Morning Wire - Drone Strike Response & Littlejohn Sentenced | Afternoon Update | 1.29.24

Episode Date: January 29, 2024

Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Shopify: "Get a $1 per month trial at https://www.shopify.com/morningwire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash morning wire. That's Shopify.com slash morning wire. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Monday, January 29th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. The Biden administration is still working through options after the president vowed retaliation following a drone attack in the Middle East that killed three U.S. servicemen and injured dozens more. The deaths at the U.S. base in Jordan are the first in months of frequent attacks from Iran-backed militias that followed the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

Meanwhile, Iran has distanced itself from the deadly attack, denying any involvement. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says that while the U.S. does not wish for a conflict with Iran, it's important to note that all these groups are supported by its government. Here's Kirby speaking about discussions of retaliation on Good Morning America. There will be a response. This was a consequential attack. No question about it. And our thoughts and prayers go to the families

that got the worst possible news over the weekend. So he's going to take that very, very seriously. He'll make the right decision. But again, George, he'll do it at a time and a manner of our choosing. Israel has accused a dozen UN employees of taking part in the October 7th assault on the country, claiming some of them allegedly stormed into the territory and participated in abductions.

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce reported. The allegations against staffers with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees prompted several countries to freeze funding for the body. Following the allegations, the UN condemned the abhorrent alleged acts and fired nine of the workers who were accused. One of the accused is reportedly dead. This all comes amid years of tension between Israel and the UN-funded group known as UNRWA. The group, which employs around 12,000 people in Gaza, has come under scrutiny for employing staff with ties to Hamas. The accusations also come after ceasefire talks were held Sunday, though both sides say in agreement still seems far away. As the standoff at the border between the Biden administration and Texas continues, a trucker convoy is headed to three border states to call attention to administration border policy.

Daily Wire reporter Spencer Lindquist is on the ground in Eagle Pass, Texas, and has the latest on what to expect there. Truckers left Virginia Beach today and are headed through Florida and Louisiana before they arrive. here in Texas. There are currently three rallies planned for this Saturday, one here in Eagle Pass, another in Yuma, Arizona, and then there are plans for rally in San Ysidro, California. It's difficult to estimate exactly how many people are going to be part of the convoy, but locals here on the ground expect hundreds of thousands of people to participate with a significant chunk of them ending up here in Texas. Now this all comes as 25 Republican governors have put their support behind Governor Greg Abbott in his fight against the Biden administration over Shelby Park and Eagle Pass.

Last week, the Biden administration told Governor Abbott that Border Patrol needed access to Shelby Park by Friday. But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxson denied that request. Now, that deadline has passed and the administration hasn't taken any other efforts to reclaim the park from Texas National Guard. Charles Little John, the former IRS contractor who leaked former President Donald Trump's tax returns to the New York Times, was sentenced today to five years in prison. Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips has the latest. Little John pleaded guilty in October after prosecutors argued that he, quote, weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal political agenda, believing that he was above law. Prosecutors argued that he abused his position and sought the statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, along with a $5,000 fine.

The judge called little John's actions a, quote, attack on our constitutional democracy. The defendant for his part briefly addressed the court, claiming he, quote, acted out of a sincere but misguided belief. that he was, quote, serving the public. Little John said he acted with the knowledge that he, quote, would likely end up in a courtroom. Despite the prison sentence, Florida Senator Rick Scott, whose returns were also released by Little John,

claims the ruling shows the two-sided justice system in the United States. He intentionally took the job to release Trump's tax return. He did over 7,500 people, and he's going to plead guilty to one case. I mean, this is just, this is an example of the Justice Department decide, oh, if you do something against Republicans, who cares? do it against Democrats, that's bad. But if you do it against Republicans, we'll just give you a slap on

the wrist. Farmer protest in France blocked major highways around Paris on Monday. The demonstrations are just the latest in Europe addressing a variety of grievances from trade agreements to environmental policies that protesters say put financial pressure on farmers. Russian figure skater Camilla Vallieva was disqualified from the 2022 Olympics nearly two years after testing positive for a banned heart medication, Trimitazidine. The Russians will now be stripped of the gold medal from that figure skating team event, and Valleva will be banned from participating in the next Olympics. The U.S., who finished second, is set to be named the Olympic champion instead. And food sustainability activists elbowed their way through a crowded Louvre yesterday to

splash the iconic Mona Lisa with canned soup. The painting, which is behind glass, remains undamaged. The attempted vandals were seen on video throwing red liquid at the painting, and they are then heard yelling in French, what is more important art or healthy, sustainable food? Here's what that sounded like. Museum workers can be seen rushing to block the view of the activists in the painting. Those of your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.