BREAKING: Leader of Trump Assassination Plot Killed

We got breaking news. The leader of the Trump assassination plot killed in Iran. 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, taking your phone calls at 1-800-68431-10.

Some of you are already calling Amazon lines are open. 1-800-68-431-10. You may be joining us because of that breaking news item that we are covering right now. And that is that Pete Hegseth this morning announced that the planned assassins, the team that was assigned to be, it's strange to say it out loud, I guess you'd say, the assassination team of President Trump that was being led in Iran has been dismantled to a permanent extent. That is happening right now.

He spoke earlier today. We're getting a lot of updates what's going on in Iran. I think it's actually very good that we are getting all these continual updates either directly from President Trump or from Secretary Hegseth. It is an interesting time, to say the least, to follow the news, to wake up. This happened early this morning.

He spoke about this. Actually, let's just kick it right off. Let's hear from Pete Hegseth. Friday. Also, yesterday, the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump.

has been hunted down and killed. Iran tried to kill President Trump. And President Trump got the last laugh. President Trump got the last laugh, Will. That's what they can.

That's right.

So, when you hear about this, as you said, Logan, it almost seems. Wild to even think about, but that there was a unit within the IRGC that was given the task of retribution against President Trump, of assassinating President Trump. And that individual who led that unit. Is no longer on planet Earth. When you think about the scope of what the U.

S. military has been able to do alongside of Israel in taking out all of these leadership positions, it takes out individuals who were directly going after the United States of America. It is also showing the American people as they give these updates. Why this is a necessary thing? There should not be a leader of a unit.

That's the entire goal is to take out the sitting President of the United States, no matter. Whom that is. Even if it was Joe Biden, that should not be a thing that exists.

So all of you that are complaining about, you know, they needed to sit down more, they needed to have more conversations. What are we talking about here?

Okay, they had a department of assassination, essentially. Uh for the President of the United States. I think that justifies a lot of what was going on. Phone lines are open for you. As we head to break in just a few minutes, I want you to call in.

I want to hear from you as much as we can. We got Cece Howell joining us, senior attorney here at the ACLJ. For an update on the ACLJ, we always want to make sure you get that. Do we have Jeff Balabon? Is that Jeff Balabon as well?

Head of ACLJ Jerusalem. He'll be joining us live.

So stay tuned for that. But we also want to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110. For those just joining us, yes, the news this morning was that Iran's leadership that was specifically. Their job was to figure out a way to assassinate President Trump. They have also been destroyed.

That came again from Pete Hagslet this morning. We can play another bite, I guess, if we'd like to from Secretary Hags. I think we wait till we get back. Yeah. That being said.

The ACLJ has been involved in these kinds of cases and been involved in this kind of world, whether it's fighting for the rights of Iranians, for Israelis, of course, for the American people for decades now.

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Let us know where you're watching from. Subscribe if you can. We'll be back in just a moment. And we're gonna actually hear from Pete Hagzeth. about the situation in Iran and specifically The elimination of the assassination two.

Welcome back to Sekulow. I do think that's an interesting point we turn in break. You know, President, or I'm sorry, Secretary of State, I'm sorry, again, Secretary of War.

So then they change the titles on you. He's one of them. He's one of them. said that Israel and the US will be in control of Iran soon. That is a little bit of a different take.

I understand what he's saying here. Temporarily, for the time being, we will have control over the situation going. Does that infer a little bit of Iraq? Does it have a little bit of that? But he was very careful and very clear to say this is not a mission-accomplished moment.

I think they are doing their best to not step in it when they know that that is in the lingering mind of anyone over. 40, everyone over 35, probably who lived through a version of the war on terror.

Well, and I think to that point as well, what in control of Iran means isn't necessarily installing people into the cities themselves. I think what it also talks about is we already control the skies of Iran. We have air superiority.

So our jets and bombers can come and go as they please without the threat. Of their Air Force and their missile defense systems taking down our aircraft.

So, that we're in control of the skies, in control of the land, meaning they have no more operational ability on the land, I think, could also be what you read from that. But the entire way this has rolled out has been so fascinating to see the strength, the resolve of our warfighters and the administration and the generals of getting done what needs to be done. And yes, the. Tragic loss of six soldiers at the beginning of this from one of the ballistic missile strikes from Iran in Kuwait. One, as the President put out ahead of time, that is war.

