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--:-- Host (John Bickley): Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire, and co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): President Trump appeared in a Miami federal court where he pleaded not guilty to charges of mishandling classified documents. Hillary Clinton broke the law and she didn't get indicted. Joe Biden broke the law and so far has not gotten indicted. I did everything right and they indicted me. How is Trump responding and what kind of legal defense is he expected to mount?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire, Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, June 14th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Republican lawmakers spar with the FBI over alleged tapes related to claims that President Biden was involved in a bribery scandal. If the allegations are false, you know who could disprove them? Joe Biden. He could call for this to be released publicly, but the FBI is stonewalling. And the White House confirms reports that China and Cuba have joined forces to spy on the U.S. China has excellent electronic warfare and spy capacity and many ways of executing it. How does the revelation affect U.S.-China relations? And why is the Biden administration blaming Trump?
--:-- Georgia Howe: On Tuesday, former President Trump made his first appearance in a Miami courthouse to face a slew of federal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Here with the latest on this historic case is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, history being made here once again. On Tuesday afternoon, Trump surrendered to federal authorities after he was charged with a 37-count indictment last week.
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--:-- Cabot Phillips: After the former president's motorcade arrived at the Miami courthouse, Trump was taken inside and fingerprinted, though he was not handcuffed and no mugshot was taken.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Once inside the courtroom where cameras were banned, Trump appeared before a magistrate judge entering a not guilty plea on all counts.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The arrest of Trump now begins a lengthy pretrial process, where the former president's legal team will begin ironing out details of the case with federal prosecutors, deciding what sort of evidence will be admitted, what motions will be filed, etc.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Officials in Miami had prepared for as many as 50,000 demonstrators outside of the courthouse, and there was a heavy police presence. But ultimately, the booking was a bit anticlimactic. Just a few hundred people, mostly journalists, were present when Trump arrived.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it didn't create quite the stir they expected. So a not guilty plea and no mugshot.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Correct. What sort of argument do we expect to see from Trump's legal team?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, first, while federal courts in Florida are known as the rocket docket for their notoriously speedy trials, there's a good chance that Trump's legal team file motions to delay the proceedings until after the 2024 race.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And then once the trial starts, former Trump lawyers have implied they'll argue that the DOJ illegally obtained the search warrant that allowed them to raid Mar-a-Lago.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They'll also use attorney-client privilege to argue that certain evidence should be inadmissible in court. Remember, the indictment included conversations that Trump had with his lawyers regarding the documents at his residence.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, typically those conversations could not be used against Trump because of attorney-client privilege, but the DOJ used a crime fraud exception, saying that they are admissible because they constituted a crime.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Keep an eye on that component as much of the evidence against the former president comes from those alleged conversations with his attorneys. Trump legal team is also certain to argue prosecutorial misconduct. They'll likely demand a discovery period where they'll gain access to prosecutors' texts and emails regarding the case with the hope that those communications prove the case has been tainted by political motivations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What more have we heard from Trump himself since he turned himself in?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, last night he responded to the case against him during a fundraiser at his golf club in New Jersey.
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--:-- Cabot Phillips: This day will go down in infamy and Joe Biden will forever be remembered as not only the most corrupt president in the history of our country, but perhaps even more importantly, the president who together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits and Marxists tried to destroy American democracy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One other interesting note, throughout the week, the Trump campaign has been fundraising off of the case. Remember, the campaign raised $4 million in the 24 hours after he was indicted in Manhattan in March.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So they're clearly hoping that this trial will galvanize his supporters further. And from the polling data we have post-indictment, there's a very good chance that's happening. A Morning Consul poll released yesterday showed Trump at 59% in the GOP primary. That's 40 points ahead of his closest competitor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We talked earlier this week about how most Republican hopefuls to this point have denounced the charges against Trump. And on Tuesday, one candidate went a step further. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy held a press conference outside the Miami courthouse, urging his fellow candidates to sign a pledge to pardon Trump if they're elected.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: This is my commitment, if I'm elected the next U.S. president, to pardon Donald J. Trump for these offenses in this federal case.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Looking ahead, we'll be keeping a close eye on polls in the coming weeks to see what sort of impact the trial is having on the all-important GOP primary.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, and it's all just getting started. Yes, it is.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Anytime.
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--:-- Host (John Bickley): Coming up, a battle on Capitol Hill over alleged Biden bribery tapes. More evidence has emerged relating to allegations that President Biden was on the take from a Ukrainian energy company. And on Tuesday, congressional Republicans pressed FBI officials over why the agency has stymied investigation into the issue.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, we keep learning about this FBI 1023 form that allegedly details bribes taken by the president and his son. And then this week we learned there are also taped conversations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, the 1023 form references quite a few additional pieces of evidence, including taped conversations involving the president and his son Hunter and a Ukrainian oligarch.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Senator Chuck Grassley on Monday. According to the 1023, the foreign national possesses 15 audio recordings of phone calls between him and Hunter Biden. Two audio recordings of phone calls between him and then Vice President Joe Biden.
