--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, and this is Morning Wire. Joining me today is Georgia Howe. It's Friday, March 25th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, John. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We've got a lot to cover today. U.S. airline CEOs are calling on President Biden to lift the federal mask mandate on transportation. The CEOs of Delta, American, United, Alaska, Southwest, and every major airline beyond that signed a joint letter to the White House saying, "Now is the time for the administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions."
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. And they're not just talking about the mandate itself. They're also calling out the hypocrisy in current government mandates, saying it makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools, and at sporting events without masks.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty strong message. So, Cabot Phillips from the Daily Wire is here to give us more on the state of the mandate and the growing bipartisan support for its reversal. Cabot, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So, anytime the CEOs of rival companies team up for anything, it's noteworthy. What can you tell us about this letter they sent?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, you don't typically see this type of unity from competing businesses, but the CEOs of Delta, American, United, Alaska, Southwest, and every major airline beyond that signed a joint letter to the White House saying, quote, "Now is the time for the administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions."
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty strong message. And the timing here is interesting. Why is this happening now?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the mask mandate was actually set to expire on March 18th, and some airlines reportedly had expected it to stay that way. But the Biden administration announced they would renew the order for at least another month. It's actually the third time the order has expired and then been re-implemented by the president.
--:-- John Bickley: So, this most recent renewal comes at a time when the rest of the country is really moving in the opposite direction on mask mandates. And the airlines are saying that's putting an unfair burden on them as well as their staff.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's right. They also cited the fact that their employees are being put in a tough position, having to enforce this mandate that is becoming so deeply unpopular. They also cited the thousands of in-flight incidents that have been reported because of altercations over masks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, these airlines had largely stayed silent on the mandates throughout the pandemic. And the fact they're speaking out so strongly now it does feel like a turning point.
--:-- John Bickley: Can you tell us about the recent vote in Congress?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, Senator Rand Paul introduced a bill on March 15th that would have overturned the mandate, and it actually passed with a 57-40 vote with the support of eight Democrats.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a significant number of Democrats breaking with their party. And President Biden responded to the vote almost immediately, saying he would veto it.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's right. But again, the fact that there was bipartisan support is pretty significant.
--:-- John Bickley: So, how has the White House responded so far?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, the White House hasn't addressed this new letter from airline leaders directly. But a few weeks ago, they said that they would consult with the CDC and other pertinent agencies to make a decision when the time was right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It sounds like they're in a tough spot at this point politically. Polling consistently shows that mask mandates are becoming more and more unpopular.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And as all 50 states have now lifted indoor mask mandates, there's less of an existing precedent for them to point to in order to justify maintaining the current mandate.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, we've noted that shift in public sentiment a few times on this show. In fact, we're seeing some of that lead to a shift in messaging from Democrats, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, we've talked on the show about how the Democrat message has really shifted on COVID as public sentiment has changed. And President Biden is no exception.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in this case, his actions aren't really in line with his messaging. And the airline CEOs actually addressed that in a letter saying, quote, "Given that we have entered a different phase of dealing with this virus, we strongly support your view that COVID-19 need no longer control our lives."
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty strong message. Sounds like momentum is building here with bipartisan support from the Senate and now support from leaders in the airline industry as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it does feel like a turning point.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Gabbett, thanks for the update.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips. Coming up, a federal investigation into President Biden's son ramps up as more Americans say they're concerned about conflicts of interest in Ukraine and Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: New polling by the Trafalgar Group found that a majority of Americans, including 64% of independents, believe that President Biden has conflicts of interest in Ukraine and Russia.
