The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2:

• Nate Benefield—Senior Vice President of the Commonwealth Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s (D) announced plans for a new carbon tax. You can learn more about the Commonwealth Foundation here: https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org
• Listener’s call-in and voice their opinions on the House of Representatives voting in favor of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—a bill that could force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership in the social media application, citing its ties to the Chinese government. If they did not divest, the application would be banned in the United States. Shouldn’t individuals be allowed to choose which products they use? Or is the risk of the Chinese government gaining access to American user data too great to respect individual autonomy and free markets in this instance?
• While appearing on Meet the Press Now with host Yamiche Alcindor, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-MA)—who cosponsored the House bill that could potentially ban TikTok—explained: “So, the first step is ‘ok TikTok you’re subject to U.S. law.’ The second step ‘ok all social media corporations, you’re going to have to answer to Congress.’”
• Shayna Jacobs and Devlin Barrett of The Washington Post report: “Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is suggesting a one-month delay in the pending March 25 trial of Donald Trump, a surprising twist in what is expected to be the first criminal trial of a former president.” You can read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/14/trump-trial-hush-money-delay/

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1:

• On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—a bill that would force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership in the social media application, citing its ties to the Chinese government. If they did not divest, the application would be banned in the United States. The legislation passed with bipartisan support 352 to 65, with those in support expressing fear that the Chinese government may be able to access American user data. But notable politicians in opposition—like former President Donald Trump, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), and House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-PA)—have all cited fears that the bill could be used as tool for government officials to interfere with speech on all social media companies. The bill will now head to the Senate—though, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not committed to putting it up for a vote. President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill into law if it ultimately arrives at his desk. Shouldn’t individuals be allowed to choose which products they use? Or is the risk of the Chinese government gaining access to American user data too great to respect individual autonomy and free markets in this instance? Senator Elizabeth Warren has suggested that the bill doesn’t go far enough to prevent social media’s influence, explaining that she wants “curbs in place on social media across the board,” according to Politico.
• Matthew Petti of Reason writes: “The Biden administration has used the specter of ‘disinformation’ to push social media moderation in line with their policies. Meta has censored Middle Eastern content that opposes U.S. foreign policy, while Twitter has created loopholes for the U.S. military to run its own propaganda accounts. Of course, American law (unlike Chinese or Iranian law) limits how much the government can censor social media. Last year, courts banned and then unbanned the Biden administration from pressuring social media moderators. But the decision ultimately lies in Washington; it's not like European or Latin American voters have any say over the U.S. Supreme Court. Competition is the strongest force keeping the internet free. Whenever users find a topic banned on TikTok, they can escape to Twitter or Instagram to discuss the censored content. And when Twitter or Instagram enforce politically motivated censorship on a different topic, users can continue that discussion on TikTok. Forcing TikTok under American control is a way to block that escape route. Instead of protecting Americans from Chinese censorship, it would bring Chinese-style censorship home.” You can read more here: https://reason.com/2024/03/13/tiktoks-opponents-want-chinese-style-censorship-in-america/

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (03/13/2024):

5:50pm- The Rich Zeoli Show is abbreviated today—thanks to college basketball. BUT Rich jams a full show’s worth of content into 1 hour and 10 minutes!

5:55pm- New York Governor Kathy Hochul blames Republicans for chaos at the U.S. Southern border, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announces plans for a new carbon tax, and running back Saquon Barkley signs with the Philadelphia Eagles—could Jason Kelce come out of retirement?

6:05pm- On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—a bill that would force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership in the social media application, citing its ties to the Chinese government. If they did not divest, the application would be banned. The legislation passed with bipartisan support 352 to 65, with those in support expressing fear that the Chinese government may be able to access American user data. But notable politicians in opposition—like former President Donald Trump, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), and House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-PA)—have all cited fears that the bill could be used as tool for government officials to interfere with speech on all social media companies. The bill will now head to the Senate—though, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not committed to putting it up for a vote. President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill into law if it ultimately arrives at his desk. Shouldn’t individuals be allowed to choose which products they use? Or is the risk of the Chinese government gaining access to American user data too great to respect individual autonomy and free markets in this instance? Senator Elizabeth Warren has suggested that the bill doesn’t go far enough to prevent social media’s influence, explaining that she wants “curbs in place on social media across the board,” according to Politico. 

