Trump calls for Iran to surrender, Senate Republicans investigate who was actually steering the ship under Biden’s presidency, and we speak to President Donald Trump&#8217;s sons on the 10th anniversary of that fateful escalator ride.
It’s Wednesday, June 18, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>Trump Demands Unconditional Surrender From Iran, Weighs Military Options</h2>
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Topline: Trump warns Iran to surrender or face the consequences.
As the U.S. weighs intervention in Iran, President Trump is warning the Ayatollah that his patience is wearing thin. The fighting is showing no signs of slowing down as Israel targets Iran’s nuclear and military facilities and Iran targets whatever they can hit, including civilian populations.
On Tuesday, Israel said it killed Ali Shadmani, Iran’s senior military commander. Shadmani had only been in the position for three days after replacing his predecessor, who was killed in a separate strike Friday. The Israelis also launched successful strikes on the Natanz enrichment facility — a crucial part of Iran’s nuclear program. We’re still awaiting a full assessment of the damage, but one Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal the facility may have imploded.
Iran claims it struck an Israeli military intelligence center in Tel Aviv, though Israel says most of the strikes have targeted civilian areas. Elsewhere, Iranian missiles hit the Weizmann Institute of Science — Israeli officials say years&#8217; worth of medical and scientific research was destroyed in the strike.
Donald Trump is still weighing his options and seriously considering joining the war. The president convened his national security team for a Situation Room meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Just before that meeting took place, Trump posted on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114699514822488706">Truth Social</a>, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’”
That use of the word “we” turned heads in Washington. While the White House says the president was referring to American weapons and not Americans directly, it’s quite the departure from a few days ago when the president said America was playing no role in the conflict.
The president also <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114699610769479275">wrote</a> on Tuesday, “We know exactly where the so-called &#8216;Supreme Leader&#8217; [of Iran] is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there &#8211; We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
<h2>The Senate Investigates Biden&#8217;s Cognitive Decline/Cover-Up</h2>
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Topline: Senate Republicans hold a hearing to investigate who was in charge during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday as part of its investigation into what was going on behind the scenes during Biden’s presidency. Among the questions they’re asking: who was really running the country amid the president’s cognitive decline – and were media outlets colluding to cover it up?
“Everybody could see the clear decline of Joe Biden,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO). “The media tried to dismiss it as &#8216;cheap fakes.&#8217; There was sort of one excuse after another. The Democrats were saying he&#8217;s sharper than he&#8217;s ever been, and they had the left-wing media parroting those talking points, too. And it just is a really dangerous kind of road to go down, to have the one person that&#8217;s elected by the entire country be mentally incompetent. … Personally, I think this scandal is bigger than Watergate, but everybody&#8217;s very eager to sweep it under the rug. And I just don&#8217;t think the American people should accept that.”
In February 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to prosecute President Biden for mishandling of classified documents, saying it would be difficult to convict him because “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” That report was widely decried at the time, but more recently, whistleblowers from the Biden White House have come forward with their own stories about the former president’s mental decline and the concerted effort to hide it from the American public – notably in interviews with CNN’s Jake Tapper cited in &#8220;Original Sin: President Biden&#8217;s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,&#8221; which reignited the controversy.
Schmitt told The Daily Wire that the use of the president’s autopen would be a key subject of the hearing on Wednesday – there are claims that many of the executive orders issued by the Biden administration might have been signed by staffers without his knowledge, although Biden has publicly denied those accusations.
<h2>A Decade Of The Donald</h2>
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Topline: Don Jr. and Eric Trump open up to Morning Wire ten years after their father&#8217;s fateful escalator ride that launched his first successful presidential campaign.
Ten years ago this week, Donald Trump changed American politics forever by announcing a run for the White House. His two elder sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, celebrated that anniversary at an event in Manhattan, where they spoke to Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan about the MAGA movement and its impact on their family and the world.
Donald Trump Jr: &#8220;Before the fateful sort of escalator ride down, my father looked at me right in the eyes. He [said], &#8216;Now we find out who our real friends are.&#8217;… He knew how difficult it was gonna be. He knew his friends would turn on him, but more importantly, he knew that was gonna happen and he did it anyway.&#8221;
Eric Trump: &#8220;He’s done amazing things for this nation. And, as a son, I’m truly proud of his fight, of his tenacity, of everything that he’s given up for this country. I mean, they tried to kill him &#8212; multiple times. … He’s tough as hell, and hopefully he’s a great example to so many that will follow because that’s exactly what we need in America.&#8221;

MRN 6.18.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Trump Wants ‘Unconditional Surrender’ From Iran, & Biden Cover-Up Investigation

Biden Administration

Donald Trump

Donald Trump Jr.

