FBI Raids Swalwell, Penn State Coke Ring Details, Jennings and Press Secretary Gig: AM Update 8/21

(upbeat music) - Good morning, everyone. I'm Emily Gershinsky, host of Afterparty and the Megan Kelly Wrapup Show on Series XM channel 111. It's Friday, August 21st, 2026, and this is your AM update. - Judges, they don't rubber stamp that. They look very carefully, especially in a high-profile case like this. - The FBI seizing former Congressman Erick's Wal-Bal's devices and searching his home as the investigation into multiple sexual assault allegations intensifies. - His son's an adult in college. - Who monitors their adult child's Venmo account? - New details revealing how social media helped investigators unravel the alleged Penn State fraternity cocaine ring. Conservative commentator Scott Jennings reportedly auditioning for a new role inside the Trump White House. And Bill Gates' daughter reportedly taking a secret Stanford class on how to rule the world before her startup was accused of gaming the system. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. - Our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, says Washington politicians are always getting in your wallet and that now they're messing with your credit card. They say your credit card and the security it offers are under attack and that senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall want to change the nation's payment system to benefit corporate megastores like Walmart and Target at the expense of everyday Americans. Credit cards can keep your payment secure and provide rewards that families use to help make everyday purchases more affordable. The Electronic Payments Coalition says the Durbin Marshall mandates would let corporate megastores cut corners on credit card processing, routing transactions over cheaper untested networks with weaker security and fewer protections. Find out more at guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. The FBI reportedly seizing an iPhone and MacBook from disgraced former Congressman Eric Swahwell at San Francisco International Airport Saturday night before agents searched his Washington DC home the following day. Sources telling Fox News the devices were taken as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. Swahwell was reportedly neither arrested nor detained. The raid's coming four months after the California Democrats political career imploded under the weight of multiple allegations of sexual assault and rape, at least five women, including one former staffer accusing Swahwell of sexual misconduct or rape. Swahwell resigning from Congress in April after 13 years in office, as lawmakers threatened to expel him. Around the same time, Swahwell also abandoning his campaign for California governor. Swahwell in a social media video at the time, acknowledging mistakes in judgment while adamantly denying he ever sexually assaulted anyone. These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have. They also come on the eve of an election where I have been the front one or candidate for governor in California. I do not suggest to you in any way that I'm perfect or that I'm a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position. I also apologize to you if in any way you have doubted your support from me. But I think you know who I am. For over 20 years, I have served the public. As a city councilman, as a member of Congress, and as a prosecutor who went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims. That's who I am and have always been. Swahwell reportedly facing separate investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and state authorities in Los Angeles. The federal involvement, however, raising a major legal question. Sex crimes are generally handled by state or local prosecutors. And simply accusing one person of assaults in multiple states does not automatically create a federal case. The New York Times reporting federal agents appear to be examining Swahwell's alleged conduct through civil rights statutes, though the precise federal theory remains unclear. CNN senior legal analyst, Ellie Honeg, explaining what may have brought the FBI into the case and what the two reported search warrants tell us. - So sexual assault on its own is always going to be a state crime, but on its own, it's not a federal crime. You need some federal hook. And the fact that a person or the allegation that a person may have committed in multiple sexual assaults in multiple states, that still is not going to give you federal jurisdiction. That's just gonna mean you might have multiple state-level charges. And so you have to ask what could have been the federal jurisdictional hook here. It could be, we don't know, but if some of this conduct happened on federal property or in a federal building, that would then give you federal jurisdiction. And the thing we know for sure is prosecutors are able to commit, I sound like two judges, if we have two warrants, that there's probable cause A, that a federal crime was committed, and B, that they will find evidence of that crime in the phones and the locations to be searched. And I'll tell you having gone through that process of bringing that paperwork to judges, they don't rubber stamp that. They look very carefully, especially in a high profile case like this. Court documents showing the investigation is being handled by the US Attorney's Office in San Francisco and the FBI's San Francisco Field Office according to the Times. The FBI and Swalwell have not publicly commented on the searches. New details revealing how the investigation into an alleged cocaine trafficking ring, operating through two pen state fraternities reportedly began on Snapchat. For one suspects arrest, the allegedly helped authorities unravel a much larger operation. 