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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire, and I'm here with my co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for joining us, John. Today's episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft.
--:-- John Bickley: LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Donald Trump's legal team is celebrating after prosecutors in the Hush Money case ask for a years-long delay. This is largely based on the Supreme Court's immunity decision in July. We break down the potential ways the case moves forward.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, November 20th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: FEMA's director is grilled on Capitol Hill after her agency was caught skipping homes with Trump signs. Even though it's all those practical things, the part about avoiding the Trump homes, that's not a best practice, that's not commonplace. Is that what you're saying? That is nowhere in our policy.
--:-- John Bickley: And the media melts down as President-elect Trump confirms he will use the military to assist in deportations. And if other countries say they won't take them back, hold on to your britches because here they come.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Sign up for Cloaked today by visiting cloaked.com and receive 20% off your subscription with code DailyWire at checkout. That's cloaked.com for 20% off with code DailyWire.
--:-- John Bickley: If you're concerned your identity is exposed, check for free by calling 1-855-752-5625.
--:-- Georgia Howe: New York prosecutors have asked to delay Donald Trump's hush money case until after he leaves office in 2029. And Trump's attorneys are looking to dismiss the case altogether.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with the details is Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice.
--:-- Tim Rice: Hey, Tim, so this is a pretty big update in this case. First question, is this definitely a win for Trump?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, certainly in the short term. Sentencing for this case, which involves Trump's alleged hush money payments to an adult film star, was set for next week. So Trump very quickly went from facing four years in prison to enjoying four more years in the White House.
--:-- Tim Rice: Prosecutors now say they need time to decide how Trump's reelection impacts their case now that the Supreme Court has ruled presidents have what's called presumptive immunity in cases like these.
--:-- John Bickley: It's now up to Judge Juan Mershon to decide whether to grant this stay or dismiss the case outright. Trump's defense team is pushing for the latter, saying that prosecutors used certain evidence that was made inadmissible by the Supreme Court's immunity decision.
--:-- Tim Rice: All right, so the options are a delay or a dismissal. Do we have any sense of which way things will go?
--:-- John Bickley: It's hard to say because this is an unprecedented situation. We talked to former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy about this, and he made that point.
--:-- Tim Rice: McCarthy also noted that shifting political realities could affect how New York prosecutors approach the case.
--:-- John Bickley: The goal of the prosecution was to bruise Trump up in the run to the election and the election over. You know, so that goal that they had which I think gave him an incentive not only to prosecute him but try to give him a meaningful sentence that really is no longer operative because we're in this post-trial phase.
--:-- Tim Rice: So they're not as hot to proceed as they were prior to the election. So that's got some practical consequence to it.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, all that sounds pretty good for Trump, but McCarthy says he's still in a somewhat tricky situation.
--:-- Tim Rice: That's because, contrary to Democrats' rhetoric, Trump isn't technically a convicted felon, and he won't be until he's formally sentenced.
--:-- John Bickley: But if Trump wants to dismiss the case by citing prosecutor error, he'll need to appeal, which would require him first being convicted, which he probably doesn't want.
--:-- Tim Rice: Are you still with me?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, but I kind of wish one of us had gone to law school at this point.
--:-- Tim Rice: So is there any way out of this?
--:-- John Bickley: Believe it or not, yes. I'll let McCarthy explain.
--:-- Tim Rice: The middle ground here is that his post-trial motion relies on immunity. And if Judge Merchant were to find that Bragg so violated the principles laid out by the Supreme Court that the conviction has to be vacated or the guilty verdicts have to be vacated, then they would be vacated.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump wouldn't be a convicted felon. There'd be no reason to go on with an appeal. And presumably, March on would drop the case.
--:-- Tim Rice: So there were a lot of competing interests at play here.
--:-- John Bickley: Tim, thanks for reporting.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: All eyes were on FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell yesterday. Criswell was grilled by lawmakers investigating the agency's instruction to relief workers to skip the homes of Trump supporters.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with the details on the fiery hearing is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, a really stunning story that has outraged millions of Americans. Now it sounds like lawmakers are taking some action. What can you tell us?
--:-- Georgia Howe: So first, a quick refresher. This all stems from the Daily Wire's exclusive reporting earlier this month. Our reporters reviewed internal correspondence showing that a FEMA official had ordered relief workers to skip the homes of Trump supporters as they surveyed damage following Hurricane Milton.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That story prompted an immediate response from lawmakers, including those on the House Oversight and Transportation Committees, which called FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to testify yesterday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ahead of that hearing, we caught up with Congressman Mark Green, who sits on the Transportation Committee, to hear about the purpose of these hearings.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: How long was this guidance in place? Who put this guidance together? Who approved it? How many Americans were caught in other natural disasters and have been impacted? These are all questions that we as American people and of course we as a committee deserve answers to.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, higher-ups at FEMA initially pleaded ignorance, saying they were shocked and horrified by our reporting, but assuring Americans it was an isolated incident.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that is more or less what we heard from Administrator Criswell yesterday, who tried to downplay the incident throughout her testimony.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I do not believe that this employee actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But according to Marnie Washington the official who was fired after sending out that directive, this was not an isolated incident.
