Morning Wire - Trump Sentence Delayed & Senate Leader Showdown | 11.13.24

Episode Date: November 13, 2024

The judge in Trump’s hush money trial delays ruling on scrapping the case, the FEMA official who told employees to avoid Trump-supporting homes speaks out, and Senate Republicans vote on who will be their next majority leader. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Birch Gold: Text "WIRE" to 989898 for your no-cost, no-obligation information kit. Netsuite: Make better business decisions with NetSuite https://www.NetSuite.com/MORNINGWIRE 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

The judge in Donald Trump's New York hush money trial has delayed a decision on tossing out the case. It was really only brought in the first place to try to prevent him from being elected. And since it didn't succeed, I think it should land on the dustbin of history. Is the lawfare effort against Trump running out of steam? I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley, with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, November 13th, and this is Morning Wire. The now-fired FEMA worker who told employees to avoid home. displaying Trump signs is speaking out.

FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation. So this is not isolated. And now that Republicans have secured the Senate, they vote today on which lawmaker takes the lead in that crucial chamber. This is a secret ballot. It should be an open ballot. I think that everybody in America should know who is voting for whom. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.

Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. With Trump in, we can finally exhale. But the fact of the matter is, our nation is broke, and that debt is a house of cards that can't quickly be dismantled. The strategy remains the same. Diversify your savings with Birch Gold.

They'll help you convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA in physical gold. Now through Black Friday, get a free one-ounce silver eagle for every $5,000 purchased. Text wire to 9898-98 to get your free comprehensive info kit on gold investing. Trust Birch Gold, as I do to protect your savings and secure your financial. future. Again, text wire to 9-8-98-98-98 today. The New York hush money case was further delayed this week by Judge

Juan Mershahn. Here to discuss the latest developments in the Trump Lawfare saga is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo. Hey, Amanda. So first, tell us about this delay ordered by Judge Mershahn and what it means for the case. So Mershahn was expected to decide yesterday

on how a July Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, which was favorable for Trump, affected this hush money conviction. Trump's team wanted the conviction tossed on those grounds. Instead, Mershon froze the case until at least November 19th. He made that decision to give prosecution more time to respond to Trump's more recent requests that the case be outright dismissed since he won the 2024 election.

In an email sent to the judge, a Trump attorney said that a dismissal is necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump's ability to govern. That language is notable since it's the same reason those two federal cases against Trump are being dropped by the DOJ. Manhattan DA Elvin Bragg's office agreed to the delay and actually initiated the request for one, citing unprecedented circumstances, again, related to Trump's 2024 victory. Meanwhile, sentencing is still set for November 26th, but that date is now in serious doubt in light of these recent developments. Okay, so not entirely surprising, but still potentially significant. delays here. What are the arguments for this case to be dismissed entirely? Well, Trump's team seems to be claiming that any continued prosecution is unconstitutional

because it's going to get in the way of Trump's duties as president. As I mentioned earlier, it's why the federal cases are being dropped. They also cited the Supreme Court ruling on immunity for the case to be outright dismissed. That view has been shared by other legal scholars, too. Cooley Stimson from the Heritage Foundation said last week that a, quote, criminal judge would have dismissed the case based on that immunity ruling, seeming to reference Mershon's hostility toward Trump. Morning Warrior also spoke to Harmeet Dillon, founder of the Dillon Law Group, about a potential dismissal.

And here's what she told us. He should dismiss this case. Should have dismissed it before. He knows it's an exercise in futility at this point. Trump's not serving any time in prison. If he wants to do the right thing and help unite the country, like everyone should be doing at this point, we should put an end and prosecute it. people for their political beliefs and for their political leadership.

Our side shouldn't do it. The other side shouldn't do it. Maybe he'll do the right thing. There are still other pending cases against Trump. What are the latest developments there? So the federal cases are not going to move forward. Special counsel, Jack Smith, days after Trump's win, asked for a delay in the 2020 election interference case until December 2nd.

That's so the DOJ can figure out its next move, likely winding down those charges. He's expected to leave his. position before Trump takes office. Trump famously said that he would fire Smith in, quote, two seconds if he's still there when he gets to the White House. The DOJ, though, is still moving full speed ahead in prosecuting J6 defendants. The department made that clear last week and said that Trump's win will not be affecting that. Yeah. The federal case related to classified documents is currently on appeal by the DOJ after a Florida judge dismissed it. Then there's the state election case in Georgia. We're still waiting to find out if DA Fawney Willis and her office will be allowed

to prosecute Trump because of her apparent misconduct related to hiring her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, to be on that case. So lots to watch, but certainly massive setbacks for these cases at the very least. Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. Over 38,000 businesses at future-proof their operations with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP. It's your all-in-one for accounting, inventory, HR, and more. With real-time insights and and forecasting you're peering into the future with actionable data. From millions to hundreds of millions in revenue, Netsuite can help you tackle today's hurdles and seize tomorrow's wins.

If I had needed this product, it's what I'd use. See how Netsweet can future-proof your business. And speaking of the future, download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at Netsweet.com slash morningwire. This guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash morning wire. Again, that's Netsuite.com slash morning wire. A FEMA supervisor who was fired after she ordered workers to skip houses with Trump signs is breaking her silence, and she's accusing the agency

of scapegoating her. Marnie Washington said Monday that this kind of avoidance is widespread within the agency. Here with the latest details is Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham. So Megan, the Daily Wire, which produces this podcast, broke the initial story that in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Florida, FEMA supervisor Marnie Washington directed her team to skip over homes that had indicators of Trump support in the yard. Now Marnie is speaking out. What is she saying? Well, she's saying that she was following FEMA directives that have also been implemented in other states. So she said in this interview that it's standard protocol in the agency to skip over some homes where

workers believe they could experience unwelcome behavior or political hostility. And that was something that she called avoidance. And she suggested that Trump supporting homes are seen as potentially hostile, and that's why she gave the order. And this is key. She said that she had the approval of her superiors at FEMA to do this. So for its part, FEMA has completely disavowed Washington's actions. In a statement on Saturday, FEMA administrator DeAnne Criswell called Washington's behavior reprehensible and said that it was a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation. But why, Washington told podcaster Roland Martin that this was actually standard practice and probably occurred after Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas as well.

