2020 Elections: The Race to the Finish Line is On!

This is Jay Sekulow Live.

The conventions are over, but the race to the finish line begins. Live from Washington, D.C., Jay Sekulow Live. Phone lines are open for your questions right now. Call 1-800-684-3110.

That's 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. Welcome to Jay Sekulow Live.

This is Jordan Sekulow. We are taking your phone calls. 1-800-684-3110, as we discussed on Friday. You've got the party conventions. They are now over. Of course, Nancy Pelosi and some Democrats, they don't even want Joe Biden to debate. They're scared to death about that. And we're seeing right now that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got no bump out of their convention. And it looks like President Trump actually did receive a bump. Those numbers are still coming in. But what we're seeing is that in some of the most key battleground states, some polls are showing President Trump leading in Michigan, leading in the key Rust Belt states. Actually leading or tied in national polls. Folks, that's better than he was ever during the 2016 election. And just remember where we were three months ago when the mainstream media was saying it was going to be an 11-point landslide at least by Joe Biden was just going to crush the electoral map. And listen, no one can predict the outcome of the election yet. But what we do know is that right now things are trending back up for President Trump, and they are stalling for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And while President Trump and Mike Pence are actually going to be hitting the actual campaign trail, Joe Biden's going to do a mini tour.

So I guess he'll try to get out of his basement a little bit. There's a lot to talk and unpack here, and we will throughout the week. But this is also, Than, the final day of our matching challenge at ACLJ.org. My dad is going to be joining the second half hour talking about a lot of our legal victories and what we're working on legally at the ACLJ. I wanted to focus you on politics in this first half hour and government affairs with you because our government affairs team has been very busy these past few months, even with COVID, working on behalf of our ACLJ members and supporters. Yeah, the COVID pandemic, Jordan, really, honestly, it's shifted the work of the government affairs shop here in Washington, D.C., but it's really been, it's dovetailed very nicely with the work that we were already doing at the ACLJ.

Jordan, I think the thing that I am the most excited about that has transpired since the pandemic came upon us is the expansion of interest in Washington, D.C. and school choice. We can go through a lot of issues that we've advocated for. As you know, the COVID stimulus bills that have come forward have had a myriad of issues that we are interested in and we have had to engage. But Jordan, we are seeing more and more members on both sides of the aisle come to the realization that federal dollars in the education space that come out of Washington, D.C. have to be, have to come with flexibility for states and localities, especially in a pandemic when school districts aren't opening.

So why would you send federal dollars to school districts and expect them to run traditional programs? Jordan, there has been an expansion of interest in Washington, D.C., three bills specifically that we've been advocating for and the principles in those bills, Jordan, we want them to attach to COVID stimulus dollars that come forward as well. Senator Scott, Senator Paul, Congressman Walker and others have led on this.

Jordan, I'm excited. I think the momentum is there. I think school choice is one of those issues that we have helped push to the forefront. And I'm telling you, Jordan, we are on the edge of seeing victory on that issue here in Washington, D.C.

I think so. And also across the country, we've got these legal victories that have been going on. We're still working on those throughout the country, state by state, 48 states plus the District of Columbia. We've had victories there for students, potential lawsuits coming for students. And remember, some schools, I know my daughter just went back today, so that's some of the reopenings are just beginning. Some started a couple of weeks ago of the schools that are actually opening in person.

And then those that are doing virtual learning also figuring out if there's more hardships that come along with that, the parents may not have even predicted the ones who didn't initially contact us. We want to take your phone calls 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110. But let me remind you, this is the final day of the month to take part in our matching challenge. If you're financially able to right now, it is a great time to support the work of the ACLJ. Donate online at ACLJ.org and double the impact of your financial donations.

The final day to do it. Give until midnight wherever you are in the country to make that donation and double your impact. We need your support. It's how we bring the broadcast, the TV, the legal work, the government affairs work, the international work. It's because of your support. Donate today.

Double the impact. Final day to do it. ACLJ.org. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. And so welcome back to Jay Sekio live. We will be, you know, it's this final day of our matching challenge.

We're going to kind of remind you and we're live, of course, take your phone calls 1-800-684-3110. But just what the ACLJ has been able to accomplish in just these past few months. So during COVID, during with all the restrictions, we've been fully operational, not just on the broadcast, but on our legal work, our government affairs work. Representing 1800 plus families and the significant hardships they're facing because of school closures or virtual learning or students with that need individual education plans or have specific disabilities that they need to be addressed that aren't being addressed.

And we have victories on those. I mean, for instance, we've already assigned about 1400 of these family situations to attorneys so that they can go through and exactly figure out what the action would take. One family that was in need during this time for adequate equipment, a computer, wireless device, internet connectivity to complete remote learning, a disabled parent in Georgia with two sons, both suffering from asthma. They contacted us because the boys needed laptops in order to compete assignments on the school's remote learning platform. ACLJ sent a letter to the school after the parents request to the school went completely unanswered. So you see, until the ACLJ got involved, the parents did the right thing. They asked the school what they needed to do this virtual learning.

