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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, I'm Georgia Howe, and John is still enjoying his vacation. It's Thursday, July 20th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: New details have emerged in the bizarre case of a 25-year-old nursing student in Alabama who was missing for two days before returning on foot. I do think it's highly unusual the day that someone gets kidnapped, that seven hours or eight hours before that, they're searching the internet, googling the movie Taken about an abduction. What does the latest evidence show and why do some suspect a hoax?
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the Biden administration plans to sidestep a Supreme Court ruling that stopped their student loan forgiveness efforts in its tracks. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Two IRS agents who investigated Hunter Biden's tax affairs testified to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. The agents came forward as whistleblowers, alleging that Department of Justice officials routinely broke from standard practice and interfered in the investigation in ways that always benefited the Biden family. Here to discuss the hearing is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, one of the whistleblowers stepped forward to the public for the first time yesterday. Who is Whistleblower X?
--:-- Georgia Howe: For those who haven't been following the case closely, Whistleblower X was the name given to one of two IRS agents concerned about the Hunter Biden investigation. That man came forward publicly for the first time yesterday as Joseph Ziegler.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Ziegler introducing himself. I was the lead IRS case agent on the Hunter Biden investigation. I've recently discovered that people are saying that I must be more credible because I'm a Democrat who happens to be married to a man. I'm no more credible than this man sitting next to me due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs. The truth is my credibility comes today from my job experience with the IRS and my intimate knowledge of the agency's standard and procedures.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The other agent was supervisory agent Gary Shapley, who oversees a team that specializes in particularly complex tax cases and who has spoken publicly before. Now, these whistleblowers have made some pretty serious allegations about preferential treatment for the Biden family. So, credibility is going to be really important. How did they hold up under questioning?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, they were professional, but they weren't afraid to push back when Democrats tried to poke holes in their testimony. Here's Shapley and the committee's ranking member, James Raskin.
--:-- James Raskin: It seems to me this October 7th, 2022 meeting, which you've described as a red line, is just a misunderstanding that after the U.S. attorney in D.C. declined to partner on the 14 and 15 charges, Mr. Weiss took a good hard look at those charges himself and ultimately decided not to charge them and therefore not to seek the special attorney status. Isn't that right, Mr. Shapley?
--:-- Gary Shapley: No, that's not supported by the facts.
--:-- James Raskin: Really? Well, which facts is it not supported by? His own admissions in the October 7th 2022 meeting that I documented contemporaneously
--:-- Gary Shapley: In that clip, Raskin was referring to a controversy over an October 7th meeting that Shapley attended with U Attorney for Delaware David Weiss. Shapley said that in that meeting, Weiss denied having full authority to bring charges in the Hunter Biden case. That admission ran counter to what Attorney General Merrick Garland had testified in Congress.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Since the whistleblowers have come forward, Weiss has tried to deflect blame from the Department of Justice and Garland. Weiss told lawmakers in a series of letters that he had full authority to pursue any charges against Hunter Biden he felt necessary in any district. Here's Congressman Jim Jordan and Shapley speaking about that.
--:-- Jim Jordan: They've changed their story. You guys haven't. Mr. Weiss was consistent with the investigators up until this October 7th meeting, and then he changed. What do you think happened, Mr. Shapley?
--:-- Gary Shapley: I don't know what happened internal at Department of Justice. But what I can say is that the story has been changing from Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Weiss. And I think the only person that's really had any documents that have been corroborated are my own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what do we know about the whistleblower's allegations? Shapley and Ziegler alleged that Department of Justice officials intervened in the investigation numerous times and in ways that, to them, violated longstanding Justice Department norms and best practices.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amanda, this is a truly bizarre case. Can you give us a quick recap on what we know about Carly's case before we get into the new information?
--:-- Amanda: Hey, Georgia. Yeah, so we know Carly vanished Thursday night after getting out of her vehicle while traveling south on Interstate 459, only to return to her parents' home two days later on foot. But what happened in between remains unknown. According to the Hoover Police Department, Carly called 911 to report seeing a toddler walking on the side of the road at around 9.30 p.m. After she called 911, she called a family member to relay that same message. The family member says she heard Carly ask someone if they were okay, presumably speaking to the child. She didn't hear a response from the child but heard Carly scream and then lost contact.
--:-- Amanda: Within minutes police arrived on scene Neither Carly nor the child were found They did find Carly vehicle with the door open and still running and some of her belongings, including her wig, cell phone, and Apple Watch. Eerie surveillance footage of the highway appears to show Carly driving slowly on the shoulder for 600 yards with her hazard lights on and others driving by. She eventually pulls over and can be seen getting out of the driver's side and walking around to the passenger side. There doesn't appear to be a toddler or anyone else on the side of the road.
