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--:-- Host John Bickley: Hundreds of J6 defendants are liberated following sweeping pardons from President Trump. Four years of fighting, four years of struggling, and I'm finally free. I don't even have the words to thank President Trump. We discuss how the president has handled the cases and who else may be poised for a pardon. I'm Daily Wire, Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, January 22nd, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Trump's deportation operation has begun, with his new border czar announcing ICE teams are out and empowered to go make arrests. We have over 700,000 illegal aliens with criminal records walking the streets of this country. That's what we're looking for right now. And the newly sworn in president is launching a slew of other initiatives, from investments in AI to taking on the deep state. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: During his first two days in office, President Trump issued a host of pardons, including to nearly all January 6th defendants. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo. Hey, Amanda. So we noted yesterday that Trump signed a sweeping pardon to J6 defendants. He's fulfilling a key campaign promise in a really expansive way. What exactly did the order say?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Right. So the order grants full pardons for every person convicted in relation to J6, with the exception of just 14 commutations. Those individuals had their sentences commuted, but their convictions still stand as of right now. Trump said he would look further into those cases and said potential pardons could be forthcoming. Additionally, the hundreds of cases still pending indictments, those will be dismissed with prejudice. That means they can never be tried again for those charges.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Trump was questioned about the order in the Oval Office on Monday. Here's what he said about the protesters that were actually violent being pardoned. Well, I will say this. They've been in jail for a long time already. I see murderers in this country get two years, one year, and maybe no time. So they've already been in jail for a long time. These people have been destroyed. What they've done to these people is outrageous.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Everyone who was given a full pardon was supposed to be released right away. However, there were reports of delays at a D.C. jail. Utah Senator Mike Lee expressed outrage over those delays, and he said he was working to verify what was going on. Morning Wire reached out to William Shipley, an attorney representing dozens of J6 defendants, including the so-called QAnon shaman, and he said that all the prisoners should now have been released.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: We also asked Shipley about the complaint that Trump has pardoned some defendants who were engaged in some violence. He defended Trump's decision and he said that the blame for the demise of these cases falls on the Biden Justice Department. The reality is that January 6th defendants could not receive a fair trial in the District of Columbia given the juror pool. The fact that the government never moved off of that position, which is reflected by the fact that so many defendants opted for bench trials to avoid the D.C. jurors.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: I mean, that speaks volumes. That very fact that January 6th defendants could not get their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial in the District of Columbia justifies the pardons. The Biden Justice Department has themselves to blame for that fact.
--:-- Host John Bickley: For those who were released, we're starting to get footage of those initial moments of freedom. Here's some audio of what appears to be eight J6 defendants leaving prison. They're out! Promises made, promises kept. Let's go, brothers. Clearly a lot of gratitude for these pardons. And what do we know about the commutations?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Well, the executive order did name the 14 individuals who were given commutations, and that includes three Proud Boys who were controversially convicted of the very rare and very serious charge of seditious conspiracy, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rell. Those three, who were not charged with any violence, were handed down sentences of at least 15 years, all now commuted.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Proud Boy member Dominic Pozzola was also on that list. He was convicted of stealing a police officer's riot shield and breaking a window. His sentence was initially 10 years, but again, that's now commuted. And probably the most politicized case in all of this is that of Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys. Tarrio was notably not in D.C. on January 6th, but he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years behind bars.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: During his prosecution, the government relied heavily on mostly private messages. For example, Tarrio was tied to a document outlining a capital takeover that was sent to him on Telegram called 1776 Returns. Tarrio did not directly respond to that sent document, and he claims he never saw it, let alone even opened it. Tarrio was granted a full pardon and has been released from prison.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Okay, now switching gears a bit, Trump has signaled that more pardons are coming down the pike. What's the status with some of those other cases?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Well, on Tuesday night, Trump pardoned Ross Albrecht, the creator of dark website The Silk Road. Trump promised that pardon to libertarians and delivered. Additionally, pro-life activists are hoping Trump will pardon the nearly two dozen people convicted of controversial FACE Act violations. We've covered a lot of those cases here. No pardons yet, but activists are expecting those very soon.
--:-- Host John Bickley: We're certainly not shying away from showing clemency, and we'll give updates on those cases when there's new developments. Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: You're welcome.
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--:-- Host John Bickley: Trump's deportation operations are already underway across the country. That's according to Tom Homan, Trump's advisor on immigration. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, how has immigration and border enforcement changed in the past 48 hours?
--:-- Host John Bickley: In a few ways both on the southern border and as regards aliens who are in the country illegally.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Law enforcement in El Paso, one of the hotspots for immigration over the past four years, has blocked off entry to the United States. Migrants who arrived at entry points on Monday for appointments scheduled through the CBP1 app were blocked and the app itself was shut down.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Meanwhile, according to Tom Homan, plans to deport illegal aliens from the U.S. are already being enacted. Here's Homan on Fox News. We gave them the direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for, that we've been working on the target list.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There was some discussion about Chicago because the Pacific operational plan was released. So we had to look at and reevaluate, does this raise off-the-safety concerns? And it does. But we've addressed that, and teams are all effective today.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There was some concern over plans regarding operations in Chicago being leaked. But as you heard in the clip, those concerns are being addressed and they didn't affect plans already in place elsewhere.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, what about international efforts? Trump had talked extensively about pressuring Mexico and Canada to tighten their borders.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, he's already threatened to tariff Mexico and Canada if their borders aren't secured. And on Monday, he signed an executive order that designated Mexican drug cartels as threats to U.S. national security.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And he said he would go further and label them terror groups as well. As for what that means practically, Trump hasn't ruled anything out. Here he is answering a question from Fox News' Peter Doocy on Monday night.
