Ghislaine Maxwell is hoping a judge will drop the federal sex trafficking charges against her thanks to Jeffrey Epstein’s 2007 plea deal, which was supposed to protect himself and his close contacts from sex-trafficking charges.
Maxwell is accused of procuring underage girls for Epstein between 1994 and 1997, as well as abusing some of the women herself. In 2007, Epstein took the plea deal “in exchange for pleading guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges in Florida and registering as a sex offender,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/01/26/ghislaine-maxwell-wants-charges-dropped-over-epstein-plea-deal/">reported</a>. That deal was also meant to protect the people around him, though as the Post noted it did not name Maxwell specifically. Still, Maxwell’s attorneys are trying to use that plea agreement to get the charges dropped against her.
Epstein also planned to refer to the 2007 sweetheart deal when dealing with the federal charges brought against him in 2019. Epstein hanged himself on August 10, 2019.
For Maxwell, she is also claiming there weren’t “enough black and Hispanic jurors” used during her indictment, the Post reported.
“The arguments are among a dozen motions Maxwell’s lawyers filed Monday seeking to dismiss — or, at the very least, reduce — the federal charges she faces,” the outlet added.
Maxwell’s attorneys claimed that since a grand jury from White Plains was used to indict the British socialite, instead of one from New York City, the grand jury was unfair.
“In doing so, the government procured Ms. Maxwell’s indictment using a grand jury pool that excluded residents of the community in which Ms. Maxwell allegedly committed the offenses with which she is charged, and in which she will be tried, in favor of a grand jury drawn from a community in which Black and Hispanic residents are significantly underrepresented by comparison,” Maxwell’s attorneys wrote in a court filing.
This is simply the latest of many filings from Maxwell’s attorneys. Last month, Maxwell’s motion for bail was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-mislead-court-on-marriage-status-and-wealth-judge-argues-while-denying-bail-again">denied once again</a>, this time receiving a sharp rebuke from U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan for misleading the court about her marital status and wealth.
When Maxwell was arrested in July on charges of procuring underage girls for Epstein, she refused to name her husband and claimed she was divorcing him.
“The defendant now argues that her newly revealed relationship with her spouse signals her deep affective ties in the country, but at the time she was arrested, she was not living with him and claimed to be getting divorced,” Nathan wrote when denying Maxwell’s $28.5 million bail package.
Her attorneys also argued in December that Maxwell was being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-reportedly-losing-her-hair-weight-in-prison">mistreated in prison</a>, leading to her losing weight and her hair. A staff attorney for the prison said her weight has remained stable while in confinement.
Her attorneys have also tried to keep secret a “damaging deposition” from 2016.
“Maxwell, 58, has said negative publicity from the disclosure of ‘intimate, sensitive, and personal’ information from her deposition would violate her right against self-incrimination, and imperil a fair trial because jurors might hold it against her,” Reuters <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20201013100715-slo7a">reported</a> at the time.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell Wants Sex Trafficking Charges Dropped, Cites 2007 Epstein Plea Agreement

Crime

Jeffrey Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell is hoping a judge will drop the federal sex-trafficking charges against her thanks to Jeffrey Epstein’s 2007 plea deal, which was supposed to protect himself and his close contacts from sex-trafficking charges.

description

noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1

robots

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/ghislaine-maxwell-wants-sex-trafficking-charges-dropped-cites-2007-epstein-plea-agreement/

