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--:-- John Bickley: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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--:-- John Bickley: The district attorney charging Donald Trump in Georgia takes the stand amid allegations of an unethical relationship. Has he ever visited you at the place you laid your head? So let's be clear because you've lied in this. No, no, no, no. This is the truth. It is a lie. It is a lie. We break down the tense moments and what the saga means for Trump's trial.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, February 16th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The Department of Homeland Security is claiming credit for January's low border numbers, though the slump may have more to do with a crackdown in Mexico. They are chasing down immigrants who are hiding, pulling them off of buses and out of cars when they find them on the roads traveling north to the U.S. border.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Tennessee considers a sweeping school choice bill, making it the latest state to join the school choice revolution. A parent should be the person who decides where their kid goes to school and what they learn, not the government.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: There were major developments on Thursday in two of Donald Trump's criminal trials, one in Georgia and the other in New York City. In the Georgia election interference and racketeering case, the lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, took to the stand, followed by District Attorney Fannie Willis, to discuss their romantic relationship. And in New York, a much-anticipated trial date has been set.
--:-- David Marcus: Joining us to discuss all this is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. Hey, Dave. So there's no shortage of fireworks yesterday in Georgia. First, remind us what the issue was there and who testified.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. The main issue here is whether Wade and Willis lied on a recent affidavit about when their romantic relationship began, critically before or after he was assigned to the Trump-RICO case. The defense lawyers want both removed from the case, and the state of Georgia's lawyers were seeking to squash that motion.
--:-- John Bickley: We saw very direct testimony from a former friend and colleague of Willis who says she was aware of the relationship as early as 2019, which, if true, blows Willis and Wade's claim out of the water.
--:-- David Marcus: You have no doubt that their romantic relationship was in effect from 2019 until the last time you spoke with her. No doubt. Wade also took to the stand, and while he did not admit the affair predated his appointment to Trump's case, he was basically caught by defense attorneys having lied on documents from his divorce proceedings.
--:-- John Bickley: One particular moment that got a lot of attention was when he was asked about paying for trips the two of them took with his company card. So all of the vacations that she took she paid you cash for. Yes, ma'am. And you purchased all of these vacations on your business credit card correct? Yes, ma'am. And you included those in deductions on your taxes, correct? No, ma'am. No, you did not.
--:-- David Marcus: In something of a surprise, Willis herself testified it was a dramatic moment and got very combative quick. What happened there and what did we learn?
--:-- David Marcus: It truly was, John. On live TV, she walked up and said, I'm ready. And a few minutes later was in the witness chair. That is when things got incredibly testy. Willis snapped at defense attorneys many times, drawing rebukes from the judge, but maintained that everything in her affidavit was accurate and truthful.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's a taste of that. I object to you getting records. You've been intrusive into people's personal lives. You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.
--:-- David Marcus: Let's talk about the potential fallout here. What are legal experts saying? And do we see a big difference between the opinion of those on the left and right? There always is to some degree, but honestly, even MSNBC and CNN analysts saw this as very, very bad for Wade, Willis, and the case as a whole.
--:-- John Bickley: And that's because if Willis is removed from the case and there is now testimony on the record contradicting her account of when she and Wade started dating, there's no guarantee that another DA's office will pick up this case. And it's also possible that Willis' entire team could be barred from participating. That would mean either the case is over or it likely happens well after the election. Both are great results for Trump.
--:-- David Marcus: Switching gears, we also had big news out of the Stormy Daniels hush money trial in New York City, including a trial date. So when is that set to begin now?
--:-- David Marcus: Soon. March 25th is scheduled for jury selection, and the case is estimated to take about six weeks. So that's coming up very fast. It'll be the first case to kick off, which many political observers think accrues to Trump's benefit, as it's considered weaker than the other cases.
--:-- John Bickley: That is certainly Trump's opinion, as he stated outside the courtroom here. Everything that I've heard and read, even from legal scholars, said there's absolutely no case here. It's not a crime. This is not a crime. And when you look at what's going on outside of the streets, where violent crime is at an all-time high, it's a great double standard.
--:-- David Marcus: The timing is also interesting here because March 19th, just six days earlier, is the earliest that Trump could officially lock up the GOP presidential nomination. So that may take some pressure off and allow him to focus on the trial. If he were convicted in the case, it would be a test of polling that shows some voters will stop supporting him if he's convicted of a crime. But at the same time, this is the weakest and smallest case. So it might not have the impact that a RICO or federal conviction would.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, a pivotal week for the former president in the courtroom. Absolutely. Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: January's border numbers are down significantly from December when the Border Patrol set an all monthly record for encounters. A change in immigration policy in Mexico may be the reason why.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about why immigration numbers dropped last month. So Tim, the numbers are improving. It appears so. The Department of Homeland Security appeared to take a bit of a victory lap this week. Encounters at the border between ports of entry were significantly lower in January. They tallied about 125,000, about half of what was measured in December.
