On today's show, Democrats go into damage control after telling the military to defy orders. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever. This is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110.
And now, your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome to Sekulow. It is a Monday. We are live, just to make sure people know this. We're live, it's Thanksgiving Week.
Again, phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110, 1-800-684-3110. I'll prove it, Will. The White House Christmas tree is being delivered live right now on Fox News. Breaking news alert, everyone. If you're looking for a Fox News alert, they're currently showing what appears to be a wagon from horse-drawn carriage from many moons ago with Melanio Trump out front taking the Christmas tree.
I just want to make sure people know that we're live. This is not a taped show here on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving week will be taped on Thanksgiving. I'll tell people that ahead of time. We're going to actually spend time with our families, which would be nice.
But between now and then, we're live and we're here. Happy to take your calls at 1-800-684-3110. Will, I didn't even listen to this clip because you sent it to me. I saw it pop up and I go, you know what? I need one of those reacts to.
Logan reacts to. Jordan reacts to. Will reacts to. Because, of course, we all remember last week when Mark Kelly, Slotkin, the whole gang of people went up there and they made their nicely edited videos saying, military, defy your orders if you think they are unlawful. And of course, we know that they didn't seem to put a lot of specificity into what these unlawful orders may or may not be.
Be. We talk to people in the military. Of course, that is part of your code, you're not supposed to, you're supposed to be aware that if you're being told to do something that is illegal, you're not supposed to do it. But of course, they were not given any specifics. And in this moment, from what you've been telling me, they asked him.
The press pushed them actually and said, you know what, what are those specifics?
Well, here's what's interesting is that all of these members of Congress put this video together last week, made a lot of news, and then all got invited to do Sunday shows. We have clips from all of them. And none of them gave a consistent answer with the other. They all had a different talking point, which is bizarre because they contradicted themselves. But the one who was kind of the ringleader of this, it was Senator Alyssa Slotkin from Michigan.
She was on ABC this week with Martha Raditz. They are going to friendly media. And getting asked questions that should be a softball question if they had thought ahead about the outcome of this. And listen to the answer from the senator from Michigan to Martha Radditz's question about. Has President Trump issued any illegal orders by two?
But let's talk right now. Do you believe President Trump has issued any illegal orders? To my knowledge, I am not aware of things that are illegal, but certainly there are some legal gymnastics that are going on with these Caribbean strikes and everything related to Venezuela. Legal gymnastics, she was a CIA analyst. That is the Department of Legal Gymnastics within the United States.
And she's sitting here saying it was of such dire need that we put this ad out to let people know the law, that they don't have to follow legal orders. They gave away the game. It shows that it was politically motivated to undermine the President of the United States authorities, commander-in-chief. And one of those things when you look at it, too, specifically this cause saying, well, maybe it's the Caribbean strikes and everything related to Venezuela. We're talking about stopping drug trafficking coming into the country.
You're not even talking about things like, I don't know, the National Guard being called up to Memphis or Chicago, where at least there's maybe some gray area there. It's not. It's not. I mean, if you look at how the law is set up, if you follow the law to the T, you might not like the policy. I disagree with that.
That's more what I'm saying. Policy. And you can change laws, but what you can't do is say that they're illegal when they're not.
So when she had the opportunity to go through and list, what are all these illegal actions the President's done? Right. She didn't even try to go to National Guard looking because she's too smart to go there. She knows she can't.
So she had to say, no, there haven't been any. And then she came up in her head: well, maybe something with Venezuela, but she obviously hadn't done her research on that to even use that as a focal point. Yeah, look, we're going to talk about this and so much more. We are one week away from the end of our freedom drive here in the month of November. Hey, we've had Grandparents Week.
We've had so many things. And we're going to have a great December as well. But I want you to support the work of the ACLJ right now, whether it's our legal work, our media work, whether you like this show, whether you like what we do in the courtroom. All of it matters, and your donations are doubled throughout this Freedom Drive.
So, right now, scan the QR code that's on your screen or go to aclj.org. When we get back, we're going to take your calls and comments. Again, 1-800-684-3110. We'll play more bites, we'll get more into it. We'll be right back on Sekulow.
Welcome back to Sekulow again. We got to reset a little bit. A lot of you are just joining us right now. Of course, we were talking about last week. Again, we're live.
I'd like to prove that I'm live.
Well, because it's Thanksgiving week. A lot of shows take off. We're live right now. Earlier on, we were talking about the Christmas tree being delivered into the White House. They've moved on from that on the news, but that just happened.
There's a car on fire in New York City, according to what's on the news right now.
So last night there was. Listen. We are live and we are going to take your calls at 1-800-684-3110. If you're an ACLJ supporter, also an ACLJ champion, I encourage you to call in, even if you just have words of thanks or encouragement. We'd love to hear from you.
We're obviously in the last week here of our Freedom Drive for the month of November. We're going to be rolling right into December. Big December is these are last two months of the year, always very big fundraising months for any organization. It's the most important months of the year. It's where a lot of people make their year in giving.