There is the chance that you will have tragedy on your own side. I think that that was the. Where it is limited at right now in and of itself is remarkable. Knowing how strong we have gone, the quickness at which the United States and Israel have gone after Iran.

Sometimes the speed can be a factor that could lead to more tragedy. And I think you are seeing the United States military in their full might doing something that all the experts that you've heard from all the time that it'll spark a regional conflict. It'll just be so much that the United States can't even really take on Iran. And to be fair, Iran, when you even talk about this unit, That was within the IRGC that would have someone who's tasked with assassinating the President. It is a different war than going after the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Where it is nomadic tribes and not as advanced as the government of Iran, even though they were not allowing their people to flourish, they were an established government with established military, and special forces, and a navy, and an air force. And so this is fighting a nation-state. Not just a terrorist organization, even though they are terrorist and the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

So, that in and of itself, being able to accomplish all this with as minimal casualties up at this point, is frankly remarkable and not something I think any expert said that we would have been able to do. Look, there's a lot of calls that are coming in. And look, they're on both sides of the fence here. They're having some issues, and I wanted to take those. We actually haven't had a lot.

That are questioning this. And I wanted to open up that discussion at 1-800-684-3110.

So I want to actually start things off a little differently today. Let's go to Heather, who's calling online three in Minnesota. Go ahead. Hi. I'm very thankful for the brave action the U.

S. took.

However, I think it's also when you use terms like take control, especially right after Venezuela, Trump's bragging about taking control of the oil, And and people suspect motives and when a school is hit In Iran, and people are saying the U.S. is taking control. And then that it's another oil-rich country. It's very serious reminiscent to people that I know of Iraq and and Yeah, I think the US needs to be careful, especially Trump and the the things he says. And they can just stack out, you know.

I don't know about back out now. I was only really cutting you off because the connection was bad. But I understand what you were saying. She was saying she was having a hard time with this. She wasn't sure if with this war, she was happy that we took out the leadership.

But when there are things like the school that was destroyed, that, of course, Iranian media has reported, there have been some investigations going on with America and Israel to figure out what went wrong there or if they were involved in it. There's not a confirmation.

So I want to make sure that we paint the facts clearly, which is you are trusting the response and the statements from Iranian-controlled media.

So let's just get that out of the way. Not saying it didn't happen. Clearly, it did happen. I'm not sure. And it's tragic.

War is tragic in general. Let's not pretend it's not. Let's not pretend that all human life doesn't have intrinsic value and that these kind of things happen. They do happen. Uh, I do think sometimes the tone needs to be watched.

When we are talking about this, but also remember the leadership that was in place. And how horrible they are. To the people, to their own people. Yes. It is a tragedy if hundreds of children died.

I mean, I can't even imagine. But thousands, tens of thousands, were killed only the first two months of this year. First speaking out. Women have virtually no rights. This is not What you think of in terms of Western society.

And I wanna make sure that's always clear.

Now, in terms of. Things like we're taking control and all that. That's why I brought that up. I said, because it does give you that visceral response that connects it to something that we all grew up in, which was the war on terror. And you can look back on the goods and bads that came from the war on terror.

I think sometimes it gets painted a little too broadly as just a negative. I think it ended poorly, clearly. But there was some good that came out of that whole situation. Not to say that there wasn't some overwhelmingly bad issues that did.

Well, and Heather, to that point as well, I think the word control, I think, does need to be taken a little bit in the context of. I believe the Secretary of War was saying operational control, not necessarily America moving in with boots on the ground to establish an interim government or a military rule during some interim period of time. That is based off of all of the other contextual information that he's been giving. But I do understand your concern. To Logan's point about the news and the reporting that came out of Iran about the school, the U.S.

military is saying they are doing an investigation into those reports and what happened. That does not seem that it was a deliberate target, even if it was hit by U.S. weaponry. There's also reports. that it was a misfired.

Iranian missile defense system because they place Military buildings and operations next to schools. Yeah, I mean, if you look, it was that the school was adjacent to essentially the headquarters. Which is exactly what Hamas does.

So, that is, once again, using a military installation almost shielded by a school. And then, if there is a misfired missile, that yes, we were doing an airstrike, they were trying to intercept it, and it hits a school. There's a lot that we don't know because of the fog of war right now. The U.S. is saying they're taking those reports seriously, and that is a tragedy.

There is a tragedy when children are unfortunately caught up in war. As Logan also pointed out. The Iranians who are through their propaganda arms and saying, look how outrageous this are, they have no. uh care for loss of life. They killed 30,000 of their own people for trying to do something we take for granted every single day in the United States.

