NEW: I spent months talking w/ George Santos for a potential documentary on him (my team eventually ditched the project when it was clear he wanted lots of $).

In our conversations Santos offered striking remarks on his scandals & a notable “Jewish” impression (audio below)…🧵 Talking about his district, Santos said: “You sit in a room with a lot of Jews, you’re fucked!”

Then he assumed a fake Yiddish accent, to say: “Oh he’s such a mensch. He’s such a mensch.” Listen here👇

https://twitter.com/thebeatwithari/status/1656424125890457603

Excited to present our film LOAN WOLVES on @msnbc TONIGHT at 10pm et/7pt & streaming on @peacock tomorrow!

We reveal secrets about the student loan crisis & how DC & our democracy really work that’ll shock you. Plus I learn the difference between a whip & a flogger. #LoanWolves We also talk ’90s politics with @SteveKornacki and learn what politicians back then were thinking when stunning changes were quietly made to student loans. And Steve comes clean about how he really feels about that election night big board. #LoanWolves

With student loan relief now in danger, here’s another bombshell. My team spent the last 6 yrs investigating the student debt crisis & found a shocking cause:

2 lines in a 1998 law that few noticed, even the pols who voted for it. And no one knew who was behind it. Until now…🧵 Turns out student loans are one of the only debts you can’t discharge in bankruptcy (with rare exceptions). Gambling debts? No problem. Unpaid taxes? Sure. Excessive shopping? Why not. But student loans? Almost never. Why?

Two lines in a 1998 education bill. And it gets crazier.

I’ve covered student debt obsessively for the past 6 years for a documentary (coming soon!). One of the most misunderstood parts of this debate is: folks with graduate degrees. Many seem to think this group is all rich (or soon to be). This is weird & incorrect.

Quick thread… You realize that teachers & nurses have graduate degrees, right? Do you think they’re rich? One teacher we spoke with is a 1st-generation college grad, now 150k in debt from compounding interest on his undergrad + masters degrees. The burden got so bad, he contemplated suicide.

How power-hungry (and afraid of scrutiny) was Andrew Cuomo?

The minute he took office, he set out to systematically alter & manipulate every part of the state's justice system, in order to control every investigation of consequence in New York.

Read on, if interested... In Cuomo's first month as Governor, Albany experts uncovered a shocking new provision buried in his budget: It gave Cuomo's team "sweeping new powers to issue subpoenas, compel testimony & seek penalties from anyone committing financial fraud." Wait, what? nytimes.com/2011/02/16/nyr…

If you or someone you know has an urge to defend Cuomo because of "Trump" or "Al Franken":

Andrew Cuomo’s comeuppance is not an evil GOP plot. And it’s not hasty or unfair... by Cuomo's *own* standard.

Having covered him & known many who worked for him, here’s the real story... First, some have spread a theory that the GOP secretly manufactured these scandals, to oust Cuomo & install a new governor who'd pardon Trump for his state crimes. Fun theory! Just one thing: If Cuomo leaves, the new governor would be... his hand-picked Lt. Gov, a Democrat.

The idea that people with grad degrees shouldn't get student debt relief bc "they can make a lot of $" is over-generalized & misconceived. I’m making a documentary on student debt. There are true disaster cases & national problems bc of grad school debt. Here’s a fuller picture: Take Vivian. Her parents came from P.R. & Colombia, and didn't finish high school, driving taxis & cleaning homes to get by. V worked like crazy to finish top in class, get into top undergrad & med school. Her lifelong dream: serve her community as a doctor at a low-cost clinic.

Dear Charlie,

Trump's temporary pause on student loan interest isn't "front page news" because:

1) He didn't release an actual plan. He made a quick remark & if the past is prologue it will get "clarified."

2) It doesn't even begin to cover the problem.

Here's why... (1/8)

https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1239310337163161600

First of all, monthly student loan bills won't go down under this "plan." You read that right. Folks will pay the same amount they currently do. (The benefit is that the payment will temporarily go toward paying down principal, rather than some going toward interest). (2/8)

To pundits confused or upset by younger voters & the primary results:

Student debt is a disaster of epic proportions that’s ruining millions of lives & may crash our economy. I’ve been covering it for 3 years. Here’s what political & media types are missing: (1/15) Today's young adults were told that to have a decent life they *must* go to college. So they did what they thought was the right thing: At 18, they went to school & signed loans for tens of thousands of dollars that guidance counselors said would be easy to pay down later. (2/15)

In 2012, I sat on a “Stop & Frisk” task force in the New York Attorney General Office that reviewed the police tactic under Mayor Bloomberg. Last night Mr. Bloomberg said he inherited the policy, had apologized for it, & chose to cut it by 95%. Here’s a timeline of facts: (1/12) Mr. Bloomberg stated he “inherited” the stop & frisk policy. While it began with GOP Mayor Rudy Giuliani, it was significantly expanded by Mr. Bloomberg, starting with 97,296 stops in 2002 & climbing steadily until a record 685,724 New York City men were stopped in 2011. (2/12)

The degree to which Michael Bloomberg is using his fortune to fundamentally alter & manipulate U.S. politics to his personal advantage extends way beyond ads. I've worked against him, covered him as a journalist & worked with his top aides. Here’s their playbook: (1/17) Let’s start with endorsements. Background: Bloomberg was a GOP mayor & Rudy Giuliani ally, whose police stopped innocent black men so often his tactics were ruled unconstitutional. So how did he possibly get key Democratic endorsements in NYC? Here’s one way 👇 2/17