Episode 5307: Ending Ticketmasters Reign; Populist Revolt In Virginia
Attorney General Ken Paxton details Texas's historic victory against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, securing a monopoly judgment after 45 years and advocating for corporate breakup to restore fair pricing. The discussion shifts to Paxton's campaign against John Cornyn, alleging self-enrichment over Texas interests, and Mark Lynch's challenge to Lindsey Graham, who faces a runoff amid accusations of funding enemies like Hamas. Finally, Delois Stallman describes Virginia's grassroots revolt against progressive redistricting, framing the upcoming "no" vote as essential to saving the presidency from impeachment efforts by Hakeem Jeffries. [Automatically generated summary]
It's Thursday, 16 April in the year of our Lord, 2026.
Thank you for joining us for the late afternoon, early evening edition of the War Room.
We have Attorney General of the Great State of Texas, Ken Paxton, by phone.
Attorney General Paxton, thank you for joining us.
A couple things to go through on our punch list here.
Number one, You led a great victory yesterday about the concentration of corporate power.
First time in 45 years, I believe, a jury sat in judgment of a corporation that they said was an illegal monopoly.
Now, the reason this is so extraordinary is that the federal government opted out in the first couple of days of their trial, something that's been worked on for a long time.
In the states, you guys had to make a decision whether to punch and just go with the federal government's settlement, which no one was happy with, particularly the people, or step in.
And extraordinarily, you guys stepped in in the middle of a trial.
Picked it up and we were victorious.
Walk us through that, sir.
Why, number one, why did you go after Live Nation and Ticketmaster?
Number two, how in the hell did you ever think that you guys could step in the middle of a trial, take it over, and win, sir?
Do you think, you know, because what they're saying and what the corporate America is saying is that these types of deals are so complicated as they scale up that you can't just have average people, the common man and woman, go in and render judgment?
This is the first time it's happened in 45 years.
What's your response to the corporatist and people saying that this was unfair, really, because the jury will always side with the little guy because it's made up of little guys and it's too complex for them anyway?
They don't really understand.
What the real issues are in back of the business of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, sir.
Yeah, maybe they should talk to the founders about that.
And the founders put this system together.
It seems to have worked pretty well for almost 250 years.
And it sounds to me like a bunch of elitists who think they're smarter than the rest of us.
And clearly, the jury I mean, I feel like they analyzed it exactly right.
I mean, I think a lot of these AGs are not dumb people.
And this is exactly what they asked the jury to do.
And I don't think we should assume that the jury's.
Dumb because they made a decision that all of these state attorney generals wanted, and they made a decision that benefits competition for ticket prices for consumers.
Attorney General Paxton, how did you guys come to the decision to actually take the risk of stepping in and not just going along with the federal government settlement, but actually saying, you know what, as complicated as this is, as hard as we got to take this trial over?
I mean, it's really a Hollywood, this is something you just don't see.
These trials are so complicated.
The people that prepare for them and actually do the litigation, the trial lawyers have spent so long preparing.
How did you get?
What was the conversation among your colleagues in the other states to say, I think we got to do this?
I think partly, you know, we are pretty close to our own consumers.
Each of us, you know, representing our own states, we have a feel for what our consumers want.
And we felt like pushing forward with this case was the right thing to do win, lose, or draw.
We at least wanted to give the jury a chance.
To hear our case.
And if we lost, we lost.
But we didn't want to give in and accept less than what we were seeking, which is we want damage for what's been done.
And in the end, we're going to be seeking, of course, we still have to get to another little trial and damages.
And as to whether Live Nation and Ticketmaster can even stay together, my preference would be we break them up and let them compete against each other.
Yeah, there's just not enough competition right now.
It's controlled by Live Nation and Ticketmaster together.
When you end up with only one real competitor, you're not going to get fair prices.
And so that's what antitrust laws are all about.
It's about protecting consumers, providing competition, and unshackling competition so that these big companies just don't all buy each other and then rig the market, which is exactly what's happened to heat.
Here and it's happened in other cases.
It's the reason we have both federal and state laws protecting consumers against this type of action.
And then it'll just be a matter of what's determined, what penalty is determined to be appropriate.
All I'm telling you is what I'm asking, what I would ask for, what I would hope for, whether we get that or not, we'll see.
But that's, you know, the fact that we won on all counts of liability.
I think it is an encouraging sign that we're headed down the right path and that we made the right decision, giving the jury a chance to hear our case and giving regular citizens an opportunity to make their decision about whether this is anti competitive behavior.
