Morning Wire - Trump’s Sweeping Pardons & ICE Teams Deployed | 1.22.25

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Trump presidential pardons are underway, Immigration Customs Enforcement teams are unleashed, and the other main initiatives of Trump’s presidency take form. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Balance of Nature: Go to https://balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for an exclusive offer! Good Ranchers: Visit https://goodranchers.com and use code WIRE for an exclusive discount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hundreds of J6 defendants are liberated following sweeping pardons from President Trump. Four years of fighting, four years are struggling, and I'm finally free. I don't even have the words to thank President Trump. We discuss how the president has handled the cases and who else may be poised for a pardon. I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley, with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, January 22nd, and this is Morning Wire. Trump's deportation operation has begun with his new Borders'ar, announcing, ICE teams are out and empowered to go make arrests.

We have over 700,000 illegal aliens for criminal records walking the streets of this country. That's what we're looking for right now. And the newly sworn-in president is launching a slew of other initiatives, from investments in AI to taking on the deep state. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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Head over to Balance of Nature.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. That's Balance of Nature.com promo code wire. During his first two days in office, President Trump issued a hope. of pardons, including to nearly all January 6th defendants. Here to discuss this Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Jacamo. Hey, Amanda. So we noted yesterday that Trump signed a sweeping pardon to J6 defendants. He's fulfilling a key campaign promise in a really expansive way. What exactly did the order say? Right. So the order grants full pardons

for every person convicted in relation to J6, with the exception of just 14 commutations. Those individuals had their sentences commuted, but their commuted. convictions still stand as of right now. Trump said he would look further into those cases and said potential pardons could be forthcoming. Additionally, the hundreds of cases still pending indictments, those will be dismissed with prejudice. That means they can never be tried again for those charges. Trump was questioned about the order in the Oval Office on Monday. Here's what he said about the protesters that were actually violent being pardoned.

Well, I will say this. They've been in jail for a long time already. I see murderers in this country. to get two years, one year, and maybe no time. So they've already been in jail for a long time. These people have been destroyed. What they've done to these people is outrageous. Everyone who was given a full pardon was supposed to be released right away.

However, there were reports of delays at a D.C. jail. Utah Senator Mike Lee expressed outrage over those delays, and he said he was working to verify what was going on. Morning Wire reached out to William Shipley, an attorney representing dozens of J6 defendants, including the so-called Qaeda shaman, and he said that all the prisoners should now have been released. We also asked Shipley about the complaint that Trump has pardoned

some defendants who were engaged in some violence. He defended Trump's decision, and he said that the blame for the demise of these cases falls on the Biden Justice Department. The reality is that January 6th defendants could not receive a fair trial in the District of Columbia given the juror pool. The fact that the government never moved off of that,

position, which is reflected by the fact that so many defendants opted for bench trials to avoid the D.C. jurors. I mean, that speaks volumes. That very fact that January 6th defendants could not get their Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial in the District of Columbia justifies the partons. The Biden Justice Department has themselves to blame for that fact. For those who were released, we're starting to get footage of those initial moments of freedom. Here's some audio of what appears to be eight J6 defendants leaving prison. They're out. Promises made, promises kept.

Let's go, brothers. Clearly a lot of gratitude for these pardons. And what do we know about the commutations? Well, the executive order did name the 14 individuals who were given commutations, and that includes three proud boys who were controversially convicted of the the very rare and very serious charge of seditious conspiracy, Ethan Nordine, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rel. Those three who were not charged with any violence were handed down sentences of at least 15 years, all now commuted. Proud boy member, Dominic Posola, was also on that list.

He was convicted of stealing a police officer's riot shield and breaking a window. His sentence was initially 10 years, but again, that's now commuted. And probably the most politicized case and all of this is that of Enrique Tario, the former chairman of the proud boys. Tario was notably not in D.C. on January 6th, but he was convicted of seditious conspiracy in sentenced to 22 years behind bars. During his prosecution, the government relied heavily on mostly private messages. For example, Tario was tied to a document outlining a capital takeover that was sent to him on telegram called 1776 returns. Tario did not directly respond to that sent document, and he claims he never saw it, let alone even opened it.

Tario was granted a full pardon and has been released from prison. Okay, now switching gears a bit, Trump has signaled that more pardons are coming down the pike. What's the status with some of those other cases? Well, on Tuesday night, Trump pardoned Ross Albrecht, the creator of Dark Website, the Silk Road. Trump promised that pardon to libertarians and delivered. Additionally, pro-life activists are hoping Trump will pardon the nearly two dozen people convicted of controversial face act violations. We've covered a lot of those cases here. No pardons yet, but activists are expecting those very soon. We're certainly not shying away from

showing clemency and we'll give updates on those cases when there's new developments. Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. Hey guys, producer Brandon here, tired of mystery meat at the grocery store. This new year, it's time for new meat from good ranchers.com. They deliver 100% American beef, chicken, and wild-caught seafood straight to your door. No antibiotics, no hormones, just pure quality like it used to be. Subscribe now using Code Wire to get $25 off free express shipping and your choice of free ground beef,

chicken or salmon in every order for an entire year. Start 2025 off with better choices, better meals, and better moments at home. Good ranchers. American meat delivered. Trump's deportation operations are already underway across the country. That's according to Tom Homan,

Trump's advisor on immigration. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss. So, Tim, how has immigration and border enforcement changed in the past 48 hours? In a few ways, both on the southern border and as regards aliens who are in the country illegally. Law enforcement in El Paso, one of the hotspots for immigration over the past four years, has blocked off entry to the United States. Migrants who arrived at entry points on Monday for appointments scheduled through the CBP1 app were blocked and the app itself was shut down.