But the school responded to the ACLJ letter and guess what? They provided the laptops for each of their sons. Similarly, the ACLJ helped families in Texas whose children didn't have computers needed for distance learning. Our legal teams guides made sure the parents received those resources. We were able to assist four more families in California who needed help navigating child care and student supervision issues. And the ACLJ was able to direct the parents to make sure they got all the things figured out there. In South Carolina, we recently sent letters to school districts on behalf of two families who reached out to us because they lacked essential education tools necessary for their children to complete their school's remote learning programs. This is just as we go.

I'm just going through this. This week, the ACLJ is representing a parent in North Carolina whose autistic daughter has been unable to do online work with her teacher. With the school deciding to go fully virtual, the teacher offered to come to the home a few days a week for in-person instruction, but the school district wouldn't allow it.

So we are fighting back there. Another parent in North Carolina whose son had special needs contacted the ACLJ because the school is not fulfilling his individual education program. The school has not responded to any of his emails asking for help where he stated, but then again, we are now working with the father to determine what would best meet his son's needs and then we'll contact the school.

And I have a feeling it'll be like that first one I talked about. Once the parents contact the school, they get no response. That's just horrendous, but it's the reality. Legal organization contacts the school and suddenly, you know, things get done. We're in the process of preparing more of these kinds of similar actions in Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina.

The list goes on and on because we're working in 48 states plus D.C. But what I'm telling you is that we're already getting victories out of this without having to go to court. Now, if we have to go to court, that takes longer, but remember, these parents are all getting victories at no cost of legal representation because of your support for the ACLJ. Because you financially contribute to the ACLJ, those families, those kids have the tools they need that they would not have had otherwise. The school district was ignoring their parents, but because you support the ACLJ, they get top legal assistance. The same attorneys represent the President of the United States. Think about that.

You make sure that those who need help get that legal help without any cost to them. Be a part of our matching challenge. It ends today at midnight.

This is the final day of the month, August 31, and wherever you are at midnight, that's when it ends. So if you get your donation in before midnight, wherever you are, it will count towards our matching challenge. What does that mean? It means a $20 donation that you make online at ACLJ.org.

It doubles the impact. So all your charge is $20. It's tax deductible. It's safe and secure to make that donation. But we have a group of donors who have said for every donation that comes in in March, we will match that donation. So that ends today. This is a very important final day of the month for us at the American Center for Law and Justice so that we can continue to represent all of those families at no cost.

So if you needed legal help that was constitutional, legal, and involved, we can represent you at no cost so we can bring you this broadcast. And then, Thad, we're also working aggressively on Capitol Hill. Just tell people some about what we're working on right now.

I know a lot with the COVID relief, getting the school voucher, the pandemic vouchers, things like that. But there's still work being done on Capitol Hill, though. The Democrats have been trying to stall everything out. Yeah, a lot of work, Jordan. And actually, I look at this issue as sort of two-pronged.

The first prong is basically what you just laid out. We're trying to find real solutions for real students in real time during this pandemic, so very specific action points. A lot of that legal work from our attorneys, Jordan, as children face an interesting school year ahead.

And just one note on sort of that layer of it. You touched on IEPs, Individual Educational Plans. Jordan, I have a son with special needs.

He has an IEP, and I got to tell you, having an advocate for families who are not getting what is legally required for a student with an IEP is absolutely essential during this calendar year. So I'm really proud of the work that we've done in that area. But then, Jordan, the second layer, it's going to be longer term. This year has been a great example of why we have consistently advocated for the federal government to give as much flexibility to states and localities as possible. Because when you face something like a pandemic or any other issue, really, Jordan, you need to have flexibility for localities to put forward solutions that are based on students. So we are backing three specific bills at the ACLJ. The A Plus Act, which puts forward by Senator Daines and Congressman Walker. The School Choice Now Act by Senator Scott and Senator Alexander. And the School Act by Senator Rand Paul.

Jordan, I'll just boil them down to this so you can get into some of the nuances if you want to. But essentially, there are a lot of funding streams that come from the federal government. Each of these three bills looks at different ones of those funding streams and turns flexibility over to the states. So some of the things that you're talking about, Jordan, while we're trying to address them now in this school year, they would change the formula for those federal dollars going forward. And some of those programs you're talking about would get federal assistance and states could do with those dollars as they see fit. And by the way, one other example, we supported South Carolina Governor McMaster trying to do that exact thing.

He got challenged, Jordan. We had to come to his defense on behalf of the Republicans in the South Carolina delegation. Yeah, I mean, you know, again, representing the entire Republican South Carolina delegation to the House and Senate.

I mean, think about that. Two senators and the members of Congress as well, led by Congressman Duncan. We also represent Senator Graham, Senator Scott. And, you know, I think it's key, Thanh, you brought up this idea of school choice being around. Every night of the RNC, there were multiple speakers talking about school choice up through Ivanka Trump, introducing her dad.

