RADIO

Journalist BANNED from Twitter IMMEDIATELY after FBI tweet

Paul Sperry, senior staff writer at RealClearInvestigations.com, tells Glenn he was ‘in the middle of tweeting about the [FBI] raid’ when he received a message from Twitter informing him of his ‘permanent’ suspension. ‘They canceled my account without any explanation,’ Sperry says, which actually violates Twitter’s own rules. So are Twitter bigwigs — with connections to the FBI — trying to help the federal government? What IS going on at the FBI, and are good agents willing to stand? Plus, what specifically did Sperry say about the raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home before his suspension began? He and Glenn discuss it all, plus more, in this clip…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: We have Paul Sperry on with us now. Hello, Paul, how are you?

PAUL: Hey, how are you? Good.

GLENN: Good.

Paul is a senior staff writer at RealClearInvestigations.com. Columnist also at the New York Post.

And he is also a Hoover Institution Media fellow. We have him on, because tomorrow night's special -- Wednesday night special is a weaponized government. How the Mar-a-Lago raid is an attack on all of us. So Paul, what was it that Twitter found so offensive about -- about your reporting.

PAUL: Well, that's still a mystery. They kicked me off the day after Trump's home was raided. And I was in the middle of tweeting more about the raid. And then suddenly, I got a message that popped up, saying, you have been permanently suspended.

GLENN: Permanently. Wow.

PAUL: Yeah. No reasons given. Didn't say what rules and policies I allegedly violated to prop that. Yeah. So they canceled my account without any explanation. Which is, by the way, a violation of their own rules. Because if you look them up, they're supposed to, quote, explain which policy you may have violated. Which content. And which content was in violation. And they did not do that in my case. Because they know I didn't break any rules.

GLENN: Yeah. So isn't one of the guys at Twitter, isn't he a former FBI high-ranking guy?

PAUL: Yeah. The deputy of general counsel is the -- the Comeys. Jim Comey. His former general counsel of FBI headquarters. His name is James baker. So he was disgraced after the -- the FISA warrant abuse scandal. He left.

And then Twitter picked him up. And now he is --

GLENN: Jeez.

PAUL: I'm sure. I'm sure. Screening any matters -- any content-based matters that have a legal issue. Something like that. Would be a run-up to him. And so he has a lot of influence at Twitter.

GLENN: Do you have any idea if he's the one who banned you?

PAUL: No idea.

GLENN: Yeah. They're kind of a black hole of information, isn't it?

So talk to me a little bit about -- because I'm really concerned about the FBI, and the whole government. Right now, government agents have a bigger -- I don't even know what you would call it. A police than we have marines. That's a little staggering.

PAUL: Yeah. It's -- it's getting -- getting crazy out there. I mean, this -- it also had gotten very personal between the former president and the FBI. You know, this is -- like a full-blown war between the ex-president of the United States and the federal police. You know, when does that ever happen?

GLENN: Never. That I -- that I know of.

So how concerned are you? I mean, are you hearing from good FBI agents and enough of them to give you confidence, that at least the -- the average rank and file is not involved in this, and won't put up with this? Or what is your feeling?

PAUL: Well, a lot of them aren't putting up with it. There's been a number of whistle-blowers, that have come out to senator Grassley recently. So they're getting fed up with the politicization of the bureau. And unfortunately, the same FBI division that ran the corrupt Russia gate operation. And, by the way, coddled Hillary and Hunter and those investigations.

So they ran the questionable Trump raid, and they're now running what appears to be Russiagate 2.0.

GLENN: Jeez.

PAUL: It's the counterintelligence division in Washington.

Even though, it's the focus of special counsel Durham's investigation of that prior corruption.

GLENN: I -- I talked to John Solomon yesterday, and he said that he was -- he was fairly confident, that these documents still exist. He's trying to get them from the national archives. Copies of them.

But he wasn't quite sure, what documents they were really looking for. Do you have any idea on that?

