Ring of Fire is a podcast hosted by Farron Cousins that began as a radio show in 2004 by Mike Papantonio. The show focuses on exposing corporate fat cats, polluters and media spinmeisters.

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  • Episode 722: Trump Unhinged!; VP Rumors; Giuliani Trial Off to Bad Start
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    44:17

    This week on Ring of Fire!

    Donald Trump apparently woke up more unhinged than usual on Saturday morning, and he immediately got on Truth Social to let the world know that he is not doing well at all. But it was a post that he didn't write that made everyone scratch their heads. Trump re-posted a message from a conservative lawyer that suggested that President Obama should be indicted for murder (because a court recently ruled against Trump saying that presidents don't have immunity for life.) We can probably expect this to be the new rallying cry for conservatives.

    Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, has accused Marjorie Taylor Greene of trying to bribe Donald Trump into making her his VP choice next year. Specifically, Mary says that a recent social media post by Greene was an attempt to show Donald that she will do whatever he wants her to do if she is chosen for the vice presidential slot on the ticket, and she did so by promising to protect, and likely pardon, the convicted Capitol Rioters.

    Donald Trump's mental screwups are becoming so common and noticeable that even some of his former allies can't ignore them. During a recent segment, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly admitted that Trump isn't as "sharp" as he used to be, pointing out his constant blunders and inability to keep a train of thought on track. The Biden administration is also trying to capitalize on Trump's mental hiccups, painting him as the one who is out of touch and not stable enough to serve in office.

    Republicans in the House are moving their impeachment inquiry into President Biden forward this week, with a vote expected that would make the inquiry "official," allowing members to get their hands on more "evidence." The only problem is that they've been investigating Biden for 12 months and have been told repeatedly that there is no link between Biden and any criminal activity. To make things worse, Republicans are now telling the press that they expect this move to backfire on them, but they are still going forward anyway.

    And Rudy Giuliani's defamation lawsuit trial got off to a horrific start for him, as the judge demanded to know why he kept smearing the two election workers even after he had been found liable in a summary judgement for defamation. His lawyer did his best to excuse these actions, but the argument fell flat. The lawyer tried to claim that Giuliani's advanced age is to blame for his comments, and the judge didn't buy that for a second.

    All that, and much more, on this week's Ring of Fire!

  • Episode 721: Trump Has Reasons for Supporting Capitol Rioters; MTG Called Out Over PPP Loan; Trump's L's in Court
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    32:27

    This week on Ring of Fire!

    Donald Trump is back to pretending that he cares about the Capitol Rioters, and he shared a post from another user on his Truth Social platform that called for the arrests of police officers that violently engaged with his supporters during the riot. The post contained a video clip of officers using batons to strike the people storming the Capitol and made mention of Ashli Babbit being killed by a police officer. There's a very specific reason why Trump is going down this path right at this moment, and we'll explain why that is.

    During a House hearing late last week, Marjorie Taylor Greene got called out by Democratic Representative Maxine Waters for taking out a PPP Loan and having it forgiven by the federal government. Waters was using that as an example of the hypocrisy of Republicans who talk nonstop about cutting programs for the poor while taking money for themselves. Greene was livid, and she took to Twitter to blast Waters using the dumbest possible arguments you could have dreamed up.

    Donald Trump suffered two devastating legal blows on Friday evening, when Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed BOTH of his motions to dismiss the charges against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump's lawyers had offered weak arguments claiming that the case violated Trump's Constitutional rights, and Chutkan wasted no time letting his legal team know that arguments like this aren't going to make it far.

    House Oversight Committee chair James Comer accidentally admitted that evidence doesn't matter in the impeachment inquiry of President Biden during a recent appearance on Fox News. Comer said that moderate Republicans in the House are now warming up to the idea of impeachment because they all, apparently, met voters at places like Walmart over the Thanksgiving break, and all of those voters apparently said that impeaching Biden is the most important thing in the world.

    All that, and much more, on this week's Ring of Fire!

  • Episode 720: Gag Order Repealed; Update on Biden's Impeachment; George Santos Drama
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    35:21

    This week on Ring of Fire!

    According to a court filing last week, Judge Arthur Engoron and his court clerk have received hundreds of threats, and most of them have been deemed "credible" by the threat assessment officials at the court. This information was revealed in a filing that was attempting to state the importance of the gag order against Donald Trump that an appeals court temporarily lifted earlier this month. Trump knows exactly what he is doing, and legal experts say that there's no doubt this is being done on purpose.