Attorney General Paxson, I gave a talk today to kind of what I would say is some of the leaders in world capital markets, some of the biggest hedge funds and money managers.
And I was using you as an example of the grassroots.
Firepower in this country that doesn't get covered by the mainstream media that often about your fight against Cornyn.
I think there are other polls coming out, some internal analysis I've seen.
You're starting to spread, there's starting to be a bigger and bigger spread between you and Cornyn, at least the way I see it.
I'd like to know your thoughts.
But it seems to me the more he pumps money into trying to destroy you, the more the grassroots in Texas are saying, we've had enough of this.
Now, they've got an analysis up last night of first quarter giving in Tallarico.
Who will be your opponent in the fall?
I think he has raised, I don't know, 27 million bucks.
Is there a possibility that Cornyn, that someone could talk to Cornyn and say, look, it's impossible for you to win now.
It's time to stop.
It's time to stop this dropout.
And let's move on from this runoff and get on to the fight in the fall, sir, with you as our nominee?
But you see, here's what, and I spent, you know, I think almost three months down there, and I tell people I've never seen anything like it.
He never, the only time he brought up any issue at all is when he jumped on the Sharia Prop 10.
We went down there and put that on the ballot.
All of a sudden, he's, you know, introducing anti Sharia laws, although he's been there for 24 years, hasn't done anything.
He's walking by the wall, which, as you know, he worked so hard, and the clips are out there that Caroline Ren and others put up to fight the wall.
But now he's like President Trump's best buddy.
But the real center of gravity of his attack of the $100 million was just the personal destruction of you.
And don't people realize it's all lies and all easily refuted, but it just makes it another additional thing we have to take care of in the fall against Tallarico.
Can't anybody talk to this guy and say, hey, you're destroying your reputation, you're destroying your legacy, you're destroying the state of Texas because what he's doing is quite frankly irrational and manic, sir?
He's hurting not just Texas, but he's hurting the entire country because he's sabotaging our efforts to keep the Senate majority because he spent $100 million in the first round.
How much is he going to spend now?
Millions and millions more.
$30 million, $40 million.
What is too much?
Apparently, there's not the number one, seems like the fundamental drive here is to make sure this incumbent's reelected.
Forget North Carolina, forget Georgia, forget Michigan, forget all these other states that we have a chance of winning.
And they're just.
Pumping money because they want to control the message, which is, you know, John Cornyn is this, when in reality he's just the opposite.
I mean, just as an example, look at the Save America Act.
Did he ever care about illegal voting?
Did he criticize people for questioning any elections in the past?
He gets pushed by me to try to pass the Save America Act.
What do they do?
They go on vacation.
They don't fund VHS, they don't pass the Save America Act.
This is the problem with John Cornyn.
He's a lot of talk during the election, but when it comes time to deliver, he never delivers.
Ken Paxson, this whole runoff, the amount of money spent to destroy Ken Paxson is obscene.
And you're right, you're taking resources away now.
And this report that's come out, I think the Cook Report, and look, Cook is a center left or a liberal political analysis shop, but they've got a pretty good track record.
They're talking about four additional states being in play and could be flipped from the Republican Party.
Why?
So much of the resources to defend things is being put in back of Cornyn because it was part of McConnell's leadership and they have to defend their gang.
This money's going in and it's out to destroy Ken Paxson.
It's going to make the job.
Ken Paxson is going to win and win big in the fall, but it's going to make it harder.
So when Lindsey Graham is not out there putting forward what his program has been, what he's fought for, what he's delivered for the folks in the great state of South Carolina, but it's got to go back to the endorsement of President Trump, they're pretty nervous.
The polling shows, correct me if I'm wrong, Mark, the polling shows that Graham's under 50%.
And if you're under 50% in South Carolina in this primary, you have to go to a runoff.
I mean, he's not coming to any forums or any debates.
He's very arrogant and he tells everybody, I'm a senior senator.
And he knows it would be very risky to show up because everywhere he goes, he gets booed like he did in Pickens when he opened up for President Trump in 24.
And when we retire, Lindsey, on June 9th, He's going to have to find another place to live, or it'll be miserable for him if he's around South Carolina.
They're so glad that South Carolina has a viable option finally to remove him.
And with Paul Dan's dropping out and endorsing me, that's been a huge thing that brings 11% more of the polling over to our side.