Meanwhile, according to Tom Homan, plans to deport illegal aliens from the U.S. are already being enacted. Here's Homan on Fox News. We gave them the direction that prioritized public safety threats that we're looking for, that we've been working on the target list. There was some discussion about Chicago because the specific operational plan was released. So we had to look at and reevaluate. This raise after safety concerns, and it does. But we addressed that, and teams draw the effective today.

There was some concern over plans regarding operations in Chicago being leaked, but as you heard in the clip, those concerns are being addressed, and they didn't affect plans already in place elsewhere. Now, what about international efforts? Trump had talked extensively about pressuring Mexico and Canada to tighten their borders. Well, he's already threatened a tariff Mexico and Canada if their borders aren't secured. And on Monday, he signed an executive order that designated Mexican drug cartels as threats to U.S. national security.

And he said he would go further and label them terror groups as well. As for what that means practically, Trump hasn't ruled anything out. Here he is answering a question from Fox News's Peter Ducey on Monday night. President Trump, the cartels are now going to be seen as foreign terror organizations. Would you think about ordering U.S. Special Forces into Mexico to take them out? Could happen. Stranger things have happened. Now, what's the response been so far?

Well, the legal challenges are already being filed. One of the most controversial of Trump's actions on immigration so far is an order ending what's known as birthright citizenship. That's a debated interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to deal with the question of citizenship for escape and emancipated slaves. On Tuesday, 22 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration to block the order. In general, Trump's approach to immigration has really struck a nerve on the left. At the National Prayer Service on Tuesday, the Episcopal Bishop of D.C., Reverend Marianne Edgar Budd, lectured Trump and Vice President Vance on having compassion for immigrants. Here's what that

sounded like. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and our good neighbors. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. After the service, Trump didn't seem to be swayed by what the bishop said.

Homan was on CNN yesterday as well, and he said that while aliens who are threats to public safety will be prioritized, any alien in the country illegally will be deported. What I'm telling you is when we go find a priority tiger, which is a criminal alien, if he's with others in the United States illegally, we're going to take enforcement action against him. We're going to enforce the immigration law. The Trump administration doesn't appear to be wasting a moment here on his immigration promise. Well, he campaigned on a hardline approach, and that's what we're getting. Tim, thanks for reporting. Good to be on. Freeing the January 6th prisoners and securing the southern border were two of Trump's main campaign pledges, but they're not the only things his administration is working on. Here with a look at how Trump is swiftly enacting his transformative agenda as Daily Wire Deputy Managing editor Tim Ryeisset Tim.

So Trump's wasting no time getting to work here. We talked about the J6 defendants and the border. What else is he focusing on? Oh man, John, it's hard to know where to begin. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Marco Rubio as Secretary of State on Monday. Rubio hit the ground running yesterday, sending out an agency-wide memo, making clear his opposition to mass migration, DEI, and censorship. Pete Higgseth, Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, and John Ratcliffe, the presumptive CIA director, both had their nominations sail through committee. There are just a handful more hearings scheduled for this week, so Trump could have a mostly full cabinet up and running in the next few days.

And then, of course, there's the flurry of executive orders Trump began signing on inauguration day and has kept signing since. He directed the presidential personnel office to fire thousands of Biden appointees who do not support his Make America Great Again agenda. Trump actually fired four officials in a post on Truth Social, including the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Millie, who Trump pulled off the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Very Trumpian move there. Seems like Trump is really focusing on personnel this time around. What else is he preparing on that front? He signed two complementary executive orders that could really go a long way in reforming the federal workforce. One will purge all DEI initiatives from the federal government, and the other will instruct federal hiring,

managers to judge applicants based on merit, not race or gender. But that order actually goes a little further, instructing government agencies to hire people who have the real skills to do a job, not necessarily a college degree or certification. Trump's sort of picking up where he left off here because this was one of the major policy pushes his administration was working on at the end of his first term. So this could make it easier to draw on a very different pool of candidates for federal jobs, a pool that will probably be less college educated and less liberal leaning. And that could go a long way in reducing the influence of the permanent federal bureaucracy, what Trump and others call the deep state.

Right, so not just threatening to drain the swamp, but really seeming to do it this time. Now, we've obviously heard a lot from the president over the past few days. He addressed the nation again from the White House yesterday afternoon. What did he have to say at that press conference? White House press secretary Caroline Levitt had teased that Trump would make a pretty major infrastructure announcement during the press conference. And in a way he did, but not in the way that you might think. Flanked by Oracle executive Larry Ellison, Open AIs Sam Altman, and more, Trump announced the largest AI infrastructure project in history.

Together, these world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate. So put that name down in your books, because I think you're going to hear a lot about it in the future. A new American company that will invest $500 billion at least. in AI infrastructure in the United States and moving very rapidly, creating over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately. This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential under a new president. Trump said that the new venture was important, not just because it will create jobs, but because it will bolster America's national security. It'll ensure the future of technology. What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country.

China is a competitor and others are competitors. We wanted to be in this country and we're making it available. I guess we'll have to get used to this, Washington running on warp speed. Tim, thanks for reporting. Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.