--:-- Amanda: Even more strange, there were many other drivers on the road, none of whom reported seeing a toddler or anything else unusual. Now, this set off a manhunt for Carly, and her disappearance became a national story. But now there's fierce debate online about whether this was truly the case of a harrowing kidnapping or a mental health event or even a national hoax.
--:-- Amanda: Why do people think that this was a hoax? Well, a press conference on Wednesday from the Hoover Police Department offered some new details that seemed to misalign with what the public initially believed. Authorities, for example, really emphasized that Carly moved 600 yards in her vehicle while allegedly following this toddler, whom they have no evidence of.
--:-- Amanda: To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be three or four years old, is going to travel six football fields without getting in the roadway, without crying, it's just very hard for me to understand. Carly also took a dark bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper, and other items from her place of work on the day she vanished. She also stopped at a Target store to purchase some granola bars and other snacks after picking up some takeout food. The department revealed that when they arrived on scene following Carly's 911 call, those items from work and Target were missing, though her takeout food was still in the vehicle.
--:-- Amanda: And lastly, the department revealed some of Carly's internet searches leading up to her disappearance. On July 11th, the term, do you have to pay for an Amber Alert, was searched. On July 13th, the day of her disappearance, the term, how to take money from a register without being caught, was searched. On July 13th, a search for a one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville was conducted with a departure date of July 13th. On July 13th, a search for the movie Taken, a film about a production, was conducted.
--:-- Amanda: Now, we've also heard for the first time some statements that Carly gave to the police. Tell us what she said. Carly told authorities that she had been taken by a man with orange hair in a bald spot after she got out of her vehicle to check on the child. She was then forced into a car and eventually taken inside a home with the man and a woman he was with. She says she was told to undress and believes they took photos of her. Carly says she was then put back in a vehicle and was somehow able to escape. She ran through lots of woods and eventually made it to her residence.
--:-- Amanda: Detectives say Carly had $107 cash in her Wright sock, a ripped shirt, and a cut lip when they arrived at her parents' home. Carly's parents have spoken out on this too, and they're standing by their daughter's story that Carly was abducted.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, the surveillance footage is strange for people who want to look it up. We're going to continue reporting as more comes out. Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In June the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration effort to forgive student loan debt. Now the White House is looking for workarounds to deliver on the campaign promise despite that court ruling. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So, Maraid, a few weeks ago, this seemed like a settled matter, but now the White House is coming back to this promise. Hi, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. The Biden administration is moving forward aggressively with anything they can do to forgive student loans in spite of the court's decision. Originally, Biden had a $430 billion student debt relief plan, which would have forgiven the student debt of about 37 million people. But last month, the Supreme Court struck that down, ruling 6-3 that the HEROES Act of 2003 does not give Biden the authority to cancel billions in student loan debt.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: After the court's decision, Biden said he will, quote, stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hardworking middle-class families. So now the administration is moving forward with a few different workarounds. And what do those workarounds look like?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The administration outlined three debt relief actions it's taking immediately in a letter the Education Department sent to all student loan holders recently. First, the administration is working on a long-term plan to forgive student loans using negotiated rulemaking, a very long process involving the education department and a negotiating committee that could take years and could be interrupted by a new president getting elected.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Second, the administration announced a plan called the Save Plan, which will cut monthly payments to zero dollars for millions of low-income borrowers starting later this summer. The cutoff is a $32,800 income for a single person and a $67,500 income for a borrower in a family of four. All other borrowers will save at least $1,000 a year under the save plan.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Third, the education department will make sure borrowers are protected from the, quote, worst consequences of late or partial payments, such as taking a hit to their credit score when the student loan payment pause ends this fall. In that letter to borrowers, the education department said, quote, we believe the Supreme Court got it wrong and we will use every tool at our disposal to fight for debt relief.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, the administration has already forgiven some student debt, though, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Correct. Actually, in total, the Biden administration has now forgiven more than $116.6 billion in student loans for more than 3.4 million borrowers, the Education Department says. Just last week, the Biden administration announced it will forgive $39 billion in student debt for about 804,000 borrowers. This debt relief is the result of changes to the student loan system's income-driven repayment programs.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The programs were built to forgive student debt after borrowers have been making payments for at least 20 or 25 years. However, few borrowers have actually gotten their loans forgiven under that system. This is a critical issue for Democrats. Left-wing lawmakers and activists have long called for broad student debt relief and have urged the Biden administration for years to grant it. Critics argue that granting student debt relief is unfair to those who sacrifice to pay off their loans, especially since taxpayers will ultimately be picking up the tab for these unpaid loans.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, I think we can almost guarantee this is going to go back to the courts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for reporting, Maraid.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
