SEKULOW

Announcer: On today's show, as a winter storm hits Manhattan, Mamdami's political nightmare begins. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekulow. We want to hear from you. Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Logan Sekulow.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome to Sekulow. We're live. It's Monday. Will Haynes is in the studio. Rick Grenell is joining us a little bit later. CeCe Heil, ACLJ Senior Attorney, is also with us. We have a lot of big updates, but of course, a lot of the news is focused on what happened this weekend. The State of the Union is tomorrow, and of course, the winter blast that is hitting Manhattan right now in the New York area.

There are some pretty funny concepts that have come out of how you can get help and how you can be part of the help relief. I think it's great. Mamdami said, you know what? It would be great if New Yorkers would get together and help out and decide they want to be snow shovelers as well. In theory, I like this. I think this is a good idea. He said we're going to pay you. It's not like we're talking about volunteer work, though I think being a volunteer snow shoveler would be very appreciated. They know they can get people motivated, and there are going to be people out of work because there's going to be a lot of people out of work for a couple of days here in New York. We know how the system runs. A lot of people rely on their day-to-day wages just to afford to live there. It is a very expensive place to live. However, it's not that simple according to the requirements.

Will Haynes: Well, I think we should hear from him with his request, saying you can join this, and then we will go into how you actually go about this process. This is all in the context of everything that is going on within his own party nationally. So let's hear bite four from the Mayor of New York himself on how you can get involved with such a massive historic snowstorm.

Mayor de Blasio: We're utilizing 33 DSNY vans and two DSNY buses to transport shovelers where they're needed faster. For those who want to do more to help your neighbors and earn some extra cash, you too can become an emergency snow shoveler. Just show up at your local sanitation garage between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. tomorrow with your paperwork, which is accessible online at nyc.gov/snow, and you can get started right away.

Logan Sekulow: Show up with your paperwork. Maybe go to the website, or maybe there's a simple application you can print out. You know what? You'll be good to go. You'll be shoveling snow in no time in New York City. Again, from a theoretical point of view, and actually even with the requirements, I'm not against this. I think that this is an interesting idea. We just went through a historic ice storm. I would have loved anything to have been able to motivate people to get out and help as much as they could. A lot of us were stuck. New York City is very different, though. It's not a city reliant exclusively on automobile transportation. A lot of people can just get out, walk, help out, and make a little extra cash. Of course, though, you go to the website because you're like, hey, I want to do this. And there are some basic requirements, Will. I think these would be considered basic requirements.

Will Haynes: That's right. So to become an emergency snow shoveler, where you can make $19.14 an hour, which increases to $28.71 per hour after your first 40 hours of work in a week, here are your eligibility requirements. You have to be 18 years old, eligible to work in the United States, and able to perform heavy physical labor.

Here is how you register, though, which is raising some eyebrows. You have to bring two small photos of yourself, I assume for credentials. Then you need two original forms of ID. Two, not one. Two forms of ID plus copies of them and your Social Security card. So it seems to me in a time of crisis in New York, it is much harder to become an emergency snow shoveler than the DNC would have it be to vote in an election in the United States. That is, if you count it, three forms of identification you have to bring just to get out there and shovel some snow for $19 an hour.

Logan Sekulow: It's comical. We knew that these kinds of things would happen, but it is comical that of course this is the case. If you want to work for New York, if you want to be a snow shoveler, not only do you need multiple forms of identification, but you also have to find your Social Security card. You have to come up with all of these things. Of course, they say that's very difficult for people. It's so difficult. Why in times of emergency have you then made it so difficult, if you will, to become a snow shoveler?

At a time when you think you'd just say, hey, all hands on deck. If you can bring your driver's license, bring one form of ID, let's get you working because I don't know, there's going to be 15 feet of snow. But of course not. But Will's right. If you'd like to vote in this election, you can leave all that at home. You just tell them your name and see where it goes from there. All right, phone lines are open for you. What do you think? 1-800-684-3110. We're going to jump into a lot of different topics. Of course, a lot happened over the weekend. We'll get into it. We'll be right back.

Announcer: The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and 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 court, in Congress, and in the public arena. 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.

Welcome to the all-new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference, support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need, all in one place. Stay informed. Stay empowered. Download today.

