Bessent Slams NYT, DHS Crackdown in New Orleans, Doc Sentenced in Matthew Perry Case: AM Update 12/4

Tackle the cost of living crisis or get the hell out of the way. I'm Tom Steyer.
I wanted to build a business here. Now it's worth billions of dollars.

And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California. We need to get back to basics.

Homes you can afford, cut utility rates by 25%, and make California a top 10 education state again. Sacramento politicians are afraid to change up this system.
I'm not.

I'm Tom Steyer, and I'm running for governor. Ad paid for by Steyer for Governor 2026.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of Afterparty and the Megan Kelly wrap-up show on SiriusXM Channel 111.
It's Thursday, December 4th, 2025, and this is your AM update.

The New York Times is no longer the paper of record. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant rips into the New York Times at a summit hosted by the New York Times.

Democrats on the Oversight Committee released never-before-seen photos of Jeffrey Epstein's island. We're going to take these dangerous criminals off the streets of Louisiana.

DHS arrives for an immigration crackdown in New Orleans with the governor's blessing and the first of five defendants sentenced in connection with actor Matthew Perry's overdose death.

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

Ever read the label on a typical bag of chips? It's often a science experiment of seed oils, MSG, artificial dyes, and mystery ingredients.

Masa is part of the growing movement to bring back real food. Masa chips contain just three ingredients, organic corn, sea salt, and 100% grass-fed beef tallow.

Not only do these chips avoid the bad stuff, they also taste delicious too. Snacking on masa chips is nothing like eating regular chips.

With masa, you feel satisfied, light, and energetic with no crash and no bloat. And if you love Masa, then you will love Vandy Crisps.

Vandi, which is Masa's sister company, makes the most delicious three-ingredient potato chips too. Ready to give Masa or Vandy a try?

Use code MK for 25% off your first order at masachips.com or vandycrisps.com or simply click the link in the video description or scan the QR code to claim this delicious offer.

Don't feel like ordering online? Masa and Vandy are now available nationwide at your local Sprouts supermarket. Stop by and pick a couple of bags up before they're all gone.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant sitting down with the New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times Deal Books Summit for a wide-ranging conversation yesterday.

The typically calm and measured secretary at times getting heated with the journalist, challenging him on several issues.

In one particularly fiery moment, Secretary Besant slamming the New York Times for a recent report headlined, quote, shorter days, signs of fatigue. Trump faces realities of aging in office.

The Times analyzing the president's schedule finding, quote, Mr.

Trump has fewer public events on his schedule and is traveling domestically much less than he did by this point during his first year in office in 2017, although he is taking more foreign trips.

He also keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to. Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m.
on average.

Where was this intrepid reporting when President Biden would go days without any appearances or spent long weekends napping on a beach in Delaware? Secretary Bessant yesterday.

The New York Times is no longer the paper of record. I read this article, like President Trump is slowing down.
It is 100% fake that

he only called me twice at 2 in the morning last week. instead of three times.
You're saying he called you? I believe that he called you at 2 or 3 in the morning.

That whole narrative, you had what was one of the greatest scandals of all time, that the coverage of the Biden administration, Joe Biden's diminished capacity, and the cover-up.

And that's why it's probably fair to raise these questions. Where was the New York Times? We just had a three-hour cabinet meeting yesterday, Andrew.

For 10 months, the Biden administration did not have a cabinet meeting. How are you going to invoke the 25th Amendment if the cabinet secretaries never see the president, which they didn't.

That, you know, I hear from people in the Treasury building that I see President Trump more in a day than my predecessor saw Joe Biden in half a year.

Sork impressing Besson on recent reporting that President Trump pushed for Paramount to green light buddy comedy Rush Hour 4 as it attempts to buy Warner Bros.

in a deal that would ultimately require regulatory approval.

Brett Ratner, who directed a forthcoming documentary about Melania Trump, set to debut on Amazon Prime Video, is the director of the Rush Hour movies. Besides been flipping the script on Sorkin.

And people look at this and think that this is an example of that the president is trying to push him and they are trying to placate the president. What do you think of that? Not much.

That a transaction of that size would be.

But do you think it's appropriate for the president to be asking them to do something like that?

