--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible. Financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
--:-- John Bickley: It's Super Tuesday week and the two top presidential contenders are expected to run away with it. Why is Team Trump more optimistic than ever about November? And will calls for Biden to step aside, ease up or grow louder? I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, March 4th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Brandon: Hey, guys, producer Brandon here. Did you know that mRNA vaccines are used on most pigs? The mystery continues to grow in the meat industry, which is why we're more and more thankful every day for our Good Rancher subscriptions. During their say-no to mRNA sale, Good Ranchers is offering you a free 10-pound Easter ham with any subscription. Their ham is absolutely fantastic, and unlike the pork at the grocery store, it's guaranteed to be free of any mRNA vaccines. Right now, go to GoodRanchers.com and use our code WIRE to get a free Easter ham and $25 off your first box. That's GoodRanchers.com, code WIRE.
--:-- John Bickley: Tomorrow is Super Tuesday and Donald Trump is expected to sweep the Republican primary contests all but ensuring his general election rematch against President Joe Biden. Trump's challenger Nikki Haley has failed to pick up ground in the polls after her second-place finish with 40% of the vote in her home state of South Carolina two weeks ago. Meanwhile, new polling shows significant good news for Trump against Biden.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to talk about what's at stake tomorrow and where the general election race stands is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, John. So can Trump all but win this tomorrow?
--:-- John Bickley: Morning, David. And yes, for all intents and purposes, he can and is likely to.
--:-- David Marcus: He technically won't have the total number of delegates he needs, but close enough. And really, barring a huge surprise, the longest general election in American history will begin on Wednesday, whether Haley officially drops out or not.
--:-- John Bickley: To put that in perspective, Trump didn't secure the nomination in 2016 until May 26th. For Biden in 2020, it was June 5th. So this year, we will likely get three months of bonus general election campaigning that we're about to embark on, John.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, and we'll be here to document every twist and turn of it. Dave, thanks for coming on.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Explosive text messages and fiery closing arguments wrapped up an evidentiary hearing into potential misconduct from Fulton County DA Fannie Willis. Willis is hoping to prosecute former President Trump and 18 others for alleged election interference.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to discuss the latest developments is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Hey, Amanda. So let's start with these text messages between Terrence Bradley and Ashley Merchant. First, remind us of the circumstances here and how these texts are significant.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So Merchant is a lawyer for Michael Roman. He's a co-defendant in Willis's case against the former president. And Bradley is the former law partner, friend, and divorce attorney of Nathan Wade. Willis is accused of having a romantic relationship with Wade before she hired him as a special prosecutor in this Trump case and then financially benefiting from that relationship.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: As for these texts, they allegedly reveal that Bradley offered Merchant information about Wade and Willis' affair, specifically that it started back in 2019. Now, this is significant because it would place Willis hiring Wade as special prosecutor after their affair had started.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: That would create a conflict for Willis, and importantly, it contradicts sworn statements and testimony from both Willis and Wade.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Right. And what do these texts actually say? One text exchange includes Merchant asking Bradley point blank if he thinks the affair started before Willis hired Wade in the Trump case.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Bradley responds, quote, absolutely. It started when Willis left the DA's office and was a judge in South Fulton.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, Willis was a judge in South Fulton in 2019. Other texts from Bradley say that he felt Willis and Wade would publicly deny the affair and called them both quote arrogant as F.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Bradley also suggested Wade is not qualified for the role as special prosecutor, writing of Wade, quote, never in his life has he ever prosecuted a felony.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: The timeline from Bradley's text aligned with testimony from Willis' former friend, Robin Yerty. Yerty said under oath that the affair started in 2019.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: The text also seemed to correspond with cell phone data submitted by Trump's legal team. Wade apparently made dozens of visits to Willis's home before he was tapped as special prosecutor.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Trump's team says the data also show that Wade stayed overnight on two of those occasions.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Bradley was asked about these text messages while he was on the stand. Tell us about his testimony there.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I mean, to put it plainly, Bradley's demeanor was completely different on the stand than how he was interacting with Merchant in those texts.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: He clearly did not want to testify or discuss any of those messages. He routinely responded by saying he did not recall, and he even suggested the information he gave Merchant was merely speculative or even false.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Okay, so we also had closing arguments for the hearing on Friday. How did those arguments go?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well, interestingly, Willis was in the courtroom when her office gave closing arguments. She seemed really engaged and at times was nodding along.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Basically, her office argued that no actual conflict was established, and they really emphasized that it's rare for prosecutors to be kicked off these cases, and the onus is on the defense.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Willis did abruptly leave the courtroom when Steve Sadow, Trump's lawyer, made his closing pitch.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Here's some audio of that.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Whose motive in this case is the strongest? Bonnie Willis, Nathan Wade. What happens if the relationship started before November 1st? They get disqualified. Who has the best motive of anyone to lie? They do. Who has the most at stake to lie? They do. Who wants to stay on this case for whatever the financial reason may be? They do.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Finally, when can we expect a ruling on Willis's potential disqualification? And do we have a sense of how Judge McAfee will rule?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: McAfee said he hopes to have a ruling within two weeks.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: He said at the close of court on Friday that he has several legal issues to sort through and several factual determinations to make.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Despite what seems like some pretty clear evidence of at least an appearance of a conflict here, it's unclear which way McAfee will rule.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: He's been pretty lenient on Willis, especially during her really heated testimony.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: But potentially, McAfee could disqualify Willis and Wade or the entire DA's office from moving forward with this Trump case.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And it could be even worse than that for Willis. Some legal analysts have argued that Willis should be prosecuted for lying under oath or even disbarred.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah. Well, the fate of one of the key cases against Trump could hang on his ruling.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You're welcome.