6:20pm- Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim of The New York Times write: “In a surprise move on Wednesday, a judge in Atlanta quashed six of the charges against former President Donald J. Trump and his allies in the sprawling Georgia election interference case, including one related to a call that Mr. Trump made to pressure Georgia’s secretary of state in early January 2021.vThe judge, Scott McAfee of Fulton Superior Court, left intact the rest of the racketeering indictment, which initially included 41 counts against 19 co-defendants.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/us/donald-trump-charges-quashed-georgia-mcafee.html

6:30pm- On Tuesday night, after winning primary contests in Washington, Georgia, Mississippi, and Hawaii, Donald Trump secured the 1,215 delegates needed to officially win the Republican party’s presidential nomination. President Joe Biden also earned the delegates necessary to officially win the Democrat Party nomination.

6:40pm- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation rose 3.2% year-to-year—and is up 0.4% from last month. During an interview with Fox Business, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen conceded that she should not have used the term “transitory” when describing inflation.

6:50pm- Andy Newman of The New York Times writes: “On a subway platform in the Bronx recently, a girl in a puffer coat strolled past passengers with a basket of M&M’s, Kit Kats and Trident gum slung across her shoulder. She looked to be 7 or 8. Of all the manifestations of human misery that the two-year-old migrant crisis has brought to New York City, few trouble the conscience more than the sight of children selling candy on the subway — sometimes during school hours, sometimes accompanied by parents, sometimes not.” You can read the full report here:

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (03/12/2024):

3:05pm- On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into then-Vice President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents when he left office. During one notable exchange, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) vociferously stated that Hur’s report “exonerated” Biden of all wrongdoing—Hur then interjected that his report to the DOJ did not amount to an exoneration, nor was “exoneration” used at any point in the report. While being questioned by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Hur reiterated that “the report is not an exoneration” and confirmed that a reasonable jury could have voted to convict Biden if the case had ever been brought to trial. Hurr also confirmed that the Biden Administration did, in fact, recommend “edits” to an initial draft of the report prior to its public release.

3:30pm- On Tuesday, transcripts of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden over his mishandling of classified documents were released. Leif Le Mathieu of The Daily Wire writes: “Hur’s February report concluded that Biden willfully retained classified documents but recommended no criminal charges in part because it said that Biden had a faulty memory and would appear as a sympathetic old man to a jury. One of the key details included in the report was that Biden did not remember the year his son Beau died. Biden said that he was taken aback by a question about his son, claiming that it was Hur who brought up the death… The transcripts, obtained by ABC, show that it was actually Biden who brought up his son… Biden also discussed moving boxes, which were full of classified documents, out of the way in his garage to park his car. He said he did not know what was in the boxes. ‘I remember moving boxes, literally physically moving them, with help, one side to the other so I could get the Corvette in that garage on the left,’ Biden said. Other portions of the transcript show Biden talking about his Corvette and ‘making car sounds.’” You can read the full article here: https://www.dailywire.com/news/released-transcripts-show-biden-lied-about-key-detail-in-documents-probe

3:45pm- During Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, while being questioned by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Special Counsel Robert Hur said that there is an audio recording from February 2017 featuring Joe Biden speaking with his ghostwriter and explicitly referencing “classified” documents that he found in his house. At another point, Hur told committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) that Biden’s ghostwriter appeared to attempt to delete the audio file but failed.

4:05pm- During Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) accused Special Counsel Robert Hur of using “pejorative” language in his report to the Department of Justice as part of an attempt to “ignite a political firestorm.”

4:20pm- On Sunday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) appeared on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. During the interview, Stephanopoulos questioned Mace’s endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump—saying Mace is endorsing a candidate accused of sexual assault. Mace responded by correctly noting that Trump has never been criminally convicted of assault. She continued, “you're asking me a question about my political choices—trying to shame me as a rape victim. And I find it disgusting.”

