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--:-- Host: Joe Rogan is speaking out about the controversy surrounding his wildly popular podcast and his choice of sometimes controversial topics and guests. Again, I'm not trying to promote misinformation. I'm not trying to be controversial. Will Spotify cave to pressure to censor their biggest star? We have the latest.
--:-- Host: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, February 1st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host: New court documents filed by the men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer claim that undercover FBI agents and informants led the entire conspiracy. But the FBI says they'll strongly dispute the claims in court.
--:-- Host: And U.S. and Russian diplomats clashed at the United Nations Monday, blaming each other for the looming crisis in Ukraine. We'll hear from an expert on all the factors driving the potential conflict.
--:-- Host: Russia's actions strike at the very heart of the UN Charter. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host: Joe Rogan is responding to critics who claim his incredibly popular podcast is responsible for spreading misinformation about COVID. Meanwhile, Spotify announced that it's enacted new policies to address concerns about a show.
--:-- Host: Here to explain the latest developments in this fast-moving Joe Rogan story is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, previously we've covered all the pressure that Spotify has been facing in terms of reigning in Joe Rogan.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, exactly. And Sunday afternoon, Spotify announced that they would be putting a warning label on COVID-related content. And then several hours later, Rogan responded with this 10-minute Instagram video.
--:-- Megan Basham: A lot of the mainstream news has been calling it an apology, but other people didn't really see it that way. So give us your take on that video?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, you know, it's interesting because it was a pretty measured statement. Now, most of the headlines, as you said, Georgia, from large media outlets on Monday, sort of framed his comments as an apology.
--:-- Megan Basham: And yeah, I mean, you could say that he did do that as sort of an aside in the middle of the video. Basically, he said he'll work on offering a better or more balanced mix of guests. But note better mix.
--:-- Megan Basham: What he didn't say is that he's not going to offer interviews with controversial experts anymore. So for me personally, I think that apology framing misrepresents the main thrust of Rogan's comments, which were really much more focused on pushing back against all that criticism.
--:-- Megan Basham: In fact, he spent several minutes defending the backgrounds of the two guests who have caused the most controversy cardiologist Peter McCullough and mRNA researcher Dr Robert Malone.
--:-- Megan Basham: Dr Peter McCullough is a cardiologist and he is the most published physician in his field in history. Dr. Robert Malone owns nine patents on the creation of mRNA vaccine technology and is at least partially responsible for the creation of the technology that led to mRNA vaccines.
--:-- Megan Basham: Both these people are very highly credentialed, very intelligent, very accomplished people. And they have an opinion that's different from the mainstream narrative. I wanted to hear what their opinion is.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Rogan was careful to highlight that for all the criticism, they weren't actually fringe quacks. And he also pointed out that he's interviewed doctors on the other side of the aisle, including an epidemiologist on Biden's COVID advisory board and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, Rogan has also been pretty critical of the whole concept of misinformation.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, exactly. He has. And he pushed back quite a bit against the term misinformation itself, because as he noted, things that were considered misinformation a few months ago and once censored by other big tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, well, they're now widely accepted as fact.
--:-- Megan Basham: Eight months ago, if you said, if you get vaccinated, you can still catch COVID and you can still spread COVID, you would be removed from social media. They would ban you from certain platforms. Now that's accepted as fact.
--:-- Megan Basham: If you said, I don't think cloth masks work, you would be banned from social media. Now that's openly and repeatedly stated on CNN. If you said, I think it's possible that COVID-19 came from a lab, you'd be banned from many social media platforms. Now that's on the cover of Newsweek.
--:-- Megan Basham: He basically concluded by saying he doesn't know which experts are right. And that's why he, as the regular guy trying to sift through a lot of conflicting and evolving information, is interested in sitting down with people from across the spectrum of medical views.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, I also want to ask about Spotify. So when we last spoke, news was just breaking that the company was considering a new policy to address this Rogan controversy.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. So CEO Daniel Ek said that Spotify users will notice a new content warning ahead of any podcast episodes on their platform that discuss COVID. But it was interesting that he said any, meaning it may not just apply to Rogan's show.
--:-- Megan Basham: So let's say, for instance, that NPR interviews a doctor voicing a very mainstream view. Is that show going to get a warning too? Remains to be seen, but it sounds like it could. Either way, Rogan is saying he doesn't really have a problem with a content warning.
--:-- Host: All right. Well, hopefully someone tells us if today's episode gets a content warning on Spotify. Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Happy to do it.
--:-- Host: That's Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham. Coming up, new court documents contain serious allegations about the FBI's involvement in the plot to kidnap Michigan's governor.
--:-- Host: You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news.
--:-- Host: And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
--:-- Host: In October of 2020, the FBI arrested six men for allegedly planning to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. But documents filed by their attorneys claim that the plot originated with and was entirely driven by FBI informants.
--:-- Host: Here were the details as Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson. Good morning, Ben.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Good morning, John.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So first of all, remind us about the charges against these men.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Sure. The FBI filed charges against 14 members of a Michigan militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen six ringleaders and eight for providing material support.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Agents said they planned to kidnap Governor Gretchen Widmer at her vacation home in Birch Lake in September 2020. Widmer had implemented one of the strictest COVID-19 lockdowns in the nation.
--:-- Ben Johnson: On April Fool's Day 2020, an FBI informant told the feds that the armed group planned to storm the state capitol in Lansing, and they were surprised when the state police let them inside, rifles and all, as soon as they had their temperatures taken.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The FBI says that emboldened them to hatch a plot to kidnap the governor, blow up a nearby bridge to slow down police, and either execute her or make her face a private trial for tyranny.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The agents arrested the men on October 8th. With less than a month to the 2020 election, Whitmer implicated President Donald Trump in the plot.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Hate groups heard the president's words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry. It's a call to action.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So what role did the FBI have in developing this plot? What's been alleged and what do we know for sure?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Right. The defendants say the FBI engaged in government entrapment. Under the law, federal agents can monitor and collect information and intelligence on targets, but they have to show that the suspect was already predisposed to commit crimes and they can't persuade or induce reluctant or unwilling marks.
