Morning Wire - Trump Keeps Winning & Drone Defense Debate | 12.16.24

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Donald Trump and ABC reach settlement in defamation suit, Texas doctor sued over illegal use of abortion pills, and the great drone drama continues. Get the facts first with Morning Wire Beam: Exclusive discount for my listeners! Use promo code WIRE at https://www.ShopBeam.com/Wire ZBiotics: The drink before drinking with ZBiotics. Get 15% off your order with promo code WIRE at https://www.ZBiotics.com/Wire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ABC News agrees to pay out millions for pushing false allegations against Donald Trump, while the president-elect enjoys a hero's welcome at the Army-Navy game. We discuss what forced the network's hand and a new policy proposal from Trump that's creating some buzz. I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley, with Georgia Howl. It's Monday, December 16th, and this is Morning Wire. Texas is suing a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills across state lines. The suit will put blue states' abortion shield laws to the test. And sightings of unidentified drones have expanded, sparking concern in the Northeast and more questions for officials.

Whatever these drones are doing, the government really doesn't want us to know. There's no way the Department of Defense does not know what's going on. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. With everything going on in America these days, turning off your mind at night, can feel impossible. That's why I'm excited about Dreampowder from Beam. It's a delicious science-backed hot cocoa that's completely transformed to my sleep. Just mix it with hot milk or water before bed and this natural blend of rashi, magnesium, and other sleep-supporting ingredients

will knock you right out. Right now, our listeners can save 20% off when you visit shop at beam.com slash wire. That's shop at B-E-A-M-com slash wire. Over the weekend, ABC News admitted fault and agreed to pay $15 million to Donald Trump after anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely accused him of rape. Here with the details on another packed weekend for the president-elect as Dailywire Senior Editor Cabot, Phillips, A. Cabot. So first, a big payout and apology from ABC. What can you tell us about that? Well, Donald Trump continues to ride high. Just weeks after the final criminal cases against him were brought to an end. And days after being named Time Magazine's person of the year,

he enjoyed another legal victory, this time regarding a lawsuit he had filed against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos. Saturday, the two sides reached a settlement with the network agreeing to pay $15 million to Trump's presidential library and another million to cover his legal fees. It all started back in March when Stephanopoulos, ABC's top anchor, falsely claimed during an interview with rep Nancy Mace that a jury had found Trump, quote, raped columnist E. Jean Carroll. I'm asking you a very simple question. And I answered it.

You're shaming me for my political choices. I'm asking you a question about why you endorse someone who's been found liable for rape. It was not a criminal court. This was a civil court that found him liable. And by the way, why are you supporting someone who's been found liable for rape? During that interview, Stephanopoulos repeated that false claim 10 times. But again, it was not true. In the case, he was referencing the jury specifically stated that Carol had not proven

Trump raped her in a department store in the 90s. Remember, Carol also was not able to provide even the exact month or year when that supposed assault took place. Yeah. Trump was ordered by a judge in that case to pay Carol more than $80 million in damages for battery and defamation, but he was importantly never found guilty of the rape allegation.

In response to those false claims from Stepanopoulos, Trump filed that defamation suit against him in ABC, and this weekend, as part of that settlement, the network agreed to admit fault. That is quite the reversal from Stephanopoulos, who initially struck a defiant tone, claiming he did nothing wrong and would not be intimidated by the lawsuit.

Here he is on CBS late night with Stephen Colbert, for example. How does it feel to be sued by a former president for defamation for just doing your job. Unfortunately, it now comes with the territory, but I'm not going to be cowed out of doing my job because of the threat. But ultimately, again, he did admit fault. In addition to the $15 million payout to the President Alex Library, Stephanopoulos and ABC also agreed to publish an apology on their website that reads, quote,

ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with rep Nancy Mace on ABCs this week on March 10th, 2024. All right, so still pretty vague statement there. So another big legal win for Trump. And he also made a high profile public appearance as all of this news was breaking, correct? Right. He attended the annual Army Navy football game in D.C., joined by his VP, J.D. Vance,

Elon Musk, Pete Higseth, and their guest of honor, Daniel Penny, who was acquitted this month in that New York City subway trial. Ahead of the game, Vance issued a statement saying, quote, Daniel's a good guy and New York's mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone. I'm grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he's able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage. Ahead of kickoff, Trump and Vance received a raucous welcome from the sellout crowd,

which erupted in chance of USA as they waved from their box. Yeah, that was quite a moment there. Now, before we go, one final piece of Trump news, Is this one a policy proposal? Tell us about that. Yeah, Trump now waiting into one of the most hotly contested policy debates of our time. Daylight savings. In a social media post-Saturday, he said, quote, the Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate daylight saving time,

which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't. Daylight saving time is inconvenient and very costly to our nation. Now, in the past few decades, lawmakers here and there have floated the idea, citing medical research that the current system is detrimental to public. health throwing off sleep cycles. But efforts have always stalled. Trump hopes to break that trend and end the practice once and for all. We'll have to wait and see what exactly that proposed legislation looks like. But maybe this will be the last year, John, we have to fiddle with our clocks. Seriously, please, let's hope. Cabot, thanks for reporting. Anytime.

Hey, guys, producer Brandon here. Let me tell you about a game-changing discovery that may come in handy this holiday season. It's called Zebiotics pre-alcohol. It's the world's first genetically engineered probiotic drink, designed to help you feel your best. the morning after celebrating. With all the holiday parties and family gatherings ahead, Zbiotics is here to keep you present for every moment that matters. Visit Zbiotics.com slash wire to get 15% off your first order with code wire, plus it comes with a 100% moneyback guarantee.