I've sat in the room and interviewed women that were put in the worst prison in Iran and tortured. Or owning a Bible. And genuinely tortured. Genuinely tortured. The tortured imagine.

For owning a Bible and were able to get out and rescued and now have a safe haven in the United States. I've sat in the room and heard their story. This is the reality of this regime. They have no respect for human life or human rights.

So their propaganda can elevate it. And the only reason it works is because we do care about the loss of life here in the United States. And we should be concerned by those things. but we also should not let it completely taint what is going on. Yeah, yeah, there are Always going to be bad moments in these wars.

It's just sadly the fact. We can't be naive to it. We can't put our head in the ground and pretend it's always going to work out 100% of the time. You're talking about human beings, stuff goes wrong. That being said, the overall mission is one that is looking like it's going to be very successful.

And Will Hay, people are calling for you to run for President. In 2040, this person said. I haven't done the math, but I don't know if I want to go through that in 2040. I don't know if I want to go through that ever. You mean the early 60s?

So, I mean, right? The late 50s? I don't know. When is that? 2040?

It's 15 years away? Be 40, 64. 64. There you go. That's about right.

That feels like a good Presidential age. Hey, Cece Hiles gonna be joining us when we get back, and we are going to continue also to play clips from Secretary Hegzeth's statements this morning. We got a little caught up with some of those conversations that you guys led, and I always love hearing from you.

So, so many of you are watching right now. I did want to state for those who are watching right now: yes, the breaking news is that there was a team that was authorized and was running. to be the assassination team. of President Trump From Iran. And that team...

Those leaders have been eliminated.

So that is a good thing, but also, again, a wake-up call that remember that existed within this. Government. An assassination team. While we were in the middle of negotiating, some form of agreement. with Iraq.

So you have to reframe the way you think about The whole world. that not everyone has the same value system. We are dealing with very, very different people. Phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110 CC. It's going to be joining us from the ACLJ in the next segment.

We're going to talk a bit about some of our victories. Then we're going to go back to calls and comments. And Jeff Balabon from ACLJ Jerusalem is going to be joining us in the back half. Stay tuned. Welcome back to Sekulow.

Once again, phone lines are open at 1-800-684-3110, and we are covering. If you're just joining us right now, so many of you are. The breaking news, of course, is that the leadership that was in charge in Iran of President Trump's assassination team. Yes, that was a thing, has been taken out. And we've been hearing from clips from Pete Hagseth, who spoke this morning.

We're going to go back to that shortly. But I did also want to bring up some of the amazing work the ACLJ is doing.

So please don't go anywhere. We'll go right back to this conversation. I know we're going to divert a little bit, Will, but it's always important to hear about the work that we're doing, especially in these months where your donations are doubled. That's right.

And actually, this one ties right in to what we're talking about. because it's a win that comes out of what was the Department of Defense. but now the Department of War. And it also shows that When the administration changed, and when someone like Pete Hegset said, we are going to focus on the lethality of our military and the warfighter themselves and getting back to the basics of what our military is. It's stories like this that really showcase they weren't lying, they were telling the truth.

And the ACLJ had to get involved in this case, CC, where they 20-year Army intelligence officer. Yeah. So, long great professionalism record. There's never been any issues with this individual who is in Army intelligence. Until the Biden administration decided to go after this individual.

So, give a little bit of the background and then what we were able to accomplish thanks to a new administration and a new mindset within the Department of War and what legacy this will leave, not just for this individual, but making sure that our military is focused on the right things. Right. First, I'm going to just say, you know, what a difference an administration makes. And this case history is going to show it to you very much black and white.

So our client, like you said, Will, has literally a spotless 22-year military record serving as a senior intelligence office in the Army. Officer and the Biden administration comes in and has mandatory DEI training. And our client simply objected to affirming a position that violated his faith. It was one question on military training.

So he asked for an accommodation just for that question, not to be exempt from the training or anything else, just a simple religious accommodation for the one question that literally made him violate his faith. Of course, he was denied, and then he was threatened with discipline up to and including termination, and then categorizing basically his beliefs as potentially discriminatory.

So after administration trying to resolve this administratively, obviously that failed under the Biden administration, the ACLJ filed in federal court. And we have been fighting this case and demanding that our clients, first, the rights, God-given rights that he has protected by the First Amendment, would be followed. But then the administration changes, and this is where we have a great victory because we have now a settlement that the Army has acknowledged that our client absolutely did not engage in any kind of discriminatory actions at all. They've expunged his record. It's completely back to being clear.

