--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: A New York jury has found former President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation despite his adamant denials.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I have absolutely no idea who this woman is.
--:-- John Bickley: The verdict is a disgrace, a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time. What happens next and how will this affect Trump's reelection campaign?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, May 10th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The research organization accused of working with the Wuhan Virology Lab in China is back on the U.S. government payroll.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It is absolutely ludicrous for the NIH or any federal agency to be shipping tax dollars to the non-compliant EcoHealth Alliance.
--:-- John Bickley: What is EcoHealth Alliance and what new research is the government funding?
--:-- Georgia Howe: And a Texas elementary school is shut down for multiple days after parents say the district tried to cover up the sexual assault of a six-year-old student.
--:-- John Bickley: Now the FBI is investigating.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Former president and current candidate Donald Trump was found liable for sexual assault and defamation by a New York jury on Wednesday and was ordered to pay his accuser, E. Jean Carroll, $5 million in damages.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The lawsuit stems from an alleged incident Carroll says occurred more than 25 years ago in which she says Trump raped her in a dressing room.
--:-- John Bickley: She never reported the alleged assault to law enforcement and initially called it a fight.
--:-- Georgia Howe: She wrote about the alleged incident in her 2019 book.
--:-- John Bickley: And when Trump denied her claim, she sued him for defamation.
--:-- [Guest introduction]
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss is Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey Dave, so what exactly did the jury of three women and six men find?
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning.
--:-- David Marcus: The jury stopped short of finding that Trump raped his accuser, but they did find that Carol had proved her case regarding the alleged incident of sexual abuse, and that therefore Trump's social media post calling the claim a hoax was defamatory.
--:-- John Bickley: It's extremely important to point out that this was a civil, not a criminal case.
--:-- David Marcus: So the burden of proof was fairly low, a preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.
--:-- John Bickley: But even for the eccentric and unconventional Donald Trump, this is uncharted territory.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, it was a contentious and at times somewhat ugly trial.
--:-- John Bickley: Carroll testified in front of the court, Trump did not.
--:-- David Marcus: How long did the jury take to reach this decision and what may have influenced them?
--:-- John Bickley: The jury deliberated for only three hours before returning both decisions.
--:-- David Marcus: And yes, Carol gave very emotional testimony about the alleged attack, which she claimed began with what she thought to be harmless flirting.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump didn't testify in court, but there were video depositions.
--:-- David Marcus: And frankly, the former president was fairly smug, and maybe that's not shocking, him.
--:-- John Bickley: At one point, insisting that Carroll was not his type and then saying the woman attorney questioning him also isn't his type.
--:-- David Marcus: It's hard to get in the head of juries.
--:-- John Bickley: And this was in heavily Democratic New York, but clearly they found Carroll to be compelling.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, apparently so.
--:-- John Bickley: Now we've seen some response from the Trump campaign already vowing to fight this decision.
--:-- David Marcus: What can we expect from his team going forward?
--:-- John Bickley: Will they approach this as a real danger to his chances or just another example of political targeting?
--:-- David Marcus: Almost certainly the latter.
--:-- John Bickley: This is of course, just one of many legal actions facing Trump, who was indicted last month in a Manhattan court for alleged financial improprieties.
--:-- David Marcus: He also faces potential charges in Georgia surrounding his 2020 election claims and potential federal charges in relation to the Capitol riot.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Team Trump wants to lump all of these things together as a massive witch hunt, which is meant to keep Trump from returning to the White House.
--:-- David Marcus: And he did get a bump in the polls after his indictment by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
--:-- John Bickley: So the hope is that his supporters just aren't buying these legal attacks on him.
--:-- David Marcus: Right.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, this all comes at a time when Trump is being challenged for the nomination by Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.
--:-- David Marcus: It looks like Tim Scott and, of course, Ron DeSantis are also poised to enter.
--:-- John Bickley: Will those candidates use this to their advantage?
--:-- David Marcus: It's tricky, right?
