Morning Wire XX
[0] Former President Trump posts a near $200 million bond in his New York fraud case as the judge in his hush money case expands Trump's gag order.
[1] This is a really controversial order, and I think it's wrong.
[2] You know, you've got Michael Cohen, who is going on the air every night attacking Trump.
[3] He's not allowed to respond.
[4] Is Trump's property still at risk of being seized?
[5] And why was the gag order broadened?
[6] I'm Daily Wire, editor -in -chief John Bickley with Georgia Howell.
[7] It's Wednesday, April 3rd, and this is Morning Wire.
[8] Democrats are hoping to flip Florida by putting an abortion ban on the November ballot, while the state's Supreme Court paves the way for a heartbeat bill.
[9] And Biden and Trump are laying out two very different cases to draw in voters.
[10] We discussed the dueling messages of the presidential frontrunners.
[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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[23] Former President Donald Trump has now posted a $175 million bond in his New York state fraud case, protecting his assets from Attorney General Letitia James.
[24] But he also faces a potential gag order in another trial.
[25] The bond clears the way for Trump to appeal the nearly half billion with a B penalty imposed in a fraud case earlier this year.
[26] Here to discuss this development, as well as a newly expanded gag order in the Stormy Daniels Hush Money case as Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
[27] Hey, Dave, so a lot going on here.
[28] for Trump.
[29] First, is Trump's property safe from confiscation now that the bond has been posted?
[30] Morning, John.
[31] Indeed, Trump Tower is safe for now.
[32] The deadline for Trump to secure the reduced bond of $175 million was this week.
[33] And now that the former president has posted it, New York Attorney General Letitia James will not be able to begin seizing his money or assets.
[34] Now, he is still potentially liable for the whopping $450 million judgment against him in the fraud case.
[35] if he loses his appeal, but even if he does, by then he should have access to a recent windfall from his truth social media platform going public.
[36] So the immediate emergency seems to have passed, and at least for now, this is one case that Trump can more or less put in the rearview mirror, at least until the appeal is ruled on.
[37] Now, in the New York City hush money case, Judge Mershon expanded an existing gag order on Trump to include a ban on talking about family members of course.
[38] officials, including his own daughter.
[39] What brought this about and will it stand up?
[40] Trump has very aggressively attacked some of the judges and prosecutors in his cases and also some of their family members.
[41] Specifically, he called out Judge Marchand's daughter, who works for a consulting firm that is used by Democrat campaigns, including those of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Adam Schiff.
[42] And look, it's clear that some of her clients are involved in attacking Trump on the basis of the criminal charges against him.
[43] So if, the case goes against Trump, there's reason to believe that could accrue to the benefit of the judge's daughter.
[44] Trump views this as a conflict of interest, but the judges ruled that these kinds of statements by Trump can put family members in danger and also have a potentially negative effect on the case.
[45] In fairness, when you look at the rhetoric that Attorney General James used when running for office promising specifically to go after Trump or when we heard Fulton County DA Fon Willie Willis testify in court that Trump and his co -defendants in that case for trying to destroy democracy, you have to ask whether he's allowed to push back on what he sees as bias, including when it involves family members.
[46] This is a balancing act.
[47] Yeah.
[48] Given that we are in the midst of a presidential election, is there a potential First Amendment free speech issue involved here, given that Trump is being limited in how he talks on the campaign trail?
[49] Trump and his attorneys would most certainly say yes.
[50] In a normal legal case, this might not matter so much.
[51] I just don't talk about it outside of court.
[52] The issue here is that all of these cases are very much front and center conversations in the presidential election, whether it's Democrats attacking Trump for his 92 criminal charges or Republicans pointing to those charges as, well, trumped up political efforts.
[53] It is absolutely a major subject in the election.
[54] So it's difficult to tell one of the candidates they can't talk.
[55] about it.
[56] Yeah.
[57] Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Trump was not in any courtroom, but rather he was back on the campaign trail.
[58] Did his legal cases come up there?
[59] Yeah, they sure did.
[60] Trump was in swing states, Michigan and Wisconsin.
