Former President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of a Connecticut drug dealer who was convicted in the killings of a mother and her eight-year-old son as part of a slate of thousands of pardons for &#8220;non-violent&#8221; criminals.
Adrian Peeler, 48, was ultimately only convicted of conspiring to kill Karen Clarke and her eight-year-old son, Leroy “BJ” Brown, despite the testimony of an eyewitness, the Connecticut Post <a href="https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-clemency-adrian-peeler-murders-timeline-20049049.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The mother and son were attacked as they came home to their apartment in January 1999 — just weeks before they were set to testify against the drug dealer&#8217;s brother, who was accused of shooting Clarke&#8217;s boyfriend in front of the small boy. Peeler&#8217;s brother reportedly gave the order to kill the mother and son.
Clarke was found shot multiple times and lying face up on the floor of her son&#8217;s room with a phone just inches from her hand. Her son was found dead in the hall with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
Peeler was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the murder conspiracy charge as well as 35 years for drug dealing.
During his last days in office, Biden commuted Peeler&#8217;s sentence as part of his mass clemency for nearly 2,500 federal prisoners the former president called &#8220;non-violent.&#8221;
&#8220;Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice,&#8221; Biden <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/biden-clemency-non-violent-inmates-includes-connecticut-child-killer?intcmp=tw_fnc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
Even one of Connecticut&#8217;s Democrat senators expressed discomfort with the pardon.
&#8220;It seems to me that someone dropped the ball here to let this person get released,&#8221; <a href="https://wnyt.com/us-news/family-outraged-after-man-convicted-in-connecticut-killings-gets-clemency-from-biden-in-drug-case/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). &#8220;This was a really vicious murder that changed our laws. It also highlights how we need to take a look at the pardon system to see how it can be improved.&#8221;
The killings led to Connecticut creating its witness protection system.
The brother of the murdered mother said the pardon is &#8220;shocking&#8221; for his family.
&#8220;I’m sick and tired, and I’m disgusted,&#8221; Oswald Clarke, <a href="https://wnyt.com/us-news/family-outraged-after-man-convicted-in-connecticut-killings-gets-clemency-from-biden-in-drug-case/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Associated Press. &#8220;It’s a very shocking thing. My family is very distraught about it. It’s like we’re being traumatized all over again.&#8221;
Russell Peeler was originally sentenced to death for the murders, but that was changed to life in prison when Connecticut abolished the death penalty.
The brothers&#8217; mother was a Bridgeport city cop who urged them to follow the law. Before she died of stomach cancer she urged her sons to spend her insurance money on finishing college, but Russell Peeler used the money as a seed for his drug empire instead.

President Biden And First Lady Jill Biden Speak At Classroom To Career Summit

Biden Commuted Sentence Of ‘Non-Violent’ Drug Dealer Convicted In Killings Of Mother, 8-Year-Old

Biden Commuted Sentence Of 'Non-Violent' Drug Dealer Convicted In Killings Of Mother, 8-Year-Old

Biden

Biden Administration

Crime

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

Trump

Violent Crime

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday pardoning 23 of the pro-life activists targeted by President Joe Biden&#8217;s Justice Department.
&#8220;They should not have been prosecuted,&#8221; Trump said as he signed the order. &#8220;Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.&#8221;
The pardons are for 23 &#8220;peaceful pro-life protesters who were prosecuted by the Biden administration for exercising their First Amendment rights.&#8221; They were prosecuted under the FACE Act and a Reconstruction-era felony conspiracy charge first used for the first time against pro-life activists by the Biden administration.
The Thomas More Society, the law firm representing the activists, had asked Trump to pardon 21 pro-lifers: Joan Bell, Coleman Boyd, Joel Curry, Jonathan Darnel, Eva Edl, Chester Gallagher, William Goodman, Dennis Green, Lauren Handy, Paulette Harlow, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, Jean Marshall, Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, Justin Phillips, Paul Place, Paul Vaughn, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, and James Zastrow. 
<div id="attachment_864637" style="width: 877px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-should-not-have-been-prosecuted-trump-pardons-23-pro-lifers-targeted-by-biden-doj/us-politics-trump-134" rel="attachment wp-att-864637"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-864637" class="wp-image-864637 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2194910761-867x576.jpg" alt="" width="867" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2194910761-867x576.jpg 867w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2194910761-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2194910761-768x510.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2194910761-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-2194910761-2048x1360.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" /></a>(Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
“Today, freedom rings in our great nation,&#8221; said Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society. &#8220;The heroic peaceful pro-lifers unjustly imprisoned by Biden’s Justice Department will now be freed and able to return home to their families, eat a family meal, and enjoy the freedom that should have never been taken from them in the first place.&#8221;
Peter Breen, the executive vice president of the firm, added: &#8220;Today is a new day for the pardoned pro-life advocates who have suffered FBI raids, federal prosecutions, and severe punishment for peacefully and courageously witnessing for life. We thank President Trump for keeping his promise to these pro-life mothers, fathers, grandparents, pastors, and priests.&#8221; 
&#8220;What happened to these peaceful pro-life individuals must never happen again,&#8221; he said in a statement. &#8220;We urge Congress to act swiftly in repealing the FACE Act to make sure that the Justice Department can never again weaponize this law to target peaceful pro-lifers with severe charges.” 
Many of those pardoned were convicted multiple times in trials in Washington, D.C., Nashville, Manhattan, and Detroit. While sentencing has not been completed in each case, several pro-lifers were already serving lengthy prison sentences. 
In D.C., a group of pro-life protesters sang songs, prayed, locked arms in front of the facility’s staff entrance, and attached themselves with ropes and chains to block doors inside the infamous Surgi-Clinic in October 2020, a late-term abortion facility. 
Those who were imprisoned over the D.C. protest include Lauren Handy (57 months in prison), John Hinshaw (21 months), William Goodman (27 months), Jonathan Darnell (34 months), Herb Geraghty (27 months), Jean Marshall (24 months), Joan Bell (27 months), Paulette Harlow (24 months), and Heather Idoni (24 months).
In Tennessee, a group of pro-life Christians gathered in a hall outside the Carafem Health Center in Mt. Juliet where they sang hymns, prayed, and urged women not to get abortions in March 2021. Calvin Zastrow, 63, is currently serving a six-month prison sentence over the protest and 75-year-old Chester Gallagher was sentenced to 16 months though he has not had to report to prison yet. 
In New York, Bevelyn Beatty Williams was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison after she was convicted of violating the FACE Act after she blocked the entrance to an abortion facility in Manhattan. 
The pardons should also bring relief to those who were awaiting sentencing, including 89-year-old Eva Edl. Edl, who survived a World War II-era Yugoslavian concentration camp, was convicted in both Nashville and Detroit and could have been sentenced to over a decade in prison over her convictions on FACE and a felony conspiracy charge.
When passed in 1994, the FACE Act was supposed to protect both churches and clinics, but the law has almost exclusively been used to prosecute pro-lifers. Data obtained by Roy shows that 97% of FACE Act cases brought by the Justice Department have been against pro-life Americans. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) renewed an effort to repeal the FACE Act this week, pointing out how it has been disproportionately used against pro-lifers. 
The response to the pardons has already been positive with Republican lawmakers and conservative activists praising the decision.
&#8220;President Trump&#8217;s pardon today of pro-life activists unjustly imprisoned under President Biden is a great credit to his legacy,&#8221; CatholicVote&#8217;s Tommy Valentine said. &#8220;We hope he will go a step further in undoing Biden&#8217;s unjust legacy by directing his Department of Justice to evenly enforce the FACE Act, for as long as it is on the books, against violent pro-abortion extremists who have been attacking pregnancy resource centers and churches for years.&#8221;
The news came shortly after the Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-jd-vances-first-speech-as-vice-president-to-be-at-national-march-for-life">reported</a> that Trump would pardon the pro-life activists within a matter of days. The plight of the imprisoned pro-lifers is an immediate priority to Trump’s team, two sources with knowledge of the matter shared with The Daily Wire.
Friday is the 52nd annual March for Life, where Vice President JD Vance will publicly speak for the first time since he was sworn into office, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-jd-vances-first-speech-as-vice-president-to-be-at-national-march-for-life">first reported on Thursday</a>.
This is a breaking story; please refresh this page for updates.