She was one of the final speakers. Then her dad, President Trump, who said in his next term he wants to make school choice available to all Americans. And we made a very broad statement. We launched our school choice initiative at the ACLJ on June 24th this summer, a few months ago, almost three months ago exactly.

And when we launched that, what we didn't realize was that not only would we be building out a school choice program and policy program at the ACLJ, that we did have the legal resources to fight it out in court when necessary, but that we'd also be hit with this COVID rush on what to do with education and schools. And so we started, I went on Fox News, we started taking in parents who, they needed help with their children. And the first time I was on Fox News, about 800 came through. Throughout that week, we talked about it once on air and another few hundred came through.

I was on Fox News again and about another thousand came through. And then the show on Fox News, it's on Sunday night with Steve Hilton, just started giving updates about what the ACLJ was representing. And I think we're just in phase one of that. We're doing the work that we can try and settle and get done without having to go to court because that's better for the kids to get them set right now. But at the same time, we're preparing for litigation as well. And phone calls later today out of New Hampshire that hopefully will be settled without having to go to court.

But if not, you know, that's always a possibility. And even if it could be settled without going to court, the teachers' unions try to get involved and sue someone. So we're ready to fight. We have the resources to do all of this because of you.

Because you support the work of the ACLJ. Before we get to the next half hour, the next segment, where are we on the second round of COVID relief in Congress? Speaker Pelosi still continues to not engage in that negotiation, Jordan. I mean, she says that she will, but basically what she wants is everything that was in the House-passed bill, which was, of course, nearly $4 trillion, included a long laundry list of things that she wanted. Jordan, the United States Senate and the White House offered Speaker Pelosi a short-term unemployment insurance extension at the full level, at the full $600 of federal assistance, which was what Speaker Pelosi said she wanted. Jordan, she rejected it. She has taken a position, and I really do think this is just factually accurate.

I think it's very hard to argue with this. I think she's taken a position that blocking COVID stimulus is good for Democrats at the ballot box. I disagree with that assessment, by the way, but I think that's the assessment she has made. She has declined to come to the table.

So at this point, Jordan, there is no deal that appears to be imminent, although the White House and the United States Senate continue to come to the table and ask for negotiations. All right, folks, we're going to continue to take your phone calls. 1-800-684-3110, that's 1-800-684-3110. Sherry on Facebook wrote in, if the ACLJ didn't fight for our rights, who would? Folks, we can only fight for your rights because of your financial support of the ACLJ, your donations. And until midnight tonight, you can double the impact of your donation being part of our August matching challenge.

It ends tonight at midnight. So donate online now at ACLJ.org. That's how we do our work. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, a play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Remember tonight, too, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, the Jay Sekulow Band will have its concert. That will be on the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow Facebook page, actually.

Jay Sekulow's official Facebook page. That's at 8 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. And the band's put together even two more new songs even during COVID.

So you'll see me. I'll be introducing the music and the songs. But even during COVID year, they did two new songs for last month at the end of that Matching Challenge. And they did two more new songs for the end of this month, which is tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

You can watch the Jay Sekulow Band on Jay Sekulow's official Facebook page. Beverly on Facebook wrote in, I love to hear about your work. School choice is essential. I want to take a phone call, and then we're going to get into some politics. I know when my dad joins us, he's going to go through some of the more of the legal victories and the legal work that ACLJ's been working on just these final three months because this is the final day of our Matching Challenge in August. But we are not going to ignore the news, the news about Nancy Pelosi not wanting Biden to debate, the news that's coming out about basically how this race has tightened to the point of a margin of error. And you know that's not good for Joe Biden because Trump underperforms.

I don't think he's ever polled this well ever against Hillary Clinton. So I want to take some phone calls first, and then we'll get more into the weeds and politics. Let's go to Michelle in Washington State on Line 1. Michelle, welcome to Jay Sekulow Live.

Thank you for taking my call. My question on these flexible bills that you just spoke about and sending it to the state is living in Washington State, which is one of the worst. And I know we can only change it through election, and there is a big force going on in Washington State that probably will never show on the national level or where you are, is that when you send these guys money, how does it help us? I mean, without it going to the individuals or perhaps the schools directly, I just see more money going to people who will misspend it, and they're not trustworthy.

So can you help me with that? Yeah, I mean, the whole idea here is to, with vouchers specifically, is to get the money either directly to the schools. So some states you've got to get the money right to the schools, but they're flagged for a specific student. In other states, the more broader states with vouchers, the money goes right to the families to utilize.

And that's what we advocate as the best school choice program, because the broadest, and it's the one that gives the most flexibility to parents, especially those in need, so they don't have to worry about tax credits and refunds and this and that. The money just goes right to them so they can spend it on their children's education. Kids should come first, teachers second. Teachers play a very key role, but America's children come first. Teachers and schools and their budgets and unions, they should come second.

