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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe, co-host of Morning Wire. It's Friday, May 19th.
--:-- John Bickley: Three FBI whistleblowers appeared before Congress on Thursday, accusing the Bureau of harsh retaliation when each questioned the handling of the J6 investigations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The FBI will crush you. This government will crush you and your family if you try to expose the truth about things that they are doing that are wrong.
--:-- John Bickley: What was their evidence and how were they punished? I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Chicago's new progressive mayor took office this week, inheriting a number of issues with crime topping the list.
--:-- John Bickley: The more we invest in young people, in the immediate, the more we're going to see a reduction in crime. And it's been proven over and over again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How bad is crime in the Windy City? And what does the new mayor propose to do about it?
--:-- John Bickley: And amid a push towards plant-based diets, a large number of scientists and academics are pushing back.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We break down the debate surrounding meat. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hi, I'm Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So first, introduce us to these witnesses.
--:-- John Bickley: Sure. Marcus Allen and Garrett O'Boyle are still employed by the FBI, but each has been on unpaid suspension for months.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Both men say they were retaliated against after they questioned the prevailing narrative around January 6th and voiced concerns about the way the FBI was handling those investigations.
--:-- John Bickley: Allen said he was suspended essentially for doing his job. He sent news articles and videos he found to his colleagues and superiors that cut against the idea that the Capitol riot was mainly a result of domestic extremism.
--:-- Tim Pierce: As a result, I was accused of promoting conspiratorial views and unreliable information. Because I did this, the FBI questioned my allegiance to the United States.
--:-- John Bickley: Allen said he's been on unpaid suspension for over a year and living off his and his wife's retirement accounts to make ends meet.
--:-- Tim Pierce: O'Boyle has been in a similar situation for over half that time, and he's had to rely on charity from his family, friends, and his church.
--:-- John Bickley: O'Boyle spoke up saying the FBI was inflating the scope of domestic extremism cases by manipulating its case data around January 6th.
--:-- Tim Pierce: For that, he said he was suspended and left homeless after being transferred across the country.
--:-- John Bickley: The FBI stopped paying me, and there's no other way for me to make a living.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I know from other whistleblowers that the FBI routinely denies them the ability to get outside employment.
--:-- John Bickley: And then as a special agent, you can only make $7,500 a year outside of your government salary.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So on one hand, we want to try to get our jobs back because we are trying to do our patriotic duty. But on the other hand, we still have families to take care of.
--:-- John Bickley: The third witness, Stephen Friend, is a former FBI special agent who retired from the agency after something similar happened to him.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Friend accused the Bureau of leading a campaign of humiliation and intimidation against him by leaking his medical records to the New York Times.
--:-- John Bickley: And withholding records he needs to be a private investigator and apply for a gun license.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And Republicans are presenting this as a systemic issue within the FBI, political targeting.
--:-- John Bickley: What is the Bureau saying?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well the Bureau says that its disciplinary actions were justified.
--:-- John Bickley: A senior FBI official sent a letter on Wednesday to Congressman Jim Jordan, the chair of the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And the letter said that the men were suspended in part for expressing views that put into question their allegiance to the United States.
--:-- John Bickley: It also makes other specific claims.
--:-- Tim Pierce: For example, the letter said Allen sent a link to colleagues saying federal law enforcement had some degree of infiltration among the crowds gathered at the Capitol.
--:-- John Bickley: We should note when FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked about the presence of federal agents back in November, he danced around the question.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I have to be very careful about what I can say about when even now, because that's what you told us two years ago.
--:-- John Bickley: Math finish about when we do and do not, where we have and have not used confidential human sources.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But to the extent that there's a suggestion, for example, that the FBI's confidential human sources or FBI employees in some way instigated or orchestrated January 6th, that's categorically false.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, other testimony from former FBI agent George Hill raised a similar point, and Congressman Matt Gaetz brought up that in the hearing.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's a bit of Hill's testimony that was played on Thursday.
--:-- John Bickley: Why can't you just send us, give us access to the 11,000 hours of video of this example that's available?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Because there may be, may be UCs, undercover officers, or CHSs, confidential human sources, on those videos whose identity we need to protect.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, certainly troubling claims out of the FBI, especially in light of the Durham report.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Hi, I'm Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Maraida, tell us about Chicago's new mayor.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Hi, Georgia. Mayor Brandon Johnson took office on Monday.
--:-- John Bickley: He ousted Chicago's old mayor, Lori Lightfoot, and won a tough runoff election last month against another opponent.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Johnson is a 47-year-old former union organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union.
--:-- John Bickley: He's progressive through and through.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: He wasn't well-known when he began his run for mayor, but with the powerful Chicago Teachers Union supporting him, he eventually became the favorite candidate.
--:-- John Bickley: He even got endorsements from Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Here's Johnson reflecting on his successful campaign.
--:-- John Bickley: When the city of Chicago heard my truth, they heard their truth as well.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Johnson certainly has a lot of supporters, but some voters say they don't think his policies are the answer.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's one Chicago resident.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: I don't think he's going to do any better than Glory Lightfoot. I have no confidence in him.
--:-- John Bickley: He's already coming in the gate saying the wrong thing.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: So I don't see anything turning better for Brandon Johnson with him being in the office.
--:-- John Bickley: Johnson immediately has several emergencies he has to deal with as mayor of the nation's third largest city.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The biggest one is crime.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. So tell us about that.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: What's crime looking like in Chicago now and what are Johnson's proposals to fix it?
--:-- John Bickley: Crime is the top concern for Chicago residents right now.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Chicago has a higher per capita murder rate than both New York and Los Angeles.