Trump Signs Executive Actions Related To Cryptocurrency, AI

‘They Should Not Have Been Prosecuted’: Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Lifers Targeted By Biden DOJ

Abortion

FACE Act

Pro-Life Movement

Just days into the second Trump administration, Republicans in Washington are facing an unexpected and poorly understood headwind to unleashing our economic potential, courtesy of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the leadership of Biden bureaucrats.
Under the <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-finalizes-personal-financial-data-rights-rule-to-boost-competition-protect-privacy-and-give-families-more-choice-in-financial-services/">CFPB’s Biden-era 1033 Rule</a>, also known as the “Banking Data Exposure Rule,” American banks will soon be compelled to increase the flow of sensitive financial data to banks and businesses worldwide, with insufficient safeguards and proper oversight. The implications are enormous, and the risks cannot be overstated. 
Progressive proponents like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) might be cheering this misguided rule under the guise of empowering the consumer. But because the rule is so poorly constructed, it will only benefit a minority of well-informed consumers while creating new and potentially life-changing hazards for many Americans and businesses.
The Banking Data Exposure Rule opens a digital Pandora’s Box. By mandating that banks facilitate unprecedented access to consumers&#8217; financial data, the CFPB is creating a hunting ground for malicious cybercriminals and foreign state actors to exploit. This rule places anyone with a checking or savings account — be it an individual, a business, a municipal government, or even a hospital system — at risk of falling victim to sophisticated schemes designed to gain unauthorized access to funds and sensitive data.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." data-sk="tooltip_parent">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
The rule’s design offers bad actors a roadmap for exploitation, making the CFPB a de facto enabler of potential financial harm. Under the 1033 Rule, banks are essentially powerless to ensure their customers are not being duped by bad actors masquerading as legitimate third parties — a key point seemingly missed by the Biden administration and supporters.
Consider the broader implications of a foreign adversary using this framework to infiltrate a utility company’s financial records, hold a hospital’s payroll system hostage, or drain the retirement savings of an unsuspecting senior citizen. The CFPB’s poorly conceived rule could trigger cascading consequences across critical sectors of the U.S. economy, suppressing the nation’s optimism for an economic revival under the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress.
Proponents claim the ends will justify the means by enhancing competitive innovation and streamlining financial services. However, the 1033 Rule presumes that these benefits outweigh the risks to data security and privacy.
The CFPB’s actions undermine the reasonable demands Congress has made of banks to protect sensitive financial data and secure access to accounts. The rule establishes a false dichotomy between safeguarding consumer information and the promise of open banking, stripping consumers of their agency in making this decision. In reality, we can and should demand both security and innovation from our financial institutions.
Worse still, the Banking Data Exposure Rule is an ideologically-driven mandate. CFPB officials are misusing the Dodd-Frank Act to orchestrate a shift to an “open banking” framework that was largely theoretical when the bill was signed into law nearly 15 years ago. Open banking should only proceed with clear congressional authorization — not unelected, newly-unemployed, bureaucrats — following deliberation on the risks and merits of such a fundamental shift in the financial system.
The CFPB’s overreach in this instance sets a dangerous precedent for unchecked regulatory intervention in other critical sectors of the economy. Congress has a responsibility to rein in the CFPB before the 1033 Rule takes effect. Lawmakers should recognize that while open banking policies are worthy of debate, there is no urgency to enact radical changes nor necessity to do so without considerable public debate. It is a mandate ripe for rollback.
Financial innovation should not come at the expense of data security and consumer trust. Instead, we should pursue reforms that achieve both priorities without exposing Americans to unnecessary risks. By cancelling the 1033 Rule, Congress can send a clear message: safeguarding the financial security of the American people is not up for compromise.
The time to act is now. This is a fight for the integrity of our financial system and the protection of American consumers. Congress must ensure that innovation in banking is built on a foundation of trust, security, and proper oversight — not reckless experimentation.
Doug Wheeler is the Director of the George Gibbs Center for Economic Prosperity at The James Madison Institute (JMI), a free market public policy research organization based in Florida.

