Morning Wire XX
[0] After three years, the trial of actor Jesse Smollett began on Monday.
[1] The former Empire star is accused of lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime.
[2] Now he's claiming he was set up.
[3] We'll catch up on the famous crime and take a look at the opening arguments from each side.
[4] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[5] It's Wednesday, December 1st, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] The Supreme Court prepares to hear one of the most highly anticipated.
[7] cases on abortion in decades.
[8] We'll take a look at the Mississippi case that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade.
[9] And a new investigative book examines the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop and makes extraordinary claims about corruption within the Biden family.
[10] The laptop's really not about Hunter Biden its value is in what it tells us about Joe Biden.
[11] We'll hear from the author of the book and dig into its most significant claims.
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[13] Stay tuned.
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[21] The trial of Jesse Smollett began this week.
[22] The actor is accused of perpetrating a hundred, hoax when he claimed in 2019 that he was the victim of a hate crime.
[23] Here to explain what we've learned so far from the trial is Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[24] So Megan, it's been a few years since Jesse Smollett was in the headlines.
[25] Can you remind us exactly what this case is all about?
[26] Sure.
[27] So in 2019, Jesse Smollett was the main character on this hit Fox show, Empire.
[28] Now, he'd also scored some pretty high -profile roles in several big movies.
[29] Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant was one.
[30] So you really could call him sort of an up -and -coming young star.
[31] Well, in January of that year, Smollett claimed two white men in ski masks beat him up around two in the morning when he was out getting a sandwich in Chicago.
[32] He said they called him the N -word and homophobic slurs and told him, quoting here, this is MAGA country.
[33] Then he claimed that they poured an unknown substance on him and put a noose around his neck.
[34] At that point, he called the police and filed a report.
[35] Right.
[36] And there was a lot of sympathy at first when this happened to Jesse.
[37] Yeah, there was.
[38] And it was all over the news.
[39] At the time, Kamala Harris called it a modern -day lynching.
[40] Nancy Pelosi said it was an affront to our humanity.
[41] Donald Trump condemned it as horrible.
[42] So, yeah, a lot of sympathy.
[43] Except the story wasn't true.
[44] Right.
[45] In the weeks that followed, it came out that Smollett allegedly paid two Nigerian brothers $3 ,500 to stage this attack.
[46] So what he's standing on trial for now are six counts of felony disorderly conduct connected to those false reports.
[47] I know there's been a lot of speculation, but did we ever get any firm answers about why he allegedly paid these brothers to do this?
[48] Well, at the outset, some of that speculation was that this was just a publicity stunt.
[49] The brothers told police Smollett hired them to stage the attack in order to raise his media profile so he can negotiate a higher paycheck at Empire.
[50] He was reportedly earning about $65 ,000 per episode at that time.
[51] However, prosecutors in the trial are now describing an additional motive.
[52] So about a month before the attack, Smollett supposedly received this anonymous letter, which included a homophobic slur, a drawing of a stick figure hanging from a tree, and had the words maga cut out of newspaper letters.
[53] So prosecutors say that Smollett was so frustrated by the lack of response he got over the letter that he staged the hoax to drum up some sympathy.
[54] And so all of this occurred in 2019.
[55] Do we know why it's taken so long to go to trial?
[56] Well, normally, the state's attorney's office would be prosecuting a case like this, but the Cook County State Attorney, Kim Fox, actually dropped all of the original 17 charges against Smollett back in March of 2019.
[57] Now, if that had been allowed to stand, he wouldn't be on trial right now.
[58] But a lot of people accused Fox of having a conflict of interest, especially after it came out that she'd been communicating with Smolett's family.
[59] There were also allegations that her office tried to get the Smollett record sealed, so the press wouldn't be able to report on what she'd been doing.
[60] So in the end, a special prosecutor said he found, quoting here, substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures in her office.
[61] And at that point, the special prosecutor convened a grand jury, and they recommended reinstating a six -count indictment against Smollett.
