DC Grand Juries Go Political Against Trump, MAGA and AOC Unite, New Space Race Begins: AM Update 9/5

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Good morning, everyone.

I'm Megan Kelly.

It's Friday, September 5th, 2025, and this is your AM update.

If you trespass into the Capitol, you go to prisons, but if you assault a federal law enforcement officer, you don't even get charged.

A possible resistance effort exposed by a streak of rejected indictments by D.C.

grand juries.

Attorney Mike Davis breaks it down.

If Cortez told me the sun was coming up tomorrow, I'd probably

go out and check it out.

Cortez as an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez teaming up with MAGA?

We'll tell you what they're working on.

And the second race to the moon is on as one former NASA official sounds a warning.

All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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A grand jury will indict even a ham sandwich.

So said New York State's famous chief judge Saul Wachler years ago.

But not if it's Trump's DOJ after the ham.

Over the last week, a series of giddy headlines celebrating federal prosecutors' failures to secure grand jury indictments in Washington, D.C., as the Trump administration takes control of local policing.

The Atlantic, quote, Trump's crime crackdown isn't holding up in court.

Reuters, quote, U.S.

prosecutors fail three times to secure indictment in FBI assault case.

CBS, quote, D.C.

grand jurors reject latest wave of Justice Department indictment requests.

In recent weeks, prosecutors have failed to get indictments at least seven times across five cases.

A grand jury even declining to indict the now-fired DOJ employee who threw a submarine sandwich at a CBP officer, which we all saw happen on video.

Such failures are exceedingly rare.

Federal grand juries almost always hand prosecutors the indictments they seek.

We spoke to attorney and founder of the Article III project, Mike Davis, about what's going on with the DC grand jury pool.

I mean, it's extremely rare for grand jury proceedings to fail in normal jurisdictions, but we're dealing with the District of Columbia that voted 95% against President Trump, the District of Columbia that's full of criminals and bureaucrats and

people who hate Trump.

They have Trump derangement syndrome.

And so they would rather let their city go to hell, our nation's capital, go to hell, than be seen as supporting President Trump's law enforcement crackdown that's making D.C.

safe for all Americans, particularly for black D.C.

residents in Southeast and Northeast, for example, who are the victims of this crime.

U.S.

District Attorney for D.C.

Janine Pirro instructing prosecutors to seek the maximum penalties where allowed to clean up the streets and to deter future criminals.

Critics calling these failed indictments the result of the justice system going too far.

A silent protest by D.C.

residents, opposed to what some see as federal overreach.

Davis noting the DC jury pool had no problem indicting more than 1,500 people in connection to January 6th.

Even those who simply walked into the Capitol, took a look around, and then peacefully left were slapped with felony charges so overreaching, the U.S.

Supreme Court eventually intervened to rein them in.

The Biden Justice Department politicized contortates a post-Enron obstruction of justice statute dealing with corporate fraud to go after their political enemies after January 6th.

They persecuted Trump supporters.

They threw them in jail for with pretrial detention before their trials.

They threw the book at these people.

They ruined people's lives.

They bankrupted them, corrupted them.

People lost their families.

They lost their freedom.

They lost their jobs.

They lost everything after January 6th.

Well, how the Biden Justice Department and these DC judges persecuted these people is unacceptable.

And they gave amnesty to the much more deadly and destructive BLM and Antifa writers, right?

And so it's very clear that our system in D.C.

is so politicized.

If you trespass into the Capitol and take selfies, you go to prison for a long time after January 6th.

But if you assault a federal law enforcement officer, you don't even get charged.

In order for the feds to bring criminal charges, a grand jury must agree there is enough evidence to move forward.

If prosecutors cannot secure an indictment, options are limited, though forcing a defendant to navigate the legal system can be some form of punishment, Davis says.

You have to indict criminals in the district where the crime occurred, unless the defendant waives that.

That's part of our constitution.

And so it makes it very difficult when the grand jury is not indicting criminals.

You can still bring misdemeanors against these people who are attacking officers.

If the grand jury doesn't want to return felony indictments, then charge these criminals with misdemeanors and make them go through the process.

And I always say that even if at the end of the day, these deranged juries are going to not vote to find these criminals guilty, make these criminals still go through the process.

Make the process the punishment.

Team Trump is trying to make the nation's capital safe and secure.

