Trump WH Undermines EACH OTHER as LIES BACKFIRE

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on the internal conflicts within the Trump administration regarding the controversial involvement of Tulsi Gabbard in the raid of the Fulton County Elections Office, highlighting the contradictory narratives and tensions among officials, particularly between Gabbard and attorney general Pam Bondi. This situation underscores concerns about the administration's attempts to influence election security and perpetuate conspiracy theories related to the electoral process.

Key takeaways

• When a director of national intelligence moonlights as an election supervisor, national security isn't just a job—it's a circus.
• Trump's conspiracy theories show that, when in doubt, blame the election—because true accountability sure is scary.
• Tulsi Gabbard’s role in Georgia suggests the intelligence community might be moonlighting in electoral shenanigans, not just providing security.
• Every election cycle, Trump's antics suggest that for him, losing gracefully isn’t part of the game plan.
• If election security is national security, why is the DNI raiding offices instead of gathering intelligence on real threats?

Who speaks in this episode?

• Ken Harbaugh (Host) · 7 min speaking
• Tulsi Gabbard (Guest) · 1 min speaking
• Alex Finley (Guest) · 4 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump, Fulton County Elections Office, Alex Finley
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Tulsi Gabbard, Fulton County Elections Office, Puerto Rico, Valor Media Network
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Donald Trump, Fulton County Elections Office, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Puerto Rico
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Tulsi Gabbard, Alex Finley, John Ratcliffe, Kosh Patel

Notable quotes from "Trump WH Undermines EACH OTHER as LIES BACKFIRE"

• Office. In a letter earlier this week, Gabbard told Congress who had a lot of questions about this, but her presence there was quote requested by the president. White House…

  about Tulsi Gabbard · at 0:57

• Asked former covert CIA officer Alex Finley to join me to help unpack all this. Because of the nature of her work at the CIA, including on counterintel issues, Alex uses a cover name. Here's our conversation.

  about Alex Finley · at 2:34

• Department of Justice. this is actually kind of quaint given who runs the Department of Justice because it's not very likely that Pam Bondi, our attorney general, would…

  about Department of Justice · at 6:28

• Well, they didn't raid. They had a they had a warrant and they went in and they seized ballots from the 2020 election from Fulton County. Now, as I said again, the DNI doesn't…

  about Fulton County Elections Office · at 7:17

• Legitimate question on top of it reports are now starting to come out that last May Gabbard with a group from the DNI went to Puerto Rico and seized data from voting machines…

  about Puerto Rico · at 8:14

• They have been very willing in the past to use intelligence for political purposes. We now have this whistleblower complaint saying that the DNI did do something for political purposes. and.

  about Kosh Patel · at 10:04

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Tulsi Gabbard — Person · Central referenced official (DNI) under scrutiny · 5 mentions · first at 0:06
  Her alleged involvement in election-related federal actions (Fulton County, Puerto Rico) and a whistleblower complaint is the core subject being analyzed and criticized.
• Donald Trump — Person · Primary political actor referenced; alleged driver of actions · 4 mentions · first at 0:34
  Portrayed as directing or influencing election-related actions and messaging; also depicted as shifting blame to Pam Bondi and pressuring federal actors.
  It's K Harbaugh with the Midas Touch Network. That is the sound of Donald Trump throwing his attorney general Pam Bondi under the bus. The Trump regime's inability to get its story straight on.
• Alex Finley — Person · Main guest / referenced expert (former CIA officer) · 2 mentions · first at 2:34
  Provides the episode’s analytical backbone: explains DNI authorities/limits, interprets whistleblower-complaint handling, and assesses risks of politicized intelligence.
• Attorney General Pam Bondi — Person · Referenced official (Attorney General) implicated in decision-making · 2 mentions · first at 0:28
  Presented as the person Trump blames for Gabbard’s involvement (“Pam wanted her to do it”) and as unlikely to investigate alleged wrongdoing due to political alignment.
  It's K Harbaugh with the Midas Touch Network. That is the sound of Donald Trump throwing his attorney general Pam Bondi under the bus. The Trump regime's inability to get its story straight on.
• Caroline Levitt — Person · Referenced spokesperson (White House press secretary) · 1 mention · first at 1:06
  Cited to show the administration’s public messaging/justification for Gabbard’s presence (election security framed as national security).
  Questions about this, but her presence there was quote requested by the president. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt was then specifically asked about that yesterday.
• Kosh Patel — Person · Referenced political/intelligence figure (comparative example) · 1 mention · first at 9:57
  Mentioned alongside Gabbard and Ratcliffe as someone allegedly willing to use intelligence for political purposes, reinforcing the guest’s broader claim of politicization.
• John Ratcliffe — Person · Referenced intelligence leader (CIA) used to support argument · 1 mention · first at 10:00
  Invoked as another example of alleged politicization of intelligence; identified in-episode as running the CIA.
  This in some form going into November. We already know both Tulsi Gabbard and Cash Patel Ratcliffe, John Ratcliffe as well who runs the CIA.