14 people charged in the case earlier this week, including 13 current or former pen state students, and the father of one alleged ring leader. NBC News reporting police received a tip in September 2024 that a man known as T-Rob was allegedly selling large amounts of cocaine from pen states Delta Opsilon House. The informant allegedly telling investigators the dealer was accepting payments through a Venmo account under the name Tom Robinson. Detectives reportedly connecting that account to fraternity member Thomas Robinson, then directing an informant to contact him on Snapchat and arrange a controlled purchase. NBC reporting confidential sources completing several additional cocaine buys from Robinson over the next few months. Police eventually raiding his fraternity room in December 2024, finding Robinson on his bed. Robinson allegedly resisting arrest and threatening the officers, forcing them to use a taser. He later reportedly told police, he thought his fraternity brothers were playing a prank on him. Officers allegedly recovering cocaine, marijuana, more than 200 amphetamine pills, and a loaded 45 caliber handgun from the room, according to NBC News. Robinson facing a series of drug-related charges, court records reportedly not indicating whether he has entered a plea. Investigators saying Robinson then cooperated, allegedly identifying Sigma Chi member Augustino Abatielo as his primary cocaine supplier and providing information that helped authorities expose the wider network. Robinson reportedly describing transactions that grew from several ounces to full kilograms, including one alleged 500 gram purchase for $18,000, and later kilogram purchases for $22,000 each, according to NBC News. Court documents also showing how members of the alleged operation reportedly used everyday apps to conduct business. Box News reporting Robinson and other defendants allegedly arranging cocaine purchases and deliveries through Snapchat. Another alleged associate reportedly sending Abatielo roughly $30,000 through the cash app while distributing cocaine on his behalf. The investigation also reportedly expanding to what happened with evidence connected to Thomas Robinson following his arrest. Prosecutors accusing his father, Pittsburgh attorney Paul Robinson, of tampering with evidence in hindering his son's apprehension, allegedly concealing a safe containing drugs and cash. Paul Robinson's attorney, Michael Deriso, insisting to CBS Pittsburgh yesterday, his client had no idea what his son was allegedly involved in. - You think that he had any inkling about any of us? - No, there's not a chance Paul Robinson would have involved himself in this massive drug ring stemming from New York. There's no chance that if Paul Robinson knew that his son or anybody his son was associated with, was this deep and something, this large, that Paul would not have put an end to it. - So in terms of a Venmo and having this money come in, I mean, I don't know what type of lifestyle his son - Well that wasn't Paul Robinson's Venmo. - No, I know, this is a total shock to-- - His son's an adult in college. - I have college kids, they have their own Venmo accounts. - I don't monitor them, who monitors, and their adult child's Venmo account. - About T yellow, Thomas Robinson, and several other defendants set for preliminary hearings September 2nd. Coming up, conservative commentator Scott Jennings reportedly trying to make his move to become the next face of the Trump White House. And Bill Gates' daughter allegedly taking a secret Stanford class, and how to rule the world. 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And how you can diversify your savings, even an IRA or a 401k in whole or in part, with gold. Birch Gold, a great option to consider. Text MK to the number 989898 to learn more. Conservative commentator Scott Jennings reportedly angling to become President Trump's next White House press secretary. Political playbook reporting Jennings has been making a public and private push for the job, as the White House searches for a successor to Caroline Levitt. Levitt announcing last week she will step down at the end of August, ending her historic run as the youngest White House press secretary. Political reporting Jennings is using the backlash against Democrat Senator John Assoff of Georgia's attack on presidential aid Natalie Harp to audition for the job. Senator Assoff on Sunday accusing the President of neglecting his responsibilities during the war with the run before claiming