twitter:card

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1224326172.jpg

twitter:image

The Biden administration’s claims that it inherited no COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan continue to be disputed, this time by former officials of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed.
Operation Warp Speed is the reason a vaccine was developed ahead of anyone’s expectations, and the operation’s success is demonstrated by the fact that the U.S. was hitting President Joe Biden’s goal of 1 million vaccines administered a day before he even took office. Biden recently expanded that goal to 1.5 million vaccines administered a day, another goal the U.S. was already on track to meet prior to any efforts from the Biden administration.
Yet, Biden administration officials claimed they inherited no vaccine distribution plan from the outgoing Trump administration. CNN recently <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/politics/biden-covid-vaccination-trump/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&amp;utm_content=2021-01-21T11%3A00%3A05&amp;utm_term=link&amp;utm_medium=social">reported</a> anonymous Biden officials claiming they inherited “no coronavirus vaccine distribution plan to speak of from the Trump administration.” Biden senior adviser Cedric Richmond told CNN on Saturday that the “sad part is the last administration didn’t leave anything” and “didn’t leave a plan.” Biden chief of staff Ron Klain said on CNN’s “Meet the Press” that “the process to distribute the vaccine, particularly outside of nursing homes and hospitals out into the community as a whole, did not really exist when we came into the White House.”
After the first reports from anonymous officials came out, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fauci-refutes-cnn-report-which-came-from-biden-sources-that-trump-had-no-vaccine-distribution-plan">refuted</a> the claims, saying, “We certainly are not starting from scratch because there is activity going on in the distribution.”
Fauci added that “you can’t say it was absolutely not usable at all.”
Yet the Biden administration has persisted in its claims to be starting from scratch. Now, more former Operation Warp Speed officials have come forward to defend the previous administration from baseless attacks.
Former Health and Human Services chief of staff Brian Harrison <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/operation-warp-speed-staffers-refute-claim-biden-is-starting-from-scratch-on-vaccines/?itm_campaign=headline-testing-operation-warp-speed-staffers-refute-claim-biden-is-starting-from-scratch-on-vaccines&amp;itm_medium=headline&amp;itm_source=nationalreview&amp;itm_content=Warp%20Speed%20Staffers:%20Biden%20Team%20Excuses%20on%20Vaccine%20Plan%20%E2%80%98Preposterous%E2%80%99&amp;itm_term=Warp%20Speed%20Staffers:%20Biden%20Team%20Excuses%20on%20Vaccine%20Plan%20%E2%80%98Preposterous%E2%80%99">told</a> National Review that the Trump administration “provided the Biden team over 300 transition meetings, including the very first one on Warp Speed which I kicked off myself.”
“The idea that they’re walking in, having no clue what was going on, is absolutely preposterous,” he added.
Another former senior official told the outlet that distribution is being managed by U.S. Army general Gustave Perna, and added that the plan is “extraordinarily detailed” and “comprehensive.”
“It’s gone flawlessly,” the former official told National Review. “Like, out of tens of thousands of deliveries under extreme cold storage conditions, I think three out of like 30,000 didn’t make it to the right place at the right time. So, it’s a 99.99 percent success rate of shipping to the right place at the right time in the right quantity, under the right conditions.”
Another former senior HHS official told the outlet that the “CDC was the one who volunteered — not volunteered, asserted — itself to the task, and said that they were going to be in charge of this because they were in charge of pandemic influenza distribution and allocation.” This same official blamed the Biden administration for “playing politics with public health.”
“They’re shifting blame. That’s the most polite way I could describe it. But I’ll tell you that the guys at Warp Speed were pushing the CDC really hard to basically demonstrate that the plans were more than just paper,” the official told the outlet. “They pushed them as hard as they could, but again, CDC was strident in its view that they’re the experts. They’re the ones with the relationships with the states. They’re the ones who could do this and that.”
“It’s disgraceful that the CDC is pointing its finger at Warp Speed, when CDC was the one that said that they were in charge and basically said they were the one responsible party,” he added. “It’s passing the buck, and I just think that’s disgraceful.”
The vaccine distribution plan from the Trump administration focused on allowing states to determine how they would get the vaccine administered.
“Under the Trump administration, there wasn’t one vaccine rollout plan, but rather 64 plans, one from each of the nation’s public health jurisdictions. Those plans were crafted, starting in mid-September, based on a 60-page operating book provided by the CDC, which gave guidance to local officials about operations, logistics, information technology, and storage requirements, among other things. The jurisdictions turned in their vaccine administration plans in mid-October, one former official said,” National Review reported.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Coronavirus Covid-19 Vaccine

Operation Warp Speed Officials Push Back On Biden Administration Narrative, Say Distribution Plan ‘Extraordinarily Detailed’

Biden administration

COVID-19 vaccine

Operation Warp Speed

Trump Administration

The Biden administration’s claims that it inherited no COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan continue to be disputed, this time by former officials of the

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/operation-warp-speed-officials-push-back-on-biden-administration-narrative-say-distribution-plan-extraordinarily-detailed/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1213304774-1200x800.jpg

