BREAKING: Sec Blinken Makes Emergency Trip to Ukraine

This is Jay Sekulow breaking news Secretary of State Blinken makes an emergency trip to the Ukraine as Russia clears out its embassy. Keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is Sekulow. Already Ukraine faces in the east of its country that gathering of tens of thousands of Russian troops just across the border mainly on Russian territory but also elsewhere as well that is a credible threat that could be given the order to cross over and would really test the Ukrainian military you know because of the relative difference in sophistication.

We want to hear from you share and post your comments recall 1-800-684-3110. The possibility that Russian and Belorussian forces to the north of Ukraine may be combining forces and potentially pose a threat from there as well you can get a sense that Ukraine is sort of surrounded on on three sides Crimea in the in the south eastern Ukraine and Russia in the east and then Belarus and Russia from the north and so that puts Ukraine in an extraordinarily difficult position. And now your host Jay Sekulow. Hey everybody this is breaking news and it's something we were following last week but unfortunately and I say unfortunately because I think is can affect the world order and I say that not with hyperbole if you're watching the news at all in the last ten hours I mean this this move of Russia emptying out its embassies in Ukraine tells you a lot. So here's what's happened the Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been sent to Ukraine today as the country there is facing literally an invasion from Russia at the same time that Secretary Blinken is meeting with Ukrainian President Volensky, Zelensky and the Foreign Minister the fact is that the Russians are clearing out their embassies in the Ukraine of almost all personnel. Antony Blinken the Secretary of State will also travel to Berlin to meet with the Foreign Minister there as well as the Chancellor and there's going to be a meeting of what's called the transatlantic quad which is France, Germany, the UK and the US. The question that we're going to be asking throughout this broadcast is there any repercussions for Russia's action here that are realistic and I say that because Germany in particular but but all of Europe is very dependent upon the Nordstrom pipeline the gas pipeline and this creates of course a situation where their economic dependency is based on the reality that it is Germany that has been the big advocate of this pipeline and then as well as the rest of Europe but Russia controls it are they going to put their countries at risk Colonel Smith over this?

I think they might and it would certainly make them dependent not just on Russian energy but on complying with Russian demands as well. You know one of the things President Trump did during his administration was he put sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and he started the process of selling massive shipments of liquid liquefied natural gas from the United States to Europe so they would not have to depend on this pipeline and all of that just in the last 12 months has gone by the wayside it's a real crisis situation. Yeah and then there's a report also that a bipartisan group of senators were in Kiev yesterday to show support and solidarity what do we know about that?

