Morning Wire - Decoupling From China & Murdaugh Trial Nears End | 3.1.23

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

 A movement to “decouple from China” grows among lawmakers, the trial of South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh nears its end, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul is under fire for two controversial parts of her 2023 budget. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.  Black Rifle Coffee: Get 10% off your first order or Coffee Club subscription with code WIRE: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Medcline: Get 20% off at https://medcline.com/wire Birch Gold: Text "WIRE" to 989898 for your no-cost, no-obligation information kit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Black Rifle Coffee. Start your morning with America's Coffee from black rifle coffee.com. The movement to decouple from China is growing among lawmakers and the American people. We're hoping to make the American people and our colleagues aware the threat we face. We discuss what steps are being taken to cut ties with China and new exclusive polling showing how Americans feel about it. I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Vickley with Georgia Howl. It's Wednesday, March 1st, and this is a very much. Morning Wire. The trial of South Carolina attorney Alec Murdoch is wrapping up with closing arguments

expected this week. We discussed the case that's captivating the nation. Mr. Griffin, I didn't shoot my wife or my son anytime, ever. And a battle is brewing in New York over Democrat Governor Kathy Hogle's budget, which would empower state officials to force suburban areas to build low-income housing where they don't want it. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Hey guys, producer Brandon here. Black Rifle Coffee is fueling Americans before they go out and do epic things with their lives. Led by a team of military veterans, the guys of Black Rifle Coffee are hyper-focused and hyper-vigilant in everything they do.

Lucky for you, they're obsessed with making great coffee because every great adventure starts with a great cup of coffee. Go to Black Riflecoffee.com and use promo code Wire for 10% off your purchases and your first coffee club order. That's Black RifleCoffee.com promo code Wire. BlackRifle Coffee, America's Coffee. Days after the U.S. Energy Department said they believe COVID likely originated in a Chinese lab. Congress held a primetime hearing to address America's relationship with China. As a bipartisan push to decouple from the communist nation has gained momentum. Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.

All right, Cabot, we'll get to the efforts to decouple from China in a second here. But first, tell us about this hearing in Congress last night. Well, given how fractured D.C. is right now, anytime you see leaders on both sides of the aisle, working together on an issue, it's noteworthy. And in this case, there's little disagreement from either party that America needs to step up their response to what they're calling the China threat. On Tuesday evening, the newly formed House Select Committee on China held its first hearing, with lawmakers hearing testimony from national defense experts and human rights activists victimized by the communist regime there. So why is this happening now? What does this timing tell us?

So the obvious answer is the spy balloon incident last month, and that certainly was a catalyst for building a sense of urgency among lawmakers. But the reality is that this has been building for some time. Supporters of a crackdown say this problem has really been brewing since the 70s, when American leaders first opened relations with China. The hope at the time was that America would benefit from a cheap labor pool and mass manufacturing, while simultaneously exporting democratic values and capitalism to China for their benefit. But critics of that plan, including Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher, who chairs the committee, say it failed and simply allow China to rake in profits while hollowing out the U.S. working class and suppressing human rights across Asia.

We spoke with Representative Gallagher yesterday. Here's what he told us. Of course, they grew more repressive at home and aggressive abroad. And until we understand the threat that we're dealing with, we will not have a successful policy going forward. We still have people clinging to naive delusions about the CCP. So the basic idea is it was a mistake to let China into the global economy because it only made them more powerful and did little, really, to reform their human rights and other abuses. Yeah, that's the point they make. So what kinds of steps have we seen taken by the U.S. to this point? Well, there've already been a number of economic steps taking the pushback on Chinese influence.

For example, President Trump implemented a series of steep tariffs on Chinese imports like steel and electronics. And then President Biden reportedly secured a deal last month with Japan and the Netherlands that would restrict the export of high-tech chipmaking machinery to China. That deal was not made public, but is clearly part of an effort to undercut Beijing's chip production. So there have been economic efforts made to this point, but a growing number of lawmakers on both sides are now calling for things to go a step further. And that's where the idea of decoupling comes in. Right. So supporters of the idea say it's time to erect barriers between the U.S. and China, otherwise, they'll have no incentive to change. They say that during the Cold War, we never would have imported billions of

dollars in Soviet goods each year and that our relationship with China should be viewed the same way. Now, Obviously, that's a hugely consequential step. Many businesses claim the only way they can really make a profit is by outsourcing their production to China, and there are plenty of investors who say they should be free to invest wherever they choose. But the growing argument from supporters of decoupling is that it's a national security issue. Because every business there is essentially state-controlled, they say that every dollar invested in China is a dollar that will eventually fund a government trying to sabotage the U.S.

