Morning Wire XX
[0] Two weeks after the FBI raid of Mar -a -Lago, Donald Trump has sued to block the DOJ from reviewing the seized documents.
[1] What is the former president demanding and what's next in this unprecedented case?
[2] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[3] It's Tuesday, August 23rd, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] After 50 years in government, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the man who led the U .S. response to the COVID pandemic, is retiring.
[5] Why is the famous doctor stepping down now?
[6] and what does this mean for the ongoing investigations and the federal COVID policies?
[7] And the second trial against two men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, went to the jury on Monday.
[8] What are the defendants accused of?
[9] And why do they say the FBI is the true guilty party?
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[11] Stay tuned.
[12] We have the news you need to know.
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[18] On Monday, former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit related to the FBI search seeking, among other things, the appointment of a special master.
[19] Here are the latest details on this developing story as Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[20] Cabot, what can you tell us about this lawsuit?
[21] Well, since the raid of his home earlier this month, Trump has been clear that he's innocent of any wrongdoing and that he would fight back with any means at his disposal.
[22] And we're now getting a better idea of what that fight looks like.
[23] The lawsuit filed Monday evening, among other things, includes a request for a detailed description of everything the FBI took and it asked for the return of any items, quote, not within the scope of the search warrant.
[24] In the suit, Trump's lawyers said, quote, politics cannot be allowed to impact the administration of justice, before adding that, quote, to date, the government has failed to legitimize its historic decision to raid the home of a president who had been fully cooperative.
[25] They also went on to reiterate that they viewed the raid as a shockingly aggressive move with no understanding of the distress that it would cause most Americans.
[26] Now, a key part of this suit centered on the appointment of a special master.
[27] What do we need to know there?
[28] right so part of the lawsuit asks for a special master to review all of the evidence taken as part of the rate a special master is basically a third party individual typically a retired judge or magistrate who's brought in to sift through evidence during an investigation to make sure the government didn't seize anything that they weren't allowed to take including evidence that was confidential under attorney client privilege or outside the scope of the federal search warrant think of a special master as basically a mediator during an investigation this This request seems to indicate that Trump's team thinks the FBI took property that they had no business with, and they're requesting that the DOJ be restricted from, quote, further review of seized materials by the government until a special master is appointed.
[29] So what's the main legal argument from Trump and his team?
[30] They're essentially arguing that the FBI raid was too broad in scope and that the government violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures.
[31] This sort of plays into their initial accusation that this was more of a lot of.
[32] fishing expedition to find other evidence of criminal activity and wasn't actually related directly to their search for confidential documents.
[33] What sort of reaction did we see to this lawsuit?
[34] Well, critics of the president say that the lawsuit was part of his effort to keep the DOJ from looking into the documents that they seized from his property.
[35] They're confident that he committed federal crimes and view this as basically a stall tactic.
[36] But supporters of the president say that his rights were violated by the raid and that given the implications for the public, that there needs to be more transparency about what exactly the DOJ was looking for.
[37] They also say that at a time when national trust in the FBI is nearing record lows, that it's important to bring in a third party to essentially investigate the investigation and make sure the president is getting a fair shake.
[38] Now, this all comes as a judge weighs whether to release an affidavit related to the search.
[39] What's the latest there?
[40] Yeah, a quick recap, a number of media outlets, as well as the president's legal team, have petitioned a judge to release the affidavit that was used to justify the search warrant on Trump's home.
[41] The affidavit will offer insight into what exactly the FBI was looking for and whether they actually had evidence of a crime beforehand.
[42] So yesterday, the judge in the case said that he is inclined to release at least some of the affidavit and hopes that it would, quote, promote public understanding of the historically significant events.
[43] While he did side with the government that some elements of the document needed to be redacted, he reiterated that the government had not yet provided sufficient evidence that the affidavit should remain sealed entirely.
[44] So a little bit of a victory for people that are hoping to see that document.
[45] And we should know by Thursday just how much of it will be released.
[46] So stay tuned.
[47] We most definitely will.
[48] Cabot, thanks for coming on.