Cancel culture seemingly came for a leftist last week when freelance New York Times editor Lauren Wolfe was fired from the newspaper after she tweeted that she had “chills” seeing Joe Biden’s plane landing before his inauguration.
Independent Journalist Glenn Greenwald quote-tweeted the post and called out Wolfe and the rest of the media for what we&#8217;re all anticipating to be four years of light coverage of the Biden administration. Many other people also criticized Wolfe’s tweet, but after she was fired, Greenwald was primarily blamed for participating in “cancelling” her.
Is Greenwald not allowed to comment on media bias? Of course he is, just as anyone else should feel free to do so. The blame for Wolfe’s firing falls not on Greenwald, but the Times&#8217; management, which is withholding details as to why Wolfe was fired following the errant tweet.
No one was expecting the Times to be objective in covering the Biden administration, just as no one was surprised with how they covered the Trump administration. The idea that the New York Times gave in to a conservative “cancel culture” mob is ludicrous, yet the Times seems to be allowing the narrative to persist.
On Sunday, author Jesse Singal <a href="https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1353544694886768640">pointed out</a> that outlets who initially ran with that narrative made blatant errors in their reporting, chief among them Vox (to the surprise of no one). Vox reported on Sunday that critics “began flooding” Twitter with tweets attacking Wolfe, even though the link they provided leads to an unverified account with less than 300 followers. The outlet also claimed that journalist Yashar Ali reported that unnamed sources told him Wolfe was fired after the cancel culture campaign. But Ali told Singal he “never said that.”
There is no evidence to suggest there was some massive campaign to fire Wolfe, and the Times initially hinted at this in a cryptic statement.
“There’s a lot of inaccurate information circulating on Twitter. For privacy reasons we don’t get into the details of personnel matters but we can say that we didn’t end someone’s employment over a single tweet. We don’t plan to comment further,” the statement said, according to Vanity Fair’s media correspondent Joe Pompeo.
Pompeo <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/01/inside-the-new-york-times-firing-of-lauren-wolfe">dug deeper</a> into the story, and though he clearly places the blame on conservatives for Wolfe’s firing, he learned the following:
<blockquote>I checked in with a number of senior Times sources on Sunday, and they all told me the same thing: Wolfe had previously been cautioned about her social media behavior. A manager gave her a warning months ago after staffers expressed discomfort with certain tweets she was told bordered on being political. My sources emphasized that Wolfe was not a full Times employee—her position on the “flexible editing desk,” which springs into action during heavy news cycles and staffing shortages, was a temporary one. But sources also told me that even though Wolfe was brought on as a “casual” (Times jargon for freelance editor), she was pursuing a full-time position on a newly created live-journalism team headed up by assistant managing editor Marc Lacey. Whether her employment could or would become permanent was yet to be seen. According to someone with knowledge of the phone call in which Wolfe was let go, she was told that her name and the Times’ name were in headlines all over the place, and “we can’t have that.”</blockquote>
Pompeo went on to suggest the Times fired Wolfe for a number of reasons, such as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-prize-winning-audio-series-based-on-fabulist-claiming-to-be-member-of-isis">embarrassing</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-issues-another-correction-regarding-past-coverage-of-isis">saga</a> of the paper’s “Caliphate” podcast and the fact that it merely reassigned the reporter responsible but didn’t discipline the editor in any way. He also suggested that the Times not wanting to seem so obviously “friendly” to the Biden administration was in part responsible for Wolfe’s firing.
It still seems like an unlikely reason for the Times to end its relationship with Wolfe. It was just a couple tweets proving what conservatives already know about the paper. Conservatives heavily criticize star Times reporter Maggie Haberman for her tweets as well, yet the Times has not acted against her (nor should it).
Wolfe shouldn’t be fired over a few tweets, just like numerous other people shouldn’t have lost their jobs for their social media posts. While many are trying to blame conservatives for her firing, and the Times is largely allowing the narrative to breathe, it looks like there was more to the story than the paper is letting on.
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. 
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

New York Times

Was Lauren Wolfe Some Kind Of Sacrificial Lamb For The New York Times?

Cancel culture

Media Bias

Cancel culture seemingly came for a leftist last week when freelance New York Times editor Lauren Wolfe was fired from the newspaper after she tweeted

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/was-lauren-wolfe-some-kind-of-sacrificial-lamb-for-the-new-york-times/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1134268935-1.jpg

A student government representative at the Rochester Institute of Technology is facing calls for his impeachment because he refused to join other student government members in claiming the Thin Blue Line is “overt racism.”
The Thin Blue Line refers to law enforcement, who have been denigrated across the United States for the past few years due to incidents involving the police-involved deaths of black people. Some of those killed were unarmed, others were attacking police or resisting arrest,  yet protests and riots broke out across the U.S. where violent mobs attacked innocent police officers in the name of racial justice.
RIT student senator Jacob Custer, <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/impeachment-sought-against-student-senator-who-is-defending-thin-blue-line-masks/">according to The College Fix</a>, refused a blanket condemnation of police officers and is now being targeted for impeachment. The Fix reported that 21 other student senators signed a petition to impeach Custer.
“These actions include, but are not limited to, negative attitudes towards members, blatant disregard of the effects of controversial topics such as Blue Lives Matter and how it affects the Black and Brown community, and blatant disregard for anyone’s views,” the petition says.
As the Fix reported, the other student senators decided to impeach Custer in part due to his contributions to the RIT student government’s group message app.
“The effort to impeach Custer stems in part from conversations through the student government’s group message app where representatives discussed filing a bias report over a campus safety officer who wore a Thin Blue Line face mask, according to screenshots of the conversation presented by the petition’s authors as evidence against Custer,” the outlet reported.
Custer disagreed with his fellow representatives, defending the officer’s Free Speech right to wear the mask.
“Wearing such masks if they want to is not counterintuitive. It is perfectly okay for students and adults to express it since it is free speech. It is not disrespectful either. We are student government, representing all students. It is not our role to determine what idea is good or bad simply because a few members or more disagree with it and punish members of our community over something small. That is just outright censorship,” Custer wrote.
Others in the group chat started criticizing Custer for his statements.
“[I]t’s honestly humorous that a White man is going to sit here and try to tell someone of color, more specifically Black, when something is or isn’t racist,” one senator said.
“Breaking news: Jacob Custer is angry and taking a stand against people of color because he isn’t allowed to disagree with the idea that Black people don’t deserve to be murdered,” said another.
Custer told the Fix that the group discussion was not civil.
“They were taking a club to try and beat down the conversation and actually tried to shut down politicians in general or force their view,” he told the outlet
The other student representatives cited other disagreements they had with Custer as additional evidence for his impeachment. A counter petition has been launched to protect Custer.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Thin Blue Line

Student Senator Faces Impeachment For Defending Thin Blue Line Masks

Education

Free Speech

Police

A student government representative at the Rochester Institute of Technology is facing calls for his impeachment because he refused to join other student

