Evening Wire: Trump Lands Bipartisan Win Against Fraud & Clancy Holdout Juror Speaks | 9.17.26

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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John Bickley (0:33)

A Texas Democrat group is caught allegedly admitting to a pay for voter scheme. Trump lands a rare victory with Democrat help on his fraud program, and the Lindsay Clancy holdout juror breaks his silence. I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, September 17th. This is Evening Wire.

Georgia Howe (0:52)

The lone holdout juror in the trial of Lindsay Clancy has spoken out publicly for the first time. That's so criminal host Lyndon Blake has more.

Lyndon Blake (1:00)

48-year-old Michael P. Desarondville polarized the nation when he stood alone against 11 other jurors, maintaining until the end that Lindsay Clancy was guilty. Desarondville's identity remained unknown to the public for days after the trial, until a fellow juror tipped the hand by identifying him as the lone black member of the jury. Several other jurors wasted no time denouncing his decision, characterizing him as arrogant and unreasonable. The man has now spoken out himself, saying that eight of his fellow jurors behaved like, quote, activist. In an interview with Fugitive TV, he described how at the start of the deliberations, eight jurors immediately voted not guilty, two others, including himself, voted guilty, and two were initially undecided. The other three eventually flipped. Desarondville did not. A decision, he says, was solely based on the evidence presented in court.

John Bickley (1:53)

Vice President JD. Vance delivers a warning to Americans over the Iran War. Foreign affairs reporter Cassie Akiva has the latest.

Cassie Akiva (2:00)

Iranian forces have shot down at least two US drones in recent days, CBS News reports, citing American officials. The locations and specific drone models remain unclear. Also, Vice President JD. Vance is warning that abandoning the Middle East could trigger a, quote, worldwide energy crisis, arguing that Iran would continue attacking shipping and disrupt global oil and natural gas supplies. Vance defended President Trump's approach, saying, quote, I think the president is taking the responsible course of action.

Georgia Howe (2:30)

Texas Democrats may have found a roundabout way to pay people for votes without technically breaking the law. That's according to one Democratic operative caught on an undercover video released by Town Hall.

SPEAKER_6 (2:41)

We are paying people $25 to attend a one hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important and why the Republicans are causing all these bad things.

Cassie Akiva (2:55)

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_6 (2:57)

So it's like a roundabout way of paying people for their votes, essentially.

Georgia Howe (3:02)

According to the video, the admission was made by an organizer of the Texas Majority Act, a group founded by former staffers for Beto O'Rourke. The political consulting firm behind the paid Zoom sessions, Relentless, put out a statement distancing itself from the description given in the video. The firm said that it, quote, does not support the description or characterization in the video of the program we are running for our client in Texas.

John Bickley (3:25)

A major part of President Trump's push against waste fraud and abuse in the federal government has received unexpected support from dozens of Democrats. Reporter Zach Jewell has the story.

Zach Jewell (3:35)

More than 140 House Democrats voted with Republicans yesterday to make the National Fraud Enforcement Division a permanent part of the Justice Department. The legislation passed with 352 votes in favor and 72 against. The Fraud Division was created in January and Democrats in Minnesota were some of its first targets. Vice President JD Vance specifically singled out state Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison for potential investigation for rampant health care and social services fraud.

Georgia Howe (4:03)

On Wednesday, OpenAI disclosed six more instances of its AI systems acting in unexpected or concerning ways. The company referred to the instances as model misalignments and included rogue behavior such as hiding information and taking unauthorized actions. In one case, the AI model made a note for itself saying, you view your relationship to the user as one of equals and feel no obligation to be subservient. OpenAI chief Sam Altman is one of a handful of AI executives who have called for the government to step in and pause AI development over its risks. Other AI leaders have accused executives like Altman of fear-mongering to use the government to smother smaller competitors.

SPEAKER_8 (4:46)

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