Trump’s Sweeping Pardons & ICE Teams Deployed | 1.22.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary: Trump’s Sweeping Pardons & ICE Teams Deployed | January 22, 2025

Hosted by John Bickley and Georgia Howe of The Daily Wire, the "Morning Wire" podcast episode released on January 22, 2025, delves into President Donald Trump's inaugural actions, focusing primarily on his extensive pardon of January 6th (J6) defendants and the aggressive deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) teams. The episode provides a comprehensive analysis of these initiatives, their implications, and the reactions they have sparked across the political spectrum.

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1. President Trump's Sweeping Pardons of J6 Defendants

Overview of the Pardon Initiative

The episode opens with a significant update: President Trump has issued sweeping pardons to hundreds of individuals convicted in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot. This move fulfills a key campaign promise and marks a pivotal moment in Trump's administration.

• John Bickley [00:03]: “Hundreds of J6 defendants are liberated following sweeping pardons from President Trump.”
• Brandon [00:08]: “Four years of fighting, four years of struggling, and I'm finally free.”

Details and Specific Cases

Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo provides an in-depth discussion on the nature of these pardons and the individuals affected.

• Tim Pierce [02:00]: The executive order grants full pardons to nearly all convicted J6 participants, excluding 14 individuals who received commutations. These commutations reduce their sentences but leave their convictions intact. Notably, figures like Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, were pardoned despite controversies surrounding their convictions.

Reactions and Implications

The pardons have elicited mixed reactions, highlighting deep political divisions.

• Utah Senator Mike Lee [03:25]: “The reality is that January 6th defendants could not receive a fair trial in the District of Columbia... this justifies the pardons.”
• Robert Shipley, Attorney for J6 Defendants: Defended Trump's decision, attributing the plight of the defendants to the previous Biden administration’s handling of the cases.

Delayed Releases and Legal Concerns

Despite the pardons, there have been logistical delays in releasing the pardoned individuals from custody, prompting scrutiny and outrage from political figures like Senator Mike Lee.

• Mike Lee [03:25]: Expressed outrage over the delays and is actively working to verify and resolve the situation.

Future Pardons and Ongoing Support

Trump has signaled that further pardons are imminent, with specific mentions of individuals like Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road, and hopes for pardons of pro-life activists facing controversial federal charges.

• Tim Pierce [05:47]: “Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht... pro-life activists are expecting pardons very soon.”

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2. Aggressive Deportation Operations Initiated by ICE

Deployment and Objectives

The administration has launched a robust deportation campaign, deploying ICE teams with heightened authority to arrest illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal records.

• Georgia Howe [00:40]: “We have over 700,000 illegal aliens with criminal records walking the streets of this country. That's what we're looking for right now.”
• Tom Homan [07:36]: Emphasized prioritizing public safety threats and outlined the operational focus areas, including reevaluation of plans in cities like Chicago to address safety concerns.

Domestic Actions and International Pressure

Efforts extend beyond domestic enforcement, with Trump pressuring neighboring countries to secure their borders against illegal immigration.

• Caroline Levitt [08:07]: Discussed Trump's threats to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada if they fail to tighten their borders.
• Tim Pierce [08:37]: Highlighted the executive order designating Mexican drug cartels as national security threats, with potential escalation to terror group status.

Legal Challenges and Public Opposition

Trump’s immigration policies have sparked legal battles and public dissent, particularly from religious and community leaders advocating for compassion towards immigrants.

• Marianne Edgar Budd [09:31]: “I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.”
• Caroline Levitt [10:12]: Addressed the bishop’s concerns, reiterating the administration's commitment to deporting all illegal aliens, emphasizing a lack of compromise on the policy.

Operational Challenges and Adjustments

The administration is grappling with operational challenges, such as managing expectations and addressing leaks about plans in cities like Chicago, which could potentially hinder their overarching goals.

• Georgia Howe [10:26]: Reiterated the administration's focus on enforcing immigration laws diligently and without delay.

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3. Broader Administration Initiatives and Cabinet Appointments

Cabinet Confirmations and Staffing

Trump has rapidly moved to fill key positions within his administration, ensuring alignment with his policy agenda.

• Tim Rice [11:13]: Highlighted the unanimous Senate confirmation of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, who has already signaled opposition to mass migration, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and censorship.
• Other Appointments: Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary and John Ratcliffe as CIA Director have also been confirmed, with only a few more hearings pending.