They gave him compensation and paying attorney's fees. This is a huge settlement. And they made a great comment acknowledging all of that, that our client didn't, they regretted their actions and that our client didn't violate anything. And that the Army is committed to fostering a working environment that demonstrates respect for the religious beliefs of all employees.

So, again, this is not just a win for our client, but it's a win for everyone in the military that has. Religious beliefs, they don't have to violate them to serve in the military. Absolutely, Cece. It's the important work the ACLJ is doing. Of course, that is domestically.

And when you support the work of the ACLJ, those are kind of things you're also supporting.

Now, I do want to move a bit back, and I'll pivot for you for a second because you've been so involved in our work internationally in the UN. And you know that our involvement, I think a lot of people are looking to moments like this when they see what's going on in Iran, they see the support needed for Israel, and they're looking for places of how can they help, how can they get involved. The ACLJ is actually a great place to do that because we've been at this for decades, and you've been at it specifically working internationally and at the UN and all of the things that they've needed, specifically dealing with situations like what's going on in Iran. Yes, and actually, I was going over to the Human Rights Council in Geneva for this session, which is going on right now. And of course, my travels got changed, and that's fine.

But I will still be doing an oral intervention at the Human Rights Council discussing the situation in Iran and what has been going on there forever under the control of the IT. And Just absolutely defending Christian rights, religious rights that don't happen in Iran. Yeah, I think that's important for you all to know, Will, the work of the ACLJ goes beyond maybe the American borders sometimes when it's necessary, when there are persecution. When it's persecution going on around the world, we have freed prisoners from Iran. We have been involved in these situations, like I said, for decades.

So when you hear us speak, understand we are speaking from a place of authority, not just as mouthpieces, not just as talking heads that you may see on your news or you may see on television. A lot of them do great work. I don't want to say anything bad about them. I'm just saying that we are certainly have a team here that is a next-level team. That's right.

And once again, Whether it be that victory for the military intelligence officer. That we need right now. We need Those types of people that have a great career of professionalism in a moment like this. And the Biden administration was trying to change the way the military operates. Thankfully, that is no longer.

And you see that in the results that we got for our client. As well as the change in the administration and the change in the Department of Justice, because they were involved with this, because we filed a lawsuit. and the Department of War under Secretary Hegseth. But also The ACLJ is unafraid. The UN is full of Friends of Iran.

And we speak the truth. to those people. that are friends of Iran. That hate Israel, that hate the United States, and yet we give them a forum in New York every year for a general assembly. But the ACLJ is unafraid to go to those places, CC, and speak truth.

About the reality of the human rights abuses of that regime, what they do to Christians, what they do to minorities, what they do to people that just don't want to live under their oppression. And we will never back down from that mission. That's right.

I frequently tell our team when I'm over there because I'm defending Israel, which again is the minority position at the UN, and then condemning Islamic regimes. And I frequently tell them, just watch my back when I'm speaking because I am definitely the minority. The ACLJ's position defending what's right at the United Nations is definitely the minority, but we will not be scared and silenced because of that. We will speak the truth. All right.

Thank you, Cece, for joining us. We do have a second half hour of this broadcast. If you're watching online, just stay put. We're not going anywhere.

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Be a part of the team right now. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever. This is Secular. And now, your host, Logan Sekulow. Welcome to Sekulow second half hour.

We're live right now, taking phone calls and comments at 1-800-684-3110. Thanks for joining us. The top story of the day that we are talking about. And of course, we're going all over, especially with the current situation going on in Iran. And that is that Pete Hegseth announced this morning.

that there's been an elimination of the team. Who is tasked specifically with the assassination of President Trump again when you even hear that that team existed. You should understand who you're negotiating with when you're talking about they should be better at meetings, we should have more conversations. Eventually, there is a line that gets crossed.

Now, Pete Hagseth also. Brought up The apparent You know, gut reaction that a lot of people have, especially if you're in your, let's say, your mid-30s and up. which is those of us who lived as adults or teens through adults through the initial days of the war on terror that then led to the initial years, which then led to a long and drawn out and frankly an ending that all of us would love to forget. specifically in Afghanistan. He knows.

President Trump knows. That we are all having those feelings. That it's hard not to Put yourself back in those shoes. We all remember the mission accomplished moment. President Bush flew in.