This is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance, not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas. Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know. But if you ask the DSA crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field, they will tell you. And then to go along with that, an unnamed former FEMA official told the New York Post that skipping the homes of Trump supporters has been an open secret within the agency for years. But FEMA is completely denying that, basically saying that this was a rogue employee's decision, which she now forcefully disputes. So the organization is not supplying any hard evidence that Trump supporters were more dangerous than anyone else. But Washington herself did seem to draw a correlation between Trump signs and hostile behavior, though she didn't really go into detail. Once we start seeing a trend, for example, if they just so happen to have these Trump campaign signs in front of their home and that's the characteristic that's coming along with that, we have to proceed with precaution. Washington claims that she's not a partisan.

And she also claimed that if Trump supporters had come out asking for help, her workers knew to offer. for it. If any of those residents come outside, they have the Trump campaign signers and they say, hey, I want to register. We'll welcome the arms. We will let you register. Great, wonderful. But we are not subject our people to continue as verbal abuse or hostile encounters. But I think it's important to note that she said FEMA decides to avoid certain homes due to community trends. So it's fair to say that Washington is accusing FEMA of throwing her under the bus here. Yeah, absolutely. That's what she's saying. The Daily Wire did reach out for comment before publishing that initial report, and Washington provided no comment.

But now, after FEMA's response, she's coming forward. Clearly, she feels that they're scapegoating her. FEMA is very well aware of the incidents that take place, not just with my crew, but with all of the crews in the state that's declared. And instead of just saying, hey, this is how we're going to mitigate it to protect our people, they decided to fire me and make sure Donald Trump knows that they are loyal to him because they fear retribution. So we'll be learning a lot more about what's been going on in the agency. I'm sure in the weeks to come with these congressional hearings and several investigations already launched. Well, we will continue to report on what's uncovered. Megan, thanks for reporting.

Anytime. Election day may be behind us, but there's still one more race that has Washington in a frenzy. Who are the latest on the fight for Senate Majority Leader is Daily Wire Deputy Managing Editor Tim. So what can you tell us about this leadership battle? Yeah, John, today's the day we learn which Senator will replace Mitch McConnell, the longest serving Senate leader in history, who's helmed the Republican Conference since 2007. Utah Senator Mike Lee hosted a candidate forum for the three candidates yesterday,

and Senate Republicans will elect a new leader in a closed-door vote later today. There are three candidates vying to replace McConnell, Florida Senator Rick Scott, Texas Senator John Cornyn, and South Dakota Senator John Thune. Scott, who was just re-elected to a second Senate term, only declared his leadership bid in May, months after the two Johns threw their hats in the ring. That head start was one reason Scott was initially seen as an underdog, the other being his relative lack of experience. Thune, who's currently on his fourth Senate term, has been Senate Minority Whip, McConnell's number two, since 20. 2021. Cornyn, also in his fourth term, preceded Thune as Whip. But Scott gained an advantage in recent days thanks to endorsements from a number of crucial Trump allies, including Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson. Inside the Capitol, Scott has racked up endorsements from senators Margaret Rubio and

Mike Lee and Florida Congressman Byron Donalds. So some momentum building for Scott in recent days. What could be behind that? Well, Scott's an outsider. Unlike Cornyn and Thune, he's seen as a bit of a renegade within the Republican Party. He ran an unsuccessful insurgent campaign to unseat McConnell as minority leader in 2022, saying at the time that the status quo was broken and big change is needed. Scott pledged to advance a bold conservative agenda and listen to Republican voters a not-so-suttle dig at the so-called establishment leadership that McConnell represents. Scott has made similar promises this time around saying the presidential election gave Republicans a mandate for change and vowing to change the way the Senate is run

to get Trump's agenda done. So Scott's outsider status seems like it's helping him a lot more this time around, but it's still anyone's game, correct? Yeah, that's right. Thune, who Musk called the top choice of Democrats, raised around $31 million

for candidates this cycle while crisscrossing the country, attending over 200 campaign events. He's also got the endorsements of senators Mark Wayne Mullen and Steve Danes, both of whom have Trump's ear. Horan raised $33 million for Republicans this cycle and has the endorsement of Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. So the Johns may not have the benefit of Scott's outsider status, but let's remember, being in leadership has its advantages too.

Yeah, for sure. Now, you've mentioned Trump a few times here. Obviously, the next Senate Majority Leader is going to work very closely with him, and so Trump is looming large in this race. Has he signaled his support for a candidate? He hasn't endorsed anyone outright, but he's not staying out of the race entirely. On Sunday, Trump said that he expects whoever replaces McConnell to greenlight recess appointments, a move that would allow Trump to quickly fill the ranks of his administration with his top choices without lengthy confirmation processes, something that dogged his previous administration. All three majority leader candidates quickly agreed with Trump,

taking to social media to say that, if chosen for the top spot, they will do whatever it takes to help Trump get his nominees through as quickly as possible. Well, it seems like a tight race, but we'll find out soon enough who Senate Republicans choose. Tim, thanks for reporting. Thanks for having me. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know. Hey guys, producer Brandon here.

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