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--:-- Host: Hundreds of passengers trying to evacuate Afghanistan, reportedly including American citizens, are being prevented from departing in what some U.S. officials are calling a hostage situation. What do we know about the standoff over the flights? And what's the State Department doing about it? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, September 7th, and this is Morning Wire.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: A new report finds that 61% of Americans paid no federal income taxes in 2020. That's a 40% increase over last year. How did the COVID lockdowns impact taxes last year? And how has it changed the economic landscape? And the trial of former billionaire and biotech CEO Elizabeth Holmes has begun. The case, which became the subject of a bestselling book, involves multiple charges of federal fraud and conspiracy. We'll take a look at the trial and the scandal behind it. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Six evacuation flights out of Afghanistan have been held up in the northern part of the country in what some U.S. officials are calling a hostage standoff initiated by the Taliban. Here with the details is Daily Wire Managing Editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So from what we know right now, there are six charter flights stuck at Mazar-e-Sharif Airport in northern Afghanistan. These flights were organized by an NGO and reportedly include around 800 people. These are mostly Afghans who'd worked with the U.S. during the war, but they also include an unknown number of Americans.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what's going on here? Why are these flights being held up?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: As expected, there are differing accounts right now of who exactly is to blame here. According to a Taliban spokesman, this is nothing more than a mix-up with paperwork. They say some of the passengers don't have the right visas and passports, so they're being held at hotels in the area until things are sorted out.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But obviously, the Taliban has a clear history of lying to the outside world.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. So the Taliban is calling it a mix-up. But this weekend, two other explanations started to emerge. The first is reportedly a holdup by the Biden administration. Rick Clay, who helped organize the six flights with the private rescue group Plan B, told Fox News that the State Department had slowed things down.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But sources familiar with the situation told The Daily Wire that even though the State Department has slowed the process, the Taliban is mostly to blame at this point. We're told they're making demands, including tens of millions of dollars, in exchange for allowing the flights to leave.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And much of that account was confirmed on Sunday by the top Republican on the U House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep Michael McCaul. He's been receiving classified reports on the situation and he said the Taliban has indeed created a hostage situation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How has the State Department responded?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, according to an email they sent members of Congress, they've acknowledged that the flights are being detained by the Taliban, but refuted the claim that they had yet to approve their departure, and that's why they're being held up.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One State Department official told the Washington Free Beacon that they're basically just stuck between a rock and a hard place here. Because President Biden ordered all American personnel out of the country, they no longer have any presence on the ground.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So they can't intervene and verify whether there are in fact Americans on board or not.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That source also noted the lack of control over the airspace in the region without a U.S. military presence and all the problems that presented as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, the Taliban have been claiming that they're supposedly reformed and they're kind of trying to present themselves as a legitimate leadership body at this point. A hostage situation would clearly undermine that message.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Since gaining power, they've been trying hard to convince the outside world that this Taliban will be more open-minded and tolerant than they were in the 90s when they had control.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Back then, women were horribly oppressed and kept from school and work, and non-Muslims were treated as second-class citizens. And from what we're told, there's sort of an internal power struggle raging right now among Taliban leadership.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Some want to return to the way things were, while others supposedly crave legitimacy on the world stage and know that human rights abuses won't get them there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So ultimately, the fate of these planes could offer some insight into which faction is winning that power struggle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But again, it's really difficult to take the Taliban at their word at all.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for reporting, Cabot.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Absolutely. Daily Wire Managing Editor, Cabot Phillips.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, more than half of Americans paid no income tax in 2020. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be the first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news. And you'll get content from all of your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts, no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: An estimated 107 million Americans paid no income tax to the federal government in 2020, according to a new report. That represents a massive increase in the number of citizens who are no longer taxpayers. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Ben Johnson.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Thanks for joining us, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: My pleasure. How does the number of people paying federal income tax in 2020 compare with previous years?
--:-- Ben Johnson: It's a seismic change. In 2020, 61% of all Americans paid no federal income tax, according to an estimate from the Tax Policy Center. That's a 40% increase in one year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What factors played into this?
--:-- Ben Johnson: The biggest factor was unemployment. COVID lockdowns put tens of millions of Americans out of work, so they had no income to tax. Changes in the tax code also reduced Americans' tax liability.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those three rounds of stimulus checks of up to $3,200 a person were refundable tax credits. That means they reduced the total amount of tax owed and they didn't have to be paid back.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The government also expanded tax credits like the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, and tax write-offs for child care. So last year, many people ordinarily would have paid income taxes didn't know anything.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do economists think this is going to change in the coming years?
--:-- Ben Johnson: They expect the tax picture to return to normal as soon as the economy does. These temporary tax changes are set to expire next year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So in 2022, the share of families paying no federal income tax should fall back to the typical 48 percent, or two-thirds of single-parent households.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Over the years, we've heard a lot of claims about billionaires paying zero income tax. How do taxpayers actually break down by income?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, in short, the top earners pay almost all of the taxes, despite politicians, including President Biden, claiming the wealthiest Americans don't pay their fair share.
--:-- Ben Johnson: But it's time for corporate America. And the wealthiest 1% of Americans have just begun to pay their fair share. Just their fair share.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The most recent IRS data we have is from 2018. The top 1% of income earners paid more than the bottom 90% combined.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The top 1% paid 40% of all federal income taxes. The top 10% paid 71%. And the bottom 50% of taxpayers paid less than 3%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Have we seen any correlation between tax brackets and political views?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Yes. Generally, the less taxes people pay, the more they favor government spending.