Fed Meets As Speculation Builds On Possible Rate Cut

This Biden-Era Banking Rule Is A Pandora’s Box Of Financial Risk

Banking

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Elizabeth Warren

Trump Administration

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> on Tuesday ordered a review of all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees in “critical safety positions” to ensure they are properly qualified.
In a presidential memorandum, Trump said that the Transportation Secretary and FAA Administrator would begin evaluating FAA employees in safety positions and replace them if necessary. The review comes after a string of airline safety incidents and close calls over the last few years.
In the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/keeping-americans-safe-in-aviation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memo</a>, Trump said that the FAA had “betrayed its mission by elevating dangerous discrimination over excellence” during the Biden administration. The agency <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/14/news/faas-diversity-push-includes-hiring-people-with-intellectual-and-psychiatric-disabilities/">reportedly</a> recruited employees with &#8220;severe intellectual&#8221; disabilities and other mental and physical challenges under a diversity and inclusion hiring strategy.
“For example, prior to my Inauguration, the FAA Diversity and Inclusion website revealed that the prior administration sought to specifically recruit and hire individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties,” Trump wrote. 
As a result, Trump said he would initiate a review of the &#8220;past performance and performance standards of all individuals in critical safety positions and take all appropriate action to ensure that any individual who fails or has failed to demonstrate requisite capability is replaced by a high-capability individual that will ensure top-notch air safety and efficiency.”
Several mishaps in the last year include a plane carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/43229303/jet-carrying-gonzaga-bulldogs-ordered-stop-lax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly colliding</a> with another plane taking off at the Los Angeles International Airport in December. In September, two Delta planes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/delta-planes-collide-on-atlanta-airport-tarmac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collided</a> while taxiing at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, and one plane’s tail was nearly ripped off.
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The memo also reiterated previous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-ends-equity-in-federal-hiring-promises-to-only-focus-on-merit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive orders</a> stipulating that the federal government would no longer look at “equity” when hiring but practice merit-based hiring focused on skills, experience, and patriotism. Trump said hiring for the FAA would be based on individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication. 
“Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,” the FAA memo said. “It also penalizes hard-working Americans who want to serve in the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin color.&#8221;

Southwest And Other Airlines Testify At Safety Hearing On Capitol Hill

Trump Initiates Review Of All FAA Workers In ‘Critical Safety Positions’

Air and Space

Air Travel

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Politics

Texas Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chip-roy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chip Roy</a> (R) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would repeal a Clinton-era law that was used by the Biden administration to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/63-year-old-pro-life-grandpa-reports-to-notorious-federal-prison-after-biden-harris-prosecution#:~:text=—%20Exclusive-,Pro%2DLife%20Grandpa%20Reports%20To%20Notorious%20Federal%20Prison%20After%20Biden,conviction%20on%20FACE%20Act%20charges.&amp;text=Credit%3A%20Daily%20Wire." target="_blank" rel="noopener">imprison pro-life activists</a> across the country.
Roy’s <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bill-Text-Roy_FACE-ACT-REPEAL_119th.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a>, first reported by Fox News, would repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a law that has been disproportionately used against pro-lifers despite guaranteeing equal protection to churches and pregnancy centers. Under President Joe Biden, pro-life activists across the country were sentenced to prison for their convictions over peaceful protests.
“Americans just spent the last four years being targeted by a weaponized justice system.  The FACE Act was one of the primary weapons of abuse — being used to politically target, arrest, and jail pro-life Americans for speaking out and standing up for life,” Roy <a href="https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-reintroduces-legislation-repeal-face-act">said</a>. “While President Trump and his team are already fast at work reversing the damage of the J6 political prosecutions and persecutions through pardons and commutations, I am hopeful those targeted under the FACE Act will be given similar relief.”
The Biden administration successfully prosecuted dozens of pro-life activists under FACE, pairing it with a Reconstruction-era felony conspiracy charge that came with the possibility of over a decade in federal prison. As a result, activists were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-21-pro-life-defendants-targeted-by-biden-doj-ask-trump-to-pardon-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> in Tennessee, New York, and Washington, D.C., to years in prison over their convictions.
In Nashville, Calvin Zastrow was sentenced to six months in prison last year for his participation in a peaceful sit-in outside of a Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, abortion facility where participants sang hymns, prayed, and urged women not to get abortions.
In another case, Lauren Handy was <a href="https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/peaceful-pro-life-advocate-lauren-handy-faces-miscarriage-of-justice-sentenced-to-57-months-in-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">given</a> 57 months in prison for her participation after she helped stage a sit-in at the D.C.-based Washington Surgi-Clinic late-term abortion facility. She is currently serving her sentence in Tallahassee and won’t be free until July 2027.
When passed in 1994, the FACE Act was supposed to protect both churches and clinics, but the law has almost exclusively been used to prosecute pro-lifers. Data obtained by Roy shows that 97% of FACE Act cases brought by the Justice Department have been against pro-life Americans.
“Now that we have a Republican trifecta in the House, Senate, and White House, Congress should move quickly to repeal this law and ensure that no future president can weaponize it against pro-lifers ever again,” Roy said. “No more excuses, let&#8217;s get it done.”
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At least 20 Republicans in the House are backing the measure and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is expected to introduce similar legislation in the Senate.
Twenty-one pro-life Americans convicted under Biden have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-21-pro-life-defendants-targeted-by-biden-doj-ask-trump-to-pardon-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">formally requested</a> President Donald Trump to pardon them, saying that the government was weaponized against them. The Thomas More Society, which requested the pardon, is also pursuing a repeal of the FACE Act through the federal courts.
Trump has criticized the Biden Justice Department for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/defend-our-country-imprisoned-pro-life-activists-urge-americans-to-vote-against-kamala" target="_blank" rel="noopener">targeting pro-lifers </a>on “outrageous charges,” promising on the campaign trail to “rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who’s unjustly victimized by the Biden regime…so we can get them out of the gulags and back to their families where they belong.”

