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--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Friday, March 31st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for joining us, Georgia. Today, we're discussing the fallout from the first-ever indictment of a former president of the United States.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. The indictment of Donald Trump is making headlines, and we're here with Daily Wire contributor David Marcus to break it down. Good afternoon, David.
--:-- David Marcus: Good afternoon, John. So next week, Donald Trump is set to appear in court in New York to be arraigned on 34 charges stemming from his payoff of adult actress Stormy Daniels.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And it's unclear whether this will involve Trump being handcuffed, an image long dreamt of by his most vociferous opponents, but there will be a mugshot and fingerprinting before the former president is expected to plead not guilty.
--:-- David Marcus: On Friday, current President Joe Biden said no comment when asked about the unprecedented indictment, which is interesting because he himself is under investigation for his handling of classified documents so he could well be the next former president to face criminal charges after exiting the Oval Office.
--:-- John Bickley: The conventional wisdom right now is that these charges will, at least in the short term, help Trump politically more than they hurt him, leaving some observers to suggest it's a kind of four chess going on in which Democrats want Trump, who they see as beatable, to be the nominee.
--:-- David Marcus: But it seems just as likely that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is working for his own benefit. Targeting Trump was a campaign promise of his, after all, and it distracts from soaring crime in the borough, which even Democrats have slammed the progressive DA for.
--:-- John Bickley: Key voices from Congress, as well as 2024 presidential candidates, are reacting to the news of the former president's indictment. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the move un-American and said he will not assist in an extradition request, citing the questionable circumstances at issue and the political agenda of the prosecutor.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also commented via video statement. Let's take a listen.
--:-- Vivek Ramaswamy: We're not some banana republic, guys. We are the United States of America. We're supposed to be that shining city on a hill for the rest of the world that still gives hope to the free world as we know it. And yet look at what we have become today. This is not the America that I know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's quite a statement. GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has also weighed in, tweeting that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has, quote, irreparably damaged our country and vowing that the House will hold Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.
--:-- John Bickley: New York Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer issued his own statement, appearing to support the charges, stating Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He also urged a peaceful process.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has more on another story. Tim, can you tell us about Jacob Chansley, also known as the QAnon shaman?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks, Georgia. Jacob Chansley has been released from federal prison and will serve the rest of his sentence at a halfway house in Arizona, where he's from. Chansley was, in the words of one federal judge, the very image of the January 6th riot, known for wearing body paint and a Viking helmet around the Capitol that day.
--:-- Tim Pierce: His release from prison came as somewhat of a surprise to everyone except Chansley and his attorney William Shipley. According to Shipley, Chansley was always likely to leave prison around this time based on Bureau of Prison Policies and the good time credit Chansley accrued.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A group of seven women are suing their sorority at the University of Wyoming for accepting a biological male who identifies as a woman. The women allege that the Kappa Kappa Gamma House allowed Artemis Langford to become a member of the sorority in 2022 and was permitted access to shared bathrooms, shower facilities, and common living spaces.
--:-- John Bickley: The suit alleges that Langford had been watching fellow sorority sisters and in one instance had a visible erection while doing so. Langford is set to move into the sorority house next year. The lawsuit is not seeking damages, but is asking the sorority to void Langford's membership.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The average price of a new car has reached nearly $50,000, while prices have ticked down just a bit this month to $48,763, they are expected to climb all year. The average price of a used car is around $27,000. That's down from $31,000 last month.
--:-- John Bickley: But don't expect any bargains soon. A shortage of new and used vehicles all across the country will keep prices high throughout the year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Disney has blocked much of the governmental oversight that was intended to come from a Governor DeSantis-appointed board put in place to regulate Walt Disney World. The current supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District say the Disney-controlled board signed last-minute development agreements that gave Disney maximum developmental power over the Florida theme park.
--:-- John Bickley: The agreement prohibits the district from using the name Disney or any symbols associated with the theme park resort without the company's permission. The company can sue for damages for any violations and the agreement is in effect until perpetuity according to the declaration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The season has officially opened for Major League Baseball, and the league has introduced some major changes that will dramatically impact the game. Here with more is Crane & Company co-host David Cohn.
--:-- David Cohn: Thanks, Georgia. Yesterday was opening day of the 2023 Major League Baseball season, and there are several major rule changes since the Houston Astros won the World Series last November. First off, overloading players to one side of the infield, which is known as the shift, is now a violation.
--:-- David Cohn: At the time a pitch is thrown, all four infielders are required to be on the infield dirt with two players on each side of second base. Big change there. Second, this will be the first MLB season with a pitch clock aimed at speeding up pace of play.
--:-- David Cohn: The new rule states pitchers will have 15 seconds to deliver the pitch with the bases empty, 20 seconds with a runner on base. Hitters will need to be in the batter's box with at least 8 seconds on that pitch clock. Here's how it will be enforced. If a pitcher has not started that throwing motion before the expiration of the clock, he will be charged with a ball. If a batter delays entering the batter's box, he will be charged with a strike.
--:-- David Cohn: Major change there. According to MLB executives, the pitch clock shaved 26 minutes off of spring training games over this past month. Lastly, the size of the bases has increased from 15 inches to 18 inches. This does not include home plate, but Major League Baseball hopes the increase in base sizes will reduce injuries while increasing stolen base attempts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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