Kids first. And the frustration that we heard from Michelle right there, Jordan, that is something we've heard echoed all across the country, because typically what happens is when federal dollars do flow, people like Michelle and people who need it never do see those dollars, because they go to school districts with a lot of federal strings attached. Jordan, it's not always the school district's fault. Sometimes it's the federal requirements that are put in place that just don't match the needs of the community. So to your point about vouchers, Jordan, the program with flexibility that I really like the best, and the one that we've advocated be attached to the coronavirus stimulus bills, is the one that actually gives the money to qualified scholarship-granting institutions, and then people like Michelle and others who might want to access those dollars actually apply, and that gives those scholarship-granting institutions outside of the government, Jordan, the ability to ascertain who needs those dollars best, which students need those dollars best, not school districts, not programs, but which students need those dollars most.

They compete for them, and that allows them to stretch and go the farthest and actually meet the needs of real students the most. Jordan, we're never going to advocate for the federal government to take over education for exactly the reasons that Michelle articulated. If you pull that control farther and farther away from the people, it will meet the needs of the people less and less. So she might have some frustrations at her state level, but I would tell you, Jordan, her biggest opportunity to impact change in this space is at that local school board level. That's why we want to push as many of those dollars to that level as possible, because Jordan, those people are going to be responsible to the people in their community because they want to keep their seats. We want the dollars there so that they're most accountable to people like Michelle.

Yeah, I mean, exactly right, and folks, here's the truth. We've got a lot to talk about when it comes to this issue. Guys, let's pull when the debates are supposed to be, but let's play Nancy Pelosi saying Joe Biden shouldn't even debate. He's got surrogates out now coming up with excuses for him not to debate President Trump.

They're scared to death of putting Joe Biden up there against a guy who can not only take a hard punch but delivers haymakers. Take a listen to Nancy Pelosi. I don't think that there should be any debates. I do not think that the President of the United States has comported himself in a way that has any association with truth, evidence, data, and facts. I wouldn't legitimize a conversation with him nor a debate. With the President of the United States who was elected by the American people who beat Hillary Clinton handedly even though they wanted to try and steal that election and the dossier and all that information and then tried and ruined the first three years, tried and failed impeachment, all of that. It's not worth debating the President, the American people elected, so that you can say why you think you're better than him. I mean, you might not like any of his policies or his tone.

Call him out on it then. What are you afraid of? You know what it is? They know Joe Biden couldn't even make a good effort, I think. I think they're worried he would not be quick enough on his feet to take the punches or even respond. So he'd just be sitting up there with the googly eyes, not ready, kind of like a boxer who's just been punched and punched and punched over the head and that plus wouldn't even understand the questions from the moderators because we still haven't seen Joe Biden really live yet. When he does interviews, he's looking down, reading notes. Could you imagine if President Trump did that or anybody else on cable news just said, okay, what's the question? Oh, let me read my notes for you and I'm alive on the air.

Here you go. One, two, three, okay, okay, I'll read that, I'll read that, I'll read that, okay. Which means the media also gave him all the questions before.

Now, the second part is this. The first debate is supposed to be September 29th at Case Western in Cleveland. That's less than a month away. Now, Joe Biden, guys, has said that he's going to debate. He's pushing back. He's saying, I actually will debate. And so I think it's important to note that, as AP said, that Biden said last week, there's no question the debates will take place because I think he realized the backlash from that Pelosi comment was really bad because then, as we go into our second half hour, we are starting to see polls, not just nationally, basically tightened within the margin of error. And so they were showing 11-point leads by Biden nationally. Those national polls are the most meaningless, but now that that's tightened, you look at state by state, there's polls showing Trump up by two in Michigan. Trump up in or tied in Minnesota. Trump leading in Wisconsin. Trump leading in Pennsylvania. I mean, the list goes on and on on these key states.

The betting odds, the way the betting odds have changed are just unbelievable. They have swung totally back into the direction of Donald Trump. Two things, Jordan. One, if Joe Biden wants to be President of the United States, he's got a fundamental obligation to take his case to the American people.

There's no excuse for dodging it, although I'm not surprised that Speaker Pelosi might want him to. But Jordan, your point about the polling numbers, I think that is exactly why you finally see him setting up at least a small, it's not very significant, but at least a small campaign swing. Jordan, I think he saw that the numbers were going the same exact direction that Hillary Clinton's went when she decided not to take her case to the American people down the stretch.

She didn't visit those places, and Donald Trump essentially won all of them. Jordan, I don't think a visit or two is going to be enough for Joe Biden, but I can tell you this, if he decides not to go, if he takes the Hillary Clinton approach, I think it'll be 2016 in those states all over again. All right, folks, remember, it's the final day of our matching challenge. It's been a great month, the ACLJ. I appreciate all of you have already donated. Remember, you can double the impact of your donation by donating online at ACLJ.org. You have until midnight tonight. The Jay Sekulow Band will be on his Facebook page at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

We'll be right back. My dad will be joining us. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Live from Washington, D.C., Jay Sekulow Live. And now, your host, Jordan Sekulow. All right, welcome back to Jay Sekulow Live. My dad is joining us now for the second half hour of the broadcast, and he'll be taking you through most of it because I've got to step out for some ACLJ work. But we're going to take your phone calls, 1-800-684-3110. So we've done the election update for you.