    Republican Congressman James Comer, the Chair of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News last week that he plans to hold a vote on President Biden's impeachment in early spring, and that he wants to hold the vote sooner rather than later. This means that Republicans are wanting to have Biden impeached by April, which would prevent Democrats from launching a new primary candidate to take over. This is all very calculated for the Republicans, the problem is that they have no evidence to back anything up, even though Comer swears they have "multiple smoking guns."

    Republican Congressman George Santos seems to be having some mixed emotions right now, especially since his horrific actions were exposed in a recent Ethics Committee report. Santos said that he expects to be expelled when the new vote is held, possibly this week, but he also says he'll wear it like a "badge of honor." But in the same sentence, he also proudly said that he's not going to leave and that it is "over when I say its over."

    The Republican Party has a lot at stake in 2024, and if their fundraising is any indication, they are going to have a very sad year. A new report says that not only have the big Republican donors been stingy with their money this year, but also that the small-money donors aren't able to give like they had in the past. Add in the fact that you have a historically unpopular fascist at the top of your ticket, and the Republicans could be in for the worst year ever.

    All that, and much more, on this week's Ring of Fire!

  • Episode 719: Trump Repeatedly Going After Clerk in Court Case; Santos May Be Out; DeSantis Losing Record
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    27:20

    This week on Ring of Fire!

    Donald Trump wasted no time after an appeals court judge temporarily lifted the gag order on him from Judge Arthur Engoron. Trump immediately got to work by attacking the very same clerk that got him in trouble in the first place, and this is likely exactly what the court was looking for. Trump was put in front of a trap, and he walked right into it without even thinking about the consequences.

    The Republican Chair of the House Ethics Committee on Friday introduced a new resolution to expel Republican Congressman George Santos from Congress, following the release of the damning Committee report the previous day. The report shows that Santos used campaign funds for everything from travel to adult websites, and it paints the picture of a wholly corrupted individual that will probably spend the next couple decades behind bars. But before that, he needs to be expelled from Congress.

    Last week, the Supreme Court handed Ron DeSantis a significant defeat when they ruled that his drag performance ban could NOT be enforced while the issue is being litigated in the courts. This is NOT a reversal or overturning of the actual law - it only says that the law cannot be enforced while it is being challenged in the court system. However, it is still a blow to the Florida governor who desperately needed a win to save his campaign.

    In an absolutely bonkers post on Truth Social, the mentally deteriorating Donald Trump accused Judge Arthur Engoron of being the one guilty of fraud, because Trump says that the whole fraud trial is a farce. The former President is becoming more unhinged and more unglued from reality as the possibility of losing his entire company really starts to set in, and he's doing everything he can to lash out and try to make himself feel better.

    Just one month ago, shortly before becoming House Speaker, Republican Congressman Mike Johnson was on a televised prayer call with MAGA pastor Jim Garlow where Johnson prayed that God gives America one more chance - instead of giving us the retribution we "deserve." Congressman Johnson believes that America does, in fact, deserve to be punished by God, and in typical right wing evangelical fashion, he says that it is because of the LGBTQ Community. People like this are dangerous, and now they are in charge of the House.

    All of that, and much more, on this week's Ring of Fire!

  • Episode 718: Did Trump Break the Law for Donating Gun? Classified Document Scandal Dissected
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    33:43

    This week on Ring of Fire!

    Donald Trump is once again embroiled in a firearm-related scandal. The former president recently auctioning off a customized firearm with "Trump" branding all over it, and the auction at Mar-a-Lago claimed that the weapon belonged to Trump. If this is true, then Trump violated federal law by engaging in a transaction involving a firearm while under federal indictment.

    In a ruling late Friday afternoon, Judge Aileen Cannon said that she is not going to delay Donald Trump's classified documents trial...YET. Instead, she set a deadline for March for herself to make the decision on whether or not delay the trial until after the election, effectively taking up the entire timeline so that other trials can't schedule things to happen during that time. This was a decision that completely defies all logic, and it serves no purpose other than to cause chaos.

    During a meltdown on Truth Social, Donald Trump openly admitted that his employees at Mar-a-Lago would regularly see boxes of classified documents during their time working for him. This isn't exactly a smart admission from the former president, but he isn't known for saying things that are smart. The interesting part of this is that Trump has never tried to deny any of the charges against him (other than at the fraud trial), but he's instead claimed that he was allowed to do all the things that he did.

    Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley isn't going to let the fact that Donald Trump has basically secured the Republican nomination stop her, and her campaign announced that they would be spending a whopping $10 million to ensure that Haley comes in second place in Iowa and New Hampshire. The money is essentially going to be used to end Ron DeSantis' presidential ambitions for good, and it could also show Trump that Haley might be a viable running mate.

    All of that, and much more, coming up on this week's Ring of Fire!