--:-- John Bickley: The findings come after the New York Times confirmed the authenticity of problematic emails from Hunter Biden's laptop.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, a federal probe of Hunter Biden appears to be ratcheting up. Here to discuss is Peter Schweitzer, president of GAI and bestselling author of Red Handed. Welcome, Peter.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Great to be with you, John. Thanks.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Peter, this federal probe into Hunter Biden ramped up in 2018, paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, but now it's back on. First, what is the president's son being investigated for?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: There appears to be four major areas they're looking at. One is tax evasion, that he failed to pay millions of dollars in taxes from money that came overseas.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And there's also allegations potentially of money laundering. That would be moving money around for maybe foreign oligarchs or other people who are trying to hide assets.
--:-- John Bickley: The third thing that they're looking at is violations of the so FAIR Act Foreign Agents Registration Act, which means if you lobby the U.S. government asking them for some kind of action on behalf of a foreign actor, you are required to register with the Department of Justice.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: That's something Hunter Biden didn't do. And finally, they're looking at the possibility of political corruption. Was there payments being made to Hunter Biden because they wanted something from his father?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the allegations are that Ukrainian oligarchs wanted certain favorable treatments from Joe Biden because he had so much pull on the aid dollars coming into the country and what the U.S. posture would be.
--:-- John Bickley: So, those are examples of Hunter Biden allegedly using his family name to benefit himself. Are there direct implications for Joe Biden?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: There are a couple of direct implications. First of all, he wasn't just using the family name, there's evidence actually in the Hunter Biden laptop that meetings were set up. And some of those meetings were off the books, meaning they did not appear on the White House visitors log.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the other way it involves Joe Biden, the president of the United States, is it's clear from the laptop that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden had intertwined finances, meaning Hunter Biden was getting money from these overseas deals.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the fact that the money came from overseas, of course, means that that has further implications.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Will the White House and President Biden specifically be able to continue to dismiss the Hunter Biden story, or is this, like the probe, coming to a head?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: I think the reason the New York Times actually ran that story and got cooperation from Team Biden, which they clearly did in the story, is because there's a very real concern that Hunter Biden is actually going to be indicted, at least on the tax charges, if not more.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And I think the problem is, is that the Biden team can't really ignore the story because it does involve Hunter, but it doesn't just involve Hunter. As we discussed earlier, their finances were intertwined.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And certainly the laptop speaks to private meetings that were set up involving Chinese officials or Ukrainian officials meeting with his father as vice president.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And I think they're not going to be able to ignore this story as they've managed to do now, really going on four years.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Peter, thank you so much for talking with us today.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Thank you.
--:-- John Bickley: That was bestselling author of Red Handed and GAI President Peter Schweitzer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A month after Russia's invasion, NATO members met in Brussels to discuss how to help Ukraine. Here to give us the updates on Ukraine is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Ian, what are the latest developments in the war?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, the biggest update from the war in Ukraine is that world leaders met in Belgium yesterday for a special emergency summit. First off, they released a joint statement calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to, quote, "immediately stop this war and withdraw military forces from Ukraine and call on Belarus to end its complicity."
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty strong message.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, it is. They also called for a ceasefire and for Russian forces to allow, quote, "rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and safe passage for civilians, as well as the delivery of aid."
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, it is. And cities like Maripol continue to be under heavy siege and civilians continue to be targeted by Russian airstrikes. According to Maripol City Council, 15,000 residents of the city have also been illegally deported to Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And were there any updates on NATO's involvement in the conflict?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, this summit came a day after NATO's Secretary General said that the organization was set to approve major increases in the number of troops stationed in Eastern Europe, with new battle groups being placed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, all on NATO's eastern flank.
--:-- Ian Howarth: That's right. This increase is in the region of 40,000 more troops, which strangely mirrors the number of Russian troops who have been killed, wounded, taken prisoner, or gone missing in Ukraine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And NATO also announced that it would continue to provide more specific assistance in areas like cybersecurity, as well as protecting against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And this is while Ukraine's President Zelenskyy called on NATO to provide 1% of its planes and 1% of its tanks. He also accused Russia of using phosphorus bombs, killing both adults and children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And then there's the United Nations, who voted to approve a resolution on Thursday to blame Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. They also called for a ceasefire.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In a similar fashion to the last UN vote on a Ukraine-related resolution, though, there were some notable opposition votes, including Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and obviously Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: China again abstained.
