Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Banks fleecing Americans with fees & penalties, PLUS, Biden says "Whatever it takes financially in Ukraine!"

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Banks fleecing Americans with fees & penalties, PLUS, Biden says "Whatever it takes financially in Ukraine!" · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Biden has picked a former credit card company. Man. When
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: I say former, I'm saying literally the former CEO of
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: MasterCard to lead the World Bank while posing is fighting
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: credit card companies. You can't make this up. Yeah, Biden
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: has now picked a former MasterCard CEO to lead the
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: World Bank while pitching himself as the enemy of the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: credit card companies. Why would he do this? Because he
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: wants the job. President Joe Biden nominated the former MasterCard
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: CEO Bengt to lead the World Bank, the first time
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: a credit card executive has been chosen for the spot.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: The nomination comes as Biden pitches himself as a defender
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: of the American consumer and as an enemy of the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: banking industry. A job is uniquely equipped to lead the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: World Bank at this critical moment in history, Biden said
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: in his statement yesterday. He also was critical of the
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: banking industry and then says that his nominee actually has
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: critical experience mobilizing public slash private resources to tackle the
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. So
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: just so you know, the World Bank now is actually
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: about fighting climate change. The President said that in his response,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Venga's nomination comes less than a month after Biden pits
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: himself to the American public as the economic populace, defending
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: consumers against the often predatory banking industry in his State
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of the Union Addrafts, where he said, we've reduced exorbitant
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: bank overdraft fees, saving customers more than a billion dollars
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: a year. We're cutting the credit card late fees by
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: seventy five, from thirty dollars to eight dollars. Biden said
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: they mattered to most folks and homes like the one
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: I grew up, and he said they added up to
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: you to pay the bills or afford the family trip.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: I know how unfair it feels when a company overcharges
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: you and gets away with it. Not anymore, Biden said,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: to say the Union. We've written a bill to stop
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: all that. It's called the Junk Fee Protection Act. Firms
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: like the Consumer Bankers Association, which lobbies lawmakers on behalf
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: of MasterCard, have tried to pour cold water on the
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus rule that would cap late fees
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: at eight dollars because they make a lot of money. Quote,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: this announcement is just the latest example of the Bureau
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: seeking to advance a political agenda that will harm rather
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: than help, the very people that are responsible that they're
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: responsible for serving. That's when an executive of a consumer
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: banker association said, following the proposed rule change, there's also
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: another headline that I thought i'd just bring to your
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: attention and a deal with another bank. It's having a
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: lot of fun right now, a bank that has decided
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: to make some cash, right because that's what happens here.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: You get to make money when you're a bank and
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: a major As all this is coming out that the
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: present says, he's you know against right, That's what that's
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: what he says. Oh, I'm gonna fight for you, and
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you that I'm going to protect you.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: There's another major bank that racks up huge bill in penalties.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about it, Bank of America. Bank of America
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: totaled one point two billion in penalties settlements in twenty
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: twenty two alone. One major amount was three hundred and
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: fifty four million that was part of a settlement to
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: bond ensure Ambach Financial Group. Bank of America total one
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: point two million expenses for litigation and regulatory investigations in
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty two alone. The total includes fines and settlements.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: According to the company filings that came to like yesterday,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the cost was a big jump from one hundred and
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: sixty four thousand recorded in twenty twenty one and eight
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty three million in twenty twenty. Lawyer fees,
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: by the way, we're not included in the bill I
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: just told you about. Among the major issues the company
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: dealt with was the three hundred and fifty four million
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: million dollars it was part of a settlement with the
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: bond insurer am Back Financial Group for a lawsuit going
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: back to two thousand and eight in the mortgage crisis.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Bank of America then also paid outside of that, two
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five million and penalties to regulators over
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: employees use of unauthorized messaging platforms, including What's App. The
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: bank also was fined two hundred and twenty five billion
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: over the mishandling of jobless benefits during the pandemic. The
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: three cases alone total eight hundred million and combined expenses
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: last year alone how much does Bank of America's stock?
