RUSH: Okay, folks, I can tell you now what’s going on. I should have seen this sooner, but I’ve seen it now. The chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, has just been granted immunity. The Cohen case. All of these cases are taking place where, ladies and gentlemen?

Robert Mueller has handed most of this stuff off. This all is happening where? New York. If you noticed, some of this stuff today is being handled by the Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance IV or V or whatever. It’s one of the Cyrus Vances. The federal SDNY is one thing, but when they turn a lot of this over to the state of New York or the city of Manhattan, the county of Manhattan, that changes everything.

JOHNNY DONOVAN: And now, from sunny south Florida, it’s Open Line Friday!

RUSH: And I’ll tell you why. All of these New York charges are being done so that Trump cannot pardon these people. The president does not have pardon power over state convictions. Governors do. The president can pardon anybody on a federal crime.

Greetings, and welcome. Rush Limbaugh and — excuse me — still Open Line Friday. We’ve got three big hours to wrap up the busy broadcast week. And again, the phone is 800-282-2882. The email address, ElRushbo@eibnet.us.

They’re making a beeline for Trump’s tax returns. When they give the CFO of the Trump organization — this guy was hired by Trump’s dad. That is how long this guy has been there. And when you give somebody immunity like this, they have to pipe up. I mean, they have to speak up. And who knows what the probe is here. They are telling us that all of this is related to Cohen and campaign finance, but the CFO of the entire Trump Organization is probably gonna have more knowledge than just the things Cohen’s been involved in.

If you recall, the Democrats and the Drive-Bys have been mad as they can be, frustrated as they can be by the fact Trump has not turned over his tax returns and released them. Every president running for president in the modern era has done so. Trump has not and this has frosted them left and right. They believe that Trump’s tax returns have some key information that would allow them to get rid of Trump at two things.

One, they believe that Trump’s tax returns will show that the Trump Organization owes Russia quite a debt, that the Trump Organization’s been in and out of financial trouble and that over the years, Russia, Vladimir Putin, various Russian oligarchs and banks have supported and bankrolled Trump during these down times. That’s what they believe. They are hell-bent to find out.

The second thing is, and I forget the year of this, but it’s not recent. It happened many, many moons ago. Donald Trump took a tax deduction of nearly a billion dollars that was permitted. He did a write-off in the, I think, eight- or nine-hundred-million-dollar range, and it was permitted; it was allowed. There has not been an audit overturning it.

Now, these people, meaning Mueller and all these investigators and the Democrats and the media all think that there’s something very odd about that and would love to find out what that was all about. And if they could somehow get a judgment via an audit, that that massive deduction actually should not be allowed, should be reversed. I think this is 20 years ago. The penalties and interest on that would wipe out the Trump Organization, which, I don’t remember when I said this to you, I don’t remember when I first mentioned it, but it was after Mueller was hired; so it’s been in the last 13 months.

I said if they find a way into the Trump Organization, that’s where they want to go. That’s what their real objective in all this is. That’s where they think. ‘Cause remember, one thing has not changed. Getting rid of Donald Trump is it. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter why, it doesn’t matter how, it doesn’t matter the pretext. Getting rid of him is all that matters.

If they have to ruin Ivanka, if they have to ruin Jared, if they have to ruin Don Jr. and Eric; so what, they’ll do it. That what this is all about. But when I saw today that Cyrus Vance has some of these cases, that’s the Manhattan DA, these are nonpardonable crimes. The president cannot pardon things that happen in state courts or that are state crimes, only federal.

So he does have pardon power over what might happen at the SDNY with Manafort and Cohen. But now going and get the Trump Organization CFO and wherever else that’s gonna lead is another squeezing of the vise to take away a tool Trump has, the pardon, that would make all these people who have been granted immunity rest a little easier.

Now, there’s a story today. Let’s see. This is at TheHill.com. The headline: “Spiro Agnew Lawyer: Trump Should Resign to Keep Mueller From Prosecuting His Family. Martin London, a lawyer who represented former Vice President Spiro Agnew, said that President Trump should resign from office to keep federal prosecutors from prosecuting his family.”

He said, “It’s only gonna get worse.” And he said, look, we don’t know 10% what Mueller has. We don’t have any idea what Mueller has been amassing. We think we know that Mueller does anything on collusion, but that’s not where Mueller has stopped.

By the way, folks, do not misunderstand me. We clearly still have a two-tier justice system here. I still maintain to you that the actual criminals in the original thing that got all this started are getting away scot-free. They’re not even being investigated, they’re not being looked at. They’re not being examined. There’s no interest in any of the things that the Clinton campaign did, the DNC, the top leaders of the FBI, the DOJ, they’re getting away scot-free with this.

They are not under any investigation. There isn’t even any curiosity about what they do. What they did apparently is perfectly fine because it’s oriented and focused on the one objective that all of inside Washington has, and that is getting rid of Donald Trump, overturning the results of the 2016 election.

