Morning Wire XX
[0] The latest inflation numbers stun economists and send the stock market tumbling.
[1] Why were the numbers so concerning?
[2] And what's next for the U .S. economy?
[3] Forget about 75 basis points.
[4] That means we're going to be on a path that the Fed is going to be raising rates a lot, not just this meeting, but in multiple meetings going forward.
[5] I'm Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[6] It's Wednesday, September 14th, and this is Morning Wire.
[7] The Justice Department issues dozens of subpoenas as part of their January 6th inquiry.
[8] Is the investigation into President Trump heating up?
[9] And the latest Twitter whistleblower shared a bombshell testimony in the Senate, alleging that the company knowingly employed a Chinese agent.
[10] They simply lacked the fundamental abilities to hunt for foreign intelligence agencies.
[11] We have the details on the many allegations as well as Twitter's response.
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morningwire.
[13] Stay tuned.
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[22] New data released Tuesday shows that inflation continues to sit at near 40 -year highs, even as record gas prices have dipped as summer comes to a close.
[23] Here are the latest numbers and how President Biden is reacting to the news as DailyWire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
[24] Cabot, let's get right to it.
[25] What did we find out yesterday?
[26] Well, we found out that inflation in the month of August was still at 8 .3%.
[27] Now, that's down slightly from the month before, but still considerably worse than what economists had predicted.
[28] As the New York Times put it in their headline, U .S. inflation remains stubbornly high.
[29] For context, that 8 .3 % number, while lower than 9 .1 figure we saw in June, is still twice as high as anything we saw from 2010 to 2020 when it never got above 4%.
[30] Where were the biggest price increases felt?
[31] Yeah, it actually gets worse, the more you look into the numbers.
[32] So the food index, which just tracks the price of groceries, jumped nearly a full point last month and is now 11 .4 % higher.
[33] than it was the same month last year.
[34] So $100 grocery bill last September is $110 this month.
[35] That is the biggest one -year jump for food prices since 1979.
[36] But that's nothing compared to the price increases we've seen for energy, which are 23 .8 % higher than they were 12 months ago, which, again, it won't come as much of a surprise to people who've been tracking their utility bills closely.
[37] No. So what sort of reaction did the news garner?
[38] The markets were clearly spooked by the report as they've been hoping for much better news.
[39] The Dow took a nosedive, ending the day down more than 1 ,200 points, while the S &P 500 finished the day down 4 .3 % with all 11 sectors in the market falling.
[40] The S &P 500 is now down 16 % on the year.
[41] So I've said it before.
[42] I'll say it again.
[43] If you've got a mutual fund or a 401K, do not look at it right now.
[44] What have we seen from President Biden in response to all this?
[45] He actually touted the latest figures as an example of his administration.
[46] administration bringing inflation down.
[47] He tweeted, quote, today's data show progress and fighting inflation.
[48] My plan is showing we can lower costs.
[49] Now, critics of the president, as you can imagine, were quick to push back, claiming that his policies largely created record inflation in the first place and that he shouldn't be celebrating when prices are still near record highs.
[50] They also point out that back in December of 2021, he said inflation had reached its peak and that it would come down, quote, more rapidly than people think.
[51] So they feel like he's been.
[52] wrong on inflation all along.
[53] But nevertheless, he called for a, quote, celebration yesterday at the White House to commemorate the signing of his spending package, which Democrats call the Inflation Reduction Act.
[54] After all, this bill cut costs for families help reduce inflation at the kitchen table because that's what they look at while much of their monthly bills and how much do they have to pay out for the necessities.
[55] In case you missed it, the event also included a musical performance by James Taylor.
[56] So the White House was really putting off sort of a party vibe.
[57] One more thing before you go.
[58] We talked yesterday about how the looming rail worker strike could contribute to inflation.
[59] What's the latest there?
[60] Well, as of late Tuesday, there hadn't been any progress between the two sides.
[61] And a strike is seeming more and more likely.
[62] On that note, Amtrak began canceling long -distance trips out of Chicago in anticipation of the strike.
[63] While they own about 700 miles of track in the northeast, 97 % of their trains rely on track owned by freight railroads, would be shut down starting Friday.