So we encourage you right now to still support the work of the ACLJ as we continue to give you not just our legal opinions, but also the news of the day. And the news of the day will, of course, comes out of Washington, D.C. We know last week that video went viral, if you will, saying, you know what, if you're a military person and you think that the President is giving you illegal orders, You do not have to obey these orders. Here's what you can do. And of course, then when pushed.
On the Sunday shows, they couldn't answer that any illegal orders had been made. I mean, that. Honestly, what a dumb answer. Like, it just is ridiculous to me. I don't mean that in a mean way.
I just mean that in a, even if you're pushing your narrative forward, anyone who understands how media works understands, you got to push your narrative forward. You don't answer with, to my knowledge, I'm not aware that there are things that are illegal. That was a wasted ad. Right. So that is the worst answer they could have given, and then swerved it into the again, well, there's some legal gymnastics happening.
The American people don't fall for that. They don't want to hear that. They want to be told: look, if you think there's something illegal, stand up. I think you could say a lot about the Momdami meeting last week, which was, you know what? You had a guy go in there that a lot of people had a lot of problems with and walk out smiling when the President of the United States on completely different sides of the aisle.
There's a way you can handle things right now that American people will actually. Appreciate they'll actually respect, even if they disagree with you. It's kind of the way people felt about Bernie Sanders, which is they may disagree with him on everything, but they at least believe he's telling the truth from his perspective. Right. When you feel like you're just being lied to and manipulated, it's ridiculous.
I know, Will, you got more sound you want to play, more videos you want to play.
Well, it was just so shocking. One, to see that almost all of these members of Congress that were in this video. We're on Sunday shows. They all got booked to go talk about this because it was the major kind of news at the end of the week that they put this video out. The President responded strongly.
And we even spent a whole hour breaking it down, Jordan. But I want to play this sound. Why not to follow advice of these senators? Right. And then they double down on why not to follow their advice.
And this is what I want to get your take on, too, Jordan, because Alyssa Slotkin, who was kind of the mastermind of this ad, she was the first one to put it out on her ex account, as well as she's the first person to speak.
So it almost seems like it was organized by her and her press team. But let's go ahead and play this more extended part because we already. Played and you referenced her saying, to my knowledge, he's not doing anything illegal right now. But this is a follow-up by Martha Radditz. Once again, I don't think anyone watching this show is a fan of Martha Radditz or ABC this week, especially with some of the performances she's given at Presidential debates, things of that nature.
Not necessarily the most unbiased or neutral member of the press, but she's asking what seemed to be pretty easy questions for someone that had this entire campaign rollout. And this is a follow-up from Martha Raditz to Senator Slotkin from Michigan by three. It does imply that the President is having illegal orders, which you have not seen. I think for us, it was just a statement widely, right? We say very quickly and very to all the folks who come to us, this is the process, go to your JAG officer, ask them for explanation, for top cover, for their view on things.
We do that on a case-by-case basis, but we wanted to speak directly to the volumes of people who had come to us on this. And it is very clear that no one should follow an illegal order. But it's very murky when you look at what is an illegal order. And if you go into morally, ethically, that's a pretty tough thing to look at and say, how do I navigate this? I don't I mean, look, if you're going back to Nuremberg, right, that well, they told me to do it, that's why I murdered people, is not an excuse.
If you look at popular culture, there's like you watch a few good men, like we have plenty of examples since World War II. Jordan, first of all, she says volumes of people have come to them asking about illegal orders. I don't believe that for a minute. But then she goes into Nuremberg. And then a few good men, of which she says is plenty of examples since World War II.
If you look at popular culture, you know, a few good men is a movie. It's not an example since World War II. For the few good men gets put to the side, that is fiction.
Okay, so fiction doesn't count. That's not a good enough answer. Second, Nuremberg. Nuremberg focused on leaders within the Nazi death camps and the leaders of the Nazi party, SS members specifically. It was not just regular kind of uniformed troops with the Nazis.
These were the worst of the worst who saw the atrocities, and that's where they were tried in this special tribunal. If that's what you can point to in the world, Of all the world and military is one, the Nuremberg trial following the Holocaust. As a don't use a, well, you were given this instruction, so you were following orders, and that doesn't work as defense. I mean, that's just not accurate. And you know what?
She goes on to say is what we did on the show. But what they didn't do in their little 30-second ad is. They just wanted to make a very broad statement, right? That's what she says, actually. We say very quickly, and for all the folks who come to us, this is the process.
Go to your JAG officer. Wait. Don't just ignore. Because I thought the ad said ignore illegal orders. This says go to a JAG officer and make sure you get cover, is what she goes and says, which is the process.
You go to a military court officer, and if you really have a concern, and they are the ones to issue a judgment. To make sure that you do have cover before questioning an order. Yeah, and there are moments, you have to say, where the media shines a little brighter. I have to say, you gotta give it up to Raditz for actually not just pushing back, because again, like you said, Will, these were softball questions, but for not taking the answer either. To go, but what are you talking about here?