So the Spiro Agnew lawyer, he says, look, we already have everybody. The rats are leaving the ship. He’s lost Richard Gates. He’s lost Papadopoulos. Meaning Trump. He’s lost Michael Cohen. He’s lost Michael Flynn. Now he’s lost David Pecker. And he’s probably gonna lose these guys from the Trump Organization.

So they’re trying to paint a picture here that Trump is being abandoned by everybody he ever trusted, abandoned by everybody he ever thought was loyal, which is a big deal to Donald Trump. So they’re tightening the vises, and they’re making it clear that they don’t care about the two-tiered justice system, and they don’t care what public opinion about this is and they haven’t the slightest concern over the damage to the Department of Justice that might happen or to the system of law. They obviously have no concern over what they are doing to our election system, no concern whatsoever.

There is one singular, overarching goal and objective; and it is to get rid of President Trump. And I don’t think the Mueller investigation is, I don’t think he cares what happens the midterms. None of this matters. Mueller probably says, “I can’t control what’s gonna happen in elections, even though I’m helping to corrupt them.” So he’s taking matters into his hands of things that he can control. And it’s obvious this singular purpose — it doesn’t matter what amount of scorched earth there is in the aftermath of this, such as the hatred — and that’s what this is — such is the personal animosity for Donald Trump. And it knows a lot of levels.

They’re angry because they think Trump’s got a horrible character. They’re angry because Trump doesn’t speak in ways they think are intelligent and valid. They hate Trump because he had the audacity to even run against them. And, believe me, running against Hillary was running against all of them. They hate Trump because he won. They hate Trump because he has demonstrated in less than two years that this country can be refocused and remade to be what it was founded to be, whereas these people were undertaking policy changes to make sure America was never that ever again.

Trump has shown in less than two years that it can be done. These people have been telling us for years and years and years you gotta get with it, world’s changing, America’s is changing, it’s a global economy, it’s this or that. The idea that every child is gonna do better than his or her parents, nope, can’t make that back anymore. Can’t say that’s true in America. We’re in a decline state. You know the drill.

Trump’s come along, blown all that up. He’s demonstrated these people’s incompetence. But the hatred they have for him is limitless. And that kind of hatred never runs out of energy. They may run out of passion now and then, but I don’t see any evidence of that yet. But they’re never, ever gonna run out of energy. But that’s why they’re passing some of this stuff off to Cyrus Vance, the New York DA. The New York DA is part of this, looking into the CFO of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: It’s not by accident that Rosenstein didn’t spell out a crime when giving Mueller this job. DOJ guidelines require a crime be specified to investigate. There wasn’t one here. Perfectly clear why. Because the mandate is “get Trump.” The mandate is do whatever it takes to force Donald Trump out of office, pure and simple. While everybody thinks this investigation was to find the evidence the Russians colluded, somehow affected the election, when no such evidence was found, you shut it down. But, no, no, no, no. In some ways, you might say this thing hadn’t even started yet.

And I remember all of these times in the past month where Rudy’s been running around saying, “Oh, yeah, we’re gonna have this wrapped up 1st of September. Oh, yeah, they’re almost done. Mueller, we’re gonna get this done certainly by the end of August, 1st September.” I’m sitting there scratching my head, where’s the evidence that this is anywhere near over? We still had, at the last time it was speculated that we’re gonna have Mueller wrapping up by August 1st, then it became September 1st, still has another Manafort trial to go! Next month. Doesn’t start ’til next month in Washington.

Now these people keep being granted community to come in, David Pecker, now the CFO of the Trump Organization. They’re nowhere near shutting this down, folks. And in some ways, I think they’re just getting started.

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RUSH: I have a friend who says, “Rush, you’re forgetting something that’s very important in terms of the reason Donald Trump is hated. Yeah, you’re right. All of the things you’ve stated, all the reasons you’ve given. But there’s one more reason why they hate Trump, and that’s because of how big a conservative he’s turned out to be. If Donald Trump were not this rock-ribbed a conservative, it wouldn’t be as bad as it is,” so goes the theory of an acquaintance of mine. But the fact that Trump has gone all-in, like nominating people like Kavanaugh and other judges in that vein who are strict constructionist conservatives — Neil Gorsuch — that the hatred for Trump is being ramped up.

Now, there may be something to that. It may add to the overall hatred and some of the reason, but they’re gonna hate this guy just ’cause he won. I know it even better than I can express it. I know exactly who these people are we’re talking about. I know why they hate Trump. I know how irrational it is. Trump threatens them in so many ways. And in other ways he insults them. And I don’t mean the way he speaks.

