The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (02/02/2024):

3:05pm- Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld writes: “Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D) acknowledged developing a ‘personal relationship’ with the top prosecutor in former President Trump’s Georgia criminal case in a new court filing Friday, but she said it was no reason for her to step aside. Trump co-defendant Michael Roman last month first accused Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade of having romantic ties, claiming it rendered the far-reaching Georgia election interference indictment ‘fatally defective.’” Earlier this week, Willis insisted that she would not step down from the 34-count election crimes case, against Donald Trump despite the obvious conflict of interest and ethics violations. Willis’ office has paid Wade an estimated $650,000. She is also alleged to have gone on numerous, extravagant vacations with Wade. You can read the full report here: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4444803-fani-willis-trump-georgia-prosecutor-relationship/

3:15pm- In a New York Times editorial from last month, Clark D. Cunningham—a law professor at Georgia State University—explains the legal consequences for the improper relationship between lead prosecutor in the Donald Trump Georgia election interference criminal case, Nathan Wade, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Cunningham writes: “Mr. Wade was very involved in both the special grand jury investigation and the current criminal case, despite an absence of obvious qualifications. Although Ms. Willis has defended her decision to hire Mr. Wade, his previous experience as a prosecutor appears to have been largely limited to misdemeanors. The amount paid to Mr. Wade so far is substantial yet Mr. Wade’s billing invoices obtained by Mr. Roman’s lawyer are not well documented and don’t always offer, for example, itemized time worked in increments of less than one day. If Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade are dismissed by Judge McAfee, it will be up to a state agency, the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, to appoint a prosecutor to take over from Ms. Willis. And that’s where things could really go off the rails. Take one precedent: On July 25, 2022, Ms. Willis was disqualified from prosecuting Burt Jones, who was then a state senator, after she hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. Jones’s eventual opponent in the race for lieutenant governor. Eighteen months later, the PACGA still hasn’t appointed a special prosecutor, and Mr. Jones, now lieutenant governor, has not even been indicted. Delay is not even the worst possible outcome for the case if Ms. Willis is disqualified. A special prosecutor could decide to reduce or dismiss charges against some or all of the defendants, including Mr. Trump.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/opinion/fani-willis-trump-georgia.html

3:20pm- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has admitted to having a personal relationship with lead prosecutor in the Donald Trump Georgia election interference criminal case, Nathan Wade—though she denies any wrongdoing. There is a hearing scheduled for February 15th to determine the trial’s next steps.

3:30pm- Today is Groundhog Day! Interestingly, PETA is calling for replacing the groundhog with a simple coin toss to determine whether there will be six more weeks of winter. According to calculations, since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has accurately predicted the winter weather just 39% of the time.

3:45pm- Luis Martinez of ABC News reports: “U.S. military strikes in retaliation for a deadly attack on a U.S. base in Jordan have begun in Syria, a U.S. official confirms.” You can find updates on this developing story here: https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/us-airstrikes-iran-militias/us-military-strikes-have-started-in-syria-official-says-106908576?id=106747137

3:50pm- Actor Carl Weathers passed away at age 76. He’s best known for his role as Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise—and also starred in Predator and Happy Gilmore. Most recently, Weathers received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the Disney/Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

4:05pm- Joe Marino, Georgett Roberts, and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon of The New York Post report: “Four of the migrants cut loose without bail after allegedly ganging up on two NYPD cops near Times Square may be on the run, The Post has learned. Cops believe the group could have hopped on a bus bound for California on Wednesday after giving phony names to a church-affiliated nonprofit group that helps migrants get rides out of the city, according to law enforcement sources. The four accused cop-attackers believed to have skipped town were charged with assault on a police officer and obstruction immediately after the shocking, caught-on-video attack Saturday in Midtown. Darwin Andres Gomez, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24, were released without monetary bail by a Manhattan judge.” You can read the full report here: https://nypost.com/2024/02/01/metro/police-believe-4-of-the-migrants-arrested-in-nyc-cop-beatdown-fled-to-california/