And to explain to people that when you say illegal opera order, that it is murky. And what does that even mean? Right. And once again, they, as Jordan just pointed out, in that ad, they say: our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.
You can refuse illegal orders. You must. Refuse illegal orders.
So there's not a You should go to your JAG officer and ask them about the legal cover for an order. It is very direct, but I think we should play another member of this. Play another. This is from Maggie Goodlander. She's a member of the House of Representatives from New Hampshire, also the wife of Jake Sullivan.
Everyone's favorite, Rick Rinnell's favorite. Everybody loves Jake Sullivan. We'll be on later. We can. He's never had any sort of questions about legal advice that he's given Presidents.
And this was him on Wolf Blitzer. Maggie Goodlander on with Wolf Blitzer, once again, asked a very direct question that they should have had the answer to if they were going to film themselves for an ad, Bite Six. Have you, Congresswoman, or any other of these Democratic members of Congress, heard directly from members of the U.S. military or the broader national security community who believe they've been given unlawful orders?
Well, you know, what I'd say is, I have heard from service members, and I have heard from service members, and this is all a matter of public record. What we see is an uptick of concern from the men and women who are serving in uniform about. The legality of orders that are being given. It's like they were given a gotcha question. And it's the most basic question.
And you at least have some people with a little bit. A little bit of journalistic integrity to ask the question that I don't know should be number one on everyone's list when they're going to ask him. And it was, and the response was like they were so shocked that they got asked this question.
Well, they got a camera in their face for this, and they were told by their staff, say this into the camera. And they didn't. They just said it and they moved on. And then they booked all these interviews because of it. And you would have thought, okay, then the staff person's going to walk in and say, you're going to get asked, has he done anything illegal?
If you're going to say, no, you need to be able to pivot to, but this is what we're looking for. This is where we're on the line. I've got one more because, Jordan, they booked all these interviews. And you think that their press team, after seeing the first interview go so poorly, would update their talking points? Byte nine, also Maggie Goodlander on with MS Now formally MSNBC.
Very difficult for liberals. What illegal orders are you urging troops to refuse and what do you hope they take away from your message? Alex, we love this country. We love our Constitution. It is our job as lawmakers, and especially in this moment, to be clear morally, to be clear legally.
simply and clearly stating what the law says. What the Uniform Code of Military Justice says It's not a crime. It is not treason. It is not sedition. It is our job.
And I think it's really important that we do our jobs in this moment. Yeah, word salad. I mean, again, it feels like something straight from the Kamala Harris campaign. I mean, you don't want to be rude, but it's just, it's hard to even watch because these are just words that you are trying to get out of the top of your head. And when you start saying things like simply and clearly, and you have to say clearly multiple times, then clearly you're not saying something clear.
Logan, what illegal orders are you urging troops to refuse? We just stay in our Constitution. It's so great. It's our job. It's our job to be clear, morally.
Clear, legally, simply and clearly. I mean, that is that, end quote. Like, that is what she said. All right, we get back. What do we got coming up next?
We're going to talk a little about the ACLJ's work, what we're doing in California, taking on Governor Newsome, your favorite. We're going to talk about the legal work that's happening here at the ACLJ as we wrap up our Freedom Drive. We want you to get engaged on the work that we do beyond even this broadcast. We're going to talk about that coming right up. Welcome back to Sekulow.
I did want to take a second. We're having a lot of fun here, obviously, with the reports and all of those news stories that are coming in and all the clips. Yeah, we can talk college football. It's Thanksgiving week. Of course, a lot of people will be watching football this week.
A lot of people will be enjoying all the festivities, their family, the parade, everything that goes into your Thanksgiving.
So we hope you all have a blessed and a great Thanksgiving week as we approach it. And a lot of you kids are off school. We can see our numbers are spiking right now. I think it's a lot of people are driving. A lot of people are in the car, headed towards their families.
Maybe a lot of people are out of their normal routine.
So we appreciate it all. Hey, wait, wait. I want to stay in the car a little longer before we go in because I want to hear what Jordan and Logan will have to say. They're all waiting for Secretary Duffy's making a Thanksgiving travel announcement. I said that's been the best excuse, I feel like all the travel issues, just to be like, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The dog, this.
Well, beyond that. Though the work of the ACLJ continues, and obviously, we have a big couple weeks coming up here. And I wanted to break some of that down because it's beyond just our normal news of the day coverage, all of those things. Of course, the ACLJ. If you're new, by the way, which I know a lot of you probably are, we encourage you to subscribe and be a part of the team here.
The ACLJ is two prongs here: it's the media side, we do this show, we do all the things related to the content we provide. There's obviously the legal arm, which is the foundation of the organization, which is we are in court and we are in court fighting for you, whether that is a child who just wants to have a Bible club, a Jesus club, that happened last week, or all the way up to representing a President of the United States, or in this instance. Suing Governor Gavin Newsom and the state of California. That's right.
