Morning Wire - Israel Strikes Iran & LA Riots Money Trail | 6.13.25

Episode Date: June 13, 2025

Israel strikes Iran, targeting key nuclear sites, leftist groups bankroll the LA riots and “No Kings” protests, and Congress blasts sanctuary state governors. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.  Balance of Nature: Go to https://balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer PLUS get a free bottle of Fiber and Spice. Pockethose: Text MORNINGWIRE to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply. Shopify: Go to https://Shopify.com/morningwire to sign up for your $1 per month trial period and upgrade your selling today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After nuclear talks with Iran breakdown, Israel launches Operation Rising Lion, striking Iranian nuclear facilities and key military sites. We will not let the world's most dangerous regime get the world's most dangerous weapons. I'm Daily Wire, Executive Editor John Bickley, with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, June 13th, and this is Morning Wire. The FBI zeroes in on the group's bankrolling the nationwide anti-ice violence. It appears they're well orchestrated and coordinated and well-funded. And Sanctuary State governors face tough questions on Capitol Hill. Do you know who Raymond Rojas Basilio is? I just want to say this.

These crimes are horrific. Because of your sanctuary state policy. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Hey guys. Producer Brandon here. Balance of Nature, fruits and veggies provide a convenient way to get your daily whole fruits and vegetables.

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for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer, plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice. That's Balance of Nature.com promo code Wire. Israel Bomb Tehran, early Friday morning local time, targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile stockpiles, and other key military sites. The move comes after the Trump administration ordered non-essential personnel out of the Middle East and amid growing tensions with the Iranian regime. Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearson Pierset, Tim, so we knew something was probably

in the works here after these nuclear talks broke down. We now have Operation Rising Lion. What do we know so far? As you mentioned, this was not totally unexpected. There were signals all week that a strike might be in the works. President Trump has been working to hammer out a deal that would prevent Iran from having any nuclear weapons capacity. But his 60-day deadline for Iran to agree to a deal lapsed. And talks really broke down over the last week.

So Israel felt that their hand was forced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a global address soon after what he called Operation Rising Lion began. And he explained the rationale for the strikes. For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly. openly, openly called for Israel's destruction. They've backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a program to develop nuclear weapons. In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs, nine. In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponize

this enriched uranium. And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short, short time. It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival. Nanyahu also detailed what Israel targeted in its first night of bombings. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also, we also was struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic missile program.

Now, the prime minister listed some of the key targets there. What and who do we know were hit so far? Yeah, a New York Times graphic showed at least half a dozen locations across Iran where explosions were seen. Reports say bombs hit around Tabriz in Iran's north, close to where a nuclear facility and two military bases are located. And residents in Tehran reported Israeli fighter jets overhead. Iranian state media also reported that the head of Iran's revolutionary guard

and two of its top nuclear scientists were killed in the strikes. And Israel says this operation is just beginning. The Israeli military said it plans to continue this attack for days more. All right, so this will be a multi-day campaign, but already some key targets taken out. Right, and it's important to note that Israel appears very much united in this operation. We spoke with the human rights attorney Arson Ostrovsky, the CEO of the International Legal Forum, who is on the ground there in Tel Aviv. He said the Israeli people are fully behind these strikes,

and that they view them not as an act of aggression, but of self-defense. Iran presents, first and foremost, direct and existential threats to the state of Israel, but it's also a very real threat to the United States, to American forces, to shipping, to regional stability as well. So what Israel is doing is not only defending ourselves as any sovereign nation would, but I believe is also defending the interest off the West and the United States as well. Now, what are we hearing so far from the Trump administration? Well, we've seen all along consistent support from Trump,

for Israel's operations against Iran and its terror proxies. Secretary of State Marker Rubio put out a statement last night that emphasized that the U.S. was not involved in these strikes. He also seemed to warn Iran against any attacks on, quote, U.S. interests or personnel. We've also seen some statements of solidarity from top Republicans as well as Democrats. Speaker Johnson, for instance, endorsed the attack in a post with an Israeli flag. Right. Well, Israel appears to have hit their main ballistic missile sites. Tim, thanks so much for reporting.

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As the riots in Los Angeles have escalated with the deployment of military forces, focus has turned to the groups organizing these violent protests, especially Indivisible, an activist organization funded by George Soros. Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham joins us now with more. Hey, Megan. So before we get to the funding question, let's start with the latest. What's happening on the ground now? Well, you know, the situation has certainly escalated, John. There is a curfew now in effect.

As Cabot reported this week, National Guard troops have been deployed to disperse the protest so that ICE can do the work that they need to do. The burning cars, the traffic shutdowns while waving Mexican flags, the looting of stores, including, you know, major retailers like Apple. All of that is still continuing. California Governor Gavin Newsom, in the meanwhile, is opposing deployment, and he has sued to keep Trump from using federal troops. But California Congressman Kevin Kiley told Newsmax that Newsom is more worried about politics than the safety and peace of his constituents. He views the emergency here. The clear and present emergency is not the looters, not the rioters, posing a threat to life and property, but rather the dedicated national guardsmen who are there to get the rioting and the looting under control and to try to keep the peace. There's been a lot of online chatter about this no-king's protest plan for cities around the country on Saturday. I've seen allegations that groups funding that are also funding the L.A. riots.