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/student-senator-faces-impeachment-for-defending-thin-blue-line-masks/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-913772080.jpg

A small group of professors has joined a letter urging members of the publishing industry to refuse to give book deals to members of the Trump administration.
More than 550 publishing professionals, including some who are professors, signed <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/e/2PACX-1vS_tiz6ATX5piqGmFlu6FqNwJinahlYJqn7JtGoiDOUIFEEx3MuvXubKQJi6BGpTlsyJpqLgk-pyhiE/pub">a letter</a> claiming, “our country is where it is in part because publishing has chased the money and notoriety of some pretty sketchy people.” The letter, which was <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=16681">reported</a> by Campus Reform, comes after leftists successfully stopped Simon and Schuster from publishing a book from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) due to his vote objecting to certification of the 2020 election in certain battleground states. Hawley’s book was quickly picked up by Regnery Publishing.
This new letter contains signatures from authors, editors, agents, and others insisting the Trump administration committed crimes against the American people and should not be allowed book deals that would allow them to profit off those alleged crimes.
&#8220;As members of the writing and publishing community of the United States, we affirm that participation in the administration of Donald Trump must be considered a uniquely mitigating criterion for publishing houses when considering book deals,&#8221; the letter says.
“Consequently, we believe: No participant in an administration that caged children, performed involuntary surgeries on captive women, and scoffed at science as millions were infected with a deadly virus should be enriched by the almost rote largesse of a big book deal. And no one who incited, suborned, instigated, or otherwise supported the January 6, 2021 coup attempt should have their philosophies remunerated and disseminated through our beloved publishing houses,” it continues.
The letter then brings up “Son of Sam” laws, which were enacted in some states in the late 1970s following a belief that serial killer David Berkowitz, who called himself the “Son of Sam,” would profit by selling his story after he was caught. New York and a few other states have passed such laws and revised them after the Supreme Court ruled they were unconstitutional in 1991.
“‘Son of Sam’ laws exist to prevent criminals from benefiting financially from writing about their crimes. In that spirit, those who enabled, promulgated, and covered up crimes against the American people should not be enriched through the coffers of publishing,” wrote the authors of the publishing letter. “We are writers, editors, journalists, agents, and professionals in multiple forms of publishing. We believe in the power of words and we are tired of the industry we love enriching the monsters among us, and we will do whatever is in our power to stop it.”
The letter is not the first attempt by students and academics to punish the Trump administration. As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-student-petition-seeks-to-ban-former-trump-administration-officials-from-speaking-attending-or-teaching-at-university">reported</a>, students at Harvard University circulated a petition to keep former Trump administration officials from speaking, attending, or teaching at the Ivy League school. A similar move was made at George Washington University.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Trump

Professors Demand Publishers Refuse To Publish Books From Anyone Associated With Trump Administration

A small group of professors have joined a letter urging members of the publishing industry to refuse to give book deals to members of the Trump administration.

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/professors-demand-publishers-refuse-to-publish-books-from-anyone-associated-with-trump-administration/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1230692499.jpg

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called out LeBron James after the Los Angeles Lakers superstar claimed he only cares about his team’s success and not his own.
Smith repeatedly said James lied, but didn’t necessarily knock the four-time NBA MVP, Sportscasting <a href="https://www.sportscasting.com/stephen-a-smith-calls-out-lebron-james-claims-he-just-lied-to-the-american-public/?amp">reported</a>.
James made the statement about caring for his team’s success more than his own after complaining about how few votes he received to be the season’s Most Valuable Player.
“It pissed me off,” James said, as reported by <a href="https://theathletic.com/2077935/2020/09/19/it-pissed-me-off-how-lebron-james-channeled-mvp-slight-into-game-1-win/">The Athletic</a>. “That’s my true answer. It pissed me off because out of 101 votes, I got 16 first-place votes. That’s what pissed me off more than anything.”
The complaint came after the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the MVP for the second time in a row, even though James had better stats throughout the season and his team beat Antetokounmpo’s team in the NBA championship.
After complaining, James was asked if it made him feel better to beat Antetokounmpo’s team.
“Nah, I think you know me; I think all you guys know me, it’s never been about individual, it’s all about the team’s success. That’s all that matters,” James said, according to ESPN. “I can care less about that. I just try to play well and help our team win versus any opponent, and that’s what it’s all about.”
It was this statement that set Smith off, calling James a liar but insisting he has every right to care about his individual success as well.
“I think that LeBron stood in front of the cameras last night and lied to the American public, and anybody else who was listening,” Smith said on Friday’s episode of “First Take.” “But I’m not knocking him for it. I think that, listen, LeBron wouldn’t be as great as he is if all he thought about was the outcome for the team. Especially in the sport of basketball, there is some individual pride that seeps into the equation, where you put dude’s on notice, ‘This is who the hell I am. Don’t forget.&#8217;”
“When LeBron sits up there and goes in for a layup and gets an and-1 and flexes his muscle, is that about the team? When he sits up there and dunks on somebody and screams at the crowd, is that about the team? … Nobody’s accusing him of caring about his individual accolades more than the team. No, he’s proven that he’s unselfish on that level,” Smith continued.
“There’s no way you can be as great as him, and you never have that intestinal fortitude and that individual pride to put your greatness on display; you don’t spend a-million-and-a-half dollars on your physique, your body, your conditioning, and everything that comes with it to be as great as you can be just for the team to win a championship,” he added. “No, you want to be the reason or a primary reason why you win that championship.”
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

LeBron James

ESPN Host Calls Out Lebron James For Lying When He Said He Only Cares About Team Success

ESPN

Stephen A. Smith

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called out LeBron James after the Los Angeles Lakers superstar claimed he only cares about his team’s success and not his own.

