Back in 2023, when few were paying attention to the Defense Department’s inability to pass an audit, Jon Stewart highlighted exactly what happens when you start asking the right questions.
As the Dept of Govt Efficiency (DOGE) begins to engage the massive government agencies, it is well worth reminding ourselves of the institutional mindset that permeates these government silos. The conversations between Jon Steward and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks takes place at a symposium cohosted by the University of Chicago’s school of public policy.
Below is an excerpt of the larger conversation. This small part shows the hubris of the DoD being questioned about the $850 billion in taxpayer funds that are given to the military. WATCH:
The full interview is HERE on C-Span for review.
DOGE lead Elon Musk is highlighting this interview today to help people understand the mindset the DOGE team are encountering as they begin to question the spending of various agencies within the federal government.
Former Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks exemplifies the perspective and outlook of the bureaucrats within the federal government. The arrogance and evasion on display are quite remarkable. Now extend this attitude across the broad systems of government, and these are the people in direct opposition to President Trump and Elon Musk.
Any human effort that has remained shrouded in the dark for long periods will be rife with corruption. The longer the darkness lasts the deeper and more widespread the corruption becomes.
Does that good journalism that uncovers corruption include USAID journalism?
Elon says civilizations collapse because of low birth rates. It seems more likely that the civiliations collapse from the Eye of Sauron getting to a size that it cannot be stopped.
you said ” The longer the darkness lasts the deeper and more widespread the corruption becomes.”
We are here now… The Law suit brought on by the democrats should have been squashed already..the longer they let this go..the WIDER the corruption will be… that’s a fact…and the longer it does go…Means that many more law suites will happen.
Were is the DOJ on this? where is any Republican on this besides writing letters?
If Obama was President and a judge slapped this on him…my bet is that it would already be over.
Eric Holder wouldn’t be bothered by a Congressional subpoena and that was all right with everybody!
Including Republicans.
Bondi was only approved and functional a few days.
You’re right…we should give her time to find out where her bathroom is in her office/sarc (obviously)
Arrogance and evasion, the hallmarks of the Democrat totalitarian bureaucrat!
I would expand that beyond “Democrat.”
Agreed! Was trying to stay on topic, which is almost impossible for me.
Uniparty
The arrogance and condescension oozes off of that woman.
I want every POS bureaucrap like that out of our government.
She truly tried to make Stewart look dumb for asking this question about why shouldn’t we be concerned about where the money goes. Her every answer conveyed that arrogant attitude in spades. She laughs at him for being confused and lacking a focused interview. He was much more patient than I would be with her smarmy answers.
The American people have a right to know their tax dollars are being monitored and spent wisely. That’s what Musk has been tasked with doing by the President. Finally we get some real revelations over the waste fraud and corruption being done using our money.
Exactly! Thank you! Obfuscate, obfuscate, obfuscate … I believe she is a DEI hire for the function of pseudo-professional hubris to assist Demorats and RINOs. Jon Stewart actually asked good questions! Thank you SD!
Remember Lois “Coprophagic” Lerner? Oh, she was the best!
her DEI was female/lesbian
The Founding Fathers were looking to the future when they defined what departments were to be under the Executive Branch.
Start the evaluations and reviews, then fire as many as you can.
Wow. She is a rude human being. She wants to be “on the path” to audit, but certainly not be audited. LOL.
“Waste, fraud, and abuse are not linked to an audit”. My dear, that is exactly what audits are for. To uncover discrepancies.
Her constant interruptions, and continual smirking, is telling. He does a good job sticking with it.
Then she switches the topic to something she can speak positively about… “food insecurity”. Then describes the pay raises and base allowances, etc. Then switches to “childcare”.
Not an honest person… don’t ask me questions I don’t want to answer and if you do, you’re a dweeb of nonunderstanding our priorities… blah blah blah. All BS.
Cannot stand people like that woman.
Kathleen wants to be, “audit adjacent.”
A bit from her taking the reins at Defense: Hicks will also assist Austin in bringing enduring, consistent focus to Total Force health and quality. “We must root out violent extremism, systemic racism, sexual assault and harassment, and other inhibitors to readiness, and this is a matter of readiness,” she said. “We will not be able to attract and retain the world’s finest force, one that represents our democracy, if we cannot hold accountable those who threaten its viability from within.”