--:-- John Bickley: So, President Biden traveled to Europe to attend this summit. Are there any reports on actions the US is going to be taking?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, there are a few items. The U.S. will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, as well as sanctioning more than 300 members of the Russian government, as well as 40 Russian defense companies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But one last note from the NATO summit before I go. They made it clear that they're at least aware of the importance of China's involvement in this conflict and called out China directly.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But one word was missing from that statement, and that's Taiwan, let alone the fact that no messaging has been provided, which would explain the consequences of China's continued support for Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ian, thanks for the insight.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. Amid spiking gas prices, California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed his plan this week to send $400 to state residents for every registered vehicle.
--:-- John Bickley: The current average price for gas in California is $5.88 per gallon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode, subscribe and tell a friend about us. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, and this is Morning Wire. Joining me today is Georgia Howe. It's Friday, March 25th.
--:-- [Theme music starts playing]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, John. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We've got a lot to cover today. U.S. airline CEOs are calling on President Biden to lift the federal mask mandate on transportation.
--:-- [Theme music continues to play]
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. And they're not just talking about the mandate itself. They're also calling out the hypocrisy in current government mandates, saying it makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools, and at sporting events without masks.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty strong message. So, Cabot Phillips from the Daily Wire is here to give us more on the state of the mandate and the growing bipartisan support for its reversal. Cabot, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks, John.
--:-- [Theme music continues to play]
--:-- John Bickley: So, anytime the CEOs of rival companies team up for anything, it's noteworthy. What can you tell us about this letter they sent?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, you don't typically see this type of unity from competing businesses, but the CEOs of Delta, American, United, Alaska, Southwest, and every major airline beyond that signed a joint letter to the White House saying, quote, "Now is the time for the administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions."
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty strong message. And the timing here is interesting. Why is this happening now?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the mask mandate was actually set to expire on March 18th, and some airlines reportedly had expected it to stay that way. But the Biden administration announced they would renew the order for at least another month. It's actually the third time the order has expired and then been re-implemented by the president.
--:-- John Bickley: So, this most recent renewal comes at a time when the rest of the country is really moving in the opposite direction on mask mandates. And the airlines are saying that's putting an unfair burden on them as well as their staff.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's right. They also cited the fact that their employees are being put in a tough position, having to enforce this mandate that is becoming so deeply unpopular. They also cited the thousands of in-flight incidents that have been reported because of altercations over masks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, these airlines had largely stayed silent on the mandates throughout the pandemic. And the fact they're speaking out so strongly now it does feel like a turning point.
--:-- John Bickley: Can you tell us about the recent vote in Congress?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, Senator Rand Paul introduced a bill on March 15th that would have overturned the mandate, and it actually passed with a 57-40 vote with the support of eight Democrats.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a significant number of Democrats breaking with their party. And President Biden responded to the vote almost immediately, saying he would veto it.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's right. But again, the fact that there was bipartisan support is pretty significant.
--:-- John Bickley: So, how has the White House responded so far?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, the White House hasn't addressed this new letter from airline leaders directly. But a few weeks ago, they said that they would consult with the CDC and other pertinent agencies to make a decision when the time was right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It sounds like they're in a tough spot at this point politically. Polling consistently shows that mask mandates are becoming more and more unpopular.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And as all 50 states have now lifted indoor mask mandates, there's less of an existing precedent for them to point to in order to justify maintaining the current mandate.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, we've noted that shift in public sentiment a few times on this show. In fact, we're seeing some of that lead to a shift in messaging from Democrats, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, we've talked on the show about how the Democrat message has really shifted on COVID as public sentiment has changed. And President Biden is no exception.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in this case, his actions aren't really in line with his messaging. And the airline CEOs actually addressed that in a letter saying, quote, "Given that we have entered a different phase of dealing with this virus, we strongly support your view that COVID-19 need no longer control our lives."
