The Daily Signal - Hunter Biden Indicted, Harvard President Issues Apology, Administration’s Proposed NDAA Backs Abortion Funding | Dec. 8

Starting point is 00:00:02 I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Friday, December 8th. Here are today's headlines. Hunter Biden has found himself in more legal hot water. News broke Thursday evening that the president's son has been indicted in California on nine tax charges. Hunter Biden has been accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. The indictment is 56 pages long, and it alleges that the young Biden, Biden failed to pay taxes from 2016 to 2019. The charges include failure to file and pay taxes three counts of evasion of a tax assessment

Starting point is 00:00:55 and filing fraudulent or false tax returns. David C. Weiss began investigating Hunter Biden five years ago while Trump was president. Weiss wrote in the indictment of Hunter Biden that between 2016 and October 15, 2020, The defendant spent his money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes. Hunter Biden's defense attorney, Abe Lull, says the charges are driven by a political agenda. Lull said in response that based on the facts and the law, if Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, Biden, the charges in Delaware and in California would not have been brought. The reference to Delaware from Lull is in reference to Hunter also facing charges in the state

Starting point is 00:01:53 of Delaware for purchasing a gun while using drugs. In October, Hunter pled not guilty to those charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. It found guilty of the tax charges, Hunter could face up to a 17-year prison sentence. The president of Harvard University has issued an apology after testifying before Congress earlier this week on the anti-Semitic activity on the Ivy League campus. Harvard President Claudine Gay told the Harvard Crimson newspaper that she's sorry. She said words matter when words amplify distress and pain. I don't know how you could feel anything but regret.

Starting point is 00:02:36 Gay faced a lot of backlash after she testified before Congress on Tuesday. During that hearing, she sparred in a heated exchange with New York Republican representative Elise Stefani. That exchange went viral. Take a listen. You understand that this call for Intifada is to commit genocide against the Jewish people in Israel and globally, correct? I will say again, that type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me. Do you believe that type of hateful speech is contrary to Harvard's code of conduct, or is it allowed at Harvard? It is at odds with the values of Harvard.

Starting point is 00:03:17 Gay has received harsh criticism following her back and forth with Stefonic. Gay told Harvard's newspaper in an article that was published today that I got caught up in what had become at that point an extended combative exchange about policies and procedures. What I should have had the presence of mine to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community, threats to our Jewish students, have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged. Stefanik has called for Gay to resign, but Gay has given no indication that she has plans to leave her position at Harvard. The Biden administration's proposed, National Defense Authorization Act, also known as the NDAA, includes funding for abortion and

Starting point is 00:04:12 sex changes, as well as promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the military. The Act funds the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2024. Earlier this year, the Republican-led House passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that included provisions prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion or sex reassignment surgeries and procedures for service members and their dependents. But the House and Senate conference version of the spending bill eliminated those provisions. The Heritage Foundation's grassroots advocacy arm, Heritage Action for America, has spoken out against the bill. They say the funding of DEI programs or the funding of abortion and sex changes does not belong in the military spending bill. The Daily

Starting point is 00:05:04 Signals, Fred Lucas has been covering this, and he talked to the executive vice president of Heritage Action for America, Ryan Walker, who said the Biden administration continues to weaken the integrity of our military by prioritizing abortion services, promoting CRT and DEI initiatives, and enabling sex reassignment surgeries within U.S. armed forces. The Senate, is expected to vote on the bill next week and the House will follow after. Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance is calling out the Washington Post for publishing a story that he says suggests an open rebellion against America. Last week, the Post published an opinion article by Robert Kagan titled, A Trump Dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should

Starting point is 00:05:54 stop pretending. In the piece, Kagan writes, for many months now, we have been living in a world of self-delusion, rich with imagined possibilities. Maybe it will be Ron DeSantis or maybe Nikki Haley. Maybe the myriad indictments of Trump will doom him with Republican suburbanites. Such hopeful speculation has allowed us to drift along passively, conducting business as usual, taking no dramatic action to change course, in the hope and expectation. that something will happen. Well, then the author, Kagan, goes on to explain why he thinks it is likely Trump will be

Starting point is 00:06:36 the GOP nominee for president and says that if Trump becomes president, a dictatorship is possible. Well, Vance sent a letter in response to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week telling the leaders that he thinks that they would characterize this article as an invitation. to insurrection and manifestation of criminal conspiracy or an attempt to bring about civil war. Vance also wrote to Garland and Blinken that according to Robert Kagan, the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency is terrible enough to justify open rebellion against the United States, along with the political violence that would inevitably follow.

Starting point is 00:07:21 The Hill reports that Vance asked Garland and Blinken to respond to several questions by January sixth. First, the Ohio Senator wants to know if they would open an investigation into Kagan. Also, Vance says he wants to know if the DOJ and State Department agrees with Kagan that blue states, like New York and California, can be free to flout the federal government. Vance also asks if the DOJ thinks Kagan's words may intimidate voters during the election next year. According to the Hill, the post is standing by publishing Kagan's piece. We'll leave a link in today's show notes to both Kagan's piece and to the article from the Hill reporting on Vance's concerns. But with that, that is going to do it for today's episode. Thanks for being with us here on the Daily Siddell podcast as you

Starting point is 00:08:10 end your week. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And hey, if you have a little extra time over the weekend, go ahead and leave us a five-star rating and review wherever you like to listen to podcast and make sure that you hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on new shows. On Monday, we will be kicking off the week for our morning edition of the Daily Civil Podcast with an interview. Tyler O'Neill is sitting down with the founder of Trail Life USA. It's a scouting organization dedicated to raising godly boys. Have a great weekend, and thanks again for being with us here on the Daily Signal podcast. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation.

Starting point is 00:08:55 Executive producers are Rob Louis and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit DailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - Hunter Biden Indicted, Harvard President Issues Apology, Administration’s Proposed NDAA Backs Abortion Funding | Dec. 8

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