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/espn-host-calls-out-lebron-james-for-lying-when-he-said-he-only-cares-about-team-success/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1297135135-1024x800.jpg

A multi-day operation by multiple agencies found 33 missing children in southern California, many of whom were sexually exploited.
The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/losangeles/news/press-releases/multi-day-joint-agency-operation-lost-angels-leads-to-the-recovery-of-33-missing-children-during-trafficking-awareness-month">announced</a> the success of “Operation Lost Angels” on Friday, saying the operation began on January 11 and involved “more than two dozen partner agencies,” including law enforcement and non-governmental agencies.
“Of the 33 children recovered, eight were being sexually exploited at the time of recovery. Two were recovered multiple times during the operation while on the “track,” a common term used to describe a known location for commercial sex trafficking. It is not uncommon for victims who are rescued to return to commercial sex trafficking either voluntarily or by force, fraud, or coercion. This harmful cycle highlights the challenges victims face and those faced by law enforcement when attempting to keep victims from returning to an abusive situation. Victims may not self-identify as being trafficked or may not even realize they’re being trafficked,” the FBI stated. “Several other victims located had been sexually exploited in the past and were considered vulnerable missing children prior to their recovery. Additionally, the operation resulted in the arrest on state charges of one suspected human trafficker and the opening of multiple investigations. Some of the minor victims were arrested for probation violations, robbery, or other misdemeanors. One child was a victim of a noncustodial parental kidnapping.”
The FBI said that, as of November 2020, the bureau had more than 1,800 open trafficking investigations and leads 86 Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces across the country.
“The FBI considers human trafficking modern day slavery and the minors engaged in commercial sex trafficking are considered victims,” said Assistant Director in Charge Kristi K. Johnson. “While this operation surged resources over a limited period of time with great success, the FBI and our partners investigate child sex trafficking every day of the year and around the clock.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, operations similar to “Lost Angels” have found hundreds of missing children who have been sexually exploited across the U.S. In August 2020, U.S. Marshals <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-marshals-rescue-dozens-of-missing-children-in-georgia-during-operation-make-numerous-arrests">rescued 26 children</a> in the state of Georgia after a two-week operation. In October, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45-missing-children-have-been-found-179-arrested-as-part-of-human-trafficking-ring">45 missing children were found</a> in southern Ohio and southern West Virginia as part of operation “Autumn Hope.” That operation resulted in the arrests of 179 people. In November, <a href="7-missing-children-have-been-found-thanks-to-5-day-operation">27 missing children were found</a> in Virginia after a five-day operation.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable children in our society and ‘Operation Find Our Children’ does just that,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen said in a press release at the time.  “While this Virginia operation is the most recent recovery of endangered and missing children led by the U.S. Marshals Service this year, we have also recovered more than 440 kids in Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana and other states. Because of this initiative, the recovered children are now out of harm’s way.”
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

LAPD Vice Squad In South Central Los Angeles

33 Missing Children Found In Southern California As Part Of ‘Operation Lost Angels’

Children

Human Trafficking

Readers Pass

A multi-day operation by multiple agencies found 33 missing children in southern California, many of whom were sexually exploited. The FBI’s Los Angeles

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/33-missing-children-found-in-southern-california-as-part-of-operation-lost-angels/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-454343830.jpg

