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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, and welcome to Morning Wire. It's Monday, May 20th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: [in background] Good morning, John.
--:-- John Bickley: We've got a lot to cover today, so let's get right into it. 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: Iran's president is pronounced dead following a helicopter crash on Sunday. How could the stunning development impact the growing tensions in the Middle East?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: Several high-profile figures from Trump World are arrested on charges from Arizona over alleged election interference. I had zero communications with the electors in Arizona, zero involvement in any of the election litigation in Arizona. And Sean Diddy Combs apologizes after a leaked video shows him brutally beating his ex-girlfriend. I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: In a shocking development, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has been pronounced dead following a helicopter crash in a remote part of the country. The news comes as a number of U.S. policymakers spent the weekend in Israel. Here with the latest is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, John. Yeah, stunning news to say the least. Details are slowly trickling in, but on Sunday, a helicopter-carrying Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi crashed in a remote mountainous region that was shrouded in fog at the time. Raisi, along with the country's foreign minister, were both killed, sending shockwaves through the Middle East. Raisi took power in 2021 and was the presumptive successor to Ayatollah Khomeini. Nicknamed the Butcher of Tehran, Raisi was responsible for executing thousands of political and religious dissenters over the last 40 years. His death comes at a precarious time for the Middle East with growing concerns over a regional war breaking out.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So the big question now becomes what this means for Iran's military presence in the Middle East, specifically with regard to the war in Gaza. Things could escalate or deescalate from here. We just don't know.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, there were also significant developments this weekend related to Israel, including President Biden addressing Gaza in a speech on Sunday.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, we've talked for some time now about the sort of internal tug of war going on at the White House on this topic. Despite strong support of Israel in the months after October 7th, now amid growing pressure from his left-wing base and those massive campus protests, the president has changed his tune, threatening to cut off U.S. military aid and becoming a vocal supporter of a ceasefire, which, remember, critics say will disproportionately benefit Hamas.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: While Biden initially criticized those campus protests, calling them anti-Semitic, during a commencement address Sunday at Morehouse College Biden struck a more sympathetic tone. I support peaceful nonviolent protests. Your voices should be heard. And I promise you I hear them. It's a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That's why I called for an immediate ceasefire, an immediate ceasefire to stop the fighting. Bring the hostages home.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And this all comes as a number of U.S. officials were on the ground in Israel. So over the weekend, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Prime Minister Netanyahu. While Sullivan reiterated America's commitment to supporting Israel, he urged Netanyahu to embrace what the Biden administration calls a more focused strategy in Gaza that directly targets Hamas terrorists while avoiding civilian casualties.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Specifically, the White House is concerned with Israel's looming ground invasion of Rafah, the strongest remaining Hamas stronghold. But Netanyahu appears undeterred and reportedly told Sullivan a groundswell was the only way to finally root out the remaining terrorists. For their part, Israeli officials say they've done all they can to minimize civilian death, but that it's difficult to do so when Hamas intentionally operates out of hospitals, schools, mosques, and other areas that they know are housing refugees.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. And Sullivan wasn't the only American official in Israel this weekend, correct?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. New York Congresswoman and potential Trump VP pick, Elise Stefanik, also met with Israeli officials Sunday, offering a very different message than the one the White House was giving. Stefanik took a not-so-subtle jab at President Biden, who she accused of, quote, betraying our most precious ally.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: This means crushing anti-Semitism at home and supplying the state of Israel with what it needs, when it needs it, without conditions to achieve total victory in the face of evil. And it is worth noting, as we've seen increased division among U.S. lawmakers over the war in Gaza, we're starting to see some similar internal tensions in Israel.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: While Prime Minister Netanyahu has for the most part enjoyed broad support from the Israeli people since October 7th, in recent weeks he's begun to face more pressure from within as the war is dragged on. At that point, Benny Gantz, one of the three members of the Israeli War Cabinet, said his moderate National Unity Party would leave the government if Netanyahu did not agree by June 8th to a plan that, among other things, would secure the release of hostages, demobilize Hamas, and then ultimately demilitarize Gaza.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, Nanyahu still has a strong enough majority to continue on regardless with or without their support. But there are clear signs of growing political pressure for the Israeli leader. Obviously, an incredibly complex situation there to navigate.
--:-- Kevin: [in background] Thanks for reporting, Kevin.
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--:-- John Bickley: Former Trump attorney John Eastman was arrested on Friday in Arizona on charges that he interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Eastman was indicted in April along with several alleged co-conspirators, among them is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has served his indictment on Friday in Palm Beach. Here to discuss the flurry of legal activity is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. So let's start off with what exactly Eastman, Giuliani, and the others are charged with here.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. Eastman is charged with and pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery in relation to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election in Arizona. Giuliani and the others indicted face similar charges from the Democrat attorney general of the Grand Canyon state. Trump himself is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.
--:-- David Marcus: This all stems from Eastman's legal theory that then Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to reject the certification of the election by Congress in 2021. Outside of the courthouse, Eastman said that he had no role in the process of choosing electors in Arizona. Here's some of what he had to say.
--:-- David Marcus: I'm confident that with the laws faithfully applied, I will be fully exonerated at the end of this process. Meanwhile, Giuliani was served with his indictment in Florida. How has he reacted thus far to another charge being brought against him involving 2020, to go along with the Georgia case?