Yeah the meeting happened yesterday with President Zelensky four Democrats Jay three Republicans here's the statement from Senator Shaheen after the meeting she said I had a productive meeting with President Zelensky today and made clear that the United States is united across party lines in support of Ukraine against Putin's belligerence Putin will not be allowed to target our Eastern European partners and allies with consequences that's great Jay the problem is I'm not sure that Vladimir Putin believes that President Biden will actually do anything that he fears and there's some evidence from the United States Senate filibustering a sanctioned bill that President Zelensky supported the United States Senate might not be willing to either so the path forward Jay is a little uncertain there. I think we'll get into when we come back from the break but that is a big part of the problem here so Logan we'll take calls and comments when we joined by Rick Grinnell next our senior advisor for national security and foreign policy and then former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo our senior counsel for global affairs as well. Yeah they'll be both on this show today give us a call 1-800-684-3110 that's 1-800-684-3110 get your comments on social media and share right now if you're watching online also our lawyers at the ACLJ working on a case involving a Christian employee that case may go to arbitration mediation this week a lot going on depositions in another case as well the challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values our freedoms our constitutional rights are under attack it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena and we have an exceptional track record of success but here's the bottom line we could not do our work without your support we remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms that remains our top priority especially now during these challenging times the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today 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 welcome back to secular we are joined uniquely by Rick Grinnell senior advisor for national security and foreign policy and that as you said when it comes to issues that we're talking about like we are today with Russia and Ukraine we have a very unique team and a definitely unique perspective and to tell you why this is important I know a lot of people kind of brush a lot of these things off they seem too international or why does this really apply obviously a lot of people watching a lot of people are curious yeah well this is because we are fortunate to have Rick Grinnell who not only served in the United Nations for ten years but was our ambassador to Germany Germany playing a major role in this and of course was the director of national intelligence Rick we've got Anthony Blinken has been dispatched to Kiev we've had bipartisan senators Republicans and Democrats went to Kiev as well yesterday Russia is clearing out its embassies we've been talking you've been on this broadcast we've been talking about this a lot what do you sense is going on here and why does this matter to the United States well first of all let's start with why does it matter if you're sitting here in the United States listening to us it really matters to your safety the credibility of the United States if it goes down can create instability around the world and certainly our troops overseas and our allies and even potentially here at home we could be increasing the danger and certainly the threat and we've already seen the problems of an open border so if you combine the fact that we have an open border with the fact that we are perceived as weak and our enemies and others are trying to take advantage of that weakness by moving into areas that would cause us to be less safe I think that's a recipe for disaster now let's talk about the good news I try to always focus on that we have bipartisan senators Republicans and Democrats in Ukraine sending a very strong message that is a fantastic message of unity now will it be enough to overcome the weak diplomacy of the Biden administration we see Biden week and so does the world certainly so does Putin and I fear that with the change in government and in Germany and the Europeans looking for some sort of consensus together that the Biden team is sending just a very strong message of weakness one of the things Rick that I am very concerned about in all of this is that Russia has the pipeline Germany wants that pipeline you were the ambassador to Germany does Europe have the this the capability the the backbone here to really do something if Russia takes action or the economic ties too great so that they won't it's such a good question and I just have to go back briefly to the Trump administration where we believe that Europe was much more than just Paris and Berlin this current administration Joe Biden really strongly believes that Paris and Berlin are the only ones to consult and everybody else comes along now that doesn't help our relationship with Eastern Europeans if you look at the pipeline for instance Europe you know in a hole is against the pipeline however the strong Berlin government the largest economy in Europe plays a bigger role and they've been able to bully the rest of Europe into submission when Biden says Europe wants the pipeline that's not true the Europeans don't want it the Germans want it but my fear is it's not just a gas pipeline it's a pipeline of influence all the way into Europe you know you're right it is more than a gas pipeline it is the influence factor and that I think plays significantly into how this resolves itself now you got Ukraine in a situation where basically they're they're surrounded almost in a sense because Belarus is also working with the Kremlin on this Colonel Westman has a comment and a question as well less yeah I mean that gives them a second place to launch an invasion attack on Ukraine it is not looking good it appears all the indicators are that an invasion perhaps is imminent my question to you Rick since you were the ambassador to Germany though is there any hope as you read the tea leaves that maybe the new German government would be a little more hawkish on this issue as they stand up to Russia are they just going along with what Chancellor Merkel and her government did well Chancellor Merkel's government had a coalition of the Christian Democrats her party and the socialists the new government is a combination of the socialists and the Green Party now look I I want to oversimplify the Green Party of Germany by saying it's not what Americans think of as a Green Party it is largely wealthy people who care about quality of life issues and so think of a lot of suburban women who are charged up in America they have a strong voice in America and they have a very strong voice in Germany I would say the answer is is you know the German Green Party is against the pipeline but the socialists are for it and so it's going to be an interesting combination to see if the greens can have a very strong voice I'm a little bit nervous that the two individuals running defense and diplomacy for the Germans are two individuals who are members of the Green Party but they're both very new to their jobs and I'm nervous that they are going to be outmaneuvered by the Russians the rest of Europe and even the Biden administration talking about negotiations Rick we have the situation with Wendy Sherman who is was conducting major negotiations in this situation just days ago we she she was involved in in previous administrations with negotiations with the North Koreans and with the Iranians leading to the JCP away those negotiations went nowhere and then we had President Biden on the phone with Vladimir Putin do you sense what is Russia's risk here under your administration previous administration the risk would have been so significant we won't even be having this conversation to be blunt I do not see them invading Ukraine under President Trump and Mike Pompeo is Secretary of State and Rick Grinnell is DNI or ambassador Germany I just don't see it but what's their what's the what's the downside for the Russians now what's the political cost to them the political game that the Russians are playing is they want to break NATO they don't want NATO to be so strong on their doorstep so they're trying to negotiate right now to say you need to commit to never allowing Ukraine or others into NATO they don't want NATO expansion now the irony of this is that the Biden team is so weak on NATO contributions that I fear that Putin has really got a double whammy here you've got an American administration unwilling to tell the NATO allies pay your fair share you've got the Germans with a surplus not paying their fair share one thing that the Biden team should focus on is getting more contributions into NATO Trump successfully did that at the same time keeping the Russians at bay I think that the risk right now for the Russians is to overplay their hand and and instead of just threatening somehow launch a ground war and then you would unify the Europeans against them at least in talk I don't believe the Europeans are ready to take any tough action and the Biden team has already said we're gonna go along with whatever Europe does so Putin's got a PR disaster at least on his hands and hopefully he doesn't move in to a ground war which would really challenge NATO at a time when not all of our NATO allies are paying their fair share you know it's interesting secretary Lincoln said last week that the u.s. is planning things that we've not