The Daily Signal - Trump Arraigned in DC Court, Facebook’s Collusion with White House, Hunter Biden Says He Made Money in China | August 3

Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Virginia Allen. I'm Samantha Sherris. And this is the Daily Signal Top News for Thursday, August 3rd. Here are today's headlines. Former President Donald Trump is in Washington, D.C. today for his arraignment. Trump appeared before a federal judge around 4 p.m. to face his third indictment. The indictment is led by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, and it charges Trump with four felony counts. The charges in the indictment are related to Trump's challenging the results of the 2022 presidential election. The indictment accuses Trump of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. It's important to note the judge that is overseeing this indictment in federal court. The judge's name is Tanya Chutkin.

Starting point is 00:01:10 and she was appointed as a U.S. district judge for D.C. by then President Barack Obama. According to reporting from the Daily Signals, Fred Lucas, Judge Chuckkin earned a reputation for taking a hard line on sentences for the January 6th riots. But her background before the bench is one of defending accused criminals, white-collar defendants and others who couldn't afford lawyers. The Heritage Foundation's Tim Kennedy is on the ground outside the courthouse in Washington, D.C., where Trump currently is. Tim joins us on the line now. Tim, thanks so much for being with us. Yeah, wonderful. Thanks for having me. So, Tim, you have been down outside the courthouse for a couple hours now.

Starting point is 00:01:56 Can you just explain the scene, what it looks like and what the atmosphere is like while President Trump is inside that courthouse? Of course. It's a total media circus. I got here a couple hours ago, and there was just a ring upon a ring around the courthouse of cameras, media outlets, media trucks. I mean, the craze over the former president certainly hasn't died down, and it just keeps getting more intense. You have some protesters in regards to in support of the foreign president. You have many that are against him, a lot of lock them up signs I'm seeing. You have some people that alleged to have a connection to January 6 that are here, protesting as well, which I haven't seen before at previous protests around the city. So that's kind of interesting.

Starting point is 00:02:46 Interesting. Did you see the former president go into the courthouse? I saw the motorcade go in and some of the photographers around me caught his shadow. But it was a very quick affair. A lot of people weren't even in their position when it happened. He whizzed right in. and the rest is history. Well, Tim, thank you so much for being willing to be down there on the ground for all of our listeners.

Starting point is 00:03:09 Be sure to check out the Daily Signal's social media accounts as well as the Heritage Foundation, social media accounts. So you can see all of the footage that we are capturing that Tim is capturing today down at the courthouse. Tim, thanks so much for your time. Thank you. Yesterday, Fox News uncovered new Facebook files showing the White House colluded with the social media company to target users who were hesitant about or opposed to, COVID-19 vaccines.

Starting point is 00:03:34 The goal appears to have been to influence users to get the shot. Internal communications obtained by Fox show that the White House had many conversations back and forth with Facebook. The White House appears to have insisted Facebook granted special access to users' data and special targeting tools. During a conversation about how to persuade vaccine-hesient people to get vaccinated, Biden's digital director, Rob Flaherty asked, Since it's a global pandemic, can we give agencies access to targeting parameters that they normally wouldn't be able to?

Starting point is 00:04:09 During a call on April 5th, a former Facebook employee said they tried to caution Flaherty about presenting target content on a user's Facebook page instantly. The employee said the instant information may set off alarm bells in users' heads, making them feel like they're being watched by Facebook. Biden's head of Strategic Communications, Courtney Rowe, appears to have mocked Middle American. for a supposed inability to discern what information is true or not during that same April phone call. The White House increased the pressure on Facebook to divulge users' information as more and more conversations between the two ensued. After much pressure, Facebook finally gave the White House access to users' data from CrowdTangle. CrowdTangle is a tool to analyze public content on the social media platform. This new information contradicts the Biden administration's

