Last month, Marvin Lee Mutch, a convicted child murderer who was charged with drowning 13-year-old Cassie Riley in 1974, was arrested for possessing child sex abuse material, an illegally owned firearm, ammunition, and a controlled substance. After 40 years in San Quentin Prison, Mutch was released in 2016, thanks to the efforts of an organization called the Innocence Project. This isn’t the first time the group has argued for the release of a criminal who has gone on to harm new victims. Consider Robert Roberson, a Texas death row inmate whose 2024 case flooded headlines. Described by the Innocence Project as a “child-like” autistic father, Roberson gained the sympathies of many prominent figures on both sides of the political aisle. Days before Roberson’s set execution date of October 17, 2024, CNN’s Jake Tapper conducted a sympathetic interview with the detective who worked on Roberson’s case, who called for Roberson to be spared the death penalty. Dr. Phil, RFK Jr., and Bret Weinstein, conservative allies whom I believe to be well meaning, also defended Roberson and called for a stay of his execution. The Innocence Project led the charge on Roberson’s behalf, persuading the public and Texas lawmakers that a grieving, autistic father had been wrongly blamed for the 2002 murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki. The group claimed Roberson’s conviction was based on “debunked” Shaken Baby Syndrome and an accidental bed fall. Who can blame one for rushing to Roberson’s defense when presented with this story? It tugs on the heartstrings and demands justice. However, to maintain this narrative that captivated so many well-meaning people, the Innocence Project left out the damning details that actually led to Roberson’s conviction. Nikki, just 2 years old, died in Roberson’s care. According to the testimonies delivered during Roberson’s trial, Nikki’s injuries were consistent with brutal abuse. ER Nurse Andrea Sims testified Nikki had a handprint on her face, a “mushy” skull, and her entire brain shifted from trauma. Dr. John Ross, the pediatrician who examined Nikki, testified that he ruled out a fall, insisting the trauma had to have been caused intentionally. Nurse Kelly Gurganus described Nikki’s blue skin, unlike anything she’d seen, even in drownings. Dr. Thomas Konjoyan, the ER physician who examined Nikki, confirmed her brain was pushed to death by uncal herniation — an injury no bed fall could cause.  It gets worse. Nurse Sims found three anal tears and abnormal rectal laxity, signs of sexual assault. Roberson confessed to a cellmate he put his penis in Nikki’s mouth and rubbed it on her. His ex, Della Gray, testified he abused her children, leaving bruises and a hickey on one. His own mother warned he’d kill Nikki. With 17 arrests, including felonies, Roberson is no victim. Yet the Innocence Project paints him as a misunderstood Forrest Gump. Now, Roberson’s fate hangs in the balance as he awaits his new execution date. Attorney General Ken Paxton has signaled that he’ll continue seeking justice for Nikki. Will Texas legislators join him in this fight, or will they cave to IP’s anti-justice demands? So why would the Innocence Project defend such a man? The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by O.J. Simpson’s lawyers Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, is a radical left-wing organization that uses these kinds of misleading cases of supposed wrongful convictions to erode public confidence in capital punishment. They freed O.J. despite blood evidence and use the same tactics to pursue their ultimate goal of abolishing the death penalty at all costs. And it seems to be working: since 1992, public support for the death penalty has dropped from 80% to 53%, fueled by their sob stories about “wrongly” convicted killers like Roberson. They erode trust in our courts, claiming a “broken system” while ignoring victims like Nikki. Their leadership exposes their bias. Executive Director Christina Swarns, a former NAACP lawyer, saved cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose guilt is undeniable. Board member Alondra Nelson praises Black Panthers and pushes DNA testing for slave reparations. Yusef Salaam, of Central Park Five fame, campaigned for Kamala Harris. Cedric Alexander, an Obama advisor, demonizes January 6 protesters. Ekow Yankah wrote he won’t let his children befriend white people. Bankrolled by George Soros’s Open Society, Mackenzie Scott, and even taxpayer dollars through the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, they’re activists, not impartial advocates. Conservatives should view The Innocence Project like BLM: a radical leftist group using toxic empathy to twist our compassion and godly desire for justice, just to push a dangerous agenda. * * * Allie Beth Stuckey is a conservative commentator, host of the podcast “Relatable,” and New York Times bestselling author of “Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion“ The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) parroted the attacks made by Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) regarding the National Guard troops who were deployed to put an end to dangerous and violent riots in Los Angeles — namely that President Donald Trump and the Defense Department under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — had sent in troops without providing them with food or lodging. Newsom posted the attack on Monday afternoon, sharing photos and addressing Trump directly: “You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep. Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another.” You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep. Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another. If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/4i8VIiYZLr pic.twitter.com/sUYD2KHu6O — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 9, 2025 Aguilar’s line of questioning, directed at Hegseth less than 24 hours later, could have been lifted directly from Newsom’s post: “… troops sleeping on the floor, and have not been provided fuel, food, or water by DoD. How long will this deployment last and why were we unprepared to provide them basic necessities such as food and water?” he asked. WATCH: . @SecDef just dismantled the accusation that our troops in California are not being fed or housed. We have a secretary that is putting our warfighters needs FIRST! pic.twitter.com/9ziFCvt10f — DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 10, 2025 “The commanders and troops in the field are very well prepared,” Hegseth replied. “They responded incredibly rapidly to a deteriorating situation with equipment and capabilities. We have made sure from the top down. As the Secretary of Defense who has been in a unit holding riot shields outside the White House during the chaos of the summer of 2020, I know what it’s like to be immediately deployed into a situation like that.” Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%! “There are moments where you make do as best you can, temporarily,” he continued, adding, “But we are ensuring they’re housed, fed, water, capabilities in real time, from my office, because I care that much about the California Guard and the Marines and the men and women who are supporting our ICE agents on the ground.” “Those are photos of yesterday, so you should check with your office,” Aguilar jabbed at Hegseth. “It’s true every day,” Hegseth shot back. “And that’s a disingenuous attack that misrepresents how much we care about our troops and what they’re doing to defend ICE agents.” Aguilar attempted to talk over Hegseth, but the Defense Secretary was not having it: “I’m not going to take the fact that ‘we don’t care about the troops,’ nobody cares more about the troops at the top than this Secretary and the Chairman and our department.” Aguilar redirected then, asking how long the troops were being deployed — and Hegseth said that the orders were for 60 days. “We want to ensure that those rioters, looters, and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we’re not going anywhere,” he said.