I mean, we remember the theatrics. They go after President Trump's theatrics. Remember President Bush, who, again, I don't really have anything bad to say about, flew in. In a fighter jet. In a flight suit.

Got off a plane on an aircraft carrier with the giant mission accomplished. uh banner behind him just months after The war had started. Of course, we know. Than it was uh a decades-long uh battle. The Trump administration seems very well aware.

So I want you to hear from Pete Hegseth. directly talking about this is not a mission accomplished moment that's byte 27. This is not a mission accomplished situation. This is simply a reality check. The combination of US and Israeli intelligence and combat power will control Iran.

and we'll control it soon. Sure, Iran will still be able to shoot some missiles. And still be able to launch one-way attack drones at civilian targets, and their proxies will attempt to attack our embassies, bases, and soft targets. They are terrorists. After all.

and they need to target civilians. Because they can't fight toe to toe. But we will find them. And we will kill them. Again, very direct words from Pete Hagseth.

I'd say, for someone who has taken a lot over the last year. for his maybe his tone and his energy. I don't think there could be a better person in terms of his tone and energy for moments like this. Or you do feel like you need someone who is strong, who has that sort of persona, who has had television experience, to be honest, as well. A broadcaster who can connect the dots and can make you feel safe and comfortable during times of concern.

He may have not. been the the vocal point or the mouthpiece that made sense before this. Just because of that. But now that we are essentially in a quote unquote time or not time of war. I really do want to give him his flowers and say he's thinking he's doing an excellent job.

Well, and once again, I think you see the transparency and knowing that he. He has history in the military through the war on terror. He understands. As many of us do, the concerns of the American people, the hesitation from the American people on this issue. And I think that is why he is such an effective mouthpiece for the administration and for the Department of War on this: to show that we hear you, we understand your concern.

Here's why this is going to be different. And I think also playing that control bite that the prior caller had asked about, I think it shows you it doesn't sound like this is a mission accomplish moment. It's going to be just like Iraq when we talk about control. He means operational control, not just of the skies, but also of the ground, meaning they are unable to inflict. More damage than one-off missiles here and there.

So I think it's important to hear from him. Yep, stay on hold if you're on hold. We'll get to you, Robert, Pete, Michael. We also have three lines open at 1-800-684-30110. For a portion of the next segment, we're going to be joined by Jeff Balabon from ACLJ Jerusalem.

We have an office in Jerusalem. We have staff that goes back and forth between America and Jerusalem to make sure, and Israel in general, to make sure that your voice is being heard. and he's not being drowned out by the mainstream media. And that only happens because of your support. Of course, it's a great time to do it.

Double your impact month. Scan the QR code, go to aclj.org, right back with Jeff, and taking your calls throughout the rest of the half hour. Welcome back to Sekulow. Jeff Balabon from ACLJ Jerusalem is joining us now. And yes, if you're brand new, you may not know that we are part of the ACLJ, the American Center for Law and Justice, and that we have an office in Jerusalem.

We have staff that goes back and forth between the United States and Israel continually to make sure that your voice is being heard around the world. A lot of you are calling in. A lot of you are watching right now. Of course, the big news that we were talking about today was that Pete Heggs has announced that the obliteration, really, of the team in Iran, that's their job, what they were made to be, is the assassination team for President Trump, that they have been eliminated.

So these are big moments. There's also a lot going on in terms of control of Iran, what it's going to look like in the future, how long this endeavor could be. We're going to be discussing that at length with Jeff Balabon and with you.

So give me a call right now if you want to get on hold and get online. It's a great time to do it. 1-800-684-3110. But, Jeff, I know there's There's a lot going on right now in your world, but we are following this as Israel is always, specifically in this moment, at the center of everything.

Well um You know, as you know, I'm joining you from the states currently trying to get back to Israel. They just lifted their announcing tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully, they're lifting the restrictions on travel into Israel. My flight is not till next week, so we'll see what happens. But many flights have been canceled.

Meanwhile, between here and Washington, et cetera, the conversation is how it's impacting Israel as much as how it's impacting America. I think that the last 24 hours, 36 hours, what we've seen is primarily that the late Ataya Khamenei alleged their allegation is standing orders that he knew that he could be taken out, and that if he's taken out or if command and control is severed, that units have free reign to fire at will, basically. And what's interesting is that recently, again, last day, all of a sudden there were missiles launched at Turkey, which had not happened until now. And the Iranian regime, or at least what's currently in place, has apologized for rockets launched on Oman. And so we don't know if this is because a commander decided on their own to do it or because there's some other strategy.