The DC mayor, wary of looking soft on crime, just issued an executive order that will pave the way for federal troops to remain there through at least December, leading to praise from the White House and to critics calling her misguided.

On Tuesday, D.C.'s Attorney General Brian Schwab breaking with the mayor, suing the Trump administration in federal court, challenging the deployment of National Guard troops.

Schwab releasing a statement, quote, No American city should have the U.S.

military, particularly out-of-state military, who are not accountable to the residents and untrained in local law enforcement, policing its streets.

We filed this action to put an end to this illegal federal overreach.

Of course, the D.C.

Police Union has already said they welcome the National Guard and their help.

According to Davis, the D.C.

Attorney General is unlikely to succeed.

The D.C.

Attorney General is suing President Trump because President Trump is deploying the National Guard to help assist with crime in D.C.

That is the President's absolute statutory and constitutional power and duty to protect our nation's capital When the corrupt local Democrat politicians refuse to do their job and they allow crime to overtake our nation's capital, of course, the president, who is the head of the D.C.

National Guard, can use the National Guard to assist law enforcement in putting down crime.

And I imagine that some local Democrat activist judge on the D.C.

bench will rule against Trump and it will have to get appealed, maybe all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States.

And the Supreme Court's going to side with with President Trump on the use of the National Guard in D.C.

I have no doubt about that.

Mr.

Trump posted on Truth Social this week that carjacking in D.C.

is down 87%

and that all other categories of crime are down, quote, massively.

A poll from late August, two weeks ago, shows just 20% of D.C.

residents favored the National Guard troops in D.C.

One released yesterday, a national poll from The Economist/slash YouGov, showed nationwide it's a closer call.

49% of Americans oppose the troops in DC, 42% support the effort.

Coming up, strange bedfellows on Capitol Hill, AOC teaming up with some of the most MAGA-friendly Republicans on an issue we can all get behind.

And the second space race is officially underway.

Does the U.S.

have what it takes to win?

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A rare crossover event on Capitol Hill.

Fiscal hawks and MAGA stalwarts joining forces with socialist Democrats and progressive liberals to push a congressional stock trading ban.

Among the bipartisan bunch, from the GOP, Chip Roy of Texas, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Tim Burchett of Tennessee.

Democrats include AOC and Pramila Jayapal, among others, on Wednesday introducing the Restore Trust in Congress Act.

Congressman Burchett, often a fierce critic of his socialist counterparts, on the unlikely alliance.

And I'm proud of all these people up here.

I don't agree with them.

Some of these people own anything.

If they told me, if Cortez told me the sun was coming up tomorrow, I'd probably, I'd go out and...

I'd go out and check it out.

The legislation seeks to ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent dependent children from owning, buying, or trading individual stocks and other assets while in office.

Lawmakers would be required to sell stocks, options, futures, and commodities shortly after being sworn in.

Uh-oh, what will newly investment-rich Ilan Omar and her recently a millionaire investor husband do?

And what about Nancy Pelosi, who raked in between $7.8 million and $42.5 million in 2024 alone, meaning her net worth with venture capitalist husband Paul could top $413 million this year, a $43 million jump from the year before, per the Boston Herald, thanks to very timely trades done in Paul Pelosi's name.

For example, the Pelosis dumped 5,000 shares of Microsoft worth over $2 million last July, just months before the government announced an antitrust investigation against Microsoft.

Gee, Gee, what a call.

Pelosi denies any wrongdoing.

According to CNBC, the penalty for violating the proposed ban would be a 10% fee equal to the value of the investment and forfeiture of the profits.

Lawmakers have been working for months to combine various proposals into one piece of legislation, aiming to pressure leadership to advance the bill to a vote.

Democratic Congresswoman Jayapal on the strategy.

We know that sometimes what happens in this place is if there are multiple bills on a subject, leadership that may not want us to move forward says, we've got too many bills, we can't decide.

So we did the work of negotiating with each other.

We brought in experts to make sure, including experts that manage money and know what the loopholes are that we needed to make sure were fixed.

And I think we are doing the simplest thing that we can do in many ways.

It is the simplest thing that the American people want, which is to know that their member of Congress represents them and not their own pocketbooks.

Under the current law passed in 2012, lawmakers are prohibited from using private information learned in their official capacity for personal benefit in the stock market.