Starting point is 00:05:02 claims that the government is not snooping on people's data. In 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Saki shut down a question on whether or not the government was spying on people's profiles in search of vaccine misinformation. Saki said, this is publicly open information, people sharing information online, just as you are all reporting information on your news stations. Meta Facebook's parent company reportedly declined to comment. The pro-life father who was arrested at gunpoint last year is now running for Congress. Mark Halk announced his campaign for Pennsylvania's first congressional district yesterday. Halk was arrested in front of his children at his Pennsylvania home last September. The charges against him stemmed from a 2021 incident outside a Philadelphia-based

Starting point is 00:05:51 Planned Parenthood, where Halk pushed an abortion clinic volunteer who was reportedly harassing his son. Local authorities dismissed the matter until Biden's DOJ re-upped it in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. A jury ultimately acquitted Halk. Halk and his wife previously told the Daily Signals, Mary Margaret O'Lehann, that they believe they were targeted by Biden's DOJ in an effort to intimidate, silence, and scare the family for their pro-life work, preying outside abortion clinics for the women headed inside to abort their unborn babies. Now, Hauk says he is running for Congress to further protect my family, those in the First District, and the Republic. He says his campaign is focused on restoring

Starting point is 00:06:41 traditional values and principles that are central to the American identity, such as faith, family, and freedom of speech, religion, and the right to bear arms. Because Hauke says he has seen firsthand what an out-of-control government can do to its citizens, he is a lot of control government can do to its citizens, he is pledging to fight to protect all people and their rights under God and our Constitution. According to Halk, his platform is based on common sense. Did Hunter Biden make money from dealings in China? His father, President Biden, has previously said no. But Hunter Biden admitted this week that he has.

Starting point is 00:07:19 Let's go back for a moment to the presidential debates between Trump and Biden in 2020. Biden was asked, there have been questions about, the work your son has done in China and for a Ukrainian energy company when you were vice president. In retrospect, was anything about those relationships inappropriate or unethical? He first addressed the question on Ukraine and said his son has done nothing unethical, and then had to say this about his son's business dealings in China, per live now from Fox. My son has not made money in terms of this thing about, what are he talking about, China. I have not had it.

Starting point is 00:07:59 The only guy made money from China is this guy. He's the only one. Nobody else has made money from China. But now, the Washington Post is reporting that Hunter Biden has admitted in court that he did, in fact, make money from China. In court last week, Hunter said he had been paid significant amounts of money in China. This admission comes amid ongoing investigation. into Hunter Biden, his business dealings in Ukraine and President Biden's alleged involvement. This is an ever-developing story, and we will keep you up to date right here as it evolves.

Starting point is 00:08:33 A military coup is currently underway in the West African country of Niger. Now, Biden is calling for the immediate release of Niger's elected president. Nigerian president, Mohamed Bazoum, and his family are currently under house arrest. They were placed under house arrest on July 26th by mutinous soldiers led by the commander of Niger's Presidential Guard. The soldiers broadcast an announcement on television telling the country that they had put an end to the current regime. In his statement today, Biden said, in this current moment, the United States stands with the people of Niger to honor our decades-long partnership rooted in shared democratic values and support. for civilian-led government. The Nigerian people have the right to choose their leader. They have expressed their will through free and fair elections, and that must be respected.

Starting point is 00:09:31 Biden continued that defending fundamental democratic values and standing up for constitutional order, justice, and the right of peaceful assembly are essential to the partnership between Niger and the United States. And the president called for President Bazum and his family to be a immediately released and for the preservation of Niger's hard-earned democracy. And with that, that's going to do it for today's edition of The Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal interview edition.

Starting point is 00:10:12 I'll be sitting down with Nicole Neely, founder and president of Parents Defending Education. We'll be talking about their new report titled Little Red Classrooms. Also, make sure take a moment to subscribe to the Daily Signal Podcast. Wherever you like to listen, we're across all podcast platforms. And if you would, take five minutes to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcast, Spotify. We love hearing your feedback, and it really helps us to continue to spread the word about the show. Thanks again for listening. Have a great night.

Starting point is 00:10:43 And we'll be back with you all tomorrow morning. 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 Asheris. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visitdailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - Trump Arraigned in DC Court, Facebook’s Collusion with White House, Hunter Biden Says He Made Money in China | August 3

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