[49] Anytime.
[50] That was Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[51] Coming up, Dr. Anthony Fauci says he's stepping down.
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[56] The nation's top infectious disease official, Anthony Fauci, announced on Monday that he will be stepping down in December.
[57] He said in a statement that he wants to, quote, pursue the next chapter of his career.
[58] Fauci's timing means he'll be leaving the post just after Republicans are expected to take control of the House and possibly the Senate.
[59] Here to give us the details on Fauci's announcement is Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham.
[60] So, Megan, no doubt Fauci's announcement is sparking a lot of reaction, but before we get to that, do we know why he's leaving now?
[61] Well, you know, that's a good question.
[62] Fauci made it clear in his press release that though he is 81 years old, he is not retiring.
[63] He said he still has a lot of energy and passion for his field, and he said he wants to use what he learned during his five decades of government service to mentor the next generation of scientific leaders.
[64] So maybe he's looking at some sort of teaching role.
[65] But, you know, of course we have to say that is the PR answer.
[66] Analysts are already pointing to some other reasons he may be deciding to leave his post now, namely that he may not want to face a Republican majority in Congress.
[67] So Fauci, of course, came under some intense fire when leaked emails revealed that he pressured media outlets and other government officials to suppress medical opinions that didn't align with his department's policies.
[68] He's also faced some significant questioning over whether he lied to Congress about his agency funding gain of function research in the Wuhan lab that some experts believe was the source of COVID.
[69] Kentucky's Republican Senator Rand Paul tweeted Monday afternoon, and I'll just quote here, Fauci's resignation will not prevent a full -throated investigation into the origins of the pandemic, he will be asked to testify under oath regarding any discussions he participated in concerning the lab leak.
[70] So that sentiment was echoed by a lot of Republicans on Monday.
[71] Then you're also hearing suggestions that his resignation could be part of an effort by the White House to assert something of a different image as this presidential race heats up.
[72] During the pandemic, Fauci became the face of what many people view as authoritarian measures, lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccine requirements.
[73] And right now, President Biden is upside down in his approval numbers on his handling of COVID, and that's a sharp swing from when he took office.
[74] So whether any pressure came from the White House or not, you have to guess they're probably looking at Fauci's departure as an opportunity to reset here.
[75] Well, and as you've reported in the past, Fauci's not the first high -profile resignation from the health establishment over COVID -related scandals.
[76] That's right.
[77] He's not.
[78] He's not.
[79] So Dr. Francis Collins, the former NIH director, well, he resigned last December.
[80] And once again, it was under something of a storm of controversy over those same leaked emails where he and Fauci discussed ways they could suppress the lab leak theory.
[81] Now, let's get to the responses.
[82] How have people been reacting to Fauci's announcement?
[83] Well, as you might expect, President Biden issued a complimentary statement.
[84] He called Dr. Fauci a dedicated public servant, and he praised his steady hand.
[85] of wisdom.
[86] He also pointed to Fauci's bipartisan service, including the fact that he began his government career under Reagan and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 by George W. Bush.
[87] Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Javier Bacera said that he's come to rely on Fauci's wisdom and counsel.
[88] On the other hand, you can't deny that there have already been a lot of what you might call, say, good riddance responses.
[89] One Republican strategist has said that Fauci's legacy will be, and I'm just going to quote, a grandparent dying alone in a hospital room while he does another photo shoot for a magazine cover.
[90] Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted, Dr. Fauci lost the trust of the American people when his guidance unnecessarily kept schools closed and businesses shut while obscuring questions about his knowledge on the origins of COVID.
[91] Finally, Harriet Hageman, who just bested Liz Cheney in Wyoming's Republican primary, put out a statement in which she said, almost everything that was wrong with the nation's COVID -19 response can be traced back to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
[92] Good riddance and see you soon.
[93] So some pretty divided opinions about Fauci's legacy.
[94] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[95] Yeah, anytime.
[96] That was Daily Wire Culture reporter, Megan Basham.
[97] The case against two men accused of conspiring to kidnap and possibly assassinate Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, went to jury Monday.
