Morning Wire - Biden FBI’s Secret Dragnet & Fed Cuts Rates | 9.18.25

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

New documents suggest a Biden-era FBI investigation went way beyond the 2020 election, the Federal Reserve makes an interest rate decision, and Secretary of State Rubio ends his trip in the Middle East as Israel moves in on Gaza. Plus, ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel’s show following misleading comments on Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. - - - Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 - - - Today's Sponsors: DeleteMe - Take control of your data and keep your private life private. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you text WIRE to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. Vanta - Visit https://vanta.com/MORNINGWIRE to sign up for a free demo today! - - - Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacy morning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Explosive whistleblower documents suggest a Biden-era investigation into the 2020 election secretly cast a much wider net. On that political list was one of Charlie Kirk's group's Turning Point USA. In other words, Arctic Frost wasn't just a case to politically investigate Trump. Why did the Biden administration probe Turning Point USA? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, Executive Editor. John Bickley. It's Thursday, September 18th, and this is Morning Wire. You can think of this in a way as a risk management cut. The Fed finally cuts the interest rate, sending the stock market soaring to new heights.

And Secretary Rubio wraps up a series of crucial meetings in the Middle East, as Israel looks to wipe out the last stronghold of Hamas. This war could end tomorrow if Hamas just said the word laid down their arms and agreed not to be a political force in the strip. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Delete Me makes it easy, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Your data has become a commodity that anyone can purchase online, which means your name, contact details, social security number, home address, and even information about your family members could be compiled and sold without you knowing it.

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Now at a special discount for our listeners. Today, get 20% off your Delete Me. planned by texting wire to 64,000. The only way to get 20% off is to text wire to 64,000. That's wire to 64,000. Messaging data rates may apply. Whistleblower documents reveal that during the Biden administration, the FBI

secretly targeted Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, as well as other conservative groups. Republicans are calling it a politically motivated witch hunt. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now with the details, say Megan. So the story is breaking just days after Kirk's tragic assassination, we're learning Biden's FBI was investigating his organization and many, many others.

First, can you walk us through what this probe was all about? Yes, so it was launched in April of 2022, and ostensibly it was to investigate President Trump, of course, then candidate Trump, over allegations that he tried to overturn the 2020 election. But eventually, it expanded to encompass a wide network of Republican-linked groups. including, as you said, Charlie Kirk's TPUSA. So I think on that score, really the timing here couldn't be more provocative or really more poignant. Yeah, indeed. So known as Arctic Frost, it was under the leadership of then FBI director Christopher Ray.

And this probe now includes declassified documents that were released Tuesday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. And he said that these declassified documents paint a much broader and much more alarming picture of what was going on. So here's what Grassley said. Some examples of the group that Ray FBI sought to place under political investigation included the Republican National Committee, Republican Attorney General's Association, and various Trump political groups. In total, 92 Republican targets, including Republican groups and Republican-linked individuals were placed under investigative scope of Arctic Frost. It was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and Department Justice prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.

Nearly a hundred targets, really staggering number. What exactly did the FBI claim that they were investigating, and how did this expand so much? Right. So initially, they said they were looking at these other organizations as part of a multifaceted conspiracy investigation. They said they were looking at things like probing false claims of election fraud that included lawsuits to challenge the results. Also, they were looking at things like fundraising, the financial efforts to bring lawsuits to challenge the results, things that were associated with the January 6 Capitol Hill riot. But the whistleblowers told Grassley that the probe eventually expanded, you know, widely beyond that. And they said that in November of 2022, it was then handed over to special counsel Jack Smith. And at that point, he started coordinating with not just the FBI and the DOJ, but also the national arts.

archives, the U.S. Postal Service, and a number of other agencies. So Senator Josh Holly told Fox News just a couple of nights ago that, in fact, he spoke to Charlie Kirk, and Kirk was worried that he was being investigated by the FBI. He'd taken me aside at one point and said, I think that we are being targeted, that TPSA is being targeted. And he said, you know, can you help us? And I said, anything you need me to do. And he said, well, listen, I'm just finding out about this. This has got to be what he was talking about. And now we know, that Joe Biden once again weaponized the FBI to go after his political opponents. It's nothing but terrorism. It's an attempt to silence and intimidate. I'm so glad that Charlie

was not intimidated right up to the last day that he had on this earth. So Grassley hammered that intimidation message home during the hearing with FBI director Cash Patel. He said that this was no routine investigation. Over 150 interviews conducted, more than 400 subpoenas issued, including 300 for witness records, plus 200 phone selectors, 20 financial probes, search warrants for 10 phones, 20 devices, 7 iCloud accounts, 28 emails, even Trump's Twitter. What's not yet clear is the specifics of why TPUSA, or really any of these groups, were caught up in this particular FBI probe. There's really been no evidence showing that TPSA or anyone else was involved in a false.