Just his existence, just his carriage, just the way he walks around and, you know, gives thumbs up and talks to those hayseeds at his rallies and the way they look at it, all of this, it just bugs ’em.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: CNN is really, really conflicted today. They don’t quietly know what to make the lead item. In case you haven’t heard, Senator McCain’s family announced that he has suspended treatment for his brain cancer, and that carries its own obvious meaning. So in many places the eulogies for Senator McCain have begun. But CNN is having trouble letting go of the fact that the Trump chief financial officer’s been granted immunity. They don’t quite know what to do.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I got an email from a friend, and the subject line was only partially visible. And the subject line was: Oh, my God. They’re already starting their eulogies,” and that’s all I saw. I thought the subject line was gonna be for Trump, because of the CFO now being granted immunity and Cohen. But it wasn’t. The emailer was telling me they’re already beginning the eulogies for McCain.

But I’m telling you the left thinks Trump is done now. You can see it. I mean, all you have to do is review, peruse five or six Drudge Report headlines and you will be convinced it’s over; it’s just a matter of time now to play it out. I’m not kidding you. And that’s one of the purposes of these stories, so that they generate headlines like that.

But there is something to be said for these people now using the Manhattan DA for some of these new charges and looking into the Trump company, Trump Organization. Believe me, look, I don’t want to repeat my first hour because it’s done and in the can. But they’re gonna stop at nothing to get the guy. And they’ll stop at nothing as ruining him, folks.

I think this is what people need to understand. We’re up against people, Donald Trump represents clearest, gravest threat to their way of life that they have ever seen, including the Soviets, including the ChiComs, including 9/11. These people feel frightened, more frightened and more on edge with Donald Trump being elected to president than they ever felt during or after 9/11. And I am not making this up.

Donald Trump represents the gravest threat to their lifestyle, to their careers, to their standing, to their daily contentment and happiness, the greatest threat they’ve ever faced. He is specifically what they despise. He is specifically what they have arranged. I mean, these people in the Washington establishment thought they had it all taken care of, that Trump could not happen, that an outsider knowing so little about how Washington works and using so few people and resources from inside the Beltway, no way could anybody ever beat them. They thought that they had a closed system that nobody could infiltrate, that nobody could come in and win.

It’s just like the NFL owners. The NFL owners and the people that financed them and all this, they’ve got a system, and there’s no way somebody they don’t want is gonna end up in the NFL. It’s the same thing with any highfalutin club. One of the first things they do is to take steps to make sure that people they do not want in do not get in. And they try to handle every quirk they can imagine.

They never dreamed Donald Trump would run for president. Well, they might have dreamed it, but they never thought it’d be real. They always thought it’d be a publicity stunt. They never thought he would win. The fact that he did and upended somebody they think could not lose, they haven’t been normal since. They haven’t been of sound mind since. They have been singularly focused on taking care of this threat.

This is no different than having something that can literal destroy you find its way into your house. You would stop everything to get it out. I don’t care what it is. If it was a sand flea, if a giant bear found its way into your house, you would. And if you can’t leave — I mean, these people can’t leave the establishment. They’ve got to stay there. They have got to get rid of whatever gets in there. And that’s what’s going on.

And if they have to destroy his business, if they have to destroy his family, individually, if they have to destroy him, they will do it, and they will not give it a second thought. Self-preservation, number one. Number two, making sure that nobody else ever tries it.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

Steve in Fort White, Florida. I’m glad you waited, sir. You’re next on Open Line Friday.

CALLER: Mr. Rush Limbaugh, it sure is an honor. Let me just say this. My soul belongs to Jesus. My heart belongs to my wife. My mind belongs to you.

RUSH: Well, I’m glad to be in the club!

CALLER: You know, if Trump fires somebody, no matter what who it is, it’s gonna be a firestorm. So let’s get the ball rolling. Let’s go ahead and light that fire. The American people are waiting. They’re holding back. I’ve broken two teeth just grinding jaws about what’s going on here today. He’s got to make the move. The clock of history is ticking. He’s either gotta make history or he’s gonna become history. We want him to make that move. We’ll back him at the ballot box. We’re waiting for him. We want him, we need him, he’s our country, and he’s gotta say this.

RUSH: What do you want him to do?

CALLER: I want him to start with Mueller and, one by one, fire ’em and state his case.

RUSH: You realize — and I’m not trying to throw a monkey wrench here. I don’t even want to be a downer. I just want you to know, if you fire Mueller the investigation’s not over. They just go out and find somebody to take over, and it might even prolong it and make it longer.

CALLER: Well, they can only take over if the person that he doesn’t fire puts him in that position. Get somebody in there that’s the opposite. Get somebody in there that will make the move and start working on the Democrats.

RUSH: Yeah, but Trump doesn’t get to make that appointment. Rosenstein does.

CALLER: If he fires Rosenstein, he won’t.

RUSH: Oh! Well, in that case. (laughing)

CALLER: Hello!

RUSH: Okay. So we’re gonna fire Mueller; we’re gonna fire Rosenstein.

CALLER: I’m telling you, if you’re gonna fire one, fire ’em all. We back ’em. I want him to hear us. We will back him. Just do it.

RUSH: I’m telling you, folks, the frustration, this is the one thing the media probably isn’t even factoring. They don’t think it’s real. They don’t think you’re gonna do anything. You never do. You never do, so why should they be worried about you?