done in the past if Russia invades Ukraine and then we got a very interesting comment on Facebook on Facebook said since it appears Russia invasion is imminent why is it Biden on TV sending a strong allowed message to Russia to back down he needs to show leadership I think a lot of people evoke images of Ronald Reagan they say you you think of those things when you think of a President making his moment yeah and a lot of those questions are being had so there's a lot of questions being asked on that Rick which is because no moments being made here and then you got Anthony Blinken saying you know we're gonna we're gonna do things we haven't done in the past what possibly could it be talking about well look we've got two choices here you either got war or diplomacy we already know this abidin really famously said diplomacy can be war and he's right but go ahead look the the Biden team has already messed up Afghanistan to the point where our threats of military action are not credible right now and Putin and she and a whole bunch of others know that so the the idea that you're gonna have a credible threat of military action right now is just dismal and then when it comes to diplomacy we already gave the pipeline away and we said we're gonna join whatever the Europeans want so you're really undercutting both options in a Biden administration and that's what is the strong message of weakness we're undercutting the military action option we're undercutting diplomacy we have Wendy Sherman who has literally failed and everything that she's done so I don't see where our strength is right now and and that it falls on Blinken's shoulder he said diplomacy is back but it seems to be on its back yeah it's very true and here's the concern that I have in this Rick and that is world instability global instability regional instability obviously within Europe but global instability when you have Russia already meddling in other parts of the world China being quiet while this is all happening because we're concerned about what their actions are gonna be so all of this together really got a minute left pre presents a situation where it could be very destabilizing for the US interests to China's whole game plan has always been look at Russia Russia's a problem and meanwhile they're quietly getting away with too much and so this plays into their hands right now China is quiet but but they certainly are taking a lot of action and maneuvering where they can and taken full advantage of this situation Rick Cornell senior advisor our national security and foreign policy for the American Center for Law and Justice Rick thanks for your insights on this we obviously be talking to you later this week this is a big week all right we'll be taking some phone calls coming up in the next few segments also Mike Pompeo will be joining us later in the show so give us a call right now if you're on hold stay on hold 1-800-684-3110 that's 1-800-684-3110 can get your comments in on Facebook on Twitter on Instagram wherever you find us you can find us all this place make sure your comment 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 the challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values our freedoms our constitutional rights are under attack it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena and we have an exceptional track record of success but here's the bottom line we could not do our work without your support we remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms that remains our top priority especially now during these challenging times the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at aclj.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today aclj.org let's go ahead take some calls and if you want to get on the air 1-800-684-3110 let's go to Bill it's calling it why oh we got line one you're on the air bill hey bill yeah thank you for taking a call um I'm just the fuck came to me that I was wondering if maybe he could Putin could make this a win-win situation for him and the fact that he can tell the world hey look you're right I'll withdraw my troops peaceably but in in retrospect or a recommendation give me some land because it sounds to me something like this happened in history some time ago it has but I don't I don't sense that that is where West this is going no it's not a border issue for him no it is part of his ambition to rebuild Russia into something like the old Soviet Empire and think about this Jay already as we sit here he has troops in eastern Ukraine right he took Crimea he has troops in Georgia he has troops in Kazakhstan and now in Belarus yeah this guy's appetite for enlarging Russia in its sphere of influence power is unbelievable so fan I wanted to go to you on this because we're gonna take talk about I want to talk about HR one in a moment cuz that's gonna come up but I'm staying on this topic for a moment there was a bipartisan group of senators that went and met in Kiev yesterday which with President Zelensky I think as Rick said I think that's really positive that we have this bipartisan sense that in the United States we're not this is crossing party lines that everybody knows this is a serious threat yeah I agree it's a positive development Jay I mean when I heard Rick talk about they couldn't agree more with what he said I still think though that Vladimir Putin is not really that afraid of the United States Senate and here's why I say that I mean I applaud the four Democrat senators that went over to Ukraine to meet with the President but Jay the one thing that the one thing the Senate was able to accomplish last week was actually filibustering a bill that would have sanctioned Russia over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline I know that sounds wild Jay because they're trying to get rid of the filibuster altogether on the voting rights bill but there was a bipartisan majority of the United States Senate 55 votes Jay ready to proceed with some sanctions that Ted Cruz had put forward and 44 senators used the filibuster to block that bill so again I go back to what Rick said hostile actors have to believe that someone is willing to use strength to deter their hostile actions and I think Vladimir Putin looks at this administration and quite frankly most of the United States Senate and doesn't fear what they might do Jay so Margaret Brennan on CBS face the nation asked this exact kind of question to Jake Sullivan yesterday take a listen we've been talking about the President's approval ratings being on the decline since that chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan this is a risk not just a foreign policy but to the President's ability to set bright lines for adversaries look I'll leave the political analysis to you and others here's what I'm focused on will the United States and NATO and our allies emerge from this whatever happens in a stronger strategic position and will Russia emerge in a weaker strategic position that's the test and that test doesn't get passed tomorrow or the next day or the day after that test gets passed over weeks and months and years okay I want to re-emphasize what he said here because this is what again is so absurd that whatever happens in the strong this is what he's saying what is the test does will the United States and NATO and our allies emerge from this basically stronger what will whatever happens in this in a stronger strategic position will Russia emerge in a weaker strategic position does anybody believe on here that Russia is going to resolve be evolved into a weaker strategic position I know he's trying to also dodge the question but it's starting with look I'll leave the political analysis to you if you search Google Jake Sullivan you know the first thing that pops up Jake Sullivan is an American political advisor right who now also serves as the national security adviser of the United States and so it's one of the same but clearly just trying to dodge a question everyone knows that the numbers are plummeting for approval ratings and you know we start talking about during the Afghanistan situation that that was sort of the tide turning even for the media that was the tide where even the liberal media said okay we can't just let him get away with everything and now you're starting to see that unfold yes Brendan's question was it was an excellent question and it's it strikes at the heart of the matter and you're right look and he dodged it this wasn't about political analysis this is about the perception of our enemies to an American President and his lack of leadership and she wants to know what the impact will be and he basically refused to answer that question he's the national security adviser yeah well and the fan you bring up a really good point here I mean this is the reason this is Obama 2.0 we know that so Jake Sullivan and Wendy Sherman are in charge of this yeah it's not necessarily about politics Jay but it is about policy and it is about people who will put forward a policies of appeasement you talk about the two people that we've talked about in this broadcast Jake Sullivan he was the lead architect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action the Iran deal Wendy Sherman she was the lead negotiator of the Iran deal all of those things were rooted in appeasement so you know if he wants to talk about whether or not Russia will be in a stronger place the only way you keep Russia from being in a stronger place Jay is by not advancing a policy of appeasement if you're not going to advance a policy of appeasement the last two people you send are Jake Sullivan