The episode features Senator Eric Schmitt from Missouri, who previously served as the state's attorney general and brought the landmark Biden v. Missouri case against government censorship. Schmitt is joined by hosts Jason Calacanis and David Sacks, who serves as the AI and crypto czar in the Trump administration.

Schmitt discusses his new book The Last Line of Defense, which chronicles his work exposing the vast censorship enterprise during COVID-19 and the 2020 election period, including depositions of Anthony Fauci, FBI agents, and CDC officials.

The conversation covers the mechanics of government-big tech collusion, the Hunter Biden laptop suppression, Section 230 reform, and the proper boundaries between national security concerns and First Amendment protections.

The discussion shifts to foreign policy, examining the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO spending obligations, and President Trump's diplomatic efforts, with debate over the legitimacy of Russian interference claims and the path forward for Ukraine negotiations.

Biden v. Missouri: Uncovering the Censorship Machine

Schmitt filed Biden v. Missouri lawsuit in May 2022 against the Biden administration and multiple agencies working to censor American speech, strategically seeking discovery before injunctive relief to gather evidence first.

Discovery revealed "tens of thousands of documents, emails, text messages" showing special portals existed for government officials to work with big tech to silence Americans, with agencies like FBI, CISA, and CDC all participating.

"Rob Flaherty who is the deputy communications director of the White House cussing these guys out saying you need to know that from the highest levels of the White House we see this you're not doing enough" - Schmitt describing coercion tactics.

The case included depositions of Anthony Fauci (only his second deposition ever taken), Elvis Chan (FBI agent who pre-bunked Hunter Biden laptop), and CDC officials who flagged specific words and phrases for censorship.

"If we didn't file that lawsuit and seek discovery and if the richest guy on the planet doesn't choose to buy Twitter and expose all of that, people would still be claiming that this was some conspiracy theory" - Schmitt on the importance of the case.

Hunter Biden Laptop Suppression Operation

FBI had Hunter Biden's laptop in November 2019 and knew it was authentic, yet Elvis Chan ran weekly meetings with big tech companies warning them to expect Russian disinformation about Hunter Biden.

"Yoel Roth, who was like the integrity guy at Twitter, signs an affidavit with the FEC after complaint was filed against Twitter, noting specifically that the FBI was telling them that this could be a Hunter Biden" leak operation - Schmitt.

Social networks participated in "tabletop exercise" at Aspen Institute where they ran scenario of Russians doing "oppo dump on Hunter Biden" two weeks before election, planning censorship response.

James Baker, former FBI general counsel during Russia-gate, became Twitter's general counsel and advocated internally to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story despite knowing from FBI experience the laptop was authentic.

"The idea that something that the FBI knew to be true wasn't out there for the American people to sort of weigh in on 10 days before an election is kind of Orwellian" - Schmitt.

Section 230 Reform and Platform Accountability

Section 230 protection from the 1990s gives platforms immunity from being sued as publishers, which Schmitt calls "a huge advantage" and "multi-billion dollar subsidy" that should require content neutrality.

"If you are a true platform as somebody that believes in free speech it's a very important thing" but platforms were "becoming publishers" by "throttling things they didn't like" and "taking down opinions they didn't support" - Schmitt.

Elon Musk discovered at 2 AM that "all the conspiracy theories are true" - Twitter had literal checkboxes in admin tools to throttle accounts, exclude them from search, and shadowban users.

Government coercion included threats of losing Section 230 protections, criminal liability warnings from Biden, and simultaneous pressure from Lina Khan's FTC blocking acquisitions at Facebook and Twitter.

Schmitt proposes that algorithms making editorial decisions to exclude viewpoints should disqualify platforms from Section 230 protection, emphasizing content neutrality as the standard.

Hamilton 68 and Russian Disinformation Hoax

Hamilton 68 dashboard, created by former FBI official Clint Watts, claimed to track 600 Russian disinformation accounts and became the source for "thousands of MSNBC stories, thousands of CNN reports" - Sacks.

Twitter's Yoel Roth found Hamilton 68's API showed "just regular accounts" and called it "basically all bullshit" - the supposed Russian accounts were random mix of conservatives and Canadians.

"Anytime they needed to oppose conservative opinion on an issue, they would just supposedly point to this Hamilton 68 dashboard" which "all ended up being nonsense" - Sacks on the manufactured threat.

Steel Dossier was similarly exposed as hoax, yet both became basis for years of stories claiming Russian interference in elections and poisoning US-Russia relations.

"When I hear the words Russian disinformation, what I hear now is red scare" - Sacks on how the tactic was used to censor inconvenient speech by labeling it foreign interference.

Russia-Gate Accountability and Ongoing Investigation

"Hillary Clinton was the preferred candidate. They had the goods on her. They had her medical records, all this stuff" according to documents released by Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence - Schmitt.

Most likely criminal charge would be "conspiracy to defraud the United States" against Comey, Clapper, and Brennan for "manipulating these falsehoods into actionable intelligence" against President Trump - Schmitt.

Barack Obama likely has presidential immunity for official acts, but not for actions taken out of office, with ongoing conspiracy potentially extending statute of limitations.

Brennan received intelligence assessment from CIA analysts saying Russia-gate claims were bogus, yet pushed to include Steel Dossier in official intelligence report because it had "ring of truth to it" - Sacks citing Tulsi documents.

"This was effectively a coup against the president of the United States because these were executive branch officials who owe a duty of loyalty to the elected president" working to subvert him with manufactured material - Sacks.

Ukraine War Realism and Negotiation Strategy

Gallup survey shows Ukrainian support for war collapsed from 60-70% a year ago to just 24%, with vast majority now wanting "resolution to the conflict, even if it means making concessions."

"Russia has five times the people, three times the amunitions. They have an industrial base" making this "a meat grinder, a war of attrition, what Russia does for centuries" - Schmitt.

European NATO allies "talk about Putin being this existential threat. Well, they sure don't act like it. They don't spend like it" - if they matched US defense spending, would free up $300 billion for Indo-Pacific focus - Schmitt.

"The idea that we're going to be voting on more aid, taxpayer aid to Ukraine for a war that doesn't seem to look like it's ever going to end and is a blank check is just unacceptable" - Schmitt on Senate position.

Schmitt argues Putin threat is "threat inflation" - "He can't get to Kiev" yet critics claim "he's Hitler, about ready to march through Europe" with both claims unable to be simultaneously true.

Trump enforced loan-lease structure that Biden set up, meaning US is "getting all that money back" rather than spending hundreds of billions as grants - Calacanis noting changed terms.