Morning Wire XX
[0] On this vote, the Yeas are 214 and the nays are 213.
[1] The resolution is adopted.
[2] In a historic move, the U .S. Congress has impeached the Homeland Security Secretary for failing to secure the border.
[3] What sealed the deal for the resolution and what comes next for the embattled secretary.
[4] I'm Daily Wire, editor -in -chief John Bickley, with Georgia Howe.
[5] It's Wednesday, February 14th, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] Fulton County DA Fannie Willis is headed to court.
[7] this time as a defendant, could a judge disqualify her and a lead prosecutor from the Trump election interference case?
[8] Because I think it's possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur.
[9] And the race to replace RNC chair, Ronna McDaniel is on.
[10] And Donald Trump makes clear who he wants to see in power.
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[12] Stay tuned.
[13] We have the news you need to know.
[14] Hey guys, producer Brandon here.
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[20] With the nation facing an unprecedented immigration crisis, seeing numbers of illegal crossings that we've never seen before, House Republicans did something we haven't seen Congress do for over 100 years.
[21] They've now impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
[22] Here with the details is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[23] Hi, Tim.
[24] So after coming up short last week, Republicans were able to impeach Majorcas last night.
[25] First, what was different this time.
[26] The piece that Republicans missed last week was Congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
[27] He was away from the Capitol being treated for blood cancer, but he was back at work in D .C. this week to cast the deciding vote.
[28] The final tally was 214 to 213, so Republicans just barely pulled it off.
[29] But it is historic.
[30] As you noted, this makes Majorcas now the second Cabinet Secretary impeached in U .S. history, and the first since 1876.
[31] Here's Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida reacting to the vote.
[32] Now the Senate needs to go ahead and do their due diligence on this because what has happened to our southern border is a travesty.
[33] It is a man -made crisis.
[34] It is a political crisis brought to us by the Democrats and Joe Biden and the American people deserve better.
[35] The Republicans who voted against impeachment last week voted against it yesterday too.
[36] They are Ken Buck of Colorado, Tom McClintock of California, and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin.
[37] All right, so even with those defections, they do manage to get the vote by one.
[38] When can we expect this to move?
[39] move to the Senate.
[40] According to Fox News, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to schedule the trial for sometime in late February.
[41] So we'll expect to hear more on that later.
[42] When it comes time for the trial, Johnson named 11 lawmakers last week who will argue the House's case in the Senate.
[43] Those names include Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who wrote the impeachment resolution.
[44] Republicans don't stand much of a realistic chance at getting a conviction.
[45] Before the vote, they were already getting pushed back from some Republican senators for the resolution because they said it doesn't allege actionable crimes against Majorcas.
[46] For their part, Democrats have dismissed the whole thing as a political stunt.
[47] The White House called it a blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship.
[48] Now, Republicans obviously contest these arguments.
[49] Right.
[50] The articles themselves accused Mayarchus of willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
[51] Both of those related to the Biden administration's immigration policy.
[52] Republicans also say Mayarchus liable.
[53] under oath to Congress when he claimed numerous times that the border is secure, even while Border Patrol encounters were regularly breaking records.
[54] As we've reported here, Texas and New York have declared states of emergency over the crisis.
[55] The volume of migrants has overwhelmed major American cities such as Chicago and New York City, and already this fiscal year, the Border Patrol has tallied about a million encounters.
[56] All this has led to the immigration issue, jumping to the top of Americans' concerns.
[57] Here's Congressman Green underscoring that point on the House floor.
[58] many hearings at the subcommittee and full committee level, and we heard from a variety of witnesses, including former senior DHS enforcement officials, state attorneys general, and victims who've been impacted by Secretary Maricus's border crisis.
[59] Democrats consistently claim these hearings were a waste of time.
[60] Tell that to the families of 150 ,000 Americans who died from fentanyl poisoning in 2021 and 22 alone.
[61] Despite the long odds, House Republicans appear ready for the next stage.
[62] Congressman Green hammered that point home.
