The President's Daily Brief - September 13th, 2023: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Pushes for President Joe Biden's Impeachment

Episode Date: September 13, 2023

In this episode of "The President's Daily Brief":   The Biden administration's decision to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds and its implications for detained Americans in Iran. What will Iran do with this significant windfall?   Whistleblower testimony reveals the CIA's alleged attempts to influence the narrative on COVID-19's origins in a Wuhan lab.   Plus, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushes for President Joe Biden's impeachment, delve into allegations concerning the Biden family's international business ties.   A monumental lithium deposit discovery on the Nevada-Oregon border that promises to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and the global powerplay in lithium production.   Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Bad advice? You talking to me? Kayak, got that right.

Ladies and gentlemen, we've made it to the middle of the week. It's Wednesday, September 13th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First up, the Biden administration greenlit the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds, paving the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran. The U.S. says that money can only be spent by the Iranian-relipped.

regime for humanitarian purposes. The Iranian regime says, Meh, we'll spend it any way we want. Later on, we make a stop in Washington, D.C., where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a new or ongoing investigation. Whistleblower testimony suggests that the CIA might have attempted to bribe analysts to suppress evidence that COVID-19 started in a Wuhan lab. Plus, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now pushing for a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, amid claims that he benefited from his sons' overseas business dealings. And in today's back of the brief, a game-changing discovery of an immense lithium deposit on the Nevada-Oregon border could reshape the electric

vehicle industry and redefine global power dynamics in lithium production. But first, today's PDB spotlight. The Biden administration and Iran have struck a deal, potentially sending a a fat stack Iran's way and bringing American citizens home. Both countries are set to swap five prisoners each, and the U.S. plans to waive sanctions to unfreeze $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds that have been held in South Korea. Now, this deal isn't exactly brand new. The basic structure was announced some time ago. However, only now are the specifics coming to light. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken greenlit the sanctions waivers just last week. Interestingly, Congress was only advised of this a few days ago, raising some eyebrows over the

transparency and the timeline. Some sources inside the negotiations are hinting that we might see the detainees from both sides being released as early as next week. As you can imagine, not everyone's on board with this agreement. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a key player on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is far from thrilled. Cruz, his fellow Senator John Cornyn, and other Republicans are fired up over what they view as a lack of transparency in the administration's dealings with Iran. There's also considerable concern over the wisdom of handing $6 billion to what is the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism. Cruz suggests that the Biden administration might even be considering a further $10 billion transfer among other concessions

to Iran. No further details on that yet. Since arriving at the White House, the Biden administration has been keen to find some way to re-enter a nuke deal with Iran. Sanctions relief and unfrozen assets are key to any deal that the regime might accept. Now again, according to Secretary of State Blinken, the money that $6 billion can only be used for humanitarian purposes. Blinken has given assurances that the U.S. Treasury Department will be able to monitor and track those funds and can block anything other than humanitarian spending, so that should be assuring.

But Iranian President Ibrahim Reci apparently didn't get Blinken's memo. In a recent chat with Lester Holt of NBC News, the Iranian president made it clear that Iran will be putting this money, quote, wherever we need it. He emphasized that the decision rests with the Iranian government, underlining that this money is by and for the Iranian people. Look, first, First, we can all agree that getting the American citizens out of Iranian jails and reunited with their families is a happy thing. But here's where it gets complicated. As mentioned, and there's volumes of evidence, the Iranian regime is the number one state

sponsor of terrorism. And as you may recall, the U.S. government has a long-standing policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Now, you can dress this deal up any way you want, but from the facts that we currently have available, the U.S. is providing money for the return of American citizens. And that sounds a bit like negotiating with terrorists. The State Department has acknowledged that the Iranian regime was not going to release the hostages out of the goodness of the regime's heart. They expected something in return. And that something was money, and also five Iranians being held in U.S.

prisons on federal charges for violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran, or providing other forms of illicit assistance to the country. All right, when we come back, I've got some developing stories that you should keep your eye on. A whistleblower claims the CIA attempted to cover up the true origins of the COVID-19 virus. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushes for a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations linked to his sons' overseas ventures. Also ahead, China's Navy flexes its money. with unprecedented training operations in the Western Pacific,

assembling over 20 warships in a show of force against the U.S. and its allies. I'll be right back. Fox News is now streaming live on Fox One. When it matters most, turn to the voices you trust. We go beyond the headlines, bringing you the stories you won't hear anywhere else. Live coverage, sharp analysis, real perspective. At home or on the go. Stay connected when it counts.

Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today. Welcome back to the President's Daily Brief. New whistleblower testimony to Congress claims that the Central Intelligence Agency tried to pay off its own analysts to alter their assessment on the origins of COVID-19. A senior CIA officer dropped this Intel bombshell

in testimony to House committee leaders. members of the select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic then sent a letter to CIA Director William Burns requesting all documents, communications, and pay info from the agency's COVID Origins Task Force. According to the letter, the CIA has until 26th September to comply with the requests. In addition, the subcommittee sent a letter to the former chief operating officer of the agency, Andrew McRidivis, requesting that he sit for a transcribed individual. interview with them in late September. Now the whistleblower claims that the agency offered financial incentives to six analysts who were,

at the time, leaning toward the lab league theory, in exchange for them changing their tune, to say the virus jumped from animals to humans, the nature theory. Just to give you a snapshot, according to the whistleblower, six out of seven analysts on the agency's COVID-Origens task force determined after their research that there was was sufficient scientific and other evidence to favor the Lab League theory. The seventh analyst, the most senior member of the task force, favored the natural theory. Ultimately, the analysts produced an assessment that landed on undetermined as an official position, meaning the CIA took the official position that due to conflicting reports and a lack of sourcing, they couldn't

