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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.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Jury selection begins in Trump's historic hush money trial as legal experts call the legitimacy of the case into question. This bizarre indictment is now going to be an equally bizarre trial. To this day, there's some confusion as to Bragg's actual theory as to what was the exact crime that Trump was hiding from all this.
--:-- Host John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. Georgia Howe is off this week. It's Tuesday, April 16th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Congress is set to take up a bill this week funding Ukraine, but not without some objections, where some lawmakers saying the math just doesn't add up. I'm not passing judgment on the morality of what they're doing. Of course, it's their territory, but you have to acknowledge military reality on the ground.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And Pro-Palestinian protesters coordinated what they call an economic blockade in at least three U.S. cities and worldwide, shutting down travel on major roadways. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Hey guys, producer Brandon here. Are you tired of your favorite cut of beef or chicken costing more, but weighing less every time you buy it from the store? Well, Good Ranchers has a sizzling solution for you. During their April price shield campaign, Good Ranchers is not just offering a temporary fix, but a long-term solution. Subscribe to one of their boxes and they'll lock in your price until 2026. Visit goodranchers.com and use promo code wire for their exclusive price shield and an additional 10% off your order. That's goodranchers.com with promo code WIRE today.
--:-- Host John Bickley: On Monday, the first criminal trial against Donald Trump kicked off in Manhattan as the former president appeared in court to face charges that he broke campaign finance law, among other things. Here are the latest as Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, a historic day in New York. Get us up to speed.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, historic indeed. For the first time in American history, a former president is sitting for a criminal trial. It's a big deal. On Monday, Trump appeared in a New York court to face charges related to the falsifying of financial documents and alleged hush money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, ordinarily, the financial aspect would only be a misdemeanor, but Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg claims it became a felony because it was committed to conceal another crime. That is where the hush money payment comes in. Prosecutors are saying the two alleged crimes are tied together and that Trump paid off Daniels and then fraudulently covered it up to influence the 2016 race.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Combine those two crimes together and voila, you've got a felony charge to work with. Here's how legal scholar Jonathan Turley put it. This is a Frankenstein case. They took a dead misdemeanor. They attached it to a dead alleged federal felony and zapped it back into life.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So many of us are just amazed to watch this actually walk into court because it's not a recognizable crime. Now, it's worth noting this case is considered the lowest stakes of the four trials Trump is facing, as he will not face a mandatory prison sentence if convicted. But it is uniquely important because it the trial that most likely to be resolved before election day meaning the political implications are enormous.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, regardless of the outcome this case will certainly impact Trump ability to hit the campaign trail. Right. On Monday, the presiding judge, Juan Marchand, told Trump that he must be present in the courtroom for the duration of the trial, saying, quote, if you do not show up, there will be an arrest.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That means that four days a week for potentially the next six to eight, maybe 10 weeks, Donald Trump will be sitting there in a Manhattan courtroom and not spending time on the campaign trail. Trump and his team not only denied the charges against him, but say the entire point of this trial is not about justice, but preventing him from campaigning and ultimately keeping him from the White House.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Ahead of the trial, Trump released this video. In the middle of a presidential election, right smack in the middle, crooked Joe Biden and his entire corrupt party are staging a show trial of their leading political opponent, me.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, much of the attention yesterday was rightly on the jury selection process. Can you walk us through that process?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, an important aspect here. So on Monday, the prosecution and Trump's legal team began meeting with prospective jurors to ultimately decide which 12 will sit for the case.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, ordinarily, jurors are expected to have no preconceived ideas about a defendant, but when that defendant is Donald Trump, that's impossible. So to try and winnow out the most biased of jurors, candidates filled out a questionnaire with 42 questions related to everything from their work history, political affiliation, even which media outlets they listen to most closely.