Senator Josh Hawley joined with a Democrat colleague on Tuesday to introduce a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15. “For decades, working Americans have seen their wages flatline,” the Missouri Republican told CBS News. “One major culprit of this is the failure of the federal minimum wage to keep up with the economic reality facing hard-working Americans every day.” Along with Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), Hawley introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour, where it’s been since 2009. The bill would also provide a tax credit for workers making under minimum wage. “We’re in the midst of a severe affordability crisis, with families in red and blue states alike struggling to afford necessities like housing and groceries,” Hawley said. “Every hard-working American deserves a living wage that helps put a roof over their head and food on the table — $7.25 an hour doesn’t even come close.” Hawley is the latest Republican lawmaker to challenge his party’s economic orthodoxy. But it’s unclear if Hawley’s colleagues will throw their support behind his effort. In 2021, every Republican Senator voted against a proposal to institute a $15 minimum wage. Conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation have historically opposed minimum wage hikes. Opposition is already mounting against Hawley’s proposal. “Sen. Hawley should know better,” said Rebekah Paxton, research director at the Employment Policies Institute. “This proposal would more than double the minimum wage and slash over 800,000 jobs.” “Hawley’s proposal would take similar failed policies like California’s and export them nationwide,” Paxton continued. California recently raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour — a policy that has caused restaurants to cut staff and reduce hours, according to The Wall Street Journal. At least one Senate Republican has already come out against Hawley’s proposal. “I don’t even know why we have a ‘federal minimum wage’ to be honest,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (ND) said in an interview with Fox Business today. “I think the market works really well,” he said, adding, “I just think manipulating markets with mandatory wages doesn’t make any sense.”

