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  • 11 hours ago
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00:00The answer is end the military conflict in Iran.
00:03He should never have gotten us into it in the first place.
00:06It has made gas prices spike.
00:08It lays at his feet, his actions, his conduct vis-a-vis Iran, period, full stop.
00:14His attempts to reopen the Sable offshore pipeline will have no impact on the prices.
00:21The amount of oil that moves through that pipeline is negligible.
00:26You know, a fraction of 1%.
00:28We don't have a national energy emergency despite the claims of the president.
00:34We produce more oil and gas than we actually use.
00:38And so the attempts for the Trump administration to take over the Sable offshore pipeline
00:42and provide an emergency permit and federalize it and to invoke the Defense Production Act
00:48is all inappropriate, tramples on California's state sovereignty as well as violates existing court orders.
00:55So these things are not connected.
00:59Trump owns the increased prices across the country.
01:02And remember, this is someone who said he was going to lower prices on day one.
01:05He's done the opposite, not just with gas prices, but with his unlawful tariffs that we had to move to
01:11strike down.
01:12And we did.
01:12And then he imposed new tariffs, you know, seemingly very committed to raising the cost for Americans and Californians.
01:18He's also turned his back on engaging in antitrust enforcement work, allowing for corporate consolidations that raise prices for Americans.
01:25And he's declined to protect consumers, such as trying to remove the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB.
01:35So time and time again, he has attacked the pocketbooks of Americans, raised prices instead of lowering them.
01:42Well, $5.88 does have a sting.
01:46And I know that you're paying $6 in Los Angeles, along with some other areas of California, Mr. Attorney General.
01:52Will you be looking into gouging?
01:53How bad could this get?
01:56We always look at our price gouging laws to make sure that they're being complied with, especially after real emergencies,
02:03like natural disasters, when the governor of California issues an emergency declaration.
02:08But we will do everything in our power to protect consumers, enforce the laws.
02:12But again, the reason for these spikes are Trump.
02:16Trump alone, his decision to engage in a military conflict with Iran, we have seen that.
02:21The data doesn't lie, despite his attempts to deflect or blame others, he is responsible.
02:27These are Trump's increased gas prices.
02:31Well, as you talk about protecting consumers, that obviously has many different facets, including ideas around competition and antitrust, Mr.
02:39Attorney General,
02:40which clearly there is a bit of a divide between the administration and the state of California when it comes
02:44to antitrust efforts,
02:46like a primary example being Paramount's merger with Warner Brothers.
02:50How are you thinking about that moving forward?
02:53Is it realistic that a state like California would be able to stop some of the federal government's moves in
02:58this space?
03:00The difference between the Trump administration's view of antitrust law in California is we want to enforce antitrust law in
03:06California.
03:07Trump does not.
03:07The federal government has long traditionally played a historical role in enforcing antitrust law, a leadership role, the Department of
03:14Justice, the FTC.
03:15But Trump has turned his back on that role.
03:17He has abdicated his responsibility.
03:18He's retreating from doing the important work of holding corporations accountable when they break the law and engage in anti
03:26-competitive conduct.
03:27And he's failing to protect consumers in the process.
03:30So if he won't, we will.
03:31And California can step up, can do this important work along with other states if they wish.
03:37We have concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government.
03:40If the federal government fails to act, we can act.
03:42We can do everything that the federal government could do, should do, but is not doing, including suing to block
03:48a merger, like Paramount Warner Brothers, if that's what we decide to do.
03:52We have said Paramount Warner Brothers is not a done deal.
03:54They have not cleared regulatory scrutiny.
03:56We are involved in a vigorous review right now, and we will decide what we will do in the future
04:02weeks.
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