And so, people that have been skeptical, you know, that have asked, because we've been campaigning for a year, Steve, and they all always wondered, you know, this isn't going to happen.
Lindsay has millions of dollars.
How are you going to beat him?
He's so networked in, he's the incumbent, he's got all the power.
But, you know, we tell them, hey, help us.
He's just a man.
It is doable.
If we're tired of him, let's stand up.
Just like, you know, your interview with Ken Paxton earlier, thank God people are standing up and resisting evil.
And we're winning.
People are tired of everything that's happened.
So that's me, too.
I'm a fighter.
I'll stand up for America and South Carolinians, and we'll make true change happen.
Walk me through the two or three things that, when you go out and talk, because I realize it's all Lindsey's terrible, and they're saying Mark Lynch is terrible, and they got that back and forth.
But when you put forward what your agenda will be for South Carolinians in the United States Senate, walk me through the two or three things that are at the forefront of what.
You're going to make your focus as a U.S. Senator, and how is that resonating with the Gamecocks?
You know, he's getting paid $4.6 million, I think the APAC tracker's at.
And at the same time, he's sending millions to defeat Israel and help annihilate more Jews.
So, who is he?
You know, it's very confusing.
And he's America last and Lindsey first.
And people are tired of paying for the destruction of America through all of Lindsey Graham's special interest groups he's funding and the enemies of America.
You know, in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 26, he voted for another bill.
In the budget for $5.7 billion to go to help illegal aliens in this country.
And so all of the attacks have come because we're exposing the truth.
I'm not afraid to say the hard things.
Our campaign is bringing up real, true messaging of what all Americans and South Carolinians are worried about, and we're answering their questions with facts and a strong backbone to get it done.
Mark, given his support of the Ukraine war, given how much time he spent at the Munich Security Conference and over Ukraine every other weekend, he started a couple of weeks ago, which I thought was inappropriate.
It appeared he was inebriated on TV.
He would go on.
He started talking wild talk, crazy talk about a permanent defense arrangement with the Saudis, with the House of Saud, to get them into the fight in the Iran war, given some of the things he's done in the Iran war.
Going to Israel so many times.
Do South Carolinians have a basic problem with the focus?
His focus has always been overseas and less on these great wars we have here inside the wire in the United States, sir?
And we're all tired of sending our men and women to needless wars that's costing us millions and millions and trillions of dollars that America doesn't have.
You know, and he's sick about it.
It's evil.
He starts salivating.
His face changes.
He's got a bloodlust for killing, and he talks about it openly.
And so, South Carolinians are ready to have somebody that's not going to produce more wars and help promote that.
And we've all been asking where has Lindsay been?
He hasn't been at home in America, he hasn't come to South Carolina except these last few weeks before the election on June 9th.
And he's been AWOL while we've allowed terrorist organizations to grow in America, and everybody's worried about that.
If he's sworn an oath to defend the Constitution and defend against enemies, foreign and domestic, we have them in our home in America, and nobody's looking at that or talking about it.
And we can't get a SABE Act passed.
Lindsey has the power in the Senate, and we own the White House with President Trump.
We own the House and we own the Senate, and we're allowing a man like John Thune to block every vote that's going to happen.
It gets threatened with a filibuster.
And, you know, we need to make a motion to vacate and bring four other U.S. senators alongside me when I get there, and we'll remove John Thune and all the blockade to what President Trump's doing because this is insane that we can't get a bill passed that requires ID and proof of citizenship.
For voters in this country to protect our elections.
Remember, Lindsey Graham's got all the money in the world because he's got the Senate leadership fund in back of him.
Same with Cornyn.
And they're struggling.
They're struggling because there's a grassroots revolt that people are just tired of it.
And this thing in Texas has been unbelievable.
In South Carolina, it's really astounding, and the political world is starting to wake up to it.
Lindsey Graham's now going on attack ads against a guy that virtually has got no money and just a grassroots campaign.
But the grassroots are in power.
The same thing happened in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, you had this CIA operative that got elected governor, Baltimore.
Face lied, and she got elected government because the Republican establishment in the state collapsed.
They just threw in the towel.
And you got wiped out.
You got wiped out in the House and the Senate.
There were seats, particularly in the House of Delegates, that people thought were impervious to ever being taken over by progressives, and they were.
The Republican establishment just cratered.
And in that smoking ruin, the Democrats tried to jam through to destroy the representation in the counties in Virginia, in the Commonwealth.