House Freedom Caucus Discusses The Debt Limit At A Press Conference On Capitol Hill

Roy Introduces Bill To Repeal Law Used To Imprison Pro-Life Activists

Chip Roy

Congress

U.S.

American hostage <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressure-builds-for-biden-to-secure-release-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Corbett</a>&#8216;s family announced on Tuesday that he was freed by the Taliban, ending his 894-day captivity in Afghanistan.
Corbett was released just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office and after the Biden administration ramped up its negotiations with the Taliban in the past month. According to the Taliban, Corbett and one other hostage who wasn&#8217;t named were exchanged for terrorist Khan Muhammad, who was serving a life sentence in California, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/american-held-afghanistan-released-final-hours-biden-administration-rcna188496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,&#8221; the Corbett family said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
The family thanked Trump, former President Joe Biden, incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, incoming Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens for &#8220;their tireless work and steadfast dedication to bringing Ryan back to us.&#8221;
Muhammed, the terrorist exchanged for Corbett&#8217;s release, was convicted and sentenced on drug and narco-terrorism charges. The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/December/08-crm-1145.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> said that Muhammed &#8220;sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets&#8221; and attempted to send heroin to the U.S.
Corbett and his family first moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and started Bloom Afghanistan, an enterprise focused on improving the war-torn country’s private sector. The Corbett family safely evacuated from Afghanistan when the United States withdrew under Biden’s orders in August 2021, and then Ryan returned around five months later. He was captured by the Taliban a year after the Biden administration&#8217;s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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Corbett&#8217;s wife, Anna, worked tirelessly to secure her husband&#8217;s release. She met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, urged the Biden administration to act, and spoke to numerous news outlets, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressure-builds-for-biden-to-secure-release-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, to raise awareness of Ryan&#8217;s dire situation. Last week, Anna spoke to &#8220;Morning Wire,&#8221; expressing her hope that her husband would be home soon.
In her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wife-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban-hopes-for-her-husbands-return-under-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with &#8220;Morning Wire,&#8221; Anna told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that she recently met with Waltz, Trump&#8217;s National Security Advisor nominee, for &#8220;over an hour,&#8221; which was a sharp contrast to her experience with Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him,” Anna said.
As the Corbett family expressed their gratitude for the work of the Trump and Biden teams, they also called for the release of two men still held by the Taliban, American George Glezmann and Afghan journalist Mahmoud Habibi.
&#8220;It was our hope that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be returned to their families together, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them,&#8221; the family said. &#8220;We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today, and pledge to keep praying – and fighting – for George and Mahmoud’s swift release.&#8221;