I don't know. Is the

Obama's contract with Netflix appropriate?

My understanding is that came after he was the President of the United States.

Okay, so for the first son to have a contract with

a Ukraine energy

Well, and Don Jr. has a relationship, I don't know where Shane is, at Polymarket and with Calci.

I mean, I'm curious how you think about these things.

These things are very complicated, and I think if you want to start pulling at every thread, thread, then let's start pulling at every thread of where Chuck Schumer's children work.

Let's start pulling at every thread where every one of his former staffers work.

Secretary Besson also elaborating more on the administration's vision for the Trump Accounts Program to kickstart savings and economic participation for children.

Earlier this week, the Dell family making a historic first contribution, announcing plans to deposit $250 directly into the investment accounts of millions of of American kids.

10% of Americans own 88% of the equities, and then the balance, if you go down to 50%, the other 12%, and that's mostly through 401ks.

What we're seeing now, we've seen this asset appreciation.

In America, you either have assets or you don't. And I think that this is an opportunity for the American people, for everyone, to have a stake in the system.

When you see that people have a stake in the system, they don't want to bring the system down. I believe that we are going to see this incredible outpouring into these accounts.

And we now have the greatest fortunes in the history of America.

And this is the chance that because this had been talked about for a long time, and President Trump insisted on it being included in the one big, beautiful bill, that this is the opportunity for philanthropists, for foundations, and for corporates to contribute to all the American children.

The Trump Accounts Program is set to activate in July.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday releasing a set of pictures and videos taken of Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island.

This release offering a rare look inside the twisted world of the disgraced financier. The Oversight Committee obtaining the images from the U.S.

Virgin Islands DOJ as part of its investigation into the handling of the Epstein case. The images of Little St.
James, one of two private islands Epstein owned in the Caribbean, taken in 2020 by U.S.

Virgin Island authorities. Most of the images are unremarkable.
Several videos show off the large grounds, a pool with multiple cabanas, a no-trespassing sign.

One image showing a large library type room with a blackboard. scribbled on in chalk with the words including power, plots, deception, and political.

The creepiest photo showing what appears to be a dentist's chair in a room with 10 masks depicting various male faces hanging on the walls, with two more masks laying side by side on a countertop.

The images are available on megankelly.com. The files released to the committee in response to a November letter from the U.S.

Virgin Islands Attorney General requesting, quote, all documents and communications related to the federal or local investigations into Epstein or co-conspirator Ghelain Maxwell.

Ranking member of the committee Robert Garcia issuing a statement, quote, we are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein's horrific crimes.

A Republican spokesperson for the committee telling Axios, it's odd that Democrats are once again releasing selective information as they have done before.

The last time Democrats cherry-picked and doctored documents, their attempt to construct yet another hoax against President Trump completely collapsed.

These images, coming as a bipartisan group of five lawmakers, yesterday, request a briefing from Attorney General Pam Bondi on the status of the DOJ's effort to release the Epstein files.

President Trump signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19th, setting a 30-day deadline for the public release of all unclassified records, documents, materials, et cetera, in the DOJ and FBI's possession regarding Epstein and those who had ties to him.

Coming up, DHS agents flocked to New Orleans, the latest city in the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown, and a doctor sentenced in connection with friends actor Matthew Perry's death.

When customers are walking through the aisles of their local Walmart, they are not just picking up groceries or supplies, they are supporting American businesses and their communities.

The real story is what's behind the label. With over two-thirds of the products Walmart buys made, grown, or assembled right here in the U.S., buying local is not just stocking shelves.

It's about strengthening communities. Because of that commitment, Walmart invested $350 billion in U.S.

manufacturing, helping American companies like Fisher and Weezer Specialty Foods, that's a local Texas business, expand their operations in Fredericksburg, Texas.

to hire more people and bring their Texas-grown peach jam to a national market. Their story is just one example of how Walmart's U.S.
manufacturing investment is supporting over 750,000 American jobs.

Businesses across the country are empowered to sell more, hire more, and help their communities grow. From farms to factories to final shopping carts, learn how Walmart is fueling the future of U.S.

manufacturing at walmart.com/slash America at work.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security officially launched its latest immigration crackdown. This one one in New Orleans dubbed Operation Catahoula Crunch.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin yesterday on CNN describing the nature of the mission.