And that's what's happening: there's little frantic attacks. And the other thing that's happening is that the stockpiles of Iranian missiles, which are massive and actually far more than the interceptors, and also cost about a thousand times less, literally, it's a difference of, let's say, $30,000 to $30 million each. Our stockpile, meaning our allies' stockpiles of interceptors are much less than Iran's stockpiles of missiles.

So there's frantically movement aggressively to try and take out as much of their launch capability as possible. All that's happening in real time, and all of that's going to impact not just the region, but the globe. And, Jeff, once again, what we are seeing is the strength of this coalition of the United States and Israel. We are also seeing that Qatar has now done strikes in Iran as a response to two Iranian bombers that were trying to target the airport in Doha.

So, the strength, though, of this coalition is remarkable. It is once again going back to the way America used to fight wars back, I would say, World War II, as Pete Hexeth pointed out today. We sunk an Iranian ship with a submarine. First time that has happened since. World War II, this doesn't seem like a boondoggle like Vietnam or any of the other adventuristic wars that we've gotten into.

It is very early, but the mindset of the leadership. Seems to be clear about the strength and the mission. And we cannot predict the future. We don't know what the outcome is. But even that shift in the way that they are going about this of not holding back, Making sure to take out the Navy, the Air Force, having air superiority so that when they do fire a missile, they know where to go take out the launcher.

It just seems like a completely different strategy than we've seen from American administrations for quite a long time.

Well, this President is a different President, and there's no question about it. Look, he ran on America first. Making America great. And he also ran on not getting involved in foreign entanglements. And yes, many of us remember with chagrin.

American adventurism or the notion of regime change as though this Pollyannish idea that in other places of the world and other cultures, you know, many Americas are going to crop up. That's not what's going to happen. No one's expecting that to happen. And there's a difference between America first, And foreign entanglements. This is not a long-term entanglement.

This is a stabilizing move. This is a move that the trajectory of Iran's leadership and their capabilities and the interests of our worst enemies and their incursions into our hemisphere really made this necessary right now, let alone, as you were talking about before, the fact that they had people actively seeking ways to kill our President on an ongoing basis. And so bringing this back, you know, everyone is pointing to the fact that what was unleashed on October 7th by the attack on Israel by one of Iran's many, many proxies, one of their weaker but still horrific proxies, that doesn't mean that Israel's behind this, what's happening now. It means that what's always been the case, that America's interests have aligned with Israel's interests. And this is primarily America's interests here on a global scale.

For America to be first domestically, it has to maintain its status abroad because there are too many enemies who want us to. be not just diminished, but destroyed.

Well, let's talk about that a little bit. You know, we saw Gavin Newsome this morning. He put out a statement or an interview he was in and kind of inferred and said that he kind of considered Israel at this point an apartheid state. He brought up comments related to Prime Minister Netanyahu and whether he's going to be, you know, what's going to happen in the future in Israeli politics. Of course, as we know, and Jeff, as you know, Israel is no, it's not like America where it goes back and forth politically often.

So it's not like, I know some people have this picture of a Netanyahu love fest that's in Israel. It's not always the case. But when you hear words like that coming from the sitting governor of California, who is also potentially running for President of the United States, there is my concern is that even in these moments where it feels like there should be universal support of what we're doing here, understandably. That there's still going to be this undercurrent of anti-Israel, which then leads to, obviously, we know a rise in anti-Semitism. And you have it coming from the governor.

To change that tide, to turn that tide, feels very difficult right now. As an American, as an American with Jewish background, I feel like it's even harder. Yeah, it's I agree, Logan. It's a very important point you raise, and it's deeply concerning because Gavin Newsom isn't just speaking as the governor of California. You're right.

He's speaking as someone who's made it pretty clear he desperately wants to be the next President of the United States. He wants to be the Democrats' candidate. And the fact that he believes, you know, Joe Biden, who was no real friend to Israel, thought it was necessary to say that he was a Zionist and that he was pro-Israel, even though he really was not. But that's what he thought not that long ago. And the people around him thought was necessary to be a mainstream candidate to be the Democrats' leading candidate for President.