--:-- Georgia Howe: When it comes to the size and scope of government, the wealthiest Americans and the poorest Americans look like mirror images of one another.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The Pew Research Center found that 60% of families who made less than $30,000 a year favor a bigger government with more spending. 62% of families making more than $75,000 a year favor a smaller government with less spending.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even though millions are paying no federal income tax, that doesn't mean they pay no taxes, right?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Definitely. Most Americans pay a cornucopia of other taxes. In 2020, Americans paid $1.3 trillion in federal withholding taxes for Social Security and Medicare, $43 billion in gasoline and diesel taxes, $10 billion in taxes on alcohol, a dollar a pack in cigarette taxes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That doesn't include taxes, tolls, and fees from the state and local government down to the township and school district level.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The IRS gets something out of everybody.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for walking us through that, Ben.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Ben Johnson, reporter for The Daily Wire.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The trial begins this week for former billionaire and biotech company Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes. Holmes was indicted on multiple charges of federal fraud and conspiracy. She's accused of lying about the ability of her company's technology to run numerous tests with just a few drops of blood. Here to discuss the case is Daily Wire editor Ash Short.
--:-- Ash Short: So Ash, a few years ago, Elizabeth Holmes was a Silicon Valley darling. She was all over magazines, and then her company just completely imploded. Tell us what happened.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, for years, Holmes sold Theranos and its blood testing machines as breakthrough devices that would revolutionize the medical industry.
--:-- Ash Short: She claimed her machines could run hundreds of tests with just a finger prick, eliminating the need for painful needles.
--:-- Georgia Howe: She also claimed these tests could help people detect potential health problems and therefore save lives.
--:-- Ash Short: None of that turned out to be true. It turns out that Theranos' machines didn't work properly and could only run a small number of tests.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even then, the tests were highly inaccurate, leading some patients to believe they had serious illnesses when they didn't.
--:-- Ash Short: It was eventually reported that Theranos was secretly using traditional blood analyzers to come up with many of its results to make it look like their machines were accurate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And how was that discovered?
--:-- Ash Short: The company had a high turnover rate for employees many of whom left because they realized what the company was doing and found it unethical and dangerous.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But they were unable to speak openly about it due to non-disclosure agreements.
--:-- Ash Short: Some of the people who questioned the validity of the company's claims, though, eventually reached out to investigative journalist John Carreyrou at the Wall Street Journal, And he ended up blowing the lid off the whole company and writing a bestseller about it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Ash, talk for a minute about how Theranos was able to operate for so long, you know, given that they weren't providing any evidence whatsoever that their technology worked.
--:-- Ash Short: Holmes was very persuasive and charming. She was able to convince powerful people like Henry Kissinger and James Mattis to join the board.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And she convinced Rupert Murdoch to invest more than $100 million in the company.
--:-- Ash Short: When people saw those names, they assumed she must be telling the truth about her technology.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It also seemed like people wanted to believe she had achieved what she claimed, both because the technology would be so revolutionary and because she would be the first female Silicon Valley star.
--:-- Ash Short: She was already being compared to Steve Jobs, who she completely idolized.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so this was all about five or six years ago. Bring us to present day. Holmes has been charged with fraud and she's going to trial. Tell us about that.
--:-- Ash Short: The trial officially starts this week, and courtroom documents unsealed on August 28th show that Holmes is planning to accuse former Theranos president Ramesh Sunny Balwani, who she had a romantic relationship with, of physical and sexual abuse.
--:-- Georgia Howe: She plans to claim that Sunny controlled how she ate and dressed, monitored her communications, and threw things at her, which she says impaired her judgment.
--:-- Ash Short: Well, she was also technically his boss at the time, so that kind of affects their dynamic too.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do you think her defense will actually work?
--:-- Ash Short: Maybe. According to Carrie Rue's book, Sonny was seen as a tyrant around the office, repeatedly berating employees and taking pleasure in firing them over perceived offenses.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But no one who spoke out for the book has said anything about Sonny mistreating Holmes.
--:-- Ash Short: What's really interesting is that Carrie Rue discovered that when Theranos was beginning to crumble, Holmes wanted to publicly claim she had been sexually assaulted while she was a student at Stanford University, but her advisors told her not to.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now she's claiming Sonny abused her throughout the Theranos saga, which is what she says led to her actions.
--:-- Ash Short: And has Sonny responded to those accusations yet?
--:-- Georgia Howe: He's not happy, as you might expect.
--:-- Ash Short: His attorneys called the allegations salacious and inflammatory and argued he and Holmes should be tried separately.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And his attorneys argued that Holmes' abuse claims couldn't be used against him if he were tried alone.
--:-- Ash Short: A lot of people are following this trial, including my whole family, actually.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ash, thanks for keeping us informed.
--:-- Ash Short: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire editor Ash Short.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. President Biden's approval ratings have dipped in the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal. As of this week, aggregate pollster RealClearPolitics logged President Biden's average approval at 45 percent, with 49 percent disapproving. Pollster 538 logged the president's approval at 46%, with 48% disapproving.
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--:-- 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