[64] Other freight carriers announced an embargo on all trains carrying hazardous materials for fear that they could be stuck on the tracks if and when the strike begins.
[65] So ominous signs on that front.
[66] And remember, the strike would cost the U .S. economy about $2 billion a day and increased prices on a huge swath of goods which would only drive inflation up more.
[67] Definitely the last thing we need right now.
[68] Yeah.
[69] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[70] Anytime.
[71] That's Daily Wire's Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips.
[72] Coming up, the DOJ issues dozens of subpoenas connected to its January 6th investigation.
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[76] The Department of Justice has reportedly seized the phones of two top advice.
[77] to former President Donald Trump and issued dozens of subpoenas to his former aides.
[78] The rapid escalation and investigative activity comes as part of the DOJ's criminal probe into the activities surrounding the January 6th riot at the U .S. Capitol.
[79] Here to discuss the DOJ and its criminal investigations into former President Trump is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[80] So, Tim, who specifically is the DOJ targeting right now?
[81] Hey, Georgia, we don't know most of those names yet, but a few names have surfaced.
[82] reports say that two men who were forced to give up their phones to the FBI are Trump's in -house counsel, Boris Epstein, and campaign strategist Mike Roman.
[83] And keep in mind, Epstein has been helping coordinate Trump's legal defense against all the state and federal investigations against him.
[84] So the DOJ is striking very close to Trump there.
[85] Exactly.
[86] A few other people have been named in reports as having received subpoenas, though the vast majority are still unknown to the public.
[87] Dan Scavina reportedly received one.
[88] Skavino was one of Trump's top communications officials and ran the social media accounts of the former president's campaign and then for the White House.
[89] He's also one of Trump's closest allies.
[90] He began working for the former president long before the 2016 campaign at one of Trump's resorts.
[91] Another subpoena went to former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Carrick, who Trump pardoned in 2020 of several felony tax fraud and false statement convictions.
[92] Carrick's attorney Timothy Parlator said the subpoena Carrick received as the, quote, widest and most obtuse subpoena I have ever seen in my years practicing criminal law.
[93] He called it a scatter shot for anything related to Donald Trump.
[94] So this has nothing to do with the classified documents.
[95] These subpoenas are part of a separate investigation aside from the one that prompted the search at Mara Lago.
[96] Right.
[97] Now, what is the DOJ looking for in this separate investigation?
[98] Well, most of this information is coming from anonymous leakers speaking to the media.
[99] So the details are hard to pin down.
[100] It's related to January 6, but it's not clear if investigators are targeting Trump's attempts at stopping or overturning the election through technical legal arguments or about the riot at the Capitol.
[101] We've seen evidence that prosecutors are looking at both.
[102] The New York Times got a hold of one of those subpoenas and reported that it cast a wide net, seeking any records or communications from people who organized, spoke at, or provided security for Trump's January 6th rally before the riot.
[103] It also sought any documentation on legislative or executive officials who were involved in trying to obstruct, influence, impede, or delay the certification of the election.
[104] Some of the latest subpoenas have hit Trump's Save America pact that fundraised tens of millions of dollars after the 2020 election ostensibly to help Trump challenge the election results.
[105] Most of that money went unspent and is still sitting in Save America's war chest.
[106] And earlier this year, federal agents seized the cell phone of attorney John Eastman, who advised Trump and authored a memo making a legal argument for former Vice President Mike Pence rejecting certified electors.
[107] So at this point, we're seeing a lot of investigations, but we probably won't know what they're after until we see an indictment.
[108] Right, a lot of investigations to keep track of.
[109] Tim, thanks for reporting.
[110] Thanks for having me. That was DailyWire's Tim Pierce.
[111] Twitter's latest whistleblower dropped several bombshells in his testimony to Congress on Tuesday.
[112] Former Twitter executive Peter Zatko told Congress that not only does Twitter have many security risks, but the social media giant has an undercover Chinese agent on its payroll.
[113] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marita Lorty, is here to tell us more.
[114] All right, Marade, what did Zatko say?
[115] Hi, John.
[116] So Zatko was Twitter's head of security from the end of 2020 to earlier this year.
[117] Zatko gave over two hours of explosive testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.