A Superior Court judge in Connecticut ruled that recordings and written witness statements must be made publicly available from a high-profile false rape case.
Judge Daniel Klau ruled last week that the recordings and witness statements in the case of Nikki Yovino should be released to the public, but added that the state Freedom of Information Commission should consider whether a recording of Yovino having sex with the two men she falsely accused of rape violates laws against voyeurism, the Connecticut Post <a href="https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Judge-rules-Bridgeport-must-release-recordings-in-15888160.php">reported</a>.
The records were requested by the San Francisco-based Center for Investigative Reporting’s public radio show “Reveal.” Alexa Millinger, the lawyer for the Center, told the Post that she was “pleased with Judge Klau’s decision and his thoughtful interpretation of the Freedom of Information Act.”
“In particular, his comment that the requested records, which were all evidence in the prosecution of a crime, were clearly in the public interest was a significant First Amendment win,” she continued.
The city of Bridgeport sought to keep the records private, claiming that releasing the evidence would publicly embarrass the two falsely accused men and cause them psychological hardship.
“The commission’s findings ordering disclosure of videotaped and audio-taped interviews with witnesses could result in witness trepidation or refusal to cooperate with law enforcement potentially putting witnesses and their families at risk,” the city said in its lawsuit to keep the recordings from being publicly released.
Judge Klau, however, ruled that because “the witness recordings in this case formed the basis of the arrest and conviction of a college student for falsely reporting a sexual assault, the public interest in the disclosure of the recordings seem obvious to this court.”
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/she-lied-about-being-raped-now-men-she-accused-are-ashe-schow">reported</a>, Yovino told police on October 15, 2016, that she had attended a football club party at a house near the university. She claimed two men pulled her into a bathroom in the basement and sexually assaulted her.
“I don’t want to be in here, I don’t want to do anything. My friends are waiting for me outside, let me go outside,” Yovino told police she said to the men.
Both football players admitted they had sex with Yovino, but said it was consensual. A witness testified that Yovino said she wanted to have sex with the athletes. Police detectives all noted “inconsistencies in [Yovino’s] original statement.”
As Yovino’s story began to unravel, she admitted to making up the sexual assault claim three months later. She said she did so to avoid losing a male friend she considered a “potential boyfriend.”
“She admitted that she made up the allegation of sexual assault against (the football players) because it was the first thing that came to mind and she didn’t want to lose (another male student) as a friend and potential boyfriend,” the arrest warrant affidavit for Yovino stated. “She stated that she believed when (the other male student) heard the allegation it would make him angry and sympathetic to her.”
In October 2018, the two men Yovino falsely accused sued her and Sacred Heart University, where the three attended. The two men claimed they were suspended from the football team after the accusations, which turned out to be false, and say their scholarships were revoked (the school disputes this claim).
In August 2020, Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton denied Yovino’s request to cut her probation in half, citing the fact that Yovino previously agreed to the plea bargain that spared her a much longer jail sentence during her 2018 trial. Yovino faced six years in prison after she admitted to falsely accusing the two football players. Thanks to a last-minute plea deal, however, Yovino spent less than a year in prison followed by three years of probation, which she is more than halfway through.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Nikki Yovino

Recordings, Witness Interviews To Be Released In High-Profile False Rape Case

false accusations

Judge Daniel Klau ruled last week that the recordings and witness statements in the case of Nikki Yovino should be released to the public.

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/recordings-witness-interviews-to-be-released-in-high-profile-false-rape-case/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/Nikki-Yovino-736x800.jpg

Like clockwork, another Democrat governor who placed severe restrictions on their state has begun easing lockdowns now that President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
The Chicago Sun-Times <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2021/1/23/22245873/chicago-bars-restaurants-reopen-pritzker-coronavirus-illinois-suburban-cook-county">reported</a> Saturday that Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has lifted some coronavirus restrictions in Chicago, allowing restaurants and bars that serve food to reopen for indoor services at 25% capacity.
“Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s health team officially gave the green light Saturday for restaurants and most bars across Chicago and suburban Cook County to invite customers back inside for indoor service,” the outlet reported. “A day after officials said both regions were ‘on track’ for limited reopening, the city and Cook County suburbs saw their coronavirus infection rates improve for a third straight day to officially move from Tier 2 to Tier 1 of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation plan.”
The outlet reported that “coronavirus testing positivity rates and hospital admissions” are down to their lowest levels since October, when restrictions were put back in place ahead of the presidential election.
Bars and restaurants must still close by 11 p.m., and they can’t open until 6 a.m. the next day. The businesses can’t accept reservations over two hours and can seat parties no larger than four people. Customers are also required to wear masks except when “actively” eating or drinking, the Sun-Times reported.
In addition to bars and restaurants, the easing also allows gyms to operate at 50% capacity.
“The risk of a resurgence in Illinois, particularly with extremely contagious new variants, is serious,” Pritzker said on Friday. “Our ability to have limited indoor restaurant service and to restart youth sports could be cut short if we aren’t extremely careful.”
Cases in Illinois began rising at the end of October. On November 6, the Illinois Department of Public Health started combining the number of probable and confirmed cases when releasing new case totals, causing a massive jump in the alleged number of new cases and leading to widespread state lockdowns.
Chicago’s restaurant owners began defying Pritzker’s orders long before the restrictions were eased. In December, the Ann Sather restaurant, owned by Democrat Ald. Tom Tunney, was found to have violated the state’s orders, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/someone-ratted-us-out-restaurant-owned-by-chicago-alderman-caught-defying-indoor-dining-ban">reported</a>. Tunney told the Chicago-Sun Times that he made a mistake.
“We have, on occasion, sat regular diners in the back of the restaurant,” he <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2020/12/7/22158783/indoor-dining-restrictions-tom-tunney-ann-sather-restaurant-covid-19">told</a> the outlet. “I acknowledge that. It’s not OK. I made a mistake, and I’m owning up to it. I should have not sat regular customers in my restaurant whatsoever.”
“I have a lot of repeat customers over the years,” Tunney continued. “On a sporadic basis, I have let regular customers — very few and far between — in my store. I made an error.”
He then hung up.
An employee later told a reporter that “somebody ratted us out.”
Pritzker faced a backlash in May 2020 when he tried to make reopening during the pandemic a “Class A misdemeanor,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illinois-democrat-governor-backs-down-rescinds-order-making-reopening-a-class-a-misdemeanor">reported</a>.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lori-lightfoot-defends-joining-large-biden-celebration-crowd-was-gathered-whether-i-was-there-or-not">defied</a> her own restrictions and statements about COVID-19 when she attended a large celebration after Biden was elected president, telling reporters the “crowd was gathered whether I was there or not.”
Illinois’ reopening plan comes after New York and Michigan’s governors made statements about reopening their economies.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

J.B. Pritzker

Illinois Governor Latest To Ease Lockdown Restrictions Now That Biden Is President

Chicago

Coronavirus

COVID-19

Illinois

Lockdowns

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has lifted some coronavirus restrictions in Chicago, allowing restaurants and bars that serve food to reopen for indoor services at 25% capacity.