Companies & orgs

• Department of Justice — Company · Referenced entity · 1 mention · first at 6:28
  Mentioned in the context of potential crimes not being reported, highlighting concerns about political interference.

Places & events

• Fulton County Elections Office — Place · Setting · 4 mentions · first at 0:55
  Primary location where the raid and seizure of ballots occurred, central to the discussion of election interference.
• Puerto Rico — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at 3:17
  Mentioned in the context of election data seizure, indicating potential broader efforts to interfere with elections.

Sponsors

• Valor Media Network — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 5:49
  Mentioned as the platform hosting the show 'Battle Buddies', indicating a commercial relationship.
  More of. Respectful dialogue between people who disagree, but who have figured out how to stay friends. Check out Battle Buddies today. Two vets, two views, One Nation. Find us on the Valor Media Network. the links below. Thanks.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 We have our director of national and international intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who's doing a great job with Tulsa. She took a lot of heat two days ago because she went in at Pam's insistence. She went in and she looked at votes that want to be checked out from Georgia. They say, "Why is she doing it?" Right, Pam? Why is she doing it? Because Pam wanted her to do it.

0:33 It's K Harbaugh with the Midas Touch Network. That is the sound of Donald Trump throwing his attorney general Pam Bondi under the bus. The Trump regime's inability to get its story straight on. This is one more sign that the panic is setting in. Just a few days earlier, Tulsi Gabbard told a very different story about why she was personally supervising the completely unjustified raid of the Fulton County Elections Office. In a letter earlier this week, Gabbard told Congress who had a lot of questions about this, but her presence there was quote requested by the president. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt was then specifically asked about that yesterday.

1:11 Did President Trump himself ever ask DNI Gabbard to head down to Fton County, Georgia?

1:18 The president was asked and answered that question just yesterday. I've seen a lot of the media in this room get very caught up with the semantics of why Tulsi Gabbard is there. I will tell you why. Uh and the president agrees with this. Because election security is essential to national security.

1:35 There is zero justification for the director of national intelligence being personally present at the raid of the Fulton County Elections Office. There's no justification for the raid at all. We'll get into that. But the fact that the most senior person in our entire intelligence establishment was there coordinating with the president, it confirms everything we've been warning about when it comes to the regime's plans to interfere with the upcoming elections. And that's what this is about. It's not just feeding Trump's conspiracy theories about his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020. It's about seeing how much they can get away with as the November midterms approach. Trump knows how bad it's going to be for him if the House flips. Democrats will have the ability to conduct formal investigations with subpoena powers, and that means hearings and accountability. It is becoming increasingly clear that Trump's

2:26 only way to avoid this is to cheat. And he's using every lever of power he can, including our intelligence community. I asked former covert CIA officer Alex Finley to join me to help unpack all this. Because of the nature of her work at the CIA, including on counterintel issues, Alex uses a cover name. Here's our conversation. Alex, thanks so much for joining the show. I would love your perspective on the activities of our director of national intelligence, who last time I checked was supposed to be focusing most of her attention outward. I mean, we have the FBI and other agencies that handle domestic law enforcement and security within our borders, but now you have Tulsi Gabbard at the Fulton County Elections Office. You have her dismissing whistleblower complaints and apparently in Puerto Rico reports emerging uh back in May again. Well, you tell me. It has to do with elections though.

