The Daily Signal - Biden Family Investigations Continue, GOP Senators Demand Answers from FBI, 2nd GOP Debate Moderators Announced | August 30

Starting point is 00:00:01 I'm Samantha Sherris. I'm Virginia Allen. And this is the Daily Signal Top News for Wednesday, August 30th. Here are today's headlines. The House Committee investigating alleged influence peddling by the Biden family is seeking records on Air Force two flights that then Vice President Joe Biden took with son Hunter Biden. That's according to reporting from our colleague Fred Lucas. House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, a Republican,

Starting point is 00:00:42 from Kentucky, and committee member Representative Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida, wrote today to the head of the National Archives seeking unrestricted special access under the Presidential Records Act to information on the Biden's travel aboard aircraft designated for the vice president's use. Comer and Donald's wrote, Devin Archer, a longtime Biden family associate, has stated it is categorically false that Joe Biden played no role in his son. foreign business dealings. Flights on Air Force 2 around the world to seal business deals are evidence of that role. The lawmakers also wrote,

Starting point is 00:01:21 then Vice President Biden's misuse of Air Force 2 and Marine 2 is indicative of yet another way in which the president has abused his various offices of public trust and wasted taxpayer money to benefit his family's enterprise, which consisted of nothing more than access to Joe Biden, himself. Hunter Biden traveled to at least 15 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia with his father when the elder Biden was a vice president under President Barack Obama, Fox News reported. At least one of those instances involved Biden's meeting with one of his sons of business associates in Beijing during an official trip to China. The request from Comer

Starting point is 00:02:06 and Donald's comes as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, ponderes an impeachment inquiry into the president's actions, in part to compel more cooperation in turning over information to committees. We'll include a link to Fred's full report in today's show notes. Eight Republican senators are demanding answers from the FBI. They request call for information related to the Bureau's continuing to Stonewall investigations into the Richmond, Virginia office's January memo citing the Southern Poverty Law Center in efforts to target radical traditional Catholic hate groups for surveillance. The Daily Signal's Tyler O'Neill has been covering this story. And Tyler writes that the Oklahoma Republican Senator James Langford told the daily signal

Starting point is 00:02:57 in a Tuesday statement, the U.S. Constitution protects the right not just to have a faith, but to live your faith as well, and the FBI's decision to label traditional Catholics as extremists is a violation of that First Amendment right. Langford added, it is unacceptable that the FBI is hiding the truth about how many offices and agents were involved in drafting its unconstitutional memo. Langford joined seven of his fellow Senate Republicans in sending a letter to FBI Director Christopher Ray Thursday. Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley led the letter. The letter reads, we have seen one public example after another of the strong arm of federal law enforcement weaponized against ordinary Americans.

Starting point is 00:03:45 The letter continues targeting Americans because of their ideas or political affiliations is always wrong in an abuse of the FBI's power. But it's especially alarming when it threatens the fundamental rights guaranteed in our Constitution. including the free exercise of religion. We will include a link to Tyler's full report in today's show notes. Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz is accusing the Department of Justice of aggressively targeting pro-life activists while failing to properly investigate the slew of attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers throughout the country, according to reporting from our colleague Mary Margaret O'Lehahan. On Tuesday, a Washington, D.C. jury convicted five

Starting point is 00:04:32 pro-life activists, Lauren Handy, Herb Garrity, Heather Adony, William Goodman, and John Hinshaw for violating the freedom of access to clinic entrances, or Face Act, when they sought to prevent the abortions of unborn babies by blocking women from accessing a D.C. abortion clinic in 2020. Handy and Garrity are activists with the progressive anti-abortion uprising. The Justice Department's Associate Attorney General Vinita Gupta said in December 20, that the DOJ is targeting pro-life activists through the Face Act as a response to the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Her remarks followed on the heels of Republican accusations that the DOJ is unduly targeting pro-life activists, the Catholic father, Mark Howe. Cruz reacted in a statement to the Daily Signal,

Starting point is 00:05:23 noting that at least 88 U.S. pregnancy centers have been firebombed, vandalized, or set ablaze in the wake of the Dobs decision. The senator also said the DOJ's response to this violence has been anemic, having only prosecuted a single face act case against these criminals. However, and in stark contrast, the DOJ has brought the entire weight in force of the FBI against those that engage in nonviolent protests at abortion clinics. The Texas Republican added, yesterday the DOJ convicted Lauren Handy and four other abortion protesters for engaging in nonviolent. protest. They now face 11 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $350,000. Cruz believes that Handy has been targeted by the DOJ due to her pro-life activism, particularly related to her attempts to call out DC abortionist Caesar Santangelo, who operates out of a foggy bottom abortion clinic. The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to the

Starting point is 00:06:25 daily signal on Tuesday that the department is currently investigating Caesar Santangelo and and his foggy bottom abortion clinic. It's been a few weeks since the deadly wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, and now House Republicans are planning to take a closer look into how the Biden administration responded. House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer said today that the response by federal, state, and local officials to the catastrophic wildfire in Maui raised serious questions.