--:-- John Bickley: I think all of these candidates, maybe especially DeSantis, who sometimes pitches as Trump without the drama, are going to want to say something along the lines of, you know, hey, maybe we shouldn't nominate a guy who a jury says committed sexual abuse.
--:-- David Marcus: But on the other hand, many, many GOP voters do believe that these are politically motivated and trumped up, so to speak, charges.
--:-- John Bickley: So the response probably has to be somewhat measured.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, I'm guessing the Democrats will not feel compelled to take such a measured approach regarding this decision.
--:-- David Marcus: How pointed could those attacks be should Trump become the nominee?
--:-- John Bickley: Democrats will pounce all over this.
--:-- David Marcus: You know, there was some thinking that Bragg's indictment was overreach.
--:-- John Bickley: And so there wasn't too much spiking of the football there.
--:-- David Marcus: But this is likely to be different.
--:-- John Bickley: There is no question that should Trump be the nominee, Joe Biden or whoever is running against him will be saying that a jury found Trump committed sexual abuse.
--:-- David Marcus: They'll be saying it early and often.
--:-- John Bickley: And even for Donald Trump, that's a pretty stark reality.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, no doubt.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll hear a lot about this case from Democrats.
--:-- [Guest introduction]
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile, Trump's team says they'll appeal this verdict, so it may not be over.
--:-- David Marcus: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, the National Institute of Health renews a controversial lab grant.
--:-- John Bickley: The COVID public health emergency officially expires this week, ending some food stamp benefits and changing how we track the virus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At the same time, the NIH has announced a multi-million dollar renewed grant to a controversial research group.
--:-- [Guest introduction]
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So Amanda, the COVID public health emergency, which was enacted over three years ago, finally comes to an end on Thursday.
--:-- John Bickley: What changes can the public expect?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So the biggest change will be a cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known also as SNAP or food stamps.
--:-- John Bickley: Basically, these benefits are going back down to what someone received before the pandemic.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So during the pandemic, households receiving SNAP benefits were given an extra $95 per month or potentially more depending on the household.
--:-- John Bickley: It's estimated that up to 16 million American homes will see that additional welfare bump come to an end.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There will also be some changes concerning testing and vaccines.
--:-- John Bickley: Insurers are no longer obligated to cover up to eight at-home COVID tests per month.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: However, Americans on Medicaid will still get those at tests covered until at least September of 2024.
--:-- John Bickley: When it comes to vaccines and oral treatments, anything that in the federal government supply will continue to be offered at no cost.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: But when that supply runs out, which is expected to be early fall, the cost will depend on, for example, your insurance coverage.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, you mentioned that there will be changes in how we track the virus.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, that's right.
--:-- John Bickley: So tracking from the CDC will still exist on COVID, but some of those metrics will no longer be tracked or tracked with less frequency.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And that's because the CDC's authority to collect and receive certain types of data will change when the public health emergency ends.
--:-- John Bickley: Starting Thursday, hospitals will start to phase out this daily county-level tracking and source data on COVID-associated deaths and positive tests will also change.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Okay, now let's get into the latest development on the EcoHealth Alliance announcement.
--:-- John Bickley: The NIH has approved a $2.3 million grant over the next four years for this research group, and that sparked a lot of controversy.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So this New York City-based research group is pretty controversial, largely because it's studying bat coronaviruses and has ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
--:-- John Bickley: The group has been accused of awarding U.S. taxpayer funds for gain-of-function research at the WIV, something the group denies.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There are many who believe this sort of gain-of-function activity potentially caused the entire pandemic.
--:-- John Bickley: President Donald Trump in 2020 actually stopped this grant because of those ties.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I'll note that EcoHealth has also been accused of breaking the law and abusing animals.
--:-- John Bickley: I spoke to Justin Goodman, the senior vice president of the White Coat Waste Project, and he told me this development from the NIH is, quote, stunning failure of government oversight and accountability, and said the grant puts us at risk.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: By all accounts, EcoHealth has wasted money in foreign laboratories, potentially killed millions of people, broken the law, violated all kinds of grant policies, and we're still shipping tax dollars over to them for dangerous experiments around the world in 20 different countries, including what DOD money meant for a weapons of mass destruction account.
--:-- John Bickley: We really don't know what exactly is going on with EcoHealth and what they're doing with their dangerous virus hunting all around the world.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: The president of EcoHealth, Dr. Peter Dajak, maintains that the group did not fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan.
--:-- John Bickley: He's also promised to refrain from any gain-of-function research, stop any subcontracting to China, and promise to provide more transparency in their spending.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Goodman told me the group still should not be trusted.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, I think a lot of Americans are probably wary of any more of this research at this point.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The FBI is now investigating the alleged sexual assault of a six-year-old at a Texas elementary school after school administrators allegedly attempted to cover up the incident.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Hi, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, this alleged sexual assault of a six-year-old girl happened in mid-April at South Elementary School in the Plainview ISD school district, which is in northern Texas.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The little girl's family says multiple boys in her class pulled her under a desk and forced her to perform sex acts during class with the teacher in the room.
--:-- John Bickley: The boys recorded the sex acts with a school iPad.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The young girl told her family that she tried to fight back hitting one of the boys with a poetry book but that the incident went on quote until they let me go.
--:-- John Bickley: She first told her family that a boy exposed himself to her in the lunch line at school, but it turned out that was not the worst thing that happened.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The FBI is now working on the case, along with local law enforcement, according to a statement from Plainview ISD.
--:-- John Bickley: The case has also been submitted to the Hale County District Attorney's Office for even more investigation.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Parents and community members are furious because the school initially tried to cover up the incident despite knowing about the video on the iPad.
--:-- John Bickley: Over the past week, parents organized protests outside of the school district's administration building, and the school had to cancel classes on Monday and Tuesday of last week.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: What's the school district saying? Have they given any kind of response or explanation for how this happened?
--:-- John Bickley: Yes, the superintendent of Plainview ISD said that, quote, all of the steps that we're required to take, we took.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The school found the iPad recording of the incident the day after the incident.
--:-- John Bickley: He said a report was made and CPS was contacted.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: CPS is actively investigating this case.
--:-- John Bickley: However, it appears the family was unaware of the incident at first.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: A state investigator also started working with local law enforcement and came to Plainview the next week, the superintendent said.
--:-- John Bickley: He had asked that we hold confidentiality because he wanted to be sure that he was able to get the full story from each of the students, the minors that were involved in the situation.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Also, the teacher who was in the classroom the day of the incident has been placed on administrative leave.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, what's the family saying?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The family was understandably furious when they learned what had happened and that they were not informed.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Heather Gonzalez, an older cousin of the six-year-old girl, speaking about the district's response.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Everything was no comment. I cannot tell you. No comment.
--:-- John Bickley: So you need to tell me abuse has been happening for a week and a half, and these kids are still at the same desk.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: My cousin is still at a desk with all boys, having to see her abuses every day.
--:-- John Bickley: The school district canceled classes for at least two days due to threats of violence they said they received.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: The mass shooting in Allen, Texas, was another reason for the canceled classes.
--:-- John Bickley: The superintendent now says he wants to work together with the family to find a solution.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: For now, though, the Little Girl's family and other local families are protesting the school's handling of this serious situation, and it doesn't look like they will be easily satisfied.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, there are a lot of disturbing elements to this story, but one thing that jumps out is there ought to be an investigation into what those boys are exposed to at home that they even thought to do this.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week.
--:-- John Bickley: In a video released on Twitter, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson announced that he will be hosting a new show on Twitter.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In the video, Carlson called out Legacy Media and said that the news we consume is a lie of the, quote, stealthiest and most insidious kind.
--:-- John Bickley: He ended the video by saying the following.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Starting soon, we'll be bringing a new version of the show we've been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.
--:-- John Bickley: We bring some other things, too, which we'll tell you about.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But for now, we're just grateful to be here.
--:-- John Bickley: Free speech is the main right that you have.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Without it, you have no others.
--:-- John Bickley: See you soon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back later this afternoon with the news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music starts playing]
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
