--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- 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.
--:-- John Bickley: Hunter Biden does not take the stand in his federal gun charges case as closing arguments wrap up and the jury begins deliberations. Whether or not he was using on the exact day that he signed the form is what this is really coming down to. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, June 11th, and this is Morning Wire. A new poll shows Americans support Trump's immigration policies, including mass deportation. There's only one correct number about the number of people who should be crossing the border illegally a day. And that number is zero. And several European nations are rocked by a political earthquake as voters there turn out against the ruling class. I think these elections have been a real game changer and have sent a very clear message to Europe's ruling elites that their time is coming to an end. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: New Roast Barks are a game changing two in one prescription treatment that combines the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis to powerhouse treatments. For treatment that works fast and lasts long, grab the moment. Connect with a provider at roe.co slash wire to find out if Roe Sparks are right for you. That's roe.co slash wire. Compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety, effectiveness, or manufacturing review. This treatment is only available if prescribed after an online consultation with a provider.
--:-- John Bickley: Closing arguments were made on Monday in Hunter Biden's federal criminal case in Delaware. After the defense rested its case without calling the first son as a witness, the case is now in the hands of the jury. Here to discuss the final day of testimony and those closing arguments is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, Dave. So the defense in this case opted not to put Hunter Biden on the stand. Do we know why that choice was made?
--:-- John Bickley: Morning, John. There's always pros and cons to consider in having a defendant testify, as we recently saw in Donald Trump's trial where he also didn't take the stand. The fear is rooted in cross-examination by the prosecution, which could always trip a defendant up, sometimes in ways that can't be fixed. It's also certainly possible that Hunter Biden's attorney, Abby Lowell, just thinks it wasn't needed. The jurors did hear Hunter speak at one point in the trial, but that was an audio version of his memoir that he narrated, which prosecutors played last week. It had been thought that Hunter might testify, but the decision for him not to, it wasn't any kind of huge surprise. So the prosecution went first in closing arguments. What did they try to hammer home? Did they view this as a pretty open and shut case?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, absolutely. Federal prosecutor Leo Wise described the evidence against the Biden scion as personal, ugly and overwhelming. The basic allegation here is that Hunter Biden lied about being a drug addict when filling out a form to buy a gun. And as we have reported on extensively here, Hunter's own family members testified as to his rather rapacious crack cocaine habit at the time. And the gun store owner swore that he saw Hunter fill out paperwork. This is in addition to the treasure trove of evidence found in the infamous laptop which lo and behold turned out to be very real But one last thing the prosecutor stressed was that the nice things Hunter family may have said about him on the stand are not actually germane evidence in the case
--:-- John Bickley: As to the defense's closing argument, what did they have to say to the jury given all that evidence presented by prosecutors?
--:-- David Marcus: Much of Lowell's defense closing centered on the language of the form which asks, are you an illegal drug user, not have you been? to suggest that since Hunter was buying the gun he claims to help him have a hobby and stay sober, that in his own mind, Hunter did not see himself as an illegal drug user as he was signing the document. And of course, as defense attorneys always do, Lowell reminded the jury that the bar they have to reach is beyond a reasonable doubt. And that is the highest standard that the law allows for. Yeah.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Democrats have attacked Republicans throughout the trial over the fact that there's no direct connection to Joe Biden in this case and claim that the impeachment inquiry into the president has sputtered. Did the GOP have any response to that?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah. Representative James Comer, who's heading up the impeachment inquiry, appeared on Fox Business and told Maria Bartiromo that this is still just the beginning. Here's some of what he had to say. He perjured himself two different times, at least, about Joe Biden's involvement and participation in schemes. We also have Jim Biden lying about the fact that Joe Biden met with Tony Bobulinski. Why would Jim Biden lie about that? It's all to protect Joe. Criminal referrals have now been sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland's Department of Justice against both Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden, both for allegedly lying to Congress.
--:-- John Bickley: There has been a bit of a lull in the impeachment inquiry. At this point, and with just five months to go before the election, the waters in front of this investigation appear to be wide open. Well, Republicans making clear that they are far from done. Dave, thanks for reporting.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Black Rifle Coffee is a veteran founded company doing their part to honor the last of the greatest generation who fought at D-Day. Last week, co-founder Evan Hafer and his team parachuted into Normandy in World War II uniforms to commemorate the anniversary. Right now, a portion of every purchase you make at BlackRifleCoffee.com goes to supporting veteran and first responder causes. Visit BlackRifleCoffee.com to learn more.