Starting point is 00:06:58 And Americans, especially those impacted by the, this tragedy, deserve answers. Comer also said as recovery efforts continue, the House Oversight Committee has a responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively to minimize the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars. The Oversight Committee will examine the federal government's response to Maui and work with other committees of jurisdiction to ensure accountability. As you all will remember, Remember, our colleague Tony Kinnet, was on the ground in Maui earlier this month when he spoke with locals about the president's visit. As you'll recall, Biden compared the fire in Maui to a kitchen fire in his house, during which he almost lost his 67 Corvette.

Starting point is 00:07:49 A former teacher named Kristen Goodwin told the Daily Signal, there are no words in response to something like that. There's a thousand people still missing on this island. business owners who want people to come back and who is going to come to a secluded island with people still missing. Goodwin also said the community members have rallied together and have taken care of each other. It was several days before the feds came and helped. They shut down a road for no good reason except they didn't want people trampling over rescue and search sites. A Colorado Springs school has reversed course after rooting a 12-year-old boy off campus for

Starting point is 00:08:29 refusing to remove a patch on his backpack depicting the patriotic, don't tread on me, Gadsden Flag. Our colleague Tyler O'Neill reports. According to video footage, administrators at the Vanguard Secondary School had told a seventh grader named Jaden that he could not step on campus while wearing the backpack with the patriotic patch. Staff at the charter school, part of Harrison School District 2, reportedly argued that the banner featuring a rattlesnake in the words, don't tread on me, is associated with slavery and the slave trade. Yet the Vanguard School Board of Directors sending message to the Community Wednesday, reversing course. The message from the board, which was posted online by Connor Boyack, President of Libertas Institute, says the Vanguard School Board

Starting point is 00:09:17 of Directors called an emergency meeting. From Vanguard's founding, we have proudly supported our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ordered liberty that all Americans have enjoyed for almost 250 years. Jeff Yocom, the school's director of operations, had doubled down on the flag ban in an email exchange Monday with Jaden's parents. Yocom claimed that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had determined the Gadsden flag is an unacceptable symbol. Check out Tyler's full report in today's show notes. The next GOP presidential debate will take place on September 27th, And moderating that debate will be Fox News's Dana Perino and Univision's Ilya Calderon. The Hill reports.

Starting point is 00:10:04 Jay Wallace, president of Fox News, said today that we are very proud to have Stuart Varney and Dana Perino co-moderating the second debate with Univision to provide Americans with a comprehensive view of the qualifying candidates vying for the Republican nomination for president. similar to last week, the Daily Signal will, of course, be covering the debate, so make sure you stay tuned for our coverage. And for our final story today, Glenn Beck interviewed former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, where he commented on what action he would take toward his political opponents if he is reelected in 2024. Let's take a listen via the Blazes YouTube. You said in 2016, you know, lock her up, and then when you became president, president, you said, we don't do that in America. That's just not the right thing to do. That's what

Starting point is 00:10:55 they're doing. Do you regret not locking her up? And if you're president again, will you lock people up? Well, I'll give you an example. The answer is you have no choice because they're doing a test. I always had such great respect for the office of the president, the presidency, but the office of the president. And I never hit Biden as hard as I could have. And then I heard he was trying to indict me. And it was him that was doing it. And that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening to The Daily Signals Top News. If you haven't had the chance, be sure to check out our morning show.

Starting point is 00:11:32 Right now, we are in the middle of a three-part series on how Congress really works. Hope that you all caught the first edition of that series this morning. Tomorrow morning, I'm sitting down with Clint Brown of the Heritage Foundation. as we talk about how bills are actually passed in Congress, why some bills that are introduced are never actually intended to pass, and what lies ahead in the debate over spending. Also, make sure you subscribe to the daily signal wherever you get your podcast and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We read and appreciate all of your feedback.

Starting point is 00:12:11 Thanks again for being with us today. Have a great night, and we'll see you right back here tomorrow morning for part two of our How Congress Really Works podcast series. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Luey and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit DailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - Biden Family Investigations Continue, GOP Senators Demand Answers from FBI, 2nd GOP Debate Moderators Announced | August 30

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