We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand-new app, completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Sekulow program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the click of a button, and receive up-to-the-minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store, search ACLJ, and click install. It's that simple.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. Talking about a few topics today, of course, including the irony that is the identification process to become a snow shoveler during a historic storm. Of course, Mamdami said, hey, this is just a longstanding rule, nothing I can do about it. But of course, we know when they fight back against something like this in terms of voter identification, they will claim to you that it is nearly impossible for people to get things like their Social Security card, or a passport, or two forms of ID, or anything like this. How dare we ask that to register to vote?

But if you would actually like to help today in New York City and you are one of the people that said, you know what, I'll go out there and I'll help shovel snow, which I think is a great thing. I think this program is excellent, by the way. I am all for communities getting together and helping out where they can. God bless you. Go out there and do what you need to do. But you cannot be blind to the double standard that shows you how politically motivated things like voter ID are.

We have seen issues with the Mamdami mayoralty already. This will just show that he is going to be under extreme scrutiny. The fact that his team did not even notice that this was likely the requirement, because I do believe there were things like this set up before, but he's activating it even more so, almost making it a PR moment saying, come out and do this, not to look at the fact of going, this could blow up in our face if we don't address this. Maybe we can figure out how to just say a simple one form of identification, something like that, just to say you are who you say you are, which I think, again, by the way, I don't think there's anything wrong with the identification system they have here. I think it is intense for something in an emergency situation. Voting, by the way, is not an emergency situation. You likely know you've had to vote, or you're going to vote for, hopefully.

Will Haynes: It's on the calendar from the Constitution.

Logan Sekulow: Right. So you have time to plan and get your IDs together and all that. But for this, when it is purely an actual emergency event, I can understand where this may be hard to find your Social Security card when maybe you're dealing with power outages or you can't be in your home or whatever it may be. He was pressed on this. I think we got to be fair. Let's listen to what de Blasio had to say. Go ahead, bite one.

Mayor de Blasio: This is all longstanding. This is a longstanding program and longstanding requirements, and this is a way that New Yorkers get paid to shovel snow in assistance with the city's response to a winter storm event. Federal law requires that employers get authorization and documentation to pay people for their work. We are not allowed to just cut checks to individuals for their work, and these are the policies that we've had in place. But I understand that for many, it's the first time that they've ever heard about it.

Will Haynes: So there's a lot to break down. One, because he's not wrong. There are federal work requirements. There's the I-9 form when you get a job you have to fill out. And you know what no one complains about? That stopping people from getting a job. Right? But they are so concerned that the requirements to have less, in some cases, forms of identification to register to vote to secure the elections, that somehow is seen as racist. It is seen as un-American. And it just shows the absurdity of this.

But I also love that remember, he invoked weather, the Mayor did, when he was in his inauguration speech. He talked about replacing the fragility of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. Those were his words. Right now, they are seeing a historic snowstorm, so maybe it was ill-advised of him to invoke weather when talking about this. He is faced with really, I would say, the first major crisis of his administration. It is something that happened that you can't control.

Logan Sekulow: Maybe the first was meeting with President Trump and actually having a good experience. That could have been his first crisis to some as well.

Will Haynes: That's right. That could have been his first crisis as well. But you're seeing this, and he's the one who chose this language and talks about rugged individualism and the warmth of collectivism. I will say, we had that historic ice storm here in Tennessee. And you know what you saw? You saw people getting out with chainsaws, posting on Nextdoor and Facebook, "Who needs a generator? We had one. We didn't lose power. Who needs it?" There was a community helping each other, getting people that were trapped in their homes, being able to free the streets from these trees that had broken and made it impassable in so many areas. And they weren't paid by the city government.

Yes, I agree this is a program that is probably well-intentioned. But when you have the warmth of collectivism, what it is is the government has to find ways to coerce you to help your neighbor. And I feel like that is something we also can't lose sight of here, is that in areas where the warmth of collectivism is something that is envisioned as this utopia society, what you end up having is the government having to find ways to coerce their citizens to help each other.