and Wendy Sherman because we know what this is gonna we know what this is I will answer Jake Sullivan's question okay this is his question will the United States and its allies and NATO's be stronger strengthened with more solidarity the answer to that's gonna be unfortunately no and will Russia be weaker and the answer to that unfortunately is no now they say that there are these things that we have not done in the past which I'm gonna ask secretary Pompeo about because I can't even imagine what those are let me go to a domestic situation for a moment here because fan today I guess or tonight they're gonna there may be an attempt on the HR one which you think is gonna fail well yeah they've just gaveled into session Jay they are on debate on the voting rights bill remember just a quick reminder this is the NASA bill that was hollowed out and the two voting rights bills were dumped into it even last week when we were covering this Jay Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema came out and said we will not nuke the filibuster to pass this bill Jay Leader Schumer is on the bill anyway he is pushing forward without them and so just very concisely the way this will play out I expect there will be an effort to bring debate to a close to end the filibuster and invoke cloture probably tomorrow night Jay that will fail it needs 60 votes but here's what we're watching for leader Schumer is meeting with his conference tonight at five o'clock and he is trying to decide whether or not to try to nuke the filibuster either tomorrow night or later in the week or not at all Jay two members of his caucus have already said they won't do that it looks like he's gonna try it anyway though people always want to know what the response is we had that from Pam on Facebook said my question is if Russia invades Ukraine what happens with the mind administration well Jake Sullivan kind of laid out a bit of a plan and it's sort of what they said for Afghanistan as well where are they gonna take action listen and listen to who they blame if Russia does move we will take measures that go at their economy that go at their strategic position in Europe that strengthened the solidarity of NATO and what we just saw this past week in Brussels at the NATO headquarters was 30 allies speaking as one after years under the previous administration where NATO was fractured and beginning to lose focus NATO wasn't fractured NATO countries had it's actually support NATO which got them more engaged and more involved Colonel Smith we were more unified under the previous administration at NATO there was conflict at the beginning because President Trump told the truth well yeah give us some money but they started paying up but all not only that whenever President Biden unilaterally decided on this chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan he did not even inform our NATO allies in Afghanistan in advance right that fractures the alliance we had a lot more to talk about and a lot more coming up we do we have a full half hour coming up if you don't get us on your local station you can find us broadcasting live right now on social media on Facebook just search for Jay Sekulow on we're also available on YouTube search ACLJ you'll find our channel there right now broadcasting live you're hearing this pre-recorded you can find the rest of the show also later on archived on our social media platform as well as on our podcast feed and an ACLJ org that may be the most easiest direct way for you to watch this show each and every day just go to ACLJ org and support the work of the ACLJ second of our coming up give us a call 1-800-684-3110 we'll be right back for decades now the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms defending your rights in courts in Congress and in the public arena the American Center for Law and Justice is on your side if you're already a member thank you and if you're not well this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org where you can learn more about our life-changing work become a member today ACLJ.org you keeping you informed and engaged now more than ever this is secular and now your host Jay Sekulow everybody welcome to the broadcast there's a lot going on and we've got an emergency situation where secretary of state Anthony Blinken has been sent to Ukraine that follows up on the day before yesterday six or seven members of the United States Senate four Democrats three Republicans went to Ukraine met with President Zelensky Russia's on the border with massive a number of troops and armaments Belarus President announcing that they too would participate so you've got a potentially huge conflict the EU nations are now concerned whether they'll do anything or not is is debatable but as Rick Rinnell just said this all has a direct impact on the United States because world global instability costs us money costs us energy I'm talking about our energy resources and puts us in a vulnerable state and it's always dangerous for the region and for the Middle East and this is happening simultaneously why Secretary of State Blinken says the US is planning things that we've not done in the past which I'm gonna ask Secretary Pompeo about but I'll ask you Colonel Smith because that doesn't sound to me like there's a plan no no that is a hollow threat other than you know advancing Ukraine's application for NATO membership they're an aspirant which is too late to do that now and arming them with offensive weapons which we've been really really slow to do the previous administration of Trump administration did arm them yes yeah it wasn't that long ago yes so they had so they were getting our last night the United Kingdom step up and is going to give them anti-tank weapons because the by demonstration refused to give them anti-tank weapons can I say something here and this is where I get folks you got to pay attention to this I know you are this is how I'm not saying this will happen here but this is how world war starts yes this is how you have glow I would say let's not call it a world war let's call it global conflict because now you've got as West just said you've got England the United Kingdom saying we will provide armaments to Ukraine the United States saying we will do things we've never done before whatever that means Germany doesn't seem to want to really get engaged no no it's a very fractured Europe what we need to do is try and keep NATO cohesive even though Europe is fractured that's hard to do here's the thing Jay our adversaries not just in Europe but around the world they are watching this so fan we do have seven members of the United States Senate were there yesterday that's not insignificant it's very significant Jay I mean look I think the message to the oppressed is actually a pretty good one right here I mean seven bipartisan members of the United States Senate traveled over to President Zelensky reiterated their support supposedly Secretary of State Blinken is doing the same thing today I hope he echoes their message but the question I would have for Secretary Blinken is actually not so much about his message to Zelensky what about the message to the oppressor though Jay what is what is his message going to be to Vladimir Putin because he can say all he wants to President Zelensky that they're going to back him up but unless he gives a strong message to the people who are harassing Zelensky I'm not sure if that's gonna gonna do much Jay so it's a good message from the Senators a good message from the Secretary today but what are they saying to Vladimir Putin I've got a comment that came in on Facebook about that specifically said this from Luis who said Putin has zero concern about Biden doing anything of consequences to his plans of Russia I think a lot of people feel that way which is it's doesn't matter yeah and it does though these are NATO allies involved because it's a picture right but I don't think straighten feels threatened I don't think Putin feels that he's on guard I don't think he's saying I think he's calculating what the consequences are and the consequences are not don't appear to be significant and then you have on top of that and I think this also points to this the Belarus President coming out west and saying oh by the way we'll help you if you need help Russia yeah absolutely now the other side of Ukraine is exposed right they they actually are threatened from the south with Crimea from the east with the Russian troops and now in the north from from a joint exercise quote unquote between Russia and Belarus on the Ukrainian border it's incredible now we've got Mike Pompeo former Secretary of State coming up our senior counsel for global affairs folks we don't give you just talking points we're giving you real analysis because we're engaged with this in Washington frankly around the globe at the United Nations we know this issue and it's very very very concerning and where this is going and it's escalating very quickly Logan will have Mike Pompeo joining us next the next segment Mike Pompeo will be on and we'll be taking your cause as well 1-800-684-3110 again 1-800-684-3110 if you ever want to be on the air this is a great time to do it how do you feel like this specifically impacts you in your life and what Russia and all the Ukraine really could do to America give us a call 1-800-684-3110 we'll be right back with more on Psych the challenges facing Americans are substantial and a time when there's no difference between them and their abilities so every person is well hatin' in America is one of many choices including a original V anniversary $4.