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: They don't care. The stock was just down zero point
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: two percent with the news hitting, or percentage change zero
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: point zero six percent, closing at thirty four twenty seven
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: a year. They're fine, they don't care. Welcome to doing
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: business right. Bank of America did not specify what accounted
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: for the remaining four hundred million. We're still trying to
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: find that out. But what this goes back to is
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: if you can make hundreds and hundreds of billions off
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: of doing shady things and then you only have to
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: pay a billion when you get caught, is it worth it?
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: I think the answer is yes. If you don't believe me,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: look at Bank of America. If you don't believe them,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: then look at Wells Fargo. If you don't believe that,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: just keep going down the list. It's a pretty simple
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: and clear list. The list is obvious. The list tells
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: you that this government is not protecting you, Okay, right,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: that's just not happening. What the list tells you is
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: that they are doing anything but protecting you. They're allowing
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: for these companies to get away with anything they can,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: to take more cash out of your bank account. With
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: BS fees and penalties. And so why did the President
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: United States of America literally pick a former CEO of MasterCard.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Not because he's trying to protect you, because if he was,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: that's not the guy he'd give the job too. But
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: when he comes out and to stay the union, he's like,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: you're gonna back. We're gonna stand up for you, the
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: little guys. We're gonna make sure you, the little people,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: don't get taken advantage of. We're gonna make sure these
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: fees and ridiculous things disappear. Right, that's what we're gonna do.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: We're gonna make sure, we're gonna make sure that you're protected. No,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: we're not. We're actually gonna go get the I and
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: the industry leader who's been screwing you to come after
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: you and take and help us get even more of
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: your money. That's what they're going to do. That's what
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: they're doing. It's pretty pathetic, but not surprising. There's going
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: to be more stories come out this year, and you
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: should remember this one and you should remind people of it. Okay,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: you should remember it, and you should remind people that
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: this is how they treat you, and this is what
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: they do they're not looking out for you. They're going
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: to screw you every chance they get. So you woke
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: up to the news and we have the audio now
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: of the President of the United States of America making
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: a historic visit to Ukraine. He is saying very clearly
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: to Putin and to Ukraine, we're backing you. We are
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: behind you, and we will not back down from you.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: Now what does that mean financially? It means that you
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: are on the hook now for a significant amount of
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: cash that will be spent sending aid, support, weaponry, etc.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: To the Ukraine. I want you to hear what the
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: President of the United States had to say in Ukraine
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: as just hours before they let the Russians know the
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: President would be in Ukraine, meaning don't blow us up
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: while we're there. Take a listen to President Biden making
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: this historic visit to Ukraine and what he set about
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: what's going on. It was one year ago this week
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: and we spoke on the telephone, which the president. It
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: was very late at night in Washington, very early in
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: the morning here in Kiev. Russian planes are in the
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: air and tanks for rolling across your border. You told
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: me that you could hear the explosions in the background.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: I'll never forget that. And the world was about to change.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: I remember it vividly because I asked you. I asked
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: you next, I asked you, what is there, mister president?
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: What can I do for you? How can I be
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: of help? And I don't know they remember what you
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: said to me. But you said, and I quote, gather
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: the leaders of the world, ask them to support Ukraine.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Gather the leaders of the world and ask them to
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: support Ukraine. And you said that you didn't know one
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: would be able to speak again that dark night, one
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: year ago. The world was literally at the time, bracing
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: for the fall of Keiv. It seems like a lot
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: longer ago than a year, but think back to that year,
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: perhaps even the end of Ukraine. You know, one year later,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Keith stands, Ukraine stands, Democracy stands, The American stands with you,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: and the world stands with you. Kiev has captured a
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: part of my heart. I must say I've come here
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: six times as Vice president, once as president and in
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: two thousand and nine as vice president. When I first
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: came here, then back in two and fourteen, I came
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: three times. In the aftermath of the Revolution of dignity,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: and I again came in two fifteen to address the
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Rada about the work of building a strong democracy. And
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: I came in two seventeen just before I left office
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: as Vice president. I knew i'd be back, but I
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: wanted to be sure. Even though the election were over,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Rock and I were out of office, I decided to
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: make one more trip before the next president was sworn
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: in to Kiev. So, President, so let's get you deeply
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: honored me here in Kiev with you today to meet
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: with your military, your intelligence folks, your diplomatic teams, community
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: leaders who have stepped up and to help their country
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: and they're our need. It's astounded who stood up, everybody, everybody, women,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: young children, trying to do something, just trying to do something,
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: pulling people out of apartments, are being shelved, and literally,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: I think is a war crimes. It's astounded, and the
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: whole world, the whole world seize it and looks at it.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: This is the largest land war in Europe and three
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: quarters of a century, and you're succeeding against all and
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: every expectation except your own. We have every confidence that
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: you're going to continue to prevail. You know, from the
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: moment I first received and tells me supportant to fall.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: About a year ago, we were focused on determining how
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: do we rally the rest of the world. How do
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: I help you with the promise you asked me to
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: make to rally the world? Well, how do you succeed?
