He Banned A Congressman From His Coffee Shop Now Trump's DOJ Is Investigating Him

[00:00:09][music] Uh, Congressman went to go get a coffee in uh New York. He got it perfectly fine, but then the shop owner told him that he doesn't really want him back uh publicly because of his support of a genocide in Gaza. And then it became a giant national scandal. Well, we now have that uh shop owner and uh the good folks looking out for him and we want to talk to them about this uh situation.

[00:00:52]That's Parvy's Muhammad Kulaf. He's the owner of the coffee chain Poetica. And then uh helping him out is Janine Ununis, the new president of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Uh welcome both.

[00:01:08]>> Thank you. Thank you so much for having us.

[00:01:10]>> Yeah, no problem.

[00:01:11]>> Thank you very much.

[00:01:12]>> All right, so Parveies, let's start with you. Uh so first, um Dan Goldman comes in, grabs a coffee, he's a representative from New York. Uh he's running against Brad Lander. He winds up eventually getting landslided and completely humiliated in that race by Brad. Uh you support Brad Lander if I'm not mistaken, but you tell me. Uh and then Dan Goldman since you told him not to come back to the coffee shop says you're anti-Semitic. But isn't Brad also Jewish?

[00:01:45]>> Yes. So, first of all, Dan Goldman is my uh representative. I live in his district. Most of my coffee shops are in his district. Funny enough, the only one that we had the the protest is outside his district. All the other ones are in his district. Um, him calling me anti-Semitic, I think it was very uh bizarre because I have been trying to talk to Dan Goldman for years since he's in office. I've been uh emailing him, calling his office. So we he meets with us with his constituents that are against the genocide but he always ignores us and yes I am a big supporter of Bradlander. Um he uh have listened to us. He changed his stance on the genocide. He uh in the beginning of his campaign he wouldn't call it a genocide but then he started calling it a genocide. Uh which it is. Um that's where we stand.

[00:02:49]>> Yeah. So, uh, I remember the skit on Seinfeld, no soup for you, right? And that was fun back in the day. Uh, now when you say no coffee for you, all of a sudden it's a federal case. So, um, tell me why you decided to make it public that you didn't want him to come back to the store.

[00:03:09]How do you talk to a congressman that ignores you?

[00:03:13]I it's again um Dan Goldman can look up his uh records. Uh I'm very consistent and I've always been critical of his votes and I've always tried to have a conversation with him. I've requested meetings, I've emailed, I've commented, I've DM'd, I've tagged him on the news where I saw horrific things being done to kids. He ignores me. How else do I talk to a representative that represents my vote and sends money on my name to essentially kill children? What other options do I have if having a business where he happens to come is the only place where I get to get his attention two days before the election?

[00:04:01]>> Yeah. So Janine now, okay, they have this tiff and Dan Goldman goes and cries to all the media and all the media of course loves Israel. So they're like, "Oh, it's anti-semitism not to give coffee. It's anti-semitism to support the other Jewish candidate." Okay. So, but then people have got to be wondering, why are you involved? I mean, it's not like the government is considering a case against Harvey's, are they?

[00:04:28]>> Well, that's exa that's exactly why I'm involved. um because DOJ immediately began threatening an investigation in potential civil rights enforcement. So what this administration is doing and they've been doing it in many contexts and now they're doing it here is twisting civil rights law to basically silence criticism of Israel and punish people who oppose Israel's actions by equating that to anti-semitism. So Parvey's uh wrote a post on social media and um that was sort of how this all came out was actually the publication of that post saying that uh Goldman wouldn't be admitted in the future. And that was twisted to say that he's not being admitted because he's Jewish rather than um because of his political views, which is entirely uh permitted under civil rights law. You can exclude somebody, you can exclude Nazis, you can exclude people who support Israel, you can exclude people for any set of beliefs. That's not a protected class under civil rights law.

[00:05:24]>> Uh, I got an idea for your parties. Why don't you ban Eric Adams for taking bribes from the Turks and then we'll be even [laughter and snorts] >> and from too.