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty strong message. Sounds like momentum is building here with bipartisan support from the Senate and now support from leaders in the airline industry as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it does feel like a turning point.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Gabbett, thanks for the update.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips. Coming up, a federal investigation into President Biden's son ramps up as more Americans say they're concerned about conflicts of interest in Ukraine and Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: New polling by the Trafalgar Group found that a majority of Americans, including 64% of independents, believe that President Biden has conflicts of interest in Ukraine and Russia.
--:-- John Bickley: The findings come after the New York Times confirmed the authenticity of problematic emails from Hunter Biden's laptop.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, a federal probe of Hunter Biden appears to be ratcheting up. Here to discuss is Peter Schweitzer, president of GAI and bestselling author of Red Handed. Welcome, Peter.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Great to be with you, John. Thanks.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Peter, this federal probe into Hunter Biden ramped up in 2018, paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, but now it's back on. First, what is the president's son being investigated for?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: There appears to be four major areas they're looking at. One is tax evasion, that he failed to pay millions of dollars in taxes from money that came overseas.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And there's also allegations potentially of money laundering. That would be moving money around for maybe foreign oligarchs or other people who are trying to hide assets.
--:-- John Bickley: The third thing that they're looking at is violations of the so FAIR Act Foreign Agents Registration Act, which means if you lobby the U.S. government asking them for some kind of action on behalf of a foreign actor, you are required to register with the Department of Justice.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: That's something Hunter Biden didn't do. And finally, they're looking at the possibility of political corruption. Was there payments being made to Hunter Biden because they wanted something from his father?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the allegations are that Ukrainian oligarchs wanted certain favorable treatments from Joe Biden because he had so much pull on the aid dollars coming into the country and what the U.S. posture would be.
--:-- John Bickley: So, those are examples of Hunter Biden allegedly using his family name to benefit himself. Are there direct implications for Joe Biden?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: There are a couple of direct implications. First of all, he wasn't just using the family name, there's evidence actually in the Hunter Biden laptop that meetings were set up. And some of those meetings were off the books, meaning they did not appear on the White House visitors log.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the other way it involves Joe Biden, the president of the United States, is it's clear from the laptop that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden had intertwined finances, meaning Hunter Biden was getting money from these overseas deals.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the fact that the money came from overseas, of course, means that that has further implications.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Will the White House and President Biden specifically be able to continue to dismiss the Hunter Biden story, or is this, like the probe, coming to a head?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: I think the reason the New York Times actually ran that story and got cooperation from Team Biden, which they clearly did in the story, is because there's a very real concern that Hunter Biden is actually going to be indicted, at least on the tax charges, if not more.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And I think the problem is, is that the Biden team can't really ignore the story because it does involve Hunter, but it doesn't just involve Hunter. As we discussed earlier, their finances were intertwined.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And certainly the laptop speaks to private meetings that were set up involving Chinese officials or Ukrainian officials meeting with his father as vice president.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And I think they're not going to be able to ignore this story as they've managed to do now, really going on four years.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Peter, thank you so much for talking with us today.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Thank you.
--:-- John Bickley: That was bestselling author of Red Handed and GAI President Peter Schweitzer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A month after Russia's invasion, NATO members met in Brussels to discuss how to help Ukraine. Here to give us the updates on Ukraine is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Ian, what are the latest developments in the war?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, the biggest update from the war in Ukraine is that world leaders met in Belgium yesterday for a special emergency summit. First off, they released a joint statement calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to, quote, "immediately stop this war and withdraw military forces from Ukraine and call on Belarus to end its complicity."
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty strong message.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, it is. They also called for a ceasefire and for Russian forces to allow, quote, "rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and safe passage for civilians, as well as the delivery of aid."
