'BradCast' 8/1/2017 (Guest: Zina Merritt of the U.S. Government Accountability Office)
b"Recently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) set up a phony law enforcement agency website and was able to use it to obtain over one million dollars-worth of military-grade equipment and weaponry via the Pentagon's so-called 1033 program, which offers everything from surplus mine-resistant armored vehicles to high-powered assault weaponry and even helicopters and airplanes to state and local law enforcement agencies -- for free. We're joined today by Zina Merritt, who, as Director of Defense Capabilities and Management at the GAO, helped create the disturbingly successful sting operation and recent accompanying report on what happened, including recommendations to keep it from happening again. The controversial Department of Defense program gained notoriety in 2014, during the protests in Ferguson, MO, when the small local police force rolled out tactical military gear and weaponry in response. Merritt describes important reforms for the program and the 'systematic breakdown in the controls at every level'\\xa0 discovered during the GAO's investigation of the DoD unit where fake law enforcement officials were able to obtain gear with a fake website and fake IDs (which weren't even checked at the warehouse when they picked up more than 100 pieces of surplus military equipment). Also on today's show: The U.S. Senate confirms a new FBI Director; Keystone XL pipeline may never get built after all; EPA loses in court; Earth is in very big trouble; Kris Kobach's bizarre court appeal; and Anthony Scaramucci's terrible week gets even worse..."