Barf
Someone needs to remind her that we’re a constitutional republic.
yup . . . that sounds like Peggy Noonan to me headed down on the backside of the mountain . . . sweeping but basically BS.
Not to be pedantic but audits cannot directly determine fraud. Audits can raise questions that follow-up investigations might tie to fraud
This is not a “Yes” or “No” situation. Some audits can directly determine fraud. If you’re speaking from a strictly law enforcement perspective than I suppose that only after a successful legal prosecution can it be said that fraud has been determined.
If that is your reasoning than I believe you have a lot in common with Kathleen Hicks.
Not true of any audit in which I participated and I participated in two every year in the larger multinational aerospace corporation for whom I worked: one internal audit and one by the federal government since they were our largest customers.
Every audit became forensic if discrepancies were found that could not be resolved through accounting error(s).
Perzactly.
She seems like a mix of Hillary Clinton and Peggy Noonan.
These are DoD civilians,
bureaucrats,
who seem to be a necessary evil but one that has never experienced the level of cuts in personnel that computerization could provide.
And there are over 700,000 of them.
Maybe not “computerization” but certainly the “peace dividend”.
yeah buddy that ‘dividend’ was just an excuse for Congress to throw more money into the hog trough.
However the DoD and fedGov in general is infamous for “stovepiping” each creating their own tools creating yet more offices and more manpower.
Computers didn’t eliminate gads of redundant and archaic systems which they should have.
Jon Stewart should interview Big Ballz.
We spend $850 Billion a year on America’s military (DOD) and yet we have fewer troops on the American/Mexican border than does the Mexican army and they only have 10,000.
I consider that to be a “Bottom Line” epic failure audit.
There used to be something called “The Quadrennial Review”…was either DOD or out of the Pentagon…do they still use it?
Might be a good starting point…
You’re not taking into account the force multipliers of the US Military. I would probably use at least 2 to 1 when comparing Mexican troops vs U S troops.
Or 10 to 1. Whatever.
The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a sort of on-the-spot “audit” of our military readiness! Nevermind 20 years spent blowing up beautiful young men and women.
Think of the Swamp budgets that have / will be cut (?) within a few weeks:
– USAID – 40-45 Billion – 90% graft / propoganda
– NED – same
– ARRA – $1 Trillion?
Some / most of these cuts have to go to Congress?
CFFB – Consumer Financial Fleecing Bureau – needs about a 90% cut – and someone to make sure they do something that’s actually useful in the future and what the name CFPB implies, elsewise make that 100%.
CFPB = Consumer Financial Pilfering Bureau
Make it 100% – that they and their type may not rise again!
Sounded like a worthwhile and helpful thing that became something else.
NED?
I need to look up NED –
I know about NEA – National Endowment of the Arts –
but who or what is NED?
National Endowment for Democracy
Victoria Nuland is on the board.
“Former Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks exemplifies the perspective and outlook of the bureaucrats within the federal government. The arrogance and evasion on display are quite remarkable.”
She likes to TELL STORIES to COVERUP the CORRUPTION, FRAUD and ABUSE she is covering up in the DoD. FIRED!
She would’ve done fine as Biden’s spokesperson. Better than KJB at lying anyway.
And I sure don’t recall voting for her.
To begin with, these bureaucrats are simply incompetent. They are public employees who are not intrinsically motivated by anything other than their self-preservation. Once they understand how to game the system to arrange cutouts to fund friends, family, and eventually themselves, we have an existential danger. Their kind must be eliminated, and they must never be allowed to rise again (paraphrasing someone else in search of irony).
there should never be a such a thing as a “career civil servant.”
that is corrupt on its face.
because number one, eventually they will be the opposite of a servant and secondly, the opposite of civil.
Nor do they view themselves as any kind of servant. Far too many of them think they’re royalty and expect us regular citizens to bow to them.
Exactly, MaserManAZ – you put it so well!
Their kind must be eliminated, and they must never be allowed to rise again (paraphrasing someone else in search of irony)
She thinks it’s an effin’ joke! Sorta has a Kamala H. approach to giggling away the questions.
Only way more articulate.
Everyone is more articulate than KamelToe.
That’s classic passive-aggressive behavior especially in that context where she keeps insulting (lecturing) Jon for asking the question.