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: How did you get a world to respond to a
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: prosperous economy, confident democracy, a secure, an independent state When
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: united in Americans of all political backgrounds decided that they
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: would step up. American people know it matters. Unchecked aggression.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: There's a threat to all of us. We built a
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific, NATO
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: to the in the Atlantic, Japan and the Pacific. I
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: mean across the world. A number of nations stead of
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: over fifty help Ukraine defend itself unprecedented military, economic and
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: humanitarian support. We unite it the leading economies of the
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: world to impose unprecedented costs that are squeezing Russia's economic lifelines. Together,
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: we've committed nearly seven hundred tanks and thousands of armored vehicles,
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: one thousand lary systems, more than two million rounds of
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: artillery ammunition, more than fifty advanced launch rocket systems and
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: I ship and air defense systems all defend to defend Ukraine.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: And that doesn't count the other half a billion dollars
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: we're going to be we're announcing with you today and
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: tomorrow that's going to be coming your way. And that's
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: just the United States in this piece and just today.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: That announcement includes artillery ammunition for high mars and howitzers,
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: more javelins, and the armor systems, their surveillance radars. They'll
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: protect Ukrainian people from aero bombardments. Later this week, we
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: trying to evade sanctions and backfield Russia's war machine. President
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: of the United States of America Joe Biden visiting Ukraine unannounced,
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: telling the Russian it's an hour before they got there,
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: basically saying, hey, don't shoot and Kiev as we're going
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: to be there. That would be bad for you guys.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: President lands and he decides to talk about what's happening.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Take a listen. This is part two of the President
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: explaining just how much money we're going to be giving.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: It's going to be expensive, all right, This is going
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: to cost US a lot of cash. Help Ukraine defends
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: so on precedent, military, economic, and humanitarian support. We unite
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: it the leading economies of the world to impose unprecedented
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: cost but there's squeezing Rusha's economic lifelines. Together, we've committed
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: nearly seven hundred tanks and thousands of armored vehicles, one
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: thousand artillery systems, more than two million rounds of artillery ammunition,
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: more than fifty advanced launched rocket systems, and I ship
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: and air defense systems, all to defend Ukraine. And that
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: doesn't count the other half a billion dollars we're going
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: to be we're announcing with you today and tomorrow that's
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: going to be coming your way, and that's just the
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: United States and this piece, and just today that announcement
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: includes artillery ammunition for high mars and howitzers, more javelins,
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: and the armor systems, their surveillance radars. They'll protect Ukrainian
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: people from aero bombardments. Later this week, we will announce
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: evade sanctions and backfield Russia's war machine. And thanks to
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: buy partner and supporting Congress this week, we're delivering billions
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: in direct budgetary support, billions of direct budgetary support which
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: the government can put to use immediately and help provide
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: for basic services of citizens. The cost that Ukraine has
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: had to bear has been extraordinarily high, and the sacrifices
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: have been far too great and been method have been
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: far too great. We mourn alongside the families of those
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: who have been lost to the brutal and unjust war.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: We know that there will be very difficult days and
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: weeks and years ahead. But Russia's aim was to wipe
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: Ukraine off the map. Putin's war conquest is failing. Russia's
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: military has lost half its territory, at once occupied young
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: talent on Russians are fleeing, but at tens of thousands,
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: not wanting to come back to Russia. Not just fleeing
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: from the military, fleeing from Russia itself because they see
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: no future in their country. Russia's economy is now a backwater,
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: isolated and struggling. Put In thought Ukraine was weak, and
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: as you know, mister President, I said to you in
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: the beginning, he's counting on us not sticking together. He
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: was counting on an inability to keep NATO uniting. He
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: is counting us not to be able to bring in
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: others on the side of Ukraine. He thought he could
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: outlast us. I don't think he's thinking that right now.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: God knows what he's thinking. I don't think he's thinking that.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: But he's just been playing wrong, playing wrong, and one
