The Megyn Kelly Show - Biden Doc Pleads the 5th, Former Intel Chiefs Probed, China-Owned Farmland Crackdown： AM Update 7⧸10

00:00:00.000 Your business doesn't move in a straight line.

00:00:02.840 Make sure your team is taken care of through every twist and turn

00:00:05.980 with Canada Life Savings, Retirement and Benefits Plans.

00:00:09.660 Whether you want to grow your team, support your employees at every stage

00:00:13.120 or build a workplace people want to be a part of,

00:00:16.200 Canada Life has flexible plans for companies of all sizes

00:00:19.400 so it's easy to find a solution that works for you.

00:00:22.840 Visit canadalife.com slash employee benefits to learn more.

00:00:26.560 Canada Life. Insurance. Investments. Advice.

00:00:33.140 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly.

00:00:35.500 It's Thursday, July 10th, 2025, and this is your AM Update.

00:00:39.780 This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire,

00:00:44.500 that there was a cover-up.

00:00:45.840 President Biden's White House doctor invoking the Fifth Amendment

00:00:48.920 in the House Oversight Committee's probe into the potentially criminal cover-up

00:00:53.560 of Mr. Biden's cognitive decline.

00:00:55.500 Former Obama-CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey

00:01:00.600 facing a criminal investigation in relation to the Russia collusion story.

00:01:05.520 We have adversaries that are buying our land,

00:01:08.020 especially the People's Republic of China.

00:01:11.040 And the Trump administration's plan to crack down on Chinese-owned U.S. farmland

00:01:16.040 and the threat that ownership poses to national security.

00:01:19.840 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

00:01:22.660 I've been talking a lot about Riverbend Ranch steaks lately, and for good reason.

00:01:30.740 The ranch is just a few miles from West Yellowstone, Montana, where we go in the wintertime,

00:01:36.260 and their steaks are so flavorful and surprisingly tender.

00:01:41.120 Even someone like me, who does not know how to cook, can make it taste delicious.

00:01:46.720 It's thanks to the quality of the beef.

00:01:49.100 A lot of our listeners have been writing in, sharing similar feedback.

00:01:51.980 Abigail Finan will not stop talking about Riverbend Ranch.

00:01:54.740 And I feel the same.

00:01:56.060 So these guys raise Angus cattle, but they've taken it even further.

00:01:59.320 For 35 years now, more than three decades, the owner has selectively bred Angus cattle

00:02:04.720 with superior genetics for marbling and tenderness.

00:02:08.140 It's all about the marbling and the tenderness, creating a herd that truly stands out.

00:02:12.700 Their beef is born, raised, and processed, too, entirely inside America,

00:02:17.160 without artificial growth hormones or antibiotics.

00:02:20.460 And it is shipped directly from the ranch to your door.

00:02:24.440 Riverbend Ranch is not just another beef company.

00:02:26.440 It's a legacy of quality care and craftsmanship that you can taste in every bite.

00:02:32.720 Order from RiverbendRanch.com.

00:02:35.040 Use the promo code MEGAN for $20 off your first order,

00:02:38.900 and you'll be eating the same steak that my family and I eat at night.

00:02:43.100 And let me know what you think.

00:02:44.720 RiverbendRanch.com, promo code MEGAN.

00:02:50.080 President Joe Biden's White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor,

00:02:53.620 on Wednesday, declining to answer questions in a House Oversight Committee probe into a possible

00:02:58.860 cover-up of President Biden's cognitive decline by White House staffers.

00:03:03.860 In a February 2024 medical exam, Dr. O'Connor describing President Biden as,

00:03:08.180 quote,

00:03:08.220 a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties

00:03:15.060 of the presidency.

00:03:16.400 Dr. O'Connor departing Capitol Hill after a brief meeting with the House Oversight Committee,

00:03:20.980 in which the doctor invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions and potentially

00:03:25.920 incriminate himself.

00:03:27.820 The meeting compelled by subpoena after Dr. O'Connor in June refused to sit for a transcribed

00:03:32.780 interview.

00:03:33.980 The doctor's legal team releasing a statement on his behalf, citing

00:03:36.940 doctor-patient confidentiality and a supposed pending DOJ criminal investigation as grounds

00:03:43.000 for declining to answer the committee's questions.

