Morning Wire - Trump Wins South Carolina & UGA’s Murder Suspect Outrage | 2.26.24

Episode Date: February 26, 2024

Former President Trump locks in another primary win, the suspect in the killing of a Georgia nursing student turns out to be an illegal immigrant with a record, and new evidence is casting doubt on testimony from Fulton County DA Fani Willis who’s prosecuting Trump. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Shopify:"Get a $1 per month trial at https://www.shopify.com/morningwire" NetSuite: Take advantage of no payments and no interest for six months at Http://www.NetSuite.com/MORNINGWIRE Birch Gold: Text "WIRE" to 989898 for your no-cost, no-obligation information kit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former President Trump secures another major Republican primary win, this time in South Carolina. Thank you very much. Go home. Get rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Why does Trump's only remaining rival say she's staying in the race? And which states are both candidates

setting their sights on next? I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Hal. It's Monday, February 26th, and this is Morning Wire. National outrage after a Georgia nursing student is murdered, and the suspect turns out to be an illegal immigrant with a criminal record. He did not know her at all. I think this was a crime of opportunity. This was an individual who woke up with bad intentions on that day. And new evidence could prove fatal to the ability of Fulton County DA Fannie Willis to continue her case against Trump. Thanks for waking up with

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Former President Donald Trump secured a resounding victory in South Carolina this weekend, cementing his standing as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Here are the latest on what we learned from the race and what it means for the general election is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips. So a decisive win for Trump again here. First, how did things turn out Saturday?

Well, Trump came out on top yet again this time in the home state of his lone remaining rival, Nikki Haley. Haley built her career in the Palmetto State, serving as governor for six years, and had argued that voters there would reward her with an upset victory. But that did not happen, as Trump ultimately brought in 60% of the vote to Haley's 40. But despite that crippling defeat for the former governor and UN ambassador, Haley again vowed to continue on, claiming Republicans have made clear they want a Trump alternative on the ballot. I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president.

I'm a woman of my word. For his part, as the results came in Saturday night, Donald Trump celebrated his win, touting the fact that he received more votes than any primary candidate from either party in the history of South Carolina elections. I was just informed that we got double the number of votes that has ever been received in the great state of South Carolina. That's been good. There's never been a spirit like this. And I just want to say that. I have never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now.

All right, so calls from Trump to unify the party, and he takes another big step towards the nomination. What comes next? Well, the Michigan primary will be held tomorrow. That will be the last major contest before the All-Importens Super Tuesday on March 5th. All told, over the next two weeks, 21 states and territories will be up for grabs. And with Haley expected to lose all or nearly all of those upcoming states, the pressure for her to drop out will only intensify. In many ways, though, the question of if or when she quits comes down to money. That decision may be coming soon and it may be made for her. As Americans

for Prosperity Action, one of the main super PAC supporting Haley announced yesterday their plans to stop spending money on her campaign. So while she did pull in nearly $10 million in campaign contributions last month, this new cut could be the beginning of the end. Primary candidates historically stick around until the fundraising wheels fall off. And this certainly steers Haley onto that route. Now, Haley and other Trump detractors say he's got the Republican base locked up, but won't be able to branch out enough to beat Biden in November. What's their argument there? Yeah, so the main argument from Trump holdouts is that he might have a rabid base of supporters, but he's less likely to be Biden in a general election. They point to the fact that Trump's success in the primary so far has largely been driven by his overwhelming support among older white voters, those without a college degree, and also those who believe the 2020 election was stolen.

Trump detractors say that those demographics are not reflective of the larger electorate and that the primary results so far sort of give a skewed perception of his popularity nationwide. Now, while Haley has struggled mightily among the GOP base, they point to her strength with independents and moderates in both parties as evidence of her electability. And for example, if you look at polling, on average, she does beat Joe Biden in a head-to-head race by around five points. Trump is also ahead, but by a smaller margin of two points. However, as you know, those general election polls mean nothing if you can't win the primary. And there is no disputing that barring a once-in-a-century upset, Trump will be the nominee. Well, definitely seeing growing confidence on the Trump team and a lot more pressure building on Haley. Kappa, thanks for reporting.

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That's net suite.com slash morning wire. A college student is dead and an illegal immigrant is back in custody after tragedy struck in Athens, Georgia last week. University of Georgia nursing student Lake and Riley was killed while on a jog early Thursday. Her death has sparked blowback against President Biden and demands to secure the southern border. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the tragedy and its aftermath. So Tim, a horrific event that's really shaken the community in Georgia and sparked national outrage. Yeah, this has been a huge shock for the campus and the locals in the area. It's the first homicide at the University of Georgia

in decades. The trail that Riley was running on is popular for students and local. And as it runs through a wooded area near the university intramural fields and Lake Herrick on the UGA campus. It's added pressure to the university and campus law enforcement to increase security, especially on the more isolated parts of the trail. To that end, the university has said it will be putting up more lights and security cameras throughout the area to help people feel safe again. Now, what have we heard from Riley's family?