A top intelligence official who told Congress she was blindsided by a dismissal in her office was in fact informed of the personnel move directly by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard herself, according to internal memos obtained by The Daily Wire. Tamara Johnson, the acting Intelligence Community Inspector General, informed a group of congressional Democrats that Gabbard “unilaterally terminated” one of Johnson’s top deputies without getting Johnson’s approval. But a memo sent by Gabbard to Johnson on May 30 — nearly two weeks before Johnson’s claims to the senators were made public — shows that Gabbard not only informed Johnson that Acting General Counsel Stephanie McDonald would be fired, but also that Gabbard believed she had Johnson’s support for the move. “You agreed to terminate Ms. McDonald’s employment and volunteered to notify Ms. McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI [Human Resources],” Gabbard wrote in the memo to Johnson, which was obtained in full by The Daily Wire. “The [Chief Operating Officer] and [ODNI’s] Acting General Counsel emphasized that your support was appreciated, along with your agreement to take the action.” A May 20 memo, also obtained by The Daily Wire, memorializes the conversation between the COO, ODNI’s top lawyer, and Johnson, in which the decision to terminate McDonald was presented. In that memo, ODNI COO Lora Shiao wrote that Johnson “confirmed her approval of DNI’s decision” to fire McDonald during a May 15 video call. Shiao added that she and ODNI’s top lawyer “emphasized that we appreciated [Johnson’s] support” for firing McDonald, and her “agreement to take this action.” Johnson reportedly told the officials from Gabbard’s office that “she would notify Stephanie McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI Human Resource management,” the memo reads. In her May 30 memo to Johnson, Gabbard argues that she didn’t need her approval, but sought it anyway. She said that, “Despite not needing your approval to terminate a probationary employee of ODNI, I had my office reach out to you to discuss the termination.” The memos contradict claims from Johnson included in the Monday letter from Democrats alleging that Gabbard acted “contrary to law,” and “never sufficiently explained” why she had fired McDonald.  The spat with the acting inspector general comes as Gabbard works to weed out politicization of the inspector general’s office, which is supposed to be an impartial watchdog for the intelligence community. Top officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence say the office remains beholden to partisan interests, and has resisted changes ordered by the Trump administration.  Johnson has “failed to demonstrate timely compliance with Presidential direction regarding DEI matters, politicization of the work environment, and workforce optimization,” according to a document prepared by an intelligence official from Gabbard’s office obtained by The Daily Wire. The document paints a picture of an office that appears beset by anti-Trump sentiment.  For example, Johnson waited over 30 days to remove DEI language from mission statements displayed throughout office areas and took nearly 60 days to remove DEI language from its internal website, according to the intelligence official. In contrast, Gabbard’s office removed all references to DEI within five days of Trump’s executive order. Johnson’s office also refused to let her employees take advantage of Trump’s DOGE initiatives, including use of Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), according to the document.  “Several ODNI cadre employees, at that time assigned to [Johnson’s] office, indicated their intent to take advantage of these incentives. [Johnson’s] office stated that they did not wish to offer these incentives to their eligible employees and that the DNI did not have the authority to do so, despite existing [Office of Personnel Management] guidance to the contrary,” the intelligence official noted.  There were also complaints against Johnson’s office not putting up photos of Trump and Vice President JD Vance after the inauguration where photos of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been. New photos were not displayed until May 2025, after a senior advisor for Gabbard arrived and took steps to resolve the issue.  “The employee complaint noted that their absence was perceived as a politically motivated slight to new leadership by some members of the workforce,” the intelligence official noted.  The review of Johnson’s office also found allegations that employees were told “to deprioritize responding to inquiries from Republicans in Congress,” and that taxpayer dollars were misspent.   ODNI senior advisors reported that Johnson’s office had a reputation for accumulating “large quantities of branded swag that was not specifically for purposes of recruiting or other authorized activities” and that Johnson herself had spent $10,000 of taxpayer dollars on an ornamental throw rug for her office when she was deputy inspector general.  Johnson’s office also violated Intelligence Community policy by storing hundreds of branded thumb drives in classified facilities, according to senior advisors from Gabbard’s office. When reached for comment, the Inspector General’s office said it had no comment on the firings or politicization claims. 

'Allowed it to be burned to the ground'

‘We’re taking action to reject authoritarianism'

'He’s doing a bad job, causing a lot of death'

'This must be fixed. Soon.'

The star's children were inside the home at the time

'Pressure to the extreme'