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: 50 of the 96 potential jurors removed themselves at the outset of the trial saying they could not be unbiased. The Trump team will obviously hope to find at least a few conservative-leaning folks in that remaining group, but that is going to be difficult given the jury pool is comprised solely of Manhattan residents.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's a precinct where Joe Biden received 85% of the vote last election. You'd be hard-pressed to find a jury pool that would be any less favorable to Trump anywhere in the country. And his team said that's the entire reason these trials are taking place in cities like New York and Washington, D.C., places where Democrats know the jury will skew overwhelmingly liberal and be more likely to convict.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, the judge overseeing this case has himself been the center of some controversy. Tell us about some of the claims swirling around him.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the Trump team has long said Judge Mershon is biased against the former president. Mershon has donated to the Biden campaign in the past, and his daughter currently works as a political consultant for a number of prominent Democratic clients.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The Trump team says those factors are a clear conflict of interest and filed a request for Mishan to recuse himself from the case. But on Monday, he vowed to stay on. He said, quote, there is no agenda here. We want to follow the law. We want justice to be done.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: All right. Well, day one down, weeks to go.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: In the wake of Iran's attack on Israel this weekend, Congress will now look to take up a package of foreign aid bills, including funding for both Israel and Ukraine. There are divides in both parties over the bills, for Republicans especially in regard to Ukraine funding, but indications are that it may get a vote anyway.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Here to discuss the bill prospects and why it so controversial is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey Dave, so first Senator J Vance wrote a column in the New York Times addressing objections to Ukraine funding from the GOP side of the issue.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. Vance, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, is a longtime critic of Ukraine military funding. And what he lays out in the Times is that he just thinks the math isn't there for a Ukrainian victory, arguing that instead of last year's counteroffensive, they should have been fighting a purely defensive war against Russia.
--:-- David Marcus: And what he really means by math is that Ukraine just doesn't have enough soldiers or population to achieve its stated war goals, such as retaking the Donbass region and even Crimea. Vance is in favor of a negotiated settlement now.
--:-- David Marcus: What he doesn't address is whether taking U.S. aid to Ukraine off the table would severely weaken its negotiating position and strengthen Putin's. This consideration is part of why many, if not in fact most, Republicans support Ukraine funding and why it seems likely to make it to the floor despite MTG's threats to Johnson's speakership.
--:-- David Marcus: Importantly, though, Johnson is now separating Israel funding from Ukraine funding in different bills.
--:-- David Marcus: Speaking of Republicans on board with the funding, at least according to Johnson, Donald Trump is among them, though with a few caveats. Does that give the speaker enough political cover to call this vote?
--:-- David Marcus: In all likelihood, yes. Assuming that Johnson isn't overstating the nature of Trump's support. The conditions that Trump has suggested is that, one, it be a loan, even on generous terms, not a gift. And he's also floated the idea of using seized assets from Russian oligarchs to pay for it.
--:-- David Marcus: All indications are that Johnson is confident that he can call the vote without facing an ouster. But listen, Trump opposed the ouster of Kevin McCarthy last year. So it's not impossible that Green, who also opposed that move, could do it anyway.
--:-- David Marcus: Johnson has a dicey hand, but it looks like he's pushing his chips into the center of the table.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, given that Ukraine and Israel funding are being considered together in this process, along with aid for the Pacific region, will the Iranian attack add urgency to the Israel bill's passage? And how much could Israel be harmed if it fails?
--:-- David Marcus: So, yeah, there are certainly lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are saying that Iran's attack lights a fire under the need to act on this legislation. But I think it's important to draw a distinction between Israel and Ukraine here.
--:-- David Marcus: Zelensky has been clear that he desperately needs aid right now to simply survive against Russia. That's not the situation for Israel. Israel has what it needs for the foreseeable future to engage in its fight against Hamas and now Iran.
--:-- David Marcus: In fact, if anything, the United States and Biden are trying to get Israel to use less force. But yes, in the Mideast region, it could be used at least to try to present the image of an increased fracturing of the U.S.-Israel relationship, which, let's be clear, while still enormously strong, has seen a bit of friction during this conflict.