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: year later, the evidence is right here in this room.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: We stand here together, mister President. I'm delighted to be
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: able to repay your visit to our country in Washington.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: Not long ago you told us, you told the Congress,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: quote we have no fear, nor should any even the
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: world have it. End of quote. You and all Ukrainians,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: mister President, remind the world every single day with the
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: media of the word courages from all sectors, your economy,
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: all walks, through all life. It's astounded, astounded, remind us
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: that freedom is priceless, it's worth fighting for as long
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: as it takes. And that's how long we're going to
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: be with you, mister President. For as long as it takes,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: We'll do it. Thank you, President, United States of America.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: Biden again vowing billions more for Ukraine, will keep sending
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: support quote as long as it takes. This is a
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: clear escalation in the back and forth. What does this
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: actually mean, Well, if you look at the data, here's
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: what the data shows a poles across the border showing
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Americans are losing support for the war in Ukraine. Listen
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: to MSNBC on this in Ukraine. Just so interesting to
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: hear that they let the Russians know. I speaking to
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: Sergeant Beasley while we're off just earlier, and he was saying, listen,
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: this would be the very worst day for the Russians
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: to try anything in Keith, because that would be catastrophic
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: for Moscow. By mistake, almost they were to hurt President
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Biden in any way. So interesting that they let him know.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: And the rest of those details are going to be
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: interesting too, because clearly a huge security headache trying to
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: plan a meeting like that. Let's throw it forward a
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: little bit, a bit more on that speech we've been
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: hearing during the course of this morning. How there is
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: a need of course to rally the European is behind
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: this and the global effort behind this, but there's also
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: very much at this moment and need to rally Americans
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: behind this war effort. At least Jordan was pointing out
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: earlier the polls showing that across the board, Americans are
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: losing support for the war in Ukraine. How important is
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: it tomorrow that President Biden finds something to say to
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: the American public the perhaps he hasn't managed to find
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: so far to persuade them of the case that you
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: just made that this is a global effort and the
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Ukrainians are fighting on behalf of the rest of the world. Yeah,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: on the one hand, the United States feels fairly good
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: about the way that they have been able to hold
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: together support for Ukraine for a full year. I mean,
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: some of the predictions where that it would be just
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: a matter of months into the war before Americans would
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: get tired of supporting Ukraine, and certainly Europeans who are
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: much more directly feeling the impacts the ramifications of sanctions
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: and the other steps taken to try to punished Russia.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: And we have seen, you know, there was an ap
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: North Pole that just came out that showed that the
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: level of support for providing security assistance to Ukraine's dropped
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: from about sixty percent last year to just forty eight percent.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: And although some House Republicans have started grumbling about the
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: need to no longer give a blank check to Ukraine.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: We're also starting to see Republican leadership try to make
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: the case that that is a minority opinion and does
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: not broadly represent the party, including Michael McCall, the chairman
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a Republican, over the
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: weekend saying it's time to increase support. So yes, there
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: are murmurings both in Europe and in the West and
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: in the United States about perhaps some folks who are
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: less supportive than they were before, but by and large,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: the US government, the Biden administration, feels like they've been
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: able to hold this together to the point where they're
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: still able to get the funds they need from Congress.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: They're still able to get to Ukraine the military assistance
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: that they feel Ukraine needs at this point in time.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: President Biden's speech tomorrow clearly a major effort to make
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: sure that that support does not ebb and that they're
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: able to continue to deliver that kind of support and
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: assistance as this conflict drags on into its second year
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: Caddy year number two. The question is are you ready
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: to pay for this? Because this seems like the President