--:-- Ben Johnson: A total of 12 FBI agents or informants were involved, almost one for every person who was indicted.
--:-- Ben Johnson: For instance, an informant named Steve Robeson paid people's way to conferences, bought the moonshine as an inducement, and used federal money to purchase weapons for others in the group.
--:-- Ben Johnson: An FBI memo says Robeson wasn't just recording, but, quote, leading the conversations. The defendants admit they fantasized out loud about committing crimes, but they say they never had a functional plan.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Even after the feds got involved, one militia member complained about another defendant's hesitancy about following through with a plan saying, quote, Captain Autism can't make up his mind.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Agents say the defendants made innocent sounding comments as cover, but even the federal prosecutor admits, quote, some defendants were initially skeptical, but their confidence and commitment increased with training, reconnaissance, and preparation.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Okay, so how has the FBI responded to these accusations?
--:-- Ben Johnson: The government claimed that Robeson went rogue, claiming, quote, Steve was a double agent often working against the interests of the government.
--:-- Ben Johnson: They caught on to him when he tipped off another informant about the federal investigation. Thirteen days before the sting operation, the feds charged Robeson with illegally purchasing a firearm for himself, but not for the suspects.
--:-- Ben Johnson: By disowning Robeson, the FBI seeks to block the release of 258 statements by or to informants that the defendants say will exonerate them.
--:-- Ben Johnson: One comment by an FBI agent said, quote, we have a saying in my office, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Robeson's bad enough, but the prosecution's facing several other embarrassments as well.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The lead FBI agent in the case, Richard Trask II, won't be testifying in the case after he pled no contest to smashing his wife's head open after coming home from a sex party for swingers.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Another FBI agent, Henrik Impola, has been accused of committing perjury in a different case. An FBI agent named Jason Chambers promoted his private intelligence firm, Exintel, by bragging about his success in FBI investigations.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So defendants say he had a financial incentive to arrest people for the alleged kidnapping plot.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Look, this whole case obviously hinges on the role of informants. How does the federal government usually justify the use of FBI informants?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Federal agents say infiltrating extremist groups saves lives by preventing terrorist attacks.
--:-- Ben Johnson: In this case, the FBI said it will strongly dispute the defendant's portrayal of his agents in court.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The trial is scheduled to get underway on March 8th in Grand Rapids. Well it going to be an interesting one to watch. We see what details come to light.
--:-- Host: Thanks for reporting Ben.
--:-- Ben Johnson: My pleasure.
--:-- Host: That's Daily Wire Ben Johnson. Diplomatic rhetoric between the U.S. and Russia heated up on Monday at a U.N. Security Council meeting.
--:-- Host: Russia accused the U.S. of fear-mongering, while the U.S. said the presence of troops at the Ukraine border is a real threat.
--:-- Host: But what's behind Putin's apparent desire to invade Ukraine?
--:-- Host: Here to give us some deeper insight into the issue is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Ian, what can you tell us?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, I spoke last week with Daniel Koches, who is a senior policy analyst in European affairs in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom over at the Heritage Foundation.
--:-- Ian Howarth: He explained that Russia's interests in Ukraine go far beyond a desire for agricultural or industrial resources or territorial advantages.
--:-- Ian Howarth: There's a shared cultural and religious lineage for many Ukrainians and Russians. Russia traces its sort of ancestral roots back towards the patriarch in Kiev. They see sort of that as being really the spiritual home of modern Russia.
--:-- Ian Howarth: He then went on to explain that Ukraine is seen as both a threat and an opportunity by Russia. As a country that has generally rejected the East in favor of the West, Ukraine could be a catalyst for societal unrest in Russia.
--:-- Ian Howarth: For me, really what this is all about is regime survival in Moscow. So they, because of the closeness of the country, they cannot stomach to have a successful Western-oriented Ukraine.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And when it comes to the timing of this military aggression, he said that this was a calculated move.
--:-- Ian Howarth: I don't think it's any coincidence that, you know, that he's decided to basically pressure the West on the way that he has with President Biden now in the White House.
--:-- Ian Howarth: One example Daniel Coaches brought up was the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. It was opposed by the Trump administration, but construction restarted in February right after Biden came into office.
--:-- Ian Howarth: We then went on to discuss the notion of sanctions, which appears to be the sole weapon in the arsenal of the Biden administration and European powers hoping to prevent conflict.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But Daniel Cochis touched on an interesting point, which is that sanctions might be harder to impose than many are thinking.
--:-- Ian Howarth: For example, Germany is the biggest buyer of Russian gas in the world, and so it is unlikely that the Germans would support sanctions which would impact their energy supplies, at least in the case where Russia doesn't launch a full-out invasion.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Ultimately, though, Cochis did point out that the Ukrainian military capability in 2022 is much different to 2014 during the previous conflict, with 150,000 active duty troops ready if Russia does invade, with 100,000 in reserve.
--:-- Ian Howarth: My gut tells me that Putin is going to keep this below the threshold where you necessarily would have a united response from the West, but that he's going to be able to kind of keep Ukraine in this unstable gray zone.
--:-- Host: Well, it's great to hear from Daniel Kochis on this issue. Thanks for your reporting, Ian.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Of course.
--:-- Host: That's Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Host: Another story we're tracking this week. It was announced that everyone attending the Super Bowl, which will take place at SoFi Stadium in California, will be given KN95 masks and will need to wear them unless they are eating or drinking.
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