sean: -- tonight, i will not seek re-election. governor palin shocks the political world. ron reagan accuses limbaugh of domestic violence. >> and you wonder why this guy can't stay married. >> this guy is -- was a pervert, a child moll evidenter, a pedophile. sean: is the white house finally admitting the stimulus failed? >> we misread how bad the economy was. sean: hannity starts live right now. the biggest news of the holiday weekend came from wasilla, alaska, where governor sarah palin will be stepping down from office. television pundits and

columnists went into a lather predicting her political career is all -- death is all but imminent. but others say wait a minute. ann coulter, welcome back. >> thank you. good to be here, 15e7b89 sean: i think we could officially say there is palin derangement syndrome. what was your reaction? >> i loved her speech. but it's been more fun watching the chattering heads on tv, people who really hate her guts are keeply disappointed in her decision. sean: why do you think that? >> they're talking about her like an ex-girlfriend, they're totally over her but they journalist can't stop talking about her. "no, she's history, i feel more sorry for her than i do for me," but they can't stop talking about her. sean: why? >> because she is magnificent.

who is the last politician they said was a hick, stupid, wasn't going any place? i think that's ron ealed reagan. she has this amazing ability to connect with people. and as nixon said, they're not going to have palin to kick around anymore. i think it's insane that people are describing her speech as bizarre or rambling. i guess you could say that about anything the they also called her ugly. it was extremely illuminating. she spent $500,000 defending herself from these ridiculous frivolous ethics charges. by the way, another one was filed today. how about we have some right wingers investigating who is behind filing all these ethics charges? this one today was for travel, in the past it's been for a yahoo account, another time for holding a fish up and promoting fiberies. the state of alaska has spent

millions of dollars. and by the way the lieutenant governor is a totally great guy so she's leaving alaska in good hands. the business of alaska won't be eaten up by all these itdyotic -- idiotic ethics charges and now she can go offer and write her book and give speesms and be what she's supposed to be, which is be a big star the >> she's not going to be able to accomplish anything on the national scene unless she's in the lower 48. barack obama stayed on the public payroll when he was running around the country 18 months running for president and he wasn't accomplishing a whole lot for the people of the state of illinois. did anyone criticize sebelius when she resigned to take a position? or did anyone criticize napolitano or rombo dead fish? >> right. did anybody criticize arlen specter or jim jeffords for

letting down the citizens of their states by switching parties, withdrawing? no, it's a totally different standard for sarah palin. it is no surprise that the feminist movement came out of the left because liberal men are rabid sexists though i must say a lot of the hatred for palin is coming from liberal women in new york who have overheard their boyfriends saying well, you got to admit she is good-looking. sean: obama was saying the stimulus was going to kick in next month. we lost another half million jobs, sad for the economy and for the people who are not working the biden goes on this weekend and says we really blew it on the economy. what part of this didn't they understand considering now they're claiming oh, we didn't know it was this bad? how can you sync up with their rhetoric? >> right. but it doesn't matter. that's not why people voted for

them the one silver lining in this, it's terrible that the economy stating disaster and that they are not fixing or changing any of the fundamentals. it's not going to be fixed and people with the basic understanding of economics knew that, know that, can see it now. the one silver lining is there is a big article in the new york sometimes this weekend about how college kids who plan to spend the summers in paris or working in publishing houses in new york have had to go back to podeunk to work in the local mcdonald's. so i hope they're enjoying the hip economy of the hip president they voted for because he's so hip. sean: lauren summers -- lawrence psalmers says we would feel the positive impact of the stimulus almost immediately. obama promised that unemployment wouldn't go above 8%. now they expect 10% by the end of the summer the you couple that with a lot of other broken promises -- >> and not only that, part of their hysteria, we must pass

this now, pass this now, was that if we don't pass the stimulus bill unemployment could get up to 9%. well, it's gotten to 9% and beyond that. so, so much for the hysteria to get this. sean: so here's my question. obama says under my plan no family making $250,000 or less will see any form of tax increase, not your income tax, payroll tax, capital gains, not any taxes. so it's going to go up many unmovie. is going to hit double digits. now they're saying -- they were telling us the worst economy since the great depression. now they're saying it's not our fault it's worse than they thought. what's worse than the great depression in >> well, the great depression and your taxes are going up. it took six months to break the no new taxes on people earning more than $250,000 a year. the economic plan of the obama