[61] And while the top line issue he was pounding was the southern border, or as he put it with Trumpian alliteration Biden's border bloodbath, he was also focused on these legal cases.
[62] And he very much lays them directly at the feet of Joe Biden's Department of Justice.
[63] So again, on the one hand, the court cases and the campaign are two separate situations, but there is an awful lot of overlap.
[64] Yeah, there certainly is.
[65] Dave, thanks for coming on.
[66] Thanks for having me. In one ruling, Florida's Supreme Court has cleared the way for a six -week abortion ban to take effect, while another ruling has opened the door to an abortion ballot referendum in November.
[67] Here to discuss the dual rulings is daily wire reporter Amanda pressed to Jacamo.
[68] So Amanda, let's first start with the ruling that concerns the six -week abortion ban.
[69] What did the court find?
[70] Florida Supreme Court was actually looking at the constitutionality of a 15 -week abortion ban that was enacted back in 2022.
[71] That was challenged by Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups.
[72] The court found that the state constitution's privacy clause does not extend to abortion.
[73] In other words, the Constitution does not include a right to abortion.
[74] That ruling not only upheld the 15 -weeks.
[75] week ban, but it effectively cleared the way for a six -week ban on abortion through a law called the Heartbeat Protection Act, or SB 300.
[76] That is set to take effect on May 1st.
[77] Now, the Heartbeat Protection Act would then push the limit from 15 weeks down to six weeks?
[78] That's right.
[79] So SB 300 is a Republican -back law that was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis last April.
[80] It aims to ban most abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is around five to six weeks gestation.
[81] But there are notable exceptions to the law.
[82] And that includes serious risk to the health of the mother, rape, incest, and rare fetal abnormalities that are fatal.
[83] Now, there was also a separate ruling from the court regarding an abortion -related ballot referendum that's coming up in November.
[84] What was that decision and what would the referendum entail?
[85] Well, that decision was split four three in the court ruled that Florida residents can vote this fall on a constitutional amendment, Amendment 4, to expand abortion.
[86] access.
[87] Amendment 4, if it's to pass, would guarantee a woman's, quote, right to an abortion under any circumstance up until viability.
[88] That's around 24 weeks or a woman's six month of pregnancy.
[89] But critics have pointed out that the wording of Amendment 4 opens the door to much later term abortions as well.
[90] It states that women have a right to abort a viable unborn baby if a health care provider, and that's not limited to just doctors, by the way, says that an abortion is necessary to protect health.
[91] Notably, health is not defined and it's not even limited to physical health.
[92] Other states have interpreted similar clauses to include mental health.
[93] So in theory, critics say someone could have an abortion at seven, eight, nine months over something like anxiety.
[94] The amendment also strips out broadly popular protections such as parental consent for minors.
[95] Instead, Amendment 4 replaces parental consent with parental notification, which is not defined.
[96] Now, similar ballot measures have passed in numerous states, including some conservative states since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
[97] What are its chances in Florida?
[98] You know, it's unclear, even in a red state lake Florida, these type of ballot initiatives to enthrine a, quote, right to abortion in a state constitution, they've been backed by big money from outside groups, and they've succeeded in several states, including places like Ohio and Michigan.
[99] For some context on the money behind these measures.
[100] In Michigan, pro -abortion groups raised $44 million to promote the amendment, while pro -life groups raised less than $17 million in that same time period.
[101] There was a similar disparity in Ohio.
[102] And as you mentioned, Georgia, these ballot initiatives have been popular since the Dobbs decision.
[103] That decision found that there is no constitutional right to abortion.
[104] It effectively overturned Roe v. Wade, and it kicked abortion regulations back to the states.
[105] Florida is sort of a prime example of this new post row landscape.
[106] We're seeing this being hashed out by the legislature and voted on by the people.
[107] Well, it's not an issue that's going away anytime soon, it seems like.
[108] Amanda, thanks for reporting.
[109] You're welcome.
[110] President Biden and Donald Trump are hitting the campaign trail this week, holding dueling events that offer insight into each party's strategy heading into the general election.
[111] Here with the latest from the campaign trail is Daily Wire's senior editor Cabot Phillips.
[112] Hey, Cabot.