--:-- John Bickley: Just days after President Biden signed an executive order meant to curtail illegal crossings at the southern border, migrants continued to enter the country by the thousands. Here are the latest from the border and the political consequences for President Biden is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot, so what are we seeing now with this order?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, quick refresher. Last week, President Biden signed an executive order that he said would discourage migrants from crossing into the country illegally. Specifically, it prevented migrants from making asylum claims once the number of daily encounters at the border hit 2,500. Now, because that number was already met when the order was signed, it technically went into effect immediately. But in spite of that supposed crackdown, according to numerous reports from the border and internal DHS memos, thousands of migrants continue to enter the country illegally every day. In response to that news, President Trump had some harsh words about Biden's order. Last week, Crooked Joe signed an executive order that is pro-invasion, pro-child trafficking, pro-woman trafficking. It's a pro-drug dealer bill. It's weak. It's ineffective. It's bulls**t. what he signed.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: All right, so colorful language from Trump. Walk us through why this order has, to this point, been so ineffective.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, Border Patrol officials do insist that they're abiding by the order and denying entry to the majority of migrants apprehended But the policy has a number of loopholes that are clearly being exploited First it still allows entry to those who claim asylum and schedule an appointment at a port of entry through the much maligned CBP1 app. Around 1,500 people daily get in through that route. And importantly, Biden's order has an exemption for what they call, quote, operational considerations. In layman's terms, that means many migrants are not deported due to a lack of funding or simply available flights to certain countries in South and Central America. And perhaps most notably, according to an internal DHS memo sent to border agents in San Diego, migrants are still being released into the country by the thousands each week.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. Tell us more about that controversial memo. So for context, following efforts by Governor Greg Abbott to fortify the border in Texas, illegal immigration has really shifted in recent months towards Arizona and California. To that point, for the first time in 25 years, the San Diego sector is now the top spot for illegal entry. But a large portion of those crossing there are from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, which makes deportation efforts more complicated. In light of that, the DHS sent a memo to border officials in San Diego, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, and it instructed agents to release into the U.S. all single adults from Eastern Hemisphere countries, with the exception of migrants from six countries, Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Border Patrol maintains their still intent on deporting migrants from countries in the Western Hemisphere. But again, that still leaves thousands of folks every day from over 100 countries still being let in.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. And that certainly won't help President Biden's standing with voters who've been increasingly frustrated over his handling of the border. Yeah, that is for sure. Yesterday, Biden's approval rating fell to 37.4%. That is the lowest mark of his presidency and the lowest approval rating at this point in any president's first term in nearly a century. His approval rating on immigration is even lower at 32%. And that discontent with his border policies has resulted in millions of Americans now saying they would prefer a Trump-style approach on illegal immigration. According to a new poll from CBS, 62% of voters now support a new national program to deport all illegal immigrants. And while Democrats have long argued those policies are bigoted against immigrants, particularly Hispanics, the poll found that 53 percent of Hispanics also support mass deportations. Those numbers are just unheard of.
--:-- John Bickley: So the ongoing border crisis clearly having an unprecedented impact on voters' views of illegal immigration. And poll after poll showing that this is now among the top priorities for voters. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: Conservative and populist parties in several European countries made major gains in European parliamentary elections Sunday, shaking up several regimes and prompting calls for snap elections. Here to discuss is Niall Gardner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation.
--:-- Niall Gardner: Welcome, Niall. First, what has unfolded since Sunday?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, I think the results released on Sunday night are nothing less than a political earthquake in Europe. We have seen an emphatic rejection of socialist ruling elites across much of Europe. We have seen a resounding set of victories for parties on the right in many European countries. And we've seen the utter humiliation of big European figures such as Emmanuel Macron, president of France, Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, and huge gains for conservative political parties. So the biggest winner actually from these European elections has been, I think, Giorgio Maloney in Italy, whose Brothers of Italy party did extremely well, I think quadrupling their level of support And Maloney has emerged I think as a very very powerful leader in Europe In France of course with Marine Le Pen her political party took over 30 of the vote double the size of the vote for Emmanuel Macron party. And so she would likely face off against Macron in the French presidential race 2027. And if that election were to be held today, she would probably emerge as the winner.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, we saw a snap election called by Macron. What prompted it and how risky is that for the French president and his party?
--:-- Niall Gardner: So in France, Macron's political party received only around 15 percent of the vote in the European parliamentary elections, a massive humiliation really for Macron's ruling party. And Macron therefore decided to call a snap parliamentary election. It'll be held in two rounds, late June, early July. And these elections actually could go very badly, potentially, for the French president. And he could end up as a lame duck president for the remainder of his term, which stretches until 2027, if his party doesn't do well, actually, in these parliamentary elections. So a high-risk gambit, of course, by Emmanuel Macron.
--:-- John Bickley: While the right-leaning parties aren't uniform, there are a lot of unifying characteristics of most of these parties. What would you say are some of those shared ideas and policies driving them?
--:-- Niall Gardner: That's a very good question. I would say that the number one issue in the European parliamentary elections was really the issue of mass migration, cultural identity, a fear among many in Europe that Europe is taking in far too many migrants and has taken in too many migrants over the course of the last two decades. This election was a fundamental rejection of mass migration and open borders. All of the parties on the right who gained heavily campaigned on a platform on secure borders, limiting the flow of migrants into their countries, cracking down on migrant crime, and also fighting against Islamification in Europe. Also are high on the agenda environmental issues as well, and a rejection of net zero ideology. and nearly all of the political parties on the right that won big in the European parliamentary elections fought against what they believed as far-left ideological dogma dictating hugely expensive green policies.
--:-- John Bickley: I think a third factor was rising Euroscepticism and a belief among many in Europe that the European Union has become too centralised and so most of the political parties on the right that were successful in this election campaigned against the idea of Eurofederalism and against giving the EU and the European Commission in particular more power.
--:-- Niall Gardner: Final question. What aspect of these trends in Europe do you feel are important for an American audience to understand?
--:-- John Bickley: You know, from a US perspective, I think the European election results are going to make the Biden White House very nervous because some of the big issues that successful partisan on the right in Europe campaigned on are the same issues that American voters are going to be voting on in November. And the European electorate in fact rejected the kind of, you know, woke left-wing elitism that has dominated Europe in recent decades. And many American voters share European voters' concerns over mass migration, open borders, rising crime, higher cost of living. And so what happens in Europe, I think is important, what happens in the U.S. as well.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, Nile, thank you so much for joining us. That was Nile Gardner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
--:-- Roman: For treatment that works fast and lasts long, grab the moment. Connect with a provider at http://www.Ro.co/WIRE to find out if Ro Sparks are right for you.
--:-- Black Rifle Coffee: Drink America's coffee at https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/