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/illinois-governor-latest-to-ease-lockdown-restrictions-now-that-biden-is-president/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1077477872.jpg

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump was blamed almost exclusively for the highly infectious virus from China. New evidence suggests that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s actions and inactions helped the virus wreak havoc on the United States.
Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cdc-response-speci/special-report-how-u-s-cdc-missed-chances-to-spot-covids-silent-spread-idUSKBN29R1E7?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=Social">reported</a> Friday that the CDC “missed chances to spot COVID’s silent spread” early on in the pandemic when 57 people with the virus showed up at a Nebraska military base in February after being evacuated from Wuhan, China, where the virus was discovered. The people were quarantined, but the CDC refused to allow University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers from testing the group. The agency, according to a letter from the CDC, brought up consent issues from the quarantined group, worrying they may feel coerced into testing and therefore the test would be unethical.
“CDC does not approve this study,” a CDC official wrote. “Please discontinue all contact with the travelers for research purposes.”
The CDC also delayed testing the asymptomatic passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship after 318 passengers were evacuated due to the virus. Reuters found that “the agency failed at that time to make effective use of outside experts and appeared at times unprepared for the crisis on the ground, lacking adequate personal protective gear and ignoring established protocols.”
The outlet reported that it took another two months from the Nebraska quarantine before the CDC “expanded its testing guidelines to include all asymptomatic people.”
More from Reuters:
<blockquote>Critics have widely asserted that the CDC fumbled key decisions during the coronavirus scourge because then-President Donald Trump and his administration meddled in the agency’s operations and muzzled internal experts. The matter is now the subject of a congressional inquiry. Yet Reuters has found new evidence that the CDC’s response to the pandemic also was marred by actions &#8211; or inaction &#8211; by the agency’s career scientists and frontline staff.
At a crucial moment in the pandemic when Americans were quarantined after possible exposure to the virus abroad, the agency declined or resisted potentially valuable opportunities to study whether the disease could be spread by those without symptoms, according to previously undisclosed internal emails, other documents and interviews with key players.</blockquote>
Health experts and ethicists told Reuters that the CDC “should have proceeded given the fast-moving public health emergency.”
The center appeared to not even follow its 2017 rules that allowed testing in quarantine so long as there was “informed consent” and the ability to refuse.
Reuters also noted that “CDC scientists infamously botched the creation of a test for the coronavirus and took weeks trying to fix it, making widespread testing &#8211; well beyond those with symptoms &#8211; impossible during the pandemic’s first months.”
The CDC declined to comment to Reuters.
While the media spent the pandemic blaming Trump, plenty of mistakes were made that were outside his control, including the political decisions by governors to shut down their economies for a virus with a 96% survival rate for even the most vulnerable populations.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

CDC Headquarters

Career Scientists And Frontline Staff At CDC To Blame For Coronavirus Shortfalls, Not Just Trump Administration, Report Finds

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump was blamed almost exclusively for the highly infectious virus from China. New evidence

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/career-scientists-and-frontline-staff-at-cdc-to-blame-for-coronavirus-shortfalls-not-just-trump-administration-report-finds/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1207345887.jpg

When the coronavirus pandemic first began, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) claimed his decisions would be based on science and data, which would be shared with Californians to ensure transparency.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sacramento-california-coronavirus-pandemic-gavin-newsom-38bb44ea7cb39eab9f6f6c621daeaf10">reported</a>, however, that Newsom’s administration has been hiding COVID-19 data, saying that data is too complex for Californians to understand. The hidden data relates to how the California government projects intensive care unit (ICU) capacity. Just days before President Joe Biden was inaugurated, California’s <a href="https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/#icu-capacity">daily updated map</a> of ICU capacity showed that the state’s stay-at-home order wouldn’t be lifted any time soon, yet just a day later, the AP reported, suddenly the order was lifted for the Greater Sacramento area.
“Suddenly, outdoor dining and worship services were OK again, hair and nail salons and other businesses could reopen, and retailers were allowed more shoppers inside,” the AP reported. “Local officials and businesses were caught off guard. State officials did not describe their reasoning other than to say it was based on a projection for ICU capacity. State health officials relied on a complex formula to project that while the Sacramento region’s intensive care capacity was below 10%, it would climb above 15% within four weeks. On Friday, it was 9%, roughly the same as when the order was lifted.”
California Health and Human Services Agency spokeswoman Kate Folmar told the AP that the sudden decision was based on a complex set of data that included bed availability and staffing.
“These fluid, on-the-ground conditions cannot be boiled down to a single data point — and to do so would mislead and create greater uncertainty for Californians,” Folmar said in a statement regarding the lack of transparency.
Stakeholders are not happy, the AP reported:
<blockquote>First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder urged the state to change course.
“The state is wielding extraordinary power these days — power to close businesses, to directly impact people’s livelihoods and even lives — and so it owes it to Californians to disclose how and why it makes those decisions,” said Snyder, whose California public interest organization fights for greater government openness.
“Secrecy,” he said, “is exactly the wrong approach here and will only breed further mistrust, confusion and contempt for the crucial role of government in bringing us out of this crisis.”
Restaurants, among other businesses, would benefit by being able to watch trends toward reopening so they could start ordering supplies and rehiring workers, California Restaurant Association president and CEO Jot Condie said.
Last week’s sudden easing of restrictions “was a good surprise, but we just didn’t see it coming,” Condie said. “We just don’t know what happens behind the curtain.”</blockquote>
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said hospital and nursing home admissions were slowing and that the state was showing lower positivity and transmission rates, though the state’s data model still shows increasing hospitalizations.
California has struggled to not only get the virus under control but also appear realistic in terms of restrictions. Restaurants and many other businesses are closed, yet Hollywood was still able to film.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Gavin Newsom