Ryan and Anna Corbett

‘Overwhelming Gratitude’: American Ryan Corbett Released From Taliban Captivity

'Overwhelming Gratitude': American Ryan Corbett Released From Taliban Captivity

Afghanistan

Global Politics

Hostages

Taliban

As the new Trump administration proposes sweeping cuts to the federal budget, progressives are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/story/2024-12-26/please-president-elect-trump-dont-cut-funding-to-the-un-population-fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">begging</a> the president to continue <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/opinion/columnists/family-planning-women.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subsidizing</a> the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
But considering the UNFPA’s dark history of sponsoring draconian population control policies, slashing U.S. funding should be a top priority of the Trump administration, especially as fertility rates decline to <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00550-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sub-replacement levels</a> and the “population bomb” becomes an obsolete doomsday prophecy.
Trump cut UNFPA funding in 2017, following a long tradition of Republicans since Ronald Reagan who have regarded the UNFPA as unqualified to receive U.S. government support under the 1985 <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46962/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kemp-Kasten Amendment</a>. This ruling prohibits U.S. funding for “any organization or program which, as determined by the president of the United States, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”
The Democrats have restored UNFPA funding each time they’ve returned to the White House since Kemp-Kasten. When the Biden administration <a href="https://www.state.gov/prioritizing-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-reproductive-rights-in-u-s-foreign-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> it would reinstate U.S. support in 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the UNFPA is “essential to the health and well-being of women around the world.”
While the UNFPA prides itself as a <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/about-us#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20UNFPA%20is,care%20and%20comprehensive%20sexuality%20education." target="_blank" rel="noopener">champion</a> of women’s health and “reproductive rights and choices,” its history is tainted by sponsorship of the most egregious violations of human dignity.
Founded in 1969, the UNFPA has spearheaded the global <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674034600" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign</a> to reduce fertility, particularly in developing countries. The U.S. has served as one of its largest annual <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/donor/united-states-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donor</a> countries, except under recent Republican administrations.
Population control programs backed by the UNFPA, euphemistically described as “family planning,” have often been coercive and tyrannical. It supported China’s brutal <a href="https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/neo-malthusianism-coercive-population-control-china-india-overpopulation-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one-child policy</a>, which terrorized the Chinese population with forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations for over three decades.
In 2004, then-UNFPA executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/abandoned-un-population-policies-to-get-cash-boost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “We endorse the one-child policy in China,” arguing that UNFPA family planning programs helped reduce China’s abortion rate.
Because of the one-child policy and the Chinese cultural preference for sons, China faces a massive <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3282574/chinas-35-million-leftover-men-spark-foreign-brides-idea-tackle-gender-imbalance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sex ratio imbalance</a>, with nearly 35 million more men than women.
In 1983, China’s National Family Planning Commission Chairman Qian Xinzhong was presented with the first <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1973563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations Population Award</a>, along with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who enacted similarly coercive <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/6/5/18629801/emergency-in-india-1975-indira-gandhi-sterilization-ford-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">population policies</a> in India — at the behest of the Rockefeller and Ford foundations.  
The old-guard “Rockefeller Republicans” of the “eastern establishment,” such as Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger, were enthusiastic <a href="https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0054/4525564.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proponents</a> of population control, including through the UNFPA.
In 1974, Kissinger penned a classified memo titled <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pcaab500.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Security Study Memorandum 200</a>, which argued that suppressing developing countries’ populations was necessary for U.S. national security and economic interests.
He recommended that these population activities should be carried out in partnership with the UNFPA, the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, and his memo even considered withholding food aid to developing countries that refused to implement family planning programs.
To downplay accusations of imperialist motivations for U.S. population policies directed at developing countries, Kissinger suggested “repeatedly asserting” that such policies are concerned with “the right of the individual couple to determine freely and responsibly their number and spacing of children.”
Machiavellian language wrapped up in colorful appeals to human rights can often disguise nefarious and genocidal intentions.
The Biden administration <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/donor/united-states-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> the UNFPA with nearly $112 million of U.S. taxpayer money. In 2025, The Trump administration must not overlook this important budget cut, especially with pro-natal voices such as Elon Musk involved in the administration.
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It is not the threat of overpopulation, but rather depopulation, that could undermine economic prosperity and imperil the future of civilization this century. As the working-age population shrinks, countries may experience a dearth of resources to provide health care, pensions and other services to a significantly larger retirement-age population.
The U.S. government should permanently cease funding the UNFPA due to its controversial activities promoting neo-Malthusianism and coercive anti-natal policies that jeopardize human dignity, freedom and the progress of civilization.
* * *
Aidan Grogan is a history PhD student at Liberty University, a contributor with Young Voices and the donor communications manager at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). His work has been published in The American Spectator, The Washington Examiner and AIER’s The Daily Economy. Follow him on X @AidanGrogan.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.
This article has been edited for clarity. A previous version used the phrase president-elect which is no longer valid.

United Nations Security Council Meets To Discuss Situation In Gaza

Why President Trump Must Defund This U.N. Agency Once Again

Antony Blinken

China

Henry Kissinger

India

Population

United Nations

Embattled FEMA Director Deanne Criswell left the agency on Monday just as the second administration of President Donald Trump began. 
Criswell, who has faced criticism over her handling of the agency&#8217;s response to recent hurricanes, left her position as administrator at 12:01 p.m. and was replaced by Tony Robinson, who will be the acting FEMA director until Trump chooses a replacement. During her time in office, Criswell oversaw the government&#8217;s response to multiple devastating hurricanes, the Maui fires, and most recently, the deadly Los Angeles County fires. 
“It has been an honor serving as [FEMA] Administrator for nearly four years. The FEMA family takes immense pride in our mission of helping people before, during and after disasters. I know the agency will continue to serve the nation as we support this peaceful transition of power,” Criswell <a href="https://x.com/FEMA_Deanne/status/1881351768103129377" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X, though her account has now been taken over by Robinson. 
Criswell came under fire in November after The Daily Wire reported that a FEMA supervisor in Florida ordered relief workers responding to Hurricane Milton to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” The guidance led to some 20 homes in Lake Placid being skipped because they had a Trump flag or sign. 
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Criswell spent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-we-learned-from-fema-chiefs-day-of-congressional-grilling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over five hours</a> on November 19 being questioned by House lawmakers about the guidance. She maintained that the guidance was an isolated incident.
“I do not believe that this employee’s actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA,” she said at the time. “FEMA however has taken appropriate action to ensure this matter is fully investigated and I am committed to ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again.” 
There are still multiple investigations ongoing, including from the inspector general, into the guidance and the state of Florida has sued FEMA over the instructions 
Trump has been a critic of FEMA’s response to both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, stating during his inaugural address that the agency had treated North Carolina poorly. 
Last week, North Carolina’s Republican senators had to intervene after they said that dozens of hurricane victims were kicked out of the hotels they were staying in on Tuesday as their <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fema">FEMA</a>-sponsored vouchers expired. One whistleblower told Republicans on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that FEMA had skipped <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-inspector-general-confirms-fema-probe-says-aid-should-not-be-politically-based" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entire neighborhoods</a> in North Carolina if there were three or more Trump or other conservative signs in yards.

