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--:-- Host John Bickley: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: In another legal win for Trump, Fani Willis has been disqualified from prosecuting his case in Georgia. It's hard for me to see another Georgia district attorney wanting to take up this flawed case and try to prosecute Trump on these theories. Why is Willis out and what does it mean for the case going forward? I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, December 20th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Years of mass exodus from blue states is set to give Republicans a major advantage. Blue states are failing. Blue states have high crime, tent cities, high taxes. And so people look at it from an economic perspective. And a foreign national accused of being involved in a mass casualty event is arrested in Colony Ridge.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Brandon: Hey, guys. Producer Brandon here. Balance of Nature is my go-to source for dietary supplements. Balance of Nature takes fruits and vegetables, they freeze-dry them, then they turn them into a powder, then put them into a capsule. The capsules are completely void of additives, fillers, extracts, synthetics, pesticides, or added sugar. The only thing in Balance of Nature fruit and veggie capsules are fruits and veggies. Head over to balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer, plus get a free bottle of Fiber and Spice. That's balanceofnature.com, promo code WIRE.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: The election interference case against Donald Trump in Georgia took another unexpected turn on Thursday when a court disqualified controversial prosecutor Fani Willis from the case. With a major update on the Willis saga is Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice. Say, Tim. So this case has just been one surprise after the next. This is a big one here. What's the latest?
--:-- Tim Rice: Yeah, John. On Thursday, Georgia's Court of Appeals voted to yank Willis from the case, citing an appearance of impropriety. That's a reference to Willis's decision to hire her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, to serve as a special prosecutor for the Trump case. Critics said Wade was unqualified for the job and that both he and Willis were biased against Trump. In March, the judge presiding over the case said Willis could only remain at the helm if she fired Wade, which she did. But now it seems incredibly likely that Willis is off the case for good. Her office has appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court to overturn the decision, but a reversal doesn't seem likely. A Court of Appeals panel voted two to one to disqualify Willis, noting that the penalty was unusually harsh. But the majority noted pulling Willis from the case was, quote, the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings. Also an extraordinary measure for an extraordinary circumstance to be sure.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So where does the case go now? It's still unclear. Technically, it be handed off to another prosecutor who will decide how to proceed if at all. But it seems unlikely that Willis's replacement will decide to move forward. For one thing, this whole case is now tainted by Willis and Wade. Law professor Jonathan Turley noted this week that any prosecutor in their right mind would see pursuing this case as totally destructive to their office. But more importantly, Trump's about to be president again. Remember, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have presumptive immunity for any official acts undertaken while in office. So prosecuting Trump over the next four years will be virtually impossible. That's why special prosecutor Jack Smith dropped his case against Trump and why the hush money case against Trump has been put on hold indefinitely. So yet another huge win for Trump legally.
--:-- Tim Rice: How has his team responded to the news? Needless to say, they're thrilled. Speaking to Fox News yesterday, Trump cheered the decision, saying the case against him was now entirely dead because no prosecutor could continue a case that was started corruptly by an incompetent prosecutor. Trump said the entire case against him was a political attack drummed up by the Biden Justice Department and said that everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years. That's likely a reference to Republican state Senator Sean Still and Trump attorney John Eastman, who were charged in the Georgia case alongside Trump. Trump spokesman Stephen Chung also cheered the decision, saying that in granting President Trump an overwhelming mandate, the American people have demanded an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all the witch hunts against him.