Eric Schmitt

Eric Trump

Iran

Israel

Jake Tapper

Joe Biden

Media

Morning Wire

Politics

Mexico&#8217;s president is threatening to &#8220;mobilize&#8221; the country against a Republican proposal to tax remittances, which advocates say would choke off cash flow to Mexican drug cartels.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum raged against the proposal in a speech against the law, which imposes a tax on money sent out of the United States by foreign nationals. “If necessary, we’ll mobilize,&#8221; Sheinbaum said. &#8220;We don’t want taxes on remittances from our fellow countrymen. From the U.S. to Mexico.&#8221;
President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” includes a 3.5 percent tax on remittances, a policy that experts told The Daily Wire is key to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-new-tax-on-money-sent-abroad-could-dry-up-drug-cartel-cash-and-penalize-illegal-immigration">throttling the flow</a> of cash into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels. Republican lawmakers are pushing for a tax on money flowing out of the United States to foreign countries just after the Mexican president said that she would “mobilize against it.”
The Mexican president’s statement drew the ire of Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who announced that he was introducing legislation to multiply the proposed 3.5 percent tax on remittances.
“The House’s Big Beautiful Bill addressed the urgent need for a remittance tax. But we can go further. I&#8217;m introducing legislation to quadruple the proposed remittance tax — from 3.5% to 15%,” Schmitt <a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1931880241188024476">wrote on X</a>. “America is not the world&#8217;s piggy bank. And we don&#8217;t take kindly to threats.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also <a href="https://x.com/chiproytx/status/1931864126323622017">addressed</a> Sheinbaum’s statement and came out in support of raising the tax on remittances.
The policy, immigration experts previously told The Daily Wire, would cut into cash that is funnelled from illegal aliens in America back to cartel members.
“Placing a fee on remittances is crucial because the more money that is smuggled back into Mexico, the stronger the cartels become,” said Ira Mehlman, the Media Director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
The remittance fee would also help America recuperate money that is effectively exported out of the American economy. “Many illegal aliens are working off-the-books, and therefore, no payroll taxes have been collected. Taxing the money as it leaves the country would be a way to recoup some of that revenue loss,” Mehlman noted. “Large-scale transfers of money to other countries have a negative impact on the American economy.”
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) introduced his own remittance tax legislation in 2022 and remains supportive of the policy.
“The cash flow from illegal immigrants in the States to their cartel partners in Mexico, Venezuela, and other countries is massive,” Hern told The Daily Wire. “It’s a two-fold win: remittance fees will help slow down the flow of those dollars to the cartels and will also create a new revenue source we can use to build the wall and secure our border.”

Claudia Sheinbaum

Mexican President Threatens To ‘Mobilize’ Against Law That Could Help Cut Off Cash To Cartels