So, Logan, at the end of the year, a lot of people, you know, things slow down. You have the holidays. Not at the ACLJ. Our attorneys are hard at work. Just I was on a call this morning.
We have two oral arguments in cases. In early January.
So while everyone's preparing here at the end of the year, having a good time, our attorneys are preparing to go to court to fight for our clients. But, Jordan, this one is big because we mentioned it at the beginning of the month. We told everyone about this case when we announced it. But when we come back from Thanksgiving break, when everyone's back, we will be just days away from filing a cert petition at the US Supreme Court asking them to hear this case with Calvary Chapel, San Jose. Which is still Being levied these fines, $1.2 million of their tithes and offerings.
Governor Gavin Newsom in the city of San Jose, in the state of California, is trying to take from them over COVID violations that were later found to be unconstitutional, but yet they still want the church and the tithes and offerings to the tune of $1.2 million. This was when California started issuing all those exemptions for other businesses. And churches said, you know what? If the restaurant's able to open, then we should be able to have our worship service the way we want. But no, it's $5,000 a day fines that ended up being over $1.2 million.
Even though in court, their refusal, Calvary Chapel's refusal to sign a sworn statement promising to comply with the court orders was actually thrown out as unconstitutional later. This is what was exempted out. While Calvary Chapel is just ha trying to have church.
Now, they're being fined $1.2 million. All about. I'm about to read. By the way, they still are. All of what I'm about to read was completely exempted.
All athletic exemptions for any kind of sports and in physical contact, they were exempt from masks while competing. Construction exemptions were so broad that it was basically just you could remove it if it creates any kind of risk at all. Individualized determination, which means individuals got to actually choose whether or not to wear a mask. Restaurants.
Okay, you're inside a restaurant. Patrons could eat and drink maskless while seated. There was not a time limit for how long you could be there.
So for even hours in an enclosed space. Personal care exemptions. This is not, by the way, you're thinking medical, maybe? No. This is like getting a haircut or a massage.
Those masks could be taken off by both the client and those who were carrying out that activity. And the same, of course, for the entire government of California. It was fully exempted completely so that nothing would impede or interfere with essential government work. Entire government. None of that.
So none of those people, including the entire California government, had to. But California Is still fighting to get $1.2 million from Calvary Chapel San Jose. Yeah, you'd think, at least at this point, they go, okay, we're multiple years out. What's the good? We handled this.
It was, it was everyone handled it in a way that they could and tried to get by, you know, whatever happened, happened. We could say, okay, we did what we did, but you know what? What's a million dollars? What's a million dollars to us, the state of California? Nothing.
What is a million dollars to this church? A lot. Whether or not it survives. Right. So, I mean, that is the difference.
Is you're talking about who does that really benefit? And it certainly doesn't benefit the country. Ravin Jews are trying to shut down Calvary Chapel, San Jose. That's what's at play here. And he has the power to stop his government from doing that.
Well, and by the time that we hear back from the Supreme Court, this will be 2026, six years removed from the pandemic at this point, when it began. Right. And they're still trying to go after this money. And it's just so ridiculous that we are sitting here. At a time when we are so far removed from it.
We know that Gavin Newsom has Presidential aspirations. That they are still saying, you know what, we need that money from that church instead of, you know what? We're through this, we're done, let's just move on, but no, this is the same person. who would flaunt the rules for himself so he could go to high-end dinners. But at the same time, it is telling a church you cannot worship.
And now, because they wanted to worship, they wanted to fulfill their First Amendment right as well as their calling by God. They are being put on the hook for $1.2 million still.
So much so. We're having to take it to the Supreme Court of the United States to get this overturned.
So, while we're all thankful with our families and we are celebrating our freedom, celebrating what God has given us in this country, remember that our attorneys are fighting for a church's right to exist at this point. Because just think about your own church. If all of a sudden They're saying, hey, you know, we really want to survive. We want to reach out to the community. We want to provide a place to worship God.
But there's this $1.2 million fine. Would your church survive that? Would any church survive that?
Some would, but the vast majority of churches in this country would be a closing-your-door situation. And then also think about what it's taking away from the community. from missions from feeding the needy. and all trying to go to the government coffers to do whatever program they want to use it for. All right, with that, look, we have two minutes left.
That's the work of the ACLJ, and it continues on.
So I guess maybe, Jordan, you can give us what's the next step in this for those that are going to be praying about it, thinking about it, and obviously just following this story. What's the next step? The next step is filing right at the U.S. Supreme Court.
So that will come very shortly after the holiday. We've got a couple cases heading to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One we'll talk about next week as well on the broadcast after the holiday. But this is, again, this is work that continues through the holiday until you've got your deadline to file.
So this is coming soon. And again, at the U.S. Supreme Court at the highest level to make sure that should we ever have one of those experiences again like COVID, which I pray we never do, but that the government has learned its lesson about these restrictions on the American people and the individual freedoms that we have to make choices that we think are best to govern ourselves during those kind of situations. With that, we have one minute left in this segment.