PAUL: Well, some former FBI and DOJ official say, they suspect that the FBI may have used their raid to cover their tracks in the Russia gate scandal. They may have been trying to deep six any evidence that Trump found on them. In other words,, you know, Trump may have had proof of their crimes. And they had to make sure that that proof never saw the light of day. It's a pretty -- it's a fairly reasonable assumption. That they're sifting -- sifting through those boxes, to look for that information. That would have a vested interest, especially if they're under investigation.

Criminally by Durham right now, to make sure those documents, if Trump had them do not become public.

GLENN: And is it true that Biden was signing an order saying, we're not going to release these things? And, you know, his -- his order to release and to make them public, is rescinded. To ever which it's my understanding, that's never happened before.

PAUL: Yeah. Yeah. When AG Garland came in. The Justice Department. Put the kibosh in that declassification order.

GLENN: And it was the last -- literally, the last hour of his presidency, wasn't it, that they pulled them?

PAUL: Right. Right.

And so they -- they have their own road map. They know what was in that binder. And they -- they want to make sure that there's not some copies in the seven books that they pulled out of Mar-a-Lago.

By the way, careful reading of -- of that warrant shows basically that the warrant basically allowed the agents to take anything they wanted from Trump's home. So no telling what they got. And what they're going to do with it. And how they're going to use it against Trump. Because it looks like it was a complete phishing expedition. And, by the way, that -- that belies what we got in that press conference from the attorney general.

He said that he told everybody, that the investigation was narrowly focused. And the search warrant was narrowly scoped.

GLENN: Not even. It was a general warrant.

PAUL: Yeah. The release of that warrant shows that he misled the pun, and acted -- so that already gives anybody, including most of all Trump, pause. Skepticism to believe that their current assurances that the affidavit, which is the document that supports -- that allegedly supports probable cause of a crime being committed, to a warrant, such as a raid in the search, was properly supported. You know, you have the whole track record. The FBI, just completely acting dishonestly. And unethically, in swearing out warrants for FISA courts. Surveillance on one of Trump's advisers.

GLENN: So Trump is not a dumb, stupid man. He is not. He plays three-dimensional chess at times. He might appear to be flying by the seat of his pants. And I think sometimes he is. But he's smart enough to -- if he has those documents, not just leave them in a box. He would have copied them or given a copy to his attorneys. Or some place for safekeeping.

Is -- would that be illegal?

PAUL: No. You know, he -- he had skiffs set up for him, in Bedminster. His place in Bedminster and also Mar-a-Lago.

People don't record this. But he was very careful, whenever he would go to these homes. You know, second White House homes like every president.

The secret Service built under the direction of the Intelligence Community sense of compartmented information facilities within his residences. And that's where he would receive his presidential briefings. He would store classified documents in there.

So this whole notion that he's this reckless guy, he's screwing around, you know, top secret, national secrets, nuclear secrets everywhere. That's BS because he had skiffs set up. This was all done, just like every other president has had done in their secondary homes

GLENN: How concerned are you, or when does this end? What will it take for this to end? The solution between the government and, for instance, Twitter or others. Where the government we now know, has told people, clearly, at Twitter, you really need to do something about this person.

What is it going to take? This is such an end run against our Constitution, these public/private partnerships with these media companies, and with social media.

Do you see a way to stop that?

PAUL: Well, you're right. These gatekeepers in big tech have so much power over our free speech these days.

And you would have to have somebody like Elon Musk, a very deep-pocketed billionaire to kind of come in and take over. Which doesn't look good now, especially with this latest cyber security, whistle-blower coming out. And saying, there was a lot more fake accounts than they let on. So that kind of strengthens Musk's case to back out of the deal. It's not very hopeful for guys like me, who, you know, are political prisoners locked in jail.

GLENN: Right.

PAUL: But, you know, someone like that, would have to get in there, and get rid of Twitter's new CEO. This guy, you know, he -- he wants to focus -- he actually was caught saying, that he wants to focus less on free speech, and more on, quote, choosing who can be heard, especially in election years, apparently.

GLENN: Good God.

PAUL: So, yeah. That's the guy who is running this thing. He's an Indian fellow.