--:-- Host John Bickley: We'll have to see if there are any prosecutors waiting in the wings to continue Willis's fight. Until then, big legal win for Trump. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Rice: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: Blue states have lost millions of residents in recent years amid a record migration. Now they're set to lose congressional seats and electoral votes as a result. Here to break it all down is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. So Cabot, a trend that started during COVID that continues to this day. Walk us through the latest numbers.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so starting in 2020, we began to see a mass exodus of residents leaving deep blue states and resettling in red states across the Sunbelt. Now, initially, there was a case to be made that the trend was the result of remote work, offering folks the option to live anywhere. So they sought out warmer, cheaper places to call home. But now, four years removed from COVID, that trend has continued. According to new data from the Census Bureau, last year alone, California, New York, and Illinois suffered a net loss of 540,000 residents. While Texas, Florida, and North Carolina saw a net gain of 366,000. And get this, of the seven states that saw the largest increase in net migration, all seven were red states. And if you zoom out and look at the numbers since 2020 of the 10 states that saw the highest population gains you guessed it all 10 went red in November. So a clear trend emerging Americans are continuing to move to Republican states.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So talk about the political consequences of all this migration. Well, it's important to remember electoral votes and congressional seats are allocated based on population. That means if this trend continues until 2030, when the next census takes place, red states will reap immense political rewards. For example, at the current pace, states that voted for Kamala Harris in November will lose 12 congressional seats and 12 electoral college votes. California will lose four, New York three, Illinois two, and Oregon, Minnesota, and Rhode Island one. And the lion's share of those electoral votes and congressional seats will go to solidly red states like Texas and Florida. Now, that would not only give future Republican candidates an easier shot at the White House, just improving their number of guaranteed electoral votes. It would also make it harder for Democrats to control the House. It is just hard to overstate how important this trend will be in the coming years. Beyond the obvious economic ramifications, Democrat-led states now have a massive political incentive to stop the bleeding and convince folks to start moving back.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, now all of this comes as Republicans are expressing concern over the 2020 census and some things that have since come out. What's going on there?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Right. This is a really big story. So it went under the radar, but two years ago, the Census Bureau quietly released a stunning report admitting serious errors in their population count from 2020. Specifically, the Bureau massively undercounted the number of residents in red states and overcounted the population of blue states. Of the six states where they undercounted residents, five were red, and of the eight where they overcounted, seven were blue. For example, Deep Red, Arkansas was undercounted by 5%, Tennessee 4.7%, and Florida 3.5%. That adds up to a million plus residents. While Deep Blue, Delaware was overcounted by 5.5%, New York 3.4%, Rhode Island by 5%. You get the idea. So what was the impact of that on the most recent election? They're massively important. As a result of those errors, Florida was denied two congressional seats they were entitled to, while Texas was denied another. And blue states like Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Colorado were all allowed to hold onto seats that they should have lost. So if the last census had been accurate, Republicans would likely be looking at a 10 to 12-seat majority instead of the six-seat majority that they currently hold. Now, in light of those errors, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee recently launched a probe of the Census Bureau demanding internal documents and communications related to their most recent census. According to Chairman James Comer, the census, quote, appears to have tended to noticeably skew in favor of one political party over another. Now, they want answers about why that happened.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, this seems like it should be a day one priority for President Trump.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: A Guatemalan national and illegal alien smuggler was recently caught by federal law enforcement and arrested at Colony Ridge, the controversial land development just north of Houston, Texas, that is known for attracting illegal aliens. The man is believed to have been involved in a mass casualty event that happened three years ago during a smuggling operation. Here to discuss is Daily Wire investigative reporter Spencer Lindquist. Hey, Spencer, so tell us about this man who was caught and what he's accused of.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: The suspect name is Jorge Agapito Ventura and he was arrested last week at his home in Colony Ridge following a joint operation from the Department of Justice Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the local sheriff there. Ventura is believed to be connected to a smuggling operation that left more than 50 migrants dead in Mexico three years ago. It was horrific. The DOJ described it as a mass casualty event, and about 160 migrants were being transported through Mexico on their way to the border of the United States when the trailer truck that they were traveling in crashed. The head of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division, Nicole Argentieri, said this about the case. According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas from October 2021 to February 2023, in some instances, the defendants allegedly provided scripts and instructions to the migrants, telling them what to say if they were apprehended. She also detailed the mass casualty event that Ventura is believed to be connected to, which occurred on December 9th, 2021. Exactly three years ago today, a semi-trailer truck containing at least 160 migrants crashed, resulting in the deaths of more than 50 people and injuring over 100 others.
--:-- Host John Bickley: All right, so Ventura was allegedly one of the people behind this smuggling incident. But what are the specific charges that he faces?
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: An unsealed indictment from the DOJ states that Ventura and several other Guatemalan men who were arrested in their home country was charged with, quote, conspiracy to bring undocumented aliens to the United States, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injuries, and resulting in death.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So this man is a Guatemalan national. What is his connection to Colony Ridge?
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: So we reported in September of last year that Colony Ridge is a magnet for illegal aliens, and it's this massive development just outside of Houston. And if it's allowed to continue, the development projects it'll ultimately have a population of 250,000 people. That would be a population higher than Boise, Idaho or Scottsdale, Arizona, for reference. And Ventura was arrested by those federal agents in Colony Ridge at his residence. The smugglers owned multiple properties at the development and bought one as recently as September of this year. And data from the county clerk indicates that he first bought property at Colony Ridge in 2019 and had a total of four properties at the development.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And this isn't the only alleged criminal who's been caught at that development this year. Tell us a bit about some of the other arrests connected to Colony Ridge.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Yeah, that's right. Over the summer, there were two illegal aliens who were wanted by the international police for murder, and they were caught in the nearby area. And both of those people lived in Colony Ridge. One of those two illegal aliens, a Mexican national named Juan Jose Valero Cruz, had already been deported from the United States twice. And just before the arrest of those two alleged murderers, there was another incident in which a teen was allegedly abducted inside Colony Ridge and then was shot at when he fled his captors.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: That sounds like this development has really been keeping law enforcement busy.
--:-- Host John Bickley: It certainly has. We'll certainly keep our eye on Colony Ridge.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Thank you.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: Hey, thank you for listening this morning. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and stand with that mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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