What can you tell us about that? Yeah, John, I spent a couple of days looking into who is funding these groups. And what I can tell you is that they have some very deep pockets behind them. So Neville Singham, a tech billionaire living in Shanghai, is a key figure here. He's been described as a financier of pro-Chinese Communist Party propaganda. And he allegedly funneled over $20 million into radical groups linked to the these riots and to the anti-Israel protests. Another key group here is indivisible. They are openly acknowledging their involvement, and it's noteworthy that this is the same group that was behind

some of those Tesla protests. They've received some $9 million in funding from George Soros' Foundation. They've also received funding from Democratic fundraising platform Act Blue. And then, you know, just for fun, for a little bit of Hollywood glamour, the Barbara Streisand Foundation has also been supporting Indivisible. Authorities are now starting to arrest. some of these leaders who are facilitating the riots. Just one example, U.S. Attorney Bill Islayley told Fox that the FBI arrested a man passing out bionic shield face masks to L.A. rioters. He said that this is part of an orchestrated effort that it is not organic. We have made it a huge priority to try to identify, locate, and arrest those who are involved

in organizing, supporting, funding, or facilitating these riots that they're going on. It appears they're well orchestrated and coordinated and well funded. Right, we had Mark Hemingway on yesterday, and he talked about that very thing. Now, how about the upcoming No King's protests? What do we know so far? Yes, there's going to be roughly 1,800 of those protests all across the country, John, in some 1,500 cities this Saturday. It's funded by many of the same organizations,

except for this time you can throw a Walmart heiress into the mix. So Christy Walton, who married into the family, paid for a full-page ad in national newspapers, calling for the public to mobilize against ICE agents. Now, that has sparked demand for Walmart boycotts, but Walmart is trying to distance themselves from this. A Walmart spokesperson issued a statement saying, the advertisements from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart.

The big picture, though, troops are standing by for deployment in several states as the protest spread, and the governors of South Carolina, Utah, and Texas are warning protesters that they are prepared to make mass arrests if necessary. Yeah, I'm sure that there's lots of concern in these cities that these protests will devolve into the violence and mayhem we're seeing in Los Angeles. Praying, that doesn't happen. Megan, thanks so much for reporting. Yep, thanks, John.

Democrat governors tried to defend their sanctuary policies before Congress yesterday. Republicans grilled governors on their handling of criminal illegal migrants in a fiery hearing. Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Lorty is here with the details. So, Marade, tell us about this hearing. Hi, Georgia. Yes. So this was an extremely heated congressional hearing. Three Democratic governors, Kathy Hokel of New York, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Tim Walls of Minnesota, who was Kamala Harris's running mate. They appeared together before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday to testify about their state's sanctuary policies. And of course, this hearing played out as Los Angeles and other cities struggled to get riots protesting ICE enforcement under control.

At one point during the hearing, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefaniq read off a list of horrific crimes committed by illegal migrants to Kathy Hockel who struggled to respond. Well, this is an illegal migrant in New York because of your sanctuary state policies. Do you know what crime he committed? I'm not familiar at this moment. I bet you're going to be familiar when I remind you. He found a sleeping woman on the subway, lit her on fire and burned her alive. This is in Kathy Hockel's New York.

And as I'm sure you are aware, and I'll remind you, that ICE issued an order to detain this violent criminal, but that was rejected by New York officials due to sanctuary state laws. They are walking on the streets because of your policies and your executive order that you signed three times. I appreciate the chairman. Rather than going after the viral moment, I suggest you look at the facts. No, no, no. I'm standing up for New Yorkers. So a swipe there at the end from Hockel. How did the questions for the other two governors go? About the same, really. At another point, Congressman Andy Biggs tried to get Governor Tim Walls to answer whether he agreed with his own Minnesota Attorney General, who said it was not lawful for counties to hold illegal migrants in custody for ICE,

even with an immigration warrant. That's his statement. It's not yours. I just want to know if you agree with him. Well, I know you know this, Congressman, that all 87 Minnesota counties follow federal law. I don't know that. I don't know, why would I know that? I'm just going by your attorney general. He says not to do it. Do you agree with the attorney general? That's all I'm asking. The attorney general is elected independently in Minnesota. Nothing in his opinion. And in Minnesota, so are you telling me you don't, you disagree with him?

Could I have 20 seconds? Just to say. I just want you to answer me the question. You're not answering the question. Then Illinois, Governor Pritzker, balked at answering whether he thinks a certain Guatemalan man had a right to be in the country illegally,

who was arrested on suspicion of killing two women ages 20 and 21 by crashing into them at a traffic light while driving drunk. That migrant is also under federal indictment for having a fraudulent permanent resident card, social security card, and passport. Here's that exchange with Congressman James Collins. I understand, Governor, should that criminal have been here in the first place? Did he have a right to be in this country illegally?

If the person is a criminal of any sort, then they ought to be... So that person had a right to be in the United States? They ought to be given their due process rights and they ought to be convicted. We spoke to Hannah Davis policy analysts at the Federation for American Immigration Reform. she said the number of sanctuary districts in the United States has exploded over the last decade. So back in 2018 was when Fair did its last report and we found a little over 550. So it's been a few years, but as of May of 2025, we found 103 sanctuary jurisdictions across the U.S. And unfortunately, what began as a small movement initially surrounding the concept that non-citizens should be able to report crimes to local law enforcement without fear of deportation has been emboldened.

holding radical opposition to the enforcement of federal immigration policy. And again, the national conversation around sanctuary policies is happening as police try to get the Los Angeles riots against ICE under control. Right. And those riots are now spreading to more cities. Marade, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. And a quick programming note.

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