out by former Director
15:06Kent? He said a lot of things in that letter.
15:10Ultimately, we have provided the president with the intelligence assessments and the president is elected
15:18by the American people and makes his own decisions based on the information that's available
15:22to him. But do you agree with does that statement he made blaming Israel concern
15:27you? Yes. More over here, an exchange between Democratic Congress member Castro and Tulsi Gabbard.
15:35Let's play it. So the death and destruction continues.
15:40The economic cost to the United States, to Israel, to the Gulf states and to
15:44the world continues to increase.
15:46So I want to ask you, to the best of your knowledge, do you know
15:49whether Israel is supportive of the president's call to make a deal with Iran?
15:56I don't know the answer to that.
15:58I don't know Israel's position on that.
16:01And to what do you attribute Israel's decision to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, despite President
16:07Trump's call to keep those facilities off limits.
16:11I don't have an answer for that.
16:21So they ignored the president.
16:23Do you agree with that?
16:26I'm not privy to any of their deliberations or what went into their calculus in
16:34launching this or other attacks.
16:37We are not involved in the operational element of this.
16:41We're providing continuously on a daily basis the intelligence assessments of the events that are
16:47occurring. I guess I know the FBI can't because they're domestic, but can anybody else
16:53at the table provide any insight into that?
17:00I guess I'm not sure what the question you're asking, Congressman Castro.
17:06I guess a couple of things.
17:08The goals that the president set out are clearly defined.
17:11The DNI related those. What was not included is a goal of the U .S.
17:17campaign. Well, Director, let me start with this.
17:18The U .S. campaign was not engaged in regime change.
17:22Let me reclaim my time, Director.
17:24Come on. Do you know why Israel decided to strike that infrastructure, despite the fact
17:29that the president said it should be off limits?
17:32I wouldn't I wouldn't speak for Israel.
17:35And what do you guys know?
17:37We're at war. What do you guys know?
17:40Let's take that for the record.
17:42Yes, let's take it for the record.
17:44Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And here when John Ratcliffe said, to be clear, the president's
17:49objectives for Operation Epic Fury did not include regime change.
17:53That was just Israel. Here, play this clip right here.
17:56Did the IC brief the president on who would succeed the Supreme Leader if he
18:00was killed and the likelihood that our placement would be a hardliner or could be
18:14a hardliner? So to be clear, the president's objectives with respect to Operation Epic Fury
18:20did not include regime change.
18:22That may be different from what Israel's objectives were.
18:25But you can. But yes, the president was briefed in the event that Supreme Leader.
18:31That's great. Thank you so much.
18:32I'm sorry to cut you off.
18:33I just have 20 seconds.
18:34And finally, take a look at Congress Member Cohen, his cross exam with Gabbard.
18:38Let's play it. Director Gabbard, are you familiar with CI -12?
18:43I'm not, Congressman. OK, let me ask you this question.
18:49In the intelligence community's unclassified annual threat assessment from last year, it said, quote, Iran's
18:55large conventional forces are capable of inflicting substantial damage to an attacker, executing regional strikes,
19:02and disrupting shipping, particularly energy supplies to the Strait of Hormuz.
19:07It seems the IC was entirely correct in its assessment about Iranian retaliation in the
19:12Strait. Did the IC's assessment about the Iranian capabilities in the Straits of Hormuz change
19:18in the past year? No, Congressman.
19:21Does Iran still have the capability of threatening shipping in the Straits of Hormuz with
19:27missiles, mines, and small boats?
19:30Their capabilities have been largely degraded, but yes, they still have means to threaten passage
19:35to the Strait of Hormuz.
19:37And how long can they keep the Strait closed?
19:41Based on current events, I'd have to get an updated assessment from the intelligence community
19:45on that. Did you have an analysis of the impact of a war on global
19:52supply change and the price of oil and gas?
19:56I believe that assessment may have come from the Department of Treasury or Energy.
20:03It didn't come through your office.
20:07It came from their element within Department of Energy or Energy.
20:11Do you know if the president was briefed on those assessments?
20:15I believe so, but I can't confirm.
20:18So, if he was briefed on those assessments that that was a problem and the
20:23Straits of Hormuz could be shut off and that's causing a great problem in the
20:27world's economy with oil prices going up to like under $120 or something a barrel
20:32and an effect on all countries' economies.
20:35Why would the president not have taken actions to strengthen defense around the Strait of
20:40Hormuz? All I can say is that the president ultimately is responsible for making the
20:48decisions based on the totality of information and intelligence that he has available to him.
20:54The intelligence that he has available to him.
20:56That's a scary thought. Well, there you have it, folks.
20:58Let me know what you think over there.
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