Executive Orders and Federal Workforce Reforms

The administration is undertaking significant reforms to reshape the federal workforce and eliminate what it terms the "deep state."

• Tim Rice [12:15]: Explained two executive orders aimed at purging DEI initiatives and mandating merit-based hiring, reducing the influence of a liberal-leaning federal bureaucracy.
• Impact: These measures are intended to diversify the skills pool in federal hiring, emphasizing practical abilities over formal education credentials.

Infrastructure and Technological Investments

A major announcement during the press conference underscored Trump's commitment to technological advancement and job creation.

• Tim Rice [13:37]: Detailed the formation of "Stargate," a collaboration with tech giants like Oracle's Larry Ellison and OpenAI's Sam Altman. This initiative pledges a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure, aiming to create over 100,000 American jobs and bolster national security.
• Tom Homan [14:10]: Emphasized that keeping technological advancements within the U.S. is crucial to counter competitors like China, ensuring technological sovereignty and security.

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4. Public and Political Reactions

Support and Criticism

Trump's aggressive policies have garnered both staunch support from his base and intense criticism from opponents.

• Supporters: Praise the swift fulfillment of campaign promises, such as pardoning J6 defendants and implementing strict immigration controls.
• Critics: Argue that these actions undermine justice and promote xenophobia, as evidenced by legal challenges and moral opposition from community leaders.

Impact on Public Trust and Media Relations

The administration’s actions are reshaping public perceptions of trust in media and governance, with The Daily Wire positioning itself as a reliable alternative amid widespread media distrust.

• Georgia Howe [System Description]: Emphasizes the show’s role in providing factual news amidst “endless virtue signaling and manufactured outrage” in mainstream media.

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Conclusion

The January 22, 2025 episode of "Morning Wire" provides a thorough examination of President Trump's initial actions in office, highlighting his commitment to fulfilling campaign promises through decisive actions such as pardoning J6 defendants and enforcing stringent immigration policies. The episode underscores the administration's broader agenda to reform the federal workforce, invest in technological infrastructure, and challenge deep-seated institutional norms. Through detailed discussions, notable quotes, and expert analysis, the podcast paints a comprehensive picture of the transformative and often contentious first days of Trump's presidency.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

Hundreds of J6 defendants are liberated following sweeping pardons from President Trump.

[Brandon]

Four years of fighting, four years of.

[Georgia Howe]

Struggling, and I'm finally free.

[Brandon]

I don't even have the words to thank President Trump.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

We discuss how the president has handled the cases and who else may be poised for a pardon.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Editor in chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, January 22nd, and this is Morning Wire. Trump's deportation operation has begun with his new border czar announcing ICE teams are out and empowered to go make arrests.

[Georgia Howe]

We have over 700,000 illegal aliens with criminal records walking the streets of this country. That's what we're looking for right now.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

And the newly sworn in president is launching a slew of other initiatives from investments in AI to taking on the deep state.

[John Bickley]

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

[Brandon]

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[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

During his first two days in office, President Trump issued a host of pardons, including to nearly all January 6th defendants.

[John Bickley]

Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo. Hey Amanda. So we noted yesterday that Trump signed a Sweeping Pardon to J6 defendants. He's fulfilling a key campaign prom in a really expansive way. What exactly did the order say?

[Tim Pierce]

Right. So the order grants full pardons for every person convicted in relation to J6 with the exception of just 14 commutations. Those individuals had their sentences commuted but their convictions still stand as of right now. Trump said he would look further into those cases and said potential pardons could be forthcoming. Additionally, the hundreds of cases still pending indictments, those will be dismissed with prejudice. The that means they can never be tried again for those charges. Trump was questioned about the order in the Oval Office on Monday. Here's what he said about the protesters that were actually violent being pardoned.

[Tom Homan]

Well, I will say this, they've been in jail for a long time already. I see murderers in this country get two years, one year, and maybe no time. So they've already been in jail for a long time. These people have been destroyed. What they've done to these people is outrageous.

[Tim Pierce]

Everyone who was given a full pardon was supposed to be released right away. However, there were reports of delays at a D.C. jail. Utah Senator Mike Lee expressed outrage over those delays, and he said he was working to verify what was going on. Morning Wire reached out to William Shipley, an attorney representing dozens of J6 defendants, including the so called QAnon Shaman, and he said that all the prisoners should now have been released. We also asked Shipley about the complaint that Trump has pardoned some defendants who were engaged in some violence. He defended Trump's decision, and he said that the blame for the demise of these cases falls on the Biden Justice Department.