3:26 Yeah. So um Tulsi Gabbard as the head as the director of national intelligence really is only supposed to have a sort of coordinating role across all of the intelligence agencies. The DNI itself does not have investigative it doesn't it it doesn't do investigations. It doesn't do operations. Um it's all of the other agencies within the intelligence community do those things. the DNI is just there to make sure that nobody sort of steps on each other's toes and that everybody who should be coordinating is and everybody has good information to be doing what they need to be doing. So, a number of reports have come up recently with Gabbard. Uh, as you mentioned, there's a whistleblower complaint. Um, maybe we'll we'll just start with that. Um, somebody within the intelligence community last May, last spring, filed a whistleblower complaint about Gabbard herself, apparently, according to news

4:20 reports. Um, now normally with the inspector general of the intelligence community. Now, normally something like this would take two or three weeks to then reach Congress, to reach uh the oversight committees on the hill. That hadn't happened. By November, the whistleblower had a lawyer uh who also has not seen the complaint because apparently the complaint is super sensitive and is locked in a safe somewhere. And that lawyer came out and started saying, "Hey, wait, there's a problem here. Why is the DNI blocking this being moved to the hill and still nothing happened and eventually um that letter from the lawyer became public and then the next day finally the whistleblower complaint did get transmitted to the Hill. It's Ken Harbaugh with a quick break to tell you about something new. Battle Buddies is my latest weekly show where I try to find common ground with a conservative who I consider a true friend. David

5:17 Bellavia, the only surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the war in Iraq. A Navy vet, an Army vet from opposite ends of the political spectrum, engaging in a civil conversation like we used to have. From the ICE immigration crackdowns to Trump's takeover of Venezuela, David and I take on the toughest issues of the day with genuine respect for each other in spite of our very different perspectives. They're not always easy conversations, but they're always important. And that's something we need more of. Respectful dialogue between people who disagree, but who have figured out how to stay friends. Check out Battle Buddies today. Two vets, two views, One Nation. Find us on the Valor Media Network. the links below. Thanks.

6:07 All that we know about the whistleblower complaint is that it one has to do with restricted distribution of an intelligence report allegedly for political reasons. And the second has to do with a separate federal agency, not the DNI, but one that is not named, um did not report a potential crime to the Department of Justice. Uh this is actually kind of quaint given who runs the Department of Justice because it's um not very likely that Pam Bondi, our attorney general, um would investigate any potential crime by the the the Trump administration. uh particularly because the this whistleblower complaint in question does deal possibly with executive privilege. So there are questions in there about uh did the White House get involved in something and again the the complaint is that this was not reported as a potential crime for political reasons. Um so that's the whistleblower complaint. Now, at the

7:07 same time, uh Gabbard has been um in the news as well, as you mentioned, because she did show up at Fulton County when the FBI went in and raided um the the well, they didn't raid. They had a they had a warrant and they went in and they seized ballots from the 2020 election from Fulton County. Now, as I said again, uh the DNI doesn't do anything domestic, as you said. They don't do investigations. They don't do operations. There doesn't really seem to be any reason for the DNI to be involved in this operation. On top of that, reporting then came out that uh after they had seized the voting information, Gabbard held a phone call. She had a phone call directly with Trump and Trump spoke directly with the FBI um officers who were involved uh in this uh in seizing this the these uh this information. also highly unusual we could say um because now they're very it it there's no this is there's no separation here like so is