When you go to places where there is rugged individualism, it's people that understand I can work hard and I can do something for my neighbor. Individualism does not mean you don't love your neighbor. And I think that we can't lose sight of that in all of this, is that when you have the rugged individualistic spirit that America has, that ends up helping your neighbor. It ends up caring for the best of your community, not being forced by your government or your government having to find ways to incentivize you to do the right thing for your neighbor.

So I love this story for that fact alone, is that we can point out that in New York, they are having to find ways and encourage people to get out and help their neighbor. Is it nice that they're actually paying people to do this? Yes, absolutely. Have no problem with that. But it also shows the irony of their ideology, that the very basic requirements to work, to shovel snow in the city on an emergency basis, is harder to do than they would have it be to even register to vote and protect the sacredness of our elections here.

Logan Sekulow: They've also made it very hard to live there. And I think that's something that when you look at people who are probably going to be signing up for this program, like I said, it's people who, taking a day or two off work, or three days off work, whatever it may be with the storms that are coming in, these are people that need their hourly wage, or they need maybe they need their gig work or whatever it may be and all of a sudden have no cash, have no way to afford. So I get there are ways you can have a lot of people, a lot of New Yorkers, who are in need right now and will need help and will need financial assistance. Let them go work. I got no problem with that.

But when you start counterbalancing all of these issues that he's going to have, they've got to be smarter in this. Look, I've told you, I'm wearing it today. I pray for a thriving New York City. I think New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, these are places that maybe our audience has written off. I have not. I think they're three of our best cities in the world. It's some of our biggest places you can come visit. It's why people want to come to America often, is to see, I'd say, New York, LA, Orlando, and maybe San Francisco and a few other cities around the country. That is some of the biggest driving force of tourism. We want these cities to be thriving. I don't wish any ill will towards the people of any of those places.

Of course, you'll see maybe a massive upturn right now because I know a lot of people who are planning on traveling obviously can't be traveling, and again, it's going to change the way people are running up there. But look, we've got a lot to cover today because it's not just about this. This one is a bit more of a look at this and look over here, like can you believe this situation?

There's also some real stuff happening. We're going to have a big ACLJ update coming up from CeCe Heil. Maybe not the best of news. Look, folks, we're going to need your prayers and support coming out of our lawsuits in Massachusetts. You know we've been fighting for a long time for those pregnancy resource centers. We got some bad news that could lead to some good news. We're going to cover that, but look, that is just the truth of what the world is when you're dealing with the law, you're dealing with courts. These are uphill battles, especially in states where you're fighting for life, and it's states like Massachusetts.

So we're going to have an update from CeCe coming up a little bit later. We're going to talk to Rick Grenell. We're even going to be discussing that Gavin Newsom tour. And look, he was here in Nashville just two days ago. Big crowd, big turnout. I was not one of them, but I did see the line and it did look pretty insane, the people that are showing up. So you can't write off Gavin Newsom just yet. He also went to Atlanta, Georgia, and kind of stepped in it. We're going to talk about that, what that looks like as he essentially said, "I'm just like all of you who are here at this event. You know, not very smart, can't read, all those kind of things, just like you." That's how he's going to relate to the American people. And that's barely, by the way, a paraphrase. That is essentially what he said to this audience. And however you want to take it, you can take it. Of course, he's trying to say, "Oh, this is a fake news story." We're going to talk a little bit more about that coming up.

And we're going to take your calls and comments at 1-800-684-3110. I do want to hear from you today. When you hear things like what's going on in New York, or you hear Mamdami, look, there's also a big story over the weekend was obviously the released segment interview with Tucker Carlson and Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. What are your thoughts on that? I mean, I'll give you my general thoughts. In general, I thought former Governor and Ambassador Huckabee did an incredible job. And I thought he dismantled most of Tucker Carlson's claims aggressively, but with great poise, and handled him very, very well. Now, of course, a lot of those supporters who are don't want to hear that are going to say, "No, no, no, here's why." I mean, I watched it. I tried to watch it from as unbiased of a position as you can be, which I think was very difficult for a lot of us who are more on the side of the Jewish people. But we'll discuss that coming up. What did you think about it? Give me a call. I want to hear from you on any of these topics. 1-800-684-3110.

