Laken Riley Murder Verdict & Federal Bathroom Battles | 11.21.24
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Count one malice murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count two felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count three felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. The illegal immigrant charged with murdering Lakin Riley has been found guilty on all counts. What evidence sealed his fate and what sentence did the judge impose?

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, November 21st, and this is Morning Wire. The battle over single-sex bathrooms is being fought on Capitol Hill, and South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace is leading the charge.

I'm going to do everything I can to protect women and girls here on the Hill, but also all across the nation. And Trump considers using recess appointments to fast track his cabinet picks. We discuss the precedent and potential roadblocks for the strategy. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

Hey guys, Producer Regan here. 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.

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Jose Ibarra, who is in the country illegally from Venezuela, was found guilty on 10 counts, including murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault with the intent to rape. Riley was found dead after she went jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens. Here to discuss the verdict is Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short. So Ash, tell us about what went down in the courtroom today.

Well, there were a lot of emotions as Judge Patrick Haggard delivered his verdict. You'll remember that Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial and opted to have the judge make a determination of his guilt instead. And it should be noted that Haggard delivered that verdict just 19 minutes after the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments. He also came out and said he was immediately ready to do the sentencing. So what evidence made it go so fast?

As likely the DNA, Ibarra's DNA was found under Riley's fingernails, something that would have only occurred if she fought her attacker. And on Monday, the prosecution showed pictures of Ibarra with scratches on his arms and hands. Riley fought for her life for an estimated 18 minutes, the prosecution said during the trial, and the scratches proved that. Here's what prosecutor Sheila Ross said about the scratches during her closing arguments. Quite frankly...

She got him. She scratched him. How do you get scratches on the back of your neck? How do you get scratches on your back?

Lakin left those scratches, and the physical evidence says that she left those scratches because that is why his DNA is underneath her right fingernails. She marked him. She marked him for everyone to see. And Ibarra's own roommates testified that he was guilty. Then there was the fact that Ibarra was seen on surveillance footage disposing of a bloody jacket, so it was pretty indisputable. He knew her DNA or her blood would be on that, and he got rid of it.

That is what we call consciousness of guilt in our business. He threw away those items because he knew he had killed her, and he threw them away because he didn't want anyone to find them. So what did the defense say in their closing arguments?

Their whole defense was trying to pawn off the crime on Ibarra's brother Diego, who's also an illegal immigrant and a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Trende Aragua. Their basis for that was the suspect being seen in surveillance footage wearing a hat, a hat that turned out to have Diego's DNA on it. The strategy there is to create doubt, and if there's enough doubt, then Jose Ibarra could walk.

It's more than possible that one brother's DNA would get on another brother's clothes. In fact, that's probable. And who would have had the most cross-contamination? Diego and Jose, because they shared a bed,

And they shared clothes. But all the other DNA evidence, the fingernail scrapings, the bloody jacket, all pointed to Jose, not Diego. Now, what's his sentence? Life in prison without the possibility of parole. Georgia has the death penalty, but District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez said she instead sought life in prison, saying that, quote, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justice must always transcend political considerations, according to RDW.

At least the family got some closure. Now, Ash, this case highlighted a lot of the problems with illegal immigration. And now that Donald Trump has won the election, what does that situation look like going forward? Well, many believe Riley would still be alive today if not for President Biden's open borders policy. Ibarra had been arrested previously and was known to be in the country illegally.

But things do look like they're changing. On Wednesday, Texas Land Commissioner Don Buckingham said the state would give incoming President Trump a 1,400-acre ranch to use as a deportation hub, which should help remove some of the criminal element that has infiltrated the U.S. in recent years.

And as Morning Wire has reported, Trump will install Tom Homan to lead border security. And he has recently warned Democrat mayors against harboring illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities. Well, definitely something we'll keep an eye on. Ash, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. What's the secret sauce behind wildly successful businesses? It's not great products or brilliant marketing. It's the unsung hero, the business behind the business. For millions of entrepreneurs, that hero is Shopify. Shopify.

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Forcing women to share private spaces with men is not dignity and not respect. I'm absolutely gonna stand in the way of anyone who thinks it's okay for a man to be in our locker room, in our changing rooms, in our dressing rooms, in women's bathrooms. And in fact, if you agree with that, you're crazy, cuz that's not okay, it's not okay.

That was South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace on the steps of the Capitol Tuesday, answering questions about her new bill that will prevent men from using women's bathrooms on all federal property. This expands a similar measure Mace introduced Monday that protects women's facilities on Capitol Hill. Here with more on the battle over bathrooms is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, obviously this has been a cultural debate for some time now, almost 10 years. What brought this issue to the forefront this week?

Well, I think it's a couple of things. So foremost is the election of a Delaware transgender activist, Sarah McBride, to Congress. So McBride, who was born male, has made it clear that he expects to have access to the women's facilities. Well, when Mace announced in an exclusive interview with The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles that she's also introducing a bill to cover all federal property now, she explained why she's not okay with that expectation.

There are literally members of Congress today that are saying I'm a bigot and that I'm a bully because I'm defending my right to privacy. Now, a lot of people may not know I'm a survivor of rape. I was raped at the age of 16. I'm also a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual abuse. And so I'm absolutely triggered by the idea of a man's genitalia being in my bathroom.

