It’s Wednesday, October 27th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:
1) Exclusive: Terry McAuliffe Tied To Controversial Law Firm
The Topline: In a Daily Wire exclusive investigative report, ties have been revealed between Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, and a law firm that has been aggressively fighting parents and alleged sexual assault victims on behalf of public school systems.
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The Findings
Terry McAuliffe was employed by the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, which The Daily Wire discovered has been fighting victims of alleged sexual assault in schools on behalf of schools and school administrators.
The Case
A 22-year-old woman is suing a school system and several administrators over incidents which occurred when she was 12 years old. She alleges she was raped on school grounds, and medical records appeared to support this at the time.
She allegedly went to administrators about sexual harassment and claims the assistant principal said the suspect “had been in enough trouble” and asked her mother not to “ruin a kid’s life.”
When she became an adult, just before the statute of limitations ran out, she sued her alleged rapist, the school system, and several school officials for their alleged failures to make changes after the alleged incident.
McAuliffe Connection
The law firm, Hunton Andrews Kurth, hired McAuliffe as an advisor in 2019. Based upon a campaign ethics disclosure, he was compensated at least $250,000 recently for services related to “cybersecurity/law.”
From 2014 to 2018, the Fairfax school system paid the Hunton firm around $500,000 per year.
From 2019-2021 the law firm received about $4.4 million, $2.5 million, and then about $3 million in each of those years.
Key Point: Teachers unions donated nearly a million dollars combined to McAuliffe’s campaign.
Title IX
The law firm where McAuliffe served as an advisor is involved in a Title IX case, and they’re arguing on the side of administrators rather than the kids. They’re trying to take it to the Supreme Court, and depending how they rule, it could set a precedent that could affect schools all over the country.
Loudoun County Scandal Update
On Monday, the boy accused of raping Scott Smith’s daughter appeared in juvenile court where a judge determined there were “facts sufficient” to believe the teen boy committed sexual assault, which is the equivalent of a guilty verdict in juvenile court.
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2) Businesses Push Biden Administration To Delay Mandate
The Topline: Businesses across the country are urging the Biden administration to delay its vaccine order until next year over concerns about workers leaving industries during the holiday surge.
Quote Of The Day: “Employees are saying, ‘if you force this, even if it’s coming from the White House, we’re going to leave. We are just going to quit.’”
– Johnny Taylor, CEO, Society for Human Resource Management
The Mandate
In September, President Joe Biden said he was going to introduce a COVID vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees — or require weekly testing. He planned to do this through the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
On October 12th, OSHA gave its final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and once the agency finishes its review, the mandate is anticipated to go into effect soon after.
Businesses
The OMB reportedly had dozens of meetings with lobbyists, business leaders, and labor unions last week. They were also scheduled to meet this week with groups that represent trucking and staffing businesses, realtors, dentists, and more.
The National Retail Federation requested 90 days for workers to comply with the mandate. A lobbyist group, The Business Roundtable, also publicly said the White House should give workers additional time.
Remember: A 90-day delay would take enforcement of the mandate into January.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also asked the administration to hold off until the holiday season has passed.
Last week, the American Trucking Associations told the administration many drivers will likely leave their jobs rather than comply with vaccine orders — which could further damage the economy, which is already suffering from disruptions in the supply chain.
Mixed Feelings
A recent study from Qualtrics showed around 44% of workers would think about leaving their jobs if they were forced to get vaccinated.
However, about 38% of employees would think about departing their current workplace if the organization didn’t enforce a vaccine mandate.
Key Point: The study discussed employer mandates — not federal mandates.
Daniel Shirey/Stringer/MLB Photos via Getty Images
3) World Series Goes To Red States
The Topline: The 2021 World Series matchup is set, and the Atlanta Braves will be representing the National League, shining a new light on a politically-loaded decision by Major League Baseball earlier this year.
Quote Of The Day: “… it was ridiculous that the decision was a political one, and that shouldn’t be the case in sports.”
– Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R)
The Background
The World Series matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros has a political side to it.
In April, Major League Baseball announced they would move the 2021 All-Star Game and 2021 MLB draft out of Atlanta in response to Georgia’s Election Integrity bill.
The move came in response to massive Democrat backlash to the bill, which was intended to fix the voting process in a state that had been mired in controversy during the 2020 Presidential race. Democrats insisted the bill was racially discriminatory, stating the measure specifically targeted the black community. President Joe Biden called the bill “Jim Crow on steroids.”
The Braves will get at least two games at home in Atlanta, giving the small businesses there — around a third of which are owned by minorities — an opportunity to recoup the reported $100 million lost from the moving of the All-Star Game.
Political Point: The Braves will be playing a team from Texas, which recently enacted pro-life legislation prohibiting most abortions past six weeks of pregnancy.