4:30pm- Byron Tau—Investigative Journalist for The Wall Street Journal and Politico—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his new book, “Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State.” Tau explains that, disturbingly, elements of the American government—including ...

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 4:

• On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into then-Vice President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents when he left office. During one notable exchange, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) vociferously stated that Hur’s report “exonerated” Biden of all wrongdoing—Hur then interjected that his report to the DOJ did not amount to an exoneration, nor was “exoneration” used at any point in the report. While being questioned by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Hur reiterated that “the report is not an exoneration” and confirmed that a reasonable jury could have voted to convict Biden if the case had ever been brought to trial. Hurr also confirmed that the Biden Administration did, in fact, recommend “edits” to an initial draft of the report prior to its public release.
• During Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, while being questioned by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Special Counsel Robert Hur said that there is an audio recording from February 2017 featuring Joe Biden speaking with his ghostwriter and explicitly referencing “classified” documents that he found in his house. At another point, Hur told committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) that Biden’s ghostwriter appeared to attempt to delete the audio file but failed.
• While briefly speaking with reporters in New Hampshire, President Joe Biden was asked if he is considering executive action to address the chaos at the U.S. Southern border. Biden said, “I’m counting on the border action happening by itself.”
• While speaking with Manu Raju of CNN, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) referred to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) as a “sleazeball.” Menendez has been charged with obstruction of justice, conspiring to act as an agent of Egypt, and accepting bribes.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 3:

• Jimmy Quinn of National Review writes: “Warner Bros. Discovery distanced itself from its recent partnership with a Chinese Communist Party propaganda organ after several GOP members of Congress wrote to the company’s CEO demanding answers, National Review has exclusively learned. The entertainment giant had worked with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) to produce a documentary series, called ‘World’s Ultimate Frontier,’ about the Xinjiang region. The series conspicuously declined to mention Beijing’s ongoing atrocities against Uyghurs and other minority groups and instead portrayed the area as a thriving cultural and industrial hub, leading Representative Jim Banks to accuse Warner Bros. of ‘whitewashing’ the abuses.” You can read Quinn’s full report here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/03/warner-bros-distances-itself-from-partnership-with-chinese-propaganda-outlet/
• In a post on the social media platform X, Tucker Carlson wrote: “In a classified briefing this afternoon, attended by officials from the Biden Justice Department, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Elon committed ‘election interference’ in 2022 by ‘changing the algorithms’ on X to alter the results of the midterms that year. Not coincidentally, the anti-TikTok legislation now being debated on the Hill would allow the federal government to force the sale of any social media platform that interferes in elections. Just so you know what’s coming in 2025.”
• Should TikTok be banned? Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to advance a bill that would ban TikTok or force ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) to sell the social media platform to an entity removed from Chinese influence. The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill this Wednesday and, according to The Wall Street Journal, it is likely to pass with majority approval. According to reports, President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill into law if the bill ultimately passes the House and Senate and arrives at his desk. Shouldn’t individuals be allowed to choose which products they use? Or is the risk of Chinese leadership gaining access to American user data too great to respect individual autonomy and free markets? Senator Elizabeth Warren has suggested that the proposed bill doesn’t go far enough to prevent social media’s influence, explaining that she wants “curbs in place on social media across the board,” according to Politico.  
• While appearing on MSNBC with Katy Tur, Vaughn Hillyard claimed that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign is so cash strapped that they may not be able to afford to host rallies moving forward.
• Rebecca Davis O’Brien of The New York Times reports: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recently approached the N.F.L. quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura about serving as his running mate on an independent presidential ticket, and both have welcomed the overtures, two people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Kennedy confirmed on Tuesday that the two men were at the top of his list. It is not clear if either has been formally offered the post, however, and Mr. Kennedy is still considering a shortlist of potential candidates, the people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Kennedy said that he had been speaking with Mr. Rodgers ‘pretty continuously’ for the past month.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/politics/rfk-jr-aaron-rodgers-jesse-ventura.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
• T ...

