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- [00:04]
John Bickley
A whirlwind week in the Capitol sees a send off for Lindsey Graham. Two high profile sit downs with US allies and the highly anticipated testimony of Dr. Fauci.
- [00:14]
Caller/Commentator
You shouldn't expect him to admit to anything.
- [00:16]
Georgia Howe
But the big one is that he knew and he lied.
- [00:19]
Caller/Commentator
And he's been lying from the beginning.
- [00:21]
John Bickley
I'm DAILY Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, July 29th. This is Morning Wire.
- [00:34]
Georgia Howe
Natural disasters in Japan and Europe force hundreds of thousands to evacuate as emergency teams scramble to rescue survivors.
- [00:42]
John Bickley
And newly released tapes of Joe Biden uncover more evidence of mishandling of classified information.
- [00:48]
Tim Rice
Some of this may be classified to Be careful.
- [00:51]
Caller/Commentator
Okay.
- [00:52]
Marshall Yates
I'm not sure there's nothing more classified.
- [00:54]
Georgia Howe
Thanks for waking up with MORNING wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Late Senator Lindsey Graham was honored Yesterday in Washington, D.C. with a funeral service in the National Cathedral attended by major political figures from both the US and abroad, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who were also in town to meet with President Trump.
- [01:19]
John Bickley
Joining us now from the nation's Capital is our D.C. bureau chief, Tim Rice. Tim, thanks for coming on.
- [01:24]
Tim Rice
Thanks for having me, John.
- [01:25]
John Bickley
So a really extensive series of memorials for the late senior Senator Lindsey Graham. We had day one yesterday. There will be more today in his home state, South Carolina. Let's start with the services yesterday. Who was there and how did it go?
- [01:41]
Tim Rice
Yeah, I mean, it might be easier to ask who wasn't there. Pretty much all of what you might call official Washington turned out to support Senator Graham. It was a real, a real or to honor him, it was a real testimony to his career and his lifetime of service. President Trump and Vice President Vance were both there and they both gave eulogies, as did Fox News host Sean Hannity. In the audience was pretty every member of President Trump's Cabinet, multiple Supreme Court justices, including Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom Lindsey Graham famously helped get through the Senate confirmation process, as well as a number of Graham's former colleagues from the Senate and from the House. I mentioned those eulogies. They were both touching and hit on a lot of the same themes. It's not often that we see President Trump and Vice President Vance give speeches at the same time and hit the same notes. But both of them referred to Senator to Lindsey Graham as a true American original, an American icon. They talked about his dedication to public service, his dedication to promoting democracy abroad, his belief that America was the last best hope for democracy in the world and both had to and would, God willing, survive. So a really incredible and touching testimony to a true statesman.
- [02:57]
John Bickley
Yeah, very consistent with what we've heard again and again about him from behind the scenes. Now, President Trump had a couple of important meetings with world leaders as well. Zelensky and Netanyahu. What were the goals there?
- [03:10]
Tim Rice
Yeah. So a pretty crazy confluence of things. I should also note that we did see that Zelensky and Netanyahu had a conversation with each other at Graham's funeral. Not entirely sure what they said, but there was a moment where the two of them responded off to the side conversing. And a really interesting moment for these leaders to come together because just over the weekend, Ukraine fired on a commercial Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea. The Iranian government said that this was an attack on Iran. The Kremlin. Kremlin immediately came out in support of Iran. So kind of an interesting happenstance that both of these leaders would be in town right after Ukraine seems to almost be getting dragged into the conflict in Iran, which just hit its fifth month. So we don't know a ton about what Zelensky and Trump said. We all we've heard from Press Secretary Caroline Levitt is that both meetings were incredibly productive. We're hearing some reports that Zelensky, of course, asked for more funding for weapons and for aid in his in the war effort. Late last night, a number of senators met with Zelensky separately. We know more about the Netanyahu meeting because the prime minister's office released a more substantive readout. And Prime Minister Netanyahu said that this is the best conversation he's ever had with the president. Certainly a meeting coming at a crucial inflection point. Hostilities and attacks are kind of paused right now in Iran, but the president keeps saying that we might ramp back up again, so we're going to have to wait and see. But surely the President and the prime Minister discussed whatever the next step is going to be in America's involvement in the region.
- [04:44]
John Bickley
Certainly crucial conversations, like you said, at a key moment. Now, there's more going on today in D.C. before we let you go, just wanted to ask you about this highly anticipated testimony with Dr. Fauci. What should we be keeping an eye on today for that?