8:10 there political pressure from Trump on these FBI officers to be doing what they're doing that now becomes a very legitimate question on top of it reports are now starting to come out that last May um Gabbard with a group from the DNI went to Puerto Rico and uh seized data from voting um voting machines in Puerto Puerto Rico. Now, Puerto Rico votes um but they're non their representatives are non- voting members. Um they are just representatives on the hill, but still they do vote. So, um, and if we go back to 2020 and some of the very strange conspiracies that came out, there were talks about voting machines being hit by Italian space lasers, uh, Italian satellites and Venezuelan Hugo Chavez having something to do, although Hugo Chavez was dead, uh, but somehow, uh, having effect on these. And so there's questions now if, uh, the seizing of this data, the voting data is going to start going back to this

9:08 conspiracy. Um, but looking forward, the biggest part of all of this is, well, what does this mean now for our elections this year in November?

9:17 There was the initial reaction to the seizure of the ballots in Fulton County as being an attempt to mllify Trump and sort of feed his paranoia about the 2020 election. But I think the keener observer said, "No, this is forwardlooking. It is one part about the 2020 results and trying to convince the president he was right that the election was stolen from him, but it is three parts about figuring out how much they can get away with come November of 2026.

9:51 Absolutely. There's no question in my mind that they're going to try to use this in some form um going into November. We already know both Tulsi Gabbard and Cash Patel uh Ratcliffe, John Ratcliffe as well who runs the CIA. They have been very willing in the past to use intelligence for political purposes. We now have this whistleblower complaint saying that the DNI did do something for political purposes. Um and so the this is it h how will all of this be used? Uh what kind of conspiracies will they conjure up? and uh how will they create the sort of messaging around all of this? But what's sort of more worrying now going into this is that they do control these levers. Uh they control um you know putting national guard out on the street or putting ICE out on the street. Um Trump himself has been talking about nationalizing elections whatever that means. Now it's very clear in the constitution that our

10:48 elections are run by the states. But perhaps there is a play here that they are trying to make to say, well, there was foreign interference, therefore it sounds okay that the DNI would be involved. Perhaps there was foreign interference in our election in 2020. Therefore, the intelligence community needs to be much more involved in our election and in order to safeguard it, um, we need to cut out some of the state people and local people and bring in our more federal people. I don't know exactly what that will look like. Um, but I think clearly that is the direction that they're trying to move in.

11:23 That was part one of my conversation with Alex Finley. Check out part two, which I'll be posting exclusively on my Subsite page, where Alex and I get into the risks to America's national security when the director of national intelligence spends more time chasing debunked conspiracy theories at home than on the real threats that America faces from abroad. If you haven't subscribed yet to my Substack, the link is below. And if you can afford a paid subscription, I think they start at eight bucks a month. Everything goes back into the show. Thanks. Love this video. Support independent media and unlock exclusive content. Add free videos and custom emojis by becoming a paid member of our YouTube channel today. You can also gift memberships to others. Let's keep growing together.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Trump WH Undermines EACH OTHER as LIES BACKFIRE"?

Ken Harbaugh (Host), Tulsi Gabbard (Guest), Alex Finley (Guest).

What is "Trump WH Undermines EACH OTHER as LIES BACKFIRE" about?

The discussion centers on the internal conflicts within the Trump administration regarding the controversial involvement of Tulsi Gabbard in the raid of the Fulton County Elections Office, highlighting the contradictory narratives and tensions among officials, particularly between Gabbard and attorney general Pam Bondi. This situation underscores concerns about the administration's attempts to…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump, Fulton County Elections Office, Alex Finley, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Puerto Rico. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Trump WH Undermines EACH OTHER as LIES BACKFIRE"?

The episode runs 12 min; the transcript is about 2,014 words in 17 timestamped sections.

More from MeidasTouch

• All analyzed episodes
• Books mentioned on MeidasTouch
• People mentioned on MeidasTouch
• Sponsors mentioned on MeidasTouch
• Topics mentioned on MeidasTouch