[00:05:37]>> Eric Adams took bribes from everybody and he's out of office. I know >> indeed. So you know >> Janine, so has the DOJ after threatening that taken any active steps? Are are we worried that they would really come after uh Parveies? And if they did, what kind of charge would it be? Would it be civil, criminal? What what would be the threat here?

[00:06:02]>> So they are conducting an investigation.

[00:06:03]and they sent him a letter saying they'd open an investigation and we wrote back basically and said, you know, they gave him an opportunity to explain and answer certain questions uh specific details about his practices and that sort of thing. We wrote back and basically said this is a first amendment problem. You are basically punishing somebody for their views about Israel uh and but and trying to equate that with title to discrimination. So this is civil civil law, not criminal. So they're threatening to use civil rights law to punish him. uh that's essentially the basis for their um investigation. And uh the there are many cases where courts have said that the government investigating, issuing subpoenas, that kind of thing, something that falls short of actual enforcement of the law, chills speech substantially enough that it can be considered a First Amendment violation in and of itself. So I think we're prepared to take legal action further if they continue to push this.

[00:06:57]We'll see how they respond to our letter.

[00:07:00]Um, I mean, we really are in an Orwellian world where you're using the civil rights division to take away your civil rights. It's amazing. So, uh, Parvies, let me go back to you. Um, would you consider suing them back for them being anti-semitic since they're trying to take your right away from supporting a Jewish candidate like Brad Lander? I mean, are is the government anti-semites? Why won't they let you support Brad Lander?

[00:07:32]>> I don't know. I think this is something would be uh to Janine's department. But I I think with this government, it is so inconsistently consistent to punishing one group of people over everybody else.

[00:07:49]It's very hard to to, you know, to call them anti-semmites when there are a lot of things all at the same time.

[00:07:57]Yeah. So, Parvis, are you uh Muslim or No.

[00:08:02]>> Yes. Okay. So, obviously there's also Christians being killed in Gaza and West Bank and Lebanon and and I'm not sure there's been any Christians killed in Iran, but um but but it's predominantly Muslims, right? So, if you're so the government, our government, US government is saying to you, if you're concerned about your own people's children being killed, right?

[00:08:26]ethnically that that's illegitimate like that that if you deny someone coffee like I'm just I'm not stunned by it cuz I've gotten used to it but it is really amazing because if they were supporting a different genocide and you block them for example the genocide in Kosovo or Serban or Rwanda or Cambodia or Germany right and you said hey look that guy is supporting this the the Holocaust. I don't want to give him money. I I don't I don't want to take his money and I don't want to serve him. Are they saying that that would be violating the rights of Germans?

[00:09:07]>> Probably. This government would definitely >> No, they wouldn't. [laughter] No, sorry to disagree with my client.

[00:09:14]They But they only do this in the one situation, which is when it comes to Israel. Um it's and it is a it's ironic.

[00:09:21]It's a twisting of civil rights law to punish people who have certain views on the subject. And it's not, you know, they're they're using title two here, but they're doing it in on university campuses by using uh civil rights law that protects students from uh anti- from discrimination. Basically saying that college campus protests are anti-semitic and if the colleges don't shut them down, they're not protecting the students from anti-semitic discrimination. So, this administration is twisting this all over the country and successfully using it to silence criticism of Israel.

[00:09:51]Yeah. I mean, look, the reason I brought up your your background is because it's a hell of a thing for the US government to say the one tiny little power you have is, "Hey, listen, brother. I just don't want you buying my coffee, right? You're supporting the funding of killing our children, and the least I could do is not serve your coffee." And so I mean isn't it disheartening to because look I love the U US and I I'm an immigrant here and uh and it's the country's been great to me but then when the government does something like this saying you can't even protect kids you know from your own ethnic background or religious background and if you try to in even the smallest way we're going to punish you little disheartening right >> yeah it's it's big time disheartening look I you know when this happened I wasn't thinking that it's going to blow up out of this much of a proportion but Dan Goldman bans me from his office. He never talks to me and he's my representative. He he works for me.

[00:11:00]So it it's funny how he first he conflates this with anti-semitism and then goes to his media tour. But then at the same time uh we've been getting death threats and I emailed him after that. I was like, "Hey, this is getting out of hand. We've getting death threats. We've been getting powders in the mail. We need to talk. I want you to denounce this. I want you to go on same TV channels that you've been going on and tell them, hey, this is not okay to be sending this much of a death threats." And this is something that I've been preoccupied for the last uh four or five weeks. But then again, at the same time, I can say anything.