- [04:59]
Tim Rice
So in just a couple of hours, 8:30am Eastern Time, Anthony Fauci will testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The main focus is this recently revealed the private diary that he kept on his work computer while leading his division of the NIH during the coronavirus pandemic. Senator Rand Paul, who has been a chief Foushee foe on the Hill since 2020, intends to ask him about a number of the revelations contained in this diary, including you know, further confirmation that Foushee, you know, overplayed the. The effectiveness of social distancing and mask wearing, things of that nature, as well as some frankly embarrassing things for Foushee. He seemed to really enjoy being feted by, you know, the Kardashians and various other celebrities. So we're gonna. I think the thing to keep an eye on, frankly, is f. You know, he's. He's a man who has sat through these testimonies before and has put on what some might call an arrogant display. I think we should expect him to lock horns with Rand Paul. We should expect him to come in with a little bit of confidence because, of course, he was given an unconditional pardon by President Joe Biden right before he left office. Although one thing to note on that is that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Said yesterday that if, If, If. If Foushee perjures himself in this hearing, then they will seek prosecution. The. Will seek to prosecute him because he is saying, and Senator Paul has agreed that the pardon does not. Does not cover any future action. So definitely a lot to watch, and I'm excited to tune in.
- [06:31]
John Bickley
We will certainly be tuning in here for sure. Thanks so much, Tim, for joining us.
- [06:36]
Tim Rice
Absolutely. John,
- [06:39]
Caller/Commentator
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- [09:09]
John Bickley
Spain and France are both in a battle with raging wildfires as thousands more are ordered to evacuate their homes. Meanwhile, In Japan, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake has left several people dead.
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Georgia Howe
Joining us now is Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake. So, Lyndon, multiple disasters across the globe. Let's start with the earthquake in Japan. What do we know so far?
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Lyndon Blake
Yeah. So On Tuesday, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan. Several people are dead and the search for survivors continued throughout the night after that earthquake hit a mall in Kumamoto. That was according to a CNN affiliate in Japan who said police sources confirmed those fatalities. And at least four people have been rescued with minor injuries from that mall collapse. And it was in southern Japan. Bridges, other buildings also fell as a result of that. And this earthquake does come after this same area has had this happen before in a widespread MANNER back in 2016. So 10 years ago, a devastating earthquake killed 275 people and injured thousands more again in area in southern Japan. Now the earthquake back in 2016 caused widespread devastation, obviously, and affecting 200,000 homes. So even 10 years later, it is still Japan's most expensive natural disaster in recent years.
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Georgia Howe
Now, what about tsunami warnings? I know sometimes in Japan when they have these earthquakes, that's a huge concern. Did they rule that out?
- [10:34]
Lyndon Blake
Some of the areas that felt the biggest shake from the earthquake, they're going to be under a warning for the next week. As aftershock is a possibility. Tsunami could be a possibility. Possibilities from those things that if you were in that part that was really hit the hardest, you, you're not out of the woods yet. You have to wait a little bit and to make sure that everything is out of the area before you can really return to normal life.
- [10:56]
Georgia Howe
Now turning to France and Spain, tell us about the wildfires that are currently going on.
- [11:01]
Lyndon Blake
Yeah, the images out of southwest Europe are just heartbreaking. A third of a million people have already been displaced because of those ravishing wildfires. Firefighters are trying to hold the flames really as much as they can. This is just west of Bordeaux, France. So far, the blaze has burned an area four times the size of Paris. Now, France's President, Emmanuel Macron called this the most severe situation the country has faced since World War II. So that is saying a lot about the damage the fires have caused in France, and they aren't alone in this. Spain feeling the effects of the blaze as well. The fire there is affecting Madrid, Toledo and Avila. Now, European leaders are turning the wildfires into a discussion about climate change. You have the European Union's climate Service saying that Europe, Europe is the world's fastest warming climate. It's warming up at more than twice the global average. So Spain's prime minister is speaking out about that, saying that the fires in Spain are the most painful expression of what he calls a climate emergency.
- [12:01]
Georgia Howe
Now, you mentioned they're talking about climate. Do we know how these fires started?
- [12:05]
Lyndon Blake
Now, this is where it gets interesting. France's prime minister said Monday that all these fires that started back at the beginning of July are not accidents. He said that some are started on purpose, which is a crime. And he added, most of the fires that are still burning in France are from carelessness, like a cigarette butt barbecuing or maybe doing work out in the yard without taking the precautions that are needed in these type of conditions. So so far, more than 160 people have been detained or questioned over deliberately starting these fires.