--:-- David Marcus: Giuliani was celebrating his 80th birthday at a party in Palm Beach with such Trump world figures as Steve Bannon and Roger Stone. And around 11 p.m. as he was leaving, he was served with his indictment. Happy birthday, Mr. Mayor. Giuliani knew that this was coming, though not specifically when, but it didn't seem to put a damper on the festivities, which included some Gotham-themed karaoke.
--:-- David Marcus: So just how similar is this case to the Fannie Willis, Georgia case, and might it impact Americans' perception of this election? This case is very similar to the Georgia election interference RICO case in which Eastman and Giuliani were also both indicted.
--:-- David Marcus: The central question here is whether Eastman, Giuliani, and the others who were charged were just pursuing every possible legal option or if their efforts to challenge the results of the election veered into fraud. Certainly election results have been challenged in the past, including by Democrats, which is a point that Senator Marco Rubio made on Meet the Press on Sunday when asked if he would accept the results of the 2024 election.
--:-- David Marcus: No matter what happens? No, if it's an unfair election, I think it's going to be contested by each side. I think you're asking the wrong person. The Democrats are the ones that have opposed every Republican victory since 2000.
--:-- David Marcus: And this is a point that a lot of Republicans are making in regard to all of these court cases, as well as the broader question of whether the 2020 election was flawed or whether January 6th was an insurrection or a protest gone awry. Speaking of January 6th, another prominent conservative was in the news in regard to the 2020 election as it came out that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's wife had flown an upside-down American flag at their home back in 2021.
--:-- David Marcus: What happened there and why is there outrage about it now? According to Alito, his wife put the upside-down flag up, which had become a symbol of the Stop the Steal movement in response to harassment from neighbors in the wake of the aftermath of the election. Some Democrats and liberals have reacted to this by suggesting that Alito should recuse himself from any Supreme Court cases involving the election or January 6th.
--:-- David Marcus: That's something that's very, very unlikely to happen. Yeah. This is just further evidence, like the example of Eastman and Giuliani, of how differently Americans on the right and left look at the issues surrounding our last presidential election as we wind our way closer and closer to our next one.
--:-- David Marcus: The differences seem more stark every day.
--:-- John Bickley: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Sean Diddy Combs is apologizing for a video that shows him beating up ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. The rapper is already facing multiple lawsuits alleging rape, assault, and sex trafficking. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now with the latest.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, first, where does this new video come from and what exactly does it show?
--:-- Megan Basham: So this is surveillance footage that CNN managed to obtain and release this past Friday. And it comes from March 2016 from a hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
--:-- Megan Basham: And in the course of about a minute, what you can see is Ventura walking down the hallway toward the elevators when Combs comes out of a room. He's wearing just a towel and socks and he runs up to her and grabs her by the back of the neck and shoves her to the ground.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he then starts kicking her. He stomps on her with what you have to say appears to be pretty appalling force as she lays there on the ground unmoving. And then he drags her by the hoodie back to the hotel room and shuts the door.
--:-- Megan Basham: So overall, this video would seem to corroborate some allegations that Ventura made against Combs in a lawsuit she filed just last November that he almost immediately settled. And now Combs has finally responded to this video, correct?
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. He has. So he posted a video to Instagram on Sunday morning and in it, he basically admitted to assault. And he says that it happened during a dark period in his life when he had hit rock bottom and that he deeply regrets it.
--:-- Megan Basham: I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I'm going to therapy. I'm going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I'm so sorry. But I'm committed to be a better man each and every day. I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm truly sorry.
--:-- Megan Basham: But, you know, that's a pretty different stance from the one he was taking in November when he denied Ventura's claims. So in that lawsuit, she alleged that he raped, trafficked, and repeatedly assaulted her. And she also says that he forced her to take drugs like ecstasy and ketamine and engage in sex acts with prostitutes, something he allegedly called a freak offs.
--:-- Megan Basham: His lawyer put out a statement at the time saying that Combs, quote, vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. And he called Ventura's $30 million lawsuit at that time, blackmail.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, a civil suit is one thing, but criminal assault charges are something else altogether. Do we have any indication that police will act on this leaked video?
--:-- Megan Basham: No, they're not going to. So the L.A. County DA's office has already said that the timing of this incident, which would have been in 2016, puts it outside the statute of limitations for an assault charge.
--:-- Megan Basham: But right now, as we've discussed before on this show, Combs is facing four other lawsuits. So three of those come from women who are making similar allegations as Ventura's. And one comes from a male music producer, Ronnie Little Rob Jones.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, he says Combs harassed and trafficked him and groped his anus and crotch without consent. And he also says Combs tried to groom him into accepting a homosexual relationship. So around two months ago, after those suits were filed, Homeland Security raided Combs' properties in Los Angeles and Miami.
--:-- Megan Basham: And federal authorities confirmed at that time that those raids are part of a sex trafficking investigation. And there are now also some reports that the probe could expand to include witness intimidation, sexual assault, and firearms charges.
--:-- Megan Basham: So while he may not be prosecuted for this CNN video, it is still very possible that Combs could face some other indictments.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, hopefully any victims here get justice.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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