Bryce Cooper and needs to be a major star in the global economic development model and innovation and development at completion, I'm Brad Universities in Epsilon Tau tailored to actually focus on the universe the reality as he Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights, in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena.

And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line, we could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life changing work.

Become a member today. 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. Welcome back to Secula. We are now joined by Senior Counsel for Global Affairs and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will be joining us just right now.

We got him live. And that's what we've talked about earlier, is the expertise of the people who can be on these panels for the ACLJ. And when it comes to these topics that maybe aren't your number one headline stories, but are the stories that you really is, but it is the number one you should be focused on right now.

Yes. So, Mike, great to have you back on the broadcast. I know we were talking about this last week, and here we go again.

I want to get right into this. Antony Blinken, your successor, your successor, has said that the U.S. is planning things that we've not done in the past as it relates to Russia if they invade Ukraine. A, do you think that this threat of invasion is for real, and what could those possibly be, things we've not done in the past?

Oh, Jay, thanks for letting me back on today. That threat is very real. The challenge is very serious. Vladimir Putin doesn't have any concerns that the Biden administration will do something that will impose real costs on him. So I think that makes the risk all that much greater to the West. I don't think he believes NATO is unified. I think he thinks the Eastern European countries and the Western ones have a different view of the risk. So, yes, this threat is very real, and Vladimir Putin will use it in a way that aggrandizes himself, keeps himself in power, preserves his sphere of influence. I'm glad to see Secretary Blinken is going there to support the Ukrainian people.

That's the right approach. We should send increased armaments, weapons systems. We should make clear that violating Ukrainian sovereignty is unacceptable. That's something we will not stand for. And when he says we'll do things we've not done before, I don't know what he's speaking about. But it's possible that there are sanctions beyond even those that were put in place in the Trump administration that they would be prepared to do, including potentially disconnecting Russia from what's called SWIFT.