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Georgia Howe
Very reminiscent of the Palisades fire. Lyndon, thanks for reporting.
- [12:39]
Caller/Commentator
Thanks.
- [12:42]
Georgia Howe
Newly released recordings of former President Biden include him admitting to retaining classified information from his time as vice president.
- [12:49]
John Bickley
The release of the tapes has been spearheaded by the oversight project, born out of the Heritage Foundation. Joining us now is strategic counsel for the oversight project, Marshall Yates. Marshall, thank you so much for coming on.
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Marshall Yates
Thanks for discussing this important release that we have.
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John Bickley
So how do these tapes change the legal dynamic around Biden's mishandling of classified information?
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Marshall Yates
Well, it's a much bigger bombshell in this release than what we anticipated. The information disclosed confirms that Joe Biden, after leaving office, was willing, willingly, knowingly retaining and disclosing classified information to his ghostwriter. And what's key to understand that are the redactions. Normally, we would complain about the number of redactions, but here the redactions confirm under the standard that redactions are for classified information. So every time there's a blank in the audio or redaction in the transcript, it is a confirmation that Joe Biden released classified information, national security or DoD information, to his ghostwriter. And he knew he was doing this. And this wasn't just accidental like her led us to believe when he was special counsel. He said, the boxes are in my basement. Let me go get this. This was a month or two later. This happened as early as February 2017, April 2017. It was immediate, and it was just an egregious disclosure of classified information. And it wasn't an accidental. He said, this is classified information. I'm sharing. Please be careful with.
- [14:15]
John Bickley
Yeah, we were frankly pretty stunned from our side about the open admissions about the mishandling of classified information in these tapes. What can we expect in terms of next steps in this case?
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Marshall Yates
Well, I think this revelation brings up a possibility for a lot of next steps. I would encourage the Department of Justice to look into this. Our director of Litigation, Jeff Clark, put out an interesting thread related to the sum of money that Joe Biden obtained for the book. He obtained money for the book, I believe $8 million that he benefited and profited for the disclosure of classified information. And it would be nice if the Department of Justice would look into that and claw back that unjust benefit and profit that Joe Biden received.
- [14:55]
John Bickley
Have we ever seen something like that before in the past? Has a Justice Department ever attempted to do that?
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Marshall Yates
Well, you're allowed to do it under the statute. It's one of the possibilities that provides the law for the relief under the statute. So it's an option under law that the Justice Department has at its disposal.
- [15:13]
John Bickley
Now, this is quite early, of course, you guys have just released these tapes, but have you heard from the Trump administration. Their response to these new tapes?
- [15:21]
Marshall Yates
Not yet. But more interestingly, we had to fight Joe Biden directly in court. He intervened in this lawsuit and he directly intervened to try to prevent this from coming out. So we heard more from the Joe Biden presidency to stop the transparency initiative that we led. And he fought tooth and nail until the court said, no, nope, no more. You gotta let this stuff out. And then he had to give up. It's very interesting that a former president would intervene in a FOIA lawsuit. And what's interesting, and the audio tapes also confirm that Biden had a diminished mental capacity as early as 2017. He mentions in the audio tapes a number of times how confused he is, how much he can't recall. It's amazing the parallels between 2017 Joe Biden and the auto pen presidency of Joe Biden where he couldn't recall basic facts.
- [16:08]
John Bickley
Does this new information really change the way we look at Biden or does this just confirm how we already understood his presidency?
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Marshall Yates
Well, it underscores how we understood his presidency. But this goes back to 2017. The audio tapes at issue underscore President Biden or former Vice President Biden's mental capacity lacking and diminished right after his vice presidency ended. It shows that he was not capable of handling a coherent conversation recalling basic facts. Yet he was installed as the president four years later and then led the country, so called led the country probably by more people propping him up than ever before. So I think it'll only bring up those issues to the forefront of who is actually leading the country during those four years because it was not the man that we heard on that audio tape in 2017. It just, he did not have the mental capacity for basic facts and, and recall and everything was just lacking. It was surprising.
- [17:07]
John Bickley
Well, a highly anticipated release of these tapes and like you said, even more in them than most of us suspected there'd be. Marshall, thank you so much for joining us.
- [17:16]
Marshall Yates
Thank you for having me.
- [17:18]
Georgia Howe
Thanks for waking up with us. The reporting that fuels this show is only possible because you tune in every day and because of our Daily Wire subscribers.
- [17:25]
John Bickley
To enjoy the show ad free and join our mission, become a member@dailywire.com com we'll be back this evening. The more news you need to know.