We'll continue that throughout the broadcast. These polls are tightening. Donald Trump is showing leading in key battleground states now, and that's just the early polls coming out post the Republican convention. We now can say for certainty that Joe Biden got zero bump, actually went down after the DNC convention, and that was after he went down after announcing Kamala Harris. So he's gone down twice.

Trump is on the way up, and he's in a better place now than he was in 2016 versus Hillary Clinton. Why do you think no bounce is out of the convention? Because the Democrats' convention was a waste of time to watch. It would look disastrous.

It would look boring. Because who you're trying to appeal to there are people who don't pay attention to politics all the time, don't watch cable news all the time, don't listen to broadcasts like ours all the time. And honestly, I almost fell asleep during Joe Biden's remarks because he was looking like this. Over on the screen, if you're watching our Facebook page, he had one teleprompter, not even the two, and he couldn't even go back and forth.

The guy, the only way he stayed on message, and it was so monotone, was because he was trying to stay on message with the teleprompter, is by directly reading it, and that's what he does when he does even live television interviews. You think he's going to come out of the cave? He's going to come out some, they say.

Some. But I think President Trump is going to hit the road for real, and that would be a huge, also a huge contrast. I think it's been a disastrous three weeks for Joe Biden when it shouldn't have necessarily been, but then it was capped off by this Republican extravaganza, if you will, that we're just seeing the numbers and results from, that are showing President Trump getting a bump, tightening this race back up, where, you know, all those liberal media pundits were like, Joe Biden's going to kill this thing.

When did we hear that before? Well, about every four years, but especially in 2016. Donald Trump has no chance. He is in a better, if the election were held today, he'd be easily reelected. Easily. Because if he under polls like he usually does at four to six points, he would beat Joe Biden in like 37 states.

Like a Reagan-Carter? Like, as bad as he beat Hillary Clinton, all those rust belt states, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin. What's the risk right now, do you think?

The risk? For Trump. I think it's just, you've got the schools reopening, you've got to get COVID relief. He's done a lot of that through executive order.

We talked about some of that with Than. If he's got to do PPP on his own, they figured out ways to do it through executive order, but that would be unfortunate that Congress couldn't come together to at least do that for the American small businesses and the workers, and especially the hospitality industry, whether it's restaurants, hotels, salons that are down so low in capacity, even though they can operate, they're barely hanging on. And there's some of the economy who won't need the loan. So I think it can be structured a different way at this time. So that's, I think, the big risk, is the economy.

Does it continue on this positive track? And with students getting back to school, are we able to handle a lot of these issues so that it's as smooth as possible going into November? Because we're not going to have a vaccine before then.

COVID is still going to be around then. So it's got to be the economy and that we're moving forward. I think that's what he laid out in his speech.

It was a long speech, but he laid out point by point. I want school choice not for just the kids in the poorest areas, I want it for every American. I want to dismantle what we know now as our public school system and change it for everybody so that you've got the choice. That's revolutionary, and I think that speaks to moms and dads across the country. Do you think more so because they're frustrated with the way things have gone over the last five months and they've seen the failures within the public school system and the bureaucracy?

Or is it because just people have had it? I think that a lot of these states are run by Democrats, that Trump wins, and they've had it. So those Rust Belt workers, families, they've had it. They've had it with Gretchen in Michigan. They've had it with the Pennsylvania governor.

It goes down the line. They're sick and tired of these lefty government, basically officials working with bureaucrats to keep their businesses shut down and their kids' schools shut down. And they're sick and tired of it. And that's exactly what tone you need going into a reelection if you're President Trump. All right, folks, don't forget our matching challenge campaign, ACLJ.org. And last day, any amount you donate, we get a matching gift for.

I'll take it from here. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement.

Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. And I've been taking care of business every day, taking care of business... Hey, welcome back to the broadcast, everyone. As Jordan mentioned, tonight we're going to have, as we do on these Matching Challenge months today at... What time is it going to run, Will?

8 p.m. Eastern Time will be a Jay Sekulow live band concert. It's both new material and archived material. Material you haven't seen in a long time and some brand new ones. We had two new tunes last month. We've got two more. We'll play the two from last month. So really four new tunes done remotely.

And then some of the best footage that we've had. And I think it goes for about an hour, hour and 15 minutes. So it'll be short, but it'll be interesting. And it's a great time for you to support the work of the ACLJ.

I want to spend some time. You've been talking about politics the first half hour with Jordan and Than. I want to talk about some of the legal issues, but I do want to ask Than a question first on, again, to reiterate on this PPP and then I've got something for Andy. Than, what is going to happen? I mean, look, the President's willing to do this by executive order. Is that what it's going to come down to?

It's true looking like it, Jay. I mean, I think Speaker Pelosi, I told Jordan this in the first half, but I think she's made the calculation that it's going to be better politically for Democrats in November if she just continues to obstruct. So she essentially, Jay, has not been willing to negotiate. Now, what she said publicly is that if she could get something around $3 trillion, she would go for that. But if you look inside the $3 trillion that she wants, Jay, so much of it just has nothing to do with coronavirus stimulus.