We're first and foremost really focusing on those worst of the worst criminals, those criminals who have previously been locked up by local authorities, but then because New Orleans functions as a sanctuary city, those individuals were not released to ICE.

They were instead released back onto New Orleans streets.

So we're talking about child pedophiles who are on our list of targets, burglars, gang members, rapists, those individuals we are highly targeting, and we will continue whether it be 5,000 arrests or beyond.

In advance of federal agents swooping into the Big Easy, DHS putting out a list highlighting a few examples of the types of offenders previously released back onto the streets by local officials in Louisiana.

The list, including Juan Ramon Dubon Argueta, arrested for aggravated assault child endangerment, Kisi Ani Ahmad Al-Bassani, arrested for sexual battery, and Andres Lopez Castillejos, previously deported, four times arrested for domestic abuse child endangerment.

New Orleans residents anticipating the launch of an operation in their community. Some businesses closing, others posting anti-ICE signs.

As in many other cities, local activists rallying against the enforcement effort, passing out whistles to alert others to the presence of ICE officials operating in the area.

Mayor-elect Elena Moreno, a Democrat on CNN, accusing the feds of racial profiling. What they're seeing on TV and reports that they're seeing is not that Border Patrol is going after

the most violent criminals. You know, it's not, that's not what they're seeing.

What they're seeing is what appears to be racial profiling of brown people and then going after these individuals and treating them like they are these significantly violent offenders.

On the flip side, Republican Governor Jeff Landry, Monday on Fox, welcoming federal assistance. New Orleans is a crime-ridden city that we've been trying to keep people safe.

It's something that we've been working on since I became governor here in Louisiana.

What I don't understand is when fugitive apprehension teams around the country go in and take dangerous criminals off the street, we applaud them. We should be doing the same thing here.

Just because someone is committing crimes and is in the country illegally, they get a pass? That's what Democrats are saying. It's ridiculous.
I'm welcoming them to come in.

We're going to take these dangerous criminals off the streets in Louisiana. The governor in September requesting up to 1,000 National Guard troops in assistance.

President Trump saying on Tuesday, soldiers will soon be deployed. It is unclear how long the operation is expected to last.

A doctor who pleaded guilty to supplying friends actor Matthew Perry with ketamine weeks before his death, sentenced to 30 months in prison, plus two years of unsupervised release, a $5,600 fine, and a $400 special assessment.

Perry paid Dr. Salvador Placencia about $57,000 for the ketamine, which he sought out after doctors at a local ketamine therapy clinic refused to increase his dosage.

In the Los Angeles courtroom, the New York Times reporting Placencia saying, quote, there is no excuse, turning to Perry's family to say, quote, I'm just so sorry.

Perry overdosed on the drug in October 2023 at age 54. He was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his L.A.
home after a lifelong struggle with addiction.

The medical examiner ruling the cause of death, acute effects of ketamine.

Placencia, who ran an urgent care center in Southern California, pleading guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, a powerful powerful anesthetic.

Prosecutors say he repeatedly supplied Perry with the drug over several weeks. Placencia is one of five people charged in connection to Perry's death and the first to face sentencing.

According to the DOJ, once Placencia learned of Perry's interest in obtaining ketamine, he reached out to another doctor, Mark Chavez, who ran a ketamine clinic to obtain the drug.

Placencia, texting Chavez, who was also charged in connection to the death, stating, quote, I wonder how much this moron will pay. Let's find out.

Placensi and Chavez both gave up their medical licenses following their convictions. Chavez also set for sentencing this month.
He faces up to 10 years in prison.

That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party.

Catch the Megan Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's, the Megan Kelly Channel 111 at Noon East on youtube.com/slash MeganKelly and all podcast platforms.

Tackle the cost of living crisis or get the hell out of the way. I'm Tom Steyer.
I wanted to build a business here. Now it's worth billions of dollars.

And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California. We need to get back to basics.

Homes you can afford, cut utility rates by 25%, and make California a top 10 education state again. Sacramento politicians are afraid to change up this system.
I'm not.

I'm Tom Steyer, and I'm running for governor. Ad paid for by Steyer for Governor 2026.