[63] After the vote, he said, quoting here, the country has suffered from an unprecedented border crisis that has turned every state into a border state, causing untold suffering in communities across our country.
[64] He added that the vote made clear that we will not tolerate such lawlessness.
[65] Well, history in the making here.
[66] Tim, thanks for joining us.
[67] My pleasure.
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[71] The man Willis hired to run her election interference case against former President Trump.
[72] The development comes amid a critical week for Trump in his four pending legal cases.
[73] Here to discuss his Daily Wire reporter, Amanda Presta Giacomo.
[74] So Amanda, let's start with this decision by Judge Scott McAfee.
[75] Tell us what happened at that hearing earlier this week.
[76] Yeah, sure thing.
[77] So Judge McAfee permitted an evidentiary hearing on this Willis Wade relationship to move forward, and that's set to start tomorrow.
[78] McAfee said the disqualification of Willis and Wade from the Trump case could occur.
[79] And further, he declined to quash subpoena sent by the defense team to a number of witnesses, and that includes both Willis and Wade.
[80] Here's McAfee at that hearing.
[81] I think it's clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one.
[82] and the filings submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the evidence that can't be resolved.
[83] So remember, this all started when Trump co -defendant Michael Roman asked to have Willis and her entire office removed from this election interference case back in January.
[84] Roman alleged a conflict of interest based on Willis's hiring of Wade, her alleged lover, and then financially gaining from that arrangement.
[85] Willis and Wade have since admitted that they have indeed been in a relationship, but claim that it started after, after Willis hired Wade.
[86] Now, is the timeline of the relationship a central issue here?
[87] Yeah, it is.
[88] I mean, Romans team claims they have witnesses who can confirm the relationship started before Willis hired Wade.
[89] And if that is established, not only could it lead to Willis being kicked off the Trump case, but it could even spell criminal charges for her since she swore differently to that timeline on an affidavit.
[90] So not a good look for Willis.
[91] What exactly does it mean for Trump and his co -defendants?
[92] Well, McAfee could decide to remove Willis.
[93] and weighed from the case, and that means it would be up to the prosecuting attorney's counsel of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take up the Trump case.
[94] Theoretically, he or she could continue on Willis's track to go after Trump, pursue only some of the charges, or even dismiss the case altogether.
[95] All right, so shifting gears to another case against Trump, the former president's legal team has filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court concerning the election interference case.
[96] That's the one with special counsel, Jack Smith.
[97] Tell us about that.
[98] Yeah, so Trump is appealing a decision by the D .C. Court of Appeals that found he is not immune from prosecution in this D .C. case.
[99] Trump has asked the High Court to stay the appeals court's mandate and decide on this immunity issue.
[100] So that basically means they're asking for the High Court to block the lower court's ruling and give Team Trump more time.
[101] Yesterday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave Smith a one -week deadline to respond to Trump's latest filing.
[102] As for Trump's team's strategy behind all this, the former president would certainly like the court to find that he is immune from these charges, but legal experts have said this is really about delaying the trial, which has been unusually expedited by Smith and the lower courts thus far.
[103] Here's UC Berkeley law professor, John U, talking to Fox News about that.
[104] I assume the Trump trial strategy is to get the case pushed off after Election Day.
[105] It's looking hard and hard to see the trial actually starting and coming to a verdict.
[106] before the elections.
[107] Suppose the court takes this immunity case.
[108] If they follow the Colorado example and operate it like Warp 9 .999, it'll take about three months between now and maybe when we actually see a decision.
[109] Only then can the case start.
[110] You added that Trump could then move forward with other legal claims, which could delay the trial even more.
[111] Now, before we wrap things up, we have developments in two other criminal cases against Trump.
[112] What's going on with those?
[113] So with Jack Smith's other criminal case against Trump, this one concerning classified documents at Mar -a -Lago, a judge is going to decide on Trump's right to have access to some evidence, specifically names of those who might testify against him.
[114] Smith wants those names sealed, arguing potential harassment of his witnesses, but if they're to be uncovered, that could lead to even further delays in that trial, which as of now is set for May. And finally, concerning the hush money case in New York, Trump is expected to attend a hearing on Thursday to finalize the timetable of that trial.