[62] So that's how we got here today.
[63] And how is Smollett pleading here?
[64] Well, he's claimed all along that he's innocent and he's still claiming that now.
[65] So during opening statements, his defense attorney claimed that the two brothers set him up because they, quote, did not like him as a person.
[66] Smolett's defense has tried to cast doubt on the testimony of the two brothers, and they've also sought to undermine that perception that Smolette was seeking attention.
[67] So on the second day of the trial, prosecutors questioned the lead investigator, and he testified that after putting in 3 ,000 man hours on investigation and reviewing surveillance video, he's in no doubt that Smollett perpetrated a hoax.
[68] And the brothers will reportedly be the prosecution's star witnesses.
[69] It sounds like the prosecution has a pretty uphill battle here.
[70] Yeah, it does.
[71] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[72] Of course, anytime.
[73] That's Daily Wire Entertainment reporter, Megan.
[74] Basham.
[75] Coming up, the Supreme Court considers an abortion case that could overturn Roe v. Wade.
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[79] Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case out of Mississippi that could dramatically change the landscape of abortion in this country.
[80] Leading up to oral arguments, New Hampshire Democratic Senator Gene Shaheen warned of a coming revolt if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
[81] I think if you want to see a revolution, go ahead, outlaw Roe v. Wade.
[82] Here to give us a closer look at the case is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pince Bond.
[83] Charlotte, there's a lot of interest in this case for good reason, obviously.
[84] What can you tell us about it?
[85] So the case is Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and it's over a 2018 Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
[86] Right now, the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision in the ones that came after it, like Planned Parenthood v. Casey, hold that states essentially have to allow a woman to be able to have an abortion up to the point of viability, so when the baby can survive on its own.
[87] Most states hold this mark at around 20 to 24 weeks, so the Mississippi law directly challenges that precedent.
[88] Originally, Mississippi said in its petition that the questions presented to the court do not require them to overturn Roe or Casey.
[89] But in its brief in July, the state wrote, quote, Roe and Casey are egregiously wrong and said the court should overrule those decisions.
[90] So why is this case so unique?
[91] Haven't we had other laws like this blocked in the past?
[92] Yes, but when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Mississippi case, it said it would consider the question of, quote, whether all pre -viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional, which means that with this decision, they could rule that states can make their own laws regarding abortion again, even possibly banning it up to the point of conception.
[93] And right now, there are at least 21 states that have pro -life laws or constitutional amendments that would make almost all abortions in their states illegal if Roe is overturned.
[94] Do we have any idea how the court is going to rule?
[95] It's obviously impossible to know how the justices will rule on this case.
[96] Justice Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan have supported abortion in the past.
[97] the newer justices, including Justice Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett, are more conservative, and how they rule in this case will offer a more clarifying look at their stances.
[98] Chief Justice John Roberts is difficult to predict, as is Justice Alito, although he has seemed to lean towards pro -life decisions in the past.
[99] But that's not the case with Justice Clarence Thomas.
[100] He's been very clear in the past on his opposition to Roe, right?
[101] Right.
[102] Justice Thomas is probably the most open about his stance against Roe.
[103] In a 2020 dissenting opinion, he wrote, quote, our abortion precedents are grievously wrong and should be overruled.
[104] He went on to write, quote, the Constitution does not constrain the state's ability to regulate or even prohibit abortion.
[105] This court created the right to abortion based on an amorphous unwritten right to privacy.
[106] This is considered to be the most conservative court we've seen in decades.
[107] And Thomas, who is the longest serving justice, could have the opportunity to be part of overturning Roe v. Wade.
[108] Well, we'll see if that's indeed what ends up happening.
[109] Thanks for the reporting, Charlotte.
[110] Absolutely.
[111] That's DailyWire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
[112] The contents of Hunter Biden's laptop became the most controversial and suppressed story of the 2020 election.