Well, now, in order to be a leading candidate for President on the Democrat side, apparently you have to engage in absolute blood libels. I mean, these are medieval, weird blood libels and conspiracy theories about how the Jews are pulling everybody's strings. And they're sickening. I mean, really repulsive, what he's saying. No, no, you know, not even the slightest truth to it, but he's deep and sounds like what would have been the extreme fringe.

Uh before let's say 2018. Uh before the squad came to town. Is now become the standard. And what's really deeply concerning is that it's beginning to happen as we see it on some parts, you know, what they call the horseshoe of the other side of the political spectrum. And there are people who try to drive the Republicans down the same path.

And then you'd have two parties basically arguing about the first thing is: how do we take care of the Jewish problem? Basically, what happened during Hitler's time in Nazi Germany to distract attention from failures of governance?

Well, California is failed governance. And so, what they're trying to do now is find the scapegoat. And the deep problem is it's affecting our culture when we have, you know, it's so important to talk about what's actually happening in the Middle East, including what Israel's doing and what America is doing.

Well, and Jeff, to that point as well, this is the sitting governor. He's criticizing the administration's strikes on Iran in a podcast on Pod Save America with a former speechwriter for President Obama. And even. This person who likes to think of himself as so savvy. Can't even come up with a a new thing to say.

It's the fact that he's like, they're kind of an apartheid state. Like, that's the first thing that he can come up with as a criticism for Israel. It's not even. Novel for that faux criticism that has been going on for so long. That's the best he can do and to say, like, breaks my heart because the current administration in Israel is just walking America down this path.

We have to rethink it. You point out, it's the same old tropes. There's nothing even clever about it to be something new political. He's just having to recycle things and try to make himself look relevant, and he's not.

Well, listen, it's nothing's coincidental. The fact is that we're just in the middle of Purim. Really, Purim is celebrated as one day, but in ancient communities that existed since the time of Joshua, walled cities, it's celebrated on a different day.

So it's the day after.

So the Purim celebrations, which are still ongoing, which is a story of Esther and Mordecai, and this is the ancient evil regime. But those are the exact claims that Haman was making to the king. Those are the exact same claims that the Jews have to be wiped out. It's all their fault. And you see what happened to them.

And you see what's happening to them today. And so, you know what, Will? What works? You know, you stick with it.

So if it ain't broke and you want to rile up people and get people savage and behind you, so blame the Jews for something. And that really seems to be working now. And so they're not looking for anything new. They're just going back to the old tropes and modern guys. Yep.

Thank you so much for joining us, Jeff. Phone lines are open. I'd love to hear from you. 1-800-684-3110. Great time also to.

Bring out your Bible, read that story to your kids, story of Esther. I think that it will help. the next generation and the next generation of women. That was my daughter's favorite story, of course, in the Bible is the story of Esther, as it is for most women, I feel like. But it is a great one to tell your kids and show them the modern parallels of what's happening right now.

Do it today. We'll be right back with more on Sekulow. We appreciate you calling Jeff, and we'll be right back. Welcome back to Sekulow, final segment of the day. We do have a couple lines open if you want to try to get on 1-800-684-3110.

I do need to take some calls at Mailhold for a very long time.

So I'm going to start off with Robert and Marilyn. Robert, you've been on the air many times with us before, so I feel bad, not as bad, but I still feel bad that you've been holding for 50 minutes. But go ahead. No, it's no problem at all. I'm glad you all are going through and dealing with a lot of the issues and subject that you are, especially considering that Iran and Operation Codename Epic Fury.

Speaking of that, are the United States marshaling the Central Intelligence Agency personnel and also U.S. Army Special Forces to go into Iran to work with the Kurds and others inside Iran to train them and to give them weapons to help overthrow the government? The Iranian people can't do it themselves. And as good as the Kurdish are, and they're very good fighters, they're going to need assistance too.

So that was my question. Do they have paramilitary units from the CIA as well as the U.S. Army Special Forces on the ground right now in Iran, preparing to arm the Iranian people now that we have 24-7 bombings and also missiles being fired at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, their militias and their army?

So, Robert, one thing I think we should also differentiate for people, a lot of times when The United States says no boots on the ground. They mean infantry. They mean Marines. They mean a a invasion of that case. You can almost guarantee, although we will not hear for it, especially if these operations are ongoing.

That United States Special Forces, whether it be Delta Force from the Army or Rangers from the Army or Navy SEALs, that those forces are active in the region and doing things that we don't know about, may never know about, may not know about for a very long time. Same with the CIA. Those aren't things that they typically are going to broadcast. The reports are that the CIA, though, is readying the Kurds. to make an incursion.

