Morning Wire XX
[0] Republican lawmakers map out a paper trail that they claim shows President Biden and several of his family members got rich off of foreign sources.
[1] The committee is concerned by the complicated, suspicious network of over 20 companies the Bidens and their associates used to enrich themselves.
[2] How much money was allegedly accepted and how were the payments received?
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Thursday, May 11th.
[5] And this is Morning Wire.
[6] We need to take the threat of default off the table.
[7] President Biden has finally agreed to meet with Republicans this week over raising the debt ceiling.
[8] The House did the responsible thing and raised the debt ceiling, put growth and gave us savings.
[9] What's at stake and was any progress made?
[10] And former President Donald Trump held his first town hall of the election cycle hosted by CNN.
[11] Please welcome the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
[12] President Donald Trump.
[13] We discussed the highlights in the politics of the Trump -C -NN event.
[14] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[15] Stay tuned.
[16] We have the news you need to know.
[17] On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee outlined a complicated web of foreign contacts, shell companies, and business transactions that allegedly involved at least nine members of President Joe Biden's family.
[18] Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to tell us more.
[19] So, Tim, what exactly did we learn?
[20] Sure.
[21] Committee Republicans led by Chairman James Comer laid out details from bank records that show how President Biden's family benefited from an alleged international influence peddling scheme.
[22] The records show that members of Biden's family took in as much as $10 million from operatives in China and Romania while Biden served as former President Obama's vice president.
[23] Here's Chairman Comer.
[24] Instead of being honest with the American people, President Biden has claimed since the 2020 election that his family has not received money from China.
[25] That was a lie in 2020, and he continues to lie to the American people now.
[26] The lawmakers said that since Biden became vice president in 2009, some 20 companies affiliated with Biden family members were set up.
[27] The companies were then used to create a complicated web of cutouts and pass -throughs that make any attempt to trace the flow of money exceedingly difficult.
[28] What details do we know at this point?
[29] Yeah, investigators found with these deals that foreign operatives would pay these companies a sum of money, then a third of that money would be dispersed into Biden family accounts.
[30] For example, here's North Dakota's Kelly Armstrong on a deal involving Romanian businessman Gabriel Popovich and Hunter Biden associate, Rob Walker.
[31] Popovich's company paid Walker LLC just over $3 million.
[32] And like clockwork, Walker dispersed approximately $1 million of that money to the Bidens.
[33] If that sounds familiar, it should.
[34] It's essentially the same structure Walker and the Biden family had with the Chinese money, a one -third cut.
[35] Sixteen of 17 payments from Popovich to Walker and the Bidens occurred while Joe Biden was vice president.
[36] During this time, then -Vice -President Biden was lecturing Romania about the dangers of foreign influence in politics.
[37] Here's Biden speaking in Romania in May of 2014.
[38] When politicians can be bought, when courts can be manipulated, when the media becomes a tool of propaganda, there you will find a society that is susceptible to manipulation from the outside.
[39] Now, do we know how credible this evidence is?
[40] Where did it actually come from?
[41] It's credible.
[42] This evidence came from bank records that the committee obtained through subpoenas.
[43] Comer has subpoenaed four banks so far, but he said Wednesday that he believes that as many as 12 banks may have been used to move money between various accounts tied to Biden's family members and their associates.
[44] So some pretty serious allegations here.
[45] How's the White House responded?
[46] Will the White House dismiss the allegations as baseless innuendo?
[47] Major media outlets largely dismiss the allegations as well, or at least declined to pursue further answers.
[48] The lack of attention to the Biden family was one of the underlying themes of the press conference.
[49] Here's Florida Congressman Byron Donald's.
[50] Since Joe Biden has spent decades in the Senate, served eight years as vice president, and is now president of the president of.
[51] the United States and the families getting money from various countries and foreign businesses through various shell companies and this web of LLCs.
[52] I mean, guys, you and the press.
[53] This is easy pickings.
[54] I'm giving you Pulitzer stuff here.
[55] Now, if there's any truth to these allegations, the story would be an earthquake with major implications for U .S. national security and Biden's legacy if it doesn't end his career altogether.
[56] That said, the major news outlets like NBC, ABC, CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post mostly buried the story, opting instead to lead with George Santos.
[57] Well, we are going to continue to cover it.
[58] Tim, thanks for reporting.
