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--:-- Host John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Between two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and a VPN, you try to be in control of how your info is protected. But many other places also have it, and they might not be as careful. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com slash podcast for 40% off. Terms apply.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Attorney General Merrick Garland faces tough questions from Congress regarding the DOJ's role in the Trump prosecutions. The question is whether or not you will provide all of your documents and correspondence. That's the question. I don't need a history lesson. We break down the most important and contentious moments. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with guest host Emily Jaschinski, D.C. correspondent at UnHerd. It's Wednesday, June 5th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host John Bickley: After insisting he could not act without Congress, President Biden signs an executive order aimed at tackling the southern border crisis. Critics say it's too little, too late. He dissolved the southern border. Now, five months before an election, he has to appear to be willing to do something about it. And congressional Republicans are demanding that the district attorney and lead prosecutor behind the Trump hush money case appear before the subcommittee on the weaponization of the government.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: Attorney General Merrick Garland's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday morning proved very contentious as Republicans peppered him with questions on a number of investigations and cases. Congress has demanded the audio recordings of special counsel Robert Herr's interview with President Biden from last year. And between that and the allegations of lawfare against Trump, the hearing got heated. Here to discuss is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, Dave. So first, did Garland explain his reticence to provide the audio and why do Republicans want it so much?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Morning, John. Garland basically reiterated what he said in the past about the Biden audio, which is that he thinks Republicans want it to damage the president politically rather than for any legitimate oversight reason. Republicans counter that part of her justification for refusing to charge Biden was his demeanor and feeble mental state. So they're saying if he is using the old Seinfeld Uncle Leo shoplifting at the bookstore defense of I'm an old man, I get confused, then Congress has a right to hear that confusion.
--:-- David Marcus: Appreciate the Seinfeld reference there. Now, we also heard questions about any possible coordination between the DOJ and local prosecutions of Trump in New York and Georgia, which Garland calls a conspiracy theory. What did we learn about that?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, Representative Matt Gaetz really zeroed in on this with the attorney general. He claimed that Garland was involved in sending former top DOJ prosecutor Matthew Colangelo to the Manhattan DA office specifically to target Trump. Here's some of that heated exchange.
--:-- David Marcus: Matthew Colangelo makes this remarkable downstream career journey from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and then pops up in Alvin Bragg's office to go get Trump. And you're saying that's just a career choice that was made that has nothing to do with the lawfare coordinated. I'm saying it's false. I did not dispatch Mr. Colangelo anywhere. Well, do you know how he ended up there? I assume he spoke. He applied for a job there and got the job.
--:-- David Marcus: Gates also demanded that Garland hand over any communication that DOJ had with any of these local prosecutors, saying that if this is some conspiracy theory, then surely those communications would exonerate all involved. Garland did not appear moved by the argument or likely to turn over the documents anytime soon.
--:-- David Marcus: Representative Thomas Massey also grilled Garland on the January 6th prosecutions, trying to get assurances from him that if the Supreme Court rules in favor of a number of them later this month, that the DOJ will be prepared to release them. Garland was a bit cagey in his response, not committing to much.
--:-- David Marcus: How did Democrats on the committee handle this hearing? Did they appear to stand behind Garland and the Justice Department?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, I mean, the Democrats, for the most part, were friendlier than a first-class flight attendant. And that's not surprising. They attacked Republicans on the committee who they say are the ones who are really politicizing the Justice Department and the legal system with their attacks on Garland. The bottom line is Democrats think Garland is doing a great job, and that very much includes the cases against Trump and his political supporters.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Meanwhile, Jim Jordan, chairman of the committee, has also introduced a proposal targeting the funding of the special counsels going after Trump. What does he want to see passed?
--:-- David Marcus: Jordan pitched a few riders to be attached to the 2025 appropriations bill, which would bar funding for Jack Smith's investigations of Donald Trump, and another that would bar funding for any actions taken by the DOJ in concert with local agencies targeting a former president. Jordan doesn't specifically mention Alvin Bragg, Fannie Willis, or Letitia James, but it's clear that that's who he's making references to.