Some of you don't get us on your local station. If you're listening on terrestrial radio, you can find us broadcasting live whenever we do this show, which is each and every day, Monday to Friday from 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern time. We are live. If you want to be part of this second half hour and you don't get it on your local station, you can find on aclj.org on YouTube.
Just search ACLJ or search Sekulow. You'll find us broadcasting there live. Of course, the ACLJ app. And later on, however you get your podcast, we are there for you. But with that, We got 38 seconds until we get to a break.
And some of you guys are not gonna get us from here, so I'm gonna ask you.
So please support this work. It's incredible work, whether it's our legal work or media work. It all matters right now during our Freedom Drive.
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So, do that today. Again, that's at aclj.org, or you can scan the QR code that you see right now if you're watching on TV or on YouTube. We'll be right back with the second half hour coming right up. Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever. This is Sekulow.
And now your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome back to Sekulow. Second half hour coming up for you right now. Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110. As we head right now into the final week of our Freedom Drive, where all donations are doubled, a donor is ready to match your donations.
If you give to the ACLJ, that supports the work we do in the courtrooms, and of course, the work we do here in the media side of the organization. I want you to be a part of it equally right now at aclj.org. Do that today. If you're brand new and you're watching on YouTube or Rumble, maybe you've never seen us before. We know it's a crazy number.
We know between 40 and 60% of the people that watch each and every day live have never seen us before, ever. And with that, I'm not going to ask you to donate. I'm going to ask you to simply subscribe. That would really help us out a lot. You get into the show.
Hopefully, you enjoyed it so far. And you get to enjoy it each and every day. Be part of that team with us there. It's always a lot of fun. With that, Will, do we want to talk back about Our first story of the day.
That's right.
And then we're going to move on. Rick Rinnell's going to be joining us in the next segment. And then we're going to take all the calls and comments we can at 1-800-684-30-110. Of course, earlier in the show, we even discussed this, but last week we talked about the Democrats putting together this little video montage that maybe you'd have for a charity. You'd see it before where they, you know, everyone says a different part of a script and it's very emotional.
We've done it here. Everyone's done it. You know, it's kind of cliche here, but you know what? That's okay.
Sometimes clichés work. But this one said: defy your orders if you are a member of the military and you feel like they're illegal. That opportunity was then given, went viral. That opportunity was then given for them to double down and discuss this on a lot of Sunday morning shows, on a lot of all the news organizations, had on these representatives, and they said, Hey, Now that we have you here for more than a 30-second video, what are these illegal orders? And of course, the answer was silence.
That's right.
And so when you watched that video as we did last week, we played it a couple times for people. Their self-righteousness was so palpable. Like they were the arbiter of truth and of the law. And they said, this is our duty to do this, to get this out there. You must refuse illegal orders.
Once again, not going into any detail. And we even called that out. And we said, if you're not giving any detail, like this is an illegal order that you should refuse, then you're just destroying the morale. You're also undermining the President of the United States and the commander in chief of the military by floating out here that with this innuendo that there is something illegal they should be ignoring.
Now, they went on all the Sunday shows. It worked. Their initial plan of doing this video to get attention on themselves worked. They got booked on all the Sunday shows to go do it. But at some point, between releasing that ad and going on these Sunday shows, they neglected to come up with a cohesive strategy about what to say.
And so you get things like where Martha Raditz, not like she's this, you know, Fox News host that host a weekend commentary show that is going to ask you these hard questions. She just says, listen. Has he issued any illegal orders? To which Senator Slotkin says, to my knowledge, not that I'm aware of, but there's some, you know, legal gymnastics, which is rich coming from a CIA analyst, former CIA analyst, where everyone knows that legal gymnastics are a part of the mission at the CIA. Their entire organization is based off of things that operate in that middle ground.
And it wasn't just one flub. It wasn't like they were given this opportunity and they messed it up over and over and over again. What seems to be at least five or six times, maybe more, because of all the different stations that they were on, all the different broadcasts they were on over the weekend. They kept coming up with no legitimate answer. Your goal is, if you put one of these viral videos out, is to get those interviews.
Yeah. And then not then you're supposed to be prepared for the interview and the interview is going to ask you the first question is going to be, what are these illegal orders that these troops need to be looking out for? Yeah. Or have you heard from people? What does it look like?
And have answers ready. Jordan and I have come up with answers better than their answers just during the break. You know, that we have. We had to be asked that question, what we would have said, okay, and we're not exactly on that side, and we're saying, you know what? Here's what's been my answer, which would have been far better than bah.
You know? Constitution? America, we love it. We love it. You know.
Randy Newman. With that, phone lines are open for you. I want to hear from you at 1-800-684-30-110. Rick Rinnell is going to be joining us in the next segment. Will, what are we going to talk to Rick about?