--:-- Georgia Howe: These recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case that he got into a tight spot.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Some context here. Grassley has apparently known about the recordings since he received a copy of the 1023 from a whistleblower some time ago. But he revealed those details this week because the copy of the 1023 that the FBI is letting lawmakers see apparently has some heavy redactions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Congressman James Comer the chair of the House Oversight Committee said over the weekend that the 1023 he was allowed to view last week may not be the only one.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I read it again and I realized that there were two footnotes in there that referenced other 1023s. So, you know, this is going to turn out, I think, a lot like the suspicious activity reports that the Treasury Cabinet had on the Bidens. There are a lot more of these than what the federal government wants to admit.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's worth noting that a 1023 is a form that the FBI typically reserves for information gained from trusted sources. So it's possible we're talking about multiple credible accounts here.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, the House has tabled their threats to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt for now. Are there signs that Republicans may be bringing back that threat now that there's this new evidence?
--:-- Georgia Howe: No moves yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were to happen again. Republicans aren't happy with the way they perceive the FBI to be jerking them around.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Grassley again. By the way, 1023 is unclassified. So why shouldn't the entire country know about what's in this 1023?
--:-- Georgia Howe: As the public knows, that 1023 involves an alleged bribery scheme between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, and a foreign national.
--:-- Tim Pierce: As you noted, the Senate Judiciary Committee had a hearing Tuesday on another matter related to FBI misconduct. But the hearing gave Senator Ted Cruz a chance to question FBI Deputy Director Paula Boddy on this.
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--:-- Tim Pierce: So yes, you have a 1023. Do you have the 17 recordings? Yes or no?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm not going to get further into that. So you're stonewalling. You can't say I'm not refusing to answer your question, but I won't answer your question. I'm going to answer within the parameters that we operate in. That's the problem. The FBI has right now an unlimited hubris that you believe you are unaccountable.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, in addition to digging into the FBI, Comer has also been asking questions about Hunter Biden's associate, Devin Archer. Who is Devin Archer and what's his alleged involvement?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Archer was one of Hunter's business partners involved in his dealings with Burisma and transactions in Russia and China as well. Comer subpoenaed Archer on Tuesday to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee by the end of the week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right. Well, we'll see if Archer shows up.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Anytime.
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--:-- Host (John Bickley): A recent Wall Street Journal report revealed information about a multi-billion dollar deal between China and Cuba for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles from the U.S.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, the Biden administration has not only validated that claim, but has blamed the previous administration for allowing it to happen, saying the base has been operational since 2019.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Joining us to discuss is deputy editor of Asia Times and Claremont fellow David Goldman.
--:-- David Goldman: So David, what do we need to know about this deal between China and Cuba on this alleged spy facility? What are they up to here?
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to the tech books that I've talked to, getting satellite information from above us is probably more efficient than collecting information from 100 miles away on the ground.
--:-- David Goldman: So in terms of China's ability to steal information or target us, I doubt that it adds a great deal.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Remember the Biden administration first denied that it existed, and then Blinken said, well, it did exist, and it Trump problem because it was created in 2019 That a real Keystone Copse response and very disappointing
--:-- David Goldman: Are there other Chinese operations like this in other parts of the world China does not have a lot of international bases. It has the ability through fishing trollers and other spy ships to conduct a great deal of espionage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: For example, In the South China Sea, it has hundreds of observation balloons, piled through balloons, some connected to ships by coaxial cable.
--:-- David Goldman: In the event of a war, if we were to take out China's satellites, it would still be able to do intelligence and recon out of these.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How does this affect the relationship between the U.S. and China?
--:-- David Goldman: Our relationship with China is terrible at the moment. Secretary of State Blinken invited himself to China or leaked that he was going to China. The Chinese said he's not invited. We didn't know if we want him. We haven't heard anything about it, which is a unique event, in my experience, in diplomatic history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And, of course, the Chinese defense minister refused to meet our defense minister on the grounds that the Chinese counterpart had been under American sanctions and therefore wouldn't deign to meet our person.
--:-- David Goldman: So, very dangerous situation. The Chinese are very dug in now. They believe that the United States is determined to inhibit or stop their economic development through technology controls. And they're playing very tough.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That obviously increases the danger of a misstep, either a plane incident or a ship incident in the South China Sea, that might lead to a kinetic situation, which could become tragic, to put it mildly.
--:-- David Goldman: We've seen a lot of action by China to ramp up their influence in many of the countries in South America. What's their plan in that region?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I wrote a book in 2020 called China's Plan to Sinoform the World. China now exports more to the global south than it does to the entire industrial world.
--:-- David Goldman: A great deal of that is infrastructure, physical as well as digital. China's tried to wire up most of the global south for wireless broadband. And that brings in Chinese businesses of many kinds, e-commerce, e-finance, medical technology, cloud computing, and so forth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So I think what China's long-term goal is, is effectively to weld the economies of involving several billion people to China's economic sphere and make them effectively a Chinese protectorate.
--:-- David Goldman: I think China is clear that they will have limited ability to influence markets in the developed world because there will be pushback. But they've got an open door in the global south and sadly, very little competition from the United States.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We don't have a broadband infrastructure company like WALK. We're not competing.
--:-- David Goldman: Well, they're certainly competing against us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: David, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Goldman: My pleasure.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Claremont fellow David Goldman. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. And by the way, now you can also follow us on Twitter for show updates, as well as see some behind the scenes content on Instagram. All of those links are going to be in the description.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
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