That would be about the worst thing for the economy that you could do, is do a bunch of spending that was unrelated to COVID. So that's really not a negotiating posture. I do think the President's going to have to continue looking at ways that he can continue to take action without the Congress because, Jay, I mean, like it or not, new dollars coming out of Congress, Speaker Pelosi is going to have to sign off on those. And even when the United States Senate has come to the table and said, okay, you can have everything you want on unemployment insurance, Speaker Pelosi has said no.

If she doesn't change that posture, Jay, then it's going to be incumbent on the President to do what he can without Congress. All right, Andy, I want to talk about some cases here because for those of you that are just joining us, with everything going on that you hear about, there's a lot going on behind the scenes you don't know. Let me run through a couple.

For instance, seems to be a straightforward situation. We intervene on behalf of a Christian resident of a senior housing complex who was instructed to remove a small cross from her outdoor garden. And it was pursuant to a policy banning all religious decor, although these crosses were really small, each under three feet.

I mean, I think they were like barely two feet. And they were placed in the garden in an appropriate way. These were symbols of her faith. This is where she prayed.

This is part of who she is. She contacted us. And what we do is, because we've handled a lot of these befores, once we sent the letter to the management company that was like the HOA area, or here it would be the senior center area, they backed down and would be permitted at that point for her to see this decor out her window in this little garden area she has. But Andy, I bring up that case, which seems like a small case, but for the woman we were representing in that Christian retirement home, that home, that senior housing complex, that was a really big case. It was a very big case because she wanted to show her belief in Christ and her belief in Christianity and this religious decor that she put, if you want to call it that, which is really a symbol of her faith, to be found to have been a violation of federal law was ridiculous. So we requested that the unlawful policy be rescinded and that our client be permitted to display her crosses. Fortunately, the management company, when they received the letter, reconsidered its policy, complied with our request, and issued a notice to all the residents, Jay, that it was rescinding the policy regarding the religious symbols and that the residents would be permitted to display their religious decor in their windows, on their doors, and other appropriate spaces. So today, Jay, our client's crosses, the symbol of our faith, the symbol of victory, NECA, the victory of Christ, continued to stand in her outdoor garden and her constitutional rights have been preserved. And this is just one little symbol of what the ACALJ does to attack forms of religious discrimination.

And if there are people who are being discriminated against because of their faith, we are here to help them. There is some breaking news that we just got, and that is the D.C. Court of Appeals has denied General Flynn's emergency bid to force the dismissal of the criminal charges against him. You'll remember that was involving the Department of Justice coming in saying that those cases should never have been brought, evidence that was exculpatory was withheld, improper actions taken by FBI and FBI agents, and that the case should be dismissed. And they filed joint motion to dismiss.

You remember the judge, Sullivan, decided to become the lawyer, pretty much with a special prosecutor, Andy, as you've called him. And we don't have the order yet. Do we have the opinion yet, Will? We're looking for the opinion. But, Andy, apparently the federal judge can examine the Justice Department's decision to drop the criminal case against President Trump's former National Security Advisor. Your reaction? My reaction is one of horror and disgust, but it's not surprising considering the oral argument that we heard and the liberal bent of the D.C.

Circuit. So this has now been sent back to Judge Sullivan, who is now going to make a determination as to whether or not the Justice Department, the executive branch of government, can prosecute somebody or not prosecute somebody. This is a terrible miscarriage of justice. It is a terrible blurring of the separation of powers. And I think this ought to go ultimately now to the Supreme Court. But what essentially happened is that the D.C. Circuit and the liberal majority on that court has caved in to the fact, to the powers that would say that a judge has the right to determine who is prosecuted and who is not.

That is absolutely wrong. So the next move on this would be the Supreme Court. Van, what do you expect the reaction on Capitol Hill to be on this? This is breaking news, folks.

This just happened. We don't even have the order yet. Yeah, I haven't read through the order yet, but I think similar to what Andy said, I think the reaction on Capitol Hill will be one of horror. I mean, look, people don't really have to think too hard to understand this, Jay. When the Article 2 branch, which has the power to prosecute, and the defendant in the case, in this case, Judge Flynn, or General Flynn, agree, the Article 3 branch, Jay, must comply.

I mean, there is no ambiguity there, and I think that's the reaction you'll hear from Capitol Hill. The idea that it's now going back to Judge Sullivan to make a judgment, I don't really think there's anybody that thinks he's capable of an unbiased rendering. And, Jay, the one other thought that I would just give you off the cuff here, I mean, going all the way back to the beginning, the miscarriage of justice that's happened from the beginning, remember, Director Comey just sent a couple guys over around the White House Counsel's Office to question General Flynn, violating all of his fundamental orders, and yet today, even though that was how it started, today General Flynn continues to fight this. Jay, that's a miscarriage of justice.