We're going to be talking about a new person who has entered the governor race in California, as well as that peace deal that's been floated between Russia and Ukraine. All right, you're going to want to stay tuned for that. Always fun to have Rick on.
So, in the next segment, and again, support the work of the ACLJ during the Freedom Drive. We got about a minute break here. It's a good time to go and donate at ACLJ.org. We'll be right back. Leave that QR code up for a minute.
We'll be right back. Welcome back to Sekulow. Rick Rinnell is joining us. Rick, of course, the breaking news that I'm sure you're thrilled about. There's a new person running for governor of California.
And you know what? You think? Gavin Newsom is going to get replaced. It can't get any worse, Rick. But of course, we learn who is it that's running?
And that is, of course, Will who? That's right.
We've got the congressman, the esteemed congressman from California, Eric Swalwell, is now entering the race for the governorship of California. You know, you thought, as Logan said, it couldn't get worse, but also we had Katie Porter, who was doing so great. I don't know why Eric Swalwell thought maybe there was a time to jump in here. What are your thoughts on this news, Rick? Look, California is unfortunately when you look at just voter registration, the people who are proved to vote because they said, I want to register to vote, it's overwhelmingly Democrat.
Now, we over the last four years have been making a huge dent. We're registering more Republicans than ever, but we're not quite there yet. The math just isn't there. We've got to keep going. I've been pushing voter registration for a long time, but right now, let's just talk reality.
The math is in the Democrats' favor, and I've been telling Our voters in California up and down. That unless we changed voter registration, we're going to go into next year. and we're going to have a Democrat governor. It is just the math number. Half of our society is not even registered to vote.
So it's not like we're getting the full California picture when we have elections.
So many people are on the side. sidelines.
So many people are frustrated.
So many people think it doesn't matter if I vote in California. And we've got to change that perception, and I think we are. But when it comes to this crowded field, Eric Swawell looks at the math and he says this whole race is about the Democrats. Who's going to win the Democratic primary? And he has a solid.
Base of the far left woke crazies from Northern California. That is the base of the Democrats. And so I I think he's smart to jump in. I think it's terrible for California. But he's reading the political tea leaves right.
Katie Porter It has imploded. And now we have Javier Bastera, who's running, who's got his own legal problems. I still think we've got to watch out for Antonio Villa Ragosa, the former mayor of LA. He's kind of a moderate. compared to the others in the Democratic Party, which which is you know, the standard that we have to use.
And I think he still could rise up because Los Angeles County is the largest county in California, the largest county in America. Rick, one, thank you for your analysis on that. I mean, I kind of like when you say a name from California I'm not familiar with because I feel like every person that's in California politics that has made a national name for themselves have made such a progressive stance and gone as far left as they could that maybe those in California will pick someone that's not Eric Swalwell. But we'll find out. But I did want to bring this up as well.
It's what we've been talking about earlier in the broadcast: we saw that video that came out last week from those members of Congress that were urging members of the military to defy and said even the words, you must defy illegal orders. It was very vague. They went on all the Sunday shows and had a terrible time explaining themselves when you'd think if they wanted that, they got their goal by getting booked on the Sunday shows, they would have better answers. You even have Alyssa Slotkin saying, I haven't really seen anything illegal, just some legal gymnastics. But I want to get your take on this because it seems very dangerous.
It seems dangerous when members of Congress are interfering with the chain of command The Commander-in-Chief, as prescribed by the Constitution, is the President. in starting to sow this doubt. Within our military community, how dangerous is this as we see what may come from this?
Well, I think this is incredibly dangerous. This is the same crowd that gave us the Russian collusion hoax. They used Intel, they used the bureaucracy. And this is a call to arms. This is a video asking for the bureaucracy and specifically intelligence officials to rise up against and stop President Trump.
This is a dangerous Dangerous game for America. Shame on the politicians that do that. But let me finish by saying this. I live in California, but I was born in Michigan. Michigan is a political home for me as well.
And if you are a Michigan voter, you were completely duped by Elisba Slotskin. She ran commercial after commercial telling everybody she's a moderate, she wants to work with both sides, that she's not far left. Just look at her voting record and her speeches and her comments. She is a far left woke activist who is now easily labeled as a hypocrite. If you're in Michigan, you need to start calling her out.
She duped you if you voted for her because you thought she was a moderate. Many Republicans saw through it, but Alyssa Slotkin is trying to say, I was an intelligence officer, and there is this thing that's happening where illegal activity is being pushed on them, and they should stand up. But then when she's confronted on their Sunday table show, she said, I don't know of anything.
Well, then this whole thing was a political ploy like the Russian hoax, and shame on her for pushing it.
Well, speaking of Russia, then, I think that's an easy way to pivot. Rick, obviously, one of the big news stories out of last week was the peace plan put in place by President Trump. But look, hey, he had a peaceful meeting with Momdami. Maybe he could cause peace now in Ukraine and Russia, putting together a multiple-point plan that actually seemed to be one of the most rational plans for ending this war. It's been kind of praised by both sides.