On that note, Virginia's Republican Governor Glenn Yunkin recently shut down production of a multi-billion dollar Ford automotive plant because it was part of a joint venture with a Chinese company. Here he is with Maria Bartaromo on Fox News Sunday. We went to work to fully understand what was going on between Ford and a company called cattle that is not just influenced but controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and to not allow them to use a Trojan horse structure to gain access to taxpayer incentives that were put into the Inflation Reduction Act. This should be American supply chain that's trusted, not one that's outsourced to the Chinese Communist Party.

And that comes as Yonkin announced his intention to sign a bipartisan bill, restricting Chinese companies from purchasing U.S. farmland in his state, something we've seen from a number of other governors this year as well. Yeah. And it's worth noting. Steps like this have become increasingly popular among the general public. A new Trafalgar poll exclusive to Morning Wire shows that 74% of Americans say it's inappropriate for any taxpayer money to be invested in companies. with ties to China. So growing momentum here to combat China at home and abroad. Cabot thanks for

reporting. Anytime. That's Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Coming up, the sensational double murder trial of Alec Murdoch nears its end. Hey guys, producer Brandon here. I used to have one heck of time getting to sleep at night due to shoulder pain, but then I found MedKline. The MedKline patented pillow system cushions your body in a supremely comfortable sleeping position that's clinically proven to provide effective acid reflux and shoulder pain relief. Medcline sleep systems are FDA registered and doctor-recommended medical devices. They're even covered by FSA and HSA medical expense plans. Get 20% off when you go to medcline.com slash wire.

That's 20% off a better night sleep today at medcline.com slash wire. Get 20% off when you go to medcline.com slash wire. Alec Murdoch, a member of a powerful South Carolina legal dynasty, has been on trial for the alleged double murder of his wife and son. For five weeks, the cases gripped the nation and already has a Netflix special. Here to discuss the trial is Daily Wire's senior editor, Ash Short. So, Ash, first off, give us some background on why this case is getting so much press.

Well, not only is this a gruesome murder with a lot of confounding elements, it also involves a very high-profile family. The defendant Alex's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather worked as South Carolina's version of a district attorney for the state's low country region. The problems really began in 2019, when Alex's youngest, son Paul was involved in a boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. Paul was allegedly drunk at the time. While Alec was not directly involved in the incident, it was seen as the beginning of Murdoch's undoing. Following the boating incident, investigators would uncover a web

of financial crimes perpetrated by Alec, including stealing millions of dollars from his clients, which led to his law firm forcing him to resign. The same weekend he resigned in June 2021, Alex's wife, Maggie, and son Paul were found murdered at the dog kennels on their family estate. A year later, Alec was charged with the murders. Now, keep in mind, he was already facing dozens of charges related to drug and financial crimes. So what evidence links Alec to the murders? The main thing is that Alec lied to police for two years about his whereabouts at the time of the murder. He insisted that he never went to the kennels that day, but cell phone evidence taken from Paul's phone just

minutes before the murders contains Maggie and Alex's voices. When testifying in his own defense last week, Alec admitted to lying, but said he did so out of paranoia because of his opioid addiction. The family's former housekeeper also testified that she was asked to clean the family home the morning after Murdoch's wife and son were murdered. She also said Alex seemingly tried to tell her he was wearing something different on the day of the murders rather than the polo she remembered. And what is the defense saying?

They have said that Alec was at his ailing mother's home at the time of the murders and insists that whoever killed Maggie and Paul must have been targeting Paul over the boat crash. Alec and other defense witnesses said the family had been receiving death threats related to Paul. The defense also brought a ballistics witness who testified that the wife and son were shot with two different types of guns and that the shots were fired by a person with much shorter stature than Alec Murdoch. The defense says this points to multiple assailants. Here's a clip from that testimony.

whether there was one or two shooters who murdered Maggie and Paul on the 9 of June 7th. What's your opinion? My opinion is the totality of the evidence is more suggestive of a two-shooter scenario. The defense also says there was no motive for Murdoch to Hill his family, but that he had a lot of enemies due to his financial crimes. Murdoch's surviving son, Buster, also testified that his father was distraught after the murders, and multiple witnesses have said the crime scene wasn't properly secure, with dozens of people able to walk through at the morning after the murders.