[00:11:42]But the moment I talk about Israel, all of a sudden I'm an anti-semite, which it's crazy.

[00:11:52]>> Yeah.

[00:11:52]>> In my opinion, >> look, the death threats are super real.

[00:11:57]And look, as a person who's taken on Israel and got suffered the consequences, I know exactly what you're going through. And so like Dan Goldman is cries all over TV about, oh, I can't get coffee. And all the media anchors cry along with him. Oh my god, he can't get coffee. Meanwhile, you're getting death threats. And they don't give a damn at all. Like they they're like, oh, radical Zionists are threatening to murder you and your family. Oh, that's totally fine. Sh, don't say anything. Don't say anything because beloved Israel would be implicated. But Janine, um I I wanted to ask you about uh Alan Derswoods because he also threatened to sue in this MLE.

[00:12:38]So what's the latest with that?

[00:12:40]>> Well, I don't know anything about it.

[00:12:41]I'm not sure what his theory would be because generally you have to have what's called standing. So, you have to show that you've been injured uh yourself by uh an adverse action. And since Alan Dersowitz was not denied coffee or posted about, I don't think he would have standing to sue. Uh you know, that's sort of a separate inquiry from whether or not there are merits to the actual claim of a civil rights violation. So, uh as far as I know, he hasn't said more about it, but yes, you know, I noticed Dersuit's talking about this. And it's important to note that this is all part of an orchestrated attempt by the Israel lobby. they have come up with a strategy basically to equate criticism of Israel with anti-semitism and logic isn't in the picture anymore. So the idea is well the vast majority of Jews approve of what Israel does. So therefore you are being you are discriminating against them by denying them service um if you are denying them service because you disapprove of what Israel does. Now I'm setting aside the question of whether it's actually true whether most Jews agree with that. It's just not [clears throat] it's completely illogical. It's not about identity. And this is a coffee shop in New York City with a number of locations. As Parvis can tell you, they serve countless Jewish people every day with no problem.

[00:13:51]It's obviously not about Judaism. It's part of an orchestrated attempt by the Israel lobby in this country to silence criticism of Israel.

[00:13:59]>> Yeah. Al Nuros loves Laughair. He loves to threaten Seuss to try to intimidate people on behalf of his beloved Israel.

[00:14:06]He doesn't give a damn about this country. Uh, and to the factual point that you uh, alluded to, there is a fact. It's been pled and several polls have confirmed it. 63% of Jewish Americans are opposed to the Netanyahu government. I'm sure that Derswitz and Goldman will call them anti-Semites, too. And, uh, and in fact, only a third of Jewish Americans support uh, the actions of the Netanyahu government. Uh, so they are not the majority. the majority of Jewish Americans uh are against the Netanyahu government, the current Israeli government. So claiming that being against the Israeli government is anti-Semitic is saying that about twothirds of Jews in America are anti-semmites. It is preposterous on its face. And now younger Jewish Americans support Mamani more than they support Netanyahu. So we're in Allison Wonderland territory here where Jewish Americans are saying, "Wait, why are you speaking for us? We're not in favor of a genocide. We're not in favor of Netanyahu. We like Mum Donnie. And everybody on TV goes, "No, you don't.

[00:15:10]No, you don't. You're all anti-semites along with Parvies and anyone else who wants coffee." Uh, okay. So, all right.

[00:15:17]Before I let you guys go, because it's amazing story. It's and and brother, I'll try to stop by Poetica when I'm in New York. Uh, and >> please do >> and and grab a coffee with you and we'll toast to Dan. Uh, we'll toss it Dan's loss and that he no longer is Congress.

[00:15:33]>> He he lost by 32 points.

[00:15:35]>> Yeah, maybe we'll have.

[00:15:36]>> It just gives me a little bit little bit of this feeling inside me.

[00:15:42]>> I I do want to say to his credit, this is the only thing I'll give him credit for. He did criticize DOJ for uh doing this investigation and coming after Parvies this way. So, even he's not on board.

