Morning Wire XX
[0] Despite claims to the contrary, the Biden administration was involved in the FBI raid on Moralago, that's according to newly revealed documents.
[1] The Department of Justice has complete independence.
[2] We do not interfere.
[3] We do not get briefed.
[4] We do not get involved.
[5] I'm Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[6] It's Wednesday, April 12, and this is Morningwire.
[7] The U .S. is scrambling to contain the damage done by the leak of dozens of alleged classified Pentagon documents.
[8] If everything in it is accurate, it's on the scale of what Snowden leak.
[9] So it's pretty big.
[10] We examine the documents and their impact.
[11] And Bud Light angers customers with a controversial PR stunt, but insiders say brands are under the influence of a corporate equality score.
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[13] Stay tuned.
[14] We have the news you need to know.
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[22] Newly released documents reveal the Biden administration granted a special access request for the FBI to access Trump's Mar -a -Lago documents, despite publicly claiming not to be involved in the investigation.
[23] Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Brandon Dre.
[24] Okay, Brandon, put this in context for us.
[25] What did America First legal find?
[26] Hey, John.
[27] So according to the legal team, evidence suggests that Biden officials and the Department of Justice misled the American people, the National Archives, and Congress when they denied all involvement in the Mar -a -Lago raid.
[28] The legal team is saying that the White House and the DOJ coordinated to obtain those records and perhaps created a pretext for the law enforcement raid.
[29] Now, according to the legal team, the special access statute, quote, authorizes special access requests to an incumbent president only when the records in question are needed for the conduct of current business of the White House.
[30] America first argues that there is no evidence that the documents in question, which were found to be mostly mementos, were necessary for the current business in the White House or required a criminal investigation.
[31] All right, so they're making some significant claims here.
[32] What is the Biden administration saying now after the report?
[33] No response as of yet, but back when the Mar -a -Lago raid was announced, the administration insisted they were not involved in any way.
[34] The National Archives also stated on the record that the administration had, quote, not been involved in the DOJ investigation.
[35] But these reports obviously undermine that narrative.
[36] On a related note, the FBI was recently revealed to have been undercover in at least one Catholic church.
[37] What were they doing there?
[38] Yeah, so that was confirmed by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who said the Bureau relied on at least one undercover agent who planned to use Catholic churches as, quote, new avenues for tripwire and source development.
[39] Now, the letter also alleged that the FBI proposes agents engage in outreach to Catholic parishes to develop sources and monitor traditional Catholics as a means to combat domestic terrorism.
[40] Jordan issued a subpoena to FBI director Christopher Ray about this on Monday.
[41] Now, it's worth noting that Attorney General Merrick Garland was specifically asked about this under oath by Senator Josh Hawley.
[42] Attorney General, are you cultivating sources and spies in Latin Mass parishes and other Catholic parishes around the country?
[43] The Justice Department does not do that.
[44] It does not do investigations based on religion.
[45] How many informants do you have in Catholic churches across America?
[46] I don't know.
[47] And I don't believe we have any informants aimed at Catholic churches.
[48] Now, we've hit this before, but remind us, why did the...
[49] FBI think Catholics were a hotbed of domestic terrorism.
[50] So FBI whistleblower Kyle Serafin first published a document in February with undercover DC that basically said the Richmond Field Office in Virginia targeted, quote, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and radical traditionalist Catholic ideology.
[51] But almost immediately after Serafin exposed the document, the FBI headquarters purged it from its system.
[52] And what were agents looking for with the Catholics?
[53] According to the document, the Bureau explicitly named the Society of St. Pius, or SSPX, which officials described as an international priestly society that promotes the traditional Catholic priesthood, traditional Latin Mass, and sacraments.
[54] The office likely chose that group, according to Serafin, because the Southern Poverty Law Center designated them as a hate group.
[55] Now, another report out last week revealed an official document listing phrases that could put you on an FBI watch list.
[56] Who found the list and what's on it?
[57] So this comes from the oversight project with the Heritage Foundation.
[58] It published official documents that show some phrases that could put someone on the FBI's radar.
[59] Now, according to the Bureau, the terms based and red -pilled could be signs of, quote, racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism.
[60] And even using terms like looks Maxine, Chad, and Stacey could also get you on an FBI list for what they call, quote, involuntary celibate violent extremism.
[61] Some of those terms, frankly, I've never heard before, but nonetheless, these reports are certainly alarming and we'll keep an eye on further developments.
[62] Brennan, thanks for coming on.
[63] That was Daily Wire reporter, Brennan Dre.
[64] Coming up, more fallout from the alleged leaked Pentagon documents.
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[76] The Pentagon is struggling to contain the fallout after a series of leaked documents appeared to reveal top secret information on U .S. intelligence operations.
[77] Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to break down what we've learned about the leaks and their ramifications.
[78] So, Tim, these reported leaks have raised a lot of questions about American involvement in Ukraine and elsewhere, but so far we've gotten few answers from officials.
[79] Why?
[80] Well, answers could be slow in coming because the Pentagon doesn't have them yet.
[81] It won't even confirm or deny the validity of the documents.
[82] National Security Council spokesman John Kirby spoke to reporters on Monday and didn't have a lot to share with them, except to warn media outlets from reporting on the documents that have been circulating online.
[83] This is information that has no business, if you don't mind me saying, on the front pages of newspapers or on television.
[84] It is not intended for public consumption, and it should not be out there.
[85] Reports on what's happening behind the scene suggest that the top levels of the U .S. military and Justice Department are anxious to learn how these leaks happened and how much information was leaked.
[86] Some of Kirby's comments gave that impression as well.