--:-- David Marcus: Finally, the other issue that has been tied to this funding package is border reform with Republicans wanting action at home as well as abroad. Where might that fit in now?
--:-- David Marcus: So McCarthy lost the speakership for keeping the government open last year, but he did put off Ukraine funding and he did want action on the border from Joe Biden in exchange.
--:-- David Marcus: That's from my sources who were close to what was going on then. Instead, we got the whole drama around the Senate immigration bill, which was a generational comprehensive plan, not the kind of immediate return to remain in Mexico that McCarthy had in mind.
--:-- David Marcus: Reporting now indicates that Biden is ready to take executive action on the border by months end. So whether it's coordinated or a deal or a coincidence, these two issues could both be settled in the next week or two.
--:-- Host John Bickley: In an apparent coordinated effort pro protests have erupted around the world causing chaos from coast to coast and even overseas. Daily Wire investigative reporter Mireille Lordi is here with the details.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Hi, John. Sure. So pro-Palestinian protests have cropped up all over the country over the past few days. Some of the most massive and chaotic ones were in San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: In the Bay Area, protesters blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for at least three hours. They held up a huge banner reading, Stop the World for Gaza, in front of cars stuck on the bridge.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Some protesters sat with their hands in barrels filled with dirt or cement as miles of traffic ground to a halt. Both coasts have seen huge protests, and so has Chicago. Protesters linked arms using PVC pipes on part of the Kennedy Expressway that leads to O'Hare International Airport, one of the country's busiest.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Travelers were seen exiting vehicles with their luggage, having to walk over a mile to try to catch their flight. Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free, free Palestine!
--:-- Mireille Lordi: The Chicago protest was organized by a group called the Chicago Dissenters, who said they targeted the airport because it is one of the country's largest and should not be operating, quote, while Palestinians suffer at the hands of American-funded bombing by Israel.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: The Chicago group also said it was using Tax Day to make a statement about where they think taxpayer dollars should be going, namely not to Israel. Angry travelers reacted on social media as well, calling on the police and Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to do something.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Some on social media complained that it's not really the protesters blocking traffic, It's the police SUVs as the cops protect the protesters. And we also saw some protests in New York, correct?
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Right. In upstate New York, a smaller group of about a dozen protesters managed to bring traffic to a halt on the Newburgh Beacon Bridge over the Hudson River Monday morning. New York State Police said those protesters were arrested.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Eugene, Oregon also saw protests that shut down the I-5 highway. Lines of protesters with banners could be seen blocking cars as police stood by.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Here's what that sounded like. So a lot of mounting frustration over this. Now, this is not just happening in the U.S., correct? These protests are happening internationally as well?
--:-- Mireille Lordi: That's right. There was a massive protest in London as well. Hundreds of people showed up in areas of London and Kent that they believe have links to the Israeli drone manufacturer Elbit Systems.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Police struggled to control the huge crowds, many of whom chanted and held banners. Some protesters had called for an economic blockade, which can entail skipping work or school and boycotting companies that are not pro-Palestinian.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: And what has been the response? What's the reaction been to these disruptions?
--:-- Mireille Lordi: Well, as you mentioned, commuters and other travelers are very frustrated. And Republican Senator Tom Cotton had a strong reaction, urging people to take matters into their own hands.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: If something like this happened in Arkansas on a bridge there, let's just say I think there'd be a lot of very wet criminals that have been tossed overboard, not by law enforcement, but by the people whose road they're blocking.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: If they glued their hands to a car or a pavement, well, probably pretty painful to have their skin ripped off. But I think that's the way we'd handle in Arkansas. And I would encourage most people anywhere that get stuck behind criminals like this who are trying to block traffic to take matters in their own hands.
--:-- Mireille Lordi: It's time to put an end to this nonsense. Overall, a very chaotic few days for these cities with these mass protests. And this issue is only becoming more fraught as Israel and Iran consider their next moves.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, absolutely. I'm right. Thanks for reporting. Thanks, John. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