--:-- John Bickley: In 2021 Chicago had the most murders in a quarter of a century with 804 murders.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Murders have come down slightly since then but other violent crime has increased like robberies and carjackings.
--:-- John Bickley: Mayor Johnson has promised to build a city that works for everyone.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: What he's suggesting is more mental health treatment, more police detectives, and more year-round jobs for youth.
--:-- John Bickley: What he doesn't want is a bigger police presence.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Johnson thinks a police-first approach has not worked, and he promised not to rely on the, quote, failed approaches that have brought trauma to communities across the city.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, does Johnson support the defund the police movement?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, in 2020, Johnson called the defund the police movement a, quote, real political goal, but he later walked that back saying it was not his political goal.
--:-- John Bickley: That said, he definitely didn't run on a pro-cop platform.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: One concern is that an anti-cop mayor will cause low morale in the already struggling Chicago Police Department.
--:-- John Bickley: The president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, John Catanzara, previously warned that if Johnson becomes mayor, up to 1,000 cops will leave the force.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: In April, when crowds of teenagers got violent in downtown Chicago, Johnson seemingly defended the teens, calling on citizens to not, quote, demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile, summer in Chicago always brings an uptick in crime.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Most of Chicago's business leaders ended up endorsing Johnson's opponent, Paul Vallis, who promised to beef up the city's policing.
--:-- John Bickley: Business leaders have also expressed concern about Johnson's plans for progressive tax proposals.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, he plans to raise taxes on large companies and the wealthy to pay for his campaign promises, including the police alternatives like more mental health treatment.
--:-- John Bickley: One thing Johnson wants to do is hike taxes on the sale of properties over $1 million to pay for more affordable housing.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Another specific thing he wants to do is tax financial transactions.
--:-- John Bickley: But lawmakers would need to approve that, and it's not very popular.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Even Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker was not on board with that idea.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hi, I'm Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Cabot, you've reported before about the war on meat. Now it sounds like there's some pushback.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, that is quite the understatement.
--:-- John Bickley: Late last month, over a thousand scientists from every continent co-signed a declaration affirming the health benefits of meat and dairy products.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: As part of that declaration, the group published nine peer-reviewed papers in the scientific journal Animal Frontiers.
--:-- John Bickley: Those papers offer new evidence into the nutritional benefits of pork, chicken, and beef, and reaffirmed that, quote, regular consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs as part of a well-balanced diet is advantageous for human beings.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Those papers expand on the benefits of such foods, noting their nutrient density compared to plant-based alternatives, and touting the benefits of low-cost, high-protein foods offered by livestock.
--:-- John Bickley: And perhaps most notably, these scientists took aim at plant-based diets.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. So that part really stuck out.
--:-- John Bickley: What did they have to say on that front?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It's important to note their grievances weren't with all plant diets but more so with scientists who claim plant diets are a healthier or the healthiest alternative for everyone.
--:-- John Bickley: The declaration notes that, quote, well-resourced individuals may be able to achieve adequate diets while heavily restricting meat, dairy, and eggs.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The approach should not be recommended for general populations, though.
--:-- John Bickley: They say animal food products are essentially the best bang for your buck when it comes in nutrition and point out that plant-based meat is twice as expensive per pound as beef and four times the price of chicken.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Other studies indicate that among low-income populations globally, children with less access to animal protein are more likely to suffer from stunted growth and wasting.
--:-- John Bickley: The researchers here also note a variety of studies showing how difficult it is for the average person to get all the nutrients they need through plants alone, and note that such diets are especially dangerous for children, the elderly, and women, particularly those of childbearing age.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, the declaration also criticized a recent and very widely circulated study about meat.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yes, they did.
--:-- John Bickley: The study in question is the most recent Global Burden of Disease report.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The GBD is essentially the authoritative paper on overall worldwide health trends, and countries often use it to help craft their health care decisions and dietary guidelines.
--:-- John Bickley: In 2017, the study said that diets high in red meat pose almost no threat to worldwide health.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in their most recent published report back in 2020, the study attributed 896,000 deaths globally to meat consumption.
--:-- John Bickley: That study made waves in the health community and prompted a number of governments to begin encouraging people to shy away from meat and their diets.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But according to these scientists, that study was, quote, fatally and scientifically flawed.
--:-- John Bickley: They now call on that portion of the GBD to be retracted and for future editions of the study to include more accurate figures and improved methodology.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, this declaration comes amid a broader push for plant-based diets.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: If the health data just isn't there to support them, where is the anti-meat sentiment coming from?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, that's the interesting part here.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: A growing number of scientists have begun pushing for the wide-scale eradication of meat, not necessarily for health purposes, because like you mentioned, the data is not always there, but for environmental purposes.
--:-- John Bickley: They say that livestock contribute to global warming.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For example, Bill Gates, who actually donated a quarter billion dollars towards funding the Global Burden of Disease study that we mentioned earlier, wrote recently that cows, quote, give off methane when they belch and pass gas and should be phased out to combat climate change.
--:-- John Bickley: Critics, however, note that beef cattle accounts for just 2% of America's emissions and say that scientists and climate activists are using climate change as an excuse to malign them.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to Dr. Pierre Ederir, one of the co-authors of the Dublin Declaration, the GBD and other studies pushing for plant-based diets also benefit from favorable media coverage.
--:-- John Bickley: In his words, quote, only a small minority of scientists present vegan diets as superior, but they are, quote, highly vocal and are preferably quoted by mainstream media, giving the appearance that science has gone vegan, but that is surely not the case.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, I've thus far resisted the urge to extol my steak-based diet, but I had to bring it up.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