00:03:45.100 In early June, President Trump directing the council to the president, in consultation with

00:03:50.220 Attorney General Pam Bondi, to investigate, quote, whether certain individuals conspired

00:03:54.940 to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities

00:04:00.380 and responsibilities of the president.

00:04:03.320 Whether the DOJ has formally opened an investigation remains unclear.

00:04:08.180 Oversight Chairman Congressman James Comer speaking to reporters moments after the meeting.

00:04:12.800 I'm going to read the first two questions that were asked.

00:04:17.220 Were you ever told to lie about the president's health?

00:04:21.380 He pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

00:04:23.260 He would not answer that question.

00:04:25.560 The second question.

00:04:26.940 Did you ever believe President Biden was unfit to execute his duties?

00:04:32.300 Again, President Biden's White House position pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

00:04:36.800 This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire, that there was a cover-up.

00:04:43.540 We're going to continue.

00:04:44.640 This investigation will move forward.

00:04:47.220 We have several other witnesses that are going to come in for depositions and transcribed interviews.

00:04:52.880 On Wednesday, Next Up host Mark Halperin reacting on The Megyn Kelly Show.

00:04:57.340 I don't know, as I said before, I don't know what crime he might be guilty of.

00:05:00.620 But I do know that he's abusing the public trust, and after four years of participating in the cover-up, and arguably the central figure, because he is a doctor and he does have a responsibility both to his patient and the public interest, I just think it's hard to me to see how he's going to sustain this unless the cover-up was even more insidious than we knew it to be.

00:05:24.060 In other words, one thing that hasn't been acknowledged by anybody on the inside, and he'd be considered on the inside, is that they knew how bad it was, and they covered it up.

00:05:33.420 Their premise is, we didn't really know if it went that far.

00:05:37.180 Again, I don't know that that's a crime, but it's a political crime, and it's a policy crime, and it's an irresponsible action for a doctor who's supposed to have an obligation to the American people to have done.

00:05:47.940 Fox News reporting Tuesday evening, the DOJ is investigating former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey.

00:05:59.520 Sources saying the Brennan investigation includes allegedly making false statements to Congress in relation to the Trump-Russia collusion probe.

00:06:07.700 Those DOJ sources declining to share specifics of the Comey investigation, but revealing a bit more on the Brennan one.

00:06:14.660 The criminal referral of former Director Brennan made by current CIA Director John Ratcliffe coming after the release of a CIA review last week pertaining to the intel community's assessment regarding potential Russian interference in the 2016 election.

00:06:30.600 President Trump's first term hamstrung by accusations of collusion between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russian President Vladimir Putin to influence the election.

00:06:40.000 Those claims later debunked by multiple investigations.

00:06:42.800 The assessment ordered in the waning days of President Obama's administration, concluding in part that President Putin, quote,

00:06:50.480 aspired to help then-candidate Trump win the election.

00:06:53.800 The review ordered this past May by Ratcliffe finding multiple anomalies with Brennan and others' work, including, quote,

00:07:02.120 excessive involvement of agency heads who created, quote,

00:07:05.720 a politically charged environment that triggered an atypical analytic process.

00:07:10.520 Those same agency heads forcing inclusion of the now-debunked Steele dossier in the Intel Assessments Annex,

00:07:18.780 which the main report referenced, thus, finds Ratcliffe implicitly elevating unsubstantiated claims

00:07:25.260 over the objections of the two senior CIA leaders responsible for Russian intelligence.

00:07:30.640 Those agents warning the information in the dossier, including salacious allegations involving Mr. Trump and Russian prostitutes,

00:07:38.440 did not meet, quote, even the most basic tradecraft standards.

00:07:42.600 Ratcliffe revealing that the CIA deputy director for analysis had warned Brennan in an email on December 29th, 2016,

00:07:50.700 that including the Steele dossier in any form risked, quote, the credibility of the entire paper.

00:07:56.580 Director Brennan ultimately stating, quote,

00:07:59.300 My bottom line is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.

00:08:04.800 Months later, in a May 2017 House hearing,

00:08:07.900 former Director Brennan testifying that the CIA did not rely on the dossier.

00:08:13.280 Do you know if the Bureau ever relied on the Steele dossier as part of any court filings,

00:08:19.540 applications, petitions, pleadings?

