Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Hosts: Vince Coglianese and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Rep. Jody Hice, Newt Gingrich, March for Life’s Jeanne Mancini, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, and Cam Edwards joined WMAL on Wednesday!

5am – A/B/C NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY: Bernie Sanders narrowly won New Hampshire’s presidential primary election Tuesday night, edging moderate rival Pete Buttigieg and scoring the first clear victory in the Democratic Party’s 2020 nomination fight. In his win, the 78-year-old Sanders beat back a strong challenger from the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sen. Amy Klobuchar finished a strong third, giving her campaign an unexpected boost, while Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden trailed behind.

5am – D/E     ROGER STONE

• All four Department of Justice prosecutors who argued for a seven-to-nine year sentence for President Trump’s associate Roger Stone have resigned after the DOJ announced it is reducing the government’s recommended sentence. Stone was indicted on charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering. The decision follows President Trump calling DOJ’s proposed sentence “ridiculous.”
• Justice Department to backtrack on request to give Roger Stone up to 9 years in prison. “DOJ was shocked to see the sentencing recommendation…DOJ believes the recommendation is extreme and excessive and is grossly disproportionate to Stone’s offenses.”

6am – A         JUSSIE SMOLLETT INDICTED:

• Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was indicted by a Chicago grand for falsely reporting he was the victim of the 2019 hate crime attack that he allegedly staged. The new legal action comes after the Cook County State’s Attorney Office dropped all charges in the case. A new prosecutor appointed last August says the charges are appropriate and Smollett will return to court on February 24.
• Jussie Smollett indicted on 6 counts for allegedly lying about attack claims, disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about his claims of a racist and homophobic attack against him in January 2019, a special prosecutor announced on Tuesday.

6am – B/C     Virginia House Of Delegates Passes Gun Ban, Seizure Bill. (Daily Caller) – The Virginia House of Delegates passed a package of gun control proposals Tuesday on a near party line vote. The proposal passed the House 51-48 with all Republicans and several Democrats voting against the bill. The legislation includes a ban on the sale of several firearms defined as “assault weapons,” including the popular AR-15. Virginia residents who currently own these types of firearms will not be forced to participate in a mandatory buyback program as had initially been considered by state Democrats. However, the bill gives the state government the authority to confiscate certain types of magazines that are considered “high capacity.” This is the second gun control package approved by the House in recent weeks. The legislature passed legislation late last month that included universal background checks, red flag laws, and a law limiting citizens of the Commonwealth to one firearm purchase a month. Both bills now head to the state senate, where Democrats hold a narrow 21-19 majority. Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has spoken out in support of both bills, and has made gun control a top priority for his remaining two years in office. Gun control initiatives have been met with intense backlash in the Commonwealth, with 91 of the state’s 95 counties having declared themselves sanctuaries for the Second Amendment. A Second Amendment rally in the state’s capital of Richmond drew roughly 22,000 attendees.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – CONGRESSMAN JODY HICE – (R-GA), member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee

• Hoyer promises D.C. statehood vote on House floor ‘before the summer.’ Hours after a divided House committee advanced a D.C. statehood bill Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer promised a floor vote “before the summer,” setting the stage for the measure to be approved by a congressional chamber for the first time in history. A vote would force Democrats and Republicans to go on the record about their views on making the nation’s capital the 51st state before they face reelection in November. The bill has a good chance of passing the House, because Democrats have a solid majority and the cause of statehood has become a darling of Democratic leaders, national civil rights groups and presidential candidates. But it faces almost certain death in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, in part because the GOP does not want the overwhelmingly Democratic city to be able to elect two senators and a voting representative.
• Rep. Jody Hice @CongressmanHice: The District of Columbia is a creation of the Constitution, and THEREFORE would require a constitutional amendment to become a state. My amendment is simple: If Democrats are serious about making DC a state, do it the right way through a constitutional amendment.

6am – E/F      Discussed the Sanctuary State hearing in Maryland.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – NEWT GINGRICH – former Speaker of the House, host of “Newt’s World” podcast and author of new book “Trump Vs. China: Facing America’s Greatest Threat”

• NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY RECAP: Bernie Sanders narrowly won New Hampshire’s presidential primary election Tuesday night, edging moderate rival Pete Buttigieg and scoring the first clear victory in the Democratic Party’s 2020 nomination fight. In his win, the 78-year-old Sanders beat back a strong challenger from the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sen. Amy Klobuchar finished a strong third, giving her campaign an unexpected boost, while Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden trailed behind.