The Kurds have been persecuted by the Iranians for a very long time. Kurdistan is this region that kind of spans both Iraq and Iran and parts of Turkey. They are very pro-American. They helped us greatly in the fight against ISIS and are very strong, brave individuals. Yes, that reporting does seem to be that they would be kind of taking the lead at going in.

And you can imagine that the creativity of the CIA and the way that they will be assisting them would also be assisting the people of Iran. As the President said at the very outset, once we are done. With our heavy bombing, and it's safe to do so. Iranian people take back your country.

So, I think you may know the answer there, Robert. Nothing we can confirm or deny on the record, or that we would ever get from the administration at this point, but I think that's where everything is pointing. Yeah, we'll hear from Pete Hegsmith here in a moment, but I want to make sure we get to your calls. Pete's calling in New York. Pete.

You're on the air. How are you? Go ahead, Pete. And I have a conserve.

Now isn't it correct me if I'm wrong? Is it the President proposed to meet with the President Xi Jinping, correct, of China coming up in the future. I'm sure in the future, I don't know what the specifics are on the dates, but let's just assume, yes, that they're okay, that they do have an ongoing relationship.

Okay, here's my concern.

Now is he supposed to go there And my concern is, the problem is that if Iran had a higher assassin group. Knowing Iran was close with GZPing, Putin, and Kim Jong-un. Is that a great time, especially right now or even in the future? You get what I'm saying?

So, one, Pete, the summit that is supposed to happen is not until later this month in Paris. I think a lot of that could shift, as you're pointing out, based off of this, that the President may not be going to Europe. That also being said, at this point, I think that. the security of the President and those things would be set in place. You know who else wouldn't want the President of the United States to have something happen to them during a summit?

That would be the leadership in China, because that would be. Right now, you've seen. The Chinese government say Hey, Iran, we really wish you the best. Like, just fight your little hearts out, just get after it. But we're not going to send any sort of military because, at the end of the day, we know that China's endgame is they want to take Taiwan back.

They don't want The mess with Iran to mess up those plans that they eventually have.

Now, that's something that we may have to deal with as the United States down the road as well. But I don't think that while you can't trust the leadership of China, I don't think that that is something that they really want is then a direct conflict because their security lapses led to something awful happening to a U.S. President. Yeah, exactly. To quote Scott Hall: if you want a war, You're going to get one in that moment.

So, phone lines again are open, but we're going to let's get through the rest of these calls. Uh So many of you have been a hold, and I really appreciate it. I know we've had a packed show with so many new people watching and listening. I appreciate it. Marion's calling in Texas, you're on the air.

Yes, I wanted to encourage the new people that are listening that I've been listening to you guys for years and years. I'm also a champion. I forgot to mention that. And that means you just give money to them and you're considered a champion. And there's nothing better than being a champion.

But this program is always fair. I'm surprised how they can keep their composure sometimes because sometimes it's so obvious that the other side is going half nuts, and yet they still have everything on a level kill. And one example of this is: you know, right now, if you don't know whether you want to support Trump or not, new people, there are 30 million Iranians right now that are just fantastically happy because they have now got freedoms. They've been thanking the United States over and over. They're thanking President Trump.

And if nothing else happens, the fact that our nation was involved in saving 30 million people from the oppression that they've been experiencing. Experiencing under the present regime, we are on the right side. Regardless of what happens in the future, we've given freedom to millions of people around the world. Thank you for listening to me, and I encourage you to join the program that we have here. Become a champion, donate monthly, and you will be doing yourself and our nation and the world a great service.

Amen. Thank you so much, Marion, for calling one. Thank you for being a champion. Thank you for being a supporter. Thanks for all the kind words.

You are right.

Some days it's harder to keep a level head than it is. But what I want to make sure when people join us, and I think what's what makes our show different, what makes our organization different, is not only do we have the legal action to be able to take beyond just this broadcast, is I always want to make sure that we are not just riling you up to rile you up. I actually keep a pretty tight control even on our social media team. I try to make sure they know that we're always searching for engagement. You always want that.

I want to make sure that we are presenting it in a way that is truthful, that is honest, that is not about just getting you to click over. It is about giving you the proper information. And in a way that hopefully doesn't destroy your day. And doesn't hurt your family life. And you can listen to this one hour a day and then put it to bed, maybe for some time.

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