Drug Cartels

Illegal Immigration

Mexico

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) called out judicial activists during a Monday Fox News appearance, arguing that the district court judges attempting to rein in President Donald Trump were stepping outside their prescribed authority and &#8220;taking it upon themselves to usurp really important power.&#8221;
Schmitt joined anchor Harris Faulkner on &#8220;The Faulkner Focus&#8221; to discuss the growing number of district court judges issuing nationwide injunctions against President Trump&#8217;s executive actions, and he predicted that ultimately, the Supreme Court was likely to side with the president.
Schmitt began by describing the situation as a 21st century phenomenon and noting that previous presidents really had not been faced with this particular challenge.
&#8220;In the first — less than 100 days of President Trump&#8217;s administration here, you&#8217;ve seen more injunctions than the 12 years between Obama&#8217;s two terms and Joe Biden, so these judges are more than willing to play an outsized role beyond their Article III authority.&#8221;
Schmitt noted that there was legislation in progress that would clarify beyond question that a district court judge&#8217;s power would only extend to the parties involved — and that the Trump administration was already fighting those injunctions that had already been issued.
&#8220;As these cases make their way up to the Supreme Court, President Trump is going to be successful because he&#8217;s either operating as Commander-in-Chief — or controlling the programming and personnel of the Article II branch.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eric_Schmitt</a>: &quot;These judges are more than willing to play an outsized role beyond their Article III authority&#8230; As these cases make their way up to the Supreme Court, President Trump is going to be successful because he&#39;s either operating as Commander-in-Chief &#8212; or… <a href="https://t.co/J5FE4xxOeK">pic.twitter.com/J5FE4xxOeK</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1909267090432733335?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Schmitt went on to accuse the judges of effectively usurping the president&#8217;s legitimate authority when they used blanket injunctions to try to stop him from deporting criminal illegal aliens.
&#8220;I think a lot of these judges are taking it upon themselves to usurp really important power,&#8221; he said. &#8220;For example, when President Trump declared a predatory incursion of these criminal violent gangs, he&#8217;s well within his Article II executive power to deport them. He can do that. The judge, by stepping in there — Judge Boasberg, by stepping in the case that we&#8217;re talking about &#8230; that is like that judge dictating missile strikes or deciding troop movements. Those are national security issues.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Senator <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eric_Schmitt</a>: &quot;I think a lot of these judges are taking it upon themselves to usurp really important power&#8230; when <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> declared a predatory incursion of these criminal violent gangs, he&#39;s well within his Article II executive power to deport them.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Nb3UlEkeYf">pic.twitter.com/Nb3UlEkeYf</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1909267307680915663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Schmitt concluded with the assessment that Trump was on &#8220;firm ground&#8221; when it came to those cases reaching the Supreme Court, but he said that it was also important to continue to address the judicial overreach legislatively.

The 2024 Republican National Convention

Missouri Sen. Torches Activist Judges For Overreach: They ‘Usurp Really Important Power’

Executive

Judges

Lawfare

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/eric-schmitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Schmitt</a> (R-MO) signaled support for President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada over the weekend.
Schmitt made the remarks during a Sunday interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; when asked why Trump was leveling harder tariffs against Canada than China.
&#8220;All we have to do is look at President Trump&#8217;s first four years where he instituted tariffs,&#8221; Schmitt said. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t see inflation. In fact, we saw record wage growth. We saw $200 billion plus go into the Treasury from those tariffs. Tariffs that help even the playing field with countries who have been ripping us off, quite frankly, for generations. China, specifically. I think the American people are tired of being ripped off.&#8221;
&#8220;They&#8217;re tired of seeing their jobs go overseas,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;But I think these tariffs specifically, Kristen, are meant to bring Canada and Mexico to the table for the fentanyl that is streaming into our communities. It&#8217;s also worth noting, in the last four years, that the trade imbalance and our trade deficit has gone up 200% plus with Canada and up 52% with Mexico.&#8221;
&#8220;The fact is, these countries are taking advantage of us,&#8221; he added. &#8220;All along the while, we&#8217;ve got fentanyl streaming into our country. So Mexico has a choice. They can choose to trade with the United States or continue to cozy up with the cartels. It&#8217;s pretty simple.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mexico has a choice: they can choose to trade with the United States or continue to cozy up with the cartels. It’s pretty simple, <a href="https://t.co/U1yBWEaVP7">pic.twitter.com/U1yBWEaVP7</a>
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1886080290184958427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2025</a></blockquote>

