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--:-- Georgia Howe: More than 100 people are dead and hundreds more wounded in Iran after bombs explode during a commemoration for a slain Iranian general. Who is behind the attack and how will it affect the already tense situation in the Middle East? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, January 4th, and this is Morning Wire. A delegation of more than 60 congressmen visit the southern border in the wake of the highest ever monthly crossings. Under President Biden, America has laid out a welcome mat to illegal immigrants, smugglers and cartels. The situation here and across the country is truly unconscionable. And the highly anticipated release of the Jeffrey Epstein court documents has begun. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Scores of people are dead and wounded after explosions rocked a memorial for a top Iranian general on Wednesday. Local officials in Karaman, Iran, called the incident a terrorist attack. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, what do we know so far?
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to Iran state media, two bombs were hidden along a procession route for people commemorating the fourth anniversary of General Qasem Soleimani's death. The first blast took place about 750 yards from Soleimani's gravesite. About 15 minutes later, there was a second blast over half a mile away. It caught people as they fled and emergency workers as they tried to get the wounded away from the first blast.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Some outlets have noted that terrorists often stagger bombs to detonate like that to maximize the damage. These explosions, according to Iran state media, killed over 100 people and wounded scores more. Do we know who is behind it?
--:-- Georgia Howe: No, but officials were quick to call it a terrorist attack. Some even went as far as blaming the U.S. or Israel. For instance, Iran's attorney general said that the blasts show that the U.S. and Israel are, quote, frightened even by pilgrims of Qasem Soleimani.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi was more restrained. He said the bombing was a cowardly act and that its masterminds would soon be identified and brought to justice. Israel has not commented publicly on the blast, but reports say that Israel has told allies it was not involved. For the U.S.'s part, State Department spokesman Matt Miller denied U.S. involvement on Wednesday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We do express our sympathies to the victims and their loved ones who died in this horrific explosion. As I said, it's too early, at least for us, to be able to say what might have caused it. But I do want to address some of the irresponsible claims that I have seen circulate and say that number one the United States was not involved in any way And any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous And number two we have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, obviously, tensions with Iran were already high because Israel's at war with the Iranian proxy, Hamas. What kind of impact is this going to have on the larger conflict?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, Israel and Iran didn't need another reason to distrust one another. But whether or not Israel was behind this attack, that's been the primary effect of the explosion so far.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Just so listeners are aware, General Soleimani was a highly regarded figure in Iran and the father of Iran's terror network. His work as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force reshaped Middle Eastern politics by building up terror groups in places such as Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.
--:-- Georgia Howe: After the U.S. assassinated him in a drone strike in January 2020, the Pentagon said in a statement afterward that Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. So he's a big presence in Iran and is seen as very anti-Western. Could that fuel the anti-Israel, anti-American narrative that we're already seeing spread by some Iranian officials?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yes, even though there's no good evidence that either the U.S. or Israel were involved. In fact, the way in which this was done, if it was intentional, doesn't fit the targeted strike strategy of either nation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And while there have been suggestions that the U.S. and Israel should go for the head of Iran's terror network in Tehran, even those hawks have hesitated to call for open conflict. Instead, they've usually pushed for economic sanctions and more covert tactics like supporting distant groups to take on the Iranian regime from the inside.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Is there any chance of a war with Iran? Certainly, especially if Iran continues to be aggressive. Its proxy in Yemen has constricted international trade through the Red Sea, and its proxy in Lebanon keeps poking at Israel from the north.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have pelted U.S. and Israeli military installations with rockets since Hamas' October 7th attack. Then earlier this week, Iran actually moved a warship into the Red Sea after the U.S. sunk three Houthi boats that attempted to hijack a freighter.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The longer these auxiliary conflicts continue, the more chance there is that Iran becomes directly involved.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right. Well, Tim, thanks so much for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: House Speaker Mike Johnson took a delegation of over 60 congressmen down to the southern border on Wednesday to see it for themselves. The group is trying to pressure President Biden to secure the southern border as a record 300,000 illegals crossed into the U.S. from Mexico in December alone. Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi is here with more.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Hi, Georgia. Right. So Speaker Mike Johnson and this group of 64 members of Congress visited Eagle Pass, Texas, which has been overwhelmed with illegal migrants for many months. They held a press conference where they urged the Biden administration to reinstate the remain in Mexico policy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was a Trump administration rule that required illegal migrants to remain on the Mexican side of the border until their asylum court dates. Remember, it was on his very first day in office that President Biden stopped construction of the southern border wall and he ended the remain in Mexico policy.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: It could stem the flow by probably 70 percent or more but he refuses to do it We have hardened criminals coming across that border They the ones being released from prisons from some of these countries and sent here to come into the U Rather than incentivizing people to come, the president needs to deter people from entering the country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Rather than discussing amnesty with Mexico, as top Biden administration officials did within the last couple of weeks, this administration should reinstate the remaining Mexico policy, as was said. Rather than expanding parole authority to an unprecedented scale, the president should obviously end catch and release and stop the abuse of our parole and asylum systems.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Several Republicans believe the action by the speaker isn't strong enough. They held their own press conference threatening to withhold funding for the federal government if the Biden administration does not take action at the border.
