2375 - Tulsi Gabbard’s Sketchy Past; GOP’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Panic w/ Mike Prysner, Erin Reed

It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! Emma speaks with Mike Prysner of the Empire Files to discuss Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be U.S. Director of National Intelligence. Then, she speaks with journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning newsletter on SubStack, to discuss Rep. Nancy Mace's recent decision to introduce legislation to bar Rep. Sarah McBride, the only trans legislator in the upcoming Congress, from using the Capitol Hill bathrooms. First, Emma runs through updates on the ICC’s issuing of arrest warrants for the leaders behind Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, Israel’s new one-sided ceasefire pitch for Lebanon, the failure of Bernie’s Israel resolution in the Senate, the passage of the anti-non-profit bill in the House, US military aid to Ukraine, the Gaetz ethics report, Pete Hegseth’s history of sexual assault allegations, and Linda McMahon’s history of hiring people with sexual assault allegations, before watching a little more from the UN as they finally begin to hold Israel to account for their ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Mike Prysner then joins, diving right into Trump’s pick of one Tulsi Gabbard for his Director of National Intelligence, and the oddly underwhelming critique of her in the face of myriad problematic potential appointments, tackling how most of the mainstream criticisms of her focus on her odd foreign policy beliefs (support for dictators, Edward Snowden), leaving her deep ties to a deeply ideological religious organization untouched. Expanding on this latter element, Prysner parses through the history and evolution of the Science of Identity Foundation, a religious organization (or ‘cult’ to some ex-members) founded by former Hare Krishna member Chris Butler, who – claiming to be THE messenger from God – established and grew this community around himself, with explicit, long-term plans to establish and grow their role in American politics, first taking root in Hawaii with the rise of Gabbard’s parents, before she, having been groomed for the role from a young age, became the first elected to Congress. Going even deeper, Mike walks Emma through the central ideological beliefs of the organization, and how they fundamentally shape their education around islamophobia and homophobia, with a near-constant exposure to rampantly and explicitly anti-muslim and anti-LGBTQ sermons from Butler himself, ingraining these beliefs in children, before they step back to examine the community’s history of intimidation and harassment of ex-members and critics. Wrapping up, Prysner unpacks Tulsi’s role as a political chameleon, from her odd foreign policy takes to her Bernie-to-leaving-the-left pipeline, as a reflection of the organization's deep desire to climb the rungs of power – something expressed during her time in the military as well – and paints a picture of the role the Gabbard family play within the Science of Identity Foundation as a whole.

And in the Fun Half, Emma, Matt Binder, Brandon Sutton, and the MR Crew react to the breaking news that former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination to be Trump's incoming Attorney General, and how some new exclusive CNN reporting on his conduct may have contributed to his withdrawal. The crew also strolls down memory lane to remember when Gaetz defended his relationship with his (completely real) adopted son, Nestor. They then look into the grisly allegations outlined in a 2017 police report regarding sexual assault investigation into Trump's Defense Secretary pick, Pete Hegseth. After, they check in on Emma's spicy appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored", where Emma made Piers visibly uncomfortable because a woman wouldn't listen to him telling her to be quiet. Plus, your IM's!

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