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--:-- John Bickley: Today is the final day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Can you provide a definition for the word woman? I can't. You can't? Not in this context. I'm not a biologist.
--:-- John Bickley: We speak to a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who questioned the judge. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley.
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--:-- John Bickley: It's Thursday, March 24th, and this is Morning Wire. As more Americans prioritize security at our southern border, some Democrats begin to support a stricter immigration policy. Can the two parties agree on an immigration solution? And professional basketball player Brittany Greiner remains in custody in Russia. What comes next for the WNBA star? Plus, the latest on Ukraine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The fourth day of the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson begins today. Georgie, you've been following the confirmation process and had some conversations with lawmakers involved. Where are we at now in the process?
--:-- Georgie: Well, yesterday, the committee wrapped up questioning, and today we're going to hear from character witnesses. Then the next step is for the committee to approve Jackson. From there, it will go to the Senate for a vote, most likely around the beginning of April. As of now, it looks like it's going to be a party line vote. But even without any bipartisan support, it's expected that Judge Jackson will be confirmed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Judge Jackson has faced some scrutiny for her record. What kinds of things came up?
--:-- Georgie: Well, by most accounts, Judge Jackson has a strong resume and is highly qualified. That said, multiple Republican senators have signaled that they have concerns about Jackson being radical. Specifically, she has a very progressive record on handing down light sentences for child pornography charges.
--:-- Marsha Blackburn: When it comes to child pornography, what we found was several cases, 10 cases where she's weighed in on child pornography. Eight of those 10 cases, she was below the minimum sentence. And this ranged anywhere from 14 percent to 88 percent.
--:-- Georgie: There were two cases where she didn't have judicial discretion, and those cases were right at the guidelines. But what she did, by and large, when she was given that discretion, she went below the guidelines.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I want to add some context here, though. Judge Jackson is far from alone in handing down light sentences for child pornography charges. This is a trend across the entire judicial system, for better or worse.
--:-- Georgie: However, another thing that Senator Blackburn addressed was Jackson's affinity for critical race theory. So according to Blackburn, Jackson positively referenced critical race theory in a 2015 speech, and then again on multiple occasions in 2020.
--:-- Marsha Blackburn: The judge also sits on the board of a hyper private school in D which promotes what been described as a highly racialized curriculum Also they have a program called Woke Kindergarten They have a program for parents that they call an anti-racist white privilege program. So they are very much given to that equity issue as far as critical race theory.
--:-- Georgie: Now, that's not to say that these programs were necessarily her brainchild, but she has said that she and her husband really appreciate the progressive environment at the school. So for those who feel it's really important for justices to be colorblind, or at least strive to be colorblind, this is definitely a point of concern.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the critical race theory has really been a part of the national conversation over the last few months.
--:-- Georgie: Right. Now, one moment that made headlines Tuesday was when Senator Blackburn asked Jackson to define the word woman. What happened there and why was it so significant?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. So this really gets to the heart of the trans issue. Blackburn asked Judge Jackson to define what is a woman. And Jackson appeared to evade the question.
--:-- Ketanji Brown-Jackson: The word woman is so unclear and controversial that you can't give me a definition? Senator, in my work as a judge, what I do is I address disputes. If there's a dispute about a definition, people make arguments and I look at the law and I decide.
--:-- Georgie: So I'm not. The fact that you can't give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Blackburn then went on to bring up transgender swimmer Leah Thomas, beating out female swimmers at the NCAA championships as an example of how this new gender ideology has real implications for natural-born women and girls.
--:-- Georgie: Speaking of women, it's seen as almost a certainty that President Biden would nominate a pro-choice justice. Do we have direct information about where Judge Jackson stands on abortion?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, her official record doesn't actually give many clues about her stance on abortion. But what we do know is that Judge Jackson was the first choice nominee of at least one powerful progressive organization called Demand Justice.
--:-- Georgie: Demand Justice has the core priority of packing the court with the explicit purpose of forwarding a progressive agenda, which would presumably include enshrining the right to abortion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Well, if she's confirmed, we'll have an answer about that in just a few months, right? That's right. So the court's going to be ruling on Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health this summer, and that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade.
--:-- Georgie: All right. Well, Georgia, thanks for the reporting. Always a pleasure.
--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, Democrats begin shifting their messaging on border security. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news. And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- John Bickley: A series of polls show that Americans disapprove of President Biden's policies at the southern border. Now, some Democrats appear to be shifting their messaging in favor of border security, while Republicans say their policies open up the U.S. to criminal and national security concerns. Here to discuss the situation is Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Thanks so much, John. All right first of all what is the current situation on the U border with Mexico?
--:-- John Bickley: Our southern border is still totally uncontrolled. The number of encounters at the border in February increased 63 percent compared to last year which was the largest in U history. That's more than double the number of illegal crossings during 2019 under President Donald Trump.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Of course, the number of encounters doesn't include so-called gotaways, illegal aliens who evaded border patrol agents. That would comprise at least 220,000 more people from October through February, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
--:-- John Bickley: All in all, ICE has reported 2.5 million border encounters during the Biden presidency. Of course, that includes a record breaking 1.7 million known illegal entries in 2021.
--:-- Ben Johnson: As the number of border crossings hit a record high last fiscal year, deportations fell 30 percent, and they look to be even lower this year. The Biden administration's deported only 7 percent of those captured at the southern border. That's 59,000 out of more than 838,000 encountered. Just 7%.
