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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, and I'm here with Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: Today, we're covering some big stories. Attorney General Merrick Garland faced tough questions from Congress on Thursday. Many focused on his recent memo directing the FBI to investigate threats against teachers and school boards.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. And we have details from Garland's testimony and how he's defending his controversial memo.
--:-- John Bickley: Police officers in several major cities are fighting COVID vaccine mandates, arguing that the mandates violate their rights.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And those global supply chain problems you've been hearing about, they are getting worse and will soon lead to even higher grocery bills.
--:-- John Bickley: What surprising action is the Biden administration taking to ease those shortages? And will those actions help American consumers?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Ian Howarth: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testified to Congress on Thursday. One of the most contentious issues was his October 4th memo, which called on the FBI to investigate threats of violence against teachers and school boards.
--:-- John Bickley: Ian, set the scene for us here. Why was Garland testifying to the House Judiciary Committee?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, this is all happening in the context of multiple high-profile cases and arguably some level of scandal. Texas' heartbeat abortion legislation, voting integrity laws, and January 6th were among the many topics Garland was expected to answer questions on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But the main driving factor behind this attention is Garland's recent memo to DOJ employees announcing that the FBI would investigate threats or intimidation by parents against school boards, with many seeing this as an attempt to silence and intimidate parents who disagree with school policy by labeling them as domestic terrorists.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Garland countered the idea that parents would be targeted by the FBI, saying that he supported parents' rights to speak.
--:-- John Bickley: The Justice Department supports and defends the First Amendment right of parents to complain as vociferously as they wish. That is not what the memorandum is about at all.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Representative Jim Jordan seemed to imply that there was coordination between the White House and Garland's DOJ on several issues.
--:-- Ian Howarth: March 25th, Joe Biden criticizes the Georgia election law. Three months later, the Department of Justice challenges it.
--:-- John Bickley: September 1st, Joe Biden criticizes the new pro-life law in Texas. Eight days later, the Department of Justice challenges it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: September 29th, the political organization asked President Biden to involve the FBI in local school board issues. Five days later, the Department of Justice does just that.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And critical race theory was also a feature of this memo, correct?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, which only added to the widespread outrage given the growing movement on the right when it comes to opposing the teaching of CRT in schools.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Garland came under heavy fire when it came to the subject of Loudoun County, which has been the subject of many CRT reports as well as the sexual assault scandal we reported here.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Representative Chip Roy questioned Garland on the sexual assault scandal which we reported last week.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Garland repeatedly said he was unfamiliar with the case.
--:-- John Bickley: Are you aware further that the boy was arrested and charged for the first assault in July, but released from juvenile detention? This sounds like a state case, and I'm not familiar with it. I'm sorry.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Garland denied knowing much about it.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah. Now, yet another factor here is recent news that Garland has an apparent connection to the education sector through his son-in-law, who co-founded a multi-million dollar education consultancy which reportedly pushes CRT.
--:-- John Bickley: Later, when the subject of CRT in schools came up again during questioning, Garland refused to answer whether or not he sought ethics guidance regarding this family connection.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Did you follow that regulation? Did you have the appropriate agency ethic official look into this? Did you seek guidance as the federal regulation requires?
--:-- Georgia Howe: This memorandum is aimed at violence and threats of violence. Understand that.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Did you seek ethics counsel before you issued a letter that directly relates to the financial interest of your family? Yes or no?
--:-- John Bickley: This memorandum does not relate to the financial interests of anyone. It's against the law. I take that as a no.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even Hunter Biden's artwork made it into the testimony with Representative Ken Buck asking about ethics concerns.
--:-- Ian Howarth: It turns out that in 2019, Hunter Biden couldn't find a gallery to list his art. And what happened in 2020 that changed all that? His dad became president of the United States.
--:-- John Bickley: Now a single piece of art from Hunter Biden sells for more than the average American home.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I have sent a letter to the Department of Justice before your tenure asking them to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden.
--:-- Ian Howarth: I have today sent a letter to you and I am asking you now, will you appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm not able to discuss any investigations pending or otherwise with respect to any citizen of the United States.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So a lot of questions, but not many direct answers.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, it doesn't seem that way. Thanks, Ian.
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--:-- Mairead Elordi: As vaccine mandates go into effect at police departments in several major cities, some officers are pushing back.
--:-- John Bickley: Mairead, it seems like police unions are pushing back against these vaccine orders. Is that right?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Yeah, that's what we're seeing. Officers in major cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle are refusing to comply with the mandate, which puts their departments in the awkward position of potentially having to lose valuable officers over this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So in New York, the city announced a vaccine mandate on Wednesday, and New York's largest police union said it will initiate legal action.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Less than 70% of the New York Police Department is vaccinated.
--:-- John Bickley: And in Chicago, city employees were required to report their vaccination status on Friday, but more than 3,200 Chicago cops are refusing to do so, according to the Fraternal Order of Police.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So more than 3,200 officers in just Chicago haven't submitted paperwork yet?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Yeah. As you can imagine, it's a significant problem for the city.
--:-- John Bickley: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was so frustrated with the situation that earlier this week, she lashed out at the police union president.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Lightfoot actually accused union leadership of trying to, quote, induce an insurrection.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What we've seen from the fraternal order of police, and particularly the leadership, is a lot of misinformation, a lot of half-truths, and frankly, flat-out lies, in order to induce an insurrection. And we're not having that.