00:08:22.060 I have no awareness.

00:08:23.260 Did the CIA rely on it?

00:08:24.980 No.

00:08:25.260 Why not?

00:08:26.700 Because we didn't.

00:08:28.300 It wasn't part of the corpus of intelligence information that we had.

00:08:32.760 It was not in any way used as a basis for the intelligence community assessment that was done.

00:08:38.340 It was not.

00:08:39.500 In May 2023, former Director Brennan testifying to Congress, quote,

00:08:43.260 the CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier

00:08:48.420 in the intelligence community assessment.

00:08:50.900 But it was included in the annex and referred to in the main report.

00:08:56.080 Ratcliffe explains why, quote,

00:08:57.940 When confronted with specific flaws in the dossier by the two mission center leaders,

00:09:02.740 one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background,

00:09:07.460 Brennan appeared more swayed by the dossier's general conformity with existing theories

00:09:12.300 than by legitimate tradecraft concerns.

00:09:15.060 Fox reporting, quote,

00:09:16.560 The full scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey is unclear,

00:09:20.820 but two sources describe the FBI's view of the duo's interactions as a conspiracy,

00:09:26.160 which could open up a wide range of potential prosecutorial options.

00:09:31.440 Coming up, what's up with the Chinese buying up so much U.S. farmland? 1.00

00:09:36.020 The Trump administration says that's about to stop.

00:09:38.620 If you are stressed about back taxes, maybe you missed the April deadline or your books are a mess,

00:09:47.900 don't wait.

00:09:48.920 The IRS is cracking down.

00:09:50.680 Penalties add up fast.

00:09:52.140 5% a month.

00:09:53.540 Up to 25% just for not filing.

00:09:56.320 But there is help.

00:09:58.000 You don't have to handle this alone.

00:09:59.660 Tax Network USA can take the burden off your shoulders and stop the spiral before it gets worse.

00:10:04.260 They have helped thousands of Americans, whether you're an employee, a small business owner,

00:10:09.000 or you haven't filed in years.

00:10:10.860 Messy books?

00:10:11.620 No problem.

00:10:12.180 They've seen it all.

00:10:13.560 Tax Network USA has direct access to powerful IRS programs and expert negotiators on your side.

00:10:20.620 You'll get a free consultation, and if you qualify, they may even be able to reduce or eliminate what you owe.

00:10:26.220 More importantly, they will help protect you from wage garnishments or bank levies.

00:10:30.540 So don't wait for the next IRS letter.

00:10:32.300 Call 800-958-1000 or visit TNUSA.com slash Megan to talk to a real expert at Tax Network USA.

00:10:41.040 Take the pressure off.

00:10:42.480 Let Tax Network USA handle your tax issues.

00:10:49.140 On Tuesday, Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins, joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,

00:10:54.600 Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi,

00:10:58.420 Counselor to the President Peter Navarro, and several state governors announcing a comprehensive plan

00:11:04.040 to protect U.S. farmland and food supply from foreign adversaries.

00:11:08.300 American agriculture is not just about feeding our families, but about protecting our nation

00:11:12.840 and standing up to foreign adversaries who are buying our farmland, stealing our research,

00:11:18.300 and creating dangerous vulnerabilities in the very systems that sustain us.

00:11:22.860 No longer can foreign adversaries assume we're not watching, and we're not paying attention,

00:11:28.140 and we're not doing something about it because we are.

00:11:30.160 Our National Security Division is actively monitoring foreign threats to American agriculture.

00:11:36.040 FBI has opened over 100 bio-smuggling investigations in recent years.

00:11:42.060 We will prosecute you.

00:11:43.920 We will hold you accountable.

00:11:45.640 It is a national security issue when a country cannot provide for itself,

00:11:50.260 and we will never let any other country control our food supply or control our people.

00:11:54.940 The United States is no longer going to tolerate the attacks on our agricultural system,

00:12:02.300 not just the land, but the supply chain as well.

00:12:05.240 Key elements of the seven-point plan include emphasizing the strategic importance of agriculture

00:12:10.060 and a ban on farmland sales to Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries.

00:12:15.280 In recent years, foreign-owned U.S. farmland sparking concerns over spying,

00:12:19.880 sabotage risks near military installations, and agricultural intellectual property theft.