--:-- John Bickley: Just 7%. Senator James Lankford, the Republican from Oklahoma, said that combination of Democratic policies made him think the border chaos is purposeful, which is to say, intentional.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So not only on our southern border are we seeing record numbers of high coming in, inside the country, it's record low numbers actually being deported out. This is by design. This is not accidental. The policies that have been put in place on our southern border were put in place to encourage people, quite frankly, to be able to cross the border.
--:-- John Bickley: And things will only get worse when the Biden administration rescinds Title 42, as Cabot Phillips has talked about on this program. That's a public health measure that's allowed border patrol agents to expel more than half of the undocumented people they've encountered.
--:-- Ben Johnson: And that wouldn't seem to improve border security? No. Now, what threats does this influx pose? The administration tacitly admits an uncontrolled border poses a national security threat in a new ICE report released on March 11th.
--:-- John Bickley: It says just over two-thirds of the people deported this year were classified as, quote, threats to either border security or to public safety.
--:-- Ben Johnson: As you can imagine, Republicans are a bit more outspoken on the matter. Senator Lankford pointed out the global scope of America's illegal immigration problem. Last year, we had individuals from literally every country in the world illegally cross our southern border.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, that includes China. That includes North Korea. That includes Iran. It includes them all.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So now some Democrats are trying to pivot on the border. Well, they're certainly trying to change their messaging. And that shift began all the way at the top.
--:-- John Bickley: President Biden surprised people earlier this month when he mentioned border security during his first State of the Union address.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Now the message is filtered all the way down through the party ranks. The newspaper Roll Call, which covers Capitol Hill, ran a story on Tuesday titled, Democrats Emphasize Border Security as Mid-Turns Loom.
--:-- John Bickley: It notes the Democrats in swing districts, like Abigail Spanberger in Virginia's 7th District, or Elissa Slotkin in Michigan's 8th, are saying they support increased border surveillance, either through more technology or by hiring more Border Patrol agents.
--:-- Ben Johnson: If some Democrats say they're on board, what are the prospects of Congress striking a bipartisan deal on the border before November? They're not good. Both parties are divided on this issue.
--:-- John Bickley: But even more moderate Democrats emphasize what they call comprehensive immigration reform, which means amnesty for at least some portion of the population in the country illegally.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The party's more progressive wing, led by AOC, still wants to abolish ICE. On the other side, Republicans are also split, with some favoring partial amnesty and others saying amnesty rewards lawbreaking with U.S. citizenship.
--:-- John Bickley: So it's not likely to get resolved before the midterms. Where it's sure to become a major issue.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Thanks, Ben.
--:-- John Bickley: It's my pleasure. That Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
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--:-- John Bickley: That Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson. WNBA star Brittany Greiner has been in Russian custody since sometime in February after Russian authorities claim they found vape pens containing hashish oil in her luggage. Joining us to explain is Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Thanks for having me on, John. First of all, it's important to note that U.S. embassy officials in Russia were finally able to gain access to Greiner on Wednesday. They said she's in, quote, good condition. That's good news to hear.
--:-- John Bickley: Clearly, maybe we'll get more movement on this case soon. Yeah, it is good to hear. Look, due to the nature of Greiner's detainment with it being in Russia, the facts of the case are not exactly clear.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So in order to gain a better understanding from a legal standpoint, I interviewed Aaron Solomon, chief legal analyst for Esquire Digital. I asked Solomon about the charges, and he said that from what is being released out of Russia, that the amount of hashish oil was of a, quote, trafficable amount.
--:-- John Bickley: Supposedly, she had vape pens with, as you said, quote, unquote, hashish oil. And the charges are of the amount that it would be a trafficable amount, which is why we're talking about 10 years and plus, potentially in prison.
--:-- Joe Morgan: My understanding from what I researched about Russian law, and again, I'm not a Russian lawyer, is that if she indeed had a good number of vape pens with hashish oil and a good amount of that, that it would be what we would consider in the United States to be the equivalent of a felony.
--:-- John Bickley: Secondly, it's very, very clear that somebody who's played professional basketball in Russia for seven years would know what you're allowed to bring in and out of the country.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Now, look, the timing of the detainment is obviously terrible with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which makes getting her out even more tricky, right? Yeah, absolutely.
--:-- John Bickley: And Aaron said Greiner is essentially a political prisoner at this point, and the possibility of a prisoner swap is pretty real. Now, you might say that she's also a legal prisoner, but the thing is, we don't even know the depth of what the charges are.
--:-- Joe Morgan: What we've been told in North America is a couple days ago that the Russian court extended her detention to May 19th. Correct. And I believe that that's a very fungible, a very sliding date.
--:-- John Bickley: I think this will play out as long as it makes sense for Russia to play it out, given their aggressions in Ukraine. Look, with the invasion of Ukraine, it looks like she's on her own, or at least, as Solomon says, the WNBA and or her Russian team will be the ones lending her assistance, not the American government.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Well, let's hope Greiner remains safe and we get her back soon.
--:-- John Bickley: Joe, thanks for providing us with some insight.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, you're very welcome, John. And I appreciate Aaron coming on and providing legal expertise.
--:-- John Bickley: Indeed. That's Daily Wire Sports reporter, Joe Morgan.
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--:-- John Bickley: Another story we're tracking this week. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has now carried on for a month. The Ukraine military said Wednesday that it's retaken the town of Makariv, which lies 40 miles west of Kiev. The move is part of a counteroffensive to prevent Russian forces from capturing the capital city.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And on Wednesday, President Biden began a four-day trip abroad in which he intends to meet with key U.S. allies to address the ongoing war.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode, subscribe and tell a friend. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Joe Morgan: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