House Oversight Committee Hears Testimony From FEMA Administrator Criswell

Embattled FEMA Director Steps Aside As Trump Takes Office

FEMA

Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Milton

The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and Anna Corbett, whose husband has been held captive in Afghanistan for over two years, on a special <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/held-prisoner-in-afghanistan-a-family-s-fight-for-freedom-1-18-25">Saturday edition of Morning Wire</a>.
* * *
American Businessman Ryan Corbett moved his family to Afghanistan in 2010 where he started a business and became active in the community. But during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal the Corbett family evacuated leaving everything behind. Upon returning to his business in 2022, Ryan and several others were captured by the Taliban. Two years later he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressure-builds-for-biden-to-secure-release-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remains a prisoner</a>. Morning Wire sat down with Ryan’s wife, Anna, to discuss his unlawful detainment by the Taliban – and how the Biden administration and incoming Trump administration are handling it.
JOHN: Joining us now to discuss her husband, Ryan Corbett’s ongoing unlawful detention by the Taliban is Anna Corbett. Anna, thank you so much for coming on.
ANNA: Thank you for having me. I appreciate this opportunity.
JOHN: So, since your husband Ryan was captured, you’ve been really working to raise awareness and advocate for his release. That recently led to you talking on the phone with President Biden. First, how did that call go?
ANNA: It was a difficult call. I had just received a call from Ryan in the morning. I was traveling. There was a lot in my head and a lot of hope going into that call. And although he was kind and sympathetic to our family and obviously tracking the situation, hearing from him … that he did not seem to be bringing Ryan home and taking a deal on the table was devastating and obviously very disappointing.
JOHN: Was this the first time that you had talked to President Biden?
ANNA: It was the first time and I had been asking for an in-person meeting for a long time and that was also disappointing just to have a phone call with no video with him.
JOHN: What do you think is keeping the president from taking this deal?
ANNA: I don&#8217;t know. I am honestly very confused because I have raised a lot of attention and advocated very hard for Ryan, taken 16 trips to D.C., worked in a very bipartisan way, helped pass a House and a Senate resolution and I&#8217;m surprised that more progress wasn&#8217;t made during this administration. And I wonder if there is  fear because it&#8217;s Afghanistan, because of the withdrawal that happened and how it happened. I don&#8217;t know, but it&#8217;s very frustrating from where I sit because, as you know, I took a trip down to Florida to West Palm Beach and am working on advocating with the incoming administration, and it&#8217;s taking a lot of effort from our family.
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/held-prisoner-in-afghanistan-a-familys-fight-for/id1576594336?i=1000684518999" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
JOHN: I&#8217;m sure. What has been the tone from the incoming administration, the Trump administration?
ANNA: This past weekend, I flew down to Florida with my oldest daughter, Katzia, and put in requests to meet with President Trump – unsure of what the outcome of the trip would be, but wanting to do my part in raising awareness for Ryan. And I was incredibly encouraged to meet with my Congresswoman. She was down in Florida and gave me a lot of time and support. And also to see that President Trump sent his incoming national security advisor to me, just within 48 hours of being down in Florida, and he gave us over an hour of his time. I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current Nationalist Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him.
JOHN: So Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, came to talk with you in person within just a couple of days – but Biden’s advisor delayed 16 months. I can&#8217;t imagine the frustration there. Can you tell us about your husband&#8217;s situation? How long has he been there? What are the conditions? How&#8217;s he doing?
<div id="attachment_754833" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-754833" class="size-large wp-image-754833" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/MixCollage-24-Jun-2024-01-09-PM-1443-1024x576.jpg" alt="Ryan and Anna Corbett" width="1024" height="576" />Ryan and Anna Corbett</div>
ANNA: Ryan has been held now by the Taliban since August 10 of 2022, almost two and a half years now, very close to 900 days, which I hate saying, because we have felt every hour of those 900 days, and he has been held in bad conditions, recently was moved, and so his conditions improved a little bit. He is receiving better food, but he&#8217;s lost a lot of weight. This is having a bad effect on his health, obviously. He&#8217;s only 41, and having constant headaches, ringing in his ears, fainting, discolored extremities. I mean, he&#8217;s told me that I wouldn&#8217;t recognize him, and our communication was very sparse for a long time now. It&#8217;s been about every two weeks, which helps, but it&#8217;s my husband of almost 21 years and I don&#8217;t know where he is. I never know when I&#8217;ll hear from him. I&#8217;m super grateful, I have to say, the Qataris have really helped set up the phone calls and make sure they happen every two weeks and even recently worked on lengthening them. But, it&#8217;s a terrible situation, and I keep highlighting — like, he&#8217;s a dad. He wants to see his kids grow up. He missed his daughter&#8217;s high school graduation. She was voted prom queen. He missed that. He couldn&#8217;t walk her out for homecoming court. He can&#8217;t watch his son play basketball. He&#8217;s never watched his son play basketball. These are opportunities that every dad wants to have and needs to have with his kids. It&#8217;s just devastating what is going on here that he cannot be part of that.
JOHN: Again, I can&#8217;t imagine. For those not familiar with your story, what led to his capture? How did this all get started?
ANNA: We lived in Afghanistan as a family. I know that&#8217;s unusual, but we lived there for almost 12 years and he had started a business in Kabul and when we had to evacuate as a family, when the Taliban took over, he did not want to leave his staff behind. He didn&#8217;t want to abandon what was making a difference in the Afghan people&#8217;s lives. And so he kept his business open from a distance. We moved back here to New York. And he took one trip in January, 2022, no problems, renewed his visa smoothly, and was given a warm welcome. And then on the second trip in August, 2022, he was detained and has been held since. So he was trying to help the Afghan people. There have been no accusations, no charges against him. And he was designated as wrongfully detained by our government.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/held-prisoner-in-afghanistan-a-family-s-fight-for-freedom-1-18-25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTEN: Catch the full interview with Anna Corbett on Morning Wire</a></h3>
JOHN: All right. So the government officially states that he&#8217;s wrongfully detained, yet has not taken the action to get him back. What steps are you taking now? And what ways can people help in this situation? Is there anything our listeners can do?
ANNA: Your listeners can continue praying for Ryan and our family that we will continue hoping and staying strong each day. Also, we have a website, <a href="https://www.freeryancorbett.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FreeRyanCorbett.com</a> with a lot of information. And now that this current administration is almost finished, we&#8217;re needing to focus on the incoming administration and we will have information on the website on how to do that and how people can get the word out. It&#8217;s completely unjust and I believe every family out there can empathize with what we&#8217;re going through. When one family member is going through a horrible situation, we all feel it constantly. And until Ryan&#8217;s home, we cannot rest or even enjoy the opportunities we have in our freedom here in the States because Ryan&#8217;s still being held and has only access to sunlight a couple times a day and has no choices and is missing so much in his family&#8217;s life.
JOHN: If you could deliver a direct message to Donald Trump as he’s set to return to the White House this week, what would that be?
ANNA: I would say to him, please remember Ryan, and please do everything you can to bring Ryan home. And I would ask the incoming administration, including incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz that I&#8217;ve spoken with, and others involved in roles to bring Ryan home, to prioritize our family. Also, George [Glezmann] is held with Ryan. He&#8217;s in the same cell, same situation, wrongfully detained, and his family needs him as well. So, there are U.S. citizens who are alive —there&#8217;s proof of life. We just spoke to Ryan on Sunday, and they need to come home.
JOHN: Well, our prayers are with your husband, Ryan, and with <a href="https://jamesfoleyfoundation.org/hostage/george-glezmann/#gsc.tab=0">George Glezmann</a> – and your talk with Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is encouraging. Thank you so much for talking with us.
ANNA: Thanks for having me, I really appreciate it.
JOHN: That was Anna Corbett, wife of Ryan Corbett – and this has been a special <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/held-prisoner-in-afghanistan-a-family-s-fight-for-freedom-1-18-25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saturday edition of Morning Wire</a>.
***