7am – B/C     ROGER STONE

• All four Department of Justice prosecutors who argued for a seven-to-nine year sentence for President Trump’s associate Roger Stone have resigned after the DOJ announced it is reducing the government’s recommended sentence. Stone was indicted on charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering. The decision follows President Trump calling DOJ’s proposed sentence “ridiculous.”
• Justice Department to backtrack on request to give Roger Stone up to 9 years in prison. “DOJ was shocked to see the sentencing recommendation…DOJ believes the recommendation is extreme and excessive and is grossly disproportionate to Stone’s offenses.”

7am – D         INTERVIEW – JEANNE MANCINI – President, March for Life Education and Defense Fund @JeanneMFL marchforlife.org/ — discussed the upcoming Virginia March for Life and the push for abortion in the Virginia legislature

• Virginia March for Life is on Thursday: On Thursday, February 13, thousands of pro-life Virginians will #MarchForLife in Richmond, VA. https://twitter.com/March_for_Life/status/1227327704351100928
• MANCINI: Virginia Is Ground Zero for Abortion Politics in 2020: Will Pro-Abortion Politicians Overreach? https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/12/04/virginia_is_ground_zero_for_abortion_politics_in_2020_will_pro-abortion_politicians_overreach_141885.html
• Abortion Bills in Virginia General Assembly: The Virginia House and Senate have passed bills to repeal a state law requiring that a woman seeking an abortion undergo an ultrasound 24 hours beforehand. The measures would allow health professionals who are not doctors to perform the procedure, adding nurse practitioners in the Senate version, and physician assistants and nurse practitioners in the House bill.

7am – E         ‘I’d Like It To Start Over.’ Ginsburg Says It’s Too Little, Too Late For Equal Rights Amendment. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg urged supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Monday to begin the amendment process anew, rather than reviving a ratification campaign that has been dormant since the 1980s. The justice’s comments, which align with the Trump administration’s views, come amid late-breaking efforts to ratify a constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens regardless of sex. With Virginia’s ratification of the amendment in January, supporters of the renewed ERA push say the requisite number of states have approved the measure. “I would like to see a new beginning,” Ginsburg said during an event at the Georgetown University Law Center. “I’d like it to start over. There’s too much controversy about late-comers.” Litigation on the subject is pending before a federal trial judge in Washington, D.C., and may well reach the Supreme Court, making Ginsburg’s comments Monday night in D.C. most unusual. Congress passed a joint-resolution proposing the ERA in 1972 and gave the states seven years to approve or reject the amendment. Three-quarters of the states, or 38 of the 50, must approve constitutional amendments.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – Frederick County Sheriff CHUCK JENKINS – discussed the Sanctuary State hearing in Annapolis yesterday.

• Three Maryland sheriffs speak out against legislation that would limit ability to work with ICE
• The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Tuesday on a bill to prohibit Maryland law enforcement agencies from asking suspects they arrest about their immigration or citizenship status, and their place of birth. The legislation would also not allow police departments to turn over  these individuals  to federal immigration authorities.
• The two bills detailed below will also stop state and local law enforcement from working with Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in removing wanted criminals from our jails and communities.  Three jurisdictions, Frederick, Cecil and Harford Counties will have to end cooperative 287g programs with ICE.  This includes Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins’ very successful 287g program.
• Here are the two bills discussed on Tuesday:
  • HB0388 – CriminalProcedure – Civil Immigration Enforcement – Restrictions: Prohibiting a certain law enforcement agent from making a certain inquiry about an individual’s immigration status, citizenship status, or place of birth or transferring an individual to federal immigration authorities under certain circumstances; prohibiting, without a warrant, a certain law enforcement agent from transferring or detaining an individual, notifying federal immigration authorities with an individual’s location information, or using law enforcement resources to further civil immigration enforcement; etc.
  • HB0403 – Immigration Enforcement – Public Schools, Hospitals, and Courthouses – Policies: Requiring the Attorney General, in consultation with certain stakeholders, to develop guidelines to assist public schools, hospitals, and courthouses to draft policies that limit civil immigration enforcement activities on their premises in order to ensure these facilities remain safe and accessible to all; and authorizing public schools, hospitals, and courthouses to establish and publish policies that limit immigration enforcement on their premises to the fullest extent possible; etc.

8am – B/C     NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY: Bernie Sanders narrowly won New Hampshire’s presidential primary election Tuesday night, edging moderate rival Pete Buttigieg and scoring the first clear victory in the Democratic Party’s 2020 nomination fight. In his win, the 78-year-old Sanders beat back a strong challenger from the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sen. Amy Klobuchar finished a strong third, giving her campaign an unexpected boost, while Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden trailed behind.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – CAM EDWARDS – gun rights advocate, the former NRATV host and the new editor of the website Bearing Arms

• Virginia House Of Delegates Passes Gun Ban, Seizure Bill