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--:-- Georgia Howe: Trump holds his first rally since the second assassination attempt against him as more details emerge about his would-be killer. I have to say, Secret Service did a hell of a job. They really did.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, September 18th, and this is Morning Wire. Chaos in Lebanon as Hezbollah terrorists are hit by a series of explosions from their pagers, killing several and injuring thousands more.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I think you'll be interested to find out who or which members of the Lebanese government were affected by this as well.
--:-- John Bickley: And music mogul Sean Diddy Combs is arrested on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. The indictment alleges that Combs abused and exploited women and other people for years, and in a variety of ways.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: Last night, Donald Trump held his first rally since the second attempt on his life. As new details show, law enforcement had been warned multiple times in recent years about the would-be shooter.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot, so first, details now trickling in about the gunman's plot and his background. What have we learned in this last day?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, according to cell phone records, we now know the gunman, Ryan Wesley Ruth, first snuck into a tree line bordering Trump's golf course around 2 a.m. Sunday morning. It was there on a fence bordering the sixth hole that he laid in wait with a line of sight onto the sixth hole of the course.
--:-- John Bickley: Nearly 12 hours later, Donald Trump was finishing up play on the fifth hole when a Secret Service agent who'd walked ahead of the president happened to notice Ruth's gun barrel protruding from that fence. That agent opened fire and Ruth fled before returning fire, leaving his rifle behind.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But we still don't know whether he acted alone, how long he'd been in Florida, and perhaps most importantly, how he knew Trump would be playing golf that day. Was it a coincidence or did he somehow obtain inside information about the former president's schedule?
--:-- John Bickley: Remember, this was an impromptu round of golf that was not on his official schedule.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, very troubling to say the least. And we've now learned that the gunman was already on the radar of law enforcement.
--:-- John Bickley: Yes, he was. Ruth had a lengthy criminal history, including gun charges, hit and run, and possessing stolen goods. In 2019, the FBI actually received a tip that he was illegally in possession of a firearm, but their investigation fizzled out after the tipster failed to substantiate the claim.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In recent years, Ruth became an avid advocate for Ukraine, working to recruit volunteers in America and elsewhere to join the war against Russia.
--:-- John Bickley: For example, I obtained Ruth phone number and here is his voicemail. This is Ryan in Hawaii with Campbox Buildings and also the National Volunteer Center sending soldiers to Ukraine as well as Taiwan. If you'd like to volunteer, please send me a message.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In 2022, Ruth even traveled to Ukraine, hoping to join the Ukrainian military, but was turned away. He instead spent the following months on the ground in Kiev working to recruit foreigners to the country and partnering with a number of nonprofits offering aid to the war effort.
--:-- John Bickley: And that is where he ended up back on the U.S. law enforcement radar. A number of Americans who encountered him there became worried by his erratic behavior and threats of violence.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For example, a Frenchman who traveled to Ukraine to join the war met with Ruth and told The Wall Street Journal he had a deep hatred of Donald Trump for, quote, trying to negotiate a deal with Putin instead of having Ukraine's back.
--:-- John Bickley: So a possible motive there. Another woman who worked with Ruth there was so concerned with his behavior that she actually met with customs officers when she returned to the U.S., giving them his name, warning that he displayed, quote, predatory behavior and was among the most dangerous Americans she met during her time in Ukraine.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: However, it is unclear if any federal agency followed up on that warning.
--:-- John Bickley: So lots of questions about the Fed's follow-up here.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So let's get to Trump. How has he responded to this latest attempt on his life?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, initially, Trump said the apocalyptic language used by Democrats against his campaign is what ultimately led to these repeated attempts on his life.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Speaking to Fox, Trump said the shooter, quote, believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris and acted on it. Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at.
--:-- John Bickley: But it's worth noting, we heard from Trump last night for the first time in public since this incident, and he struck a much more gracious tone.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He thanked Kamala Harris and Joe Biden for offering well wishes and definitely offered a sort of unifying message.
--:-- John Bickley: And I have to say that President Biden called me yesterday. It was very nice. We had a very nice conversation. I appreciated that he called about, you know, what happened.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And today, a little while ago, I got a very nice call from Kamala. No, it was very nice. It was very nice. It was very, very nice.
--:-- John Bickley: And we appreciate that. But we have to take back our country. We have to win. We're going to win and we're going to make America great again. That's all there is to it. Very simply.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Trump supporters have once again been galvanized by this shocking crime. Many have taken on a new rallying cry on social media, posting, I'm voting for the guy they keep trying to kill.
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile, some media figures are effectively blaming the victim in this case.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Kevin, thanks for reporting.
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--:-- John Bickley: Thousands of people are wounded in Lebanon after pagers in Hezbollah's internal communications network exploded around the same time on Tuesday. The terror group has blamed the attack on Israel and pledged to retaliate.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, Tim. So first, it's assumed that Israel is behind this attack. How solid is that assumption?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, that the consensus right now from experts That includes Aryeh Lightstone the former senior advisor to the U Ambassador to Israel Morningwire talked with Lightstone about the attack and he called it a big deal that could precede a bigger attack on Hezbollah top officials.
--:-- John Bickley: The ability to access the critical communication of your foe in a different country, Hezbollah, in this case in Lebanon and Syria, and to use that is indicative of either planning for something that will follow immediately after this to destroy the command and control of the Hezbollah commanders, or as a message to say, this is the main punch. If you don't punch back, we can both go back to our corners.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And what do we know about the attack so far? Who did it target and how exactly was it pulled off?
