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--:-- Georgia Howe: Yesterday, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court while justices heard arguments on an abortion case that could have huge implications for the country.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll unpack the arguments from each side in the landmark case and explain what this could mean for the future of abortion in the United States. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's Thursday, December 2nd, and this is Morning Wire. The Biden administration was dealt major blows in the past few days as courts in multiple states ruled against vaccine mandates. As it stands, the president's mandates are now on hold and their future is uncertain.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll talk to a legal expert involved in the litigation about what we can expect from here. And news anchor Chris Cuomo has been suspended indefinitely from CNN for his handling of Governor Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment scandal. What caused the network to pull the plug on Cuomo? And why are some critics saying the move is too little, too late?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: A significant abortion case was argued in the Supreme Court Wednesday, the outcome of which has the potential to overturn the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Here to tell us more about what each side argued is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So, we heard from all sides of the case, and Mississippi was up first. Solicitor General Scott Stewart defended the Mississippi pro-life law, which outlaws abortion after 15 weeks. Their argument is essentially that each state should be able to decide its own abortion laws.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Supreme Court accepted this case to answer one question, which is whether all pre-viability bans on abortion are unconstitutional. So the case is Mississippi versus Jackson Women's Health Organization. So this is a Mississippi case, but the White House got involved. How did that work?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right. We consulted Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Tom Jipping, and he explained it this way. That's pretty rare that a party not involved in the case directly is allowed to argue before the court. But the federal government, when it asks for permission to do that, is usually granted that. And they argued quite strongly that Roe v. Wade should be upheld.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Justice Clarence Thomas had the first question and struck at the heart of Roe v. Wade, asking where the Constitution grants the right to abortion at all.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Julie Rickleman, the senior director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, who argued on behalf of Jackson Women's Health, addressed Judge Kavanaugh's concern that the court should remain neutral this way. The Constitution provides a guarantee of liberty. The court has interpreted that liberty to include the ability to make decisions related to childbearing, marriage, and family.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, I think what everyone is wondering is, if the Roe v. Wade precedent is overturned, would that outlaw abortion nationwide? Absolutely not. That's a common misconception. If the precedent set by Roe v. Wade is overturned, states would be free to make their own laws regarding abortion.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Here's Tom Jipping again with more on this. The question is whether the Constitution protects a right to abortion. If it does, which is what the Supreme Court said in Roe v. Wade, then that really restricts how the states may legislate. If it doesn't, then there's no restrictions on how the states may legislate. So overruling Roe v. Wade would simply allow state legislators to do what they think is best on this issue of abortion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Any number of states will likely, and some already have, pass laws guaranteeing that abortion will be almost unrestricted. Other states will pass laws that protect unborn children. So when can we expect a decision on this? The justices will cast their tentative votes within the next few days, but we won't know their final decision until June.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, this is definitely one of the most anticipated decisions probably of the decade. Thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news. And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A series of court rulings have dealt President Biden's sweeping vaccine mandates major setbacks. First, the Fifth Circuit issued a stay blocking the OSHA mandate that forces businesses to require employees to be vaccinated or tested. Then on Tuesday, federal judges issued injunctions against the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and health care workers.
--:-- John Bickley: These rulings come as several states and businesses, including the Daily Wire, have filed lawsuits against the administration calling the mandates unconstitutional. Here to discuss is Ryan Bangert, Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the Daily Wire in the case.
--:-- Ryan Bangert: Yeah, absolutely. First, can you walk us through these recent court rulings against the various mandates?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Absolutely. So the Biden administration issued several different mandates relating to vaccines. The first was a federal employee mandate, which the Biden administration has put on hold until after the holidays. Another is the federal contractor mandate, which recently was enjoined by a federal court out of Kentucky. And another is the CMS mandate relating to health care workers, which also was recently enjoyed by a federal court out of St. Louis.
--:-- Ryan Bangert: And each of these cases, the courts have said that the Biden administration overshot its authority under the relevant statutes and even questioned whether the agencies had authority to implement these rules in the first place. And that brings us to the OSHA mandate, which relates to private employers. And that mandate has already been stayed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and put on hold and is now under challenge in a consolidated proceeding in the Sixth Circuit.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So there has been a profound and sustained losing streak all across the country for the Biden administration vaccine mandates. Some experts have suggested that the federal contractors and employee mandates have a better chance of being sustained than the mandate for private employers. But now we've seen rulings against those in federal court. What were the legal arguments against them?
--:-- Ryan Bangert: Yeah, so like you said, some experts believe that those mandates might be on more solid legal footing, but they are not. And in particular, the CMS mandate, the federal district judge in St. Louis, Judge Shelp, found that if Congress had intended to empower CMS to issue a mandate under its authority to govern Medicare and Medicaid providers, it would have done so with clarity. And that the dramatic expanse and reach of the CMS mandate really counseled against finding that it had this kind of authority, sort of no elephants and mouse holes, if you will.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do we expect any of these lawsuits to make it all the way to the Supreme Court?