No, it's horrific. I mean, you have the Department of Justice coming in saying this case should not be brought. You've got the defendant, of course, saying the case should not be brought, and the judge decides that maybe it should be, and he hires a special lawyer to be the advocate for the court so he can look into this. So now we're going to have, what, an investigation by a judge? And I think about this one. Was the judge going to investigate the Department of Justice?

Andy? What it comes out to be, Jay, that's exactly what it comes out to be, that the Department of Justice is now subject to scrutiny by a federal district judge as to whether it should bring or drop prosecutions. Whoever heard of that? This is unbelievable. I haven't read the opinion, but I trust that, you know, to send it back to Emmett Sullivan, who has so biased himself and is so prejudiced against General Flynn is ridiculous. If you're going to send it back, at least send it back to another federal judge who can make an unbiased determination. As you said, I haven't read the opinion, so I don't know exactly what it says. Andy, we're just getting the opinion. I mean, it's just being pulled for us now.

I'll get it in a moment. We'll get somebody to look at it and get some key quotes out of it. Now, the next move probably would be to the entire, no, would be to the Supreme Court, because he won in the three-judge panel, lost in the D.C. Circuit en banc, which means the entire D.C. panel, which leans left, and now it goes to the Supreme Court, where I think it'll be, you know, he should win, but that's going to take, you know, they're out right now, so they don't even, so technically what Sidney Powell would do is file I guess some kind of emergency stay or maybe she could get something heard in the interim to stop his investigation, because I'm trying to figure out, what does this judge do?

Does he call witnesses? I mean, how is that even possible? I can't imagine. In other words, Andy, what would be the process upon which he could do this? I mean, this is uncharted territory.

It's unbelievable. A district judge is making now a determination that the executive should be made. Is he going to call witnesses? Is he going to have his prosecutor, Mr. Gleason, up there prosecuting on behalf of the Justice Department? Do we have two attorneys general, Attorney General Barr and Attorney General Gleason, prosecuting on behalf of the Justice Department, denying prosecution on behalf of the Justice Department?

I can't imagine. I look at the opinion, Jay, and I've just looked at it and I see that there were several dissents, most of them from Republican appointed, Trump appointed judges, a dissenting opinion filed by Judge Henderson, which is not surprising, and Judge Rao, who was a Trump appointee, and otherwise it was a per curiam decision. In other words, it was a decision by all the judges of the court without naming one in particular, so there were really only Judge Katz's having recused himself.

There were only two judges, two judges who dissented from the granting of this relief. Unbelievable. It is unbelievable. All right, folks, we're taking a break.

We come back. Your calls on this. This is big news. And again, this is a good reason to remind you that we're able to give you updated information like this. A big part of the ACLJ mission is to get out information that makes a difference. And we're able to do that every single day.

Five days a week, radio and TV, live, full productions, broadcast on many different platforms. Your support, this last day of our matching challenge is particularly critical. So let me encourage you to go to ACLJ.org. That's ACLJ.org.

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You give us a call, 800-684-3110. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. We show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, the play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our Matching Challenge today. Make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.

Hey, welcome back. Let me read you one section. This is from the Mercurian majority opinion. And it says, as to petitioner, that's General Flynn's first two requests, to compel the immediate grant of the government's motion and to vacate the district court's appointment of an amicus, petitioner has not established that he has no other adequate remedies to attain the relief he desires. And then it says, we also decline, this is interesting, to mandate that the case be reassigned to a different district judge because petitioner has not established a clear and indisputable right to reassignment.

We therefore deny the petition. In the dissent by Judge Henderson, Judge Henderson writes, as to the majority's decision not to reassign, my colleagues set an impossibly high bar for a trial judge's impartiality to be reasonably questioned and seemed content to read that subsection out of the United States Code even as they infused Rule 48A with leave of court clause with enough force to upend our entire system of separated powers. Andy, that's a pretty big statement coming from Judge Henderson.

It's a powerful statement. If you remember Judge Henderson, it was during the oral argument said, when she was asked whether a district judge should be involved in prosecutions, said, well, it seems to me, quoting Henry David Thoreau, there's a fish in the milk. In other words, someone is where they ought not to be.

And that is Emmett Sullivan. He ought not to be in the middle of a criminal prosecution. And if you read the last paragraph of the majority opinion, the D.C. Circuit says, in fact, it would be highly unusual if the district judge did not grant the executive constitutional prerogative to direct and control prosecutions and exercise limited discretion under Rule 48. Who are you kidding? Who are you making that statement to?

We're not fools out here. That judge has made up his mind that Michael Flynn is guilty, and he is not going to allow him to withdraw that plea of guilty. And to say that he can exercise unbiased and neutral determination as to whether the prosecution should be dismissed is ridiculous. He said it is highly unusual if he did not. Well, I predict he's going to do the highly unusual. But he says this, finally, if the court denies the motion, General Flynn has multiple annuals and venues of relief that he can pursue.

He doesn't. He has one relief, and that's the Supreme Court of the United States. And mandamus is finally determined not to be appropriate in this case. I agree with Judge Henderson and Judge Rao, the two Republican appointees, that it was the appropriate remedy and it should have been granted, and Emmett Sullivan should not be the judge in this case. He's made up his mind that Michael Flynn is guilty. Let me read you the last sentence of the first paragraph of Judge Henderson's dissent.

