The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1:

• On Tuesday, former Hunter Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski testified in a closed-door hearing before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees. In his opening statement, which has been made public, Bobulinski explains: “from my direct personal experience and what I have subsequently come to learn, it is clear to me that Joe Biden was "the Brand" being sold by the Biden family. His family's foreign influence peddling operation—from China to Ukraine and elsewhere—sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government. Joe Biden was more than a participant in and beneficiary of his family's business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability. The only reason any of these international business transactions took place—with tens of millions of dollars flowing directly to the Biden family—was because Joe Biden was in high office.”
• Karoun Demirjian of The New York Times writes: “The Senate passed a long-awaited foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel early Tuesday morning, delivering a bipartisan endorsement of the legislation after months of negotiations, dire battlefield warnings and political mudslinging. But the measure faced a buzz saw of opposition in the House, where Republican resistance threatened to kill it. The 70-to-29 vote reflected a critical mass of support in Congress for the $95 billion emergency aid legislation and for continuing to arm Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. The measure would provide an additional $60.1 billion for Kyiv—which would bring the total U.S. investment in the war effort to more than $170 billion—as well as $14.1 billion for Israel’s war against Hamas and almost $10 billion for humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Palestinians in Gaza.” But will Speaker of the House Mike Johnson hold a vote on the bill in the Republican-controlled House? Demirkian explains: “Mr. Johnson controls the floor and right-wing lawmakers have shown a willingness to block legislation they oppose from even coming up for a vote. Still, if proponents can muster enough support from Democrats and mainstream and national security-minded Republicans willing to buck [Donald] Trump and the far right, they could steer around the opposition through a maneuver known as a discharge petition. That allows lawmakers to force legislation to the floor if they can gather the signatures of a majority of the House—218 members—calling for the action.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/us/politics/senate-ukraine-aid.html
• During a speech delivered from the White House, President Joe Biden called on the House of Representatives to pass a bill that would provide $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. The Senate passed the bill 70 to 29 on Tuesday morning. Biden accused Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump of having “bowed down” to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and claimed Trump wanted to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
• During a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called on all NATO members to pay 2% of their annual gross domestic product in joint defense. Currently, 20 of the 31 alliance members meet the threshold they’ve pledged to contribute. Trump said: “one of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘well sir, if we don’t pay and we are attacked by Russia will you protect us?’ I said, ‘you didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?...no, I would not protect you.’” In response, Democrats have claimed that Trump is a threat to European allies, claiming if elected he will have the United States leave NATO. However, as Annie Linskey, Aaron Zitner, and Alex Leary of The Wall Street Journal note, “last year, Congress included an amendment offered by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), in the annual defense-policy bill that requires the advice and consent of the Senate or an act of Congress before any president could ‘suspend, terminate, or withdraw’ U.S. membership in NATO. The language sets a high threshold—two-thirds of all senators—to approve a withdrawal and bars any funding from being used to support such a move by any government official. It became law when Biden signed the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act in late December.” You can read the Wall Street Journal article here: https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/nato-leader-blasts-trumps-suggestion-he-would-encourage-russian-invasion-of-u-s-allies-3eb96a10?mod=hp_lead_pos9
• CBS News correspondent Catherine Herridge has been laid off—one of approximately 800 employees at Paramount who were let go on Tuesday. Alexandra Steigrad of The New York Post wrote: “Insiders said Herridge had clashed with CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews—a sharp-elbowed executive who was investigated in 2021 over favoritism and discriminatory hiring and management practices.” You can read more here: https://nypost.com/2024/02/13/media/bloodbath-at-cbs-news-includes-reporter-fighting-first-amendment-case/