They start to talk. start really starting to negotiate out what those terms may or may not be. But I feel like this is a positive sign in terms of ending that war. I wanted to get your thoughts. Look, I'm one of these people who believe, and when you look at history, that finding a way to a ceasefire Is the first step.
Trying to find permanent peace is yet a whole nother thing. It's very difficult. It's step two. But trying to find a ceasefire moment. and then working really hard to get both sides to understand the benefits of not going to war is the key.
And so what I would just say is we have an opening here. President Trump has been so frustrated with what Joe Biden handed him President Trump handed peace, Joe Biden, peace in the Middle East, peace in Europe, and he turned around and handed President Trump to wars. And so the frustration over the Russia-Ukraine situation is high. We have an opening. I I think the reality is is that peace is always worth it.
And the Ukrainians are in terrible shape. They've been wiped out. Uh emotionally and physically. And I think that what we have to do is take a tough look at these solutions and step forward, as President Trump said, and let's have a ceasefire. Nothing is ever perfect, but a ceasefire is so much better.
And there is a lot going on in Ukraine. If those who are not following, obviously, probably the local politics that are happening there, there is a lot happening. Maybe do some Googling of what's going on in Ukraine beyond.
So the political pressure also that's coming on Zelensky is a bit different than maybe it was a year ago, two years ago, as his own people are having some issues with a lot of sort of controversies that are coming up that are completely unrelated, by the way, to the war, but cause political upheaval and issues. And I think we're really... We're really sort of able to, when things are far away, forget about those nuances. It's like when Israel comes up, it's like you forget, yeah, there's a large group of Israelis that don't even like the political structure going on in Israel right now. That is the world.
The world is split in terms of their politics. But, Rick, with that, we are obviously on the world stage, and the ACLJ has been involved in so many different places. We only have about two minutes here, but we are wrapping up one of our big drives here. It's obviously Thanksgiving. This is a big week for a lot of people.
A lot of organizations obviously are heading into the holidays.
So I want to give you a minute. I mean, you've been working with us for many years now. And right now, people donate, they donate, and they give, and their donations are doubled right now. But, Rick, you have seen the work firsthand that we've done here, and obviously you've been a major part of it.
Well, look, I'm so proud to be part of ACLJ simply because we're doers. We actually take action. We do legal challenges. We go to the United Nations and we push them. We go to the world stage and demand action.
We don't just do petitions, but we actually take the substantive Argument and demand that there's action on the other end. And that is done through staff. That's not done through a press release or just a statement, it's done through lawyers. and others who do hard work.
So I hope that people will join us, be partners with us, recognize that the information we're bringing them, there's a cost to it. And if there's a benefit to you, I hope that people will be able to join us, especially this holiday season when everything is tight. All right, Rick, thank you so much for joining us today. We know that it's tight for a lot of people.
So obviously pray about it, think about it. If you can support, it's a great time to do it. But of course, we know it's been a rough year for a lot of people going at it right now. But I'm hoping that there are plenty of people, maybe some of those donors who have more that can donate more. The backbone of the organization is those that give at a $30 to $75 level one time a year.
I'll be honest. But there's also a great group of ACLJ champions that give every month. And then there's a few of you that can really give in a bigger way. And all of those donations are doubled this month.
So think about doing it. Reach out, support the work of the ACLJ at aclj.org. We have some breaking news just coming in. It is about. The topic at hand that we've been discussing.
In terms of the Democrats asking the military to defy their orders. We're going to confirm all of it during the break. Do not go anywhere. This is not a fake tease. We'll be right back with more on Sekulow.
Welcome back to Sekulow. I did tease out that there'd be breaking news, and there, in fact, is two stories that have just broken.
So, we're at least going to discuss one of them, and one of them is really developing right now. We want to make sure we have all the facts for you. But this one comes out of the Pentagon.
Well, this is obviously related to our main topic of the day. This happened again as you've been on air. And look, those of you who have been on a hold and who've been on hold for 45, 25 minutes, I'm going to get to you. Just hold on. We got to get through some of this breaking news.
So, this is an official statement from the Department of War. It says the Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, U.S. Navy retired. In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Title 10 of the U.S. Code 688 and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include re-evaluation.
Recall to active duty. for court martial proceedings or administrative measures. This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality. Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings. It goes on to talk about That they are going to see, it says the Department of War reminds all individuals that military retirees remain subject.
To the Uniform Code of Military Justice for applicable offenses and federal offenses such as 18 USC 2387. That code section 2387 Is uh Whoever, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military or naval forces of the United States, advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military or naval forces of the United States, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof for the next five years following conviction.
So the military is taking this seriously. As a retired member of the military, you can be called back to active duty at any time. That's why they're calling him out. That's right.
As well as you can face, they can call you back to face. The UMCJ, which he still has to abide by, even as a retired member of the military. That is why these vague statements. hurt them. Because they go out there and say, no, there isn't anything illegal.