[113] A new investigative book thoroughly examined its contents and says they prove that President Joe Biden has been financially compromised by foreign powers.
[114] The Daily Wire's media reporter Ben Johnson has the details.
[115] Ben, thanks for joining us.
[116] My pleasure.
[117] So Miranda Devine's new book, Laptop from Hell, which is currently number one on Amazon, covers everything from the most salacious details of hunter's addictions to allegations of corruption and influence peddling.
[118] So how does the president fit into this picture?
[119] Well, the book portrays President Joe Biden as the mastermind and main beneficiary of corrupt global business deals.
[120] We should stipulate that many of these allegations come exclusively from Miranda Devine's original new book.
[121] Some of these claims will surely be considered controversial.
[122] Miranda Devine told me the most important aspect of Hunter Biden's laptop is the picture that emerges of President Joe Biden.
[123] But he's deeply corrupt and a congenital liar and also the fact that now as president, he's compromised.
[124] President Biden, she says, would set up deals with domestic and foreign interests who wanted something from him.
[125] They would hire Hunter who would finance the family's lavish lifestyle.
[126] His most famous deal with Ukrainian energy company Burisma netted Hunter $83 ,000 a month, but his most lucrative deal came from the China Energy Fund Committee, which is part of the Chinese government's imperialist belt and road initiative seeking to extend Chinese communist influence around the world.
[127] Records on his laptop show that Hunter made $6 million from that deal.
[128] And what role did Joe Biden allegedly play in facilitating these foreign financial deals?
[129] In some cases, he met with Hunter's business partners.
[130] For instance, although he officially deny the meeting at first, records on the laptop show that Joe Biden met with the owner of Burisma in Washington, D .C. in 2015, and possibly with others.
[131] And then in 2013, Vice President Joe Biden actually brought Hunter on an official state visit to China, where Hunter hammered out his first multimillion -dollar deal with the Chinese.
[132] Miranda Devine told me that in Chinese culture, this represents a quid pro quo.
[133] When Joe Biden arrived with Hunter Biden on Echol, it was a signal that Hunter Biden would be taken care of financially, and therefore China could do what it liked.
[134] She says this is compromised national security.
[135] Because of Hunter's financial dealings, President Xi has no respect for President Biden.
[136] Now, obviously, the book focuses on the Biden family, but are there any other big names mentioned?
[137] Yes, Hunter Biden allegedly claimed to have sway with other political figures as well.
[138] While trying to cement a deal with the Chinese, a document on the laptop says that Hunter Biden has pulled with a Democratic royalty on both coasts.
[139] He names Kamala Harris, Senators Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Diane Feinstein, as well as current California governor Gavin Newsom.
[140] But Devine says Biden is the most practiced purveyor of corruption in U .S. politics.
[141] Everything is a favor, everything is a sort of a tammany call kind of quick pro quo, handshake, scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
[142] And his entire family is in on this Now, Devine seems to indicate that several members of the Biden family have benefited from corruption aside from Hunter.
[143] Right.
[144] Divine says that most of the Biden clan has benefited from the president's influence peddling in two ways.
[145] First, receipts on the laptop show that Hunter Biden appeared to pay many of the family's bills, including those of his father.
[146] In one email, he tells his daughter that Joe Biden claims half of his salary.
[147] Second, other family members allegedly preceded Hunter in this family business, particularly Joe's young.
[148] brothers, Frank and Jimmy Biden.
[149] At one point, Jim Biden reportedly told his business partners, quote, don't worry about investors.
[150] We've got people all around the world who want to invest in Joe Biden.
[151] Other family members got high -paying government jobs.
[152] Hunter's aunt Val, who basically raised him as a child, was granted a U .N. appointment that paid her $26 ,000 for four months' work.
[153] Her daughters also received government sinecures during the Obama administration.
[154] So at the very least, there are some open questions that, American people might want answers to.
[155] Ben, thanks for reporting.
[156] Thanks for having me. That's Daily Wire reporter, Ben Johnson.
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