[59] Anytime.
[60] That was Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[61] Top Republican lawmakers met with President Biden at the White House Tuesday to kick off negotiations on a budget deal that will raise the debt ceiling and prevent the U .S. from defaulting.
[62] Here with more on what they discussed and what each side is pushing for is Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[63] So the debt ceiling has been looming for months now, but there seems to be growing urgency in Washington this week.
[64] What are we seeing now?
[65] Yeah, that urgency stems from the fact that lawmakers are running out of time.
[66] The U .S. could default on its debt by as early as June 1st if a deal is not reached.
[67] Quick refresher, this debate is centered around the debt ceiling, which is the arbitrary limit set by Congress that decides how much debt the federal government can accrue.
[68] Because the government routinely spends more money than it takes in every year, that ceiling is constantly in need of raising.
[69] Now, usually that happens without a lot.
[70] a hitch as both parties reach a deal to up the limit and keep on spending, but this time has been different.
[71] In January, when the ceiling was hit, Republicans at Congress put their foot down and said if they're going to agree to another debt increase, there have to be spending cuts elsewhere, and that has angered Democrat leaders, including President Biden.
[72] They say the debt limit should not be used for political leverage and one it raised with no strings attached.
[73] And that brings us to this big meeting at the White House.
[74] Exactly.
[75] So the meeting included President Biden, Speaker McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrey.
[76] So all the big players in Congress.
[77] Both sides have been taking jabs at each other in the press and on social media.
[78] But this was the first substantive meeting in months to try and hammer out a deal.
[79] Republicans want the White House to work off at the bill they passed in the House at the end of April.
[80] Remember that bill slashed federal spending and rolled back a number of Biden's recent agenda items in exchange for raising the limit.
[81] Among Republicans, the key figure here, though, is House Speaker McCarthy, who, is in a tight spot right now.
[82] He won the House Speaker position by assuring Republican colleagues he'd pass a balanced budget and cut spending.
[83] So raising the limit and agreeing to a larger federal budget would mean angering the very members who put him in power.
[84] The problem is that he doesn't have a ton of leverage.
[85] Any deal will also have to win the approval of the Democrat -controlled Senate, which makes it unlikely he'll get everything he wants.
[86] And President Biden is well aware of that dynamic.
[87] Yeah, to that point, what have we heard from Biden coming into these negotiations?
[88] The White House is definitely trying to play hardball.
[89] They have intentionally refrained from actually using the word negotiation, opting instead to call it a conversation.
[90] Their stance from the beginning has been that the limit should be raised, again, with no questions asked.
[91] For his part, Biden has said he's willing to have a separate debate on federal spending limits, but he's been adamant that those talks must not be tied to the debt ceiling.
[92] And Biden is even considering bypassing Congress to unilaterally raise the debt himself, invoking the 14th Amendment and claiming it would be unconstitutional for the U .S. to fail to make payments on their debt.
[93] No precedent has ever attempted that move.
[94] So it just gives you an idea of how far Biden is willing to go to avoid concessions.
[95] Yeah, it'd be a radical move to say the least.
[96] So was any progress made in this week's meeting?
[97] To put it simply no, but that was expected coming in.
[98] Both sides said they viewed the meeting as a chance to lay out where they stood.
[99] The main message from Republicans afterwards, though, is that they're the only ones who've got a solid plan to raise the limit.
[100] They pointed to the legislation they passed in the House back in April as evidence that they are the serious ones here.
[101] Here's Speaker McCarthy after the meeting.
[102] For 21 straight years, we have spent more money than we brought in.
[103] So you want us to continue down the same path?
[104] McCarthy later added, quote, the House passed a plan that would responsibly raise the debt ceiling, meaning Republicans have done our part.
[105] It's time for President Biden to come to the negotiating table.
[106] And it's worth noting while the White House says that there should be no debate over raising the ceiling.
[107] A large percentage of the American people seem to disagree.
[108] A recent Wall Street Journal poll shows 45 % of Americans don't want Congress to raise the limit, while 44 % support the move.
[109] Yeah, Americans really divided over this.
[110] Meanwhile, the debt keeps stacking up.
[111] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[112] Anytime.
[113] That's Daily Wire's Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips.
[114] Former President Donald Trump held his first town hall of the election cycle last night in New Hampshire on CNN.
[115] Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter, Amanda to Giacomo.