Sen Eric Schmitt Signals Support For Trump Tariffs

Canada

Communist China

Economy

Missouri

Tariffs

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/eric-schmitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Schmitt</a> (R-MO) used his time during Thursday&#8217;s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to strike up a brief game of &#8220;Would You Rather?&#8221; with Kash Patel, President Donald Trump&#8217;s choice to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
&#8220;I know Senator Willis has got the game of Bingo, I&#8217;d like to play a different game. Would you rather?&#8221; Schmitt began, prompting a laugh from Patel.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s have at it, sir,&#8221; Patel agreed.
Schmitt repurposed the game, which presents a dilemma in the form of an either-or choice to the player, to address real issues that a potential FBI director might have to assign personnel to investigate.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 NOW: Sen. Eric Schmitt launches a game of &quot;Would You Rather?&quot; with Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing
These questions are gold.<a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eric_Schmitt</a>: &quot;Would you rather investigate parents at school board meetings, or investigate the sh**tings that threaten the lives of our… <a href="https://t.co/QIn7OMgpXF">pic.twitter.com/QIn7OMgpXF</a>
&mdash; Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1885030499870978413?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Would you rather the FBI prosecute and persecute parents who voice legitimate concerns at school board meetings, or should it investigate domestic terrorists who commit school shootings and threaten the lives of American children?&#8221; Schmitt asked.
The Missouri Senator was referencing the FBI&#8217;s investigation of parents — at the direction of President Joe Biden&#8217;s Justice Department — many of whom were attending school board meetings to protest COVID lockdown policies, as well as classroom instruction on radical gender theory and Critical Race Theory that pushed students toward the ideological Left.
&#8220;Absolutely investigate, and prioritize the safety of our children, any real domestic terrorists, as I&#8217;ve prosecuted in my past in the Obama Justice Department,&#8221; Patel replied.
&#8220;Would you rather the FBI be weaponized by investigating presidential candidates, political opponents, spying on and wire-tapping candidates&#8217; advisors, or should the FBI get back to its core mission and get politics out of the FBI?&#8221; Schmitt asked.
&#8220;There should be no politics in the FBI,&#8221; Patel said, adding, &#8220;And having been a victim of the weaponization of law enforcement against me, I know what that feels like.&#8221;
Another of Schmitt&#8217;s questions was equally targeted toward the Biden administration&#8217;s open-border policies, as well as the DOJ&#8217;s attempt to designate traditional Catholics as right-wing religious &#8220;extremists.&#8221;
&#8220;Would you rather target traditional Catholics as extremists, or should the FBI focus on investigating actual threats posed to American people by cartels pumping fentanyl into our communities through the southern border?&#8221; Schmitt asked.
&#8220;One hundred thousand deaths due to fentanyl and drug overdoses in one year,&#8221; Patel said. &#8220;I&#8217;d rather the FBI focus on that and save our children.&#8221;

Arizona Candidates Kari Lake And Blake Masters Rally Supporters In Tucson

Missouri Senator Uses Patel Hearing To Play ‘Would You Rather?’ — Biden Admin Hardest Hit

Congress

kash patel

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said during an interview over the weekend that the U.S. under President-elect Donald Trump would enter into a &#8220;new phase of realism&#8221; when it comes to intervening in foreign conflicts.
Schmitt made the remarks during a Sunday interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; with George Stephanopoulos in the context of the collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
&#8220;I think President Trump has been clear as far as us intervening there,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s a situation that we should do, but I do think diplomacy will be important especially in these critical hours in the aftermath of Assad being overthrown.&#8221;
&#8220;I do think we&#8217;re entering a new phase, though, of realism in this country,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;President Trump will be less interventionist, and we get back to our core national interests. Principally defending the homeland, the Indo-Pacific, and China, and so I think that&#8217;s a longer term conversation.&#8221;
Schmitt said that the U.S. would ensure that people were safe in Syria but would not get entangled in a new conflict that bogs down the U.S. military.
&#8220;Understanding what terrorism means around the world is important, but having these tripwires in other regions that pull us into wars, I think the American people have had enough of that,&#8221; he said.
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He added, &#8220;And I think President Trump was pretty clear about it not only in his first term, but when he campaigned, and so again, I think getting back to the sense of, you know, abandoning this failed foreign policy that&#8217;s cost us trillions of dollars, that sent our men and women across the world, I think we need to revisit that, and again, get back to our core national interests.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt tells <a href="https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GStephanopoulos</a> that the U.S. is entering a new phase of “realism&#8221; regarding foreign affairs ahead of the new Trump administration.
“President Trump will be less interventionist and we get back to our core national interests.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/OWUilgoUTg">https://t.co/OWUilgoUTg</a> <a href="https://t.co/a4VjECRF5L">pic.twitter.com/a4VjECRF5L</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1868330056495366631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></blockquote>

