Morning Wire - Zelensky Addresses Congress & Trump’s Tax Returns | 12.22.22

Episode Date: December 22, 2022

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky makes plea for weapons and aid during visit to White House and Congress, Democrats release Trump’s tax returns, and New York braces for service cuts as the city is overwhelmed by migrants. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Black Rifle Coffee Get 10% off your Coffee Club subscription! BlackRifleCoffee.com promo code ‘WIRE’ Unimed: Save 70% off the Most Popular Package! +FREE shipping at Genucel.com/WIRE CarZing.com  Visit CarZing.com/WIRE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biden administration announces billions in aid to Ukraine, just as Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky arrives in D.C. to address Congress. Putin thought he would weaken NATO. Instead, he strengthened NATO. We discussed Zelensky's visit and the contentious debate over Ukraine funding. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, December 22nd, and this is Morning Wire. Trump's tax returns are now in the hands. hands of Democrats in Congress, and they've already begun releasing their findings. What have we

learned so far? And what's next in the Trump tax return saga? And New York City has seen an influx of more than 30,000 illegal immigrants in the last few months. And now the mayor is warning the city's residents that some basic services may have to be cut back. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Imagine the joy of pre-scheduled coffee delivery. Your favorite roasts at your door, when you need them. It's really the gift that keeps on giving. Right now, you can go to black rifle coffee.com and use promo code wire for 10% off coffee, merchandise apparel, or when you sign up for a coffee club subscription. Stop your family's Christmas stockings with all the highest grade coffee roasted right here in America by veteran-led

teams of coffee experts. Go to black rifle coffee.com with promo code wire for 10% off. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky made a surprise visit to Washington, D.C., Here with more on the visit and how American leaders responded is DailyWire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips. All right, Cabot, how did it go? Yeah, news of this visit was really kept under wraps. We didn't actually know he was coming until the day before his arrival, which in a city like D.C., where almost everything leaks to the press is surprising. And it gives you an idea of the length of the Biden administration and the Ukrainians went to keep this secret.

Zelensky has yet to make an international trip that we know of since Ukraine was first invaded 300 days ago. So the fact he chose the U.S. shows just how important he views the relationship between our two countries. Zelensky headed first to the White House holding a press conference with President Biden, where he presented him a medal on behalf of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line, and thanked him more broadly on behalf of the Ukrainian people. He then headed to the Capitol for a rare address to Congress. We'll get to his remarks there, but first, tell us about the broader purpose of this visit. Zulinski said that he wanted to thank the U.S. for its support over the last year,

but more importantly, he wanted to lobby for further support, and he got it. President Biden announced that included in the latest $2 billion worth of weapons and military support will be the all-important Patriot missile defense system. That's the most advanced ground-to-air system in the U.S. arsenal. Ukrainian officials reportedly view the weapons not only as a military advantage, but also was assigned to Russia that American support is escalating, not declining as the war drags on. Right, so some symbolic importance there. Yeah.

So tell us about the prime. time address to Congress. Yeah, Zelensky essentially reiterated what he's been saying on social media and calls with foreign leaders throughout the past year. He called on the Western world to stand for democracy by supporting the Ukrainian people. Zelinski also offered an ominous message about the threat of continued Russian aggression. Just peace is no compromises as to the sovereignty, freedom, and territorial integrity of my country, the payback for all the damages inflicted by. Russian aggression. All right, so what about the timing?

Why is this visit coming now? Well, according to the White House, President Biden invited Zelensky after a phone call two weeks ago, but it does seem like there's some political strategy with regard to the exact timing. First, there's the fact that Congress is currently debating passage of the massive omnibus bill, which includes $45 billion in new military funding

and economic aid for Ukraine. Some think it's, you know, not a coincidence that Zelensky chose now to speak to Congress, right, as they're debating a bill, that would nearly double the amount of aid that we've given to Ukraine throughout the entire conflict. Yeah, it makes sense.