administration is that if you work hard you will be punished, if you don't wark -- work you will be rewarded. everywhere you turn, nonuseful work, unremunerative work is going to be rewarded. even in student aid, it will not have to be paid back as fast if the job you get after getting your student aid and getting to school doesn't lead to a well-paying job. so the less money you make the more the obama administration will give usm the less hard you work -- we reward failure and punish success. that is the policy of the obama administration so good luck with that. sean: let me ask you one national security question. it's not about the obama-backed coup in honored you are u.s.a. that's for another night. here we just deployed our missile defense system to hawaii -- >> if only it were obama-backed. that's the good one. sean: we deployed missile

defense to protect hawaii over the fourth of july weekend. we're cutting back the missile defense and now obama is about to negotiate with russia and apparently give away future defense of the missile system while north korea is launching missiles almost daley. it seems a lot like unilateral disarmament to me. >> yes. not only that but we know obama has goon brood so he will do something bad for america's interests. besides oil prices going up, the one thing russia cares about is making sure poland, our ally, does not have a strategic defense system so yeah, the odds are on obama giving it up. sean: coulter, good to see you. welcome back. >> good to see you. sean: coming up, charlie reaning -- rangel tells president obama to butt out. and much more on governor palin

and the bombshell.

sean: democratic congressman charlie rangel over the weekend challenged president obama's political judgment. rangel said "i really don't understand why president obama

got involved in our primary. now i don't want to use the word wrong but it doesn't seem like the astute political thing to do. i think that's also known as meddling in local affairs, charlie.

sean: and tonight in your america, not surprisingly, the mainstream media's coverage of governor sarah palin's decision to step aside has been overwhelmingly negative the

abc, nbc, cbs, all described her resignation as, quote, bizarre. the "new york times" couldn't resist using the latest news as an opportunity to attack the governor. maureen dowd said "caribou barbie is one nutty puppy. the joining me with reaction to this is fox news anchor kim berry guilfoyle. by the way, maureen dowd, only one would know. >> oh, them's fighting words! sean: she is is one bizarre -- >> what is going on with this article? what is a nutty puppy? sean: what is it about commenting on anybody's looks? >> congrats, maureen, for limboing under the barf common

decency. bravo. >> this is unwarranted, this attack against her. it's really going too far and i'm really not sure what she's accomplishing. when people overstate and overreact to sarah palin like this they really undercut their own arguments and showcase their fear and trepidation about her being a candidate in 2012. sean: s.e., you have questions about whether this was a wise move. >> i do. i love parpe -- sarah palin and want the best for her but in her press conference she gave multiple reasons for doing this. i don't know which one is right yes. it's ok to question her strategy. i don't know that you need to call her craze r for doing it. that's out of line. sean: didn't barack obama promise to serve out the full term as senator? didn't he stay on the payroll

the 18 months he was running for president? i doubt he was accomplishing many of the duties they paid him for the >> but nobody is focusing on that. sampe will be labeled a quitter, that she felt it was ok to abandon the state of alaska. sean: who paid barack obama to go travel around the country? raum rambo dead fish" emanuel? he left his job. sebelius left her job. >> it happens all the time and i think sarah palin probably knows what she's doing. she's a very cunning politician. but again, you don't call her crazy. this really shows how far the liberal media has devolved. they used to get onto criticizing her policy. ok. fair game. now they're calling her crazy. it's one step above a perez hilton article the sean: and they say she looks like a slutty flight attendant,

they attack her youngest son, her teenage daughter. there's no ramifications for this. joe biden went to pittsburgh and gives a speech and less than 100 people showed up the literally. so embarrassing. >> awesome. >> governor palin goes to long island and the place is overflowing. >> i know. the thing do -- to do is can i call you joe? wink? >> she has charisma. she's got the it factor. they don't like it because she's electric. she gets huge crowds. no matter what, people are going to tune up and people are going to tune in. could it had -- have been handled better? definitely. but it was definitely not an implosion. sean: she's not part of that insider mentality. she has to come to the lower