It's really the global economic system, the global cash transfer payment system. This would be a significant sanction, and I think Vladimir Putin would have to think twice about taking action if he believed that the Biden administration had credibility with respect to that. I hope Secretary Blinken can convey the seriousness with which they're taking this.

Secretary Pompeo, on that front, let me ask this. On that front, just dealing with the ability of basically disconnecting Russia from the greater economic systems. Do you think – my concern here is what Europe will tolerate.

Would Europe tolerate that kind of action, especially the Germans? Well, Jay, first instance, the United States can largely effectuate this on its own. It would need some assistance, but we did it with respect to the Iranians during our administration. The Europeans tried their darndest to get around that, creating something called instex. It just never worked because of American economic power. So I think the United States could actually execute this in a way that would effectuate that objective, whether the Europeans agree or not second. The reason that I think if the Europeans fight it isn't because we couldn't do it, but because the Biden administration won't.

But we saw this with Nord Stream 2. Germany said, hey, we need this. This is a good deal. Our former chancellor runs a good chunk of this. It's going to make a ton of money off of this. We need to move forward with this pipeline, and the United States acquiesced to Russia and to Germany.

It might well happen again here. So in addition to being secretary of state, of course, you were the director of the CIA. Under President Obama, the acting CIA director was Michael Morell.

He was one of them. He said this about America's credibility. He said, if we back down from our support or if Russia invades, we lose credibility. The tragedy that unfolded with our Afghanistan withdrawal already severely damaged the US credibility under the Biden administration. Did that embolden President Putin to make the Ukraine push? In other words, did our exit from Afghanistan and the way we did it impact?

Because it seems like the moves on Ukraine have happened since then. Jay, I think it's undoubted that world leaders across the globe, friends, those who are trying to figure out whether they want to be friends and our adversaries all watched the way in which President Biden evacuated Afghanistan, the tragedy 13 Americans killed, lots of Americans left behind without a plan, frankly, without consulting our allies in a sufficient way. I think they all saw that, and it's caused them to be emboldened. Weakness often begets risk for the United States of America. So when I hear Mike Morell, who I know and who did good work at the CIA for many years, when I hear him say that, someone who was deeply part of the Democrat establishment, it's really quite something.

I think it suggests this isn't partisan, this isn't political. This is about keeping Americans from my own state of Kansas and California and New York, all across the country, safe from the threats that are presented to us by what's happening. To preserve the American way of life means we need to keep the American traditions, and that includes defending our friends when they're in trouble.

Colonel Smith? Well, I think the second and third order effects of all this going on, I think, are alarming. The UAE was attacked by the Houthi rebels with this drone attack over the weekend. I'm wondering, it seems like we have backed away not only from our allies in other places, but in the Middle East. We paused sales to the UAE for their airplanes, and we've quit giving Saudi Arabia some of the defensive missile systems. And I think the Houthi rebels are involved, and of course, they're a proxy of Iran. What do you see as the connection between this perception that we are weak in places like dealing with Putin, and how it impacts China, Taiwan, the Middle East, and all the other countries?

You went around the world pretty nicely there. You just missed Chairman Kim firing missiles into the ocean. The list of emboldened leaders is pretty long. These authoritarian regimes understand one thing. They understand power.

Not military power exclusively, diplomatic power, economic power, all the things one does when they build alliances. When they see weakness, you'll see the move. What the Iranians did, and I talk about it being the Iranians, not the Houthis, the Houthis are a bunch of tribesmen. These are Iranian missiles filed from Yemen by the Iranians themselves into Abu Dhabi. When you see that, they recognize that the United States' response is to go to Vienna and try and cut a deal to try and appease the Iranians. That pretends bad things in each of these places, whether it's with China and Xi Jinping, or Chairman Kim in North Korea, or Vladimir Putin in Russia. They will all see that if you threaten and coerce, you can make moves, and the United States won't do the simple things to preserve America and defend our security here at home. I want to go back to the situation with Russia and Ukraine. You wrote in a piece that's posted at ACLJ.org called Priorities for a Strong, Secure America in 2022.

This is what you wrote. Reports from just this past month indicated that Team Biden suggested that Ukraine cede its authority over the Donbas region, making it an autonomous zone rather than territory under the control of the Ukrainian government in order to cool tensions with Russia. Where does that end up leading? We know how this ends in Europe, right?

Step at a time. We all know precisely how this moves forward, especially today, when the threats are now both physical and kinetic, but also cyber and political and economic. We know precisely how this control will continue to be exerted. I harken back to when Vladimir Putin engaged in an activity that we didn't like, and we pushed back. We immediately saw that he met Steele.

He saw that he met Steele, and we had very different conversations after that. This is how diplomacy and power are used around the world. I hope this administration figures out how to do this. You know, I quoted this earlier, but Benjamin Disraeli famously said that, you know, diplomacy as war.