Mr. Trump would rather build his ballroom and "travel with Natalie." The remark widely interpreted by Republicans as an insinuation about the president's relationship with Harp, a 35-year-old cancer survivor and longtime Trump aid, who accompanied him aboard a military aircraft during last month's secret plane switch in Turkey. Jennings mounting a forceful defense of Harp, here an example from his radio show earlier this week. You are not to be believed and it is to be assumed that you're nothing more than a concubine for some male politician. That's what Democrat men think when they see a pretty girl in a government building according to John Assoff. The implication is that a professional woman couldn't possibly have earned her position of trust in the White House without sleeping her way to the top. And when asked to defend it, Assoff slinked away from it, no apology and no defense, like a sucker punching coward. Jennings' full court defense reportedly winning praise from Trump allies, while also attracting attention inside the West Wing. Politico reporting Jennings personally sent clips of his commentary to several senior White House officials. He also reportedly requested and secured a private meeting with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles over the weekend. No offer reportedly being made and no decision reached yet. President Trump reportedly likes Jennings and has spent recent days calling prominent allies to ask what they think about putting him behind the White House podium according to Politico. Jennings telling Politico somebody needed to defend Harp's honor, while declining to say whether he wants the job. Jennings also keeping his cards close to the West last week on CNN, as his fellow panelists pressed him repeatedly for an answer on whether he would like the job. Just briefly Scott, who should replace Caroline Leavitt? Obviously she is stepping down. Are you throwing your hands at me? Yeah, well, first of all, you throwing your hat in the ring. Will you serve Scott? Answer the question. No, look, answer the question. I don't know, but I'll tell you this. Caroline Leavitt has been maybe the greatest White House press secretary in the last 30 years, at least. She's been nothing short of brilliant. Do you want the job or not? Let me help Scott. Democrats are afraid of Scott Jennings becoming president. Now you got the job. Bill Gates's daughter, Phoebe Gates, once belonging to a secret invitation-only Stanford class called, "So you think you can rule the world," according to The New York Post. The revelation surfacing as Gates' shopping startup faces allegations, it found a questionable way to inflate its online commissions. Gates and her Stanford friends, Sophia Keone, launching FIA in 2025. The company offering an app and browser extension that helps shoppers compare prices, find discounts, and locate secondhand alternatives. FIA works with thousands of retailers through affiliate programs. When the company directs a shopper to a retailer, and that shopper makes a purchase, FIA collects a commission. A Bloomberg investigation finding the extension was allegedly placing its own tracking cookies, even when shoppers did not use FIA to find a deal. That reportedly allowing the company to take credit for purchases, it did not generate, and in some cases potentially taking that credit away from whoever actually referred the customer. Bloomberg reporting the disputed practice accounted for roughly 51% of the merchandise value, FIA claimed to have generated in June. After FIA disabled the features in July, its average daily revenue reportedly falling from roughly $80,000 to between $10,000 and $28,000. The company disputing Bloomberg's analysis, saying the decline also reflected its decision to temporarily shut down most of its other revenue generating features. The controversy, however, putting a new spotlight on what students were reportedly learning inside that secretive program. The unofficial 10-week class having no enrollment code, and accepting just 12 students at a time, six men, and six women. Admission requiring a referral from a former student and in intense interview with the class's founder, who personally selects the final group. Students meeting weekly to debate money, power, and what the Stanford Daily describes as quote, "the underlying incentive structures and frameworks that govern how the world works." One former student claiming the class teaches participants how to hack power structures and get what they want. Another describing its entrepreneurial philosophy as focused on finding vulnerabilities and loopholes, with allegedly less concern about the ethics involved. Gates reportedly maintaining ties to the group after graduation, and recruiting FIA employees through its exclusive network. Gates and the class's founder, not responding to the Post's requests for a comment. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Doshinsky, host of Afterparty. Go and check out more at AfterpartyEmily.com. Catch the Megan Kelly Show later today. Live on Series XM's, the Megan Kelly Channel 111 at Noon East on YouTube.com/MeganKelly, and all podcast platforms.