[116] So Amanda, let's dive right into this town hall.
[117] What were some of the key takeaways from last night?
[118] Well, in his first engagement with the liberal media since leaving office, Trump seemed relaxed and prepared, less combative than we've seen him in the past.
[119] The first 20 minutes of the town hall were dedicated to Trump's claims about the 2020 election in January 6th.
[120] Trump repeatedly said that the election was stolen from him and he wouldn't budge on that.
[121] In another moment, he sparked some applause and laughter from the crowd when he pulled out sheets of paper from his coat pocket to challenge CNN's Caitlin Collins with regard to his actions on January 6th.
[122] Oh, let me pull it out.
[123] I have to pull it.
[124] So if you look at, on January 5th, the day before, I said, please support our Capitol police and law enforcement.
[125] They are truly on the side of our country.
[126] Stay peaceful.
[127] If you look, January 6th, before 2 .30, I am asking for everyone at the U .S. Capitol to remain peaceful.
[128] On that note, Trump also brought up Ashley Babbitt when Collins pressed him about violence against Capitol police officers.
[129] And a person named Ashley Babbitt was killed, and she shouldn't have been killed.
[130] And that thug that killed her, there was no reason to shoot her.
[131] At cold blank range, they shot her.
[132] There was no reason.
[133] I'll add that this audience was filled with Republican and undecided voters.
[134] They seemed very pro -Trump.
[135] Trump even received a standing ovation when he first walked onto the stage.
[136] closed the town hall, he pointed to the audience and said, I like you guys.
[137] Now, this was a town hall of New Hampshire residents.
[138] What kind of issues did they bring up?
[139] The residents seemed highly concerned about the economy and inflation.
[140] One person asked Trump how he would bring down gas prices, and Trump responded, quote, drill baby drill.
[141] Another resident asked about the Ukraine -Russia conflict, and Trump vowed to end the war in one day if he were elected president again.
[142] I want everybody to stop dying.
[143] They're dying.
[144] Russians and Ukraine.
[145] I wanted to stop dying.
[146] And I'll have that done.
[147] I'll have that done in 24 hours.
[148] I'll have it done.
[149] You need the power of the presidency to do it.
[150] Abortion was also a topic of discussion.
[151] Trump seemed to hedge a bit on endorsing a federal abortion ban, but played up his pro -life achievements.
[152] People that will kill a baby in the ninth month or the eighth month or the seventh month or after the baby is born, they're the radicals, not the pro -life.
[153] Now, this town hall was hosted by CNN, which I think a lot of people found significant and sort of surprising on its own.
[154] Tell us about their apparent shift on Trump.
[155] Yeah, sure.
[156] Anyone who was remotely tuned into Trump's first term knows that the former president was not a fan of the network and vice versa.
[157] Trump has called CNN fake news and the Clinton news network.
[158] He said CNN correspondent Jim Acosta is a, quote, terrible person and called recently X CNN host Don Lemon, the Don Lemon.
[159] Thomas man on television.
[160] He's also had numerous clashes with CNN's Caitlin Collins, and she hosted the town hall.
[161] But hours before the event, Trump took to Truth Social to suggest that CNN might be making a comeback by hosting him, though he did caution that the network must treat his base with respect.
[162] Now that it's under new leadership, CNN appears to be trying to shed its, you know, to be frank, well -earned reputation for being openly biased against Trump.
[163] As I've mentioned, Lemon has been fired, as have other CNN employees.
[164] including media reporter Brian Stelter.
[165] Hosting Trump was another one of those overtures, but it didn't sit well with some liberals and Democrats.
[166] During the town hall, Democratic rep Alexandra Ocasio -Cortez said on Twitter that CNN should be ashamed of themselves for platforming Trump.
[167] She added, quote, this was a choice to platform lies about the election in January 6th with no plan but to have their moderator interrupted without consequence.
[168] All right.
[169] Well, Amanda, thanks so much for reporting.
[170] Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prest to Giacomo.
[171] Another story we're tracking this week.
[172] The British government announced Wednesday that several babies have recently been born in the United Kingdom through an experimental technique combining DNA from three people.
[173] The human fertilization and embryology authority said it was part of an effort to prevent genetic diseases.
[174] This technique has been used in extremely rare cases since 2016.
[175] Thanks for waking up with us.
[176] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.