--:-- John Bickley: First Amendment advocates are raising concern over legal action taken against two journalists. A judge is holding veteran broadcaster Catherine Herridge in contempt for refusing to divulge her sources.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, on Friday, the FBI arrested investigative journalist Steve Baker on charges stemming from his coverage of January 6.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with more is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, why don't we start with Herridge? Why is she being held in contempt?
--:-- Megan Basham: So she was most recently an investigative reporter with CBS, and she'd worked there for the last four years. But these contempt charges actually stem from 2017 when she was with Fox News.
--:-- Megan Basham: She had written a series of stories about Dr. Yangping Chen, who is the president of the University of Management and Technology in Arlington, Virginia.
--:-- Megan Basham: And that school is just four miles from the Pentagon and it also takes funding from the Department of Defense.
--:-- Megan Basham: So the FBI had investigated Chen for potential ties to the Chinese military and for potentially lying on her immigration forms, but they never charged her.
--:-- Megan Basham: Then in 2018, Chen sued the FBI for violating her privacy rights, and she's accusing the agency of leaking information to Herrage.
--:-- Megan Basham: So in the course of this civil suit, Herrage has refused an order to divulge her sources, citing her First Amendment rights as a member of the press.
--:-- Megan Basham: U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who is an Obama appointee, is fining her $800 a day until she complies.
--:-- Megan Basham: He wrote in the order that he, quote, recognizes the paramount importance of a free press in our society.
--:-- Megan Basham: But he also said that the court has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, have Fox or Herrage responded?
--:-- Megan Basham: Not yet, but CBS has, which is interesting because the company just laid Herrage off a couple of weeks ago, and they took an unusual step of confiscating her records relating to confidential sources.
--:-- Megan Basham: But they then returned them when her union SAG-AFTRA stepped in.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, that notwithstanding, a CBS spokesman said the company is fully supportive of Katherine Herrage's position in this case.
--:-- Megan Basham: And they said that no journalist should be punished for maintaining a source's confidentiality.
--:-- Megan Basham: The spokesman also said the judge's order should be, and I'm quoting, concerning to all Americans who value the role of the free press in our democracy.
--:-- Megan Basham: All right, now let's turn to The Blaze's reporter, Steve Baker. Why was he arrested?
--:-- Megan Basham: So he's being charged with several misdemeanors stemming from his presence in the Capitol on January 6th.
--:-- Megan Basham: They include disorderly and disruptive conduct in the Capitol building and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, Baker was not working for the blaze at the time of the riot, but he says he was in the Capitol as an independent journalist covering the protests.
--:-- Megan Basham: Bolstering that claim, he licensed the footage that he took that day to a number of media outlets, including the New York Times.
--:-- Megan Basham: The FBI's affidavit, on the other hand, highlights comments that Baker made during and after the riot, where he said that he, quote, 100 percent approved of what happened today, referring to January 6th.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he also used a swear word in reference to Nancy Pelosi and said he regrets not grabbing a laptop from her office.
--:-- Megan Basham: Baker has said that these remarks, some of which he called jokes, have been taken out of context.
--:-- Megan Basham: He told Morning Wire that the FBI's case is politically motivated.
--:-- Megan Basham: I had, you know, look, I had no love for whether I was in Pelosi's or near Pelosi's office or near McConnell's office.
--:-- Megan Basham: But this is exactly what the DOJ does with all of these people.
--:-- Megan Basham: Ultimately, the biggest crime that every one of these J6 defendants commit, whether it's Stuart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, or it's a grandmother who took a selfie inside the Capitol for 10 minutes, or it's me.
--:-- Megan Basham: They go and they get language that was used, words that was used, speech that was used, and then they tie that in and make that speech representative of their behavior.
--:-- Megan Basham: I should also note that Baker's coverage of J6 and its aftermath has been fairly extensive, so much so that House Republicans have given him access to some previously unseen footage of that day.
--:-- Megan Basham: And in response to Baker's arrest, Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans are going to make more than 5,000 hours of footage from the Capitol public.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he says that the House will release all 40,000 hours over the course of the next two months.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, certainly anytime the courts go after journalists, all of us in the news business pay particular attention.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Megan Basham: We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music starts playing]
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