And of course, we all celebrated yesterday as the US Men's Hockey team. Was it yesterday, Saturday? Yesterday. It was yesterday. You looked at me like I was like I was. I didn't know what we celebrated yesterday. Okay. US Men's Hockey team brought the country together and put a whooping on Canada. And look, as someone who loves Canada, I like being there. It's an enjoyable place. It was a heck of a moment. Never did I think we would see the gold medal presented, our national anthem played, and then "Free Bird." "Free Bird" hit the airwaves across the world. It was an amazing moment. So congratulations to that whole team. All right, we get back. I want to hear from you at 1-800-684-3110. We'll be right back on Sekulow.

Announcer: Welcome to the all-new ACLJ app. Expert analysis and insight Big Tech can't censor. Customize your news and get real-time alerts on the issues you care about. Advocacy is now at your fingertips. Take action, make a difference, support the causes you care about with just one tap. Be the first to know. Breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox. Everything you need, all in one place. Stay informed. Stay empowered. Download today.

We are so excited to announce the ACLJ's brand-new app, completely redesigned to provide you with the best tools available to partner with us at the ACLJ. You can watch the daily Sekulow program, sign the petitions, customize your ACLJ membership experience, donate with the click of a button, and receive up-to-the-minute critical updates that the mainstream media can't censor. Just scan the QR code on your screen or go to your phone's app store, search ACLJ, and click install. It's that simple.

The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, and 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 court, in Congress, and in the public arena. 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.

Logan Sekulow: Welcome back to Sekulow. Phone lines are open for you at 1-800-684-3110. If you want to talk about snowstorms, Mamdami's rules to become a snow shoveler, and how, of course, that is a much more intense situation to become an emergency snow shoveler than it is to register to vote and to become an active voter, or at least that's what they want you to do. We also are talking about and we're going to talk a little bit more about Gavin Newsom a little bit later and his situation, his book tour, some of the gaffes that were made.

I want to talk a bit about Mike Huckabee, Tucker Carlson. They had a very interesting interview. Want to get your thoughts on that as well. I told you mine earlier in the last segment. But there is always important work of the ACLJ, and look, you know we've been following this case with us for the last couple of years. And that, of course, is our cases in Massachusetts where we represented pregnancy resource centers as they've been really under attack by their own state. I wish I was coming to you with better news, but it doesn't mean that it's over. It doesn't mean this is the end.

But it's not maybe as fully as expected. We thought maybe we'd have a better outcome than we did. But you are in uphill battles in these states. And we've told you that, and we've been honest with you. We're in uphill battles when you're talking to Massachusetts about anything involving life. Now again, when I say Massachusetts, I don't mean the people. I've met so many of you. I've talked to so many of you. It is not the people. It's just the people in power. CeCe Heil, Senior Attorney here at the ACLJ, is joining us. CeCe, so let's at least start with the update and then where we go from here.

CeCe Heil: Okay. And like you said, I'm just going to remind everybody that this is Massachusetts. This is their public campaign that came from the government. So directly from the government, targeting pregnancy resource centers and basically saying that they're dangerous and they're threats to public health and accused them of deception and urged the public to avoid them. And this again was directly from the government.

So the ACLJ sued the government of Massachusetts. Our client is Your Options Medical, which is a licensed medical clinic in Massachusetts that has provided services like ultrasounds and everything to Massachusetts for more than two decades. So the state had filed a motion to dismiss, and unfortunately, the federal district judge dismissed our case in Massachusetts against the government there.

Logan Sekulow: However, this is not the end of this case because we will be appealing immediately to the First Circuit.

CeCe Heil: That's right. And just pointing out that the judge was really wrong in his decision here because he basically said that Massachusetts was merely expressing views and promoting public health and saying that that's definitely something that the government can do. But unfortunately, he viewed each comment or component of the state's conduct individually. And there's case law that requires a court to actually view government conduct in context and in totality.

So we are obviously going to argue that he did not review this case correctly because when you look at what the government has done in totality, it's absolutely a comprehensive campaign to silence and punish speech, which the First Amendment does not allow you to do.