All that matters to any and all Americans is quite simple. Are the actions of bureaucrats and representatives legal by the Constitution of the United States?
It is no more complicated than that. Interpretations are merely fluff.
I’d title that photo, “Your Worst Nightmare”.
And after Upchuck’s “We’re going to win” tantrum, all I can say is as a kid, every afternoon he ran home crying and screaming, “Ma, the Italian kids stole my lunch money again!”
The Surgeon General has determined that winning is good for our health!
What a wretched woman.
Smugness is an infuriating quality.
Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.
Remember … it is Cabinet and Executive Entity Officials like this women who help HIRE the IG’s and DoD DCAS or GSA, et al Employees whom are supposed to conduct the “audits” and assess the financial aspects of Programs and Projects.
Officials like this are the reason DOGE exists.
He has 200M followers. Undoubtedly, easily 50+M are seeing this for the very first time. We on CTH have seen this multiple time.
And Jon Stewart is/was great for this to get thru to that group. He isn’t the “devil incarnate”, Steve Bannon or Tucker Carlson.
He being, Elon and his tweet/X post.
People like this and the thousands of others in DC of similar ilk should be damn glad that the American people haven’t decided to go full blown French Revolution on their arrogant asses.
Unbelievable. I’m literally shaking my head in disbelief over what I just heard her spew.
Never answered the question, simply diverted to food and welfare issues.
She is a Poster Child for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
How do you do an accurate audit when the DOD is likely abusing FASAB S-56 to hide where and how the money is being spent?
FASAB Standard 56 and the Authority of the Director of National Intelligence to Waive SEC Financial Reporting”
https://missingmoney.solari.com/fasab-standard-56-and-the-authority-of-the-director-of-national-intelligence-to-waive-sec-financial-reporting/
I listened to the first 3 words out of her mouth.
The tone told me all I needed to know.
BS via gaslighting.
Just another Hillary Clinton pant suit demon! You will see her on MSDNC in about 3 weeks crying the DOGE is evil!
That deputy Defense secretary sure was defensive.
PT IMO needs to immediately announce National Security Investigations into what happened to missing trillions of Taxpayer money over the past few years.
Follow the money, capture the evidence, connect the various NGo’s/3rd parties and then go get the COMMS and use the hop rule.
It is time for hundreds if not thousands to be locked up in Guantanamo for the rest of their life.
We the People are sick of the fraud and theft!
After reading how the claw backs are incoming at treasury think about the changes that will unfold at defense.
.https://www.zerohedge.com/political/musk-says-doge-treasury-agree-new-anti-fraud-measures-claw-back-50-billion-payment-fraud
Fellow citizens, get yourself the new American Clawback Clock to see the money coming back INTO the coffers through DOGE!
Seen on The Conservative Treehouse!
their lives depend on the govts ability to counterfeit. they have no marketabke skills outside holding pisitions of graft.
they convince themselves that their positions are important, but that work has no value, just more cost and abuse.
She needs to be on the priority list of people who need to be fired ASAP.
Stossel was right a good while back on his idea of taking a chainsaw to the Gov’t budget, and it’s needed by orders of magnitude more now. Money = power, and so imo it’s crucial that DOGE continues and fights for every inch of ground, including going over, around, or through these ringer judges trying to stop them.
Not knowing where the money has gone is not waste, fraud or abuse? If nothing else it opens the door to waste, fraud and abuse and she is expecting us to believe that nobody is going to walk through that door of waste, fraud and abuse. She certainly thinks we are all very stupid.
The military, under leadership of this dipshit, took away COLA from our military members, who then had a hard time feeding their families. The military, under leadership of this dipshit, raised the BAH (housing allowance—on base) for military members, BUT then in the same breath raised their rents to that increase; i.e., housing was $3,000 allotted to military, rent was $3,000. Upped housing allowance to $3,200, but then charged $3,200 for their housing.
You seriously don’t detest these people enough!
She keeps extending into his space, waving her hands around, smiling and phony as hell.
Jon asks the question, if I give you a billion dollars and you can’t tell me what you did with it, that is wasteful –
he was very cool, burrowed down into himself as she flailed.