[115] Well, a lot to keep up with.
[116] Yeah, it certainly is.
[117] Amanda, thanks for reporting.
[118] You're welcome.
[119] The race to replace Ronna McDaniel as the chair of the Republican National Committee is heating up with the party's presidential frontrunner weighing in on his top choice.
[120] Here to break down Trump's choices and the RNC's future is Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus.
[121] Hey, Dave.
[122] So first, the impact.
[123] Hello, please.
[124] Who has Trump announced he'd like to see take over the R &C?
[125] Morning, John.
[126] So Trump wants to tap Michael Wattley, the current chair of the North Carolina GOP and general counsel to the National Party to take that top spot replacing McDaniel.
[127] He's had success in the last two cycles in the Tar Heel State getting Trump over the top in 2020 and helping Ted Budd reach the Senate in 2022.
[128] I think listeners will not be surprised to learn he is a fierce Trump loyalist and someone who has echoed many of the former president's claims about the 2020 election.
[129] Trump wants someone who is aligned with his vision for the Republican party, but also someone with relevant experience to run that party effectively, and that makes Watley appear to be a pretty reasonable choice.
[130] Right now, he certainly seems to have the inside track, given the trust that Trump has shown in him.
[131] The one question mark at a time when the RNC is close to broke is how good a moneymaker Watley is when it comes to donors, And, well, that's obviously important.
[132] Yeah, certainly is.
[133] Trump also endorsed his daughter -in -law, Laura Trump, for co -chair, which has raised some eyebrows.
[134] Why does he think that she would be effective in this role?
[135] And does she have relevant experience?
[136] Right.
[137] So there are some charges of nepotism here, but that's not terribly new for Trump world.
[138] The Republican frontrunner praised Laura Trump's communication skills and, again, her commitment to the Make America Great Again movement.
[139] And look, she is at this point a professional political communication.
[140] She's on cable news a lot, including sometimes as an anchor.
[141] So this choice is also not completely off the wall, given that he wants her focused on messaging.
[142] Trump also said he wanted a position for his campaign advisor Chris Losevedo.
[143] So clearly the message Trump is trying to send is that this is his party now, but it's also a party with competent and capable professionals.
[144] So we've had about a day now for Trump's picks to get scrutinized.
[145] What has the reception to these choices been like?
[146] Trump's challenger, Nikki Haley, for one, seemed less than pleased.
[147] Yeah, that's for sure.
[148] Haley criticized the picks, alleging that Trump wants the RNC to essentially coronate him as the nominee, something she's actually complained about since before McDaniel, who was also a Trump ally, stepped down.
[149] She also seems to be indicating that this is further evidence that Trump is focused on himself rather than the party and the voters.
[150] But that's an argument that thus far has struggled to move the needle.
[151] much.
[152] And it isn't clear that Haley has sufficient sway in the GOP to thwart these choices.
[153] If Trump does succeed here, gets his choices elected, what will that tell us about the Republican Party and Trump's place in it?
[154] It's quite a trajectory.
[155] McDaniel was viewed as very close to Trump, but also part of the establishment.
[156] Before her was ranked Prebus, who was Trump's first chief of Steph, but not viewed as quite so much of a loyalist.
[157] And before that was Michael Steele, who now regularly goes on liberal cable news to attack not just Trump, but the GOP as a whole.
[158] It's a crystal clear indicator of the extent to which the Republican Party is now the party of Trump.
[159] And honestly, if other names we've heard, such as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who amazingly was floated by Matt Gates, though in a jabbing sort of way, were to take the job, they would still be very loyal to Trump in all likelihood because that's where the voters are.
[160] You know, the power dynamics are fascinating to watch here.
[161] Yeah.
[162] Dave, thanks for reporting.
[163] Thanks for having me. Thanks for waking up with us.
[164] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
[165] And, oh yeah, happy Valentine's Day.
[166] Hey guys, producer Brandon here.
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