I forget -- I think it's Pickram or something like that. You know, it starts from the top. And guys like that, you know, they're mostly very liberal Democrats, who are running Twitter, including their board. And so that's what it would take. Put some fair-minded people in there, who respect and love free speech. I'm not saying a conservative way, or another. And I think music would be someone like that. Because he really does want a free-for-all. On a social media platform. He doesn't want to skew things --

GLENN: One way or another.

PAUL: Right. Right. That's how it should be, inciting violence. You put it out there. And it's up to the people to decide how they want to be. Leave it up to the debate. And eventually, the truth will percolate up through -- through free debate.

And that's not what the current Twitter powers that be, want. They want -- like this guy said, we want to choose who can be heard, and who can shape our political narrative the best. And people who are running fact-based content like me. And fact-driven content, that is inconvenient to that narrative. They don't want on their platform.

GLENN: Well, for now, you can find Paul Sperry at realclearinvestigations.com. That's real clear investigations.com. Paul, thank you so much. God bless. Keep us up-to-date, will you?

PAUL: Thanks, Glenn.

GLENN: You bet, buh-bye.

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What was Jeffrey Epstein's operation all about. If he was at the center of a massive blackmail operation to compromise those in positions of power, who is in possession of that information now? Glenn Beck and ATF Whistleblower John Dodson analyze the details of this situation and give their thoughts on what is the most likely reality surrounding Epstein.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with ATF Whistleblower John Dodson HERE

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WARNING: How America Elects a Socialist President in 2028 | Glenn TV | Ep 444

The rise of Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old socialist who just won the Democratic primary for mayor, is not just a political earthquake shaking New York City — it’s a warning for the rest of America. Backed by Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani promises free everything, to tax the rich, and to dismantle capitalism. There’s nothing new about this tired strategy, but the media is propping him up as a new political genius. And with Democrat leaders lining up behind him, it’s clear: This radicalism isn’t fringe anymore. It’s the Democratic Party’s future. Mamdani’s rise is part of a larger movement that’s rewriting America’s values. Glenn Beck explains how New York is the prototype for the Left’s socialist makeover of America. Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Standford, gives a terrifying prediction on Mamdani’s mayoral race chances and warns the revolution is coming for mainstream Democrats. He also dives into MAGA’s frustration with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files.

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RADIO

Salena Zito reveals WHY Trump said “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“I have a new purpose,” then-candidate Donald Trump told reporter Salena Zito after surviving the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Salena joins Glenn Beck to reveal what Trump told her about God, his purpose in life, and why he really said, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, as she details in her new book, “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America's Heartland”.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Salena, congratulations on your book. It is so good.

Just started reading it. Or listening to it, last night.

And I wish you would have -- I wish you would have read it. But, you know, the lady you have reading it is really good.

I just enjoy the way you tell stories.

The writing of this is the best explanation on who Trump supporters are. That I think I've ever read, from anybody.

It's really good.

And the description of your experience there at the edge of the stage with Donald Trump is pretty remarkable as well. Welcome to the program.

SALENA: Thank you, Glenn. Thank you so much for having me.

You know, I was thinking about this, as I was ready to come on. You and I have been along for this ride forever. For what?

Since 2006? 2005?

Like 20 years, right?

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

SALENA: And I've been chronicling the American people for probably ten more years, before that. And it's really remarkable to me, as watching how this coalition has grown. Right?

And watching how people have the -- have become more aspirational.

And that's -- and that is what the conservative populist coalition is, right?

It is the aspirations of many, but the celebration of the individual.

And chronicling them, yeah. Has been -- has been, a great honor.

GLENN: You know, I was thinking about this yesterday, when -- when Elon Musk said he was starting another party.

And somebody asked me, well, isn't he doing what the Tea Party tried to do?

No. The Tea Party was not going to start a new party.

It was to -- you know, it was to coerce and convince the Republican Party to do the right thing. And it worked in many ways. It didn't accomplish what we hoped.

But it did accomplish a lot of things.

Donald Trump is a result of the Tea Party.

I truly believe that. And a lot of the people that were -- right?