“F”ing corruption he said at one point and she ignored it.
it is time to investigate, audit and if need be arrest ALL those in these depts that wasted trillions……the dems will do nothing but sue sue sue cuz that’s all they have…they will find some commie POS butthead liberal judge willing to unconstitutional shutdown down the prez. trump needs to ignore them and go after them with the DOJ, haul them in to a red state court in cuffs…..we either start kicking their a–es if they continue to go down the rabbit hole into communism….. be a civil war then a civil war. I am NOT living under POS dem tyranny any longer….. this is why they have spent decades making our kids dumber then forrest gump….
Translated – – – “We know where it’s going, there’s no need for audits. If the public were allowed to know, it would devastate them to know how corrupt, incompetent, and wasteful we are.”
Related but aside: he says the military budget is $850B/yr.
Scot Bressent said fauxcahonas’s CFPB has a $770B slush fund…
A $850 billion budget and the U.S. Navy cannot even properly maintain their warships so they do not look like rust buckets.
To say nothing of procurement procedures for the entire DoD that are known to be far less than efficient.
I guess it’s too early to ask about “Black Budgets”, but I wonder if Catherine Austin Fitts has had any communications with President Trump or Mr. Musk?
🙂
After watching this, we are talking peanuts on this board.
You are more than correct, it’s the “system” it isn’t just corruption, greed, or incompetence. But, I have to believe someone in President Trump’s orbit is aware of this. Catherine has some ties to RFK Jr, so we will see soon enough.
I worked for a defense contractor. We were audited a great deal and woe unto us if we didn’t pass. This also involved much more than money – quality control, work instructions, safety, environmetal, cleanliness of the work place and any other activity we engaged in. And if anyone talked to a government auditor with the condescending tone of superiority this POS beauracrat has, well you had better have your resume updated.
I love how she’s able to placate that moron Stewart’s concern about the corruption by talking about how much additional money they’re going to spend on the bleeding heart issues. Lol
We are great at criticizing democrats et al knowing full well the repubs are also thieves.
But the thing is all these comments criticizing or comparing to kamala etc etc are simply wasting time and energy.
I dont know how many people are represented by x number of comments, but anyone with the power to change this stuff reading here to get a sense of the public mood would not think we had any resolve at all. They would likely believe we are simply entertained.
And just think — we are ones who are supposedly informed. Imagine the other millions who are watching the super bowl or similar BS on TV.
What if every single commenter demanded these thieves face prison time, or hanging, or to be turned loose in the astrodome with a couple thousand working people armed with nothing but their bare hands (history tell us this is where all this is likely headed if people dont get punished)?
Until these thieves face the death penalty for treason, they will not change. Firing and/or prison aint enough.
This is no different than one parent saying no and the kid running to the other parent who says yes. The kid is in charge.
In this case, the thieves are in charge.
We can say “idiot” and “barf” and similar comments til we are blue in the face and nothing is affected except the commenter’s blood pressure.
Take it on faith you aint gettin’ your money back. Now what can we do?
I dont know exactly, but calling these people ugly names aint enough to change the behavior.
We have to stomach the fact that we are at war in our own country. Our enemy hates us and wants us dead. They are laughing at us daily. We have to change our thinking to contemplate a war-like stance.
Yes, David prayed and trusted God, but David picked up some rocks on his way to face the giant. Goliath laughed at David’s prayers, but the rock wasn’t so funny.
We either somehow stand up for a free and true Christian America or we will be servants of their evil way of life.
It’s evidently not clear enough how close we are to losing the whole game, because not many people seem to take the threat very seriously.
Heard any of our Congressmen or Senators calling for prison time? I believe we know why that’s so.
Pretty simple.
Get right with Jesus. These people will not stop.
Re-read Tale of Two Cities.
-RR
Hicks was giving us a lesson in Body Language 101 during this interview.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks’s body language says that she is lying. You Can’t Hide Your Lying Eyes.
Heard her body language loud and (un)clear.
Jon Stewart while a hardcore lefty like Bill Maher does call the Democrats and Republicans on their bullshit. I don’t always agree with him, but he has been one of the only ones to hold people accountable over the years on both aisles despite being a FUNNY MAN. I feel like the Daily Show was one of the last places to maybe here a half-truth in media.
Ruh roh. And I can tell you that DEPSECDEF was widely regarded as the grown-up in the building … all relative.
That definition wouldn’t fly with the IRS. But then we are only lowly taxpayers.
She is under the illusion that the Bureaucrazy will protect her…
There is no honor amongst kleptocrats.