--:-- Host John Bickley: One thing that does seem certain is that Republicans will continue to bang the drum on these issues of alleged lawfare and DOJ corruption, in part because polling shows that the gap is really narrowed on whether voters view Trump and the GOP or Biden and the Democrats as the greater threat to democracy. And that has been an issue where Biden had a solid lead just a few months ago. He appears to have lost that advantage in recent weeks.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Dave, thanks for coming on.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: In a major policy reversal, President Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that will restrict the number of migrants entering the country illegally through asylum claims. Here are the details on the order and the political reaction to it is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot, so the White House finally taking action on the border after years of the worst border crisis we've seen. What did Biden sign yesterday?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, on Tuesday afternoon President Biden signed an order preventing illegal immigrants from seeking asylum once the number of daily encounters at the border hits 2. And that number has already been met by a wide margin meaning the policy will take effect immediately.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For context when Biden took office he greatly expanded the criteria for those seeking asylum, allowing migrants to qualify for things like economic hardship. Under this new policy, the shutdown will not be lifted until average daily encounters fall to 1,500 for seven days in a row. Two weeks after that happens, the border would reopen as normal. But it's worth noting the policy does have a carve out for certain asylum seekers, including visa holders, unaccompanied minors, those facing medical emergencies, or imminent threats to their safety back home.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Here's President Biden speaking at the White House after signing the order. Today, I'm announcing actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum. Migrants will be restricted from receiving asylum at our southern border unless they seek it after entering through an established lawful process.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, that is putting it lightly. Biden took office on a promise to dismantle President Trump's border policies, which he routinely called inhumane and un-American. And he did just that, terminating construction plans on the border wall, lifting mandatory deportation orders and dissolving the remain in Mexico policy. But as we all know at this point, the results were disastrous. When Trump left office, illegal border crossings were at a 40-year low, but spiked almost immediately after the 2020 election. Since then, at least 7 million people have come into the country illegally. It's likely far higher than that. And there's not been a single month of Biden's term where illegal entries were below even the worst month under Trump.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That ongoing crisis has resulted in the president's approval rating on immigration. Again, one of the most important issues for voters, falling to 33% on average. And it's worth noting, a number of Democratic senators up for re-election actually turned down an invitation from Biden to appear with him at the White House for the ceremony yesterday. Just gives you an idea of how toxic this issue is for Democrats and also explains the timing of the move just months before the election.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Speaking of the election and the politics of this, what sort of response have we seen to the order so far?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, for their part, Republicans say that it's all political theater and that the damage has already been done after three and a half years of an open border. They were quick to point out that just a few months ago, Biden was still claiming he did not have the power to address the border. And they say now it's too little too late.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Republicans have also noted that even under this new order, nearly a million people could still cross the border illegally each year without triggering a shutdown of any kind. And there has been significant pushback from Democrats, but for very different reasons. A number of far-left progressives publicly condemned Biden's order, saying it was dangerous and would fuel bigotry against immigrants. And one more note, the ACLU quickly vowed to challenge the order in court, saying the Biden administration was, quote, putting tens of thousands of lives at risk.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Republicans in Congress have sent a letter to Manhattan's Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg and one of his lead prosecutors in the Trump hush money case, demanding that they appear before the select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government. Joining us to discuss is the chairman of that subcommittee, Jim Jordan.
--:-- Jim Jordan: Congressman, you and your committees have been very busy this week, including the Garland hearing. You sent a letter Friday to New York DA Alvin Bragg and senior counsel Matthew Colangelo, another key figure in this case to testify on June 13th. What are you hoping to learn?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, I think there a lot of questions Mr. Colangelo. Colangelo We want to know look you started with Letitia James. You came back down to D worked number three at the Justice Department and then you go back to New York to work for Alvin Bragg. Was there any type of communications going on with the Biden administration, the Biden Justice Department, and Alvin Bragg's investigation?
--:-- Jim Jordan: With Alvin Bragg, it's sort of the fundamental question. You campaigned on doing this, which is just wrong, going after an individual. Then you get the job, you get elected, and you make this statement. You said, I cannot envision a world where I would indict President Trump and call Michael Cohen as a prosecution witness. And yet that's exactly what you ended up doing after you received all this political pressure. So we want to know what really changed your mind. It sure seems like it was all politics.
--:-- Jim Jordan: We'll see if they show up. If they don't, we will try to use whatever means we can to get them here to answer questions for the American people. And finally, one other person we want to have come testify is the individual that Judge Mershon wouldn't let testify. The expert on federal election law, former chairman of the FEC, Brad Smith. We want him to come testify in front of Congress and more importantly, the American people.
--:-- Jim Jordan: Some on the right have criticized the GOP for waiting too long while these political prosecutions of the former president were taking place. Is there anything that you could have done earlier? Do you feel like what you're doing is going to have an effect?
--:-- Host John Bickley: We've actually passed legislation out of our committee that would have solved this. We passed legislation that said if you got one of these rogue state prosecutors going after a former president, former vice president in state court, that individual could move that case to federal court. We passed out a committee. It hasn't passed the House yet. I wish it had. And, you know, we'd see if it could get through the Senate. But if that would have been law, that would have prevented what this happened because we know the federal court wouldn't bring this case because they didn't bring the case. They looked at it and said, this is ridiculous. The FEC wouldn't bring it. And then the Southern District of New York, the U.S. attorneys there wouldn't bring this case.
--:-- Jim Jordan: So we've passed legislation. And then, of course, we've done 100 different subpoenas. We've held attorney general in contempt three weeks ago. So we're going to just keep pushing and do everything we can as a legislative body. We can't indict anyone. We can't prosecute anyone. But we can do everything possible from a legislative standpoint, and we're doing that.
--:-- Jim Jordan: Now, you launched an investigation into Georgia District Attorney Fannie Willis and her cooperation with the House January 6th Committee. Her former lead attorney on the Trump case, Nathan Wade, at one point talked to the Justice Department, but Willis ended up refusing to cooperate with your investigation. What are Americans to make of that?
--:-- Host John Bickley: The big takeaway for me is every one of these cases are political. Fannie Willis opens the investigation in February of 2021. She doesn't bring charges until after President Trump announces he's running for president. Alvin Bragg says he wouldn't bring the case, couldn't envision a world where he did that, but then he changes and does just what he said he wouldn't do after President Trump announces he's running for president. And Merrick Garland doesn't appoint Jack Smith until three days after President Trump announces he's running for president. So I think it just underscores how political all these cases really are.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.
--:-- Jim Jordan: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
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