I mean, he wrote an entire chapter of a book on diplomacy as an act of war and saying you could use diplomacy for impact as if it was war, I mean, because of the nature of that type of diplomacy. My question here is you've sat down with these people. You know Vladimir Putin, you know the foreign minister of Russia, you know President Zelensky. If you were in charge of the government in the United States, what would be the next move?

Jay, I like to think we wouldn't have gotten here, but given that we're here, the next move would be precisely what you just saw. You'd send your secretary of state to Ukraine, but you wouldn't send them there unarmed, and I don't mean militarily. You would send him there with a toolkit where he could credibly speak to the Ukrainian people. He could credibly speak to the Ukrainian government.

He could speak to the Poles and the Estonians and the Lithuanians, all of whom see themselves as the next meal on the table for Vladimir Putin if NATO and the United States don't step forward and provide the security. Those are the things one would do. It's not about sending tens of thousands of soldiers. Our administration didn't behave that way, and yet we were able to push back against these very regimes that this administration is struggling to secure our freedom against.

Last question. For the people that are watching, like you said, in Kansas, in North Carolina, in California, wherever they might be, the risk factor here, if this is not handled correctly? The risk factor is that over some period of time, we will lose our capacity to be that defender of freedom, and when we lose that, the risk is that we lose our freedoms here at home as well. They're not a one-to-one, it's not a perfect agency, but they're deeply connected, and for America to abandon an ally, our friends, the Australians, the Japanese, the South Koreans, the Europeans, our friends in the Gulf, the Saudis, the Emiratis, they will see this and they will begin to cut deals with authoritarian regimes that leave the United States and its economy out of the quintessential places that we need to be today. I saw the Saudis today talking to the Chinese on energy in a way that they wouldn't have had to do in the Trump administration.

Yeah, I saw that, and you know, exactly what you said is right, Mike, that is the repercussions of this weakness will have impact in the rest of the, not just the region in Europe, but the rest of the world. Mike Pompeo, Sr., Council for Global Affairs, former Secretary of State, former Director of the CIA, tremendous that we have you as part of this team. Thank you, Mike, we appreciate it. All right, we'll be back with the last segment of Sekulow for the day. If you want to get your phone calls in, it's the last chance to do it. 1-800-684-3110. That's 1-800-684-3110.

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ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Psychula. Let's go ahead and take some calls. Barbara's calling in New Jersey on line two. Barbara, you're on the air. And if you want to get on the air, 1-800-684-3110. Barbara, welcome.

Oh, hi, Howard. I support you guys all monthly for years. You're the best. Appreciate that. Okay. So my question is something that I always ask myself. The Biden administration, like the Obama administration, their policies that make us weaker, do they think, do they really, do you guys think that they actually think that makes us safer or is it more sinister in that they want us weaker because they have more in common with authoritarian governments and kind of want to be in that club? I think it's, I think, first of all, your question's a great question, but I think it's multidimensional and very complicated. So let me try to break it down and then I'll ask others to jump in.

What is the motivation? They are operating under the let's kind of coalesce with Europe and what Europe wants to do. And the problem in this situation, Thanh, is Europe is not clear as to what they want to do. So the one good thing that happened in this, Barbara, is that the United States sent a bipartisan delegation to President Zelensky, the President of Ukraine.

That was positive because that's sending a message. But that was the legislative branch, not the executive branch. The executive branch dispatches Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, right move as Mike Pompeo said, Thanh. The difficulty is, does he have, again, quoting from Mike, in his toolkit enough to do anything here?

That is the real question, which is what Barbara's asking. Yeah, and he almost certainly does not have those tools in his toolkit. I mean, look, removing Russia from the SWIFT system would be a very significant move. Jay, Vladimir Putin needs to at least believe that that's on the table.

Now, whether or not it's the right tool to use or not is another discussion, but Vladimir Putin has to believe it's on the table. And look, Jay, we talked about the Senate action. This is, since it's in the area of foreign affairs, it's almost exclusively an executive branch play. And I just see the Biden team rolling out the same playbook that the Obama team rolled out. And look, to the caller's question, I think they believe that leveling the playing field across the world is better for the entire world.

But Jay, that is blind to history. The rest of the world flourishes when America is strong and America uses her strength for the betterment of others. Leveling the playing field and intentionally weakening America will not do anyone around the world any good. And this leading from behind, which is President Obama's theory, which was the Obama-Biden policy rather than America first and leading, I think will have disastrous consequences. But Secretary Pompeo mentioned SWIFT, which is the economic system that everyone's tied to. Disconnecting Russia from that could have significant consequences. My question, Wes, is, will Europe tolerate that consequence? Because it would have consequences for them too.

