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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, December 6th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Representatives James Comer and Jim Jordan have threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. This comes after lawyers for the president's son said he would not testify unless it was in a public setting.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the details. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed Hunter Biden to appear for a deposition on December 13th behind closed doors. But last week, Hunter's attorney, Abby Lowell, said his client would rather testify publicly.
--:-- John Bickley: Both Comer and Jordan said last week the president's son would receive no special treatment and that he's required to first be deposed behind closed doors. Today, Lowell sent a letter to Comer saying Hunter will only appear for testimony in a public hearing, prompting the contempt threat from Comer and Jordan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he will retire from Congress at the end of this month just over two months after being ousted from the office of Speaker.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has more. McCarthy's resignation is another blow to the already narrow GOP House majority which has seen several other shakeups in recent months. That includes powerful North Carolina Rep Patrick McHenry who announced he would not seek re-election, and also the expulsion of Representative George Santos of New York, whose successor will be chosen by special election in February.
--:-- John Bickley: Democrats are expected to pick that seat up, meaning Republicans would hold just a seven-seat majority in the chamber. McCarthy was removed from his position as Speaker on October 3rd after eight members of his own conference voted against him. It was the first time in history a Speaker had been removed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Justice Department says it has charged four Russian nationals with war crimes for their roles in the invasion of Ukraine. The DOJ says the charges are in connection with their unlawful detainment of a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
--:-- John Bickley: According to the indictment, the four allegedly interrogated, beat and tortured an American victim while also threatening to kill him in a mock execution. The victim was then forced to perform manual labor. According to the DOJ, the American, whose name is unknown, was not involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
--:-- John Bickley: The American man was living in southern Ukraine when he was kidnapped from his home. Here's Attorney General Merrick Garland.
--:-- [Audio clip of Merrick Garland]
--:-- Merrick Garland: These charges against four Russia-affiliated military personnel are the Justice Department's first criminal charges under the U.S. war crimes statute. They are also an important step toward accountability for the Russian regime's illegal war in Ukraine. Our work is far from done.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Law enforcement in Texas say they charged a man with murder following a day series of violent incidents in two different cities that left six people dead and at least two injured.
--:-- John Bickley: The case started yesterday morning when a school district police officer was shot and injured in Austin. Later that morning, Austin's interim police chief says four people were found dead in two area homes. Then, about 80 miles south in San Antonio, police say the bodies of two people were found inside a residence after the deputies saw water coming out of the home.
--:-- John Bickley: Police in the San Antonio area say they believe the suspect killed the people there before driving to Austin. Police are still investigating and haven't nailed down a motive. The nature of the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspect is unknown.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Based on information obtained over the course of these investigations, we strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents. The suspect is in custody and no longer poses a threat to our Austin community. The suspect also allegedly shot a cyclist and robbed a home in the Austin area. The search for the suspect ended last night after the suspect crashed his car during a police pursued.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Two North Carolina students have been arrested for allegedly dealing THC edibles and psilocybin mushrooms that sent at least seven students to the hospital.
--:-- John Bickley: According to police, several students at C.C. Griffin Middle School started having a negative reaction last Friday after ingesting an unknown substance. Police say they recovered a sample of a rice crispy treat and tested positive for THC. Officers also recovered psilocybin mushrooms.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Former President Trump joined Fox News Hannity on Tuesday night for a town hall discussion on the GOP presidential primary, President Biden and more.
--:-- John Bickley: In one moment that got a lot of attention, Hannity asked Trump if he'd ever use his power for retribution. Here's what Trump said.
--:-- [Audio clip of Donald Trump]
--:-- Donald Trump: He says, you're not going to be a dictator, are you? I said, no, no, no. Other than day one, we're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator.
--:-- John Bickley: So that sounds to me like...
--:-- Georgia Howe: The former president also commented on energy. We have to fire up our factories. Wind is not going to fire up our factories. And it's the most expensive energy, even solar. I like solar from a concept standpoint, but it's massively expensive. And we can't allow China to build a factory a week and we do nothing. They build a coal plant and they're obvious about it. And then Biden goes to see them about global warming.
--:-- John Bickley: And tonight, GOP presidential candidates will meet on stage in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the fourth Republican presidential debate. Only four contenders to Trump remain in the running. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
--:-- Georgia Howe: DeSantis has held on to second behind Trump, but Haley has enjoyed some recent momentum in polling and the fundraising battle. The former president, who is leading the polls, will not be on that stage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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