Were with Donald Trump, are the people that were with the Tea Party.


SALENA: That's absolutely right.

So that was the inception.

So American politics has always had movements, that have been just outside of a party. Or within a party.

That galvanize and broaden the coalition. Right? They don't take away. Or walk away, and become another party.

If anything, if there is a third party out there, it's almost a Republican Party.

Because it has changed in so many viable and meaningful ways. And the Tea Party didn't go away. It strengthened and broadened the Republican Party. Because these weren't just Republicans that became part of this party.

It was independents. It was Democrats.

And just unhappy with the establishment Republicans. And unhappy with Democrats.

And that -- that movement is what we -- what I see today.

What I see every day. What I saw that day, in butler, when I showed I happen at that rally.

As I do, so many rallies, you know, throughout my career. And that one was riveting and changed everything.

GLENN: You made a great case in the opening chapter. You talk about how things were going for Donald Trump.

And how this moment really did change everything for Donald Trump.

Changed the trajectory, changed the mood.

I mean, Elon Musk was not on the Trump train, until this.

SALENA: Yeah.

GLENN: Moment. What do I -- what changed? How -- how did that work?

And -- and I contend, that we would have much more profound change, had the media actually done their job and reported this the way it really was. Pragmatism

SALENA: You know, and people will find this in the book. I'm laying on the ground with an agent on top of me.

I'm 4 feet away from the president.

And there's -- there's notices coming up on my phone. Saying, he was hit by broken glass.

And to this take, that remains part of this sibling culture, in American politics.

Because reporters were -- were so anxious to -- to right what they believed happened.

As opposed to what happened.

And it's been a continual frustration of mine, as a reporter, who is on the ground, all the time.

And I'll tell you, what changed in that moment.

And I say a nuance, and I believe nuance is dead in American journalism.

But it was a nuance and it was a powerful conversation, that I had with President Trump, the next day. He called me the next morning.

But it's a powerful conversation I had with him, just two weeks ago.

When he made this decision to say, fight, fight, fight.

People have put in their heads, why they think he said it. But he told me why he said that. And he said, Salena, in that moment, I was not Donald Trump the man. I was a former president. I was quite possibly going to be president again.

And I had an obligation to the country, and to the office that I have served in, to project strength. To project resolve.

To project that we will not be defeated.

And it's sort of like a symbolic eagle, that is always -- you know, that symbol that we look at, when we think about our country.

He said, that's why I said that. I didn't want the people behind me panicking. I didn't want the people watching, panicking.

I had to show strength. And it's that nuance -- that I think people really picked up on.

And galvanized people.

GLENN: So he told me, when he was laying down on the stage.

And you can hear him. Let me get up. Let me get up.

I've got to get up.

He told me, as I was laying on the stage. I asked him, what were you thinking? What was going through your head? Now, Salena, I don't know about you.

But with me. It would be like, how do I get off the stage? My first was survival.

He said, what was going on through his mind was, you're not pathetic. This is pathetic.

You're not afraid. Get up.

Get up.

And so is that what informed his fight, fight, fight, of that by the time that he's standing up, he's thinking, I'm a symbol? Or do you think he was thinking, I'm a symbol, this looks pathetic. It makes you look weak.

Stand up. How do you think that actually happened?

SALENA: He thinks, and we just talked about this weeks ago. He -- you know, and this is something that he's really thought about.

Right? You know, he's gone over and over and over. And also, purpose and God. Right? These are things that have lingered with him.

You know, he -- he thought, yes.

He did think, it was pathetic that he was on the ground. But he wasn't thinking about, I'm Donald Trump. It's pathetic.

He's thinking, my country is symbolically on the ground. I need to get up, and I need to show that my country is strong.

That our country is resolute.

And I need people to see that.

We can't go on looking like pathetic.

Right?

And I think that then goes to that image of Biden.

GLENN: You have been with so many presidents.

How many presidents do you think that you've personally been with, would have thought that and reacted that way?

SALENA: Probably only Reagan. Reagan would have. Reagan probably would have thought that.

And if you remember how he was out like standing outside.