[113] So Trump and Biden both ramping up their campaigning events while focusing on very different issues.
[114] Tell us about these diverging messages.
[115] Yeah, November might feel like a long way off, but the general election is well underway.
[116] In the past week, Biden and Trump each appeared in battleground states, and the theme of those contrasting events gives a good preview of what each side will be focusing on in the coming months.
[117] Donald Trump appeared in Wisconsin and Michigan on Tuesday for rallies focused on what his campaign called, quote, Biden's border bloodbath, which David mentioned just a minute ago.
[118] For their part, Democrat leaders have descended on Florida, where Biden campaign surrogates appeared at pro -abortion events throughout the state.
[119] Each campaign believes those two issues are weak spots for their opponent, and yesterday gives some helpful insight into the message we're going to be hearing from now until November.
[120] So why are Biden and Democrats focusing on Florida in particular?
[121] Well, they were there in direct response to the Florida Supreme Court ruling that Amanda just discussed.
[122] That ruling really energized Democrats who see abortion as a winning issue and believe Republicans have overplayed their hands.
[123] with abortion bans following the overturning of Roe.
[124] And while winning Florida in November is still going to be a tall order for Democrats, the fact they're focusing time and money there shows how they feel about abortion.
[125] Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, for example, said the ballot initiative provided Democrats with a, quote, opening in the state.
[126] And look, there's a reason for that.
[127] In the 2022 midterms, exit polling showed that abortion played a significant role in driving turnout among Democrats and independents who had not voted much in the past.
[128] And more importantly, it's one of the few.
[129] issues where Biden leads Trump among voters.
[130] In ABC poll last month, for example, found that on every single issue from immigration, crime, the economy, and foreign policy, voters trusted Trump over Biden.
[131] Abortion was one of only two topics where they preferred Biden.
[132] And the White House is well aware of that trend, and they're jumping on it.
[133] To that point, have a listen to Biden's latest campaign ad that debuted yesterday.
[134] In 2016, Donald Trump ran to overturn Roe v. Wade.
[135] Now, in 2024, he's running to pass on top.
[136] national ban on a woman's right to choose.
[137] I'm running to make Rovi Wade the law of the land again.
[138] And while voters appear to prefer Biden on abortion at the moment, it is a gamble to make that issue a key focus of the campaign.
[139] If you zoom out, abortion typically falls well outside the top five most important issues in poll after poll, trailing the economy, crime, national security, and perhaps most notably, immigration.
[140] Right.
[141] And let's get to immigration a topic.
[142] Trump has been all too happy to hone in on.
[143] Yeah, Trump appeared in mission.
[144] in Wisconsin yesterday speaking to supporters behind a sign that read stop Biden's border bloodbath.
[145] Throughout the day, the former president spoke of American citizens who've been killed by illegal immigrants, including a Michigan woman allegedly murdered last week by a man deported under the Trump administration.
[146] He was set loose to Rome, our streets, and in this case set loose to Rome in Michigan, by politicians that are left and weak and stupid.
[147] Now, some folks might find it odd that Trump is focusing on illegal immigration in a state 2 ,000 miles from the border, but the influx of illegal immigrants has made the topic a top issue for voters nationwide, not just in southern border states.
[148] Remember, we've seen 3 million plus legal immigrants come into the country since Biden took office, and many are making their way north, straining towns and cities across battleground states that might have been more immune to the effects of illegal immigration in decades past.
[149] At that point, according to the latest polling from Gallup, when asked about the most important problem facing America, immigration is now number one for the first time in five years.
[150] More than a quarter of Americans say it's their top priority.
[151] And from a political perspective, that is good news for Trump who consistently outperforms Biden on the issue of border security.
[152] So the Trump team is happy to let Biden focus on abortion and seems to feel that soccer moms who in the past may have been more focused on social issues like abortion will turn into security moms who are more concerned with illegal immigration and crime.
[153] Time will tell, but yesterday was a good sneak peek into what election season might look like over the next eight months.
[154] Yeah, a tale of two very different sets of priorities on display here.
[155] Kevin, thanks for reporting.
[156] Anytime.
[157] Thanks for waking up with us.
[158] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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