00:12:25.520 Secretary Rollins saying more than 265,000 acres in the U.S. are owned by Chinese nationals.

00:12:32.320 We spoke to the director of America First Policy Institute's China Policy Initiative,

00:12:36.900 Adam Savitt, about the national security concerns posed by Chinese-owned U.S. farmland.

00:12:43.020 He says this initiative is long overdue.

00:12:45.840 Well, this announcement by Secretary Rollins was really nothing short of revolutionary,

00:12:50.920 and that's because nothing has been done on this issue at the federal level for decades.

00:12:55.500 There was a reporting mechanism put in way back in 1978.

00:12:59.440 It's called AFIDA, and this is requiring the USDA to put out a report every year which records the foreign purchases of agricultural land.

00:13:10.040 Now, that's all foreign purchases.

00:13:11.580 Now, for example, there's no issue with allied countries owning foreign land.

00:13:16.520 The Canadians own a lot of timberland, for example.

00:13:19.300 This was put into place, again, in the 70s to keep track of this foreign ownership.

00:13:22.820 But the thing is, it is not up to date for the modern era when we have adversaries that are buying our land,

00:13:30.000 especially the People's Republic of China, of course, ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP.

00:13:36.320 And while they do not have a huge amount of land in acreage per se, of course, as they are an adversary country, 0.91

00:13:43.620 they have the potential to use all of the land that they do own for surveillance and sabotage.

00:13:49.340 And again, compared to a country like Canada, which is the top ownership of foreign land,

00:13:54.460 it's actually not that much, but it is a whole lot when you're talking about a place to station drones,

00:13:59.560 a place to have listening posts, a place to station CCP agents that go and scout military bases

00:14:06.860 and other functions that they can do right under our nose because they have a platform right here in the United States, agricultural land.

00:14:14.860 In June 2024, the New York Post identifying 19 U.S. military bases located in close proximity to land bought up by Chinese entities.

00:14:25.000 Savitt says some of these land purchases may seem harmless because they're in remote locations,

00:14:29.800 but they could pose very serious threats to national security.

00:14:33.660 To talk about the military installations more, people think that these purchases are innocuous,

00:14:37.860 innocuous, like, you know, they're outside of cities, so they're sort of beyond most people's view.

00:14:43.440 But these purchases are one of the earliest ones that came to national attention in 2019

00:14:48.560 was a purchase of 10,000 acres of designated agricultural land on the Texas-Mexico border.

00:14:56.940 This was near Lachlan Air Force Base.

00:14:59.240 A Chinese billionaire came in and was trying to purchase this land,

00:15:02.860 which he would turn into a wind farm, which would also be connected to the Texas power grids,

00:15:07.820 where he could potentially use nefarious means to, let's say, overload that grid or, in other ways, interfere with it.

00:15:14.080 Again, also near flight paths near this Air Force base, which can be monitored.

00:15:19.600 So here's this huge swath of land in the middle of nowhere, essentially.

00:15:23.180 No one really lives by, so this goes under the radar.

00:15:25.920 Another high-profile case.

00:15:27.880 Fufeng bought an agricultural processing plant.

00:15:30.380 Other side of the country, up in North Dakota.

00:15:32.840 This was in a few miles of Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.

00:15:38.380 This is where our B-1 bomber fleet, or at least part of it, our B-1 strategic bombers are based.

00:15:44.980 This would give them a purge for surveillance and sabotage very close to this Air Force base.

00:15:50.880 On Tuesday, Secretary Rollins also announcing she will join the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

00:15:57.220 Savitt explains why this move is critical.

00:15:59.280 Now, to go to the federal level, and who's supposed to be protecting us from this?

00:16:03.780 No, this is a bureaucracy in D.C.

00:16:05.580 It's called CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, CFIUS.

00:16:11.260 Until now, it has not involved the Secretary of Agriculture because this has gone under the radar.

00:16:16.440 People didn't perceive agriculture as a security threat.

00:16:19.400 One big part of the announcement yesterday that Secretary Rollins made is that she has now been designated as a member of CFIUS, this board.

00:16:28.160 CFIUS is across the board surveying incoming purchases from foreign countries which may affect national security.