[87] At this point, do you believe the leak is contained?
[88] Are there more documents out there that have not been released?
[89] Probably, is this an ongoing threat?
[90] We don't know.
[91] We truly don't.
[92] Now, a lot of this information that's been floating around has involved other countries.
[93] what's been the reaction outside of the U .S.?
[94] Yeah, as we reported on Monday, Israel and France have denied some allegations coming out of the documents about what their governments have been up to.
[95] One document suggested that Israel's intelligence agency had incited protests against the government, and another suggested that France and several other countries, including the U .S., had special forces on the ground in Ukraine.
[96] But more than just denials, these documents are generating some blowback against the United States as well, as governments worry about whether U .S. intelligence channels are compromised.
[97] Opposition lawmakers in South Korea have accused the U .S. of violating South Korea's national sovereignty after some documents suggested the U .S. had been spying on top security officials in the country.
[98] If these documents are authentic, again, if, what's the scale of the security breach so far?
[99] Morning Wire spoke to James Carafano, a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges at the Heritage Foundation.
[100] He said the impact of the leaks right now is difficult to judge because we don't know how much of it can be trusted.
[101] The challenge with leaked documents is you don't have to doctor very much to completely change the meaning in the context of the information.
[102] So it's very, very difficult to pass judgment on them.
[103] You know, for example, during World War II, the Allies actually intentionally leaked intelligence to confuse the enemy.
[104] And 90 % of that intelligence was actually accurate and true.
[105] Carafano also added that none of the information in the leaked documents, if true, is really all that surprising.
[106] I'm sure we're going to continue to see the fallout from this in the days and weeks to come.
[107] Tim, thanks for coming on.
[108] That was Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[109] Consumers have seen a rash of major brands like Nike, Bud Light, and Crest, partnering with polarizing cultural figures like transgender personality Dylan Mulvaney.
[110] While political pundits are often quick to blame this trend on woke corporatism, some are also pointing to a scoring tool from a major left -wing lobbying group.
[111] Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham joins us now to explain.
[112] So, Megan, you've covered ESG, the social credit scores that some of the biggest financial companies use to make investment decisions.
[113] What is this other score being discussed and how does it relate?
[114] So this other score is called the Corporate Equality Index.
[115] It assigns a score to companies based on things like whether they have same -sex partner benefits, whether their health insurance covers things like transgender surgeries, and you might have guessed it, whether it has inclusive marketing.
[116] And if you look around now, you'll see companies like Coca -Cola and Nestle, American Airlines, Kroger grocery stores, just a wide range, touting their perfect CEI scores.
[117] So Anheuser -Busch, the company that makes Budweiser, was one of the first corporations to really embrace the CEI score as a desirable benchmark back in around 2008.
[118] And then last week, we saw it partnering with Mulvaney, who is a 26 -year -old biological man and former actor, who became famous for his viral 365 days of girlhood, a TikTok account documenting his first year of living as a quote -unquote girl, living the childhood he never had, that is.
[119] Day 59 of being a girl, and I have now been cat called multiple times.
[120] So Mulvaney has since been hosted by the White House and he's headlined ads for various women's products.
[121] And then in April, Bud Light sent Mulvaney some specially branded cans to promote on his social media accounts.
[122] Hi, I got some Bud Lights for us.
[123] This month I celebrated my Day 365, a womanhood.
[124] And Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever, a can with my face on it.
[125] So critics characterize the CEI score as an extortion racket.
[126] They say if companies don't promote LGBTQ celebrities and themes in their marketing as the human rights campaign demands, then they'll receive a low score.
[127] And that matters because a low CEI score can negatively affect a company's ESG score, which can then negatively impact a company's bottom line.
[128] Right.
[129] But it seems like choosing a controversial figure like Mulvaney might all.
[130] also be a risk, no?
[131] Yeah, it does.
[132] But some analysts say not as much as the impact of having a Black Rock or State Street or any of those major investment companies decide to bypass your company.
[133] And really, up until the last few years, I think a lot of brands were able to kind of quietly do both.
[134] So given the fact that Budlite's own social media accounts have now gone dark for about a week since this controversy erupted, you do get the sense that the backlash took them somewhat by surprise.
[135] Anheuser -Busch put out a statement to Newsweek that seemed to try to distance the company from the politics of partnering with Mulvaney.
[136] They said Anheuser -Busch, quote, works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.
[137] Now, just to play devil's advocate, I understand that Budweiser was already facing a pretty steep decline, and this might have been a way to shore up a niche market.
[138] Is there any validity to that?
[139] Yeah, you know, I think there is.
[140] I did talk to a couple of sources connected to Anheuser -Busch, and they did tell me that they suspect that this was a decision driven by desperation.
[141] In a recent podcast interview, Budlite's new VP of marketing said that the brand has been dying for a long time, and this was all part of an appeal to women and younger buyers.
[142] What does evolve and elevate mean?
[143] It means shifting the tone.
[144] it means having a campaign that's truly inclusive.
[145] And representation is it sort of the heart of evolution?
[146] And we had this hangover.
[147] I mean, Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out -of -touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.
[148] Okay, well, definitely some trade -offs for the companies here.
[149] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[150] That was Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham.
[151] Another story we're tracking this week.
[152] Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a federal lawsuit against Republican Congressman Jim Jordan on Tuesday, accusing Jordan of a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack him.
[153] Bragg is asking a judge to invalidate subpoenas that Jordan plans to issue as part of a congressional investigation into Bragg's handling of the first criminal prosecution of a former U .S. President Donald Trump.
[154] Thanks for waking up with us.
[155] We'll be back later this afternoon.
[156] with more news you need to know.
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