--:-- Tim Pierce: A Border Patrol official attributed the drop to seasonal trends as well as enhanced enforcement efforts by law enforcement. But according to that official, the Border Patrol still experiences serious challenges on the border that outstrip the capacity of law enforcement to deal with them.
--:-- John Bickley: Tell us about the new rumored policies being implemented in Mexico.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Sure. So Morningwire spoke with Todd Bensman. He's an expert on immigration at the Center for Immigration Studies. He said that the change is driven by a crackdown on immigration by Mexico. They're rounding up immigrants and forcing them, and I mean by force, onto airplanes and buses and deporting them 1,500 miles to their southern provinces.
--:-- John Bickley: And they're forcefully rousting people off trains, men, women, and children, off the cargo trains. Those are the main transportation for feeding our border crisis.
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to Bensman, this change of policy in Mexico is very recent. He visited Piedras Negras last week to see the situation at the border firsthand. Piedras Negras is opposite the border from Eagle Pass, which has been a hotspot for illegal immigration and where Texas has challenged the Biden administration's authority on the border.
--:-- John Bickley: Benzman said that, unlike in the past, during his visit last week, he hardly saw any immigrants. He credited the change to talks between the Mexican government and the Biden administration.
--:-- Tim Pierce: What do we know about those negotiations?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, it hasn't been too public, possibly because Biden may not want to upset his progressive base. But we do know that White House advisors have traveled to Mexico City several times since December to talk immigration with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
--:-- John Bickley: We don't have many details about those talks, but Benzman's read on the situation is that Mexico agreed to stiffen its immigration policy at Biden's request.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I think it's political. I think they understand that their polling is just absolutely terrible on this issue that it actually could be the deciding margin between winning or losing to Donald Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: So I think that they are very serious about reducing those numbers, having Mexico do those operations, get those numbers down and drive the media elsewhere so that, you know, he'll have a better shot at winning in November.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So we know Biden's under a lot of pressure on this issue. What's Mexico's motivation for helping?
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to Benzman, for the same reason as Biden, to keep Trump out of the White House. Hamlo's leaving office. He won't have to contend with Donald Trump, but his party will. And there are candidates that look like they're probably a shoo-in for the Mexican presidency. And nobody in that party wants to have to deal with Donald Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: By polling, immigration is a top and growing concern among voters. And it usually cuts in favor of Republicans. So it makes sense that Biden and the Democrats really want to bottle it up as an issue ahead of November.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, we'll see if the trend lasts.
--:-- John Bickley: Tim, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- Brandon: Lawmakers in Tennessee are debating a school choice bill that would offer families thousands of dollars to pay for alternatives to public school. Here with more on the hotly contested legislation and the growing school choice movement nationwide is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, some big changes could be coming to our home state of Tennessee. What's the latest?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has proposed a new school choice measure that could be implemented as soon as 2025. The governor has proposed a sweeping measure that would allow any family in the state, regardless of income or location, to send their child to a private school and pay for it through a state-funded education savings account, or ESA.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That account would include $7,075 per student that could then go towards paying tuition at any private school or covering homeschool expenses. Now, the issue has sparked quite a debate here in Tennessee.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Tell us what each side is saying.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, generally speaking, Democrats oppose measures like this while Republicans support them. Detractors argue that these policies weaken public schools, diverting money and students away from them. They also claim that education savings accounts constitute a handout for the wealthy and lead to more racial segregation in schooling.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Supporters, though, say that education savings accounts benefit families who would typically not be able to afford a private school and that parents should pick their kid's school based on performance and not arbitrary zoning laws.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: To give an idea of just how contentious this debate is, anti-school choice hecklers repeatedly interrupted Governor Lee's recent State of the State address as he began speaking about his proposal.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It's time that we let parents decide, and not the government, where their child goes to school and what they learned. Let the governor speak uninterrupted, please.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, I got the chance to talk with the bill's architect, Republican Governor Bill Lee. Here's what he had to say.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Every need is different and everybody pretty much knows that. What we need to do is create an education system that works for every kid, that does not regard their income or their zip code, but regards their individuality. And that works for every kid. And this is the way to do that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, this is part of a growing trend that we've seen nationwide. Tell us about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. 2023 was in many ways the year of school choice. Lawmakers in 40 different states debated some form of school choice legislation, and 17 either passed new measures or expanded existing ones.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: There are now 10 states, including Arizona, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina, that have universal or near-universal school choice laws on the books. That is quite the shift given that no state in the country had universal school choice prior to 2021.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to Lee, the growing popularity of school choice legislation is proof that parents want more control in their children's education.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We've seen across the country just an awakening of parents that say, you know, I need to have more say in what happens with my kids' education, what's happening in their school, where they're going, what they're being taught. And now there are state after state after state that are saying parents should have an option.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So we're still waiting on lawmakers in Tennessee to roll out the final text of the bill, but voting should begin here in the next two months, and Tennessee could become the next state to pass sweeping school choice measures.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, this is one of those issues that really affects people in a very concrete way.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, for sure. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us.
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--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