48. >> the liberal elite hates that she's not part of the liberal elite. they can't figure it out and instead of trying to they're just going to hurl i sults at her. biden has said questionable things. i question hezz judgment. i would never call him crazy. i've never heard anyone call him crazy. sean: i might consider it. no, it's a joke! so how does this play out? i think if anyone underestimates her they do so to their own peril. >> correct. sean: i think it's really not going to matter what washington thinks, what these pundits that get thrills up their leg when obama speaks, it's not going to matter what they think. if it's ok for every other politician to leave their gob -- job to run for another, i think there's a backlash of

sympathy that develops. >> but she also wanted to avoid any kind of allegations of impropriety, that she was cheating the people of alaska by not giving her full 100% to it. now she says she can focus on the issues that are important, lower taxes, energy independence. sean: you think this is a good move? >> i'm not going to say it's a good move, amazing. i don't think it's a fatal move and don't underestimate this woman. >> there's probably a dozen reasons why this could work out well. sean: all right. coming up, congressman pete king sounding off on the king of pop. that and more straight ahead. vññ

sean: tonight in hannity's america, the son of former. ron ealed reagan has sunk to a new low in order to call attention to haze failing radio show. he recently slammed rush limbaugh on air america after the white house questioned if the new czar for domestic violence was necessary. during the tirade ron reagan even suggested that rush has committed domestic violence. unbelievable. listen to this. >> limbaugh also has an issue with the white house's new survivor on domestic vilen 79 i'm guessing the white house

survivor on domestic violence will never say beating your wife is ok, which may pb a disappointment to rush limbaugh. and you wonder why this guy can't stay married. sean: ron, what's worse than this is no one is listening to you and no one cares what you say. sorry. michael jackson's sudden death has consumed much of the airwaves over the past week and one congressman, peter "king of new york," has had enough. in the last i don't know how long now this low-life, michael jackson, his name, his face, his picture is all over the newspapers, the television, the radio. that's all we hear about is until -- michael jackson. let's knock out the psychobabble. this guy was a pervert, a child molester, a pedophile and to be giving this much coverage to

him day in and day out, what's it say about us? i think nobody wants to stand up and say this. there are men and women dying in iraq and afghanistan agent. let's give them the credit they 12ke6r7b9 sean: let's assume congressman king will not be one of the millions lining the streets tomorrow for the memorial service. and former mayor marion barry was arrested in 19 0 after he was caught on camera smoking crack cocaine and then in 1992 when police found traces of cocaine in his car. barry, now a d.c. city councilman was taken into custody, accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend. she flagged down law enforcement officials in d.c.'s anacostia park and said marry -- barry was bothering her.

i'm kind of surprised that president obama hasn't offered him a job yet. and tonight's media mash is brought to you by fourth of july tea partiers nationwide. the tea party movement is alive and well, but you wouldn't know it if you are following the mainstream media. tea partiers came out in hordes to celebrate independence day and reclaim one of the founding principles, more libererty -- more liberty and less 2k3w0. 35,000 people made it out to that tea party in dallas. we're going to continue to follow the tea party movement if -- even if the obama mania media do not. . we continue in 30 seconds with bad news for al gore.

sean: finally tonight, in hannity's america, al gore may have some explaining to do. climate depot.com reports the earth's temperature has actually dropped since his film. the average temperature plunged almost an entire degree since 2006. sorry, al, just an inconvenient truth.

>> the truth is we and everyone else misread the economy. the figures we worked off in january were the consensus figures of most of the blue chip indexes out there. we misread how bad the economy was but we're now only about 120 days into the recovery package. the truth of the matter is no one anticipated, no one expected that that recovery package would in fact be in a position of having to -- sean: i thought this was the

worst economy since the great depression? that was vice president joe biden yesterday discussing the stimulus package with george stephanopoulos. if the stim screwup wasn't enough, brace yourself for the gargantyouan cap and trade bill making its way through the senate right now. >> last week the house narrowly passed the waxman-marky cap and trade bill which plans on reducing carbon pollution. how is this all going to happen? basically by making it expensive to pollute. the government would give out pollution permits for free at first but eventually would charge companies for them. how much will this cost you and me? depends on who you ask. the congressional budget office says $175 in higher energy costs. but an independent energy institute says at least $3,300

per family. the median income for a family of four in the u.s. is $73,20 -- 26. they spent $1,000 a year heating their houses in the winter and $3,000 at the gas pump. the cost under cap and trade will go up $436. by 2035 electricity costs will go up 90%. gasoline by 58%. natural gas up 55%. the cumulative higher energy costs for a family of four by 2035 will be nearly $ 0,000. -- $20,000. but homes aren't the only things that use fuel. how about travel? one estimate is $5 billion right away in 2012. then by 2020, $10 billion.

