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Matt Gaetz: “The FBI had paid $5 million for this to Pegasus.”

Featuring: Matt Gaetz, Republican | Former U.S. House, Florida's 1st District

The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou

Published March 10, 2026 | Video Starts at 28:58

And so this was technology that was developed in Israel. The major commercial user is the cartels. They are the major commercial user. Okay? That's not like government terrifying. And then we found that The FBI had paid $5 million for this to Pegasus. So we bring Christopher Wray in and some of these guys and say, why is the FBI doing this? (28:58–29:04)

CLAIM

Asserts that the FBI paid $5 million to Pegasus.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Matt Gaetz

“The Intelligence Committee is unique. It is direct appointment by the speaker of the House.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 10:24-10:31
“The major commercial user [of Pegasus] is the cartels.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 28:47-28:51
“John Kiriakou was a CIA officer in the lead up to 9/11, then takes major roles within the CIA counterintelligence.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 00:43-01:03
“John later pled guilty to a crime revolve involving disclosure of information.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 01:02-01:09
“He was sentenced to 30 months. He got out after two years.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 01:09-01:15
“He [an Air Force pilot] was training the Chinese.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 01:09-41:32
“The speaker of the House hires and fires every member of the Intelligence Committee.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 10:30-10:35
“The intelligence community [is] selecting their own overseers.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 10:38-10:43
“Their [FBI's] answer was we paid $5 million just to test what its capabilities were.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 10:41-29:15
“They're [Israel] our greatest ally. Why would they be trying to get our people to flip?”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 11:28-42:24
“As a congressman, I weighed in on who I thought should be in intelligence services in foreign government.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 17:37-17:44
“We want him to be on Team America.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 17:43-17:45
“Torture at the time was romanticized in enhanced interrogation.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 22:43-22:50
“Do you believe today the CIA is breaking US Laws abroad?”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 25:46-25:52
“Pegasus is a tool that will give the holder full access to your phone without any action required.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 28:21-28:30
“One of the things that was frequently debated in the back rooms in Congress was this blend of investment into signals intelligence…”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 33:31-33:45
“The CIA really did control many foreign officials, sometimes through payment or admiration for the United States.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 36:09-36:24
“And the Cubans are third best.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 45:31-45:34
“Well, the Cubans don't operationalize the intelligence. They're just a marketplace.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 45:50-45:55
“Almost everyone I know in Latin America was thrilled that Maduro was removed.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 51:17-51:22
“We tried to pass laws to say that the FBI could not buy, like use data brokers to get information that would otherwise require a warrant.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 55:50-56:02
“Former FBI leadership [are] receiving [national security] letters at the big tech companies.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 56:19-56:24
“If you follow the revolving door between FBI, CIA and big tech, that's where they go to cash out.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 56:27-56:36