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, it is. And cities like Maripol continue to be under heavy siege and civilians continue to be targeted by Russian airstrikes. According to Maripol City Council, 15,000 residents of the city have also been illegally deported to Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And were there any updates on NATO's involvement in the conflict?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, this summit came a day after NATO's Secretary General said that the organization was set to approve major increases in the number of troops stationed in Eastern Europe, with new battle groups being placed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, all on NATO's eastern flank.
--:-- Ian Howarth: That's right. This increase is in the region of 40,000 more troops, which strangely mirrors the number of Russian troops who have been killed, wounded, taken prisoner, or gone missing in Ukraine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And NATO also announced that it would continue to provide more specific assistance in areas like cybersecurity, as well as protecting against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And this is while Ukraine's President Zelenskyy called on NATO to provide 1% of its planes and 1% of its tanks. He also accused Russia of using phosphorus bombs, killing both adults and children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And then there's the United Nations, who voted to approve a resolution on Thursday to blame Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. They also called for a ceasefire.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In a similar fashion to the last UN vote on a Ukraine-related resolution, though, there were some notable opposition votes, including Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and obviously Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: China again abstained.
--:-- John Bickley: So, President Biden traveled to Europe to attend this summit. Are there any reports on actions the US is going to be taking?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, there are a few items. The U.S. will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, as well as sanctioning more than 300 members of the Russian government, as well as 40 Russian defense companies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But one last note from the NATO summit before I go. They made it clear that they're at least aware of the importance of China's involvement in this conflict and called out China directly.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But one word was missing from that statement, and that's Taiwan, let alone the fact that no messaging has been provided, which would explain the consequences of China's continued support for Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ian, thanks for the insight.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. Amid spiking gas prices, California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed his plan this week to send $400 to state residents for every registered vehicle.
--:-- John Bickley: The current average price for gas in California is $5.88 per gallon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode, subscribe and tell a friend about us. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, and this is Morning Wire. Joining me today is Georgia Howe. It's Friday, March 25th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, John. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We've got a lot to cover today. U.S. airline CEOs are calling on President Biden to lift the federal mask mandate on transportation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. And they're not just talking about the mandate itself. They're also calling out the hypocrisy in current government mandates, saying it makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools, and at sporting events without masks.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty strong message. So, Cabot Phillips from the Daily Wire is here to give us more on the state of the mandate and the growing bipartisan support for its reversal. Cabot, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So, anytime the CEOs of rival companies team up for anything, it's noteworthy. What can you tell us about this letter they sent?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, you don't typically see this type of unity from competing businesses, but the CEOs of Delta, American, United, Alaska, Southwest, and every major airline beyond that signed a joint letter to the White House saying, quote, "Now is the time for the administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions."
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty strong message. And the timing here is interesting. Why is this happening now?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the mask mandate was actually set to expire on March 18th, and some airlines reportedly had expected it to stay that way. But the Biden administration announced they would renew the order for at least another month. It's actually the third time the order has expired and then been re-implemented by the president.
--:-- John Bickley: So, this most recent renewal comes at a time when the rest of the country is really moving in the opposite direction on mask mandates. And the airlines are saying that's putting an unfair burden on them as well as their staff.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's right. They also cited the fact that their employees are being put in a tough position, having to enforce this mandate that is becoming so deeply unpopular. They also cited the thousands of in-flight incidents that have been reported because of altercations over masks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, these airlines had largely stayed silent on the mandates throughout the pandemic. And the fact they're speaking out so strongly now it does feel like a turning point.
--:-- John Bickley: Can you tell us about the recent vote in Congress?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, Senator Rand Paul introduced a bill on March 15th that would have overturned the mandate, and it actually passed with a 57-40 vote with the support of eight Democrats.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a significant number of Democrats breaking with their party. And President Biden responded to the vote almost immediately, saying he would veto it.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's right. But again, the fact that there was bipartisan support is pretty significant.