[00:15:54]>> All right. Okay. By the way, I didn't know that and thank you for being fair to him and I will give Dan Goldman a little bit of credit for that. See, fairest show in America. Okay, nevertheless, we will still toast to his loss. Um, okay. So, last thing is not related to this. Janine, Max Blumenthal, uh, is are they going to come after him too? He's another critic of Israel, by the way. Also Jewish American, but I know that doesn't matter. [laughter] They'll call anyone an anti-semite, but uh, what's happening there?

[00:16:22]>> Yeah. Well, uh, yes, a self-hating Jew there that I'm I'm representing many self-hating Jews these days. But, uh, he got back from Iran last week and, uh, he was reporting on the Ayatollah's funeral and on, uh, as he was re-entering the country at Dulles airport, Customs and Border Protection, uh, demanded that he hand over his phones, which he he said he didn't want to do, but they said that basically he wasn't going to be able to leave the airport. He wanted to get home to his family, so he did. They said that they plan to extract data from them. So, we filed a motion uh demanding that the government return those phones because they had no basis under the constitution uh or any other kind of statutory law to seize a journalist's phones. And we raised first and fourth amendment issues in that. Uh I actually got word like very recently that they called him and said they want to return the phones to him, which I suspect was because this went all over social media today. And uh Laura Loomer plays a part in that too. I can go into it if you want, but we don't have to.

[00:17:20]>> Okay, real quick, tell me about that part.

[00:17:23]>> Well, Laura Loomer had been tweeting while he was in Iran that he was basically a spy and he should be dragged off the plane by US marshalss and raised questions about who was paying for his trip. That mirrored very closely the questions he was actually asked when he tried to reenter the country by Customs and Border Protection, which, you know, we don't have proof at this point. I wouldn't say there's anything near solid evidence, but we know that Laura Loomer is a very close associate of President Trump. And in all likelihood, I would say uh the the agency is taking u marching orders from her indirectly, at least that suspicion is raised. So, she was tweeting about this um and has basically said, you know, she has more on Max that's going to come out soon.

[00:18:05]So, this ended up uh going pretty wild on social media yesterday and today. So, I suspect that's why they offered to turn the phones back over. However, because they said that they were going to extract data, and we actually said in the motion that they need to turn that over and or destroy it. Um, we're we're not going to give up even if they get the phones back.

[00:18:24]>> Yeah. So, but Israel has no power in this country. No. Like, Israel first lunatic like Laura Loomer can order like people's phones being seized, but >> no, no power at all. Um, okay. Actually, I want to come back super last question, Janine. Th this case, Parvis's case actually could be kind of monumental because as I was reading uh you know what you filed in that case, if if he loses, couldn't they take away the rights of all business owners to basically have any political opinions?

[00:18:59]That would be a monumental case if it went to the Supreme Court and it went in the wrong direction.

[00:19:05]>> Yes. Well, this is what an impact litigator, which is what I do, is always thinking of, you know, you want to make change in the right direction, but there's always a risk you'll make change in the wrong direction. So, you have to be very careful how you do it and very strategic and decide if it's the right time and the right courts. So, that's uh you know, one of the many considerations that is um a factor in how we proceed uh in the long term. But for now, I'm hoping that DOJ recognizes that they're violating the First Amendment by uh this kind of action that chills Parvis Visa's speech and the speech of other Americans who want to criticize Israel and backs off, which is what they should do. It would make all our lives easier.

[00:19:42]>> Yeah. I mean, if it goes to court and you guys lose this case, they'll literally have to put an asterisk on the First Amendment. You have freedom of speech except if you criticize Israel, and that is amazing.

[00:19:54]So for the sake of America, this ex experiment in democracy and human rights, um I hope to God that you guys win that case because we all need our freedom of speech. So uh Parvis, thank you for exercising it. Janine, thank you for defending it. We appreciate you.

[00:20:13]>> Thank you.

[00:20:13]>> Thank you so much.

[00:20:14]>> No problem. All right, guys. Uh I'm done. Uh I want you to guys have an excellent weekend. Watch the World Cup final. Uh and uh and we'll see you guys on Monday.