You know, waving out the window. Right?

After he was shot.

GLENN: At the hospital, right.

SALENA: Had he not been knocked out, unconscious, you know, he probably would have done the same thing.

Because he was someone who deeply believed in American exceptionalism.

And American exceptionalism does not go lay on the ground.

GLENN: And the symbol.

Right. The symbol of the presidency.

SALENA: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that affects him today.

GLENN: So let me go back to God.

Because you talked to him the next day. And your book Butler.

He calls you up.

I love the fact that your parents would be ashamed of you. On what you said to him.

The language you used. That you just have to read the book.

It's just a great part.

But he calls you the next morning. And wants to know if you're okay.

And you -- you then start talking to him, about God.

And I was -- I was thinking about this, as I was listening to it. You know, Lincoln said, I wasn't -- I wasn't a Christian.

Even though, he was.

I wasn't a Christian, when I was elected. I wasn't a Christian when my son died.

I became a Christian at Gettysburg.

Is -- is -- I mean, I believe Donald Trump always believes in God, et cetera, et cetera.

Do you think there was a real profound change at Butler with him?


SALENA: Absolutely. You know, he called me seven times that day. Seven times, the take after seven.

GLENN: Crazy.

SALENA: Talked about. And I think he was looking for someone that he knew, that was there. And to try to sort it out.

Right? And I let him do most of the talking. I didn't pressure him.

At all. I believed that he was having -- you know, he was struggling. And he needed to just talk. And I believed my purpose was to listen.

Right? I know other reporters would have handled it differently. And that's okay. That's not the kind of reporter that I am.

And I myself was having my own like, why didn't I die?

Right?

Because it went right over my head.

And -- and so I -- he had the conversation about God.

He's funny. I thought it was the biggest mosquito in the world that hit me.

But he had talked profoundly about purpose. You know, and God.

And how God was in that moment.

It --

GLENN: I love the way you -- in the book, I love the way you said that as he's kind of working it out in his own he head.

He was like, you know, I -- I -- I always knew that there was some sort of, you know -- that God was present.

He said, but now that this has happened.

I look back at all of the trials.

All of the tribulations. Literally, the trials.

All of the things that have happened. And he's like, I realized God was there the whole time.

SALENA: Yes. He does. And it's fascinating to have been that witness to history, to have those conversations with him. Because I'm telling you. And y'all know, I can talk. I didn't say much of anything.

I just -- I just listened. I felt that was my purpose, in that moment.

To give him that space, to work it out.

I'm someone that is, you know, believes in God.

I'm Catholic. I followed my faith.

And -- and so, I thought, well, this is why God put me here. Right?

And to -- to have that -- to hear him talk about purpose, to hear him say, Salena. Why did I put a chart down?

I'm like, sir. I don't know. I thought you were Ross Perot for a second.

He never has a chart. And he laughed. And then he said, why did I put that chart down?

By that term, I never turned my head away from people at the rally. That's true.

That relationship is very transactional. It's very -- they feed off of each other.

It's a very emotive moment when you attend a rally. Because he has a way of talking at a rally. That you believe that you are seeing.

And he said, and I never turn my head away.

I never turn my head away.

Why did I turn my head away?

I don't remember consciously thinking about turning my head away. And then he says to me, that was God, wasn't it?

Yes, sir. It was. It was God.

And he said, that's -- that's why I have a new purpose.

And so, Glenn. I think it's important, when you look at the breadth of what has happened, since he was sworn in.

You see that purpose, every day.

He doesn't let up.

He continues going.

And it brings back to the beginning of the book.

Where you find out, that there was another president that was shot at in Butler.

And that was George Washington. And how different the country would have been, had he died in that moment.

And now think about how different the country would be, had President Trump died in that moment. There would be --

GLENN: We're talking to -- we're talking to Salena Zito. About her new book called Butler. The assassination attempt on President Trump. And it is riveting.

And, you know, it is so good. I wish the press would read it. Because it really explains who we are, who Trump supporters are. Who are, you know, red staters. It is so good at that. She's the best at that.