Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions. The following four stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. Click here to listen.
1. Congress To Subpoena Joe And Hunter
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo that he will be subpoenaing Joe and Hunter Biden to testify about their alleged scheme to sell Biden influence. The announcement comes one day after the House Oversight Committee released a bombshell report detailing evidence that the Biden family received at least $20M from foreign countries including Russia. Comer says this was always going to end with the Bidens coming before the Committee.
“We are going to subpoena the family. We are putting the case together to win in court,” he said. “We’ve shown the bank records. If I had subpoenaed Joe and Hunter Biden the first day I became chairman of the committee, it would’ve been tied up in court and the judge would’ve eventually thrown it out because at that time, the narrative was they never took any money while he was vice president.”
Rapid Reaction: That is a fair explanation for why the Bidens weren’t subpoenaed earlier. Yet, well done is better than well said. Historically, Republicans said a whole lot more than they’ve actually done. Comer has done an excellent job exposing the corruption, but, to borrow a phrase from Mike Howell of The Heritage Foundation, the real standard this Congress will be held to will be tangible results that de-weaponize the government and end the persecution of Biden’s political opponents. Read more on that here.
2. Biden Unfreezes Billions For Iran
Five Americans imprisoned in Iran have been moved from a notorious prison in the country into house arrest, as part of a planned swap between Tehran and Washington. According to one of the prisoner’s lawyers, the deal will include the release of roughly $6 billion in Iranian government assets that were held up by U.S. sanctions. If the proposed agreement goes through, it will need to abide by existing sanctions that only allow Iran to use the money to buy food, medicine, or for other humanitarian purposes. Read more here.
Rapid Reaction: The U.S. is effectively giving billions of dollars to Iran? Where have I seen something similar to this before? Oh, right, under the Obama-Biden administration. When folks said this would be Obama’s third term, they weren’t kidding.
3. Jack Smith Sets Trial Date — Right Before Primary Elections Start
Special counsel Jack Smith proposed a January 2, 2024, start date today for former President Donald Trump’s trial regarding his alleged effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith’s office has estimated that its case would take no longer than four to six weeks to present to jurors.
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Rapid Reaction: The former president put it best in New Hampshire this week as he predicted what the coming campaign would like:
How can my corrupt political opponent, Crooked Joe Biden, put me on trial during an election campaign — that I am winning by a lot — but forcing me, nevertheless, to spend time and money away from the campaign trail in order to fight bogus made up accusations and charges? … “I’m sorry I won’t be able to go to Iowa today, I won’t be able to go to New Hampshire today because I’m sitting in a courtroom on bulls*** because [Biden’s] attorney general charged me with something.”
Former President Trump: "I'm sorry I won't be able to go to Iowa today, I won't be able to go to New Hampshire today because I'm sitting in a court room on bullshit because his attorney general charged me with something." pic.twitter.com/Ox2n9rrH7v
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 8, 2023
And that’s exactly what this trial date would do to Trump’s campaign if it is not delayed.
To read more about why Smith’s indictment is “dangerous bulls***,” as explained by Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, click here.
4. Hawaii Wildfires
Thousands of people have been displaced, and at least three dozen people are dead after wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui and overwhelmed firefighters.
The blazes erupted on Tuesday and continued to wreak havoc on the community on the western part of the island while flames raged in other areas. The fires have already engulfed thousands of acres and have killed at least 36 people. The cause of the fires is still unknown, and President Joe Biden has declared a FEMA disaster.
Rapid Reaction: The Left is already blaming this on climate change. They never let a crisis go to waste. Typical, but it is always gross and ignorant when it happens.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, click here. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.