you think those baggage fees are high now? obviously they're going to pass the costs on to you when you buy your tickets. the heritage foundation analysts of waxman, marky determine the tax would be $161 million $161 billion in 2020. as the bill's restrictions kick in that number goes up. big numbers. back to you, sean. sean: thanks. we continue the discussion with the president of the ward doctors, frank luntz joins us. who came up with the name cap and trade? >> it had to have been the same person who came up with managed care. no one knows what it means. sounds like a baseball analogy. the republicans are trying to make this about money. the democrats are trying to

make it about the environment. neither side has penetrated. the american people are nor -- more focused on health care than cap and trade. we have a couple of clips. the first is john boner. what you are looking for is if the lines go above 70 that's a successful community db communication you're going to see a very wide partisan divide. >> this bill will also cost. $2.3 to 2.7 million americans their jobs. that's because high-energy industries like the streel industry won't be located in the united states anymore. they're going to be shipped to our competitors in chine,a india, south korea, who don't even have half the e.p.a. guidelines and environmental guidelines we have here in america. sean: let me guess, and tell me if i'm wrong -- that resonates with me what he's saying. but the heritage foundation did

a study. $3,000 it's going to cost every american family. do you go more for the personal, this is what it's going to cost your family? or is he on target? >> he's on target but he didn't personalize it enough. if you talk about every tax it's more impactful. the democratic approach is to talk about climate change. when you've seen what happened with katrina and al gore's movie, the public does believe the environment needs to be addressed. the battle is who's going to offer the most jobs? are they green jobs or not? who's got the best solution to deal with it in sean: let me ask you, new information came out, this is the eighth coolest june on record. back to the 1800's. >> i know. i've actually gone back to cotton. sean: and al gore's movie is not reality and not science. >> we looked at an ad to see if the 30-second communication is

cutting through the clutter and it's not. this time they start at zero and -- sean: this is by? >> by a conservative organization and it doesn't score that well. take a look. >> under my plan of a cape and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily sky rock e79 >> and it will lead to higher energy bills for just about everyone, and even some democrats aren't buying it. >> nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax and it's a great big one. sean: i thought by playing the obama cut, which basically reinforced everything republicans are saying, that seemed effective and got my attention. is it too inside? >> it's boring. cap and trade is boring. it doesn't capture the public's attention. you and i have to find a way to get they will to pay attention. sean: how about jobs? the fact that this is a job-killing bill that

manufacturers are going to outsource a lot of their products and jobs? >> i will tell you that the environmental community's best campaign so far this year has been calling them green jobs and in all the dial testing we have done, "green jobs" does resonate with people. for the first time in the debate, american people think that to challenge the environment will actually create jobs. sean: it's going to cost about $3,000 a family. we know that for a fact. next we're going to lose two to three million jobs even the, quote, green jobs. how do you explain this to people in a way that they understand this is bad for america and based on phony science? >> do they actually believe the jobss will be lost, that there will be a higher cost? what's interesting is that joe biden in his comment that said we misjudged the economy, actually undermines the republican effort to say that this is a job-killing bill.

why? because no one trusts anyone's facts anymore in washington. sean: right. so then the question is if my prediction, in other words that we spend so much on stimulus and omnibus and nationalizing health care and cap and tax, which i'm telling you is going to cost a fortune, you're going to lose jobs. now they've got 60 seats in the senate. healthy margin in the house. they've got the white house. at what point if the economy doesn't turn around and people feet impact of these broken promises, at what point do people say that bothers me, that impacts me and i now play. democrats. >> the american people are concerned already. a majority of americans believe obama has got it wrong yet his job approval is still close to 60. they're giving him a pass and i think they're going give them a pass into 2010.