California Hiding COVID Data From Public, Says Releasing Information Would Confuse Residents

California

When the coronavirus pandemic first began, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) claimed his decisions would be based on science and data, which would be shared with

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/california-hiding-covid-data-from-public-says-releasing-information-would-confuse-residents/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1230128482.jpg

President Joe Biden on Friday signed two more executive orders that covered a range of issues including coronavirus relief, food stamps, federal unions, and an increase in the federal minimum wage.
CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/biden-stimulus-check-food-stamps-minimum-wage-executive-orders/">reported</a> that the first order Biden signed on Friday related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), typically referred to as food stamps. Biden requested in the order that the U.S. Department of Agriculture allow states to increase SNAP benefits by 15%.
“Congress recently passed a $1 trillion relief bill that boosted the maximum SNAP benefit by 15%, but that did not help the 40% of SNAP recipients who were already at the maximum benefit. Mr. Biden&#8217;s order tells the USDA to ‘consider issuing new guidance that would allow states to increase SNAP emergency allotments for those who need it most,’ according to a fact sheet provided by the White House, which would mean that an additional 12 million people get enhanced benefits,” CBS reported. “The order would also increase Pandemic-EBT, an electronic debit card program for students who would have qualified for free or reduced-price meals at school.”
Biden’s order would also allow the Pandemic-EBT benefits to be increased by 15%. In addition to increasing the SNAP and P-EBT benefits, Biden’s executive order would also require the USDA to update the Thrifty Food Plan, which determines SNAP benefits, CBS reported. The White House said the plan “is out of date with the economic realities most struggling households face when trying to buy and prepare healthy food.”
In the same executive order, Biden also sought to streamline how stimulus checks are delivered for those who still haven’t received their payments from Congress’ last coronavirus relief bill.
Biden’s second executive order, according to CBS, improves “collecting bargaining power and protections for federal workers, and direct the Office of Personnel Management to develop recommendations to increase the minimum wage for federal employees to $15 per hour.”
The executive orders came on the same day Biden admitted there “is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next few months,” even though his campaign was based on doing just that, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-theres-nothing-we-can-do-to-change-the-trajectory-of-the-pandemic-in-the-next-several-months?al_applink_data=%7B%22target_url%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.dailywire.com%5C%2Fnews%5C%2Fbiden-theres-nothing-we-can-do-to-change-the-trajectory-of-the-pandemic-in-the-next-several-months%3Futm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dbenshapiro%26fbclid%3DIwAR3tNfixcdt9yhRMH-M0GWaDfodNXBa7wLT31lIh5aLpTwh2VH1v10FPGLg%22%2C%22extras%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22referer_app_link%22%3A%7B%22url%22%3A%22fb%3A%5C%2F%5C%2F%5C%2F%22%2C%22app_name%22%3A%22Facebook%22%7D%7D">reported</a>.
The two executive orders signed Friday brought Biden’s total to 30, more than President Donald Trump signed in his first 100 days in office. Biden has been president for just three days. CNN compiled <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/politics/joe-biden-executive-orders-first-week/index.html">a list</a> of all Biden’s executive orders. Seventeen were signed after Biden was inaugurated, 11 were signed on Thursday, and the final two were signed on Friday. Many of the executive orders sought to undo much of Trump’s legacy, including ending the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and rescinding Trump’s 1776 Commission to require federal agencies to again institute controversial “antiracist” training that critics say teaches that white people are inherently racist.
Trump signed just 24 executive orders in his first 100 days in office.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Biden

Biden Signs Executive Orders On Food Stamps, Stimulus Checks, Federal Unions, Minimum Wage

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden on Friday signed two more executive orders that covered a range of issues including coronavirus relief, food stamps, federal unions,

https://editorial.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-executive-orders-on-food-stamps-stimulus-checks-federal-unions-minimum-wage/

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/01/GettyImages-1297846493.jpg

Menu

Ashe Schow