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2:

• During Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) accused Special Counsel Robert Hur of using “pejorative” language in his report to the Department of Justice as part of an attempt to “ignite a political firestorm.”
• On Sunday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) appeared on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. During the interview, Stephanopoulos questioned Mace’s endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump—saying Mace is endorsing a candidate accused of sexual assault. Mace responded by correctly noting that Trump has never been criminally convicted of assault. She continued, “you're asking me a question about my political choices—trying to shame me as a rape victim. And I find it disgusting.”
• Byron Tau—Investigative Journalist for The Wall Street Journal and Politico—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his new book, “Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government is Creating a New American Surveillance State.” Tau explains that, disturbingly, elements of the American government—including police agencies—have been purchasing user data from little known data brokers. This methodology of data acquisition allows these government agents and agencies to bypass the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
• Should TikTok be banned? Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to advance a bill that would ban TikTok or force ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) to sell the social media platform to an entity removed from Chinese influence. The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill this Wednesday and, according to The Wall Street Journal, it is likely to pass with majority approval. According to reports, President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill into law if the bill ultimately passes the House and Senate and arrives at his desk. Shouldn’t individuals be allowed to choose which products they use? Or is the risk of Chinese leadership gaining access to American user data too great to respect individual autonomy and free markets? Senator Elizabeth Warren has suggested that the proposed bill doesn’t go far enough to prevent social media’s influence, explaining that she wants “curbs in place on social media across the board,” according to Politico.  

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1:

• On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into then-Vice President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents when he left office. During one notable exchange, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) vociferously stated that Hur’s report “exonerated” Biden of all wrongdoing—Hur then interjected that his report to the DOJ did not amount to an exoneration, nor was “exoneration” used at any point in the report. While being questioned by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Hur reiterated that “the report is not an exoneration” and confirmed that a reasonable jury could have voted to convict Biden if the case had ever been brought to trial. Hurr also confirmed that the Biden Administration did, in fact, recommend “edits” to an initial draft of the report prior to its public release.
• On Tuesday, transcripts of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden over his mishandling of classified documents were released. Leif Le Mathieu of The Daily Wire writes: “Hur’s February report concluded that Biden willfully retained classified documents but recommended no criminal charges in part because it said that Biden had a faulty memory and would appear as a sympathetic old man to a jury. One of the key details included in the report was that Biden did not remember the year his son Beau died. Biden said that he was taken aback by a question about his son, claiming that it was Hur who brought up the death… The transcripts, obtained by ABC, show that it was actually Biden who brought up his son… Biden also discussed moving boxes, which were full of classified documents, out of the way in his garage to park his car. He said he did not know what was in the boxes. ‘I remember moving boxes, literally physically moving them, with help, one side to the other so I could get the Corvette in that garage on the left,’ Biden said. Other portions of the transcript show Biden talking about his Corvette and ‘making car sounds.’” You can read the full article here: https://www.dailywire.com/news/released-transcripts-show-biden-lied-about-key-detail-in-documents-probe
• During Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, while being questioned by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Special Counsel Robert Hur said that there is an audio recording from February 2017 featuring Joe Biden speaking with his ghostwriter and explicitly referencing “classified” documents that he found in his house. At another point, Hur told committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) that Biden’s ghostwriter appeared to attempt to delete the audio file but failed.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1:

3:05pm- On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to an estimated audience of 32 million Americans. During the hour-long speech, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shouted at the president to mention Laken Riley—a 22-year-old nursing student who was recently murdered by an alleged undocumented migrant who had been arrested numerous times. In his response to the congresswoman, Biden mistakenly referred to Riley as “Lincoln” and called her alleged murderer an “illegal.” The “illegal” designation upset many on the far-left who claimed it was an outdated, offensive term for “new comers.”

3:15pm- During an interview with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, President Joe Biden expressed regret for using the term “illegal” when referring to Laken Riley’s alleged killer. At a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called-out Biden’s rebuttal—explaining that that the president should be more concerned about limiting unlawful migration rather than policing the language he uses to describe alleged murderers.