[98] This is the second trial for defendants Barry Croft and Adam Fox, after a jury deadlocked over the charges against them in April.
[99] Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[100] Hey Tim.
[101] Now closing arguments took place Monday.
[102] What did the jury hear?
[103] Hey, John.
[104] The jury heard the breakdown of the case into its simplest terms.
[105] Prosecutors said Croft and Fox had a plan and desire to kidnap the governor and put her on trial for treason were just summarily executor.
[106] Croft and Fox attended tactical trainings, tested explosives, and Fox took part in two trips to survey the governor's cottage near Elk Rapids, Michigan.
[107] Prosecutors said that the FBI, over the course of a seven -month investigation in 2020, uncovered a dangerous conspiracy that threatened extreme violence on the governor, and the masterminds behind that conspiracy are Barry Croft and Adam Fox.
[108] The defendants obviously see the events of 2020 very differently.
[109] Crofts and Fox's attorneys say that the FBI spent seven months entrapping their clients into a scheme that they had no means and no real desire to carry out.
[110] To be sure, Fox and Croft said vulgar and often violent things about the governor, but Fox's attorney dismissed it as tough talk.
[111] Croft's attorney said of his client that he's often described as a, quote, stoner kind of whack nut, who regularly makes outlandish statements.
[112] Stoner whack nut, huh?
[113] Yeah.
[114] Look, this is arguably the most famous criminal trial going on in the United States right now.
[115] What are the stakes here?
[116] Well, they're pretty high.
[117] For the defendants, a conviction on the conspiracy charge could carry a life sentence.
[118] But outside the defendant's circles, what most people are watching for is the reputational damage that the FBI will sustain from another failed prosecution.
[119] When news of this case first broke in October 2020, we were about a month out from a presidential election.
[120] This case was used as evidence of a rise of domestic terrorism, and indeed the Department of Justice under President Biden has named domestic terrorism, especially from right -wing extremists, a top priority.
[121] People on the right side of the aisle are pretty skeptical about the intentions of the FBI right now, especially in the aftermath of the unprecedented raid on former President Trump's residence.
[122] If the jury acquits or even deadlocks again, this case is going to be seen as an egregious abuse of authority and resources by the FBI.
[123] It will raise real questions over methods and tactics that the Bureau has used for decades to investigate criminal activity, such as its use of confidential human sources.
[124] Yeah, let's get into some of those tactics, then.
[125] What are the defendants saying to try to convince jurors that the FBI were the actual criminals here?
[126] Yeah, well, the defendants take issue with quite a few aspects of the FBI investigation, especially its use of paid informants, or what the Bureau calls confidential human sources.
[127] One of those informants, Steve Robeson, was actually accused of being a double agent and threatened with prosecution.
[128] During the investigation, Robeson and another informant, Ginny Plunk, routinely smoked marijuana with the defendants before recording their conversations.
[129] Plunk at one time shared a hotel room with Croft, something an FBI agent testified was done as a cost -cutting measure.
[130] The shared room and the drug use raised questions about the links informants went to to collect evidence.
[131] Defense attorneys also argue that without the FBI getting involved, the alleged conspiracy would never have gotten anywhere as far as it did.
[132] FBI agent Christopher Long at one point during the investigation pushed Plunk to keep Croft involved with the other suspects when the group seemed on the verge of breaking up.
[133] Long told Plunk to, quote, find common ground between Croft and the others, and to quote, show them the good ideas Croft abroad.
[134] Long said he sent the message because a breakup of the group would raise the risk of a lone wolf attack and make surveillance much more difficult.
[135] All right, well, the case is in the jury's hands now, so we should have a decision soon.
[136] Thanks for reporting.
[137] That was DailyWire's Tim Pierce.
[138] Other stories were tracking this week.
[139] South Korea and the United States began their largest joint military drills.
[140] and years on Monday over North Korea's potential weapons tests.
[141] Ford Motor Company has announced that it's firing around 3 ,000 workers in order to cut costs and transition towards producing electric vehicles.
[142] Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
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