--:-- Georgia Howe: She told multiple outlets that similar directives were given throughout Florida and North Carolina.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Here's Ohio Rep Jim Jordan grilling Criswell on that point.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Administrator Criswell, is Ms. Washington lying to us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Ms. Washington has. She said it's common practice. You said it's reprehensible and isolated. Both statements can't be true.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So someone's not giving us the facts. I'm kind of trying to figure out who's not telling the truth.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The actions that Ms. Washington took were unacceptable.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, you had another employee. Now, they remain anonymous, but I think one of my colleagues pointed this out earlier.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: A FEMA official who spoke on condition of anonymity said, Ms. Washington likely received, quote, very clear guidance from her supervisors.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Is that not that person lying, too?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Later on, Florida Rep Byron Donalds cited an anonymous report from a separate FEMA official who said relief workers routinely avoid conservative areas around the country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But again, Administrator Criswell repeated her denial.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We are working with the inspector general to determine whether or not this is broader than this. But the evidence that I have seen so far shows that this was an isolated incident and it has not gone beyond what this one employee did.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So was there bipartisan concern about this?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So there were a few Democratic members who did express serious concern over the story, but a number, including ranking member Jamie Raskin, defended Criswell and essentially argued that FEMA does fantastic work and that the story was being blown out of proportion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We could be here today celebrating the workforce of 22,000 FEMA workers, But instead, we're invited to focus on one so-called intermittent employee in Florida whose team encountered what she called political hostility while canvassing door to door for FEMA in Florida.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thereupon, as I understand it, she made the judgment that her workers were unsafe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So FEMA saying this is an isolated incident, but Republicans in Congress are clearly skeptical.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Regardless, don't expect the story to go away anytime soon. Right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, people want to know if this goes up the chain. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: President-elect Donald Trump confirmed this week his intention to use the military to help mass deport illegal aliens from the U.S. Trump's announcement comes as a Homeland Security memo revealed that Venezuelan gang Trente Aragua now has a presence in 16 states.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to talk about Trump's deportation plan is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So first, what would using military force for deportations actually look like?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, Trump has confirmed that he plans to declare a national emergency and activate the military, but that still isn't much detail on how a militarized deportation effort would work.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Depending on how the military is used, Trump may need congressional approval, or he could need the approval of state governors if he wants to federalize the National Guard.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Then there are the drug cartels that operate south of the border, and many Republicans in Congress have said the U.S. military needs to be used to deal with them.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, on Trump's priorities after he takes office.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, look, I think the president's been clear on the stage. As far as the deportation operation, we will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats because they pose a big danger to the United States.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He's got three rails. We'll do the deportation operation with the priorities I just talked to you out of the gate. That'd be the priorities. Second thing is secure that border. Lock that border down and catch release and secure the border. The third rail is we got over 300 missing children
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now Trump opponents are already preparing to undermine his immigration agenda despite that being a key part of his platform And that's a key reason why he won.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Where are the efforts being made so far to undermine him?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Critics have made some pretty extreme claims about what Trump's deportation plan could be.
--:-- Tim Pierce: During a panel on CNN, one of the guests, Julie Roginski, co-founder of Lift Our Voices, said that American troops could end up shooting American citizens.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm telling you right now, practically speaking, is that there will be people, American citizens, who will prevent these little kids from being dragged out of these shelters. There are.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And what's going to happen to these people? What is going to happen to the military when the military opens fire on us?
--:-- Georgia Howe: No one's crazy. We're way down a rabbit hole here.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Another guest on the same panel, Paul Rykoff, compared Trump's deportation effort to internment camps for American-Japanese citizens during World War II.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Trying to ask them to sort through who's who and implement a policy like this here in the United States is like nothing we've ever seen. Maybe the only precedent we have is internment camps during World War II against Japanese-Americans.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Some elected officials are now pledging to do what they can to obstruct deportations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's Boston's Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu promising not to cooperate.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Elections have consequences and the federal government is responsible for a certain set of actions and cities. No individual city can reverse or override some parts of that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But what we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The American Civil Liberties Union has already started on legal action to get more information about the airline used for deportation flights.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The leftist group said that the information would be key to understanding the roadmap Trump wants to use to deport millions of illegal aliens.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, in a related story that's made a lot of headlines, a homeland security memo leaked to the public revealed that Trin de Aragua members have spread to at least 16 states now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It caused a lot of alarm for good reason. What do we know about that?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, it's part of a larger movement by gangs and cartels and other criminal organizations south of the border to expand into the United States.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those groups have made an aggressive push, especially in the last few years, and have taken advantage of lax border policies underneath the Biden administration.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Morning Wire spoke with Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw about this, and here's what he said.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This entire business has become very much a market. And in any market, there are people who do certain things and specialize in certain things.
--:-- Tim Pierce: You're not going to see Sinaloa members as the drug dealers on the streets of whatever city you're living in. You're going to see local gang members who grew up there on the streets who have made deals with cartels and you take their shipments from the cartels.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The cartels are ultimately facilitators and they hire whatever facilitator they need in whatever area they need.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Crenshaw is hoping to get a lot more help on this in the next Congress. He's likely to get it, too, as important as the immigration is to the incoming Republican administration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's been Trump's top issue for nearly a decade now.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. Thanks for joining us, Tim.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: Stop giving your money to woke corporations that hate you. Start checking off your list at jeremysrazors.com today.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