--:-- John Bickley: So, how has the White House responded so far?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, the White House hasn't addressed this new letter from airline leaders directly. But a few weeks ago, they said that they would consult with the CDC and other pertinent agencies to make a decision when the time was right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It sounds like they're in a tough spot at this point politically. Polling consistently shows that mask mandates are becoming more and more unpopular.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And as all 50 states have now lifted indoor mask mandates, there's less of an existing precedent for them to point to in order to justify maintaining the current mandate.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, we've noted that shift in public sentiment a few times on this show. In fact, we're seeing some of that lead to a shift in messaging from Democrats, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, we've talked on the show about how the Democrat message has really shifted on COVID as public sentiment has changed. And President Biden is no exception.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in this case, his actions aren't really in line with his messaging. And the airline CEOs actually addressed that in a letter saying, quote, "Given that we have entered a different phase of dealing with this virus, we strongly support your view that COVID-19 need no longer control our lives."
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty strong message. Sounds like momentum is building here with bipartisan support from the Senate and now support from leaders in the airline industry as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it does feel like a turning point.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Gabbett, thanks for the update.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips. Coming up, a federal investigation into President Biden's son ramps up as more Americans say they're concerned about conflicts of interest in Ukraine and Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: New polling by the Trafalgar Group found that a majority of Americans, including 64% of independents, believe that President Biden has conflicts of interest in Ukraine and Russia.
--:-- John Bickley: The findings come after the New York Times confirmed the authenticity of problematic emails from Hunter Biden's laptop.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, a federal probe of Hunter Biden appears to be ratcheting up. Here to discuss is Peter Schweitzer, president of GAI and bestselling author of Red Handed. Welcome, Peter.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Great to be with you, John. Thanks.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Peter, this federal probe into Hunter Biden ramped up in 2018, paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, but now it's back on. First, what is the president's son being investigated for?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: There appears to be four major areas they're looking at. One is tax evasion, that he failed to pay millions of dollars in taxes from money that came overseas.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And there's also allegations potentially of money laundering. That would be moving money around for maybe foreign oligarchs or other people who are trying to hide assets.
--:-- John Bickley: The third thing that they're looking at is violations of the so FAIR Act Foreign Agents Registration Act, which means if you lobby the U.S. government asking them for some kind of action on behalf of a foreign actor, you are required to register with the Department of Justice.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: That's something Hunter Biden didn't do. And finally, they're looking at the possibility of political corruption. Was there payments being made to Hunter Biden because they wanted something from his father?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the allegations are that Ukrainian oligarchs wanted certain favorable treatments from Joe Biden because he had so much pull on the aid dollars coming into the country and what the U.S. posture would be.
--:-- John Bickley: So, those are examples of Hunter Biden allegedly using his family name to benefit himself. Are there direct implications for Joe Biden?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: There are a couple of direct implications. First of all, he wasn't just using the family name, there's evidence actually in the Hunter Biden laptop that meetings were set up. And some of those meetings were off the books, meaning they did not appear on the White House visitors log.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the other way it involves Joe Biden, the president of the United States, is it's clear from the laptop that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden had intertwined finances, meaning Hunter Biden was getting money from these overseas deals.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And the fact that the money came from overseas, of course, means that that has further implications.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Will the White House and President Biden specifically be able to continue to dismiss the Hunter Biden story, or is this, like the probe, coming to a head?
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: I think the reason the New York Times actually ran that story and got cooperation from Team Biden, which they clearly did in the story, is because there's a very real concern that Hunter Biden is actually going to be indicted, at least on the tax charges, if not more.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious development.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And I think the problem is, is that the Biden team can't really ignore the story because it does involve Hunter, but it doesn't just involve Hunter. As we discussed earlier, their finances were intertwined.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a pretty serious allegation.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it is. And certainly the laptop speaks to private meetings that were set up involving Chinese officials or Ukrainian officials meeting with his father as vice president.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty serious charge.
--:-- Peter Schweitzer: Yeah, it