it's a challenge for the g.o.p. i think it's going to go past the elections. it's up to the g.o.p. to offer an alternative. sean: i have said they better be the party of homeland national security, fiscal spnt, energy independence, free market solutions and the american dream. that's my platform. >> that's a platform of yes. sean: i'm not running, ok? >> but the public doesn't hear that now. that's the challenge. sean: and it's not that complicated. good to see you. time to check in with greta van susteren for a sneak peek. come on. hilt me. you're in los angeles. guess. >> i know. but it's ha hrdto pick because we're going to go right up to alaska for the inside track on that, what's up with the governor? and behind me we're here at the staples into in los angeles. but the big news tonight is we spoke to michael jackson's

nurse and she gave a very significant clue to us. and the viewers are going to hear the clue tonight. sean: all right. what's the clue? >> it's a secret. you have to stick around. sean: we'll watch in 21 minutes. >> you have to turn on your satellite radio when you drive home. sean: i will the let not your heart be troubled. our great, great, great american panel is straight ahead.

sean: tonight on our great american panel, former deputy assistant secretary of state, columnist and left wing radical bob beckel is here. tucker carlson is with us and a former federal prosecutor, sunny hostin is with us. good to see you, guys. we didn't even get into the segment and you're yelling at me about governor palin. you know what? she doesn't live in boston, washington, or new york or hollywood and america loves her. i don't care how much palin derangement syndrome exists -- is there a ne -- yes in that? i will say one thing in her defense, all right? i think that when she said about a double standard on the

media i think that that is fair. i thought that the letterman thing, if it had happened to a democratic woman, letterman wouldn't have been on the air. the fact is, that said, she cut and run from a job. if she thinks this is some way to run for president of the united states, you say she's got a base, her base is so small they could apply for affirmative action grants from the federal government. sean: 40% of the country is conservative, bob. >> is she more clueless than senator byrd? does she have a messier personal life than ted kennedy? less common sense than al gore? no. but hers are on display. she screwed up in an interview with katie couric -- sean: so what? >> i disagree with the idea that this is necessarily a

political move. why would you want to run for president? maybe she wants to go into the media. >> then she's just a quitter because the people of alaska voted her in and she selfishly quit her job without their permission. sean: is seeb -- sebelius a quitter? rahm emanuel? is barack obama a quitter? >> no. sean: why the double standard? >> i think that's very different. when we're talking about sarah palin, she's got 18 months leff. she quit. in a rambling, rambling statement. it was completely bizarre the >> thank you very much. i appreciate that. for tucker carlson to say did you head -- read her statement on friday? it was one of the more incoherent. made san forpped sound like shakespeare. these people who left their jobs to go to another job. if she's saying i'm leaving to run for president of president

united states, fine, say it. don't say -- sean: wait a minute. wait a minute. barack obama -- the difference between governor palin and barack obama, barack obama was paid for 18 months for doing nothing. for 18 months traveling the country so he could be a president because he had the selfish ambition you're so critical of. and similarly rambo emanuel. >> she didn't say she's going to run for office. she is quitting her job because she couldn't take the pressure. sean: she has a higher calling. >> people who think sarah palin seems dumb or insane are mad she's not governing the state of alaska. it doesn't make sense to me, the argument. if you think she's a bad governor, shouldn't she quit? >> i didn't think she was a bad governor. sean: if you're going to call her a quitter, by your definition sebelius is a quitter. >> no, that's wrong.

sean: let her answer the >> these are other people that put it on the line, sean, and basically said i'm going to do something else and this is what i'm going to do. she hasn't done that. she quit her job. we don't know what she's going to do and the most inartful statement i've ever seen in politics. so -- to say that americans love her, that's a real stretch. >> we always try to keep this segment as a dining room discussion and for some reason when you get on palin you get unbelievably off the wall. the people you have mentioned, every one left their jobs for another job. if she would say to me, i'm leaving this job, but what did she do? she slammed every other governor. sean: considering you don't like a defense of her -- but you know, i'm sick and tired of the way they've treated her in the media. i'm sick of the slutty flight attendant look, they've

attacked her young son and teenage daughter. barack obama got paid for doing nothing for the people of illinois and there's not a peep, not a word of criticism. now we're going to get lectures from democrats that she's a quitter? that is a total crock! >> i said at the outset i thought the double standard on letterman -- sean: i heard that. >> the question about whether or not she's a quitter, clearly when you say barack obama was paid for doing nothing, she has not been working as governor of alaska since last august. sean: then why are you mad that she quit? she may have something completely unexpected in line. she came out of nowhere and in 20 minutes became the most pacemaker -- famous person in america. she did and who knows where she will end up. >> she's not qualified -- >> barack obama was not qualified either it >> certainly, certainly. much more quasm. you can't put them in the same sentence. in the same league. sean: right. i would take palin over obama