elector scheme or any financial misconduct. And yet this, they've been in the crosshairs of these investigators. So Grassley and Senator Ron Johnson said they will be releasing more declassified documents. Well, we will certainly be looking forward to those further releases. Megan, thank you so much for reporting. Yep, my pleasure. In today's fast-changing digital world, proving your company is trustworthy isn't just important for growth. It's essential. That's exactly why Vanta exists to make building and maintaining that trust seamless for businesses everywhere. Whether your startup just getting started with your first SOC2, HIPAA, or ISO-27-001 certification, or you're an enterprise dealing with the complexity of vendor risk management.

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That's V-A-N-T-A.com slash morning wire today. Mid-President Trump's ongoing push to reshape the Federal Reserve, Chair Jerome Powell finally cut interest rates Wednesday, offering a potential jolt to the Trump economy. Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips, is here to break down what the move means for average Americans and what comes next. So Cabot, the president, finally got what he's been asking for? What's the latest?

Yeah, Trump has coined this nickname Jerome Too Late Powell, saying he's consistently been too late behind the curve when it comes to lowering interest rates. But maybe now it'll be Jerome better late than never, Powell. Doesn't have the same ring to it, that's bad. That is because on Wednesday afternoon, Powell announced that the Federal Reserve would be lowering its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point. That is the first cut we've seen since last December. And that means some minor, but real tangible relief for those buying a home or car refinancing

their student loans or credit card debt, etc. Here's Powell on Wednesday explaining what went into that decision. While the unemployment rate remains low, it has edged up. Job gains have slowed and downside risks to employment have risen. At the same time, inflation has risen recently and remains somewhat elevated. In support of our goals and in light of the shift in the balance of risks, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point. And it's worth noting investors are confident that this is just the first cut.

They're predicting similar quarter point cuts in October and December when the Fed meets again next. And many of those amesters were clearly thrilled by the news. We saw both the Dow and S&P 500 jump up Wednesday to all-time highs. Now, all of this comes amid some drama at the Fed over the staffing there. What's the latest on that front? Yeah, all summer, President Trump threatened to fire Powell, hinting that a recent over-budget renovation of the Fed's headquarters could give him the cause that he needed. But now it appears more likely that he will simply wait until May.

That is when Powell's term expires and then Trump gets to handpick his successor. But Trump has still implemented shakeups elsewhere, major ones. This month, he appointed Stephen Myron, one of his top economic advisors to the Fed's powerful board of governors. He was approved by the Senate by a narrow 48-47 majority. That now makes him one of just 12 people voting on rate decisions. While the other 11 voted Wednesday for a quarter-point cut, he was the only one who voted for a larger half-point cut, so could give you an idea of what sort of governor he'll be in the

future. And it's worth noting, his role as the chair of the White House Economic Council makes him the first governor in the board's 100-plus-year history, who simultaneously, also technically an employee of the president, though he will be taking a leave of absence from the White House as he serves in this position. Now, not everyone is a fan of Trump's shake-up at the Fed. There's been quite a bit of pushback. Tell us about that. Yeah, the left is arguing that the Federal Reserve is meant to be fully independent from the executive branch. They say that Trump is upending decades of president here. In response to Myron's appointment, Democrats in Congress this week

introduced a new bill that would bar federal reserve officials from simultaneously holding another position appointed by the president. That bill is unlikely to make it into law, though, given the Republican control of the Senate, but could be revived in the future depending on how the midterms go. And then shifting gears of it, there's the pushback from the courts against Trump's shakeup. As we covered on the show all last month, Trump fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook, alleging she committed mortgage fraud. Cook was a Biden appointee who was voted in lockstep with Jerome Powell for years, and that has drawn the ire of Trump. But in an emergency ruling, just hours before the Fed began their meetings this week, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 along party lines that Cook must

be allowed to retain her position, at least for the time being. So for their part, the White House is doubling down, readying an appeal to the Supreme Court. So this battle is far from over. We'll have to see if Cook ultimately is allowed to stay. Well, we'll have to see how this rate cut affects the housing market. Next. Cabot, thanks for reporting. Absolutely. We wanted to stay engaged. Look, I think ultimately we would offer a verdict to be negotiated end that leads to all the officers being released, the least to Hamas being disarmed and eliminated as a threat. And we think it's hard to play a very key role in that.