[Mike Lee]

The reality is that January 6th defendants could not receive a fair trial in the District of Columbia. Given the juror pool, the fact that the government never moved off of that position, which is reflected by the fact that so many defendants opted for bench trials to avoid the D.C. jurors, I mean, that speaks volumes. That very fact that January 6th defendants could not get their 5th and 6th amendment rights to a fair trial in the District of Columbia justifies the pardons. The Biden Justice Department has themselves to blame for that fact.

[Tim Pierce]

For those who were released, we're starting to get footage of those initial moments of freedom. Here's some audio of what appears to be eight J6 defendants leaving prison.

[John Bickley]

They're out.

[Caroline Levitt]

Promises made, promises kept.

[Tim Pierce]

Let's go, brothers.

[John Bickley]

Clearly a lot of gratitude for these pardons. And what do we know about the commutations?

[Tim Pierce]

Well, the executive order did name the 14 individuals who were given commutations, and that includes three Proud Boys who were controversially convicted of the very rare and very serious charge of seditious conspiracy. Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rell. Those three who were not charged with any violence were handed down sentences of at least 15 years, all now commuted. Proud Boy member Dominic Pozzola was also on that list. He was convicted of stealing a police officer's riot shield and breaking a window. His sentence was initially 10 years, but again, that's now commuted. And probably the most politicized case in all of this is that of Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys. Tarrio was notably not in D.C. on January 6th, but he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years behind bars. During his prosecution, the government relied heavily on mostly private messages. For example, Tarrio was tied to a document outlining a capital takeover that was sent to him on Telegram called 1776 RETURNS. Tarrio did not directly respond to that sent document and he claims he never saw it, let alone even opened it. Tarrio was granted a full pardon and has been released from prison.

[John Bickley]

Okay, now switching gears a bit. Trump has signaled that more pardons are coming down the pike. What's the status with some of those other cases?

[Tim Pierce]

Well, on Tuesday night, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of dark website the Silk Road. Trump promised that pardon to libertarians and delivered. Additionally, pro life activists are hoping Trump will pardon the nearly two dozen people convicted of controversial face act violations. We've covered a lot of those cases here. No pardons yet, but activists are expecting those very soon.

[John Bickley]

We certainly not shying away from showing clemency and we'll give updates on those cases when there's new developments. Amanda, thanks for reporting.

[Tim Pierce]

You're welcome.

[Brandon]

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[John Bickley]

Trump's deportation operations are already underway across the country. That's according to Tom Homan, Trump's advisor on immigration.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss. So, Tim, how has Immigration and border enforcement changed in the past 48 hours.

[Caroline Levitt]

In a few ways, both on the southern border and as regards aliens who are in the country illegally. Law enforcement in El Paso, one of the hotspots for immigration over the past four years, has blocked off entry to the United States. Migrants who arrived at entry points on Monday for appointments scheduled through the CBP1 app were blocked and the app itself was shut down. Meanwhile, according to Tom Homan, plans to deport illegal aliens from the US Are already being enacted. Here's Homan on Fox News.

[Georgia Howe]

We gave them the direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for that we've been working up the target list. There was some discussion about Chicago because the Pacific operational plan was so we had to look at and reevaluate. Does this raise off their safety concerns and it does, but we've addressed that and team draw the perspective today.

[Caroline Levitt]

There was some concern over plans regarding operations in Chicago being leaked. But as you heard in the clip, those concerns are being addressed and they didn't affect plans already in place elsewhere.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

Now, what about international efforts? Trump had talked extensively about pressuring Mexico and Canada to tighten their borders.

[Caroline Levitt]

Well, he's already threatened to tariff Mexico and Canada if their borders aren't secured. And on Monday, he signed an executive order that designated Mexican drug cartels as threats to US national security. And he said he would go further and label them terror groups as well. As for what that means, practically, Trump hasn't ruled anything out. Here he is answering a question from Fox News. Peter Doocy on Monday night, President Trump.

[John Bickley]

If the cartels are now going to.

[Brandon]

Be seen as foreign terror organizations, would you think about ordering U.S. special Forces.

[Tim Rice]

Into Mexico to take him out?

