EPISODE 176: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:42) SPECIAL COMMENT: As he sentenced the 1/6 defendant, the Federal Judge spoke clearly and on the record: "There are still people who believe the election was rigged. There are still people who support Donald Trump, though not many showed up at the court in Manhattan. We'll see what happens here at THIS COURT WHEN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES IN A FEW MONTHS, I SUSPECT."

What the...heck?

Was Judge Paul L. Friedman ruminating? Surmising? Telling us things maybe he knows that we don't? His comments were a warning that we are now in a time when January 6 Trumpian violence could easily be repeated with an eye towards 2024. Whatever they meant, they are the most intriguing yet made about Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation of Trump.

Also Stephen Miller testified to Smith's Grand Jury again (even though it was daytime), and Alvin Bragg clapped back at Jim Jordan and Trump's other henchmen by suing to quash their subpoena for his records and his testimony. 

And maybe best of all, Trump told a credulous Tucker Carlson that as he was being arrested and processed last week "They signed me in and I'll tell you people were crying. People that work there. Professionally work there, that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody. It's a tough, tough place and they were crying. They were actually crying. They said 'I'm sorry.'"

Well, look, it's POSSIBLE. I mean if you or I had to listen to him in person, we'd probably burst into tears as well.

B-Block (14:30) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Justin Jones and Justin Pearson may have done more than they know: the governor moves to tighten gun background checks. Defund Clarence Thomas! The Fox-Dominion trial begins. How to use Trump to sink all GOP candidates. And the speech I once gave outdoors - and literally heard crickets. (20:32) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The Fox contributors who think Dan Bongino should be FBI Director and the 2020 Election was rigged but Biden won anyway. The Wisconsin congressman who says his Wisconsin people think New York is too dangerous even though apparently Milwaukee is three times as dangerous as NYC. And the winner: on 3/8 Texas State Rep Bryan Slaton introduced a bill banning Drag Shows because they were "grooming events" for "the sexualization of our children." On 3/31, per a new reported complaint to the Legislature, he allegedly invited a female intern to his home and gave her alcohol even though she wasn't old enough to legally drink. OOPS.

C-Block (27:04) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: Sammy, dumped by his family in December, is on the kill list tomorrow (28:10) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: I basically have done no drinking since July 25, 1982, because that was the day I had as many as 40 beers in ONE DAY and still showed up on the air at radio at 5:30 the following morning and at CNN at 9:30. Do not try this at home, or anywhere else. It's called "Functional Alcoholism."