We're just trying to get the word out there. The subtext, and even by the liberal journalists, are, no, you're implying there is something illegal. And the Department of War remembers, says that all the UCMJ is under legal obligation to obey lawful orders and that orders are presumed to be lawful. We discussed that last week on the broadcast, Jordan.
So this was a big unforced error on their part.
Now they'll spin it and say this is political targeting that the President Trump has directed the Department of War and Pete Hexett. They're all going to go after these people, these American heroes, and so on and so on. But let's just play out and see how it goes.
Now, there's another breaking news story. Before we do that, though, I want to make sure we get to our phone calls. Let's go quickly to Martin in North Carolina, who's a champion. Martin, go ahead. Thank you.
I appreciate you, Will, for what you mentioned and talked about the universal military code on Friday and just now. But it goes into what I was actually calling about: the lack of importance that Senator Slotkin had said on ABC, and I'll read it real quick, which just makes no sense of priority on earth. He is attempting to use controversy over video to deflect or redirect public attention away from significant events, specifically the release of the Epstein file, high-rising groceries and home prices, which is really weird that someone will put that over our defense in the military and the things that keep us safe. Martin, it's easy. It's an easy thing to throw out there.
You start throwing out things that are maybe the top news stories, the most clickable stories. You're able to throw that out there, say food prices, whatever it is. That's an easy way to deflect it. Honestly, it's a better job. Job than they did deflecting the main story, of course, the main question that they were asked.
It is ridiculous, but that's not uncommon. I feel that, Martin, you know this as an ACLJ champion and supporter, that we have seen the media, especially Washington, D.C., we have seen the representatives bob and weave their way through these interviews. And of course, they're not going to miss an opportunity to not bring up anything that could score them a few points with their base when it comes to media.
Well, once again, what you've seen the Democrats do of late is just operate and peddle innuendo. whether it be the Epstein Files, whether it be this video. Their innuendo here is that he's giving illegal orders, no matter what they say. I mean, it's hard to tell what they're saying, honestly, in many of these interviews, but what they try to say is that no, we're just reminding them of the law. We're lawmakers, we're telling them what the law is.
But they're not even telling them, go speak to your JAG officer like they try to claim they are. They're just saying you must refuse illegal orders. They're trying to sow discord. Yep. All right, Aaron in California, watching on YouTube.
And as a veteran, we appreciate and thank you for your service. Go ahead, Aaron. Thank you for everything that you guys do. I appreciate that. And Uh yeah, as I just want to make a public comment So all six of those Democrats that are on that video The please Resign immediately.
I did twenty years. I was a senior NCO, and I pushed back on the chain of command. a few times and that's necessary. But This Democrats made that video to publicly undermine The military chain of command. Pushing back is not the problem.
And to Aaron's point as well, that's where the chain of command is typically where the UCMJ is focused: it's not normally talking about the commander-in-chief because the people that are carrying out the orders aren't getting direct orders from the commander-in-chief. As Jordan's mentioned many times, it's the way that it flows down.
So they're basically trying to get. A enlisted individual, or maybe NCO, or someone who is at a lower level. To make this assumption that what they're hearing from the President of the United States. And whatever their duty is that they're carrying out is a direct order. And then try that.
That is the entire problem. It breaks down the commander-in-chief's authority over the military. And that's very dangerous. All right, move on to the other topic. We've got two minutes here.
Look, we're going to cover it a lot tomorrow. But, Jordan, of course, breaking news, news, you're not going to want to hear, folks, but you know, we're not going to sugarcoat it. Federal judge, this district court judge, who was looking at the appointment specifically of the interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, that's Lindsey Halligan, after the first interim, was appointed to an extra 120 days and then resigned because he didn't want to investigate Comey or Letitia James.
Well, the judge in that case, who was looking at the appointment, can you appoint a second 120-day person who hasn't been conferred by the Senate? Has tossed out the charges against James Comey and Letitia James on the grounds that the appointment of this interim U.S. attorney, Lindsey Halligan, violated the law, which says you. You have 120 days.
Now, this will be appealed because the question is: if someone leaves after that first 120 days, can you appoint someone in that position as if you're the President, which actually goes to the attorney general, for an additional 120 days while someone gets put forward to be confirmed by the Senate?
So it's very technical. It wasn't based off anything specific.
Well, so far, it was based off the appointment, but this involves. Both the charges against Jim Comey and the charges against Letitia James that were returned by a grand jury. And at this point, the case has been dismissed. Those charges have been dismissed, but this will also be appealed. All right, with that, of course, that is just a tip of the iceberg because we'll discuss this a lot coming up.
That is legitimately breaking news that happened in the last five minutes. We have been trying to break it down. We're going to have a lot more information coming up tomorrow.
So make sure you stay tuned. Of course, support the work of the ACLJ. Only got 10 seconds left. Just do it today. If you can, your donation will be doubled through the end of the month through a Freedom Drive.
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