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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Twitter CEO Elon Musk gives former FBI-turned-Twitter attorney James Baker the boot for allegedly withholding information from journalists. And new FBI testimony points to more signs of big tech and government collusion. They were advising and talking to these social media platforms about what their hack policies should be. What did the witness say and when will we see more depositions? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): It's Thursday, December 8th, and this is Morning Wire. More concerning revelations emerge from a grand jury investigation into a Virginia school district rape scandal, and parents are demanding accountability. Resign. Resign. Resign. And L.A.'s new sheriff targets the criminal ring behind several brazen retail thefts. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): This show is brought to you by The Pearl Source. Looking for the perfect gift for your loved one? Get fine pearl jewelry at the best prices online straight from the source, The Pearl Source. Go to thepearlsource.com and use promo code MORNINGWIRE for 20% off your order. That's promo code MORNINGWIRE at thepearlsource.com for 20% off.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Elon Musk says that former FBI General Counsel James Baker, who was working at Twitter until he was exited on Tuesday, tried to keep internal Twitter records from journalists. The news comes after FBI testimony revealed that the Bureau held weekly meetings with social media executives leading up to the 2020 presidential election. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here to give us the details on both developments.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, well, as hard as it is to imagine, Elon Musk says he was not aware that Baker was still working for Twitter. Baker took a job in late 2021 after he resigned from the FBI over his role in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax. And what we learned last week was that once at Twitter, Baker was instrumental in the company's decision to censor the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop story. So really what we see is that a lot of roads lead to Baker.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, then on Tuesday night, independent journalists Matt Taibbi and Barry Weiss revealed that they were having trouble getting access to the Twitter files that Musk had promised because someone named Jim was refusing to release the records. Well, Weiss inquired further and she discovered the Jim in question here was none other than James Baker. So it was Musk who tweeted that he asked Baker why he was withholding the files. And he said only that Baker's explanation for that was unconvincing and that he's now, yeah, fired Baker.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, you know, the question people are naturally asking now is whether Baker destroyed any of those internal Twitter records. Yeah Now the other development that potentially linked to this the FBI agent recent testimony First remind us what happened there
--:-- Megan Basham: So last week a Louisiana court ordered an FBI supervisory special agent by the name of Elvis Chan to testify in response to a lawsuit that was brought by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana. And that suit accuses the Biden administration of colluding with big tech to censor political speech. Well, this testimony actually resulted from depositions that came not from Twitter, but from Facebook's parent company, Meta. So executives there named Chan and the FBI's Foreign Interference Task Force as the reason that that platform decided to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story.
--:-- Megan Basham: Once a subpoena forced a deposition, Chan said that he and as many as seven other agents on that task force and senior cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency officials, that's known as SISA, had regular meetings with major social media platforms. So these meetings started out being quarterly, then they increased to monthly, and then shortly before the election, they were bumped up to weekly. So Chan said the purpose of the meetings was to keep social media platforms apprised of foreign disinformation threats. Specifically, he said the agency warned them to be on the lookout for hack and leak operations that were being spearheaded by the Russians.
--:-- Megan Basham: But I spoke to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt, who took Chan's deposition, and here's what he said he learned. It is obvious now and clear that in 2019, FBI had possession of the Hunter Biden laptop. They had it. They knew it wasn't hacked material. They knew it was real. I think one of the other things that's interesting to note from his deposition is that it was his belief that pressure from Congress also made these social media platforms adopt stricter content modulation policies. I mean, he indicated that staffers from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and its counterpart in the Senate traveled to Silicon Valley to meet with these platforms.
--:-- Megan Basham: I mean, so this level of collusion is quite frankly shocking. Now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he can't remember if the FBI specifically referenced Hunter Biden in these hack and leak warnings. But former Twitter head of site integrity, Yul Roth, said they most certainly did. He actually said this in a sworn affidavit to the Federal Election Commission. Now, thanks to the first drop of the Twitter files, we know that Twitter did not actually believe that the laptop story was a result of hacked material.
--:-- Megan Basham: So what has the FBI said? They put out a statement saying that they regularly engage with private companies to warned them about potential threats from foreign actors. And they said that these warnings are not politically motivated. Well, we know more depositions, including from former press secretary Jen Psaki, are coming in that lawsuit. So we'll keep tracking.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Thanks, Megan. Anytime. That was Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Coming up, the Loudoun County superintendent is fired after shocking revelations from a grand jury investigation. Hey guys, producer Brandon here. I'm going to tell you about Black Rifle Coffee Company. Black Rifle is helping you knock out your holiday shopping with tons of awesome new products this year. Shop the best brewing gear, thermoses, mugs, and apparel designed for folks who love country and coffee. Go to blackriflecoffee.com and use promo code WIRE for 10% off merchandise, apparel, or when you sign up for a coffee club subscription. That's blackriflecoffee.com, promo code WIRE for 10% off. Black Rifle Coffee, supporting veterans, and America's Coffee.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): After the Daily Wire broke the story of Loudoun County, Virginia school officials concealing a bathroom rape associated with a transgender bathroom policy, Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governor race and his attorney general convened a special grand jury to investigate Now the grand jury has released a 91 fact report Here to discuss is Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Well, Georgia, the grand jury of nine citizens basically found that the school district's failures here were even worse than we knew. First, just days before that May 2021 rape occurred, a teacher's aide wrote to her department chair about the culprit, saying, quote, I wouldn't want to be held accountable if someone should get hurt. She said he had frequently had his arm around girls' necks and also noted that he would sit on girls' laps and things like that.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Instead of punishing the student, the boss questioned the motives of that teacher's aide, implying, it seems, that she was transphobic because this boy often dressed like a girl. So no action is taken at that time. And then a few days later, that same boy rapes a girl in the school bathroom, correct?