4:10pm- ABC News has retracted its initial report that the U.S. rockets have struck Syria. Their correction reads: “An initial battery of strikes in Syria did not come from the U.S., sources say. U.S. strikes are still anticipated.” You can find updates on this developing story here: https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/us-airstrikes-iran-militias/correction-initial-round-of-strikes-not-from-us-106909953?id=106747137

4:20pm- After a series of retracted reports from other media outlets, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt of The New York Times clarified the United States has, in fact, launched retaliatory attacks against Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria. You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/02/world/us-iran-strikes-middle-east-news/us-strikes-iranian-proxies?smid=url-share

4:30pm- Dr. Victoria Coates— Former Deputy National Security Advisor & the Vice President of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the U.S. launching retaliatory strikes against Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria. Last week, three Army reservists were killed—and 34 service members were injured—in a drone strike at Tower 22, a U.S. military base in northeast Jordan. According to reports, Iranian-backed terrorists responsible for the attack evacuated their bases after the Biden Administration signaled that retaliatory strikes were imminent. Will Biden’s military response amount to anything more than posturing? Could this lead to a larger conflict in the Middle East? Dr. Coates is the author of “David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Davids-Sling-History-Democracy-Works/dp/1594037213

5:05pm- Dr. Wilfred Reilly—Professor of Political Science at Kentucky State University & Author of “Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his latest piece at National Review, “The Intersectionality Canard.” Dr. Reilly writes: “’Intersectionality’ is just a badly done ‘woke’ version of regression analysis…The idea that multiple independent variables can influence a dependent variable like income is not exactly a new one. And, the actual range of potential ‘IVs’ that can do so extends well beyond race and sex to include: age, the regions where people and groups live, test and IQ scores, patterns of study time, crime rates, desire to work at all (in the context of men vs. women), and so on down the line.” You can find the full editorial here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/01/the-intersectionality-canard/. And you can pre-order Dr. Reilly’s upcoming book here: https://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Liberal-Teacher-Told/dp/0063265974.

5:40pm- While appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced that he has sent Florida’s National Guard to Texas as part of an effort to help secure the U.S. Southern border.

5:45pm- Has your own gross negligence led to a razor wire injury? Well, Rich Zeoli and Mike Opelka have an exciting new (and fake) law firm that may be able to help you win money you don’t deserve: Moron & Moron Law! AND now they have numerous client testimonials!

5:50pm- Larry David punched Elmo during an appearance on NBC’s Today!

6:05pm- Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt of The New York Times report: “The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iranian forces and the militias that they back in half a dozen sites in Syria and Iraq, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid. The airstrikes, targeting command and control operations, intelligence centers, weapons facilities and bunkers used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force and affiliated militia groups, made good on President Biden’s promise to respond to a drone attack in Jordan on Sunday that killed three American soldiers and injured at least 40 more service members.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/02/world/us-iran-strikes-middle-east-news/us-strikes-iranian-proxies?smid=url-share

6:15pm- Trial for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump has been delayed indefinitely as a federal appeals court considers Trump’s claim of presidential immunity. The trial date had originally been set for March 4th.

6:25pm- Joe Marino, Georgett Roberts, and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon of The New York Post report: “Four of the migrants cut loose without bail after allegedly ganging up on two NYPD cops near Times Square may be on the run, The Post has learned. Cops believe the group could have hopped on a bus bound for California on Wednesday after giving phony names to a church-affiliated nonprofit group that helps migrants get rides out of the city, according to law enforcement sources. The four accused cop-attackers believed to have skipped town were charged with assault on a police officer and obstruction immediately after the shocking, caught-on-video attack Saturday in Midtown. Darwin Andres Gomez, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24, were released without monetary bail by a Manhattan judge.” You can read the full report here: https://nypost.com/2024/02/01/metro/police-believe-4-of-the-migrants-arrested-in-nyc-cop-beatdown-fled-to-california/

6:45pm- Following the United States’ retaliatory strikes against Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said “these responses began tonight, but they’re not going to end tonight.”