Logan Sekulow: Yeah. I mean, the title of it was "Avoid Pro-Life." You know, "Avoid Pregnancy Resource Centers." "Avoid State Anti-Abortion Fake Clinics." I mean, it was pretty obvious trying to take down these organizations. I mean, there was no other way around it. Unfortunately, that is right that the court did not rule in our favor in that. However, as CeCe said, I don't want to be doom and gloom here. It's not over. And the fact that you could get to probably a potential better court option once you get out of this region.

Will Haynes: That's right. And CeCe, that was always something we expected here. We plan for, we fight to win in these at the district court level, but we always knew the district court level is the uphill battle. We were honest about that from the very beginning. We got an early quasi-win, which gave us a little bit of hope with the district court, and we know that our attorneys are the best in the country and they are on the right side of the law on this.

And where we had this judge allowed an amended complaint filed, this is the second time we were at the motion to dismiss stage where the defendants here were trying to get this out of court. They say, "No, this is a frivolous lawsuit, whatever, this doesn't apply, get rid of it." The judge allowed us to amend our complaint with new information we heard and was very praising of our attorneys in the argument there on the first motion to dismiss about how they handled it, how they laid out the law, as well as was interested genuinely in some of the new information we got out of a FOIA, a Freedom of Information state law request that we did there.

And so we had some hope. Olivia, who is one of our great attorneys here, did an excellent job that first round and in the second round. But as we see here, the judge did what was expected all along and says, "No, motion to dismiss granted," throwing it out of court. But now we know where we really shine at the ACLJ is the appellate level.

CeCe Heil: Yes. That's right. So the First Circuit. And you know, I'll just say we have a little bit of hesitation there too because the First Circuit is not just completely conservative as well. So but that will not be the end. You know, if we lose there, we will keep going until yes, we get justice because we have said, look, the Constitution is clear. It doesn't permit government officials to use their regulatory power to silence or punish speech that they disagree with. And that is exactly, exactly what is happening here. And just because the district court judge tried to view this under a lens where he separately reviewed each individual event separately, he can't do that. You have to take it in context, and there's no Everyone can see that this was absolutely a comprehensive plan to punish and silence speech that the government does not agree with, and that's pro-life speech.

Logan Sekulow: And we also know from our clients that there was not just this reputational harm but that the volume of people coming to them as a result of this campaign from the government decreased. That there was actually harm to the organizations and to the women themselves that would be seeking to go visit by this campaign of the government. So it's not just even a hypothetical that this speech by the government and this campaign by the government could harm the client that we represent. It genuinely did in reality.

Will Haynes: Yes. There's absolutely documented harm. Like you said, there was documented reputational harm, reduced patient volume—sorry, volume, sorry—operational disruption. It disrupted their operation, and one of their physicians resigned because of it. So absolutely there's harm, and that's exactly, exactly what the government wants to do. It wants to shut pregnancy resource centers down because they have a speech that they disagree with, and that is pro-life.

CeCe Heil: Yep. And we wanted to give you the opportunity to get involved in this. Look, we know sometimes this can be disheartening, but we also know this is the time where we need your help. There are many different ways you can help. Obviously financially. You can be in your be have our team in your prayers. But right now we have launched a petition where you can help defend these pro-life centers and be a part of it. I want you to go to aclj.org/sign right now. We believe this judge erroneously ruled, and we need to take this as far as we have to take it. That could be all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Be a part of it right now because you know what's going on right now. These pro-life pregnancy centers, these are run by sweet people, often volunteers. They provide things like formula. They provide things like often clothes. We had one person call in and said, "Do they throw a birthday party for my child on their first birthday?" It is not what people make it out to be. Do they provide abortions? No. Will they provide actual health care when needed? Will they actually be able to show you an ultrasound, get your prenatal vitamins, those kind of things? That's what they're there for. We want to support them.

And I need you to do it today. So I'm going to encourage you to sign that petition. It's a great way to do it. Help defend these pro-life pregnancy centers from these state-sponsored smear campaigns. And we know if they get away with it in Massachusetts, we know it's growing, and we know it's even part of the New York Mamdami plan. We've seen it. He's very honest about it. We got to support these people. Go to sign the petition right now at aclj.org/sign. That's aclj.org/sign. Second half hour coming up. Join us on aclj.org, YouTube, Rumble, or however you get your podcast. We'll be right back on Sekulow.

Announcer: For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in court, 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.