Senator Schmitt: U.S. Entering ‘A New Phase Of Realism’ On Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy

Syria

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) defended former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, over the weekend after she has been attacked in the media over the last couple of weeks.
Schmitt made the remarks during a Sunday interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; with Kristen Welker when asked about remarks that former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley made about Gabbard.
&#8220;This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer,&#8221; Haley said recently. &#8220;DNI has to analyze real threats. Are we comfortable with someone like that at the top of our national intelligence agencies?&#8221;
Schmitt responded: &#8220;I think it&#8217;s really interesting that anybody that has a different political view now is being cast as a Russian asset.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s totally ridiculous,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Tulsi Gabbard has served in our military. She&#8217;s served as a congresswoman from Hawaii — as a Democrat, I might add, part of this unique coalition that President Trump has put together and won and got that mandate. But I think it&#8217;s insulting. It&#8217;s a slur, quite frankly.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s no evidence that she&#8217;s an asset of another country,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;She&#8217;s served this country honorably. And, by the way, she cares deeply about our constitution and civil liberties and making sure people aren&#8217;t being targeted by these intelligence agencies.&#8221;
Schmitt said that Gabbard was &#8220;a reformer&#8221; who can come in and shake up the intelligence community.
He later added that he planned to vote for Gabbard as well as Pam Bondi for attorney general and Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="GOP Sen. Eric Schmitt says he’s a ‘yes’ on Bondi, Hegseth and Gabbard for Cabinet: Full interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N1flvLiWkaM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Eric Schmitt: Attacks On Tulsi Gabbard ‘Totally Ridiculous’

Director of National Intelligence

Presidential nomination

Tulsi Gabbard

U.S.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is facing pressure from Senate Republicans after a report revealed efforts to combat alleged misinformation.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) sent a letter to NSF Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan on Friday requesting a “comprehensive list of projects funded by the NSF Convergence Accelerator Track F.” Through the program, the NSF has spent tens of millions of dollars to “combat mis- and disinformation,” according to <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/19/nsf-funding-misinformation-disinformation-research-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Caller News Foundation</a>.
“To say that NSF’s reported involvement in funding research projects aimed at developing AI tools for identifying and combating alleged misinformation is un-American would be an understatement,” Schmitt wrote in the letter, obtained by The Daily Wire. “This seems to be yet another brazen attempt by your agency and the Biden Administration to collude with Big Tech to silence those who eschew the thoughts and ideals of the political Left.”
Schmitt’s request follows a report on the NSF program by the House Judiciary Committee.
 “The purpose of these taxpayer-funded projects is to develop artificial intelligence (AI)- powered censorship and propaganda tools that can be used by governments and Big Tech to shape public opinion by restricting certain viewpoints or promoting others,” the report said according to the <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/06/emails-show-how-biden-officials-considered-covering-up-censorship-activities-in-the-wake-of-dcnf-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DCNF</a>.
The NSF has dolled out sizeable grants to top U.S. universities to track and study online discourse for examples of misinformation and disinformation. Syracuse University received nearly $500,000 to study how “misinformation becomes woven into narratives online, how technology influences this process, and how design might be used to alter it.”
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received $750,000 from the program. One of the researchers wrote in a project proposal summary to the NSF that “broad swaths of the public cannot effectively sort truth from fiction online.”
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The NSF program has already been the <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/06/jim-jordan-subpoenas-national-science-foundation-communications-discussing-content-moderation-social-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">target</a> of subpoenas by Republicans in the House. 
<iframe loading="lazy" class="scribd_iframe_embed" tabindex="0" title="Senator Eric Schmitt Letter to NSF Director Panchanathan" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/707732169/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-IRj8Rnq4aQuk3BUzLUwj" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488"></iframe>
“The Biden Administration has shown a stunning disregard for Americans’ freedom of speech online and has gone as far as to coerce social media companies to censor Americans online,” Schmitt told The Daily Wire in a statement. “With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in the public and commercial sector, we have a duty to ensure AI is used responsibly and not weaponized against Americans’ constitutional rights.”

Senate GOP Probe National Science Foundation Over ‘Brazen Attempt’ To Censor Free Speech

Censorship

Free Speech

Washington D.C.