Members of Congress must also regularly submit financial disclosure forms.

Despite this, many members of Congress across the political spectrum have magically seen their net worths skyrocket after arriving in Washington.

It doesn't seem like the system is working so well.

The issue enjoys broad public support.

A 2023 poll from the University of Maryland finding 88% of Dems, 87% of Republicans, and 81% of Independents in favor of a ban.

Both President Trump and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have previously expressed support for a stock trading ban.

House Speaker Mike Johnson with a more reserved reaction.

See, there's a couple of different ideas on the table, and we have to build consensus on that because you've got to do do it responsibly.

So some of the ideas that have put forward, I'm not in love with the details of, but I mean, it's generally a policy I've always favored, but we have lots of different opinions on that in the conference and in Congress, so we've got to work through it.

So that's the intention.

Congresswoman Luna telling reporters she is prepared to circumvent congressional leadership if necessary to bring the bill to a vote.

I sometimes feel like an adjudicator in this job, so I guess I'll be the one to say that we've asked nicely for leadership to put this on the floor.

If they don't, don't, I'm saying the timeline is end of month.

There is a discharge petition prepared and ready to go.

I think it's very clear where the White House stands on this.

I don't speak for the White House, but the President has stated that he supports banning this because it is corrupt.

Frankly, the fact that members are getting what, plus 600% returns on their investments is wrong.

But more importantly, how could you ever be expected to represent your constituents when you're clearly worried about your pocketbook?

And so that's why we're here today.

If the House measure advances, it would still need 60 votes in the Senate, meaning bipartisan support is essential.

Let's see how they vote on this one.

The second space race is officially underway, this time against China, to see who will reach the moon for the first time since the 1970s, with far more at stake than bragging rights.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying Tuesday on Fox News that the administration's goal is to put astronauts back on the moon in 2027, following a mission in April 2026 that will send a crew to at least orbit the lunar orb.

That is going to be a mission, a four-man crew that's going to go out and around the moon.

Artemis 3 is going to be when we land back on the moon, we're going to stay for a longer period of time,

anywhere from eight to 12 days on the moon.

The longest time in the past was three days.

And again, we're going to start sending payloads to the moon to start building our base camp.

And then from there,

again, we want to get in the early 30s to Mars.

And this is critical.

What we learned on the space station, what we learned on the mission to the moon, is going to be critical to make sure we can sustain life.

It's an eight-plus-month mission

to Mars.

And then you got to stay there, and then you got to come back.

However, China has a head start.

In the last five years, the Chinese making great strides in space, becoming the first country to land a rover on the far side of the moon and return samples.

On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, chaired by Senator Ted Cruz, holding a hearing on how America can win the race race back to the moon.

The panel of expert witnesses warning China could seize the lead.

Former NASA head under Trump 1.0 Jim Bridenstine putting it bluntly: It is highly unlikely that we will land on the moon before China.

The message was clear.

If the U.S.

is serious about beating China, I mean, we already beat China, but I guess we're now racing for who can do it in the modern era.

Anyway, it's going to require more than lofty goals.

Here's Here's more from Bridenstine, retired Space Force officer John Shaw, and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, Alan Cutler.

Here's what we don't have today.

We don't have a landing system for the moon.

Such a grand strategy, which would unify and synergize our national efforts, does not currently exist.

The United States appears to trail China for the critical final leg in space to the moon's surface, the development of a lander.

We are significantly smaller as a percentage of the federal government than we were back in the Apollo era.

Both sides of the congressional aisle pushing the White House to maintain NASA's budget, even as the administration looks to cut spending across nearly every corner of government.

Senator Cruz successfully lobbying for $10 billion in additional funding for what they're calling the Artemis moon mission in the One Big Beautiful bill.

Former associate NASA Administrator Michael Gold says: whoever gets there first will have all of the momentum and the international support.

We've had tremendous success with the Artemis Accords.

56 countries have signed.

The Chinese only have 13 for their International Lunar Space Research Station program.

But if we're not first, trust me, those numbers will change.

And the fear, China will eventually outspend us in space, it's inevitable.

We must out-entrepreneur them.

The race is on.

And that'll do it for your AM update.

I'm Megan Kelly.

Join me back here for the Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at Moon East, on youtube.com/slash Megan Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.