To give you an idea of how gruesome this crime scene was, here's Murdoch's brother discussing cleaning up the crime scene after the police left. Y'all can imagine what I experienced. It had not been cleaned up. I saw blood. I saw brains. I saw pieces of skull. I don't know what I was.

It was terrible. There's also the matter of unexplained hair and DNA found at the crime scene. Maggie was allegedly found with strands of brown hair. in her hand, while Alec has strawberry blonde hair. She also had DNA under her fingernails that does not belong to Alec, neither of which have been explained. Well, an interesting case, and we're going to be watching for the verdict. Ash, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. That was Daily Wire Senior Editor, Ash Short. New York Governor Kathy Hochel is under fire for two controversial planks of her 2023 budget, which she laid out last month and could have a major impact on the suburbs.

Here to talk about his columnist David Marcus. Hey, Dave. What are these budget proposals that have suburbanites so concerned? Morning. There are two issues at play here, one involving housing, the other involving public transit. On the housing front, Hockel wants 800,000 new affordable housing units built, and she wants those spread throughout the state, importantly, including suburban areas. This is something that suburbanites and the politicians who represent them have been opposed to, for

myriad reasons, including home values, crime, and education. Under Hockel's plan, if a locality fails to meet her housing goal, the state could overrule local zoning policies by Fiat and force the changes through. This really has a lot of people up in arms, as these suburbs really jealously guard their ability to self-govern when it comes to housing and zoning. Are the critics of Hockel's plan offering alternatives to the low-income housing issue? Do they even agree that this is actually a problem that needs a government response? I asked Staten Island Republican city councilman and former state representative Joe Borrelli about that very thing. Here's what he told me.

She's trying to solve a housing problem where a housing problem doesn't exist by building housing there, rather than come up with a serious proposal to renovate existing vacant apartments to push forward a plan to renovate some vacant office space into more housing and focus really on areas of the city where housing. housing is at a premium because of the lack of market rate units. So what Porelli and other critics are really pointing out here is that Hockel and progressives in general really want to transform suburban living by making these areas more densely populated. They view this as greener as it leads to less reliance on cars and more use of public transit. And they also just sort of see it as equity, their new catchword. They want to open up suburban living to poorer New Yorkers, whether the current residents want that or not.

Speaking of public transit, that's the other piece of Hockel's budget that's sparking a lot of backlash. With ridership down since the pandemic, there's a huge shortfall in funding for the MTA, which operates the subway's trains and buses. How does Hockel want to close that gap? This problem is enormous. In 2016, about 5.5 million strap hangers took the subway each weekday. that was down to 2.3 million in 2021, and it's still only at about 60% of prior levels. Meanwhile, over the next two years, federal COVID relief money will dry up, leaving a shortfall in the billions with a B. Aside from the obvious problem of workers not commuting into Manhattan,

there's a slew of other issues, including crime, which is way up. The trains are quite dirty, and there are fewer express trains, or really trains at all, so wait times are up. It's sad because the New York subway system was quite recently one of the world's finest and a real treasure. There's a long, long way to go to get back to that. Sounds like it. David, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus. Another story we're tracking this week.

The Chicago mayoral election took place on Tuesday, and for the first time in 40 years, the city's mayor failed to win re-election. Incumbent Democrat Lori Lightfoot, the first black woman and openly gay mayor of Chicago, was resoundingly defeated, failing to get enough votes to move on to the runoff. Democrat Paul Vallis, a moderate who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, closed the day with a strong lead over the other eight candidates, and that includes progressive Democrat Brandon Johnson, who came in second. The race was dominated by the issue of violent crime, which plagued the city under Lightfoot.

Valis will face off against Johnson on April 4th. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know. through the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling last month, and still, the White House refuses to reduce spending. If you're worried about the future of this nation's economy, you need to consider diversifying into gold with birch gold. Birch gold makes it easy to convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA in precious metals. Text wire to 98989898 to claim your free info kit on gold and talk to one of their precious metal experts. Text wire to 9898998 today.