--:-- Georgia Howe: No more money for this bureaucracy of his government until you've brought this border under control. Shut the border down or shut the government down. We are all committed to that. There is a national security issue that is taking place here on the southern border, and that's what it's going to take to hold this administration accountable.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Two government funding deadlines are coming up, the first in two weeks and the next in February. Even as the delegation was underway, a group of illegal migrants tried to cross the border into Eagle Pass right near the GOP congressman. Some shouted for help and asked where they could cross the border.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now back to Johnson's main press conference. What solutions is Johnson pushing for regarding the border crisis?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Well, Johnson said House Republicans have been negotiating with the Senate and the White House on border security through Christmas. He emphasized that Congress must pass a GOP bill known as House Resolution 2, which would beef up immigration resources at the southern border.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Johnson called the bill the necessary ingredient. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned Johnson earlier on Wednesday that, quote, when the House clings to H.R. 2 is the only solution, we're not going to get a deal.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So it doesn't look like they've reached any kind of agreement yet. Border authorities saw more than 2.4 million illegal migrant encounters at the southwest border over the year that ended in September. And there have been 1.7 million gotaways, illegal migrants that were not caught under the Biden administration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We want to get the border closed and secured first. The president can and should act now. This doesn't require legislation. It requires leadership. And despite the White House's claim, he has all the authority he needs right now under existing federal law to stop this madness.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: But instead of taking responsibility and providing leadership, this administration has done nothing but attack elected officials who are trying to fix this catastrophe. Right here in Texas, Governor Abbott has heroically done more to enforce the law than the president has. And how has this administration responded? They have sued the state of Texas to stop their deterrence efforts. It's absolute insanity.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Has President Biden addressed the group? Earlier this week, a reporter asked Biden if he was going to do anything to stop the record numbers crossing the border. And he said the congressman needed to send him the money he needs to protect the border.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So it sounds like everyone's digging their heels in.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: After years of anticipation, sealed documents containing the names of 150 people associated with deceased pedophile and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein began to be unsealed Wednesday in New York. New York federal judge Loretta Preska released the highly anticipated court documents last night and they feature some prominent figures including former President Bill Clinton.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. Starting about 7 p.m. Wednesday night, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York released 900 pages of documents, which contained the names of around 160 people who interacted with Jeffrey Epstein. As expected, Bill Clinton was among them, with one witness saying she was told that the former president, quote, liked them young, end quote, while in another section, a witness to a dinner with Epstein said of Clinton in regard to two young brunettes that he did not, quote, take the bait, end quote.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There's still a lot to sift through and many dots to connect, but Epstein and the president had a more than casual relationship, including flights both to Europe and domestically.
--:-- David Marcus: Right. We'll certainly be unpacking more on that over the next few days. What other names and details have come to light? Others named in the documents included Clinton's long-term but currently estranged associate Doug Brand, as well as the French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We also saw David Copperfield and billionaire Glenn Dubin, as well as Thomas Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt Hotels. Apparently, Copperfield did some magic tricks at a dinner party. Donald Trump's name also came up with a witness saying she had never seen him on the island or at any of Epstein's homes.
--:-- David Marcus: This really will take days to fully comprehend. It's so many people, so many dates and times, and there is no immediate way to know who's telling the truth in their testimony.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, where did these documents come from and why have they taken so long for the court to even consider releasing to the public, especially now that Epstein is dead and Ghislaine Maxwell's in prison.
--:-- David Marcus: So this document was generated in a 2016 case in which an accuser successfully sued Maxwell for defamation regarding her role in the pedophilia ring. It is extremely vital to point out that nobody named is guilty of anything on the basis of being listed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A lot of these interactions took place in the early 90s when nobody really knew who Epstein actually was, or at least he hadn't been publicly accused of anything. That having been said, I mean, this is a sordid business and one can see how some would not want to be sullied by association with it.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, for sure. Now, ahead of the release of these documents, ABC News reported that Bill Clinton's name appears more than 50 times in them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It was an ABC News anchor, Amy Robach, who was caught on a hot mic back in 2019 complaining that the Epstein story was actually being buried.
--:-- David Marcus: Absolutely. Here's some of that recording that was obtained by Project Veritas back in 2019 with Roebuck referring to the story being quashed in 2016.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It was unbelievable what we had. Clinton, we had everything. I tried for three years to get it on to no avail. And now it's all coming out. And it's like these new revelations. And I freaking had all of it. I'm so pissed right now. Like every day I get more and more pissed because I'm just like, oh my God, what we had was unreal.
--:-- David Marcus: So it's rather remarkable that four years later, it's ABC News breaking this story. connecting Clinton to Epstein. That it took so long is why people want these names released. And frankly, as much transparency into these events as possible, because the more that stays hidden, the more darkness there is, the more fertile the soil becomes for conspiracy theories, and the harder it becomes for people to know what to believe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hopefully, the revelations of the next few days shed some light on this deeply troubling story.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, we'll certainly be covering more details from this in the days to come.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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