make a determination as to which theory was more likely. Now, multiple congressional committees are trying to get to the bottom of this. They want everything from the CIA, documents, emails, pay history, and they want it by September 26th. The CIA is denying the allegations saying they would never pay analysts to reach specific conclusions, but added that they do take these allegations seriously. If the whistleblower allegations are true, and that word if is key, given we don't have the facts and the investigation is just getting started, it would be an awful day for the CIA. The agency's primary function is a collection and reporting of intelligence without tipping the scale one way or the other. The subcommittee here needs to do two things,

and they need to do them very well. Ensure the anonymity of the whistleblower and actually do a thorough investigation that accurately assesses whether there's any credibility to the whistleblower's allegations. We're going to keep an eye on this one. All right. It was a busy day on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has finally thrown down the gauntlet with the White House. He's calling for a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, citing, quote, credible allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption. He spotlighted nearly $20 million in payments funneled to the Biden family through shell companies and even cited an FBI informant alleging a bribe. Key details highlighted include President Biden's interactions related to his son's involvement with Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. Furthermore, McCarthy emphasized, quote, the president's family seems to get a special pass, a kind of treatment they wouldn't have received if they weren't the president's kin. Now, he's referring there to the alleged sweetheart deal offered to Hunter Biden that has since collapsed. While an inquiry kicks off the impeachment process, a formal House vote hasn't been.

been held yet. On Thursday, GOP leaders are set to discuss their findings and the next steps in this deepening investigation into the Bidens. The problem McCarthy faces is that he doesn't appear to have the votes to secure a House sanction inquiry, so his move today appears to be a half measure, designed to placate those in his party who have been very vocal in demanding impeachment action. Reaction from Democrats, as you might guess, was swift and rabbit. Democrats on the Hill claim that this is nothing more than a political stunt and there's no evidence. That sounds a lot like what the Republicans said while Democrats were chasing the Russia collusion story against former President Trump. But to be fair, I have yet to meet any politician from either party who possesses much in the way of

self-awareness or a sense of irony. One more story I wanted to touch on before we had to break. China's flexing serious naval muscles with its largest ever maneuvers in the Western Pacific, involving the Shandong, the country's first domestically built aircraft carrier. On Tuesday, the Shandong was spotted teeming up with over 20 other Chinese warships, and they're sailing in waters right between Taiwan, the Philippines, and our very own territory, Guam. China has been devoting significant resources over the past decade in strengthening and building their Navy, and in using their Navy to assert themselves in the South China Sea and elsewhere. Now, here's an interesting fact for you to toss out at parties.

China now has the largest Navy in the world with over 700 vessels. The U.S., with almost 500 ships, comes in fourth behind Russia and North Korea. All right, a colossal lithium deposit has been unearthed on the Nevada-Oregon border, and it's got the potential to propel America to the forefront of the electric car battery race. I'll be right back. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill. Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot. Good news. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to Verizon and we'll give you a better deal. So get away from that unfortunate phone bill and get to Verizon. Run, ride, canoe. Whatever it takes, we'll be here.

Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal on the best network. A better deal. No surprises. That's Verizon. Best Network. Best Network based on route metrics, best overall mobile network performance U.S. second half 2025. All rights reserved. It must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person reguming me the deal. Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply. Get the most out of your vehicle with GM genuine parts and AC Delco original equipment, the only parts designed, engineered, tested, and backed by General Motors.

You can find your perfect fit for most makes and models, and choose from three tiers of parts, including GMOE or gold and silver aftermarket parts. Visit GMParts.com for more information. Welcome back to the PDB. America might just have struck gold. Well, lithium, to be precise, right along the Nevada-Oregon border. We're talking the motherload of lithium. Experts from Lithium America's Corporation and Oregon State University, Go Beavers, believe this might be one of the world's largest deposits, up to 40 million metric tons of lithium. To put it in perspective, Chile and Australia have the largest known reserves of lithium on the planet.

This new finding, if accurate, would be more than double their reserves combined. While the geology looks promising, we'll need more exploration before we pop the champagne. Also, we'll need to invest significant time, obviously, in building the infrastructure to extract it, that is, if the federal government allows it to be mined and refined. Now, here's why this matters. The push for an all-ev future, as the current U.S. administration proposes, requires critical minerals mostly located overseas, and China is a preeminent player in this field. The batteries that power EVs, well, each requires an average of 8 kilograms of lithium. Now, for those of you,

who didn't jump on board the metric train, that's about 17 pounds of lithium. For some vehicles, like the Tesla Model S, we're talking up to 62 kilograms or almost 100, 40 pounds of lithium needed. Some estimates note that an all-electric vehicle future would require up to 306,000 tons of lithium a year in the U.S. alone by 2050. So the stakes are high. Automakers are scrambling to secure their lithium supplies, especially as demand is set to skyrocket. Plus, there's been political tension, of course, especially with China over these crucial resources. Bottom line, if this pans out, it's not just good news for America's electric vehicle aspirations. It could give the U.S. a significant edge in the battery market worldwide. And that,

my friends, is the president's daily brief for Wednesday, 13th September. If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, reach out to us at pdb at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. Until tomorrow. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamavaitheter.com. Only at Yamava Resort and Casino celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Must be 21 to enter.