--:-- Tim Pierce: President Trump, the cartels are now going to be seen as foreign terror organizations. Would you think about ordering U.S. special forces into Mexico to take them out? Could happen. Stranger things have happened.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, what's the response been so far? Well, the legal challenges are already being filed.
--:-- Tim Pierce: One of the most controversial of Trump's actions on immigration so far is an order ending what's known as birthright citizenship. That's a debated interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to deal with the question of citizenship for escaped and emancipated slaves.
--:-- Tim Pierce: On Tuesday, 22 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration to block the order. In general, Trump's approach to immigration has really struck a nerve on the left.
--:-- Host John Bickley: At the National Prayer Service on Tuesday, the Episcopal Bishop of D.C., Reverend Marianne Edgar Budd, lectured Trump and Vice President Vance on having compassion for immigrants.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's what that sounded like. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives and the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals.
--:-- Tim Pierce: They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.
--:-- Host John Bickley: After the service, Trump didn't seem to be swayed by what the bishop said. Homan was on CNN yesterday as well, and he said that while aliens who are threats to public safety will be prioritized, any alien in the country illegally will be deported.
--:-- Tim Pierce: What I'm telling you is when we go find our priority target, which is a criminal alien, if he's with others in the United States illegally, we're going to take enforcement action against him. We're going to enforce the immigration law.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The Trump administration doesn't appear to be wasting a moment here on his immigration promise. Well, he campaigned on a hardline approach, and that's what we're getting. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Good to be on.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Freeing the January 6th prisoners and securing the southern border were two of Trump's main campaign pledges but they're not the only things his administration is working on. Here with a look at how Trump is swiftly enacting his transformative agenda as Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice.
--:-- Tim Rice: Say, Tim, so Trump's wasting no time getting to work here. We talked about the J6 defendants and the border. What else is he focusing on?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Oh, man, John, it's hard to know where to begin. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of state on Monday. Rubio hit the ground running yesterday, sending out an agency-wide memo making clear his opposition to mass migration, DEI, and censorship.
--:-- Tim Rice: Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, and John Ratcliffe, the presumptive CIA director, both had their nominations sail through committee. There are just a handful more hearings scheduled for this week, so Trump could have a mostly full cabinet up and running in the next few days.
--:-- Tim Rice: And then, of course, there's the flurry of executive orders Trump began signing on Inauguration Day and has kept signing since. He directed the presidential personnel office to fire thousands of Biden appointees who do not support his make America great again agenda.
--:-- Tim Rice: Trump actually fired four officials in a post on Truth Social, including the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, who Trump pulled off the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Very Trumpian move there.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Seems like Trump is really focusing on personnel this time around. What else is he preparing on that front?
--:-- Tim Rice: He signed two complimentary executive orders that could really go a long way in reforming the federal workforce. One will purge all DEI initiatives from the federal government, and the other will instruct federal hiring managers to judge applicants based on merit, not race or gender.
--:-- Tim Rice: But that order actually goes a little further, instructing government agencies to hire people who have the real skills to do a job, not necessarily a college degree or certification. Trump's sort of picking up where he left off here because this was one of the major policy pushes his administration was working on at the end of his first term.
--:-- Tim Rice: So this could make it easier to draw on a very different pool of candidates for federal jobs, a pool that will probably be less college-educated and less liberal-leaning. And that could go a long way in reducing the influence of the permanent federal bureaucracy, what Trump and others call the deep state.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Right, so not just threatening to drain the swamp, but really seeming to do it this time.
--:-- Tim Rice: Now, we've obviously heard a lot from the president over the past few days. He addressed the nation again from the White House yesterday afternoon. What did he have to say at that press conference?
--:-- Host John Bickley: White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt had teased that Trump would make a pretty major infrastructure announcement during the press conference. And in a way he did, but not in the way that you might think.
--:-- Tim Rice: Flanked by Oracle executive Larry Ellison, OpenAI's Sam Altman and more, Trump announced the largest AI infrastructure project in history. Together, these world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate.
--:-- Tim Rice: So put that name down in your books, because I think you're going to hear a lot about it in the future. A new American company that will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States and moving very rapidly, creating over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.
--:-- Tim Rice: This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential under a new president. Trump said that the new venture was important, not just because it will create jobs, but because it will bolster America's national security. It'll ensure the future of technology. What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country.
--:-- Tim Rice: China is a competitor and others are competitors. We want it to be in this country and we're making it available. I guess we'll have to get used to this, Washington running on warp speed.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Rice: Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