[118] He accused Twitter of being rife with domestic and national security risks and of having at least one undercover Chinese agent on its payroll, as you noted.
[119] When Zatko warned another executive that he was confident Twitter employed a foreign agent, the executive responded, according to Zatko, quote, Well, since we already have one, what is the problem if we have more?
[120] So Twitter was warned that it might have a foreign agent on its payroll and essentially dismiss the concern, according to this whistleblower.
[121] That's right.
[122] Tell us more about the technical security concern, Zatko mentioned.
[123] Well, Zatko also said Twitter is extremely vulnerable to national security threats like foreign governments penetrating and exploiting the platform.
[124] He mentioned that Twitter struggled on a technical level to track foreign agents.
[125] What I did notice when we did know of a person inside acting on behalf of a foreign interest as an unregistered agent, it was extremely difficult to track the people.
[126] There was a lack of logging and an ability to see what they were doing, what information was being accessed, or to contain their activities, let alone set steps for remediation and possible reconstitution of any damage.
[127] Another concerning allegation he made is that Twitter CEO, Parag Agrawal, before he was CEO, had proposed bowing to Russia's demands for more censorship and surveillance so Twitter could grow users in Russia.
[128] His suggestion wasn't taken, but it set off alarm bells for Zatko.
[129] Even domestically, Twitter doesn't keep users' data especially safe, Zatko said.
[130] For example, he told Senator Josh Hawley that more than 4 ,000 Twitter employees have access to geolocation data and IP addresses that could potentially be used to, Twitter users.
[131] I know that Twitter has IP locations and that they do use geolocation services based upon IP addresses.
[132] Wow.
[133] 4 ,000 employees with access to that data.
[134] That's extraordinary.
[135] A Twitter employee could also potentially take over the account of a high -profile person, he said.
[136] Twitter also doesn't wholly understand all the user data it collects, why it's collected, and where it's stored, according to Zatko.
[137] Another noteworthy point, Zatko said that Twitter was more afraid of foreign regulators than of the U .S .'s own federal trade commission.
[138] This is because Twitter expects one -time fines from U .S. regulators and even prices the fines into its business, he said.
[139] But foreign regulators like France's Data Protection Authority might impose more stringent penalties.
[140] MorningWire spoke to Carl Zabo, professor of internet law at George Mason University.
[141] Here's what he had to say.
[142] Remember, their entire business is maintaining customer trust.
[143] So to the extent that Twitter is engaged in any of the allegations that Zachko says, it should be concerning.
[144] But I think it's also unlikely to actually be true.
[145] Now, I haven't seen the evidence, but what this does make crystal clear for me and it seems like many of the senators in Congress is that we need a national standard on privacy and data security to make sure that any business, regardless of its size, regardless of its location online or offline, is protecting and collecting our information responsibly and protecting it appropriately.
[146] What kinds of reactions did we see from senators on the committee?
[147] Well, committee chairman Chuck Grassley actually said that if the whistleblower allegations are true, Twitter CEO Agrawal should resign.
[148] Senator Drash Hawley called the testimony really significant.
[149] But Twitter responded Tuesday to Zetko's testimony by saying that his allegations are, quote, riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.
[150] We should know, too, the whistleblower testimony was the only big Twitter news on Tuesday.
[151] We also got some news on Elon Musk's bid to buy Twitter.
[152] Right.
[153] What's the latest on that?
[154] Well, Twitter shareholders appear to want to change.
[155] Less than an hour after Zetko's testimony concluded, the shareholders formally approved Musk's $44 billion buyout offer.
[156] Well, a lot of upheaval for Twitter this week.
[157] Right, thanks for reporting.
[158] Thanks, John.
[159] That's Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[160] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[161] Over 1 ,000 New York Times workers who are part of the news.
[162] of a union are saying they will not come back to the office this week in the midst of negotiations, and sometimes employees are even warning of a strike.
[163] The Memphis man accused of gunning down several innocent people around the city while live streaming some of it on Facebook last week, returned to court for a brief motion hearing on Tuesday.
[164] He was released 11 months into a three -year prison sentence for a previous attempted murder charge.
[165] Kenneth Starr, whose investigation as independent counsel led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, died Tuesday.
[166] He was 76.
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