That's Z-B-I-O-T-I-C-S.com slash wire and use code wire for 15% off. Texas is suing a New York doctor over her alleged distribution of abortion pills to a Dallas resident in violation of Texas law. The case marks the first challenge to the shield laws many Democrat-controlled states set up after the fall of row. Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham is here now with the details. So Megan, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton just announced the suit on Friday, and it's the first of its kind. What's the basis for it? So in 2022, when the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, Texas was one of those states that had a trigger law on the books.

Now, that law had been passed in 2021, but it was superseded. by Roe. Once Roe was overturned, it was then allowed to take effect. Essentially, it's a heartbeat law that bans abortion after around six weeks. So the Texas law also requires any physician who provides an abortion-inducing drug to examine the pregnant woman in person, meaning they can't simply have an appointment online or over the phone. This past July, however, New York doctor Margaret Daly Carpenter, who is the founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, a group that seeks to expand abortion access through mail delivery, allegedly prescribed abortion pills to a 20-year-old Dallas woman who was around nine weeks pregnant. Now, according to that suit, the woman received the

pills via the male, and after she took them, she began to experience serious complications and called the father to take her to the hospital. It was only at that point that he discovered she had ended her pregnancy, and after getting her medical attention for what the suit calls severe bleeding, he then called the authorities. So Paxton says that Dr. Carpenter violated not only Texas's abortion law, but also a state law that requires any physician who treats patients through telehealth services to hold a valid Texas medical license. So he's asking the district court of Collin County, Texas,

to enjoin Carpenter from providing abortion services to Texas residents and also to impose civil penalties of $250,000 for her violation of Texas law. law. Now, what makes this such a groundbreaking suit, though, is because it directly conflicts with that New York law, correct? Exactly. Because New York is one of 18 states that have an abortion shield law. And those are laws that protect doctors from prosecution when they provide abortions in violation of another state's law. In fact, in 2023, when New York Governor Kathy Hokel signed her state shield law, she specifically referenced Texas, perhaps expecting a showdown like this. We saw a hardline mega judge in Emerillo, Texas, issued an unprecedented decree banning medication that countless women have relied upon safely to terminate pregnancies

or manage miscarriages, overruling the experts, doctors, the FDA, scientists. It was an attack on abortion and ultimately an attack on democracy. That was Texas. So Hockel and New York Attorney General Letitia James both put out statements on Friday promising to oppose Paxton's suit, with James saying, quoting here, we will always protect our providers from unjust attempts to punish them for doing their job. Now, has Dr. Carpenter also put out a statement? Not directly, but a spokesman for the abortion coalition that she founded said that abortion pills are, quote, FDA approved medicine that are an essential part of women's health care. The spokesperson also accused Paxton of prioritizing his anti-abortion agenda over the health and well-being of women.

Paxton, on the other hand, says that Texas, quoting, treasures the health and the lives of mothers and babies. And this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents. So this is a real showdown. Could likely go to SCOTUS. Yep, very possible. Megan, thanks for reporting. Anytime. Drone sightings have been reported in at least six states in the past month,

and federal officials have yet to determine where they came from or what they're doing. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the swarms of UFOs disturbing Americans all over the northeast. Hey, Tim, so we touched on this last week, a truly mind-boggling story in many ways. What have we learned about these drones so far? Hey, John, not much, unfortunately. So far, drones have been spotted in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia. But federal officials still haven't said much about them. Here's Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on ABC News on Sunday. Look, it is our job to be vigilant in the federal

government with our state and local partners on behalf of the American public, and we can assure their safety by reason of that vigilance. We've deployed personnel, technology, and if there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now, we are not aware of any. If we become aware of any, we will communicate accordingly and take appropriate action. Trump has said, if it's true the government really knows as little about these drones as it says, it should shoot them down.

Here's Mayorkas essentially saying no to that. We are aware of the drone sightings, as I've said. I think there are more than 8,000 drones flown every day in the United States. With respect to the ability to incapacitate those drones, we are limited in our authorities. We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that and outside our department. But we need those authorities expanded as well. So Mayorkas says his hands are tied, but that response doesn't seem to be sitting well with many of the local officials whose constituents are reporting these UFOs.

Yeah, but not. It seems like a pretty indifferent response to what many are saying could be a significant national security issue. How are locals on the ground responding? People are unsettled with these drones buzzing around and frustrated with the response. And those feelings are driving skepticism with what federal officials are saying. New Jersey Republican State Senator John Bramnick has called for a limited state of emergency to get some answers. Here's Bramnick giving his thoughts on News Nation on Saturday. Not only did I call for a limited state of emergency and the FAA shutting down the airspace for drones, but also having the Department of Defense come in and answer questions.

If the Department of Defense doesn't know where the origins are for these so-called drones, then we're in trouble. Bramnik went on to highlight one of the reasons why he finds this situation so wild. We always thought that if there was something in the air, the size of a car, that the Department of Defense would know where it came from, what his origin was, and what its purpose was. Now you have a United States Senator going out with the local police, what, to look for fireworks at night? That is scary. And it's for some of the reasons that Bramnick laid out that some local officials are questioning whether the Biden administration doesn't already know

all about the drones. But then, if that's true, why is the FAA putting in flight restrictions? There are just many unanswered questions here, and many officials are, frankly, over it. An understandable reaction, especially when the federal response has been so unimpressive. Tim, thanks for joining us. Good to be on. Hey, thank you for listening this morning. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and stand with that mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.