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Matt Gaetz: “The major commercial user [of Pegasus] is the cartels.”

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 28:47

They can use your phone and they can exploit all the information on it. They can exploit the camera, the microphone at any time they want. And so this was technology that was developed in Israel. The major commercial user [of Pegasus] 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. (28:47–28:51)

CLAIM

Asserts that cartels are the primary commercial users of Pegasus technology.

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 FBI had paid $5 million for this to Pegasus.”
The Anchormen Show EP 105 - Spy Games w/ Pearson Sharp & John Kiriakou | Uploaded March 10, 2026 | 28:58-29:04
“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.”
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“He [an Air Force pilot] was training the Chinese.”
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“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.”
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“We want him to be on Team America.”
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“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?”
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“Pegasus is a tool that will give the holder full access to your phone without any action required.”
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“One of the things that was frequently debated in the back rooms in Congress was this blend of investment into signals intelligence…”
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“The CIA really did control many foreign officials, sometimes through payment or admiration for the United States.”
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“And the Cubans are third best.”
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“Well, the Cubans don't operationalize the intelligence. They're just a marketplace.”
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“Almost everyone I know in Latin America was thrilled that Maduro was removed.”
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“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.”
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“Former FBI leadership [are] receiving [national security] letters at the big tech companies.”
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“If you follow the revolving door between FBI, CIA and big tech, that's where they go to cash out.”
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