any day. i would take lower taxes and tough national security -- >> would you feel comfortable with sarah palin in moscow right now negotiating the strategic arms talk? sean: i would. >> oh, no. you did not say that. sean: scr you -- have you ever met senators? how many do you think are smarter than sarah palin? >> sarah palin is not the dumbest person in washington. that's for sure. i live there. >> i live there too and have been there 30 years and been on capitol hill a loot of times. do you think sarah palin is qualified to be president of the united states. >> yes, i do. sean: here's my exit point i'm going to make. he's going to go to moscow at a time when we are deploying missile defense to protect hawaii and he's going to give away missile defense at a time north korea is firing miss aisles over japan. >> he's not going to give it away.

having been in on negotiating a strategic arms defense agreement myself, i know he's not giving anything away. sean: more great, great american panel straight ahead. . the most important... you could buy 750 bottles of water... or just one brita faucet filter. - ( plinks ) - brita-- better water. less waste. of the world's most revered luxury sedan. this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars...

this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is the 9th generation e-class. this is mercedes-benz. featuring our all-new real sliders. give your taste buds a little tlc. with our real french dip or crispy southern chicken. plus, over 75 other combinations starting at just $5.99. pick 'n pair. it's a whole new neighborhood. okay, now this is the last time alright? thanks, you know we don't deliver anything like this. this crispy flatbread.

sean: and we continue now with

our great american panel. all right, the michael jackson memorial is tomorrow. they gave away tickets to people they thought would want to attend, but not everyone is worshiping the king of pop. here are some comments. >> we do not need michael jackson. he died. he had some talent. fine. there are people dying every day, and there are people dying in afghanistan. i think there are too many people in public life who have been talking about michael jackson like a hero. the bottom-line is would you want your child or grandchild to be in the same room with michael jackson? sean: "i light a fire. i sleep with children.

i give them cookies and milk." no one is allowed to talk about that side of michael jackson? >> i used to prosecute child sex crimes. it is classic abuse. i have read the transcripts by these children. sean: i think he was one strange human beings which, by the way, started out as a great talent -- once strange human being -- one strange human being. >> boys do not lie about being molested by men. >> the orgy of adulation is disgusting. i wish i lived in new york so i

could vote for him for king based on what he said. >> king -- he ought to shut his mouth. they are putting this guy in the grade. he should shut his mouth. -- they are putting this guy in the grave. his family is going to bury him this week. give a break. he was never convicted. he was never convicted. there is a homophobic reaction right there. the fact of the matter is, first of all, there was no jury of his peers. so waht? -- what? sean: hey, bob beckel -- >> he is dead.

it is a sad thing. the 1.2 million people is sony records. sean: you are more nuts defending michael jackson then i am over sarah palin. -- than i am. he is the only person i have seen on television telling the unvarnished truth. the guy in -- what was wrong with him that he needed to change his facial features? look. i looked at him when he was 5 years old with the jackson five. this kid was gifted by god. in terms of his singing and dancing abilities, and he was incredible. sleeping with children. >> and why all the adulation? >> the point is this.

i am only trying to say that this is the week that he is being buried. he has got a family, and he has got children. at the very least, we could hold off on this until next week. i am not defending its actions or anything else. -- his actions or anything else. i thought peter king certainly cannot prove it, and peter king ought to just keep that in mind. sean: paul ol pot was never foud guilty. -- >> pol pot was never found guilty. >> i cannot believe this. now we are comparing him. a drug addict, a terribly addicted problem.

the fact that you can say here before he is put in the ground -- sean: why can we not speak the truth? i found him to be one of the strangest people on the planet earth. you know what? something went radically wrong, and people are bowling at the altar and worshiping a human being -- are bowing at the altar. >> think about his children watching this show. sean: he paid that wanted $20 million. -- that one kid $20 million. you read the transcripts. >> i have read the affidavits. he grinned these children, and that he molested them, and then he paid them off -- he groomed he paid them off -- he groomed