The Daily Signal - Judge’s Decision on Fani Willis Case, Father of School Shooter Found Guilty, Russia’s Presidential Election | March 15

Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Friday, March 15th. Here are today's headlines. Fulton County Superior Court Trial Judge Scott McAfee made a decision earlier today about the Georgia election interference case involving former President Donald Trump. McAfee ruled that either Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis and her office must step down from the case or special prosecutor Nathan Wilson. Wade, whom Willis assigned to the case, must recuse himself. Well, that decision seems to have been made as Wade resigned from the case this afternoon. The ruling from McAfee and then Wade's

Starting point is 00:00:55 resignation comes after Willis was accused of having an improper romantic relationship with Wade before hiring him and while supervising him. Willis said that the relationship had begun after she hired Wade, but witnesses testified to the opposite, saying that Willis and Wade were romantically involved before Willis brought Wade into the case. Willis defended herself from accusations that her alleged affair with Wade disqualifies her from pursuing a racketeering case against Trump. Willis argued that Trump interfered in the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Well, according to a statement obtained by Foxx's, News. Trump's attorney, Steve Sodeau, said while respecting the court's decision, we believe that the court

Starting point is 00:01:46 did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade, including the financial benefits, testifying untruthfully about when their personal relationship began, as well as Willis's extrajudicial MLK Day church speech, where she played the race card and falsely accused the defendants and their counsel of racism. Sido continued, we will use all legal options available and we will continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place. Heritage Foundation Seeger Legal Fellow Hans von Spockowski and Charles Stimson weighed in in a statement saying today of the ruling that Judge McAfee's findings of fact and conclusion

Starting point is 00:02:35 of law lead us to one conclusion. Fannie Willis should recuse herself and her entire office from the case. The court found that through her own conduct, there was a clear appearance of impropriety and that her speech at an Atlanta church was legally improper. And they continued that attorney Nathan Wade should also recuse himself, which as we know, he has now done. It remains to be seen if Fannie Willis in her office will step back from the case at all, As it stands right now, only Wade has done so.

Starting point is 00:03:10 Vice President Kamala Harris spent Thursday afternoon visiting a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Minnesota. Our colleague Mary Margaret Ollahan has been covering this story. The visit makes her the first vice president to visit a Planned Parenthood. The trip was intended to demonstrate the Biden administration's dedication to promoting abortion in a post-Rovey Wade era. While a celebratory visit to an abortion clinic once would be a president, have been considered horrifying, tactless, and gruesome. Harris used her Thursday tour to claim there is a health crisis in the post-Rovey-Wade United States, since it's now harder in a number of states for women to abort their unborn babies.

Starting point is 00:03:55 As the New York Times puts it, the mere sight of a top Democratic official walking into an abortion clinic offered the clearest illustration yet of how the politics of abortion rights have shifted for the party and the nation. Let's take a listen to some of Harris's comments via Fox 9 Minneapolis, St. Paul's YouTube page. So many of you have asked why am I here at this facility in particular? And I will tell you, it is because right now in our country we are facing a very serious health crisis. And the crisis is affecting many, many people in our country, most of whom are frankly silently suffering. After the United States Supreme Court took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America.

Starting point is 00:04:51 In states around our country, extremists have proposed and passed laws that have denied women access to reproductive health care. And the stories abound. I've heard stories and have met with women who had miscarriages and toilets. Women who were being denied emergency care because the health care providers there at an emergency room were afraid that because of the laws in their state that they could be criminalized sent to prison for providing health care. So I'm here at this health care clinic to uplift the work that is happening in Minnesota as an example of what true leadership looks like, which is to understand it is only right and fair that people have access to the health care they need and that they have access to health care in an environment where they are treated with dignity and respect.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Harris's visit follows Biden's heated rhetoric on the reproductive rights, birth control, and in vitro fertilization during his March 7th State of the Union address. During that speech, Biden accused Republicans of trying to restrict a woman's freedom to choose. The visit also demonstrates an effort to generate enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket among blacks, Hispanics, and young voters, according to Axios. According to polls, released Thursday from the health policy research firm KFF. More than a quarter of black female voters said that abortion is their top issue in the 2024 presidential election. For more on this story, you can check out Mary Margaret's full article in today's show notes.