Yeah, it would definitely. I think Mike Pompeo is right, though. We really have the capability because we are the largest financial girl in the cage to actually to force it anyway. And it'd be difficult for them to get around it. Back to Barbara's question real quick, though, why is the Biden administration doing these kinds of things? I think it has to do with their worldview. And it's a naive worldview. They want consensus versus U.S. leadership. They failed to really protect our United States strategic interests first and that somehow they have an aversion to conflict, not just military conflict. They have an aversion to political conflict and they refuse to take a stand. And somehow they want to believe, even though it's proven over and over again, this is an incorrect belief. They want to believe that the rest of the world looks at the world the same way that we do and have the same motives and they don't. We've got a very interesting question coming in, a comment coming out on Facebook, a couple actually.

Yeah, we have a couple actually. Joseph said it's a stark comparison that at the same time there is a concern about Russia invading Ukraine. We see the Democrats trying to force federal takesovers of elections, pushing us further out from our constitution. We also have from Michael who said, we watched this administration drop the ball with Afghanistan. How are we supposed to trust them in dealing with Russia? I think the situation in Afghanistan, the pullout in Afghanistan and the way it was mishandled is the reason why Putin feels emboldened. We could not handle a pullout out of Afghanistan and a failure of, I think, significant proportions, not only tragic loss of lives, both of Americans and our friends in Afghanistan, but we let the Taliban control it. I mean, it was a series of errors that were made that had devastating consequences. So does that make things look weak for the United States?

Yes. At the same time, I think we have to be cognizant of that Europe's appetite for engagement here, even if Ukraine's invaded, may not be that strong. They may not, Colonel Smith, have the stamina and ability to say to Russia, if you do this, you're going to be out of the economic system, which would be devastating by the way for the Russians.

But I'm not sure that Europe has the stomach for it. I keep saying that. I know. I know. And I have the same doubts.

I truly do. This idea of removing Russia from SWIFT though is probably the strongest card we have to play right now because we're not going to take military action. What concerns me, Jay, also is that we're having all this going on with Russia and Ukraine. Don't forget, after the Olympics, it's more than likely that China is going to invade Taiwan. And we're not talking about much in the media right now, but we don't even know how close Iran is to a breakout on a nuclear weapon.

We have three dangerous hotspots in the world, and we are not doing a very good job of addressing them and prepping for them, Russia and Ukraine and Putin's aggression writ large, China and Taiwan and Iran. Let me then, as we get ready to close this segment out and close the broadcast out, I don't want to, we touched on it so briefly that we didn't give it fair attention. And that is H.R. 1, which would federalize elections, is going to be an attempt, I guess, they're going to attempt to move on that tonight is the plan. Yeah.

Yeah. Actually, Jay, while we've been on the air, Leader Schumer took to the floor of the United States Senate, gaveled into session and actually verbally said, look, we're going to try to make an effort to change the filibuster rules, change the precedent of the Senate in order to pass this legislation. I mean, here's the truth, Jay, to shoot our listeners straight. He does not have the votes to do this. Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema have already told him that they will not go along with nuking the filibuster to pass this. But Jay, the United States Senate is on this bill right now that would take over control from the states of the electoral system.

And they're going to go so far, Jay, as to probably tomorrow night, maybe Thursday, but I think tomorrow is probably the most likely timeframe. He's so dedicated to it, Jay, that even though he knows he doesn't have the votes to do it, for the first time in history, the United States Senate is going to try to nuke the filibuster for legislation. It's a pretty significant move that Leader Schumer is making here. But you do think, Van, that we are going to prevail on this one and we'll have beaten back H.R. 1?

I do. And it's going to be a significant win for separation of powers and for federalism. I would tell you, I think they're going to fall short of the 60 votes on cloture, Jay. And then if they do take the vote to nuke the filibuster, I don't think they're going to get over 48, maybe not even 48. Which would be a big win, folks. We've been on top of this and working on this now for months. This would be a federal takeover of the elections, exactly what the Constitution doesn't authorize.

You want to try to get one more comment? I have a comment from John on YouTube who said, what policy changes have caused these moves from Russia and China? Seems like the last administration had everything in check for policy-wise. Well, we projected strength because we were strong.

Our military was the strongest it ever was. Our diplomats were given tools in their toolkit. We were in direct negotiations with Kim Jong-un, for instance, who's now flying missiles again into the China Sea and over towards Japan.

We were discussing at the highest levels with Vladimir Putin. They knew we were serious. They knew we were tough. We're not projecting that right now.

Weakness invites aggression and perceived weakness also invites aggression from our adversaries. So I think it's how you present yourself. I mean, I call it the ministry of presence. You got to be there. You got to project something. But Mike Pompeo said something very important here. What's in the toolkit for the diplomats?

Like I said, the Israelis said diplomacy can be war, but if you're going to use diplomacy as war, you better have ammunition in your toolkit to really back it up. All right. I think that's going to do it for Secular today.

It is. And I just want to say something to our members and friends out there at ACLJ.org, and that is this. Your support of the ACLJ lets us have Mike Pompeo as part of our team. Rick Grenell and all the experts you're seeing on this broadcast today and to actually take action. So we appreciate that. ACLJ.org to support the work of the ACLJ.

We'll talk to you tomorrow. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.