Missouri GOP Senator Eric Schmitt is speaking out about China’s role in the world, saying the “dynamic” in world affairs has “changed dramatically.” 
Schmitt made the comments on Sunday during an <a href="https://catsroundtable.com/sen-eric-schmitt-the-us-has-serious-problems-confronting-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on “The Cats Roundtable” talk show with host John Catsimatidis. He said “China’s ambitions” pose a bigger threat than previous adversaries because it is both a military and economic rival.
“I don’t think we’re starting to come to grips with that as a country, but China views themselves as a, you know, 5,000-year-old civilization,” he continued. “They are hell-bent on world domination – now they’ve kind of showed their fangs.”
Schmitt said China is using the belt-and-road initiative to achieve its rise by trapping poorer countries in a “debt trap.” He added that China’s increasing aggression in the South China Sea, where the communist country has built islands in an attempt to increase its claims over the territory. 
The Missouri Republican also warned about China’s military and space capabilities, pointing out that it has a larger navy than the U.S., that it obtained hypersonic missiles, and that they are in space. China&#8217;s People&#8217;s Liberation Army has approximately 340 warships, a number that&#8217;s expected to grow to 400 in the next couple of years. The United States has fewer than 300 ships, according to the Pentagon’s 2022 China Military Power <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/16/asia/china-navy-fleet-size-history-victory-intl-hnk-ml/index.html#:~:text=The%20People's%20Liberation%20Army%20Navy,two%20years%2C%20the%20report%20says." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Report</a>. U.S. officials expect to have 350 ships by 2045. 
“If you think about that, the dynamic has changed dramatically,” Schmitt said. “The United States of America, you know, during the Cold War, we had a nuclear rival with Russia – a military rival. But never a military and an economic rival. That’s what we have with China.”
The former Missouri attorney general said the United States has to take the threat China poses “seriously” because we don’t have a “military-industrial base right now.” He said that for the U.S. to be able to compete on the world stage, it must “build that back up.” 
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Schmitt, who <a href="https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/about/membership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sits on</a> the Senate Committee on Armed Services, blasted “climate alarmism” and Biden&#8217;s policies for sending American jobs to China when Catsimatidis asked if the U.S. “may be in trouble” in the case of a “real war.” 
“This is a big concern,” Schmitt said. “I think it plays into, again, the Biden agenda, when you have this obsession with climate alarmism like they have, we have all the energy we’ll ever need right under our feet to be competitive from an industrial perspective.&#8221;
“But we’re shipping all those jobs essentially to China, and they’re mining all those rare earth materials there,” Schmitt said. “We could be doing it here. … Our supply chains are compromised. We need to bring those home.”
Schmitt blasted Biden’s broad foreign policy as well, noting the current administration’s &#8220;soft on Iran approach,&#8221; Biden’s pick for ambassador to Israel, and the 2020 withdrawal from Afghanistan potentially leaving resources that are now being used by Hamas, saying, “Everything they could get wrong, they’ve gotten wrong on foreign policy.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt

GOP Senator Warns Of China’s Ambitions, Says ‘The Dynamic Has Changed Dramatically’