[Tom Homan]

Could happen. Stranger things have happened now.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

What's the response been so far?

[Caroline Levitt]

Well, the legal challenges are already being filed. One of the most controversial of Trump's actions on immigration so far is an order ending what's known as birthright citizenship. That's a debated interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to deal with the question of citizenship for escape and emancipated slaves. On Tuesday, 22 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration to block the order. In general, Trump's approach to immigration has really struck a nerve on the left. At the National Prayer Service on Tuesday, the Episcopal Bishop of D.C. reverend Marianne Edgar Budd, lectured Trump and Vice President Vance on having compassion for immigrants. Here's what that sounded like.

[Marianne Edgar Budd]

There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be.

[Caroline Levitt]

Taken away after the service. Trump didn't seem to be swayed by what the bishop said. Homan was on CNN yesterday as well, and he said that while aliens who are threats to public safety will be prioritized, any alien in the country illegally will be deported.

[Georgia Howe]

What I'm telling you is when we go find that priority tiger, which is a criminal alien, if he's with others in the United States illegally. We're going to take enforcement action against him. We're going to enforce the immigration law.

[Caroline Levitt]

The Trump administration doesn't appear to be wasting a moment here on his immigration promise.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

Well, he campaigned on a hardline approach and that's what we're getting. Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Caroline Levitt]

Good to be on.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

Freeing the January 6th prisoners and securing the southern border were two of Trump's main campaign pledges. But they're not the only things his administration is working on.

[John Bickley]

Here with a look at how Trump is swiftly enacting his transformative agenda, as Daily Wire deputy Managing editor Tim Rice say. Tim so Trump's wasting no time getting to work here. We Talked about the J6 defendants and the border. What else is he focusing on?

[Tim Rice]

Oh, man, John it's hard to know where to begin. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of State on Monday. Rubio hit the ground running yesterday, sending out an agency wide memo making clear his opposition to mass migration, DEI and censorship. Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, and John Ratcliffe, the presumptive CIA director, both had their nominations sail through committee. There are just a handful more hearings scheduled for this week, so Trump could have a mostly full Cabinet up and running in the next few days. And then, of course, there's the flurry of executive orders Trump began signing on Inauguration Day and has kept signing since. He directed the presidential personnel office to fire thousands of Biden appointees who do not support his Make America Great Again agenda. Trump actually fired four officials in a post on Truth Social, including the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, who Trump pulled off the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.

[John Bickley]

Very Trumpian move there. Seems like Trump is really focusing on personnel this time around. What else is he preparing on that front?

[Tim Rice]

He signed two complimentary executive orders that could really go a long way in reforming the federal workforce. One will purge all DEI initiatives from the federal government and the other will instruct federal hiring managers to judge applicants based on merit, not race or gender. But that order actually goes a little further, instructing government agencies to hire people who have the real skills to do a job, not necessarily a college degree or certification. Trump sort of picking up where he left off here because this was one of the major policy pushes his administration was working on at the end of his first term. So this could make it easier to draw on a very different pool of candidates for federal jobs, a pool that will probably be less college educated and less liberal leaning, and that could go a long way in reducing the influence of the permanent federal bureaucracy, what Trump and others call the deep state.

[Georgia Howe]

Right.

[John Bickley]

So not just threatening to drain the swamp, but really seeming to do it this time. Now, we've obviously heard a lot from the President over the past few days. He addressed the nation again from the White House yesterday afternoon. What did he have to say at that press conference?

[Tim Rice]

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt had teased that Trump would make a pretty major infrastructure announcement during the press conference. And in a way he did, but not in the way that you might think. Flanked by Oracle executive Larry Ellison, OpenAI's Sam Altman and more, Trump announced the largest AI infrastructure project in history.

[Tom Homan]

Together, these world leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate. So put that name down in your books because I think you're going to hear a lot about it in the future. A new American company that will invest $500 billion, at least in AI infrastructure in the United States and moving very rapidly, creating over 100,000American jobs almost immediately. This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential under a new president.

[Tim Rice]

Trump said that the new venture was important not just because it will create jobs, but because it will bolster America's national security.

[Tom Homan]

It'll ensure the future of technology. What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country. China is a competitor and others are competitors. We want it to be in this country and we're making it available.

[John Bickley]

Guess we'll have to get used to this. Washington running on warp speed. Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Tim Rice]

Anytime.

[Amanda Presta Giacomo]

Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news. You need to know.