Which are really the backbone and the cradle of our glorious revolution 250 years ago, which we're honoring with its anniversary this year.
So, in this year, you saw what was happening, and grassroots just kind of picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and said, We're not going to let this happen.
And now, because the grassroots have gone door to door with the most powerful thing you had is not a 30 second ad.
The most powerful thing you have is voter contact.
When somebody's sitting there, particularly a low propensity voter, and they sit there and they have somebody that's knowledgeable and passionate.
And as a sense of urgency, things happen.
This is how we won in 16.
This is how Trump won the primary in 16.
This is how we won the general election in 16.
This is how we won in 20.
It was stolen.
This is how we won the greatest comeback ever.
President Trump won the primary in 24 and then won the general election in 24.
It's all the same methodology that hasn't been lost.
So, Delos, tell us what's been going on in Virginia.
We're having this gathering on Sunday from 4 to 7 in Hanover County, Central Virginia.
To thank the people that did it, but also this war and posse, you want to come down and meet those folks and just have some camaraderie, have a little great Virginia food, listen to a couple speakers, maybe have a little music.
You never know what we're going to do, right?
We're playing this, we're making this up as we go along.
But, ma'am, tell me why it's important for what the grassroots did in the Commonwealth as we've drawn kind of to a dead heat against $80 million as a lesson for the country, ma'am.
Yeah, I want to make sure we bifurcate this because we're going to run through the tape through Saturday.
What assistance now for the war in posse?
Let's make a call to action for anybody else that wants to help.
You've got texting programs, phone banks.
People will throw a few dollars at you, anything there, because Saturday ends early voting.
And then we're going to have this gathering on Sunday to thank everybody that did it, but also to gear them up for Tuesday, which is game day voting, and then to look forward to November.
So for right now, between now and Saturday, what do you guys need?
Well, first of all, you can go to virginia.gov and sign up to be of some value to the state organized team.
We do have calls, call banking and text programs.
You can donate as well.
Go to stop gerrymandering, and there are ways for you to get involved.
If you are in, you know, I'm in the first district.
Our Facebook page is facebook.com, York County Republicans.
We're posting a lot on there.
You can share our content.
That helps get the message out farther than we are able to do it.
We do have early voting now through Saturday, and so there will be a very busy push.
Saturday is going to be incredibly busy, then we'll cut it off.
And if you want to support people who want to volunteer on election day, we always would like additional people out there engaging with voters as they walk in.
So, you know, you can message that Facebook page, email me.
When you walk in there, don't worry how the thing's written.
Just vote no because they're trying to trick you.
They're trying to make sure that your mind gets fuzzy.
And right now, we need focus and concentration.
Mo Bannon.
Talk to me about Sunday.
We've had, and I will tell folks, we've had an extraordinary response to this, and we couldn't be happier.
But we're going to take everybody that signs up for a ticket, but you guys sign up for tickets.
It's centrally located in Hanover County, which is in the central part of the state.
So we'll make it easy for everybody.
We want as many people from the state coming, and we want the war and posse members.
Even if you weren't part of this, we want you to come, enjoy it, meet the heroes and patriots.
We're going to talk about Tuesday.
Also, in addition, we're going to talk about November and what has to happen between now and November because, trust me, folks, this thing's a long way from over.
Like you said, it is this Sunday, April 19th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
You go to warroomvarally.eventbrite.com.
Warroomvarally, all one word.eventbrite.com.
We want to thank the grassroots and all their effort that they've been doing in Virginia.
And also talk about the way ahead and hear from the audience, hear from the grassroots, the people that have put time in, day in and day out, to make sure that we save the Commonwealth of Virginia and this country.
And like you said, it's not about the wording in it, it's vote no.
And that is in order to save the Commonwealth.
And I made this pitch when it came to early voting in Texas and game day voting in Texas.
Back in February.
But if you can hear the sound of my voice tonight and you have early voted, make sure that your friends and family get out and vote.
If they haven't early voted by Saturday, make sure they get out on game day and vote no.
Delos, in closing, Hakeem Jeffries, at the end of the day, it will be almost $80 million, you think, or even higher.
$80 million.
You can't cut on television in the Commonwealth of Virginia and not just be inundated.
With these ads.
$80 million, you guys are on a shoestring.
Of course, corporate Republicans have raised some money, but they've just also just wasted it on these 30 second TV ads.
And that's all just a grift off the system so the consultants can take their 20% carried interest.
But I wanted the odds you were up against is $80 million.