3:35pm- The sports blog Deadspin has fired all its existing staff after being bought by a European publishing company. Last year, Deadspin wrongfully accused a young Kansas City Chiefs fan of wearing blackface and of mocking Native American culture during the Chiefs-Raiders game—strategically angling a posted photo to only show half of the child’s face, failing to note that the face paint was black and red (the team’s colors), and that the child and his family are Native American.

3:50pm- Flashback: During a speech from 2009, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer continually referred to migrants who enter the country unlawfully as “illegal” and claimed that using terminology like “undocumented workers” shows that government isn’t serious about preventing illegal immigration and/or border security.

4:05pm- Robert Bork Jr.—President of the Antitrust Education Project & President of the Bork Communication Group—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal, “ESG, Big Labor and Starbucks.” Bork writes: “The latest comes courtesy of the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of unions using a $16,000 investment in Starbucks to push three labor nominees onto the company’s 11-member board. All three candidates—former members of the Clinton and Obama administrations—are liberal stalwarts.” Since writing the article, the unions have thankfully backed down. You can read the editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-big-labor-and-starbucks-unions-business-4ac0a85f?mod=opinion_lead_pos8

4:20pm- James Lynch of National Review writes: “House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio.) is threatening to escalate his fight against FBI director Christopher Wray if the bureau does not turn over communications related to the Hunter Biden laptop story. Jordan sent a letter to Wray on Monday explaining that the Judiciary Committee may resort to holding the FBI director in contempt of Congress to compel the release of internal communications and the names of key personnel who participated in the bureau’s meetings with social-media companies ahead of the 2020 election.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/exclusive-jim-jordan-threatens-to-hold-fbi-director-in-contempt-over-hunter-biden-laptop-story/

4:35pm- During the 96th annual Academy Awards, Oppenheimer took home seven awards—including Best Picture and Best Director. Despite Oppenheimer’s box office success, Rich notes some critics are angry that Barbie didn’t win—bizarrely citing its me ...

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 4:

• Stephen Sorace of Fox News writes: “The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) issued a memo scolding firefighters it says brought ‘discredit’ to the department after booing New York Attorney General Letitia James and cheering for former President Trump at a promotion ceremony last week, warning those who took part to protest on their own time, according to a report. Following a New York Post report about the leaked memo, FDNY spokesman Jim Long confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday morning that chief officers went to firehouses over the weekend to discuss the events of Thursday and speak to the concerns and disappointment with the behavior shown during James' remarks.” You can read the full report here: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fdny-tells-firefighters-protest-your-own-time-booing-ny-ag-letitia-james-cheering-trump-report
• On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to an estimated audience of 32 million Americans. During the hour-long speech, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shouted at the president to mention Laken Riley—a 22-year-old nursing student who was recently murdered by an alleged undocumented migrant who had been arrested numerous times. In his response to the congresswoman, Biden mistakenly referred to Riley as “Lincoln” and called her alleged murderer an “illegal.” The “illegal” designation upset many on the far-left who claimed it was an outdated, offensive term for “new comers.”
• During an interview with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, President Joe Biden expressed regret for using the term “illegal” when referring to Laken Riley’s alleged killer. At a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called-out Biden’s rebuttal—explaining that that the president should be more concerned about limiting unlawful migration rather than policing the language he uses to describe alleged murderers.
• Robert Bork Jr.—President of the Antitrust Education Project & President of the Bork Communication Group—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his recent editorial in The Wall Street Journal, “ESG, Big Labor and Starbucks.” Bork writes: “The latest comes courtesy of the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of unions using a $16,000 investment in Starbucks to push three labor nominees onto the company’s 11-member board. All three candidates—former members of the Clinton and Obama administrations—are liberal stalwarts.” Since writing the article, the unions have thankfully backed down. You can read the editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-big-labor-and-starbucks-unions-business-4ac0a85f?mod=opinion_lead_pos8