And then the other part of this is that opposing the normalization of transgender ideology has really become a winning issue for Republicans. When the subject first came to national prominence back in 2016 with that North Carolina bathroom bill, it really seemed then like the public wasn't sure what to think about it. If you go back to that time, polling showed that voter opinion was pretty much split 50-50 on whether men should be allowed into women's dressing rooms, bathrooms, things like that.

It was really corporate pressure from big companies like Nike and PayPal boycotting North Carolina that ultimately caused the GOP to back off. But since that time, public opinion has shifted pretty starkly. The most recent poll from YouGov finds that now only 31% of Americans support allowing men to use women's facilities.

And in that time, we've seen 13 states, including really large states like Texas and Florida, pass bills to protect women's private spaces. And even more states have bills pending. Well, still, it takes a lot of gumption to bring a bill like this to the floor. Does Mace have the votes for this to pass?

You know, I think that she does. That would be my guess. For one thing, with his overwhelming win, this is Donald Trump's party now. And the Trump campaign has had a lot of success with this issue. He not only made it a regular talking point on the campaign trail, he had an incredibly effective battleground ad that framed Harris and the Democrats as being the extremists.

Surgery. For prisoners. For prisoners. Every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access. It's hard to believe, but it's true. Kamala's for they/them. President Trump is for you. I'm Donald J. Trump and I approve this message.

And when asked about this bill, House Majority Leader Mike Johnson came out with a strong statement in support of Mace, saying that while everyone should be treated with dignity, women deserve women's only spaces. And Johnson also added that every House member's office has a private bathroom and that unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.

And then on top of that, we have also seen that corporate America really no longer has the stomach for this fight. Companies like Bud Light, Target, others have pulled back from aligning themselves with the transgender movement after quite a bit of public backlash. Now, what about the Democrats? I imagine this is striking a nerve.

Well, as you'd expect, they're voicing some pretty strong opposition. McBride sent the Daily Wire a statement saying that Mace's bill is a blatant attempt from far right wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. So that was a quote there.

And on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Mace's proposal mean and cruel, while other Democrats in the House are likening it to sex discrimination. Well, no doubt it is awkward that it was sparked by an individual colleague, but voters do want their representatives to be firm on this. Megan, thanks for reporting. Anytime. Donald Trump has called for the Senate to confirm his cabinet secretaries through recess appointments. But what would that look like?

Here with a look at how recess appointments work is Daily Wire Deputy Managing Editor Tim Rice. Hey, Tim. So we're hearing a lot of talk about these recess appointments, but first, what are they exactly?

Well, at a very basic level, they're exactly what they sound like. Presidential appointments made while Congress is out of session. But like so much of what goes on in Washington, it's actually a lot more complicated than that. For one, the Constitution gives the Senate power to advise and consent on all presidential appointments. That's one of their big jobs, and they like doing it. The Senate typically has one member gavel in a pro forma session in times like this precisely to prevent the president from making recess appointments.

Second, Trump would need both the House and Senate to vote to adjourn before he could do it. And while Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have both said they're open to the idea, it's still a pretty big ask. Which brings us to the third hurdle. In 2014, the Supreme Court blocked Barack Obama's recess appointments. When it did, it ruled Congress needed to adjourn for a minimum 10 days for a president to make an appointment without the Senate. That set the bar pretty high, which is one reason Obama was the last president to attempt this kind of thing. All right.

So these appointments are uncommon, but there's still some precedent for what Trump wants to do, correct?

Yes and no. Before the 2014 court ruling, recess appointments were a lot more common. Bill Clinton made 139 and George W. Bush made 171. But those didn't really include cabinet secretaries. That's a lot less common. Since 1900, only three cabinet secretaries have been recess appointed. It hasn't happened since 1996 when Bill Clinton named Mickey Cantor Secretary of Commerce.

And even that was a special circumstance. The Senate had already confirmed Cantor as U.S. trade representative, and Clinton only appointed him to the new role after the sitting Commerce Secretary, Ronald Brown, died in a plane crash. So Trump's plan to get most or all of his cabinet installed through recess appointments would really be unprecedented. It certainly sounds like a heavy lift, which raises the question, why exactly is Trump pushing to do this?

Well, to hear him tell it, recess appointments will let him fill his cabinet quickly and avoid the delays that plagued him during his first term. Of course, this time around, Republicans hold the Senate majority, so Trump shouldn't have an issue getting his nominees pushed through. But he's picked some candidates, like Matt Gaetz and Dr. Oz, who have even drawn some opposition from Republicans.

So Trump may be hoping that recess appointments will let him override any and all Senate objections, which getting back to the whole advise and consent thing could rub some senators the wrong way. There's a chance that includes Thune, an institutionalist with a history of jealously guarding Senate norms and traditions. All right, so let's say Thune or Johnson or whoever finds a way to keep Congress in session. Does Trump have any moves left in that case?

Just one, but it's a doozy. The Constitution gives the president power to adjourn both houses of Congress if they can't agree on the time to do it themselves. Trump actually floated the idea of doing this at the end of his first term, but noted at the time that this would probably land him in court. It's safe to say things aren't likely to get that far, but if they do, expect a lot of pushback. And one other potential downside we should note, recess appointees can only serve for two years, and they're legally not allowed to get paid. Mm-hmm.

So even if Trump manages to get his recess appointees installed, it will hardly be smooth sailing from there. Just one of the many ways his administration is going to keep us all on our toes. 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.