China

Tens of thousands of U.S. State Department emails were stolen by a group of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China-based</a> hackers who breached Microsoft&#8217;s email platform earlier this year, according to a Senate staffer.
The anonymous staffer, who works for Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chinese-hackers-stole-60000-emails-us-state-department-microsoft-hack-senate-2023-09-27/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Reuters that State Department IT officials briefed the U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that 60,000 emails were stolen from ten different accounts — all directly working on East Asia and the Pacific.
In June, Chinese Communist Party-affiliated hackers subverted Microsoft&#8217;s system, giving them access to multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s trip to Beijing.
Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, reportedly called the accusation &#8220;disinformation&#8221; to distract from the U.S. committing cyber espionage against China.
&#8220;No matter which agency issued this information, it will never change the fact that the United States is the world&#8217;s largest hacker empire conducting the most cyber theft,&#8221; Wenbin said, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-china-hackers-breach-emails-9f774ea07a2857bfc05d17a261e7a705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>.
News of the hacking first became public in July, prompting the U.S. agencies to take immediate action to counter China&#8217;s brazen and frequent acts of cyber-espionage on critical infrastructure to acquire sensitive information.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other senior officials at the State Department were victims of a Chinese hacking campaign that gained access to email accounts from roughly two dozen organizations that began on May 15 and went undetected until June 16.
Microsoft disclosed the hack in a <a href="https://msrc.microsoft.com/blog/2023/07/microsoft-mitigates-china-based-threat-actor-storm-0558-targeting-of-customer-email/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a>, blaming the breach on a state-backed, espionage-focused Chinese hacking group &#8220;known to target government agencies in Western Europe&#8221; known as Storm-0558. The group had begun accessing email accounts in May, affecting about 25 organizations, including government agencies and other consumer accounts likely associated with the agencies.
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Schmitt told Reuters in a statement shared by the staffer following the briefing on Wednesday that the federal government should &#8220;take a hard look&#8221; at relying on a single IT vendor as &#8220;a potential weak point.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to harden our defenses against these types of cyberattacks and intrusions in the future,&#8221; Schmitt said.
Schmitt joined over a dozen other senators earlier this year, <a href="https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-schmitt-leads-bipartisan-coalition-demanding-answers-regarding-chinas-hack-of-state-department-email-server/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sending</a> a bipartisan letter to State Department Chief Information Officer Kelly Fletcher to determine the extent of the hacker&#8217;s breach of the unclassified email server preceding Blinken&#8217;s trip to China.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency officials warned in a joint <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/us-and-international-partners-release-advisory-warning-prc-state-sponsored-cyber-activity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> with international and domestic intelligence services that China poses a risk to American intellectual property.
&#8220;For years, China has conducted aggressive cyber operations to steal intellectual property and sensitive data from organizations around the globe,&#8221; CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a new cyber strategy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-says-china-russia-prepared-to-launch-cyber-attacks-against-u-s-to-sow-chaos-if-war-erupts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> warning that China and Russia are prepared to launch destructive cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure to &#8220;sow chaos and hinder military mobilization&#8221; in the event of war breaking out.
The Chinese Communist Party sees superiority in cyberspace as core to its theories of victory, the report reads, adding that it has engaged in espionage and theft that compromised key defense networks and broader U.S. critical infrastructure.
Microsoft reportedly said earlier this year that state-backed Chinese hackers were targeting U.S. critical infrastructure to potentially disrupt communications between the U.S. and Asia during future crises.

Washington public buildings

China-Based Hackers Accessed 60K U.S. State Dept Emails In Microsoft Breach, Senate Staffer Says

Antony Blinken

Crime

Hackers

Microsoft

State Department

World

The man who may become <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri">Missouri</a>’s next GOP senator has targeted President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Biden</a>’s Department of Justice, <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2022/09/01/missouri-and-louisiana-attorneys-general-ask-court-to-compel-department-of-justice-to-produce-communications-between-top-officials-and-social-media-companies">asking a court</a> to force the DOJ to reveal communications between high-ranking Biden Administration officials and major social media companies.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the GOP senatorial candidate, joined Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to file a Joint Statement on Discovery Disputes, to ask the Louisiana District Court to force the communications between officials in the White House and Department of State and major social media companies to be revealed.
“Missouri and Louisiana filed a landmark lawsuit back in May that seeks to expose how top Biden Administration officials allegedly colluded with social media companies to censor freedom of speech on a number of topics, including COVID-19. We won in court in July, and the Court required the Biden Administration to turn over communications between federal officials and social media companies,” Schmitt stated.
“We have already received a number of documents that clearly prove that the federal government has an incestuous relationship with social media companies and clearly coordinate to censor freedom of speech, but we’re not done, he continued. “The Department of Justice is cowering behind executive privilege and has refused to turn over communications between the highest-ranking Biden Administration officials and social media companies. That’s why, yesterday, we asked the Court to compel the Department of Justice to produce those records. We’re just getting started – stay tuned.”
The plaintiffs claim a “Censorship Enterprise” was implemented in various federal agencies. They add that although the government identified scores of officials at DHS, CISA, the CDC, NIAID, and the Office of the Surgeon General who had communicated with social media platforms, no information had been disclosed about any federal officials at other federal agencies who had done so.
“Meta, for example, has disclosed that at least 32 federal officials—including senior officials at the FDA, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the White House—have communicated with Meta about content moderation on its platforms, many of whom were not disclosed in response to Plaintiffs’ interrogatories to Defendants,” the statement charged. “YouTube disclosed eleven federal officials engaged in such communications, including officials at the Census Bureau and the White House, many of whom were also not disclosed by Defendants.”
The joint statement accused the “Censorship Enterprise” “rises to the highest levels of the U.S. Government, including numerous White House officials.”