That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking to the press Monday ahead of a series of crucial meetings in the Middle East. The meetings came as Israel began its operation in Gaza City to wipe out the last stronghold of Hamas. Joining us now to discuss is Victoria Coates Vice President, of the National Security and Foreign Policy Institute at Heritage, Victoria. Great to have you back on the show. Of course, John, good to be with you. So Marco Rubio has just taken this diplomatic trip to Qatar as Israel has launched its

hopefully final operation in Gaza City. First, how does this operation impact U.S. diplomacy in the region? Well, quite frankly, I think the region understands that this has to happen. You know, it would be desirable to come up with a solution for the Palestinians of Gaza before this was necessary. But the fact of the matter is that Hamas won't let them out. They're the only population on the planet that aren't being allowed to flee from a war zone. And part of that is Hamas, and part of that is the fact that the Egyptians won't let them cross there. The Jordanians won't let them come to Jordan. That also is telling. But at the same time, you know, President

Trump has said they should be given an option. And if, you know, a cruise ship pulled up to the Gaza pier tomorrow, I wonder how many would choose to go. Qatar is still clearly a major mediator in brokering peace in the region. Israel, of course, struck Hamas leaders in Qatar recently. Will that shake up the diplomatic process for the U.S. now? Well, maybe it will in a good way, because we weren't getting anywhere with the old process. And certainly, you know, both the Biden administration and now the Trump administration have valued Qatar's role as a mediator. This was a big step on the part of Israel to strike Hamas in Doha, at least one Hamas terrorist. died, so I'm not going to be sorry about it. But at the same time, that was a potential world crisis between Israel and Qatar and potentially with the rest of the Gulf. Now, the good news is that Secretary flew directly from Tel Aviv to Doha, and so he was pretty much demonstrating through his travel that he's going to go talk to both of them. There's going to be a direct

flight in between them. And yesterday, at the Arab Summit meeting in Doha, the Abraham Accords countries did not withdraw. from the Accords. It happened to be the fifth anniversary of the Accords on Monday, and that did not happen. That they decided to stay in. And so that, to me, is the most powerful symbol that the accords will endure, and we can get back at some point to the business of increasing normalization. I think the attacks of October 7th were, in a way, a desperation move fueled by the Iranians to prevent the normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel that President Trump had initiated. And now he has the confidence of both those governments. He has the personal confidence

of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. That's critical. And so this will be a delicate diplomatic dance. It's a big deal. But I think he will get this done by the end of the second term. Final question. What happens to Gaza after this? If Israel is successful, they wipe out Hamas. what happens to Gaza? Well, I think what we need are new mechanisms and institutions, John. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is a new mechanism for getting charitable aid into Gaza, had a rocky start earlier this year.

But they are now up and running, and they can get up to 60 trucks a day. You need about 120 to fully feed Gaza. They haven't lost a single truck to Hamas or the other terrorist groups. The United Nations mechanisms lose upwards of 80%. of their aid to the terrorist groups, and then they charge the Gazans for them when they do give out aid to them. And so the Gazans have been telling

the Humanitarian Foundation, this is the first free mail I've ever gotten. So I think we need to surge support for that kind of new mechanism to get the critical aid in. Then as I said, we need to give the people of Gaza a choice. Would they like to be relocated

for a period of time to allow the rebuilding to be done as quickly as possible? That would be my vote. seems the most logical. The president seems very committed to that. Hopefully they're given that option. We will see and we'll be watching this new operation with interest. Victoria, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Another story we're tracking, ABC has paused Jimmy Kimmel's late night show indefinitely over comments the host made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Here's part of what Kimmel said on Monday night. We had some new lows over the weekend with the Maga Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. Kimmel's assertions were directly contrary to the apparent facts. According to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, investigators on the case say the suspected shooter was, quote, deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology. On Wednesday evening, the president of a major ABC affiliate Nexstar put out the following statement.

Quote, Mr. Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse. and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located. But the network may not have acted voluntarily. On Wednesday afternoon, FCC chair Brendan Carr threatens legal action against the network for airing Kimmel's misleading claims, including the assertion that Kirk's assassin was part of the, quote, MAGA gang. Here's Carr on the Benny Johnson show Wednesday. You know, when you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel,

It appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible. As you've indicated, there are avenues here for the FCC. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're watching on YouTube, please like and subscribe. We'll be back later this evening with more news you need to know.