--:-- John Bickley: The fraternal order of police and the city of Chicago have sued each other over the mandate
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The police union president John Catanzara is arguing that the vaccine mandate is illegal because the city did not negotiate its terms with the police union.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The reality is the city acknowledged from the beginning their obligation to bargain in good faith over this subject. They have refused. And because they have refused and put a line in the sand and said it's take it or leave it, pretty much, That's why we're at where we're at.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about San Francisco? What's going on there?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So San Francisco was the first major city to require that all of its employees get vaccinated. As of Wednesday, 40 San Francisco police officers were on leave because they haven't received a COVID vaccine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's according to the San Francisco Police Officers Association. In total, as of Tuesday, 93 officers hadn't submitted proof of vaccination, including 46 active duty officers.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The police union said last week that no religious or medical exemptions had been granted so far.
--:-- John Bickley: Unvaccinated officers will be suspended without pay on November 1st, and then they get a hearing before they're actually fired.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So as we reported earlier this week, in Seattle, around 70 officers had not submitted their proof of vaccination as of Sunday, and that was the day before the vaccine mandate was due to start.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Right. Right. The latest statement from Seattle PD is that all but six officers submitted paperwork, which may include applications for exemptions, and the firing process for the remaining six has begun.
--:-- John Bickley: Remember, Seattle is a city that has lost hundreds of police officers since the George Floyd riots last year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. At the same time, Seattle and these other cities are dealing with crime spikes and officer shortages.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: The police unions have pointed out that it's certainly not in the city's best interest right now to fire seasoned officers over a mandate.
--:-- John Bickley: The San Francisco Police Officers Association actually put out a statement saying that, quote, San Francisco is experiencing a shooting and retail theft epidemic, and fewer officers will only make things worse.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, we'll definitely be watching this.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks for coming on.
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--:-- Cabot Phillips: As worldwide supply chain delays continue to worsen, the Biden administration is considering deploying the National Guard to help alleviate backups at ports around the country.
--:-- John Bickley: Cabot, you don't typically think of the National Guard being deployed for something like this, but what can you tell us here?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, this should give people a sense of just how serious the problem is right now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to reports, the White House has considered having states deploy National Guard units to help unload cargo ships at ports and offer logistical support to manufacturers.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They've even looked into, get this, the legality of having troops serve as truck drivers.
--:-- John Bickley: Incredible. Yeah, that's because there are currently 80,000 trucking positions unfilled right now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So even if stuff does get unloaded at ports, at the moment, there's no one to actually deliver around the country.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, it's important to note that this is just being discussed at the moment, but even the fact that it's a possibility is noteworthy.
--:-- John Bickley: And more than anything, it shows just how desperate the situation has gotten with this backup.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So they're considering deploying troops to, you know, help get things going.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: What other tangible actions have they taken so far?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, this has become really a top priority for the government right now.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The White House actually created a supply chain disruptions task force back in June.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They've taken a few tangible steps since then.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And first the Department of Transportation is working with states to loosen the requirements for a trucking license. That would mean more drivers.
--:-- John Bickley: The White House also announced last week that they rolling out a new plan to keep ports in Los Angeles operating 24/7.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the USDA announced they'd be sending $3 billion to companies in the food industry, which they can spend on increased transportation costs, labor, and expanded meat and poultry production.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So the USDA is involved.
--:-- John Bickley: Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So farmers have been hit really hard by the shortage for a few reasons. First, they're heavily reliant on truckers and seasonal workers, two groups and sort of supply at the moment.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And also because of the delay for vehicle parts.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We've talked about how used cars are selling at record prices because people can't find car parts. Well, the same thing is happening for tractors.
--:-- John Bickley: But the difference is, if there's a delay on getting a new part for your car, it just means you've got to find a ride for a few days. But if there's a delay on getting a part for a tractor or a combine, food doesn't get harvested. Much more serious there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's bad news when it comes to grocery prices as we look forward.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. You know, what is the bottom line here? How much is this all impacting the average family?
--:-- John Bickley: According to one poll this week, a lot. 54% of Americans say they've experienced delays or shortages when trying to buy common products.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it's already pretty widespread.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But the reality is, even if people don't realize it, they are still impacted by the backlog.
--:-- John Bickley: Food prices are up almost 5% compared to this time last year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And food prices globally are actually at a 10-year high.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And cover your ears, but it doesn't look like the problem is going to be getting better anytime soon.
--:-- John Bickley: Large companies like Kraft, Nestle, and Pepsi have all warned this week that they've been hit hard by inflation and these supply chain shortages, and they're going to be raising prices even more in the coming months.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not what people want to hear. Not what they want to hear, just to stay afloat.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So buckle up, because higher prices are more likely to be the norm here for at least the next few months.
--:-- John Bickley: And a lot of experts don't have a ton of optimism about when that's going to let up.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Can't say this is what I wanted to hear this early in the morning, Cabot, but thanks for coming on.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. San Francisco temporarily shut down In-N-Out Burger this week to punish the popular burger chain for refusing to enforce the city's vaccine card mandate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The mandate requires some private businesses, like restaurants, to enforce the vaccine check at the door.
--:-- John Bickley: We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government, In-N-Out chief legal and business officer told the press. It is unreasonable, invasive, and unsafe to force our restaurant associates to segregate customers into those who may be served and those who may not.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And an update from Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan. An attorney representing recently fired Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich has stated that the former coach intends to sue the school, saying that the termination was, quote, unjust and unlawful.
--:-- John Bickley: Rolovich, a devout Catholic, was fired due to the state of Washington's vaccine mandate and was denied a religious exemption.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Thank you.