TOPSHOT-AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT

Her Husband Is Being Held Prisoner By The Taliban. An Interview With Anna Corbett.

Mike Waltz

Morning Wire

Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) recently recounted a private meeting that he had with President Joe Biden last year from which he walked away believing that the country was in serious danger because of how mentally diminished Biden was.
Johnson made the remarks during an interview with The Free Press when asked if he could share a story of when he realized that Biden was not actually in charge of running the country.
&#8220;I became Speaker in October 2023, and there were all sorts of big national security concerns and everything going on, and I started requesting a meeting with the president,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The Speaker the House should be able to talk to the president, especially in times of great national interest and calamity, but they wouldn&#8217;t let me meet with him. And his staff kept giving him excuses. This went on for like, eight or nine weeks.&#8221;
He said that Biden&#8217;s team repeatedly told him that the president did not have time to meet with him.
He said that he needed to have a classified meeting with Biden over serious national security threats that he was &#8220;losing sleep over&#8221; and that he finally got a meeting after revealing to the press that Biden&#8217;s team would not let him meet the president.
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Johnson said that once he got the meeting, he was ambushed by top Democrats and members of Biden&#8217;s cabinet who tried to shield the president by turning it into a meeting about Ukraine.
Biden had everyone leave the room so he could speak to Johnson alone, much to the dismay of his staff.
Before they talked about the classified national security concerns, Johnson asked Biden why he paused liquified national gas exports to Europe.
Biden responded by saying that he never signed an executive order pausing exports on LNG.
He later claimed that what he signed ordered that a study be done on the effects of LNG.
&#8220;It occurred to me, he was not lying to me,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;He genuinely did not know what he had signed. And I walked out of that meeting with fear and loathing because I thought, we&#8217;re in serious trouble. Who is running the country? Like, I don&#8217;t know who put the paper in front of him, but he didn&#8217;t know.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Speaker Mike Johnson reveals just how out of the loop and cognitively impaired Joe Biden was as President after meeting with Biden and discussing his LNG Executive Order:
“Biden was not lying to me. He genuinely did not know what he had signed.”
Scary. 
<a href="https://t.co/Clbytug8e3">pic.twitter.com/Clbytug8e3</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1880626844816597293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2025</a></blockquote>

Speaker Mike Johnson

Johnson Recounts Private Meeting With Biden Where He Realized ‘We’re In Serious Trouble’