Because I believe the trial judge's conduct patently draws his impartiality into question, and because I believe section 455A has teeth, I descend to write separately to explain why the trial judge is disqualified from further participation in this case. You know, I'm interested, Thanh, we know that the Durham case, it may not be a report, is in process, and there may be prosecutions coming out of that. I don't have any inside knowledge on that, but there may be. We already know there's one. How do you think the Senate particularly reacts to this? This is so unprecedented in our history.

Yeah, I think there's going to be a counterbalance there, Jay. Let me just quickly connect a couple of dots. First of all, I'm holding in my hands a document just to remind folks, January 4th, which was the D.C. Field Office recommendation to close Crossfire River, this case against General Flynn, specifically said the FBI is closing this investigation. Of course, Peter Strzok overturned that. Jay, two interesting points. It was about eight days later that none other than Vice President Biden issued one of those unmasking requests. Of course, we have that document, which I'm also holding, because of the acting director of the National Intelligence at that point, Richard Grinnell. But Jay, your question about the United States Senate, here's where I think this comes into play. It was just last week that Chairman Lindsey Graham interviewed Joseph Pientka.

For those who don't know that name, Jay, he was the FBI agent that was with Peter Strzok when James Comey sent them over to do that interview of General Flynn at the White House. So look, there might be some runway here as far as the case goes. Judge Sullivan might be taking another look at this.

But my recommendation to Judge Sullivan is to tread very carefully, because the political nature of this went very, very deep. We have the evidence in front of us, and the Senate Judiciary Committee, just taking that interview with Joseph Pientka. Jay, when that interview goes public, as well as some of these others, I think Judge Sullivan is going to want to look back on his actions and not have them conflict with that testimony, because I think it's going to be pretty revealing. Yeah, I'm just reviewing Judge Rao's dissent, and she said, this is what she says, several FBI agents interviewed Flynn in the White House.

By the time of the interview, the agents already possessed transcripts of the call and therefore knew exactly what he had been communicated. Nonetheless, contrary to the wishes of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and ordinary FBI practice, the investigators declined to notify the White House of what had been said on the calls before interviewing Flynn. The FBI also failed to notify the Department that it was proceeding with the interview on the day in question. That the investigators were going outside the chain of command was later admitted by FBI Director James Comey, who noted that the FBI would not ordinarily have done or gotten away with such conduct. When the agents met with Flynn, they failed to provide him with the transcripts of the calls or to warn him that making a false statement would be a crime. They also pressured him not to bring his lawyer, telling him that if he wanted anyone else present at the meeting, the FBI would have to elevate the matter and bring it directly to the Department. Andy, those statements by those people, those agents or officers, were completely false and misleading, and they're the ones that should be in the hot water, not General Flynn.

That's correct. It was a setup. It was entrapment of the worst kind. Failure to ask him if he wanted counsel. Failure to give him a transcript of the questions they were going to ask him to catch him in a lie, to try to get him fired, to try to get him indicted, to try to get him prosecuted.

It was a setup. Jay, this decision is a victory for Emmett Sullivan and a defeat for the Constitution. It's a defeat for the separation of powers. It's a defeat for the idea that the executive prosecutes and the judiciary umpires those prosecutions.

It is a victory for one man, and that's the intervenor in this case, the prosecutor in this case, the person who is going to make the decision as to the fate of an innocent man, and that is Emmett Sullivan. And the D.C. Circuit should be ashamed of itself for having propounded an opinion like this. It is terrible.

It is horrible. It is a defeat for the Constitution. We'll see, of course, in the days and hours ahead how the response is from Sidney Powell, who's an exceptionally gifted appellate lawyer. I'm very disappointed, not shocked, but very disappointed in the en banc position. I know that I'm sure next will be a move to the Supreme Court of the United States. I would suspect that. There again, these cases, you know, this court's very close.

We learned, boy, do we know. It's very, very closely divided. It may come down to how Judge Justice Roberts views the Chief Justice views this one. But the idea that the judge could become the – I'm still trying to wrap my hand around this, Andy, and just we only got less than a minute here, so do this in 15 seconds. How does the judge conduct this hearing?

I don't know. He makes up the rules as he goes. He appoints a prosecutor. He makes a decision from Gleeson, who he appointed as the prosecutor in the case. He calls witnesses. He makes a mockery of the judicial system. That's what he does. It's a horrible, horrible scenario. This is from Judge Henderson's dissent.

This is what she says. The trial judge's extreme conduct throughout this case, culminating in his decision to ignore the writ and instead to sink en banc review demonstrates a clear inability to render fair judgment. That's why at the ACLJ, our job is to protect the Constitution of the United States, and you can be part of that team right now. To supporting the work that Thand Bennett, his Office of Government Affairs, does, supporting the work of our lawyers that are handling these FOIA requests to get to the bottom of the deep state with dozens of cases filed and litigated.

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