--:-- Ryan Bangert: I think there's a good chance that they will, because this is a direct challenge to federal authority. This is a sweeping federal program that's been issued at the direction of the President of the United States. The OSHA mandate in particular is under substantial challenge from roughly half the states in the union, as well as a number of different employers, groups, religious institutions represented by our firm. The Daily Wire, obviously, very prominently involved in challenging the mandate. And I think this is exactly the kind of case that cries out for Supreme Court intervention.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it sounds like this legal battle is far from over. Ryan, thank you for joining us.
--:-- Ryan Bangert: Absolutely. Our pleasure.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Alliance Defending Freedom's Ryan Bangert.
--:-- Georgia Howe: CNN suspended primetime host Chris Cuomo indefinitely on Tuesday after new details emerged exposing the role he played in helping his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, fight charges of sexual harassment and assault.
--:-- John Bickley: Though Cuomo had initially downplayed the role he played in his brother's defense, new documents released by the New York Attorney General's Office showed the full extent of his involvement. Here with the details is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, Cabot, give us a brief recap on this story, and then we're going to get to the new developments.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, over the spring and summer, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was accused by multiple women of sexual assault and harassment. Now, when those allegations first broke, Chris Cuomo, Andrew's brother, claimed on his CNN show that he would not be covering the case because he wouldn't be able to do so objectively.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Obviously, I'm aware of what's going on with my brother. And obviously, I cannot cover it because he is my brother. But we've since learned that while he may not have covered the story on air, he was deeply involved behind the scenes in helping his brother fight off those allegations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In May, it was revealed that he was taking part in calls with Governor Cuomo and his top advisors as they planned out a response to the scandal. At the time, the full extent of his involvement was not yet known. And when news came out, CNN let him off with a slap on the wrist, saying his conduct was, quote, inappropriate, but choosing not to punish him.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Then a few months later, in August, as rumors continued to circulate that he was heavily involved, he went on air with another vehement denial. I never attacked nor encouraged anyone to attack any woman who came forward. I never made calls to the press about my brother's situation. I never influenced or attempted to control CNN's coverage of my family.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So those comments have aged pretty poorly given what we found out this week.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, they are at best incredibly misleading and at worst just a blatant lie. The New York Attorney General office on Monday released new information about their investigation into Governor Cuomo, and there was overwhelming evidence found to show that Chris Cuomo was far more involved in all of this than he initially claimed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: For example, in March, Governor Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, emailed Chris saying, quote, rumor going around one to two more people coming out tomorrow. Can you check your sources? To which Chris replied, quote, on it.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That same month, he also dug into the background of one accuser who said Governor Cuomo kissed her against her will at a wedding. Chris emailed Melissa DeRosa again saying, quote, I have a lead on wedding girl. Wow. So hard evidence that he was digging into these accusers himself.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, that's what it looks like. And according to the attorney general's office, Chris Cuomo admitted in testimony that he would actually reach out to fellow reporters and insider sources of his for information about women who'd already come out against his brother, as well as information on those who were about to come forward with accusations.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So that would appear to directly contradict what he claimed on air. And after that new information came out, CNN announced Tuesday they'd be suspending him indefinitely pending further evaluation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, we saw some people saying that Cuomo should have been fired well before this new information came out. What can you tell us there?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So he also faced a sexual harassment allegation of his own from an ABC executive who said he groped her at a party. He since admitted that the allegations were true and apologized. Now, given that and these other scandals, critics have speculated that CNN didn't take action sooner because his show was the highest rated program on the network.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They've also pointed out how the network treated Jeffrey Toobin, the CNN legal analyst caught exposing himself on an internal Zoom call for The New Yorker. He was also suspended indefinitely, but was let back on the network after the public outrage kind of died down.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So the question for a lot of people, and those critics included, is whether that same blueprint will be followed for Chris Cuomo after his suspension.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, sounds like he's got a lot to answer for. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime. That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. The head of the Women's Tennis Association announced Wednesday that it will suspend all WTA tournaments in China.
--:-- John Bickley: The decision comes amid concerns about the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shui. The chairman of WTA said the association has, quote, serious doubts that she is free, safe, and not subject to censorship, coercion, and intimidation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the first case of the Omicron variant has been detected in the U.S. A passenger returning from South Africa tested positive in California on Wednesday. Officials say the individual is experiencing mild symptoms.
--:-- John Bickley: In response, Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters, quote, We knew it was just a matter of time before the first case of Omicron would be detected in the United States.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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