--:-- John Bickley: Earlier reports suggest that explosive material was embedded in the batteries of pagers used in Hezbollah's internal communications network. That material was then detonated remotely by heating up the pagers' batteries.
--:-- Tim Pierce: As far as the extent, we don't have the full picture yet. The number of people hurt is in the thousands, though, with multiple people dead. Many of those hit can be presumed to be top members of Hezbollah.
--:-- John Bickley: As Lightstone pointed out, the terrorists in this network, the people who actually owned these pagers, are part of the leadership in Hezbollah. This attack didn't just target grunts or foot soldiers.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The last thing to note here is that as we learn more about who owned these pagers, we can get a better grasp of who actually runs Hezbollah. For instance, one of the people hurt in this attack happened to be the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, notable that he was among those wounded. It will be interesting to see what other names come out.
--:-- Tim Pierce: What about Hezbollah's response? What could that look like?
--:-- John Bickley: Lightstone outlined a few issues to consider on that. Number one, is Hezbollah capable of retaliating right now? This is potentially a crippling attack on their leadership that they require for the response, and we don't know that information yet.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And secondly is, it is unlikely that Israel has fired its best shot. So Hezbollah must be anticipating if they fire back further, what can Israel do that would be worse than this?
--:-- John Bickley: And that becomes the delicate balance that has really taken place since October 8th. They need to show face or save face, but they want to save face in such a way that Hezbollah does not get wiped off the map.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Morningwire asked Lightstone about likely outcomes here. For context, the Israeli security cabinet on Monday set a new war goal to return tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to their homes near the Lebanese border. This attack could be interpreted as a move for leverage to secure that goal.
--:-- John Bickley: But Lightstone put the chances of a peace deal with Hezbollah now at less than 10 percent. On the other hand, there's a good chance this conflict gets much hotter.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Lightstone. I think we're closer to 50-50 to a full-scale war. And only once that passes will there now be an analysis over whether this was enough to be able to push people back.
--:-- John Bickley: Finally, how about the U.S.? How is the U.S. expected to react to this?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, a day before the attack, the Biden administration publicly warned Israel against escalation with Hezbollah. Israel obviously disagreed on that point. So we'll see what impact that will have on relations between the two countries.
--:-- John Bickley: But however the Biden administration reacts, its response will factor into how Hezbollah decides to react. According to Lightstone, if the U.S. opts for more pressure on its ally, that would make an escalatory strike from Hezbollah more likely.
--:-- Tim Pierce: We'll see how President Biden decides to respond.
--:-- John Bickley: Tim, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Rap Mogul and record executive Sean Diddy Combs was arrested by federal authorities in New York Monday night and has been charged with numerous felonies related to sex trafficking.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So it sounds like Holmes has finally been indicted Listeners will remember several months ago his homes were raided and some terrible allegations came out Amanda what are the actual charges now being brought by the Southern District of New York
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Combs has been charged with three felony counts, sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and prostitution transportation, according to an indictment that was unsealed Tuesday.
--:-- John Bickley: The indictment alleges that Combs has been abusing, threatening, and coercing victims into sexual acts since at least 2009.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: It says he created a criminal organization that engaged in or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, obstruction of justice, and other offenses.
--:-- John Bickley: The rap artist allegedly used his business associates to help facilitate and cover up these alleged crimes.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Combs appeared in court on Tuesday and he pleaded not guilty to all charges.
--:-- John Bickley: Prosecution argued that he was a flight risk and Combs was denied bail.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: He's facing decades in prison if convicted.
--:-- John Bickley: The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, also held a press conference on Tuesday.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, what kind of details came out at that conference? It was damning.
--:-- John Bickley: Williams alleges that Combs would hold drug-fueled, coercive sex performances in hotel rooms that he called freak-offs.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Combs would allegedly use force, threats of force, and coercion so women would engage in sex acts with male commercial sex workers, some of whom Combs would allegedly help transport across state lines.
--:-- John Bickley: He'd also allegedly record all of this and then use those videos as collateral to control these women.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Here's Williams. The freak-off sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics, such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, which Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant.
--:-- John Bickley: Williams also referenced leaked video that hit the press in May, which allegedly shows a female trying to escape one of these freak-offs held at a Los Angeles hotel before she was beaten by Combs.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: It seems he was referring to Cassandra Ventura, aka Cassie, Combs' then-girlfriend. In November, Cassie filed a lawsuit claiming Combs had beaten and raped her for years.
--:-- John Bickley: She settled with Combs the very next day, but her accusations ignited a slew of other accusations against the rapper.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: At least four other people, including a music producer named Rodney Little Rod Jones, have since accused Combs of sexual misconduct, including rape.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Combs' properties were raided by law enforcement in March. Are these charges related to evidence found at that time?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yes. Williams said those raids in Miami and Los Angeles, which were carried out by Homeland Security, they uncovered crucial evidence.
--:-- John Bickley: Electronic devices that contain images and videos of the freak-offs with multiple victims. And they seize cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that combs the staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak-offs.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: More than 1,000 bottles altogether. Guns with obliterated serial numbers were also uncovered during those raids.
--:-- John Bickley: And during the presser, Williams also made repeated reference to this racketeering charge, emphasizing that Combs did not do this on his own.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: He said Combs used his business, personal assistants, security staff, and household staff to help pull these crimes off.
--:-- John Bickley: So we can expect to see others tied up in all of this.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And Williams also left the door open for more charges against Combs.
--:-- John Bickley: So some truly shocking and despicable crimes, it sounds like.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: You're welcome. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