And remember, this session is also the last time that Congress will meet before the GOP takes control of the House next month. And it's expected that Republican House leaders will be more hesitant to approve of continued aid to Ukraine. So Zelensky could be making a final appeal to Congress

while they're still controlled by Democrats who have had fewer reservations about funding the war there. Yeah, about that. What are we hearing from Republicans when it comes to support for Ukraine? So there does appear to be a growing faction of Republicans who question whether the funding is necessary. Their general point is that at a time when our southern border is being flooded by record numbers of illegal migrants and deadly drugs,

that we should be spending those billions of dollars on issues that more directly impact American citizens. They're also concerned about just how long this funding will be needed and how long the conflict will drag on. And finally, they've voiced concerns over the fact that there's just very little oversight when it comes to how the money that we're sending to Ukraine is actually used and whether our involvement could make a serious World War III type conflict more likely. But there are certainly Republicans who do still support funding the war. They say it's crucial to show Vladimir Putin that America will stand up to his aggression and that our actions can prevent further military invasions like this in the future. On that note, here's Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier this week. Providing assistance for the Ukrainians to defeat the Russians,

that's the number one priority for the United States right now. Cabot, thanks for reporting. Anytime. That's Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Coming up, President Trump's taxes are finally being revealed. Look your best at the Christmas party this year with Janicell's skin care. Now, through Christmas, Jenny's most popular package is 70% off. This includes two months' worth of Janacell's bestsellers,

plus their hyaluronic acid serum free with your purchase. Treat yourself and a loved one to the skin. care that will take years off your skin. Visit jenysel.com slash wire and use code wire for an additional 10% off your order. That's jenysel.com slash wire. Janicell.com slash wire. After years of legal wrangling, the Democrats finally got their hands on former President Donald Trump's tax returns, and information is starting to come forward.

The House Ways and Means Committee approved the release of former President Donald Trump's tax returns on Tuesday. Here to discuss the committee's vote and what we learned about Trump's tax. is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So Tim, we're finally seeing these tax returns. What did we learn? Hey, Georgia. Not that much, really.

The committee approved the release of six years of Trump's tax returns from 2015 to 2020. But half of those we've already seen. The New York Times reported the returns for 2015, 16, and 17 two years ago. The new tax returns aren't released yet. And they may not be public for several more days until they finish redacting personal information. The Joint Committee on Taxation released a summary. of the returns after the vote on Tuesday, giving a few highlights. What they do show is that Trump used tax credits to significantly minimize his federal income tax burden in 2016 and 2017, and he paid

no federal income tax in 2020. In four of the six years, Trump claimed a loss on his income. His biggest loss was in 2016 when he claimed a net income of negative $32 million. Now, was Trump audited while he was in office? Yes, the record show that he was audited once during his presidency. That audit was never finished, though. The audits were Democrats' main justification for seeking Trump's tax returns in the first place, at least nominally. They wanted to make sure that the IRS was auditing Trump's taxes every year in line with IRS policy. Technically, the IRS doesn't have to audit the president, but Democrats on the committee

want to pass a law that would make an annual presidential audit mandatory. They said it's necessary for transparency. Here's Democrat Representative Judy Chu after casting her vote. The American people have a right to know about this alarming state of noncompliance with the mandatory presidential audit. But you know what? They can't take our word for it. They need to see the returns themselves. Just a side note, there was no evidence that Trump pressured the IRS against pursuing audits.

And no one is claiming that he did. The main reason the audit was not completed is that Trump's taxes were extremely complicated and the IRS didn't want to devote the necessary resources to it. Now, every Republican voted against this. What was their justification for that? Yeah, they said that this was an unprecedented attack on personal privacy. They also said that Democrats will regret their votes in the future when this new political weapon is used against them. Here's what Representative Kevin Brady had to say after the committee hearing.

Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee have unleashed a dangerous new political weapon that overturns decades to privacy protections for average taxpayers. The era of political targeting and of Congress's enemies' list is back. And every American, every American taxpayer, who may get on the wrong side, the majority in Congress, is now at risk. The committee's vote ends in over three-year legal battle between the committee and Trump. Trump sued the committee back in 2019 to keep his tax returns private. After getting their final win in court last month, Democrats pushed to vote on releasing Trump's tax returns. before Republicans take over Congress next year.

Well, this has been a long time coming. We'll definitely follow up when the details come out. Tim, thanks for reporting. Anytime. That was Daily Wires, Tim Pierce. The crisis on the southern border picked up an intensity this week, but it's not just a crisis for border towns anymore. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is now warning that some basic services in the city

will have to be curtailed if the rate of migrants flowing in does not subside, let alone at the end of Title 42 opens the floodgates, further. Here to discuss his columnist David Marcus. Hey, Dave. What kind of services is the mayor saying or under threat here? Morning. The shelter system is the most obvious one. It's been absolutely overrun now by the 31,000 migrants who've entered New York in the past few months. But Adams said the city, quote, may very well be forced to cut or curtail programs New Yorkers rely on, end quote. This could mean a whole host of things from school lunches, job programs, treatment programs. The bottom line, quite literally, is that the city projects this influx

is going to cost it $1 billion a year until 2026. Even for a city the size of this one, that's a lot of money. Yeah, it is. Now, Adams has said that he will not be forced to choose between services for what he calls new arrivals and current New Yorkers, but isn't he going to have to make that choice at this point? Of course. He's already making that choice. By treating migrants just as he would, any other New Yorker, in some cases, like Xbox's at adult housing facilities arguably a bit better, he's asking the people who already live here to sacrifice. The irony is that by promising such a rich suite of services to migrants, Adams is creating exactly the kind of magnet to the city that the Biden administration has brought to the

southern border as a whole. And you mentioned it's 31,000 migrants in New York in the last few months, and we just saw that El Paso has actually seen 84,000. migrants in just three months released. Now, Adams has expressed frustration at the lack of federal dollars coming into a system in handling this problem. Is there any hope at this point that more money could be directed his way? So far, no, not really.

And he's expressed quite a bit of frustration about that. It's interesting because New York boasts Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, soon to be House Minority Leader, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who I'm sure we all recall was photographed weeping at the conditions on the border when Trump was president. Yeah. She doesn't want to be anywhere near the border right now, neither to Schumer or Jeffries. Democrats have spent two years saying this isn't a crisis at all.

If they suddenly support massive funding packages for places like New York City, specifically because of the migrant spike, that narrative goes out the window and they'll look pretty foolish. Now, even though it was the Democrats in the Biden administration who have said in the past that they want Title 42 ended. There now seems to be sort of a sense of relief that the Supreme Court has stepped in. Do you think Adams shares that sense of relief? I'm certain that he does, but it's a temporary stay, and there are already thousands and thousands of people just on the other side of the Rio Grande waiting for this rule change. Neither Adams or the city are out of the woods on this yet. And maybe that's fair, given that, you know, for two years, those far away little border towns, as you mentioned, have been even

deeper in those woods that just suck their resources dry. At the very least, I think Adams putting this problem front and center makes it harder for Democrats to continue ignoring it. And that's a good thing. Yeah, I'm sure. Well, David, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus. Other stories we're tracking this week. The latest round of Twitter files have been reported by the intercepts Lee Fang. According to Fang, the files show that Twitter colluded with the Pentagon to spread U.S. propaganda. including misinformation and disinformation in foreign countries, particularly in the Middle East.

The alleged direct assistance Twitter provided to the Pentagon goes back at least five years, Fang reports. Three months after the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, intelligence officials say they still don't have concrete evidence of who's to blame. One European official said recently, quote, there is no evidence at this point that Russia was behind the sabotage. According to the Washington Post, the comment echoes the assessment of 23

diplomatic and intelligence officials in nine countries interviewed in recent weeks. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.

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