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Right. The grand jury also revealed that a different teacher's aide walked into the bathroom during that rape and realized the two people were in the stall together. But that teacher's aide also did nothing. The girl, the victim in that rape, then told school officials what happened and they called her parents. Her dad came to the school a few hours later, and the school called police on him due to his tone and demeanor.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: What we've learned from this grand jury report is that during that period of time when the school and the police were fixated on the father, the rapist had not even been located. For hours, he was, quote, missing and at large. The message that school officials sent to the community that day about why the police were called said the incident had to do with an angry parent and that student safety wasn't at risk.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: That email was signed by the principal, but the grand jury found that the school's spokesman actually wrote it, and the superintendent personally edited it. So the school called the police on the victim's father on that day when his daughter was raped, but then a second time, the police tackled that same father at the school board meeting when this issue was being discussed, correct?
--:-- Luke Rosiak: And that's when it was on TV? Exactly. A month later, he was arrested at a school board meeting where officials were discussing policy 8040, which was the policy the school board wanted to pass to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. The victim's father became angry after the superintendent defended the policy to the board, saying the safety concerns were misplaced because there had never been any rape in the school bathrooms.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Okay, so that summer, the victim's father was arrested, and subsequently, the rapist was arrested. How did the situation finally become resolved. Well, while the criminal charges were pending, the school system did not discipline the boy. It just moved him to a different school and the court system had him wearing an ankle bracelet.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: But what we found from this grand jury report is he went on to commit several infractions involving creepy behavior against girls, which school officials, including the superintendent, knew about that we're just learning about now. Ultimately, he received a punishment that's almost difficult to believe. The district made him write on a piece of paper, quote, I will not touch others. I will not ask for photos to include intimate. Remember, this is a guy that has been moved to the school because he's got felony sodomy charges pending.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Days later, though, he, quote, snatched an unassuming female out of the hallway, abducted her into an empty classroom, nearly asphyxiated her and sexually assaulted her. That's according to the grand jury report. At that point, he was arrested again. Now, did the grand jury issue any indictments? Not at this time, though it hasn't been disbanded, so that's still a possibility.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: But late Tuesday night, the board voted unanimously to fire Superintendent Scott Ziegler although it appears he be getting a golden parachute Wow All right Well Luke thanks so much for reporting
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Thank you, Luke. That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Just a day after Los Angeles County got a new sheriff, police began cracking down on retail theft, an issue that has plagued the city for months. Over the weekend, LA swore in Sheriff Robert Luna, and the LAPD announced mass arrests associated with an organized retail theft ring. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Hi, Georgia. On Saturday, LA swore in its new sheriff, Robert Luna, who recently defeated former Sheriff Alex Villanueva in the election last month. He was sworn in just a day after another major organized theft incident rocked the city. Then just one day after getting the new sheriff, LAPD announced 18 arrests of suspects ages 15 to 20 years old. We should note that although the LAPD announced these retail theft arrests, the LA County Sheriff's Department is working with the LAPD on this investigation.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: In this case, all of these young suspects are accused of organizing a massive retail theft operation that took place on Thursday and Friday of last week. The thieves can be seen in police photos wearing hoods and masks and carrying armfuls of clothing out of an athletics shop. According to police, they took about $23,000 worth of merchandise from four shoe and clothing chain retailer stores. The teens and young adults arrested all live in Los Angeles County and were charged with organized retail theft and felony grand theft.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Police said they impounded eight vehicles as part of their investigation as well. Also, all of the stolen merchandise has been returned to the stores. So it sounds like the police were already monitoring this crime ring before the sheriff took office. That's correct. Also, police believe that these particular suspects were also involved in 14 similar theft incidents in L.A. County. Those other incidents resulted in a total of $90,000 in stolen items.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: So is there a reason to believe that this new sheriff is going to be tougher on crime than Villanueva was, or is this just lucky timing? That's unclear at this point. Neither candidate it is considered particularly progressive, at least compared to most of the elected officials in L.A. Luna was a registered Republican for three decades before running as a Democrat in the sheriff's race, whereas the former sheriff, Alex Villanueva, initially ran as a progressive Democrat, but by the end of his tenure was pretty outspoken against COVID restrictions and wokeness.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: But Villanueva did get bad press for allegedly covering for bad behavior among sheriff's deputies, and that scandal may have cost him the election. So it remains to be seen whether Luna will be able to navigate the system any better than Villanueva. Well, it's definitely something we're going to be monitoring.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Maraid, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, 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. One of the best gifts you can give your loved one this holiday season is beautiful, classic pearl jewelry from the Pearl Source. The Pearl Source cuts out the middleman by selling directly to you and eliminating crazy jewelry store markups. They even offer free two-day shipping on every order and a 60-day money-back guarantee, so it's risk-free. For a limited time, Morning Wire listeners can take 20% off your order with promo code MORNINGWIRE. If you want fine pearl jewelry at the best prices online, then go straight to the source, the Pearl Source. Go to thepearlsource.com and use promo code MORNINGWIRE.