They released a statement on Saturday calling Riley an amazing daughter, sister, friend, an overall person and said her love for the Lord was exemplified in every aspect of her life. And that's been the tone of the reactions since her passing. Now, a lot of the outrage we've seen is related to the immigration status of the suspect. What do we know about him so far? His name is Jose Antonio Ibarra. He is 26 from Venezuela and immigrated to the U.S. illegally in 2022. He was in Border Patrol custody, but was released into the U.S. on parole because

as reports indicate, detention facilities were full and because he was from Venezuela. Last week, he was living in an apartment in Athens, Georgia, close to the UGA campus. The trail on campus where Riley was killed and Ibarra's apartment building are only about a mile apart. Now Ibarra is in custody at the Clark County Jail and is being held without bail. He has been charged with kidnapping and murder counts in Riley's death, as well as aggravated assault, false imprisonment, hindering a 911 call in concealing the death of the death of. another person. Now, a lot of the anger around this case is that Ibarra had been arrested before. What do we know about his history? He was arrested in New York in September of last year.

Prosecutors charged him with acting in a manner to injure a minor and gave him a license violation as well. New York authorities released him before he could be turned over to ICE. And then, according to a Georgia state lawmaker, Ibarra was also arrested in Athens for allegedly shoplifting and he had a warrant out for his arrest for failure to appear in court. So several serious charges, but he was continuing to roam free. Yeah. Now, do we know what the motive could have been? Not really. Riley didn't appear to knowie Barrow.

We also don't know what took place before Riley's death, other than officials saying she died from blunt forced trauma. Authorities described it as a crime of opportunity. But more than the motive, one of the main focuses in this case is that Riley's death was preventable. Georgia politicians have said this tragedy happened because officials are unwilling to deport. people who have demonstrated they are dangerous. Here's Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Fox News on Sunday. Why are we allowing people to come here that are not U.S. citizens and break our laws and then not send them back home? I mean, it's so frustrating. I mean, this individual, from what I've heard with rumors that are leaking, was supposedly supposed to be in New York. These are the

answers that we need to get from the Biden administration. Has the White House responded to these criticisms? In general, yes, but not over this case in particular. The White House has not put out any statement acknowledging Riley's death. We'll keep on top of that if anything changes. Tim, thanks for reporting. Thanks for having me. The case against Donald Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, faces a potential crippling blow against the DA who brought the charges. New evidence is casting further doubt on testimony by District Attorney Fawney Willis and her lead prosecutor Nathan Wade regarding when their romantic relationship started. Both Willis and And Wade have said under oath and in affidavits that their affair began only after Wade was appointed to head the election interference case.

But now cell phone data seems to be telling another tale. Here to discuss the discrepancies and how it might impact the future of the case against Trump as Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus. Hey, Dave. So first, what did this cell data show exactly? Morning, John. According to the data that Trump's legal team is seeking to introduce, Wade's phone was located at Fannie Willis's residence or nearabouts, 35 times before he was appointed to the Trump case in 2022. One incident from November of 2021 shows the phone arriving after midnight and staying at the

condo until almost five in the morning. So either this was an epic game of access and allies or, well, something else was going on. In any event, the data directly contradicts Willis' sworn testimony that Wade never stayed over at her place before 2022. thus far, the district attorney's office has not denied the authenticity of the records, but has argued that the data is not relevant to the case, a claim that most observers believe strains quiduity to say the least. Yeah.

So where does this new evidence leave the trial against Trump, which had been slated to begin as early as this spring? Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a March 1st hearing to determine whether Willis and Wade can remain on the case. The big ask from the defendant's attorneys was that, they be removed, but the implications are far bigger than that. And there's a few reasons. One, the judge could also bar the entire prosecution team from the case, meaning it would have to start from scratch. And that is if another DA in Georgia is even willing to take up the prosecution. It also seems clear that unless the judge allows Willison Wade to remain on the case,

it will likely not come to trial prior to the election in November, something that is absolutely a goal of Trump's legal team. Now, obviously, being removed from the case would be a severe outcome here for Willis and Wade, but could there be further consequences for them? Yeah, perjury is a crime for anyone, and for attorneys, it's obviously a punishable ethical violation. Legal expert Jonathan Turley has suggested that it is possible that Judge McAfee could refer this case to the bar in an effort to get them disbarred or even recommend it for criminal

prosecution. Willis insisted during her rather combative testimony that it was the defendants, including Trump, who were on trial, not her and Wade, but the tables may have significantly turned here. And look, the voices calling for Willis to be removed are growing pretty deafening at this point. Trump's GOP opponent, Nikki Haley, here calls for just that. I think she needs to be off the case. I think they need to do what they're going to do without any more distractions. Finally, was Super Tuesday just about two weeks away and Trump poised to win the GOP nomination, how significant could a major delay or even the end of this case be in the general election? It could make a huge difference because this is a case that speaks directly to a campaign issue

in a way that the classified documents or business fraud cases don't. Trump's actions after the 2020 election and on January 6th are a big part of Democrats' attacks on him. And don't forget, this is a case in which several days, defendants already pleaded guilty and are potentially set to testify against Trump. Clearly, that's something the campaign would be eager to avoid. Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smith's federal J6 case is also held up in the courts right now. So what really had looked like what was going to be a rather demanding trial schedule for the presumptive GOP nominee over the next eight months could be clearing up considerably. And that is something, John, that even two or three months ago

appear extremely unlikely. I'm getting less and less surprised these days by unlikely things happening. Dave, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.

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