Of course, Hakeem Jeffries understands something very simple.
For him to become Speaker of the House and begin the effort to impeach Donald Trump, it starts and maybe ends in the Commonwealth of Virginia, does it not, ma'am?
Yeah, I've been really frantic about this election, as you know, Steve.
The Trump voters, maybe the lower propensity voters, they have got to understand that this vote is really to save the presidency.
If they are allowed to steal four seats, that could undermine any majority that we could possibly have.
And as you say, Hakeem Jeffries is trying to buy the speakership.
They've thrown this referendum into April, which is a time that Virginia never votes.
They segregated this referendum item from the three other ones that will be on the November ballot.
They've worded it confusingly.
And if we can impart upon the Trump voter, the infrequent voter that participate in a very unsexy April referendum to save Donald Trump, and I hope the president knows that we are all working very diligently so that his presidency is a four year term, not a two year term.
So, all of the Trump voters, anybody with Trump voters in Virginia, call them up and encourage them to vote and bring a friend or five.
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Particularly if you're someone that mans the ramparts.
Also, the Birch Gold team, want to thank them.
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That would be me.
End of the dollar empire.
Explains you everything that's going on.
You heard this morning talk about, with Jim Rickards, who is one of the best, talk about the reason the Russians were able to get around the sanctions and even the Persians because their central banks bought so much gold.
In our surface warfare Navy, the helmsman, the sailor on the watch at the bridge, is normally just between 18 to 19 years old, and they are trusted to drive this warship through that supermarket parking lot without hitting anything.
The conning officer, an equally young commissioned officer who's normally just a few years out of college, is the one that are giving that young helmsman the orders on where to take that American.
Warship to execute the mission that the Secretary and the President has given us.
These are incredibly well trained sailors.
They are led by incredible leaders, salty, experienced leaders, and trusted with deep responsibility.
And I'm so humbled and proud of America's Navy.
These sailors choose to take the road less traveled to go into the historic surface Navy, and they deliver every single day.
Finally, as I often do, I want to highlight one of those surface sailors today and remember our fallen.
Today, we remember Ensign Robert Thompson of the U.S. Laffy, who died on this day in 1945 in the Battle of Okinawa.
He was killed while fighting a fire along with 31 others as two Japanese kamikaze aircraft hit their ship.
He passed away one week after his 22nd birthday and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
We remember Ensign Thompson today and all of our World War II vets.
Who continue to give us the gift of a great example.
And those surface warfare sailors who are out there doing the job right now take the courage, grit, and determination that those World War II vets gave us into these actions and activities that they're tasked to do every single day.
Wow, the block right there is my ship, the USS Paul F. Foster.
And yes, we had people at the helm that were 18, 19 years old, right?
I was not just a conning officer.
I think I'd fleeted up to be officer of the deck, but I was in my early 20s.
Early 20s at first, and I think got to 24, 25 when we got to the Persian Gulf, where they are right now.
But I really want to thank, and that great shout out from General Kane is so appreciated by the historic surface Navy that's doing the blockade today, but particularly one of my.
Passions is the USS Laffey, which I think took a dozen hits from kamikazes on that day, too.
That really took the damage control team that Ensign Thomas, what, 22 years old, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism.
Just incredible.
The Laffey is referred to in the surface Navy as the ship that would not die.
At that Battle of Okinawa, it took on kamikazes left and right.
It was just Absolutely incredible.
In fact, Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a book about the Laffy years ago and announced, I think, in 22 or 23, he was going to make the film.
So good on Mel Gibson for trying to do it.
But just extraordinary.
I want to thank General Kane for the shout out to the Surface Navy and the great work they're doing in the blockade.
Mo Bannon, one more time.
By the way, I might want to add my daughter, Mo, you turned down the Naval Academy for West Point.
Of course, that sent some shocks in the family, although we do have good representation in the Army.
And you had a great career there and then in the Army.
But nothing we could do can conventionally go to the Naval Academy.
I'll just say that.
Mo, where do people go to sign up?
Thanks for sticking around.
Where do people go to sign up for this gathering we're going to have on Sunday?
One of the great heroic things I saw Mo tore her Achilles, but she got taped up and was in the playoffs and was the first Service Academy team, female team ever to go to the NCAA.
So it was just incredible, Mo, real heroism.
You sucked it up as the Army, as folks coming out of West Point do it.
Hun, thank you so much.
One more time, real quickly.
Where do people go?
I want as many people as possible to sign up for this.