It’s Tuesday, November 30th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:
1) New Details Emerge On Waukesha Attack
The Topline: More details have emerged from the Christmas parade attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which resulted in at least six deaths and dozens of injuries.
Quote Of The Day: “Is there going to be an individual I divert, or I put into a treatment program, who’s going to go out and kill somebody? You bet. Guaranteed. It’s guaranteed to happen. It does not invalidate the overall approach.”
– Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, 2007 interview
Jim Vondruska/Stringer/Getty Images
The Suspect
Critics note the suspect had a long rap sheet of felonies, including assault, drug possession, and statutory rape, and was recently charged with running over a woman in a domestic dispute. They say he was only walking free because of Wisconsin’s soft-on-crime policies.
The suspect reportedly promoted violent and racist, anti-white content, which has also prompted speculation about motive.
Policies
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm has faced scrutiny for his decision to push for an abnormally low bail for the suspect following those crimes. In his most recent crime where he ran the woman over, he was let off on $1,000 bail only to wreak havoc on the Christmas parade three weeks later.
Chisholm admitted the bail recommendation was “inappropriately low” considering the risk factors and charges the suspect was facing at the time. However, one of the pillars of his philosophy is recommending less than the usual bail amount for various criminal activity in the name of social justice.
In 2013, Chisholm’s office allowed a convicted drug dealer to walk free under a “deferred prosecution agreement.” After being released, the man went on to inject a fatal amount of heroin into a young woman. Chisholm’s office offered hundreds of such deals, including to people charged with offenses such as felony assault against police officers and felony child abuse.
The Media
Most major news outlets rightly referred to the Charlottesville attack as an “attack.” This time, however, many of those same media sources, like the Associated Press and The Washington Post, have repeatedly referred to this more deadly attack as a “crash” and suggested the culprit was an “SUV.”
The discrepancy has sparked blowback from people on both sides of the aisle. On November 24th, liberal actress Debra Messing tweeted, “Dear Mainstream Media—a man intentionally drove his car through a parade killing 6 and injuring 50+. It was not an ACCIDENT…it was a domestic terror attack…Don’t minimize. Please.”
Chris Ison – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
2) Opening Arguments Begin In Ghislaine Maxwell Trial
The Topline: The sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator, kicked off Monday with opening arguments.
The Prosecution
The prosecution and defense made their opening statements, each offering a different version of Maxwell and her role in Epstein’s world. The prosecution painted a picture of an adult man and a woman who were “partners in crime” and had a “playbook” to target minors and sexually abuse them.
Prosecutor Lara Pomerantz highlighted that one of Maxwell’s accusers was just 14 years old when she met Epstein and Maxwell. Maxwell would allegedly lure young girls using the “ruse” of giving Epstein a massage, but she knew “exactly what was going to happen,” the prosecutors said. They also claim Maxwell herself even participated personally in some of the abuse.
The prosecution also accused Maxwell of serving up the girls to Epstein in order to sustain the lavish lifestyle Epstein provided for her. Epstein and Maxwell allegedly paid the minor girls hundreds of dollars in cash, and Maxwell even mailed lingerie to a 15-year-old victim at one point. Overall, prosecutors said Maxwell portrayed herself to the girls as someone they could trust. Meanwhile, she was allegedly grooming them for the “heinous crimes.”
The Defense
Defense Attorney Bobbi Sternheim opened by saying that women have been blamed for things more than men ever since Adam and Eve.
The defense’s main point was Epstein is not on trial, Maxwell is, and she did not commit Epstein’s crimes.
The defense accused Maxwell’s alleged victims of making her the “scapegoat.” The defense also said this trial is about “memory, manipulation, and money” and said Maxwell’s accusers have contaminated and possibly false memories of their abuse. Finally, the defense accused all the women accusing Maxwell of going after her so that they could make money.
Ghislaine Maxwell
Daily Wire Investigative Reporter Mairead Elordi told Morning Wire that Maxwell seemed relaxed. She had on a cream-colored sweater and frequently chatted with her defense team. Maxwell even clasped her hands together cheerfully a few times as she spoke with one of her attorneys just before opening statements. She took notes at the beginning, but while the prosecution gave its opening statement, she sat very still and turned toward the jury. At one point, she sank in her chair as she sat alone for a few minutes while her lawyers spoke with the judge.
The trial is expected to last six weeks.
Alex Wong/Staff/Getty Images
3) Build Back Better Agenda Items Raise Questions
The Topline: President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan, which includes billions in funds for progressive priorities, passed the House and is under consideration in the Senate.
‘Civilian Climate Corps’
The Civilian Climate Corps was initially introduced by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY). It is essentially a re-creation of FDR’s New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps, but reimagined to address current climate change priorities such as reforestation and installing solar panels in urban areas. The White House has proposed between $10 and $30 billion to create the “climate corps,” which would involve hiring some 300,000 young people and paying them $15 an hour along with benefits and a potential education stipend.
Reactions
Many economists worry that another massive spending bill would increase inflation even further, meaning a $15 an hour wage might not be attractive to workers, especially given the challenging nature of the work they would be doing.
Arkansas Congressman Bruce Westerman, a top Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, commented his father worked for FDR’s conservation corps and said it was backbreaking work. He believes it was a “false idea” to think the climate corps would realistically help with land management.
The Wall Street Journal described the program as essentially using taxpayer funds to hire America’s children to lecture their families.
IRS
The White House complained in its Build Back Better framework that the IRS isn’t auditing enough wealthy taxpayers, and proposed hiring more enforcement agents specifically to “pursue wealthy evaders.”
This plan reportedly includes $80 billion to hire 87,000 more IRS agents to increase taxpayer audits. President Biden has claimed the new enforcement resources would only be deployed to target families earning over $400,000 per year. However, according to reports, nearly half of the estimated 1.2 million new audits would impact families earning less than $75,000 a year.
The plan also claims it will “strengthen the middle class through a historic investment in equity, safety, and fairness,” which some people would like further clarification. The White House also said in its framework it would focus on rural communities, but it does not include many details on that.
Looking Ahead: Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has stated his opposition to the cost and some of its policies, including one that would include a $7,500 tax credit for people who purchase an electric vehicle. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona (D) has also suggested she would vote against the bill. If Senators Manchin and Synema and all Republicans object to the Build Back Better plan, it will fail.
Joe Raedle/Staff/Getty Images
Other Stories We’re Tracking
Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, has stepped down as CEO of the company, citing a desire to allow the company to “break free from its founding and founders.” In an open letter, Dorsey announced plans to remain on Twitter’s board of directors until next year. Chief technology officer Parag Agrawal has been named the company’s new CEO and will begin immediately.
Kyle Rittenhouse
Several leftwing student organizations at Arizona State University have released a joint statement demanding the administration “withdraw” Kyle Rittenhouse from the university, where he is a student online, calling Rittenhouse a “violent bloodthirsty murderer.” The Arizona State University Students for Socialism, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, and MECHA de ASU claim they do not feel “safe” with Rittenhouse admitted to the school despite a jury finding the teen not guilty of all charges.
Matthew McConaughey
Actor Matthew McConaughey will not be entering the race for governor of Texas, saying on Sunday that “political leadership” is a “path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.” There was heavy speculation that McConaughey might run and some recent polling showing he could win against Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Democratic hopeful Beto O’Rourke.
Enes Kanter
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom upon becoming a U.S. citizen on Monday. Kanter, a Turkish national, has been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party, resulting in widespread bans of Celtics games on streaming platforms in China. In addition, Kanter has spoken out in support of Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and called for the Olympics to abandon plans to hold events in Beijing.