Mike Johnson

Anna Corbett continues to fight for the release of her husband, an American businessman who has been held hostage by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taliban</a> in Afghanistan for two-and-a-half years.
Corbett talked to Morning Wire for an interview that aired on Saturday, opening up about her confusion and frustration over the Biden administration&#8217;s failure to secure the release of her husband, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressure-builds-for-biden-to-secure-release-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan</a>. In the final days of Biden&#8217;s time in office, the administration has been <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-speaks-relatives-americans-held-taliban-deal-bring-117606700" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempting</a> to negotiate a deal to exchange a terrorist held in Guantanamo Bay for Ryan, along with two other hostages held by the Taliban.
Anna told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that she recently spoke with President Joe Biden over the phone, but the conversation led her to believe that Biden would not &#8220;be bringing Ryan home.&#8221;
&#8220;It was a difficult call. I had just received a call from Biden in the morning. I was traveling. There was a lot in my head and a lot of hope going into that call,&#8221; Anna said. &#8220;And although he was kind and sympathetic to our family and obviously tracking the situation &#8230; he did not seem to be bringing Ryan home, and taking a deal on the table was devastating and obviously very disappointing.&#8221;
Anna also said it was &#8220;disappointing just to have a phone call&#8221; with Biden after requesting to meet with him for months. Asked what&#8217;s stopping Biden from striking a deal, Anna replied, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know. I am honestly very confused because I have raised a lot of attention and advocated very hard for Ryan, taken 16 trips to D. C., worked in a very bipartisan way, helped pass a House and a Senate resolution, and I&#8217;m surprised that more progress wasn&#8217;t made during this administration.&#8221;
Anna and the couple&#8217;s three children are now hoping that a new administration led by President Donald Trump, who takes over on Monday, will be able to secure the release of Ryan. In a statement to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressure-builds-for-biden-to-secure-release-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> last June, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that only Trump &#8220;can negotiate the safe return of hostages like Ryan Corbett back to his family.&#8221;
“President Trump brought more Americans back home and reunited them with their families because other countries knew not to test him,” said Cheung. “With Biden in office, America is no longer respected on the world stage and has made Americans across the world more vulnerable.”
Anna told Morning Wire that she has already requested to meet with Trump.
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&#8220;This past weekend, I flew down to Florida with my oldest daughter, Ketsia, and put in requests to meet with President Trump – unsure of what the outcome of the trip would be, but wanting to do my part in raising awareness for Ryan,&#8221; she said.
Anna added that Trump&#8217;s incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz met with her for &#8220;over an hour,&#8221; a sharp contrast to her experience with Biden&#8217;s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
&#8220;I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him,&#8221; Anna added.
Corbett and his family first moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and started Bloom Afghanistan, an enterprise focused on improving the war-torn country’s private sector. The Corbett family safely evacuated from Afghanistan when the United States withdrew under Biden’s orders in August 2021, creating a vacuum that the Taliban quickly seized to take power.
About five months after U.S. forces left Afghanistan, Corbett returned to the country by himself to renew his visa and train more staff for his enterprise. He was initially welcomed back to Afghanistan and remained there until August 10, 2022, when he, along with two Afghans and a German colleague, were detained by Taliban forces. While the Afghans were released a month later and Corbett’s German colleague was let go in December 2022, Corbett is still being held hostage, likely for political leverage.
Anna urged people to continue to pray for Ryan&#8217;s health and safety, and ultimately his release.
&#8220;Until Ryan&#8217;s home, we cannot rest and even enjoy the opportunities we have in our freedom here in the States because Ryan&#8217;s still being held and has only access to sunlight a couple times a day and has no choices and is missing so much in his family&#8217;s life.&#8221;

Wife Of American Held Hostage By Taliban Hopes For Her Husband’s Return Under Trump

Wife Of American Held Hostage By Taliban Hopes For Her Husband's Return Under Trump

World

Nature is healing.
Things are beginning to change. Donald Trump will be taking his oath of office in a few days, but in order for him to take office, Joe Biden has to go.
And before he goes, Biden is attempting to constrain President Trump as he comes in.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/us/politics/biden-policy-decisions.html">reported</a>:
<blockquote>In the final days of his term, President Biden has issued a series of policy decisions intended to cement his agenda and, in some cases, make it harder for President-elect Donald J. Trump to put in place his own.
The 11th-hour decisions, many of them executive actions, include measures on environmental justice, prison reform, immigration and foreign relations. Some are intended to preserve Mr. Biden’s legacy, while others are last-ditch efforts to expand his approach. Many are likely to be undone after Mr. Trump takes office next week.</blockquote>
“Environmental justice” means banning fracking and limiting drilling off the coast. “Prison reform” means jailbreak.
This is always the danger of an outgoing administration, particularly one as venal, corrupt, and terrible as Joe Biden&#8217;s administration.
Biden is creating two national monuments in California, an action that is not really about creating national monuments; the monuments are intended to prevent mining and drilling that would cover 848,000 acres of desert and mountainous land in a portion of the state where no human would ever visit — unless they were actually going to increase the energy production of the United States.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2119-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The Biden administration announced they would remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism in an attempt to box Trump in.
Biden commuted the sentence of 37 out of 40 inmates on federal death row. He left out those who had murdered protected classes of people, which apparently does not include small children. Biden said he would cancel student loans for more than 150,000 borrowers, which he doesn&#8217;t actually have the capacity to do and the Supreme Court said he could not do.
The Biden administration issued sweeping extensions of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of people to prevent President Trump from actually moving those people out of the country. And, of course, President Biden signed a piece of legislation that gives full Social Security benefits to some public sector retirees who are currently receiving them at a reduced level.
The garbage policies that Biden is planting in the heart of American democracy are going to take a while to come to fruition, but they&#8217;re going to be completely damaging. The vast overspending, the changes to procurement systems, the way that environmental regulations have been done, all those things will take time to fully materialize.
By the time Biden left office, people didn’t like him — across the spectrum. Moderates didn&#8217;t like him because he wasn&#8217;t moderate. The Left didn&#8217;t like him because they are nuts and felt he wasn’t nuts enough.
Meanwhile, President Trump is entering the White House with more positive sentiment than he has ever had in his entire political career, including his first term. According to a new <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/politics/cnn-poll-trump/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN poll</a>, Trump continues to see majority approval for his handling of the transition; 55% approval, which is a very, very high percentage.
Almost six in 10 Americans expect Trump to do a good job in his second term, and that&#8217;s including moderates, Democrats, and everybody else.
Why?
It’s because as it turns out, Trump is a pragmatist. He&#8217;s utilitarian. All he cares about is winning. Even people who may not agree with many of his conservative policies are interested in a country that actually functions again, a country that actually has a booming economy and a strong foreign policy.
He is coming in with a honeymoon. And if Congress does what it is supposed to do, then we are going to see this boomlet turn into an actual boom on behalf of President Trump.
You can feel the mood changing in the country.
The addition of Elon Musk on the Republican side of the aisle has been an imagistic boon in extraordinary ways. Yesterday, for example, his super-heavy booster was caught again by the so-called chopsticks. Musk is doing things with technology that are simply astonishing.
It’s cool to be American. It&#8217;s cool to live in a country that makes this sort of thing possible. It&#8217;s cool to live in a country where a guy who comes to America with pretty much no money can build himself into the richest person on Earth, making companies that create electric cars and rockets that are reusable and can be caught in mid-air that are 20 stories high.
It gives you a feeling of optimism about the country.
The Trump effect.
It’s real and it’s amazing.
* * *
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