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: has made it clear this morning. This is an open
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: ended war and we will be in it for as
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: long as it takes. Financially, Fiser is denying unethical gain
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: of function research for coronavirus vaccine and a letter to
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Representative Ronnie Jackson. Ronnie Jackson that you may remember his name.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: He's a former physician for the President of the United
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: States of America who's now in Congress. Fiser has now
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: come out and denied conducting gang and function research for
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: the coronavirus. Jackson a physician and a member of the
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemics. And a letter in January
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: demanding answers on if Fiser engaged and gain a function
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: research by intentionally mood mutating the Chinese coronavirus files are
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: responded to Jackson on February the twenty third, We're now
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: learning with a letter signed by their vice president and
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: the COO of vaccine research. In the letter, Fiser strongly
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: denies that the company would engage in gain a function
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: research quote. To be clear, we do not and never
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: would engage in research to create or adapt viruses with
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: the intention of making them more contagious. Contagious excuse me
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: contagious or harmful to people. In the ongoing development of
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: the fives are bioin tech COVID nineteen vaccine, FISER has
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: not conducted gain a function research which stars COVID two
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: or any potential use in humans, laboratory animals, or to
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: use as a vaccine. The pharmaceutical companies stated files are
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: explained that when a new coronavirus variant emerges, FISER does
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: study and their studies change in its spike protein to
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: understand whether company would need to update its vaccine. They
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: went on to explain, we do this by adapting the
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: virus in a highly secure lab so that the spike
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: protein matches the newly identified circulating variants. This is done
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: to mimic viruses that are already circulating in nature. This
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: type of work is scientific best practices and is commonly
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: conducted by other companies, institutions, and public health authorities. It
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: is necessary both for us assessing the effectiveness of existing
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: vaccines and new vaccine candidates targeted at currently circulating variants.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: The representative to the representative also said that the pharmaceutical
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: giant also evaluates variants for the effectiveness of its coronavirus
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: oral treatment or plaques paxlovit, as we have previously indicated.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: We then isolate the new viruses from these studies, or
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: adapt viruses with targeted changes in the main proteas, and
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: test to see whether paxlovit is still effective. All of
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: this work is done in highly secure laboratories. They go
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: on to write, and we have not studied these adapted
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: COVID nineteen viruses in animals. Now, why are they having
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: to respond to Ronnie Jackson? This is why the claim
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: that they were doing basically and a function research is
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: what prompted Jackson's inquiry after a undercover video a sting
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: video from Project Veritas. In that undercover video, Jordan Walker,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: Fiser's director of Research and Development, Strategic Operations and the
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: m RNA Scientific Planner, stated that the company was engaging
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: in what he described as directed evolution quote unquote. If true,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: this is unbelievably unethical and concerning to imagine Fiser would
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: prioritize its profits over the safety of the American public
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: by conducting such GAINA function research and endangering the lives
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: of the very people you propose to help. Jackson wrote
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: in the letter to the Fiser CEO FISER executives concluded
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: the letter to Jackson by saying this FISER is dedicated
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: to conducting search in an ethical and responsible manner. We
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: have an unwavering commitment to keeping high standards of safety,
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: quality and compliance at the forefront of all that we do.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: The letter was three pages long, very clear. They're claiming
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: that the guy who is in charge of their whole
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: COVID nineteen operation was lying on video. The question now
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: is do you believe the CEO in writing or do
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: you believe the undercover sting video. Make sure by the
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: way that you share this podcast with your family and friends.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Hit that little forward arrow and text it or put
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: it on social media while the media does everything you
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: can to try to shut you down, silence us, and
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: make sure no one knows what's really happening. Also, hit
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: that auto download or subscribe button so you get this
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: podcast each and every day for free, and I'll see
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: you back here tomorrow.