Missouri Attorney General Republican Eric Schmitt Campaigns For Senate Seat

‘We’re Just Getting Started’: GOP Attorneys General Demand DOJ Reveal Federal Gov’t’s Communications With Social Media Giants

Department of Justice

Facebook

Google

White House

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis on Thursday that would stop city officials from using taxpayer-funded resources — like the American Rescue Plan Act — to pay for abortions, including travel expenses and other costs to terminate pregnancies in other states.
&#8220;My Office today filed suit to put a stop to Mayor Jones and the City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen&#8217;s blatantly illegal move to spend Missourians&#8217; hard-earned tax dollars on out-of-state abortions,&#8221; Schmitt said in a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2022/07/21/missouri-attorney-general-eric-schmitt-files-suit-against-the-city-of-st.-louis-to-halt-taxpayer-funded-abortions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
Schmitt&#8217;s attempt to sue St. Louis comes off the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court&#8217;s historic overturning of Roe v. Wade last month, which fundamentally changed the abortion landscape across the nation. Since then, at least eight states have outlawed abortions with little to no exceptions — including Missouri.
The decision has left women who choose to end their child&#8217;s life in such states forced to have the operation done elsewhere. However, Missouri&#8217;s AG has vowed to ensure Missouri taxpayers wouldn&#8217;t spend a dime on the terminations.
Schmitt, who unapologetically fights to uphold the sanctity of life, filed the lawsuit after St. Louis city officials passed the &#8220;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/board-bills/boardbill.cfm?bbDetail=true&amp;BBId=14073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reproductive Equity Fund</a>&#8221; bill, which authorizes $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to fund &#8220;logistical support&#8221; for abortion.
While signing the bill, CNN <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/22/us/missouri-ag-sues-st-louis-abortion-travel-funds/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said, &#8220;abortion bans hurt the working people who can&#8217;t afford child care, a hotel or time off from work because they need access to abortion care.&#8221;
However, Schmitt said the bill &#8220;clearly&#8221; violates Missouri law.
According to the <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2022-07-21---petition---final.pdf?sfvrsn=ec0f20cb_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, $1 million from the so-called equity fund would cover the costs of childcare, transportation, and other needs for women who seek an abortion. At the same time, Schmitt added that the remaining $500,000 would aid &#8220;reproductive healthcare access,&#8221; which also evidently includes abortion.
Schmitt argues the bill violates state law which reads, &#8220;it shall be unlawful for any public funds to be expended for the purpose of performing or assisting an abortion, not necessary to save the life of the mother, or for the purpose of encouraging or counseling a woman to have an abortion not necessary to save her life.&#8221;
The lawsuit argues that state law prohibited public employees such as doctors, nurses, or other health care personnel like social workers or counselors from encouraging or counseling women to abort their unborn child.
&#8220;The Missouri General Assembly&#8217;s determination &#8216;that the state and all of its political subdivisions are a &#8216;sanctuary of life&#8217; that protects pregnant women and their unborn children,'&#8221; Schmitt said.
Schmitt warned city officials before signing the bill he would file a lawsuit against the move, but the city&#8217;s mayor has stood her ground in using taxpayer money for elective abortions.
&#8220;I will not back down when our opponents threaten, bully or demean our city,&#8221; the mayor said, according to CNN. &#8220;Especially the attorney general, who is more concerned about chasing clout than care.&#8221;
Just the News <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/missouri-ag-threatens-sue-cities-pledging-2-million-covid-funds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>, Mayor Jones, said 70 percent of Missourians oppose political interference in abortion access, and legal threats would not stop their fight to protect reproductive health care rights for St. Louis families.

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