Starting point is 00:06:47 On Thursday, a jury found the father of a Michigan school shooter guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The then 15-year-old shooter killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021. One teacher and six other students were wounded. In February, a jury convicted the shooter's mother, Jennifer Crumbly, of involuntary manslaughter. Her conviction made her the first parent in the nation's history to be held criminally responsible for a child's school shooting, according to NBC News. CNN reports that prosecutors during Father James Crumbly's week-long trial argued that Crumbly was grossly negligent. The outlet also reported that James Crumbly bought a gun for his son four days before the attack, failed to properly secure it, ignored his son's downward spirally mental health,

Starting point is 00:07:47 and did not take reasonable care to prevent foreseeable danger, according to prosecutors. The school shooter was charged as an adult with murder and terrorism in December of 2021, according to ABC's detailed timeline of the tragedy, which you can find in today's show notes. A little under a year later, in October 2022, the shooter pled guilty to both terrorism and first-degree murder, and in December of 23, the shooter was sentenced to life in prison, according to reporting from ABC. criminal defense attorney Keith Johnson told Fox News Digital that this is a historic case because the prosecutors are seeking to hold a parent responsible for the actions of a child, the violent actions that led to the death of other children.

Starting point is 00:08:38 And so this is a test case to see the limits of parents' responsibility for the actions of their children who are of high school age. As the future of the Chinese-owned app TikTok remains uncertain here in the U.S., a 2020 tweet from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer about the app has resurfaced. As you'll recall from earlier this week, the House overwhelmingly passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in a vote of 352 to 65 with the help of 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats. So what is this resurface tweet? Well, in 2020, Schumer tweeted, a U.S. company should buy TikTok so everyone can keep using it and your data is. safe. This is about privacy with TikTok in China. It's subject to Chinese Communist Party laws that may require handing over data to their government. A safe way must be found for TikTok to continue.

Starting point is 00:09:46 Well, the tweet is significant because the Senate has been unclear about how they'll proceed with the TikTok bill. And that TikTok bill does give TikTok an option to either break with ByteDance, its parent company, that is operated out of Beijing or to no longer operate in the U.S. Heritage Action for America Executive Vice President Ryan Walker commented on Schumer's previous tweet saying, great, so Schumer has supported the divestment of CCP-controlled TikTok since 2020. He'll bring a bill he's supported for four years to the floor, right? Or will it collect dust like almost everything else in the Senate under his control?

Starting point is 00:10:30 TBD. The timing of when the Senate might take up, that bill remains up in the air, but we will certainly keep you updated on any developments. In world news, a presidential election is underway in Russia. Though Russian President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win, the New York Times reports that the vote is significant for Mr. Putin as a way to cement his legitimacy and refurbish his preferred image as the embodiment of security and stability. USA Today cited Moscow-based human rights activist Alana Popova saying this is not an election, it's a C-election. State Department spokesman Matt Miller spoke about Russia's election on Thursday. Let's take a listen to his remarks via the State Department's X page.

Starting point is 00:11:21 The United States condemns Russia's continuing efforts to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence through sham elections held in occupied Ukrainian territories. The United States does not and will never recognize the legitimacy or outcome of these sham elections held in sovereign Ukraine as part of Russia's presidential elections. To be clear, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizia, Herzan, and Crimea are Ukraine. The results of these Potemkin-style exercises will be dictated by Moscow and cannot reflect the free will of the citizens of Ukraine who are being compelled to vote in them. This spectacle only further demonstrates Russia's blatant disregard for its obligations under

Starting point is 00:12:04 international law. The United States will continue to use all available tools to hold accountable those individuals responsible for actions that undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of free countries, including those who serve as election observers for the Kremlin's sham elections in occupied parts of Ukraine. Well, with that, that seems like a good place to leave it on this Friday. We hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for ending your week with us here at The Daily Signal. If you have not had the chance, make sure that you check out our morning shows every weekday morning.

Starting point is 00:12:40 We're so excited to be bringing you a brief series starting on Monday next week. It's a three-part series on Religious Freedom. These are interviews coming to you from The Daily Signal's own Tyler O'Neill. So make sure you check those out on not only Monday, but also Tuesday. and Wednesday mornings. And if you have not done so, make sure you hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on new shows from The Daily Signal. And also, take a minute to leave us a five-star rating and review. Have an excellent weekend. We'll see you right back here, Monday morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation.

Starting point is 00:13:19 Executive producers are Rob Bowie and Kate Trinco. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit DailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - Judge’s Decision on Fani Willis Case, Father of School Shooter Found Guilty, Russia’s Presidential Election | March 15

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