00:16:34.960 Now that agriculture, in the person of Secretary Rollins, will be sitting on CFIUS, when an agricultural case comes in, when there's an inbound purchase of land by an adversarial country like China, agriculture will be able to sit on that decision, will be able to inform that decision.

00:16:51.760 And that's an important modifier that happened with this announcement.

00:16:55.780 Savitt says the threats posed by Chinese-owned U.S. farmland go far beyond spying on U.S. military bases.

00:17:02.040 Chinese entities are increasingly gaining access to America's agricultural data and proprietary technology, though not through espionage, but through business acquisitions of agricultural companies operating inside America.

00:17:15.020 Now, many of these are overtly, you know, directly listed, or if you look into it, if you look just barely beneath the surface, these are state-owned enterprises of the Chinese government.

00:17:26.700 One of those is called Syngenta.

00:17:28.660 That is an agrochemical company.

00:17:30.880 It used to be a Swiss-owned company.

00:17:33.120 It was acquired by the PRC in the 2010s.

00:17:37.600 A lot of farmers rely on this.

00:17:39.080 It's a multibillion-dollar company.

00:17:40.760 It provides chemicals, pesticides, seed technologies, things that, you know, people who are not in the ag industry like me, we don't think about this, right?

00:17:49.640 But this is essential to what these farmers do.

00:17:52.580 They need seeds that are adept to their type of soil.

00:17:56.520 They need seeds that are adapting to their environment and their crop needs.

00:18:01.520 So a lot of these farmers are used to this name, Syngenta, right?

00:18:04.460 And they trust this name for decades.

00:18:05.900 A Chinese company called ChemChina acquires Syngenta, and then the Chinese government has full access to this technology that they're developing, the data that they collect, access to the land.

00:18:18.760 In this case, we're actually talking about intellectual property theft, and so in that way, it kind of goes under the radar.

00:18:24.720 In other cases, it is subsidiaries.

00:18:27.120 It is hidden, you know, shell companies, four and five steps down, where, yes, it has an English-sounding name, and you would have no idea that there was a Chinese interest four or five rungs up the ladder that is either a state-owned enterprise or it's related to the state.

00:18:44.240 Now, here's an important thing that the listeners need to know is that no company of any size or any importance in China is not tied in some way to the CCP.

00:18:54.900 As for clawing back land already owned by foreign adversaries, Savitt says the states will need to lead the way.

00:19:02.840 This is a very difficult question.

00:19:05.040 This comes down to state law.

00:19:07.060 The states have been doing, I should mention, the states have been doing amazing work while the federal government was getting its act in order and now finally has some sort of an ordered plan here under the Trump administration.

00:19:18.200 The states were doing this good work.

00:19:20.100 Dozens of states were sort of really, I would call it, experimenting with laws because agricultural sectors differ state to state.

00:19:27.740 Property law differs state to state.

00:19:29.920 But I mentioned Arkansas put in a law that they enforced and pushed out Syngenta.

00:19:35.420 So they, under their state law, they were able to eject Syngenta and also penalize them with a monetary value.

00:19:42.940 But again, state by state, this gets very sticky as far as ownership and how to rescind that ownership.

00:19:48.860 Political reporting in April, quote, more than two thirds of states, primarily controlled by Republicans, have enacted or are considering laws limiting or barring foreign ownership of land.

00:20:01.440 And that'll do it for your AM update.

00:20:03.340 I'm Megan Kelly.

00:20:04.220 Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on YouTube.com slash Megan Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.

00:20:12.860 Your business doesn't move in a straight line.

00:20:20.340 Some days bring growth.

00:20:21.860 Others bring challenges.

00:20:23.480 But what if you or a partner needs to step away?

00:20:26.380 When the unexpected happens, count on Canada Life's flexible life and health insurance to help your business keep working, even when you can't.

00:20:34.540 Don't let life's challenges stand in the way of your success.

00:20:38.000 Protect what you've built today.

00:20:39.440 Visit CanadaLife.com slash Business Protection to learn more.

00:20:44.160 Canada Life.

00:20:45.240 Insurance.

00:20:46.180 Investments.

00:20:47.020 Advice.

The Megyn Kelly Show - July 10, 2025

Biden Doc Pleads the 5th, Former Intel Chiefs Probed, China-Owned Farmland Crackdown： AM Update 7⧸10

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript