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--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, April 3rd, and this is Morning Wire. In a ruling that could set a significant precedent for free speech online, a man has been found guilty of election interference because of memes he created. We break down the drama inside the courtroom and how the defense is reacting. And as the Supreme Court considers affirmative action, bills prohibiting race-based preferences are stalling in deep red states. If you don't want to have a tough battle, you don't address things like this. We take a look at the controversy surrounding an Arkansas bill being considered today. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: On Tuesday, Donald Trump will be arraigned in a Manhattan courthouse, marking the first time that a former president has faced a criminal indictment. The much-anticipated spectacle, first predicted by Trump about two weeks ago, is a homecoming of sorts for the mogul who made his bones in New York.
--:-- David Marcus: Good morning. So Trump will apparently surrender himself on Tuesday morning. It's not clear if he'll be handcuffed either inside or outside the courthouse. That largely depends on how big of a show Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wants to make of it.
--:-- John Bickley: There are protests planned in New York, including one set to be attended by firebrand GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. But it's not clear how loud or boisterous these protests may be. I mean, after all, New York City isn't exactly MAGA country.
--:-- David Marcus: After the arraignment, Trump will be released, and somewhere down the line, we get a trial. In addition to Trump being briefly taken into custody on Tuesday, the indictment itself will be unsealed and we'll learn exactly what the 34 charges against him are. What are they likely to be, and could we see any surprises?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, we know the indictment centers around hush money paid to adult entertainer Stormy Daniels by former Trump sidekick Michael Cohen. And he says Trump reimbursed him for that money. The charges surround how the bookkeeping around that money was done. And there's some speculation that Bragg might use elements of federal campaign finance law to try to turn what would normally be a misdemeanor into a felony.
--:-- David Marcus: That potential approach has already been met with criticism, as this show has highlighted. One thing is for sure it going to be a very busy week for cable news legal experts.
--:-- John Bickley: Generally speaking, how has the reaction been playing out on both sides since the announcement of the indictment last week?
--:-- David Marcus: I mean, Republicans of every shade of red are almost universally against it. From Jeb Bush, Ron DeSantis, Lindsey Graham. On the other side, it's been a little more mixed. Some prominent Democrats, such as former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, have denounced it. But in general, the feeling being expressed is that even though this likely is not the strongest case pending against Trump, and despite allegations that Bragg has political motivations, nobody, not even former presidents, are above the law.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump himself has expressed outrage over the indictment, but he's also had a phenomenal $4 million contribution haul in the days after the announcement. And recent polls actually show support for him strengthening. Is this helping him?
--:-- David Marcus: It certainly seems to be. Look, it's important to note that Trump was already rising significantly in most national polling before the indictment. But that's expanded now, with some surveys putting him over 50 percent with as much as a 30-point lead on Ron DeSantis. And it does seem like the charges are lighting a fire under his fundraising efforts. But it's very early and it remains to be seen if this indictment and trial, as well as potential others involving 2020 election denial claims in January 6th, becomes so much of a circus surrounding him that GOP voters look for a more normal choice.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. Now, once the drama on Tuesday is over, is it likely this story kind of loses steam pending trial? Or is this such a historical moment that it will have longer legs?
--:-- David Marcus: Clearly, Trump will keep carping on it. He's scheduled to deliver remarks on Tuesday night from Mar-a-Lago. And one surmises that they will be somewhat, shall we say, colorful. But as to the historic nature of this, it's hard to say. Trump went through two impeachments that are barely even mentioned anymore. Is this a footnote or a chapter in the history books?
--:-- John Bickley: It's going to take a while to find out. Yeah, the first ever indictment of a president does feel like a chapter to me. But thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus. Coming up, a man is found guilty of election interference for creating election-related memes.
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--:-- John Bickley: In a ruling that could have far-reaching implications for free speech online, a federal jury found pro-Trump meme creator Douglas Mackey guilty of interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Convicting him on one count of conspiracy against rights. The 33-year-old, who has yet to be sentenced, is facing 10 years behind bars.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Hey, John. So just about a week after President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the DOJ announced it was charging Mackey with election interference over his memes. The government claimed Mackey's social media posts were intended to trick people out of their right to vote during the 2016 election. One of the means the government really focused in on shows a woman holding an African-American for President Hillary sign. That overlaid with text reading avoid the line vote from home text Hillary to 55925.
--:-- John Bickley: So during the trial the government said Mackey was targeting women and minorities and noted that 4 unique numbers texted that 55925 number. The defense team said Mackey was merely posting satirical memes and, quote, S-H, you can fill in the rest, posting, which is protected speech. And they argued that not a single person was deprived of their right to vote over the memes, stating if a single voter was tricked, the government would have called that person as their first witness.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: So the verdict finally came down on Friday following numerous days of deliberation. Tell us about that process and the verdict.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, so this Brooklyn jury deliberated for about 35 hours over the course of five days. And early on, it really looked like there was going to be a hung jury. The jury sent back notes to Judge Ann Donnelly on Tuesday and Wednesday saying that they were split and couldn't come to a decision. But the judge ordered them to reconvene and continue deliberations through what's called an Allen charge. This basically directs a hung jury to figure it out and agree on a verdict.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The judge added that if the jury still couldn't agree, their decision would be respected. Still, though, a somewhat controversial move from the judge, especially since the jury returned a guilty verdict. So this could open up some options for Mackey's defense team to get this guilty verdict tossed.
--:-- John Bickley: It certainly could. Now, what reaction have we seen over this verdict so far?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Well, we'll start with Mackey himself. He reportedly gave no reaction when the verdict was read, but his father, who was in the courtroom, let out a heavy sigh. Mackey's lawyer, Andrew J. Frisk, unsurprisingly promised to appeal. He said the appellate court will have its choice of issues to vacate the conviction. Frisk cited First Amendment protections, the government's suppression of exculpatory information, and the apparent dubious choice of venue for the trial, which was in Brooklyn, New York.
--:-- John Bickley: Alternatively, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, said the verdict proves the defendant's, quote, fraudulent actions crossed the line into criminality and flatly rejects Mackey's cynical attempt to use the constitutional right of free speech as a shield for his scheme to suppress votes.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Now, there was some drama in this case, which actually led to a delay in the trial. What happened there?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, the defense's expert witness, Professor George Hawley of the University of Alabama, actually dropped out of testifying right before trial. The defense team claimed Holly dropped out after intimidation practices by left-wing journalist Luke O'Brien, who was reportedly working on a piece for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: O'Brien has actually boasted online that it was his reporting that predicated the government charging Mackey. He also caused a stir inside the courtroom. At one point, the judge dismissed the jury so she could admonish O'Brien for trying to get Mackey's attention, making faces at him during the trial. The transcript shows she threatened to kick him out of her courtroom. The journalist also followed Mackey out of the courtroom on March 20th, filming him and asking him questions, to which Mackey gave no reaction.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, certainly a case we're going to keep tabs on. Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: Several Republican-led states have passed bills rolling back or limiting affirmative action programs. But not every red state has embraced ending race-based preferences. A bill in Arkansas, a state with a GOP supermajority, has faced hurdles getting to the governor's desk, but a committee is set to consider the bill today.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, Arkansas is a very red state, but they're struggling to pass this kind of legislation. Why is that?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, part of why we're seeing so much energy on the issue is that the Supreme Court is set to rule on a case regarding race-based admission preferences at universities. And that's going to set a precedent for the legality of these kind of programs.
--:-- Megan Basham: I spoke to Dan Sullivan the Arkansas state senator who authored SB 71 which would end preferential treatment in accessing any government programs based on race or sex. And he said that the pending SCOTUS ruling was a big part of his motivation to move on this issue.
--:-- John Bickley: We knew when we started on this that it was going to be tough and vicious, but that's time to do this. The Supreme Court is likely to have that Supreme Court decision on affirmative action for college admissions. And we wanted to get out ahead of that.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, in addition to that, polling shows that the public generally doesn't favor race-based preferences anymore. So for example, a recent Pew poll found that 74% of Americans are against affirmative action. And that number is presumably even higher in conservative-leaning Arkansas.
--:-- John Bickley: Yet, while the bill passed the Senate easily, it stalled out in the House when a Republican-led committee tabled it. Now, through the efforts of backers, the bill was able to be brought up again on a deferred list. So it's not dead yet.
--:-- Megan Basham: But the fact that it was almost dead led Bill McGurn, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, to pen an op-ed speculating that maybe some mischief was going on.
--:-- John Bickley: So what kind of mischief would that be?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, we've talked before about the role that corporate pressure can play in stalling out this popular conservative legislation. Well, in this case, it looks more like public utilities may have played a role. So those public utilities also often now have internal DEI departments that can engage in activism to defend these programs.
--:-- John Bickley: Central Arkansas Water, for instance, is the largest public water supplier in Arkansas, and it has an internal division known as JEDI, which stands for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, JEDI sent an internal email, which I reviewed, to all employees that claimed the bill, quote, promotes white supremacy and attacks women, veterans, and disabled Arkansas residents. And it gave them a phone number to call state representatives and, quote, flood them with calls and emails, letting them know to vote no on SB 71.
--:-- John Bickley: So again, a public utility funded with taxpayer money. And when state representatives receive a lot of calls like that, it can move the needle. And then on top of that, Sullivan says personal threats have come into play. It's hard for people to be called all the names you get called. The threats I had someone email and said they would be at my house to protest in front of my house. Nobody likes to be called names. Nobody likes that. It's not pleasant. But that's the tactic, It's fear-mongering and intimidation.
--:-- Megan Basham: So where do things stand on this bill in Arkansas right now?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, it heads to a House committee today, and then if it makes it out of committee without being tabled again, it'll receive a vote on the House floor on Wednesday.
--:-- Megan Basham: All right, well, it'll be interesting to see what happens this time.
--:-- John Bickley: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he intends to expand a school safety measure to include the placement of school resource officers at every school in the state following the shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville. The governor's plan comes after a 28-year-old female who identified as transgender opened fire in the Covenant School, killing six people, including three children.
--:-- John Bickley: And in a rare phone call, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart to immediately release a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained last week, as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, that's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
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